Op-Ed by FBI Director Christopher Wray: Violent Crime Problem Is Real and Tackling It Requires a Group Effort In law enforcement, our most fundamental duty is to ensure people can live free from feara task that has become more challenging over the past few years. FBI crime statistics released in October showed that in 2021, for the second year in a row, violent crime remained at alarmingly high levels. From conversations I routinely have with police chiefs and sheriffs every week, those violent crime trends have continued throughout 2022. The top concern I hear from local law enforcement leaders is gang and gun violencewhether its gangs terrorizing a community, juveniles graduating from carjackings to even worse violence, or traffickers moving drugs through a neighborhood and inundating it with crime. Even major corporations are seeing the same thing and are having to make difficult decisions about where they operate. While the specific drivers can be as varied and diverse as the communities we serve, in far too many instances, were seeing repeat or dangerous offenders end up back on the streets. For hardworking law enforcement officers, the only thing more frustrating than having to arrest a violent criminal who should be behind bars is having to arrest that same person over and over again. The men and women of law enforcement are working tirelessly to tackle the threat. In 2022, across the nation, the FBI with our partners arrested more than 20,000 violent criminals and child predatorsan average of 55 per day, every day. In the process, we seized more than 9,600 guns from those criminals, cut into the capabilities of 3,500 gangs and violent criminal enterprises and completely dismantled 370 morearresting their leadership and seizing their assets. These efforts and others like them are making a real difference in communities plagued by violence and drugs, but the numbers and our lived experiences make clear theres a lot more work to do. And at the FBI, were committed to working with our state and local partners to leverage our resources to combat these stubborn rates of homicides, carjackings, and non-fatal shootings. The answer is, of course, not to cut resources from overworked, under-resourced departments. As it is, police departments and sheriffs offices across the country are struggling to recruit officers to replace those theyve lost in recent years to a wave of retirements and resignations. Policing is already a tough job, and its even tougher when departments with fewer hands to do the work have to make hard decisions about how to prioritize their limited resources. On top of that, the job is becoming more and more dangerous at a time when officers are being called to take on increasingly complex challenges. In 2022, an average of one brave law enforcement officer was feloniously killed in the line of duty nearly every six days, marking the third-highest total in more than 20 years. For our part, the FBI is working shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local law enforcement partners through more than 300 violent crime task forces made up of close to 3,000 members. Through these task forces, weve built a strong and resilient ship capable of sailing through any storm. We're using intelligence to drive proactive investigations to identify and target the most violent offenders. And were working to build capacity and deploy additional resources to some of the hardest-hit cities where that support is most needed. Based on past successes in lowering violent crime, we know what works. It takes law enforcement agencies sharing intelligence and resources to dismantle the worst gangs and takeand keepthe most violent offenders off the streets. It means steering young offenders away from violence before they move on to more serious offenses. And it requires law enforcement agencies to better engage with the communities we serve to earn their trust and cooperation. We have to develop new ways to meet the long-term challenge of recruiting more of the everyday heroes who keep us all safe. Todays tight labor market certainly contributes to police recruiting challenges, but what I often hear is that a bigger issue is a sense among rank-and-file cops that too many in our society no longer respect their work. Law enforcement requires extraordinary citizens who are willing to put their lives on the line for a total stranger every day. And its more than a profession; its a calling. I urge our workforce all the time to do their best to block out the noise and stay focused on the missionthe people we do the work for and the people we do the work with. But on top of that, if were going to continue to attract dedicated public servants to this calling, we all need to be more outspoken in our support of the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to keep others safe. This story has been published on: 2023-01-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. In Pics: First inbound China-Europe freight train carrying Chinese Lunar New Year goods arrives in Xi'an Xinhua) 09:14, January 14, 2023 This aerial photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows a China-Europe freight train loaded with 1,300 tonnes of flour from Kazakhstan arriving at Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) XI'AN, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe freight train loaded with 1,300 tonnes of flour from Kazakhstan arrived at Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Friday. This train marks the first inbound China-Europe freight train carrying Chinese Lunar New Year goods to Xi'an. In past years, more and more foreign goods were delivered to China via the China-Europe freight train trips. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) After China downgraded its COVID management, a few of countries imposed entry restrictions on travelers from China. These discriminatory policies are futile for public health, detrimental to a global economic recovery and performative at best. The United States, Japan, South Korea and several in Europe have imposed additional border rules only on passengers from the Chinese mainland, ranging from testing requirements and mask mandates to suspension of short-term visas, citing a possible infection surge and potential new variants. Such reasoning is faulty at best. In an article published in The New York Times, emergency physician Leana S. Wen opined that the coronavirus load from any infected traveler would be just "a drop in the bucket" for the United States. Tom Frieden, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated his country had had "at least 200 million infections" by the end of 2022. Also, an existing strain isn't a concern. Consider the predominant variants in China for now, BF.7 and BA.5.2, two offshoots of the Omicron subvariant BA.5. They have all circulated in the United States and many countries for quite a while and failed to exhibit an evolutionary advantage over other variants. Among the roughly 900 variants and subvariants documented in the SARS-CoV-2 lineages system "Pango" by researchers from the University of Edinburg, the single-digit number of variants found in China pales in comparison to more than 600 in the United States, 500 in Britain, over 240 in France, 150 in Japan, 50-plus in Italy. If those countries were sincerely committed to limiting imported cases, why not impose controls for all inbound travelers, not just from China? Furthermore, if saving lives is crucial, why were restrictions lax during the spread of the more pathogenic original strain and Delta variant? The probability that international travelers could export a severe outbreak to a destination country is relatively low, as is proven in the case of Singapore. In the last four weeks of 2022, about 200 travelers from China to Singapore were detected to have COVID, less than 5 percent of all imported cases in that period, while imported cases accounted for just 5-10 percent of all infections in the country, Singaporean Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told Parliament on Monday. Singapore has yet to add restrictions to arrivals from China since new variants can emerge from anywhere in the world. "How will other countries treat travelers from Singapore when we encounter another infection wave?" Ong asked. Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly suggested rules narrowly targeting China lack "sufficient public health rationale" in a letter to his country's health minister. Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the World Health Organization, also urged precautionary measures "rooted in science ... proportionate and non-discriminatory." Regrettably, the scientists' calls have fallen on deaf ears. The way Washington and its allies are treating China travelers is reminiscent of their disastrous early response to the pandemic. Disregarding scientific advice and facts, stoking up racism and spreading disinformation, the United States, in the first half of 2020, delivered a COVID response "100 times worse" than China regarding numbers of deaths, TIME wrote. Although accusing the former administration of "hysterical xenophobia" amid the pandemic, the current White House and its allies are hardly behaving differently, applying the usual double standards and hypocrisy found in Western political discourse. In a piece in The New York Times, Frankie Huang, a Chinese American writer and illustrator, condemned Washington's selective reinforcement by geographic origin, saying, "The U.S. government effectively endorses the centuries-old tropes of Asians as the 'diseased other'... This places Asians in America once more in the crosshairs of racist scapegoating." Meanwhile, these biased rules could harm the return of corporate travel and tourism. "We have the tools to manage COVID-19 without resorting to ineffective measures that cut off international connectivity, damage economies and destroy jobs," said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, in a statement last week. A recent survey from Bank of America showed predictions for higher growth in China are up to about three-quarters, with those for a weaker world economy falling slightly. "The easing in (global) recession expectations were likely driven by an improved outlook on China's growth." That bit of good news could be hampered by the irrational and unreasonable application of COVID controls against China, undermining global cooperation. A "final victory over COVID" is dawning in China and beyond; unfortunately, a political virus continues to linger in the West. In the weeks and months following the tragic mass shooting on the Saint Francis campus in Tulsa, officials are raising awareness of ongoing concerns about threats made against health care professionals. Michael Louis of Muskogee had a pistol and assault-style rifle when he gunned down four people, including his doctor, Dr. Preston Phillips, at the orthopedic center inside the Natalie Building, Tulsa police said at the time. Louis blamed Phillips for ongoing back problems after a surgery performed by the doctor and was determined to kill him and anyone who stood in his way, police said. The active shooter situation at Saint Francis raised awareness of threats against health care workers, and in the weeks after the June 1 mass shooting, Tulsa police began posting news of other arrests. On June 4, a 43-year-old man was arrested after a disturbance was reported at Hillcrest Hospital near 11th Street and Utica Avenue. He specifically referenced the actions of the Saint Francis shooter and was charged with a terrorism hoax but later pleaded guilty to threatening an act of violence. Five days later, police responded to a hospital room on the Ascension St. John campus where a 61-year-old patient threatened to shoot his doctor and tried to punch a security guard. He pleaded guilty on charges of assault and threatening an act of violence. There has been an increase over the past few years of patients making specific threats of violence against health care workers, a Saint Francis spokesperson said then. Weve always taken these threats seriously and have policies and procedures related to how we respond to these threats. Health care professionals definitely consider incidents like these in ensuring the security of their staff and patients, said Marcus Webb, of the Eastern Oklahoma Veteran Affairs health care system. The VA statement came following the Nov. 14 arrest of Zachariah McGuire, charged in Tulsa federal court with possession of a firearm at a federal facility, the Tulsa World reported. McGuire was taken into custody while in possession of a loaded revolver and seven plastic zip-ties at the Ernest Childers VA Outpatient Clinic, according to court documents. A clinic worker reportedly received a threatening voicemail from the phone number of McGuires mother. The male voice on the message reportedly stated, You will make me an appointment and prescribe me my meds, or I will murder you. When McGuire showed up at the clinic later that day, he was stopped on the second floor by VA police, according to court documents. We have to do what we have to do to make our staff and veterans feel safe, said Webb, spokesman for the VA health system in eastern Oklahoma. Last week, Tulsa police announced another arrest related to a hospital threat. A 41-year-old man was visiting his mother at Saint Francis when he threatened to shoot up the place and was removed. Later the same day he reportedly told a witness he was going to return to the hospital and go postal, police said, adding the man also posted a threatening statement targeting Saint Francis on his social media. He faces misdemeanor charges of threatening an act of violence. We understand that displays of anger and violence have underlying causes, but that doesnt excuse the behavior. We are accustomed to working with people during some of the hardest days and times of their lives; we want to help, but we shouldnt have to and wont tolerate threats to our staff, a spokesperson from Saint Francis stated. A male long-tailed monkey has been anesthetized and brought to a wildlife rescue station after it continuously annoyed residents in Ho Chi Minh Citys outskirt district of Cu Chi. The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department on Friday confirmed that it had taken the monkey to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district. Le Thi Gat, a resident in An Phu Commune, Cu Chi District, said three monkeys appeared in her neighborhood over a month ago. They regularly climbed to the rooftops of local residents houses and made loud noises. They also picked fruits, such as coconuts and longans, and threw them to the ground. In addition, they ate dozens of chicks and eggs of local households, Gat said, adding that she lost 10 chicks and 20 eggs to the moneys. Monkeys jumped on the rooftop, caught chicks and ate them on high rubber trees, Gat retold. According to Gat, the monkeys were earlier bred by a person renting a house in the commune and were released after the person left. After being anesthetized, the monkey is brought to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district of Ho Chi Minh City for further care. The monkeys health has been stable. Photo: Local administration After being informed of the monkeys, the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department coordinated with the local authorities to lure the monkey with fruits and caught them. Rangers determined that there were two monkeys, including a long-tailed macaque and a pig-tailed one. The long-tailed macaque, which weighs some 3.5 kilograms, was anesthetized. Rangers are cooperating with the local authorities to catch the remaining monkey. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A male long-tailed monkey has been anesthetized and brought to a wildlife rescue station after it continuously annoyed residents in Ho Chi Minh Citys outskirt district of Cu Chi. The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department on Friday confirmed that it had taken the monkey to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district. Le Thi Gat, a resident in An Phu Commune, Cu Chi District, said three monkeys appeared in her neighborhood over a month ago. They regularly climbed to the rooftops of local residents houses and made loud noises. They also picked fruits, such as coconuts and longans, and threw them to the ground. In addition, they ate dozens of chicks and eggs of local households, Gat said, adding that she lost 10 chicks and 20 eggs to the moneys. Monkeys jumped on the rooftop, caught chicks and ate them on high rubber trees, Gat retold. According to Gat, the monkeys were earlier bred by a person renting a house in the commune and were released after the person left. After being anesthetized, the monkey is brought to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district of Ho Chi Minh City for further care. The monkeys health has been stable. Photo: Local administration After being informed of the monkeys, the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department coordinated with the local authorities to lure the monkey with fruits and caught them. Rangers determined that there were two monkeys, including a long-tailed macaque and a pig-tailed one. The long-tailed macaque, which weighs some 3.5 kilograms, was anesthetized. Rangers are cooperating with the local authorities to catch the remaining monkey. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! As the Lunar New Year festival approaches, cat statues honoring this years zodiac animal are popping up in public places across the country, adding to the liveliness of springtime in Vietnam. Vietnamese people will formally celebrate the Tet festival on January 22. The occasion is meant for family gatherings to enjoy traditional foods and exchange good luck wishes. The golden cat figure in Thong Nhat Park, Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre Floral decorations are an important part while adults typically give 'lucky money' in red envelopes to children to wish them health and outstanding academic results. The fest will last around a week. According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, around downtown Ho Chi Minh City, a large number of cat statues with adorable features and eye-catching hues have been constructed, symbolizing good fortune and reunion. A golden cat carrying money and gold, meant to symbolize the desire for fortune in the coming year, is located in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre Workers on Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1 are rushing to complete all the cat mascots in order to welcome visitors. Ngoc Anh, a resident of District 10 in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the colorful cat mascots and floral decorations have brought about significant changes in the downtown area. These days, I frequently take a stroll in the city because the weather is pleasant. There are many flowers and ornamental miniatures throughout the city, which adds color to the landscape. I think that cat sculptures are adorable, Anh shared. Workers rush to complete a massive cat figure on Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre In Hanoi, a large-sized golden cat placed at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District has attracted lots of residents to visit and take photos. Additionally, provinces such Vietnam Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Bac Lieu, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen, among others, provide a variety of unique cat designs that will make the upcoming Tet celebration even more lively. A family of cat statues in Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. Photo: Trung Tan / Tuoi Tre These cat statues attract visitors to Bac Lieu Province. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A couple of cat statues perform music at the Ong Dao Bridge Roundabout in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre Lovely white cat statues in Hung Vuong Square, Bac Lieu Province, Vietnam. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre These cat statues attract visitors to Bac Lieu Province. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A family of cat statues on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, Bac Lieu Province, representing the desire of reunion and happiness in the coming year. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Cute golden cat statues in Can Tho City, Vietnams Mekong Delta. Photo: T.Luy / Tuoi Tre Visitors tour the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre People take a photo with the entrance of the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre People take a photo with the entrance of the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre Lovely cat decorations in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Cao Minh / Tuoi Tre Cat figures at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hung / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! As the Lunar New Year festival approaches, cat statues honoring this years zodiac animal are popping up in public places across the country, adding to the liveliness of springtime in Vietnam. Vietnamese people will formally celebrate the Tet festival on January 22. The occasion is meant for family gatherings to enjoy traditional foods and exchange good luck wishes. The golden cat figure in Thong Nhat Park, Dong Da District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Bao / Tuoi Tre Floral decorations are an important part while adults typically give 'lucky money' in red envelopes to children to wish them health and outstanding academic results. The fest will last around a week. According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, around downtown Ho Chi Minh City, a large number of cat statues with adorable features and eye-catching hues have been constructed, symbolizing good fortune and reunion. A golden cat carrying money and gold, meant to symbolize the desire for fortune in the coming year, is located in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre Workers on Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1 are rushing to complete all the cat mascots in order to welcome visitors. Ngoc Anh, a resident of District 10 in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the colorful cat mascots and floral decorations have brought about significant changes in the downtown area. These days, I frequently take a stroll in the city because the weather is pleasant. There are many flowers and ornamental miniatures throughout the city, which adds color to the landscape. I think that cat sculptures are adorable, Anh shared. Workers rush to complete a massive cat figure on Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre In Hanoi, a large-sized golden cat placed at Thong Nhat Park in Dong Da District has attracted lots of residents to visit and take photos. Additionally, provinces such Vietnam Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Bac Lieu, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen, among others, provide a variety of unique cat designs that will make the upcoming Tet celebration even more lively. A family of cat statues in Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. Photo: Trung Tan / Tuoi Tre These cat statues attract visitors to Bac Lieu Province. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A couple of cat statues perform music at the Ong Dao Bridge Roundabout in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre Lovely white cat statues in Hung Vuong Square, Bac Lieu Province, Vietnam. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre These cat statues attract visitors to Bac Lieu Province. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A family of cat statues on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, Bac Lieu Province, representing the desire of reunion and happiness in the coming year. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Cute golden cat statues in Can Tho City, Vietnams Mekong Delta. Photo: T.Luy / Tuoi Tre Visitors tour the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre People take a photo with the entrance of the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre People take a photo with the entrance of the flower street in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tran / Tuoi Tre Lovely cat decorations in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Photo: Cao Minh / Tuoi Tre Cat figures at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hung / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Flash The members of the UN Security Council on Friday reiterated their full and unanimous support for the peace process in Colombia, and underscored the importance of tackling insecurity in the country. In a press statement, the 15-member council also stressed the importance of ensuring the comprehensive implementation of the 2016 peace agreement. The council members said they welcomed further progress on the comprehensive implementation of the peace agreement including through significant developments on comprehensive rural reform. In the statement, the members reiterated that "tackling insecurity remains vital for the consolidation of peace in Colombia." They pointed out that the approval and implementation of a public policy on dismantling illegal armed groups and criminal organizations would be a significant step toward violence reduction. They hailed the announcement by the Colombian government of a six-month ceasefire with armed groups and hoped that its realization will contribute to comprehensive peace in the country. The council members reaffirmed that they are committed to continue working closely with Colombia to support comprehensive implementation of the peace agreement, and strongly supported complementary efforts by the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia. Flash Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday voiced readiness to work with China to maintain regional peace and stability, promote prosperity and development in the region, and advance the building of a community with shared future for mankind Bhandari, while receiving here the credentials presented by new Chinese Ambassador Chen Song, spoke of the close and cordial ties between Nepal and China as traditional and friendly neighbors, saying fruitful results have been achieved in practical cooperation in all fields. The Nepali side appreciates the support and help offered by the Chinese government and people, including supporting Nepal in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, the president said, stressing that Nepal has always firmly upheld the one-China policy and will never allow any forces to use Nepal's territory to oppose China. Nepal is ready to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, enhance political trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to create a better future for the people of the two countries and advance bilateral ties to be as towering and majestic as the Himalayas, Bhandari said. For his part, Chen noted that the two countries have advanced and deepened good-neighborly and friendly relations based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The China-Nepal relationship was lifted to a strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity in 2019, thus opening up new prospects for the friendly ties, Chen said. China is ready to work with Nepal to enhance high-level exchanges, consolidate strategic mutual trust and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for the development and prosperity of the two countries, Chen said. Chen arrived in Nepal for his new office last Sunday. Lunar New Year festival or Tet is the largest Vietnamese traditional celebration and has been since ancient times. It is not only a spiritual event that marks the change from one year to the next, but it also embodies the national culture of the country by reflecting the values and beliefs of the Vietnamese people. While Western countries celebrate the start of the new year on January 1, countries in the east use the lunar calendar, with the new year beginning later, in late January or early February. Vietnamese people believe that Tet marks the beginning of a new year, a day of hope and belief in new and good things and a farewell to the old. From the 23rd to the 30th day of the last month of the lunar year, family members get together to visit the graves of ancestors, inviting them to celebrate Tet with the family. In addition to two types of flowers typical for Tet - peach and ochna blossoms - people also buy other flowers for worshipping rituals and decoration. The significance of Tet meals has diminished as people's daily lives have improved. In spite of the fact that banh chung (a square sticky rice cake) is no longer considered a rare luxury dish, many households nevertheless make them in order to celebrate the holiday in style. On the afternoon of the last day of the lunar year, which falls on January 21 this year, after completing all of the work around the home, the family prepares a tray of dishes for offering to the ancestors and grandparents, called the year-end tray. It requires a lot of work to cook the different dishes, which include soup, stir-fried vegetables, and meat, especially boiled chicken. In the first days of the new year, people visit family and friends. Adults give lucky money to children and the elderly, and wish for a prosperous and lucky year. People also practice the custom of visiting pagodas to pray for good fortune. Students often begin a new year writing in the early spring, for a new year of study and successful exams. Each ethnic minority group or country has its own customs and practices. Tet in Viet Nam is a significant and unique cultural event that has been passed down for centuries. Through the ups and downs of history, many customs have more or less fallen into oblivion or been significantly changed. But no matter where they are, Vietnamese people are always aware of their roots and practice traditional customs. VNS HA NOI The Vietnamese Party, State and people highly appreciated the support of international friends, regardless of skin colour or religion, in the resistance war for national independence and reunification, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said while welcoming 26 international delegates from 15 countries. The delegates arrived in the capital ahead of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on Friday. The Paris Peace Accords and the victory in the spring of 1975 became a historic turning point in the cause of national reunification. It showed the world that Viet Nam managed to defeat a strong enemy with great international solidarity and widespread support of people globally. The victory was the joy and pride of both the Vietnamese people and of justice-loving people worldwide. President Phuc said that since the spring victory in 1975, Viet Nam, a poor and war-torn country, has achieved many historical, political and socio-economic achievements, becoming a middle-income country. In 2022, the countrys GDP was estimated to increase by 8.02 per cent, and GDP per capita reached US$4,110. According to the United Nations' multidimensional standards, the nation's poverty rate is estimated at 3.6 per cent, much lower than the rate of 58 per cent in 1993. Viet Nam has diplomatic relations with 190 out of 193 UN member states. Phuc emphasised cooperation among countries in building a world of peace has become an urgent issue and an earnest aspiration of all mankind. Despite sacrifices, pain and loss in the wars, the Vietnamese people always uphold the values of peace, the basic principles of the United Nations and international law on respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, he said. Phuc said that Viet Nam has always been a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community, cooperating equally and for mutual benefits with all countries. Earlier, a ceremony was held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) for the delegates and Vietnamese officials to look back at the Paris Peace Accords, which were signed on January 27, 1973. Delegates said the Paris Peace Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Viet Nam was a victory for Viet Nam's diplomacy, gaining the support of people around the world. They shared that their visits to Viet Nam changed their views of the country. They recalled the memories of meeting Vietnamese leaders at that time, such as General Vo Nguyen Giap and Prime Minister Pham Van ong. They also recalled how to share the Vietnamese resistance war and the country's development with other countries, calling for a joint fight for the victims of Agent Orange in Viet Nam. Speaking at the event, former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh, head of the negotiation team of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam, said the heroic and resilient fight of the Vietnamese people, with the unprecedented strong and widespread support of the world, forced the US government to negotiate and sign the Paris Peace Accords. We also remember our American friends who set themselves on fire to protest the war. We will never forget the millions of people worldwide who defied repression and imprisonment, and attended marches and demonstrations to demand the US stop the war. The strong solidarity and support were the strength to help us on the battlefield and negotiation table, said Binh, who was one of four people to sign the accords. VUFO Vice President and General Secretary Phan Anh Son said that the victory of Viet Nam in reaching the Paris agreement and the struggle against the US was one of conscience and belief in justice by national liberation movements and all peace-loving forces in the world. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Education and Training has said students must be educated in line with vocational skills, but schools says this isn't straight forward, as there are many obstacles standing in their way. Le inh Tham, principal of the ong Nai College of High Technology (DCoHT), told the Giao duc Viet Nam (Viet Nam Education) e-magazine that a majority of students opted for studying both traditional subjects like maths, literature and history, and vocational training at the same time. The college says they must also prepare teachers to educate in more practical skills, like mechanics and joinery, to give the students more job opportunities when they leave school. However, he said some students did not have enough capacity to learn both high school knowledge and vocational skills. When the students first come to the DCoHT, the college discusses options with students, but later discovers that those who pick both vocational and knowledge modules, struggle in the long-term. In the past two years, only 87 per cent of students at the DCoHT completed the high school curriculum at the same time with vocational training, ranking the fifth among vocational schools in ong Nai Province. Tham said that it was difficult for 100 per cent of students to fulfill both at the same time because the amount of knowledge was so great. Thanks to learning high school knowledge in parallel with professional skills, some of students of the DCoHT then passed entrance exam to universities. Tham said that the DCoHT always tried to meet the Ministry of Education and Trainings regulations, and was enrolling seven more teachers to teach high school knowledge at the college. An educational consultant of a vocational school in southern area, who remained anonymous, told the Giao duc Viet Nam (Viet Nam Education) e-magazine that vocational schools often worked with other high schools to teach knowledge for seven subjects including math, physics, chemistry, literature, history, geography and biology. Literature, math and history are compulsory subjects, and students can choose the remaining subjects based on their wishes. When students enter vocational schools, their main purpose is learning as an apprentice and have job right after graduating from the school, so co-ordination between the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Training is needed, he said. In previous years, vocational training schools must wait for teaching plans and term-end test schedules from other high schools, so they remained passive in the work. Many students felt too hard while studying both knowledge and vocational skills at the same time, and the school always gave them encouragement to fulfill the task, he said. VNS Before Clint Harps chance meeting with Chip Gaines at a convenience store in Waco, his fine furniture company was not setting the woods on fire. Our first summer, I think I made two tables, maybe three, and I made a bed. We didnt sell any of it. We gave a couple pieces away, Harp said with a laugh during a phone interview. It was not very lucrative at that time. But a return to Houston and selling pharmaceuticals was not an option he seriously considered. His garage became his workshop. He built things from reclaimed wood, pallets he found here and there and tore down. He spent spare hours building homes with Habitat for Humanity. But change came in due time. A chance meeting with Chip Gaines at a gas station meant Harp Design Co. would rocket to success in tandem with Chip and Joanna Gaines hit reality show Fixer Upper. When the world learned Clint was the Gaineses preferred carpenter, and that he and wife Kelly made and merchandised furniture, fans descended on their North Waco neighborhood. Chip and Joanna were our first customers, Harp said. Next thing you know, were making things for other folks. Then Fixer Upper started, and I was the featured carpenter on the show. The growth pattern went from real, real slow to hanging on for dear life. Fixer Upper took off, and we were doing our part, contributing. We struck a nerve. Now fast forward to today. Friday, Clint Harp confirmed he and Kelly are closing shop as a furniture-making concern. They have three children, and Kelly is pursuing a masters degree in clinical psychology. Clint will continue his work on Restoration Road, a documentary airing on Magnolia Network that showcases him crisscrossing America, finding and exploring beautifully restored old homes, barns and other structures. Were shooting a new season right now. I got in from Maine at 2:30 this morning, said Harp, whose shows are produced by Big Table Media. A Facebook post explains why the Harps are choosing to move in a different direction with their Harp Design Co. The bottom line is their cup runneth over with commitments, and something had to give. For over a decade, weve been fortunate enough to fill homes across the United Statesand even abroadwith products we made and love, the post says. Thank you for giving us that opportunity. That being said, after a lot of thought and consideration, we have decided it is time to close the doors to Harp Design Co. On one hand, this is a sad and difficult decision. On the other, this is an exciting step forward into what HDC might become next. It continues with a thanks to customers, whether you bought a candlestick, a cutting board, a handcrafted table, or any of the other products we believed in so much. Thank you also to everyone who has had a hand in creating and growing HDC over the yearsyou have meant the world. Logistically speaking, the shop and storefront will close after business Jan. 20. The team is completing a few products but will accept no new orders. The company website offers ready-made tables available for purchase. The Harps are selling the former Four Star Manufacturing Co. building at 1316 Franklin Ave. that served as their primary woodworking shop. Listing agent Gregg Glime said though the property just hit the market, he already is giving tours to interested parties. Glime said he is taking a different approach to finding a buyer, instructing prospects to submit an offer by Friday. Asking price for the 9,900-square-foot structure dating to 1926 is $595,000, according to a marketing brochure Glime is circulating. I think it lends itself to woodworking, but I also think it would be functional for contractors or companies needing industrial type space, assembly and distribution, Glime said Friday. Our deadline to accept offers is a week from today. I will not have done my job if we dont get an acceptable offer. His marketing brochure expands the list of possible uses, saying, With storefront and warehousing available, the property lends itself to the perfect retail, restaurant or office space. Neighbors include Dealers Electrical Supply, First Methodist Church and Waco Habitat Restore, according to the solicitation. Glime said though he has made no formal listing, he also will pursue a buyer for the Harp Design Co. headquarters at 808 N. 15th St. He said it will carry an asking price in the upper $300,000s. He said finding a buyer for both buildings would be ideal, but they are separate deals. Harp also said he will have a warehouse sale of tools, shipping supplies and home goods still available within the next few weeks. Sometimes a chapter closes, Harp said. We found our limits. Why dont we focus on things that give us the most joy, give us a passion, make us come alive? There are tears but we love what weve created over the years, things people put in their homes. They trusted us with that responsibility. Carla Pendergraft, who markets the Waco Convention Center, said Harp Design will continue to occupy a place in the publics heart. Harp Design was definitely a regular stop for visitors enjoying the Magnolia Trail in Waco, Pendergraft said by email. But open or not, visitors will still go by the property to take photos and see it in person, just as they do The Castle. So its not lost to Waco. And their Restoration Road show has the potential of reaching new visitors to Waco. A Mexia man is free on $10,000 bond after Waco police arrested him Thursday on charges he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl. Jaci Marcel Rodriguez, 20, was charged with sexual assault of a child based on the alleged incident on Nov. 26, according to his arrest affidavit. The girl, who will turn 16 this week, told her parents and forensic interviewers about the incident, the affidavit says. Rodriguez told the lead detective he thought the girl was 17, the affidavit says. Texas law considers an adult having sexual contact with someone younger than 17 to be sexual assault regardless of whether the adult knew the child's age. Waco may soon allow new hookah bars and cigar lounges, reversing a ban in place almost eight years and raising concern from the American Cancer Society. The Waco City Council is poised to finalize an ordinance change Tuesday allowing the opening of new cigar lounges and hookah lounges, which do not sell alcohol, along with new hookah bars, which do sell alcohol. The change, passed Dec. 20 on the first of two required readings, would do away with part of an ordinance passed in 2015 that bans smoking in indoor public places and businesses with a few exceptions. The council voted unanimously in favor of the change on first reading, with Council Member Jim Holmes absent. The 2015 ordinance bans smoking in bars, restaurants, other businesses, at public events and in most public spaces, except cigar lounges, hookah lounges and hookah bars that were operating before July 21, 2015, and remain in continuous operation. If the council votes to approve the new ordinance during its meeting Tuesday, most of the 2015 rules will remain in place, but new cigar and hookah lounges and hookah bars would be allowed, with restrictions. The businesses would have to operate out of standalone buildings or have ventilation systems separate from other businesses in the same building. The reversal is very concerning, said James Gray, government relations director for the American Cancer Society. Gray said changing the law would expose workers and possibly others to cancer-causing secondhand smoke, regardless of what ventilation system each establishment has in place. Waco is certainly moving in the wrong direction on this issue, he said. This is not going to protect public health and protect employees from secondhand smoke. Gray said about 100 Texas communities have passed smoke-free laws. Council Member Andrea Barefield suggested changing the ordinance during a council meeting last year. Keshia Miller, co-owner of Slow Burn Mobile Cigar Lounge, said the bus she operates as a cigar lounge on wheels is available for private events. We wanted to have a food truck type of set up, where we could go around to where food trucks are posted up for the evening and we could also be a vendor, Miller said. Since you cant smoke inside of a building in Waco, youd be outside. That was the initial thought process. However, pop-up events and open-air markets are off the table under current city ordinances. Miller said she hopes to establish a brick and mortar location one day if the ordinance change passes, but she will keep operating the bus. The ordinance defines cigar lounges and hookah lounges as generating at least half their revenue from the sale of cigars or shisha for on-site consumption. Shisha refers to the type of tobacco, typically sweetened and flavored, that is burned in hookahs. The lounges are not allowed to sell alcohol but are allowed to sell food and nonalcoholic drinks. The ordinance defines hookah bars as generating at least 60% of revenue from alcohol sales for on-site consumption and at least 30% of revenue from the sale of shisha for on-site consumption. Shisha revenue can include the sale of accessories for smoking shisha but not accessories for smoking other types of tobacco. The ordinance does not refer to cigar bars. The proposal also would change the minimum age for entering a cigar or hookah lounge from 18 to 21, in line with a 2019 state law that changed the minimum smoking age to 21. MLK Peace March The Waco chapters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. invite the Waco community to join in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March and Observance beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday. The march will start in Indian Spring Park, crossing the Washington Avenue bridge and marching down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. After the march, there will be a youth essay contest, community cleanup with the National Women in Agriculture Association, canned goods drive and an educational program with community entertainers. For more information on the free event, call 254-366-6029. Discussion on tree health Januarys Lunch with the Masters will run from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday in Room 105 of McLennan Community Colleges Emergency Services Education Center, 7601 Steinbeck Bend Drive. Robert Swanson, a Hewitt arborist and owner of Swanson Tree, will present on the topic of tree health in tough times. The event is free. Participants can bring a lunch. For more information, call 254-757-5180. God Particle discussion Baylor Lifelong Learning will host Baylor University physics professor Jay Dittmann for a discussion at 10 a.m. Friday at the Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive. Refreshments will be served beforehand at 9:30. Dittmanns talk is titled The God Particle: What Is It? Why Does It Matter? Dittmann, who leads Baylor Universitys experimental high-energy physics group, will talk about his experiences working at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Higgs boson discovery was made in 2012. The event is open to the public. For more information, go to baylor.edu/lifelonglearning. Stage 2 water restrictions Stage 2 water restrictions remain in place for city of Waco water users. Outdoor watering is allowed only between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. two days per week. Houses with odd-numbered addresses can water Tuesday and Saturday, and houses with even-numbered addresses can water Wednesday and Sunday. Non-residential watering is allowed Monday and Friday. No outdoor watering is permitted on Thursday, except handheld watering. Any violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000. As of Saturday, Lake Waco was 11.5 feet below normal. Will the gas stove in your kitchen make you sick? Will it cause asthma in your kids? Those questions came to the fore again this week as federal officials clarified that they are not planning to ban natural-gas fueled ranges, ovens or cooktops unlike in Los Angeles, where the City Council last year laid down such a ban on new gas appliances, including kitchen equipment. Although scientific studies show that natural gas stoves emit high levels of nitrogen oxides and other health-damaging pollutants, the relationship between those pollutants and human health remains unclear. More on the science in a moment. But here's the bottom line: If you use a gas stove, make sure your kitchen is well ventilated, ideally with a range hood that pumps air outside, and if that's not possible, use a HEPA air filter. And make sure you use them when you're cooking. They can be noisy, and people who own them often don't turn them on. Should you get rid of your gas stove? Emily Oster, an economist and data specialist at Brown University, has analyzed the research on the matter and offers this advice: "If you have a gas stove do you need to replace it tomorrow? No, unless you have some significant respiratory issue," said Oster, who also works with the National Bureau of Economic Research and writes about pregnancy and parent data at parentdata.org. If you're buying a new stove, she said, "and you're not particularly committed to cooking with fire, I'd say get an induction stove." Now, the detail: Natural gas is mostly methane, a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases as its blue flames burn. Proponents of gas stove bans typically cite the reduction of carbon emissions as their main goal, but they almost always mention health concerns too. There's no question that natural gas cooking emits harmful chemicals including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Several studies have noted that the pollutants issued by gas stoves (before they're ventilated away) can exceed levels that would violate Environmental Protection Agency and California air standards if the air outside were just as polluted. And studies have shown that natural gas pipe leaks cause air pollution inside and out. But the scientific research behind the health effects of natural gas stoves is complicated and inconclusive. Although some studies have found a significant association between gas stoves and prevalence of asthma or asthma symptoms in children, no direct causal relationship between gas stove use and bad health has been identified. Given the difficulties in conducting such research, especially the swarm of variables that tend to confound the results, a clear answer is hard to come by. And given the limitations of available data, even the associations and correlations raise questions. "We don't have much data on this," Oster said. For a comprehensive asthma study, she said, "ideally the kind of study you'd like to run would compare households in the U.S. that you know use gas stoves and those that don't, and link that to health information, such as whether kids have asthma or not. We don't have those numbers." What scientists do have in this case is a large number of potentially confounding factors that could skew results. How big is the cooking area? Is there ventilation? How often is the stove used? Who else is in the house or apartment when meals are prepared? Is there mold behind the walls? If so, how can that be separated from gas stove emissions to reach health conclusions? Is an apartment or house close to heavy traffic? Are heavy trucks rumbling down the street outside? A 2020 report issued by UCLA and the Sierra Club that synthesized existing data came to much the same conclusion as Oster: "The association between gas appliance use and health (including furnaces and water heaters) have mixed results, in part due to study design limitations, but also due to a lack of data on quantified exposures," the paper says. Lead author Yifang Zhu, professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said "There are definitely health concerns," that merit further study, but the evidence is not as substantial as what people have done for outdoor air." Like Oster, Zhu emphasized the importance of good ventilation. In fact, for poor people, subsidies for range hoods might improve indoor air quality more effectively than a gas stove ban, at least in the short term. Those who choose to replace their gas stoves with an electro-magnetic induction stove need hundreds to thousands of dollars to do so. Buyers might, however, qualify for federal, city and utility rebates. The UCLA report made clear that it "does not compare the benefits and costs of electrification vs. improving range hood use and efficiency in terms of reducing indoor air pollution." The source of most gas-appliance indoor pollution, the report notes, is from water heaters and furnaces. New installation of those appliances has been banned by the state of California, effective in 2030. There is no statewide ban on gas stoves, though Los Angeles and other cities have begun to follow the lead of Berkeley, which became the first California city to ban new gas stoves in 2019. The latest figures available for natural gas appliance usage in California date to 2009, although an update is in the works. That survey showed that water heaters accounted for about 49% of an average household's natural gas consumption, space heating, 37%, and cooking, 7%. ELMA An Elma man has been charged after the remains of a missing New Hampton resident were found at his home. On Friday, Howard County sheriffs deputies announced they charged Sayvonne Eugene Jordan, 26, formerly of Waterloo and Charles City, on a charge of first-degree murder. Bond was set at $1 million. Jordan was arrested in connection with a Nov. 20 search at his home at 808 Main St. where authorities found human remains. The Iowa State Medical Examiners Office later identified the remains to be those of Jonathan Esparza, 30, of New Hampton. Esparza was last seen leaving his home to go to a friends house Oct. 20, according to investigators. His vehicle was located Nov. 11. Court records show that following the November search, authorities arrested Jordan in connection with drugs found at the home. They found a bag containing 23 grams of marijuana, a second bag with 233 grams and a small electric scale. He was initially charged with possession with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act. He posted bond pending trial on the drug charges and allegedly moved from the Elma Street address to Marion, court records state. At the time of the search, Jordan was on probation for a November 2021 eluding charge in Chickasaw County where he allegedly gave police a fake name and was found with THC vape cartridges. He also has a prior assault conviction in a 2016 incident in which he and two others attacked a man in a Charles City Caseys parking lot. The victim suffered a broken eye socket. NEW HAMPTON A West Union man had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he led authorities on a high-speed chase in September that killed his son, according to recently released court records. Arraignment has been set for Jan. 24 for Curtis Allen Williams, 38, charged with homicide by vehicle, driving while revoked and operating while under the influence of alcohol in the rollover crash on a U.S. Highway 63 off-ramp that claimed the life of Jaxon Williams, 18, of Decorah. A trial information with the formal charges was filed Friday in Chickasaw County District Court. Williams was also cited for speeding, failure to maintain control, a tail light violation and reckless driving. Bond was set at $32,000. A blood draw following the fatal crash determined Curtis Williams had a blood-alcohol level of .209, records state. The legal limit in Iowa is .08. Officers at the scene also noticed an odor of alcohol coming from Curtis Williams, and authorities found a container of Twisted Tea in the blue Mini Cooper he was driving, court records state. Records also indicate the original reason for the attempted traffic stop that sparked the chase. A Chickasaw County sheriffs deputy was running radar in the 2800 block of Highway 63 around 1:14 a.m. Sept. 26 when he noticed the Mini Cooper go past with a defective tail light. The vehicle began to pull over to the side and slowed when the deputy triggered his top lights. But the car then sped up and pulled back onto the highway. The pursuit reached speeds of 106 mph in the highways 65 mph zone, records state. The Mini Cooper failed to negotiate a curve on an off ramp at mile marker 196. It rolled several times and came to rest on its passenger side. Jaxon, a passenger, died at the scene, according to deputies. Curtis Williams was also injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. Deputies said Curtis Williams license had been revoked for an earlier impaired driving allegation. WAUCOMA A bookkeeper at a Waucoma-based livestock dealer has been sentenced to six months behind bars as part of a fraud investigation. Billie Joe Wickham was sentenced to jail plus three years of supervised release on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States following a hearing in U.S. District Court on Friday. Another company official, sow procurement and marketing employee Charlie Lynch, was sentenced to five years of probation on a conspiracy charge. Both men were fined $3,000 each, according to court records. Two other Lynch Livestock employees Leland Pete Edward Blue, a sow marketing worker, and Tyler Jeffrey Thoms, a livestock station manager were also scheduled to go before a federal judge for sentencing Friday. Minutes from the hearings have been sealed and the outcome remained unclear as of Friday night. Both were released, records indicate. The scheme consisted of falsely and fraudulently reducing and downgrading the numbers, quality classifications, and weights of swine that producers and sellers had delivered to Lynch Livestock at its buying stations throughout the Midwest, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office for Northern Iowa wrote in sentencing documents. It was also part of the scheme to lie to USDA officials and customers in order to conceal the scheme to defraud and to lull livestock sellers into a false sense of security about Lynch Livestocks buying practices as a dealer under the (Packers and Stockyards) Act. The corporation, Lynch Family Companies Inc., was also charged in the investigation, and in July officials entered a guilty plea on the companys behalf. Sentencing for the corporation is scheduled for February. Under a joint sentencing agreement, the company will face a $196,000 fine and three years probation and will pay $3.04 million in restitution. The company will be given credit for $1.24 million in restitution already paid as part of USDA sanctions from 2017 and 2021. The government also agreed to end probation early if the company sells off all of its interests in its swine-buying stations. Gallery: Coronavirus impacts meat industry throughout Midwest 051520bp-tyson-rally-1 051520bp-tyson-rally-2 051520bp-tyson-rally-3 Meat locker tyson-waterloo-pig-sign 050620bp-tysons-tour-2 050620bp-tysons-tour-1 MONTECITO, Calif. In the town of Montecito, where the median home costs $5 million, Bentley drivers leave their car windows open as they hop out to grab something from the market and residents refer to Gwyneth Paltrow as simply "Gwyneth," it's hard to imagine anything ever goes wrong here. And most of the time, nothing does. But massive storms, fires and the positioning of the town in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains have resulted in a precarious existence for the mostly wealthy residents, who on Monday were ordered once again to evacuate as record-breaking rains battered the coastal enclave. That order came on the five-year anniversary of the violent debris flow on Jan. 9, 2018, that killed 23. Traumatized by that experience half a decade ago, most of the town's 9,000 residents heeded government orders to get out. Brown waves lapped at the empty sands of the Pacific Ocean, and muddy water pooled on the streets and sidewalks of the trendy shopping district on Coastal Village Road. No one was killed or injured Monday in Montecito, despite more than 500,000 cubic yards of material being deposited in the town's debris basin during the 36 hours the storm dumped more than 12 inches of rain, said Montecito Fire Protection District Chief Kevin Taylor. Taylor's agency rescued 50 people, compared with 900 during the 2018 storm a difference that he said highlighted how much more effective the evacuation order and storm preparations were this year. "That's the price of living in paradise. We have rain and mudslides and devastating fires," said Richard Mineards, a gossip columnist for the weekly Montecito Journal who has lived in the town he likened to the Hamptons of California since 2007. "But what could be nicer than a sunny day with the Pacific twinkling and an ocean breeze blowing in? What could be nicer than living in Montecito?" The beachside town in Santa Barbara County has become synonymous with Hollywood types looking for a home away from the shutterbugs of Tinseltown. Celebrities such as Oprah and musician Adam Levine own property in Montecito, and royal defector Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, shot much of their Netflix documentary at their estate in the town. "Celebrities feel safe here because people are so used to them that we just leave them alone," said Pam Peterson, a Montecito resident whose grandfather invented the Egg McMuffin. "I just saw Rob Lowe this morning at the grocery store. I see Ellen (DeGeneres) at Tre Lune all the time." But not even the celebrities are spared from the biblical rains. "Montecito is under mandatory evacuation. We are on higher ground so they asked us to shelter in place. Please stay safe everyone," DeGeneres wrote in a caption to an Instagram post Monday. Her video showed a raging creek near her Montecito home. Other luminaries were more coy about their evacuation. A publicist for the Duchess of Sussex declined to say whether she and Prince Harry left Montecito during the storm. "We would never share their whereabouts for safety reasons," the publicist said. Residents and Santa Barbara County public works officials have made changes to the hillside community since 2018 to try to ensure that future storms would be less destructive. The county completed construction in the fall of a $21 million debris basin, which helps capture sediment, boulders and trees caught in cresting creeks during storms. The Project for Resilient Communities, a Montecito nonprofit organization, raised $5 million after the 2018 debris flow and used the funds to install nets high in the mountains that capture and slow debris as it slides toward town. Photos of one of the nets showed it completely full after Monday's storm. Regrowth of trees and shrubs since the Thomas fire also made any runoff from the 2023 storm less ferocious, experts said. The changes helped keep safe those Montecito residents who were ordered to evacuate but did not. Brian Fitzgerald, a Los Angeles transplant, didn't leave nor did he flee during the deadly debris flow in 2018. "I'm not one of those to evacuate," he said, as he rode a Pedal electric bike around town Tuesday morning with a friend. "But at like 3:30 in the morning, I could hear the boulders smashing against each other getting dragged down the road." Kim Cantin knows intimately the devastating effects the rain can have on property and life. After her husband and son decided to remain home in an area that wasn't under a mandatory evacuation order in 2018, they were killed in the debris flow. She was dragged about 600 feet, coming to rest on a pile of detritus wrapped in electrical wires in the middle of an intersection. Her daughter was buried alive for six hours but survived. Her son's remains were not found for more than three years. "I moved about 10 minutes away because my daughter, she was very certain due to her trauma that she did not want to live in Montecito in the near future," said Cantin, who now lives in Santa Barbara. With a massive storm coming back five years to the day that her family was torn apart, Cantin couldn't help but recognize the "cruel joke" that the environment was playing on Montecito and its residents. "Was I nervous? Sure. It brought back how ferocious Mother Nature can be when things collide. It was very real in the mudslide. I was in it. It washed away my home and killed half my family," she said. Still, Cantin travels some of the same routes as before, to the grocery store and dry cleaners, and Montecito will always be her home. "I think this area has to be careful from burn scars and heavy rain, and the combination of the two, and just take precautions. But it doesn't make it any less paradise. I think it's just an evolution," Cantin said. And with her daughter going to college, Cantin has not ruled out a return to the hillside town. "One day, I'll maybe be back in Montecito," she said. "Right now, it's working for me here. I'm still just 10 minutes away." Photos: Devastating scenes from the California storms DES MOINES A proposal to devote $341 million in taxpayer funding annually to Iowa families who want their children to attend private school drew a big crowd Thursday at the Iowa Capitol. The first legislative hearing on Gov. Kim Reynolds proposal drew dozens upon dozens of Iowans. Seating in the hearing room was filled 50 minutes before the meeting started, and by the time it was underway, the room was packed and the line of speakers spilled into the hallways of the Capitol basement. The 90-minute hearing was filled by individuals who, at the request of the legislators running the meeting, alternated between those for and against the proposal. One speaker near the end of the meeting said she was roughly the halfway point of the line of speakers opposed to the bill. The comments largely were consistent with what so many others have said during this debate. Supporters say the funding is needed to give more families an opportunity with state assistance to send their children to private rather than public schools. We know there are many parents who would choose (a private school) if given the option, said Greg Baker, with the Church Ambassador Network, which was created by the Christian conservative organization The Family Leader. Opponents say the state should be focused on supporting public education, and that those schools will suffer under the proposal. We need to remember in the end that this is about all of our children, said Sue Murphy, of Ankeny, an opponent who said she has six grandchildren who attend a mixture of public and private schools. Under the proposal, roughly $7,600 in state funding the amount the state spends per pupil on K-12 education would be set aside for any student who attends a private school in Iowa. The money could be used for tuition, books and other classroom materials, fees and other expenses. Public schools would lose the per-pupil funding for any students who choose to attend a private school. However, the legislation also provides to each school district roughly $1,200 for every student who lives in the district but attends a private school. That funding is devoted whether the private school student is a recent transfer or has always attended private school. The average annual cost of parochial school tuition in Iowa ranges roughly between $2,800 and $6,000 for elementary schools and $6,000 to $9,000 for high school, according to multiple parochial school organizations. There were 33,692 students enrolled in 183 private schools Iowa for the 2022-2023 school year, according to state education department data. The program would be phased in over three years, giving first preference to low-income families. By the third year, all Iowa private school students would be eligible for the funding, with no income restrictions. The governors office estimates the state will spend $107 million in the programs first year. By full implementation in the fourth year, the state will spend $341 million annually. Reynolds latest proposal is an expansion of her previous proposals that did not have sufficient support in the Iowa Legislature each of the past two years, despite strong Republican majorities in both the House and Senate. But in the House, where the proposals stalled each of the past two years, this week Republican Speaker Pat Grassley said he feels confident well have the support to pass Reynolds new proposal. Public K-12 education funding comprises the largest portion of Iowas general fund budget annually: 43 percent in the 2021 state budget year, and 42 percent of Reynolds current proposal for the next state budget year that starts July 1, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal and legal analysis agency. Reynolds budget proposes a total of $3.4 billion in general school aid to K-12 public schools. There is no diversion of money from public schools to private schools. That is not true, no matter how many times its said. Its not true. This is not a zero sum game, said Sen. Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa who this year is the new chair of the Senate Education Committee, underscoring the $1,200 per private school pupil funding to public districts. We in the Legislature have always supported public schools, and will continue to do so. But Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames and a former Iowa State University professor, said that weve got to get our priorities right. The public sector is responsible for the public schools, and were not doing our duty. Majority Republicans advanced the proposal to the next step in the legislative process, making it eligible for consideration by the full Senate Education Committee. A public hearing on the proposal will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Iowa Capitol. It will be a cold day in Waterloo, with temperatures in the 30s. The forecast calls for it to be a bitter 38 degrees. We'll see a low temperature of 31 degrees today. Expect periods of sun and clouds. Waterloo could see periods of brisk winds today, with forecast models showing 16 mph wind conditions coming up from the South. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit wcfcourier.com for more weather updates. Biden and Kishida said that any possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against all of humanity that cannot be justified. This is such a monstrous shame that I will not even comment on the paranoia about the nuclear plans of our state. Think about it. The head of the Japanese government, in a humiliating, loyal ecstasy, is talking nonsense about Russia, having betrayed the memory of hundreds of thousands of Japanese who were burned in the nuclear fire of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And Kishida absolutely does not care that the only country that fully used nuclear weapons was the United States. And its only victim is his own Motherland. He would have to remind the President of the United States about this and demand repentance, which was never brought for this act of war by the American leadership. But no, Kishida is just an attendant for the Americans. And servants cannot have courage. It remains only to pity the Japanese. After all, such a shame can be washed away only by committing a seppuku right at a meeting of their Cabinet upon their return. Although the concept of the honor of this generation of Japanese vassals is not typical. Medvedev Yes Medvedev the west is plain bonkers WtR A winter storm warning is up for the mountain areas from 4am on Saturday until 10am on Tuesday. Snow returns to the Sierra through Tuesday morning with chain controls and delays expected. Gusty winds and rain showers for our valleys on Saturday with light snow by early Sunday morning. Another round of snow showers by the Monday morning commute with slick roads expected and chain controls in the mountains. 2 to 4 feet of snow could fall this weekend above 6,000' and 1 to 6" of snow for our valleys by Monday morning. Avoid travel in the mountains on Saturday if possible and be ready for delays and possible road closures. Pack a winter kit for your car with blankets, extra food and water in case you get stuck. Check www.nvroads.com for the latest chain controls. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The Aaron Diehl Trio partners with vibraphonist Jason Marsalis for a fresh take on the music of one of the most historically significant ensembles of the 20th century The Modern Jazz Quartet. The group will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Santa Fes Lensic Performing Arts Center. Founded by Albuquerques John Aaron Lewis, the Modern Jazz Quartet holds the distinguished title of second-longest performing jazz ensemble ever, their career spanning the 1950s-1990s. Diehls project, a reinterpretation of the music of the ensemble, celebrates the MJQs groundbreaking performances that infused jazz with concert hall impeccability. A classically trained pianist (like Lewis), Diehl is lauded for his ability to fuse together traditional and fresh forms of music-making. Blurring the boundaries between genres and styles, according to the New York Times, Diehl brings melodic precision, harmonic erudition and elegant restraint to this unique artistic project. He is joined by Aaron Kimmel on drums, David Wong on bass, and Marsalis on vibraphone. Marsalis, the youngest of the illustrious New Orleans clan of musicians who were collectively named NEA Jazz Masters in 2011, is the son of Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and the late Ellis Marsalis, Jr. and the brother of saxophonist Branford, trumpeter Wynton and trombonist/producer Delfeayo. Before Russias invasion of Ukraine last February, many Americans probably didnt know much about Ukraine. A slender book, recently published in English, zeros in on the politics and pogroms in a long-ago two-year period in the historic Podolia region of southwest Ukraine. Pogroms were organized acts of violence, sometimes massacres, especially against Jews, in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The book is titled A Ukrainian Chapter: A Jewish Aid Workers Memoir of Sorrow (Podolia, 1918-20). It was originally published more than 100 years ago in Yiddish. A blend of Hebrew, German and Slavic tongues, Yiddish was the lingua franca of many Eastern European Jews. The author was Eli Gumener, an aid worker for Jewish victims of pogroms in the region. Gumener was the uncle of historian Michael Eli Nutkiewicz, an Albuquerque resident. Nutkiewicz, 73, translated Gumeners book into English, but he never met his uncle. Gumener died in the Holocaust. Nutkiewicz said Jews in Podolia suffered in some of the bloodiest pogroms at the hands of different armed forces vying for control of all or part of Ukraine in the Russian Civil War, right after World War I. The forces included Russias Red Army (Bolshevik) and White Army (anti-Bolshevik), soldiers of the short-lived, independent Ukraine National Republic, Ukraine peasant militias and Polands army. The Red Army eventually dominated, incorporating what is now Ukraine into the Soviet Union. The Jews were the largest minority in Ukraine, Nutkiewicz said in an interview. Anti-Bolshevik forces were against Jews who associated with or sympathized with Bolsheviks, he said. Another reason they targeted Jews was because historically Jews precariously served as the economic middle men between landlords and peasants in Ukraine. Often during periods of crisis, Jews were exploited. Yet another reason for anti-Jewish sentiment was that some Jews living in urban centers such as Kyiv looked to Russia as a higher culture rather than identifying with Ukraines indigenous culture, Nutkiewicz said. Growing up in Los Angeles, he heard Yiddish at home and also studied the language at a Yiddish school he attended after a full day of public school classes. But I never used Yiddish as a functioning language until I discovered this book, he said. My parents had a large Yiddish language library. I looked through the books after they died and came across this small volume. I saw that it was written by (my mothers) brother. My mom had never mentioned that he had written a book, Nutkiewicz said. I started to translate the book as a kind of family memento, a family legacy for my five kids. As I began to translate it, I realized it had important historical value. Gumener details Jewish communities as victims of these attacks and describes his challenges as a pioneering relief worker and as a Jewish socialist. Nutkiewicz found parallels with his uncles work. Nutkiewicz had headed the Program for Torture Victims (in Los Angeles) that helped refugees seek political asylum in the United States, and had served as director of the refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities New Mexico. Nutkiewicz sees the 2022 Russian invasion as part of the third of three phases of Russian aggression against neighboring Ukraine. The first phase, he said, was the incorporation of Ukraine into what had been the Czarist empire. The second phase was the 1917-1920 period of the Russian Civil War. The third started with the fall of the Soviet Union and extends to the current war. Russians want a replay back to Czarist times. A replay in that (President Vladimir) Putin wants Ukraine so he can expand Russias borders, he noted. Nutkiewicz wrote a lengthy introduction for the book. It gives readers extensive background to comprehend the shifting geopolitical currents and allegiances of the players in the region. On the front cover of A Ukrainian Chapter is a pen-and-ink drawing by Mojzesz Lejbowski. The translator said its an image of a Jewish man perhaps a prophet lamenting over the body of a dying woman and her child. Gumeners book is the seventh and latest volume in Slavica Publishers New Approaches to Russian and East European Jewish Culture Series. Growing up in California, Irish nachos french fries covered with cheddar, ranch dressing, bacon and chives were often on the menu for Taren Archibeque, the owner of freeze-dried candy company Sticky Fingers Candy. When Archibeque moved to Albuquerque, the candymaker noticed that loaded fries were a novelty rather than the norm. You dont really find a lot of it here, Archibeque said. I kind of decided to start making some fries, and pulling inspiration from traveling and places Ive lived. Along with Snacc Attack Jerky owner Francisco de Jesus, Archibeque is changing that in Downtown Albuquerque by opening Bang Bang Fries at 230 6th SW. From 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the space is home to Cecilias Cafe but, at night, the restaurant reopens from 4:20 p.m. to 11 p.m. as Bang Bang Fries. The restaurant had its grand opening Jan. 11. It works out for everyone, you know, Archibeque said. Try to build the community, and try to grow each other and help each other out. Archibeque has been using the kitchen at Cecilias Cafe as a commissary kitchen for Sticky Fingers Candy. Archibeque, whose family is originally from New Mexico, moved to the Land of Enchantment to pursue a career in the culinary industry. But they ended up pursuing massage therapy instead a job that took Archibeque across the world, from neighboring Colorado to Thailand. But Archibeque eventually returned to Albuquerque and culinary, starting up her candy business. She teamed up with Jesus after they met at a concert. For the past three months, they have been setting up and selling their fries at galleries around town. Weve sold out every time, Archibeque said. Their travels have influenced the Bang Bang Fries menu, which features such items as Thai yellow curry fries, and a host of international snacks and drinks, such as Coke from Japan. I think I bring something new, you know, a new food adventure that people havent tried, Archibeque said. In addition to such menu staples as Japanese Curry, Hawaii and BBQ fries, customers can create their own fry, choosing from a long list of proteins, sauces and toppings. They can build their own thing and their own favorites, too, Archibeque said. For years, Daves Valley Grill has brought comfort food classics such as meatloaf and turkey dinner to the North Valley. And now, Albuquerque residents will have another place to go for an (almost) home-cooked meal. Thats Daves High Desert, which opens later this week at 5200 Eubank NE. Its the same menu and the same Dave Dave Hanisch, that is. Hanisch opened Daves Valley Grill in 2018. Daves High Desert will be the seventh restaurant hes opened, and the third in New Mexico. About 25 years ago, he opened a K-Bobs Steakhouse location. But Daves Valley Grill was the first concept that he designed from floor to ceiling. I designed the space, oversaw the buildout, I did all the menu, I do all the recipes, everything, myself, Hanisch said. Its really rewarding when it all comes together and works. Hanisch has had a career in the food industry spanning more than 50 years. His first restaurant job was at Perkins Pancake House (now Perkins Restaurant and Bakery) when he was 17. Hes been involved in the restaurant business ever since. For many years, Hanisch worked as a food broker, helping other business owners develop menus and restaurant concepts. I learned a lot on how to put a really good concept together from beginning to end, Hanisch said. I learned a lot more about food ingredients and different types of foods, so I can put them together in a tasty dish. Hes lived in New Mexico since 1988. Over the years, he noticed that there was a lack of American comfort food restaurants in Albuquerque. Its basically food that I grew up with a lot of the older folks in my generation grew up with, Hanisch said. Daves Valley Grill recently expanded with the addition of a lounge next door. Once that project was finished, Hanisch said he felt ready to add a second location. It was the cherry on top when the owner of the strip mall where Daves High Desert will open gave him a call after eating there with her daughter. When this became available just, I couldnt say no, Hanisch said. The grand opening is Jan. 18. Hanisch said that, for the past few weeks, hes been putting the finishing touches on the new location. Its a little nerve-wracking, but its really a lot of fun, Hanisch said. SANTA FE Democratic lawmakers pledged Friday to pursue legislation that would prohibit counties from interfering with abortion rights and allow individuals to sue if their reproductive health care information is shared. The legislative package is aimed at strengthening abortion rights in a state where abortion is already legal but some city and counties are targeting it with local anti-abortion ordinances. The bill sponsors said they also want to safeguard the privacy of individuals who might travel to New Mexico because of abortion restrictions imposed in their home states. The legislative package is expected to be broken into two bills one starting in the House, the other in the Senate. We want to make sure people arent scared to get the health care they need, Democratic Rep. Linda Serrato of Santa Fe said Friday in an online news conference. She plans to sponsor a bill prohibiting cities, counties or other public bodies from restricting reproductive health care rights. It would also prohibit discrimination against an individuals right to health care related to gender. The proposal follows the passage of anti-abortion ordinances in Roosevelt County and other communities near the Texas line. Roosevelt County commissioners, for example, voted for an ordinance that aims to ban use of the mail or other interstate carriers to deliver abortion drugs. It would be enforced by allowing individuals to file civil lawsuits seeking damages of at least $100,000. Commissioner Rodney Savage, a Republican from Portales, said the Legislature should allow communities to develop their own abortion regulations. Theres overwhelming support for pro-life in our part of the country, he told the Journal. Ellie Rushforth, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said the local anti-abortion ordinances are already unconstitutional. But the state legislation would address misinformation, she said, and make it clear that access to abortion or other health care cant be curtailed by local politicians. A second proposal to be sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque would put into law an executive order issued last year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, prohibiting state agencies from sharing the reproductive health care information of patients or providers. Its intended, supporters said, to protect people from out-of-state investigations or harassment. The measure would also allow patients or providers to file lawsuits against public agencies, private companies or nonprofit groups that share personal medical data related to reproductive health care. While (federal law) provides some protections for this information, we know that it is not enough, Rushforth said, particularly given the insidious attacks on reproductive freedom. The two bills are expected to be introduced in the 60-day legislative session that opens Tuesday. The package comes after abortion rights played a central role in the 2022 campaigns for the Roundhouse. Democrats who maintained a healthy majority in the state House and kept control of the executive branch vowed to safeguard reproductive health care rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the debate to state governments. Abortion has remained legal in New Mexico because Lujan Grisham signed legislation two years ago repealing a 1969 statute that made it a crime in most cases. The trial of a man accused of shooting a New Mexico State Police officer through a car window hitting her hands and bulletproof vest and spraying glass into her eyes during a traffic stop in September 2020 has ended in a hung jury. Robert Nelson, 30, had faced federal charges of attempted murder of an officer and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. His trial before Judge Kea Riggs in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico started Monday. Jury notes in the case indicate on Thursday afternoon the foreperson told the judge they were still in the process and asked to go home and come back the next day. The court would prefer that you continue to deliberate today the judge wrote back. We will be happy to provide dinner for you. We cant come to a unanimous vote, the jury replied. One juror needs more time to decide and some have medical conditions and need rest. Can we come back tomorrow? They left for the night and reconvened Friday morning but were still unable to come to a unanimous vote. One of us is refusing to listen to any deliberations, the foreperson wrote. It is clearly stated that nothing will change his/her opinion. What is the next step? A mistrial was declared. Officer Sharron Duran who has since been promoted to sergeant had pulled Nelson over on Interstate 40, west of Albuquerque, because he was following too closely behind an RV being pulled by his parents truck and his registration didnt have an expiration date. The family was traveling from Arizona to Kansas for a funeral. When Duran approached the passenger side of Nelsons truck he pointed a handgun at her and fired through the window, according to a statement of probable cause filed in federal court. Duran fell to the ground and returned fire as the truck sped away. Then she went back to her vehicle, advised dispatch she had been shot, and pursued the truck. According to the complaint, Nelson eventually pulled over and Duran and two Laguna police officers took him into custody. In opening statements, Nelsons attorney Amanda Lavin said he is a very fearful person and has a mental health diagnosis. She said he has anxiety and paranoia and he is specifically afraid of police. No matter what your emotional reaction is, he didnt act with intent to kill, he was acting out of fear, Lavin said. The New Mexico State Police chief and Secretary for the Department of Public Safety reacted to the news of the mistrial with disappointment. Secretary Jason Bowie said Duran took gunfire immediately upon approach to Nelsons vehicle and didnt even have time to introduce herself before she was shot through the passenger window. This attack was unjustifiable, and Sgt. Duran demonstrated remarkable courage, did an extraordinary job under duress performing her duties despite great personal sacrifice. She never gave up, Bowie said in a statement. As a community, we certainly owe Sgt. Duran and her family more than this outcome. We stand in full support of Sgt. Duran and we look forward to an expeditiously retrial. Chief Tim Johnson also said he is looking forward to the case being retried and the suspect facing a jury of his peers to answer for his actions. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office said he could not comment at this time about whether prosecutors intend to re-try the case. Nelsons attorneys said they could not immediately comment on the case. Journal investigative reporter Colleen Heild contributed to this report. In his final days of office, former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas hired a Louisiana law firm to handle litigation arising from the largest wildfire in the states history. Balderas also submitted a form to the Federal Emergency Management Agency that set in motion the states claims process. His successor undid both those measures this week. Attorney General Raul Torrez, who took office Jan. 1, sent a letter Thursday terminating the states contract with Kanner & Whiteley, a New Orleans law firm hired by Balderas on Dec. 21 to handle the states legal actions against the U.S. government arising from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. That wildfire, which started as two Forest Service burns that merged in April, burned for four months and scorched about 534 square miles in northern New Mexico. Kanner & Whiteley subsequently obtained approval from Balderas office to retain Singleton Schreiber, a California law firm, as a subcontractor. Kanner & Whiteley finalized a co-counsel agreement with Singleton Schreiber on Dec. 27. Torrez also withdrew a notice of loss Balderas submitted to FEMA last month to initiate the states federal claims process. Balderas responded that his office saw an immediate need to hire outside legal firms with the resources and expertise to take on complex litigation. Once it became apparent that FEMA was not going to make immediate payments, it became clear the State needs to be more aggressive to obtain the compensation the State desperately needs, Balderas said Friday in a written response. Balderas said his office contracted with the law firms because they have the necessary number of lawyers, scientists, and economists to hold the federal government accountable and are fully prepared to pursue all appropriate claims for full compensation necessary for long term environmental restoration. The attorney generals contract with Kanner & Whiteley noted that state approval was not required because there are no costs associated with this agreement. Instead, the firm was permitted to petition the court for reasonable attorneys fees and costs, the contract said. The Journal obtained the contracts through the states Inspection of Public Records Act. We should bear no further expense to New Mexico taxpayers, as residents continue to suffer a damaged environment and long-term risk to their communities, acequias, and health and safety, Balderas said. Obviously, if my successor disagrees and decides to discharge these firms, he has the right to do so. Torrezs letter did not explain why he terminated the contract with Kanner & Whiteley. His office did not immediately respond Friday to a question about why he terminated the contract. However, Torrez said in the letter that his office anticipates issuing a formal procurement for the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon matter and encouraged Kanner & Whiteley to participate. Kanner & Whiteley represented Louisiana in the states litigation against British Petroleum for the states losses from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to the firms website. During his campaign for Attorney General last year, Torrez called for using in-house lawyers to handle litigation such as the water lawsuit between New Mexico and Texas. We must end the practice of outsourcing complex legal work to outside counsel who lack the requisite experience and do not prioritize the interests of the people of New Mexico, Torrez said in a response to a Journal questionnaire. Torrez also sent a letter to FEMA on Thursday withdrawing a notice of loss submitted by Balderas on Dec. 28, just three days before Balderas left office. A notice of loss indicates the states intention to seek a claim through the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire Assistance Act, approved by Congress in September. The act allocated about $3.95 billion in relief to those affected by the fire. In his letter to FEMA officials, Torrez said he considered it premature for New Mexico to submit a notice of loss. The notice of loss, once acknowledged, will trigger a 150-day period of time to submit New Mexicos Proof of Loss, Torrez wrote. FEMA issued interim rules in November that set out the claims process under the act. Under the interim rules, claimants who file a notice of loss have 150 days to submit a proof of loss that contains detailed support for each claim. Before New Mexico can submit its proof, however, there must be an extensive and time-consuming gathering of information from numerous state agencies and experts about the extent of the States damages, Torrez wrote. We also need time to examine the scope of relief permitted by the Act. As an example, Torrez said the state activated the New Mexico National Guard to assist emergency evacuations and disaster relief and will need time to calculate the cost of the call-up. This is a complex process that will undoubtedly take far more than 150 days, and more importantly, it is a process that must be thorough and comprehensive, Torrez wrote. It certainly should not be rushed. He noted that New Mexico has until November 2024 to submit the notice of loss. Antonia Roybal-Mack, an Albuquerque attorney who represents hundreds of New Mexicans damaged by the fire, said she has yet to submit a notice of loss for her clients. The state is not finished being damaged yet, Roybal-Mack said this week. Ongoing flood damage is likely in mountainous burn-scarred areas, she said. So theres no way within 150 days for the state to know what all of its damages will be, she said. FEMA has yet to publish final rules that set out the claims process under the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act approved by Congress in September. The bottom line is, its a little premature to be filing any notice of losses, in my opinion, because the final regulations are not out yet, Roybal-Mack said. A FEMA spokeswoman said this week that all claimants have the option to file litigation outside the claims process up until they accept compensation from FEMA. FEMA is accepting comments about the interim rules issued in November and will accept public comments through Jan. 13, said Angela Byrd, FEMAs joint information manager. Final rules will be issued as soon as feasible, she said. Copyright 2023 Albuquerque Journal A $2 billion, 400-mile clean-energy transmission line planned for northern New Mexico became an official public-private project this week, significantly boosting its development prospects. The states Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA) a quasi-government agency established by the state Legislature in 2007 announced a new joint development agreement on Thursday to work with private company Invenergy Transmission to build the project, dubbed the New Mexico North Path line. Its targeted to begin operations in 2028, potentially carrying up to four gigawatts of renewable energy from Clayton to Farmington for consumption in New Mexico and western states, said RETA Executive Director Fernando Martinez. Its a massive project that will free up landlocked, world-class renewable resources in Union County, Martinez told the Journal. It will bring huge economic and environmental benefits to the state. Invenergy Transmission, a subsidiary of global renewable energy developer Invenergy, expects to employ about 3,500 workers during construction, which is slated to begin in 2025, and then 100 permanent jobs once the project comes online. At four GW of transmission capacity, the line could supply enough renewable electricity for 2 million homes. The company expects to spend $2 billion directly on the project, but it could free up enough new clean energy development in Union County to generate another $5 billion in investments in wind and solar facilities that transmit electricity through North Path, said Will Consuegra, Invenergy director of transmission development. Invenergy is planning its own two GW facility in Union County called the Spinneret Wind Energy Center, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2026 and come online in 2028. Spinneret could transmit its power through North Path, but a lot of other companies are also planning projects that could access the transmission line, Consuegra said. We havent finalized yet which projects the generation will come from, Consuegra told the Journal. We could get power from our own project, but many other companies are planning ambitious solar and wind development as well in northeast New Mexico. For generation projects to move forward, a lot more transmission is needed, making North Path a critical gateway to unlock renewable development in the northeastern region, where some of the states highest wind and solar potential is concentrated. Thats the biggest limitation that New Mexico doesnt have enough renewable energy transmission lines, Consuegra said. Theres an amazing amount of renewable potential in the northeast and no way to move it out of that area. Other major transmission projects underway in New Mexico are focused on exporting renewable power for sale in western states, such as the 550-mile SunZia line that will run from central New Mexico to Arizona. In contrast, North Path is planned to supply both in- and out-of-state markets, potentially helping local utilities access more renewable electricity to meet state mandates for all generation to come from non-carbon sources by 2045. SunZia starts in New Mexico and ends in Arizona, Martinez said. This one starts in New Mexico and ends in New Mexico in the Four Corners area. That positions it to supply electricity both here and in other states. The partnership with RETA can help expedite planning and development, particularly when North Path applies for needed local, state and federal permits to construct and operate the line. RETA is a quasi-state agency that, unlike other government entities, is authorized to forge public-private development partnerships. Its managed by an independent board that includes one statewide elected official and others appointed by the executive and legislative branches. When RETA meets with other local, state and federal agencies, its done on a government-to-government basis, Martinez said. The most-difficult piece of renewable energy transmission projects is getting permission to do it, he said. Private companies have the needed engineering, construction and financial capabilities, but they dont have ability to get through the regulatory process in a timely manner. We can help navigate that process. In fact, under the public-private partnership agreement, RETA is now technically the owner of the North Path initiative, at least until its fully constructed and Invenergy takes over commercial operations, Martinez said. That creates significant tax benefits during planning and construction, such as exemption from gross receipts taxes and from some property and compensating taxes. RETA also has eminent domain authority to acquire private property for public use if necessary, although thats only considered a last resort if right-of-way negotiations with landowners reach an impasse. Thats only in extreme cases if we really reach a sticking point and weve tried everything else possible, Martinez said. Were fundamentally focused on working directly with land owners and communities in existing corridors to put the lines where people want them to be. Since February 2021, when RETA signed an initial memorandum of understanding with Invenergy Transmission, the partners have held dozens of meetings to discuss the project with land owners, local community groups and tribal governments in the nine counties that North Path would traverse. We have an energetic outreach campaign to work with folks all along the transmission route, Consuegra said. Weve created community working groups to provide people with opportunities to think about issues and give us their feedback. Once operating, the line could provide huge economic benefits for local communities, including tens of millions of dollars in annual tax payments to tribal, state and local governments, plus direct right-of-way payments to landowners. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran said Saturday it executed a former high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national, despite international warnings not to carry out the death sentence. The execution further escalated tensions with the West amid the nationwide anti-government protests shaking the Islamic Republic. The hanging of Ali Reza Akbari, a close ally of top security official Ali Shamkhani, suggests an ongoing power struggle within Irans theocracy as it tries to contain the demonstrations over the September death of Mahsa Amini. It also harkened back to the mass purges of the military that immediately followed Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution. Akbaris hanging drew immediate anger from London, which along with the U.S. and others has sanctioned Iran over the protests and its supplying Russia with the bomb-carrying drones now targeting Ukraine. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly summoned Irans charge daffaires in the United Kingdom and temporarily withdrew Britains ambassador from Tehran as Britain also sanctioned the Islamic Republics prosecutor-general. Our response to Iran is not limited to today, he warned. Iran similarly summoned the British ambassador after the execution. Irans Mizan news agency, associated with the countrys judiciary, announced Akbaris hanging without saying when it happened. However, there were rumors he had been executed days earlier. Iran has alleged, without providing evidence, that Akbari served as a source for Britains Secret Intelligence Service, known popularly as MI6. A lengthy statement issued by Irans judiciary claimed Akbari received large sums of money, his British citizenship and other help in London for providing information to the intelligence service. However, Iran long has accused those who travel abroad or have Western ties of spying, often using them as bargaining chips in negotiations. Akbari, who ran a private think tank, is believed to have been arrested in 2019, but details of his case only emerged in recent weeks. Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried behind closed doors, where rights groups say they do not choose their own lawyers and are not allowed to see evidence against them. Iranian state television aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations, footage that resembled other claimed confessions that activists have described as coerced confessions. The BBC Farsi-language service aired an audio message from Akbari on Wednesday, in which he described being tortured. By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, Akbari said in the audio. By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims. Iran has not commented on the torture claims. However, the United Nations human rights chief has warned Iran against the weaponization of the death penalty as a means to put down the protests. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Akbaris execution. We mourn with his loved ones and will continue to hold Iran accountable for its sham trials and politicized executions, Blinken said. Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said he was horrified by Akbaris execution. The Islamic Republics unjust detentions, forced confessions, sham trials and politically motivated executions must end, he wrote online. French President Emmanuel Macron also decried what he called a heinous and barbaric act. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the execution a further inhuman act by the Iranian regime. Iran is one of the worlds top executioners. However, it wasnt immediately clear when the last time a former or current high-ranking defense official had been executed. In 1984, Iran executed its navy chief Adm. Baharam Afzali along with nine other military people on a charge of spying for the Soviet Union. Irans government for months has been trying to allege without offering evidence that foreign countries have fomented the unrest gripping the Islamic Republic since the death of 22-year-old Amini in September after her detention by the morality police. Protesters say they are angry over the collapse of the economy, heavy-handed policing and the entrenched power of the countrys Islamic clergy. For several years, Iran has been locked in a shadow war with the United States and Israel, marked by covert attacks on its disputed nuclear program. The killing of Irans top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel, indicated foreign intelligence services had made major inroads. Iran mentioned that scientist in discussing Akbaris case, though its unclear what current information, if any, he would have had on him. Akbari had previously led the implementation of a 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq following their devastating eight-year war, working closely with U.N. observers. He served as a deputy defense minister under Shamkhani during reformist President Mohammad Khatamis administration, likely further making his credentials suspicious to hard-liners within Irans theocracy. Today, Shamkhani is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, the countrys top security body, which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversees. Akbaris audio message aired by the BBC Persian included him saying he was accused of obtaining top-secret information from Shamkhani in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt. However, it appears Shamkhani remains in his role. The anti-government protests now shaking Iran are one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. At least 522 protesters have been killed and 19,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided official figures on deaths or arrests. Iran has executed four people after convicting them of charges linked to the protests in similarly criticized trials, including attacks on security forces. ___ Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. In the depths of the Great Depression, Harry Markow started a business selling rebuilt vacuum cleaners door to door in St. Louis. During World War II, he expanded into selling washer and dryer parts, too. Today the company he founded, Marcone Supply, touts itself as the largest authorized appliance parts distributor in the world. In 2006, an entrepreneur named Kevin Price approached Marcone and pitched using e-commerce in the appliance parts industry, according to a recent opinion by the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Marcone listened but eventually said no thanks. Price instead founded a competitor, PartsScription. In late 2018, Marcones CEO invited Price to a meeting and proposed a 50-50 partnership. The 7th Circuit reports: Price accepted, and the two men shook hands on the deal. Price prepared a term sheet, which he sent to Marcones management, that began: PartScription and Marcone have agreed to form a partnership/joint venture to serve the independent hardware industry. The term sheet referred to the proposed arrangement as PSM and listed the things that it would do, in general terms. For example, it recited that PSM would serve all current and future hardware store affiliates and would jointly set strategy, operational standards and planning for all activities. In a subsequent conference call, Price discussed the term sheets language with Marcones management. PartScription later claimed the Marcone representatives approved the terms outlined in the term sheet, requesting only one discrete change regarding a joint bank account provision. But after this promising start, the project sputtered. Price continued sending emails to Marcones management but they began making excuses, then ghosted him. Finally, PartScription filed suit for breach of contract. Ive taken this statement of facts from the 7th Circuits opinion, which accepted the allegations of PartScriptions complaint as true for purposes of argument. The point of the opinion was to evaluate the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not to determine its factual accuracy. We havent heard Marcones side of the story. Clearly, the parties reached some kind of an agreement when their CEOs shook hands. But was it a contract? Every contract is an agreement but the reverse isnt necessarily true, and this case illustrates why not. In the first place, it could hardly be said that the parties had settled on the terms of their partnership/joint venture when they hadnt even decided which of those legal forms it would take. PartScription conceded that, as it had to. But because the case was filed in Illinois, and governed by Illinois law, it was able to point to an old Illinois case, a case so old that Abraham Lincoln probably read it when he was a practicing attorney. In that 1848 case, the state Supreme Court ruled that while a mere agreement to form a partnership does not of itself create a partnership, it is nonetheless enforceable in court. Viewed abstractly, it makes sense to talk about enforcing a binding contract to enter into a future binding contract. One can enter into an agreement to do anything, so far as contract law is concerned (though if the object of the contract is illegal, it gets labeled a conspiracy). So why not a contract to contract? But in practice, how could it work? The unifying idea of all contract law is that courts enforce the agreement of the parties. But to be a genuine agreement, the participation of the parties must be voluntary. If a person signs a contract involuntarily, under duress, there is no mutual agreement to enforce. Thats why its always a defense to a breach of contract claim to say, I signed, but only because I had no choice. But what if the source of the duress isnt a gangsters threat but a courts order? PartScription was asking the 7th Circuit to force Marcone to negotiate and sign a contract that Marcone didnt want to enter into. A court order that gave Marcone no choice but to sign would produce a contract that is paradoxically unenforceable in court. The 7th Circuit chose not to wander into that conceptual hall of mirrors. Instead it held, much more simply, that the term sheet, with its list of things to do in the indefinite future, didnt amount to the exchange of clear, binding obligations that is the essence of a contract. But, of course, if the parties had agreed to a contract containing such clear and binding obligations, the lawsuit would have sought to enforce it directly. Thus, while the opinion cites and pretends to follow that old 1848 case, the practical effect of its holding is that an agreement to enter into a future agreement isnt enforceable, after all. Joel Jacobsen is an author who in 2015 retired from a 29-year legal career. If there are topics you would like to see covered in future columns, please write him at legal.column.tips@gmail.com. On January 8, President Joe Biden visited El Paso, Texas, on his way to a North American summit in Mexico City. A few days previous to the visit, Biden announced new measures to dissuade the flows of migrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum. This number of migrants has skyrocketed from hundreds to thousands per day. At the end of the federal governments fiscal year on September 30, more than 2.3 million apprehensions were counted at the border, an all-time record. Bidens new measures will turn away people from the countries currently generating the most immigrants to the border, namely from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. The U.S. will deny asylum to immigrants not first seeking asylum at the U.S. Embassy or consulate offices in their home country. It will begin admitting 30,000 people from the four countries per month for up to two years, which could result in up to 360,000 lawful entries. The visit to El Paso provided Biden the opportunity to see for himself the strain that processing these throngs of people is having on border cities. He was briefed on shelters that are 100 percent full of immigrants, and the scramble for food, clothing, and medical services to care for them. Biden also had the opportunity to speak to Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agents who have the nearly impossible task of processing immigrants and asylum seekers at the border. While the latest measures could reduce the flow of thousands of immigrants showing up at the southern border, they are not the solution to our countrys immigration issue they are akin to applying a Band-aid to a gaping wound. The real solution is enacting effective immigration laws, which Congress refuses to do. This must be a bipartisan issue in which lawmakers truly want to pass laws that offer a legal pathway into the U.S. for immigrants, and will provide these people with an opportunity for the American Dream, which most of our ancestors pursued. People who have left their countries, traveled through dangerous regions, and are willing to sleep on the ground in Mexican border cities such as Juarez while they wait for an immigration hearing appointment, would seem to me to be ambitious people who can help solve labor shortages in the U.S. and take the strain off of an aging U.S. population. However, lawmakers are unwilling to work together on immigration. This issue and the border itself have become political theater by politicians who are most interested in addressing their own political needs, rather than putting the countrys interests first. There needs to be more manpower and technology provided to Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agents on the border to better help them do their jobs. More immigration judges and court staff need to be put in place to quickly rule on immigration cases. Smart moves, like the recent reopening of visa and consular services in Cuba to process visa and asylum requests, need to be undertaken. Yes, politicians need to come to the border to see the immigration situation for themselves. They also need to see how the border is a symbiotic region where the best of Mexico and the U.S. come together to produce our consumer electronics, vehicles, and medical equipment. Politicians should not show up for a photo-op by blaming another politician for creating the border crisis within a short two years. This is what Texas Governor Greg Abbott did when he met Biden at the El Paso airport with a nasty letter filled with vitriol. Immigration has been an issue long before either politician was elected to office. If anything, a meeting should have taken place between these two officials to meaningfully discuss cooperating on border issues, including immigration. The unhoused immigrants at the border are not pawns on a chessboard, as they are being treated. They are flesh-and-blood human beings. But as Charles Dudley Warner famously said, Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. So, I guess we will continue with the absurdity of having immigrant women and children sleep on sidewalks in the winter while the immigration issue is used as leverage for political campaigns and fundraising. I guess that we will continue with the absurdity of factory and service jobs going unfilled in the U.S. because of labor shortages. Sadly, we will continue to put the U.S.s economic health and competitiveness at stake by not accepting the best talent in the world that wants to come and work in the U.S. and be Americans. We, as citizens, need to demand that our representatives in Washington, D.C. cut out the politics and directly address this issue. This is the only way change is going to happen. Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com. Instagram Celebrity The Australian femcee will release exclusive and uncensored photos, videos, music, illustrations and poetry as part of her 'Hotter Than Hell' yearlong multimedia project on her account. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Iggy Azalea is the latest celebrity to join OnlyFans. When announcing that she'll become a content creator on the adult subscription site, the "Fancy" hitmaker promised fans "unapologetically hot" content. The femcee broke the news on Instagram on Friday, January 13. Sharing a video that saw her striking sultry poses in bed, the musician exclaimed, "SURPRISE! I'm dropping a mixed media project called 'Hotter Than Hell'." "There's photographs, visual art collabs, videos, merch & all kinds of aesthetically pleasing, hot as hell things happening this year," the mom of one continued. "You can get first look content + updates on my new OnlyFans account." Offering more details about the "Hotter Than Hell X OnlyFans" collaboration, Iggy said in a statement, "Admittedly, I never knew OnlyFans was a place where I could be creative, so I didn't expect to be collaborating with them on my biggest project to date!" She added, "Once I looked beyond the surface-level chatter about what it means to have an OnlyFans, I realized it was the perfect platform to launch a multimedia concept on." "I feel excited about not having to worry about the overwhelming and creatively limiting censorship artists have to navigate when sharing work on other digital platforms," the Australian native elaborated. "The project is bold and fun - so is this collaboration - I think it's going to surprise a lot of people." The project will encompass Iggy's upcoming fourth studio album, which is set to be released this summer. Subscriptions to her OnlyFans account will cost $25 per month and it will wrap in December this year. You can share this post! Cover Images/INSTARimages.com Celebrity The comedian is taken into police custody for public intoxication and failing to register as a sex offender in the wake of his conviction for grabbing an Uber driver's crotch in 2018. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Andy Dick has gotten more legal trouble. The disgraced comedian was arrested for public intoxication and failure to register as a sex offender in Lake Elsinore, California on Friday, January 13. The 57-year-old funnyman, who has been open about his alcohol and drug abuse over the decades, was taken into police custody after sheriff's deputies said they got a call about an intoxicated person at around 12:30 A.M., according to the Riverside County Sheriff's office. Law enforcement explained when deputies arrived, the star was showing signs of being drunk. He was arrested without incident. Also on Friday, cops did a routine records check and found that Andy wasn't up to date on his sex offender registration, which stemmed from his 2018 arrest for grabbing an Uber driver's crotch. Officials are still investigating after he was booked into a detention center. In his mugshot, Andy appeared disheveled. The former "NewsRadio" star looked pale and his white hair was messy. He also wore slanted-looking glasses with black frame. Andy Dick's mugshot after being arrested for public intoxication and failure to register as a sex offender. Andy's most recent run-in with the law came after he was busted last October for allegedly burglarizing a home in Santa Barbara and stealing power tools. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Previously in May, Andy was arrested for felony sexual battery. In that case, a man named "JJ" accused Andy of molesting him in his sleep. The charges were dropped, however, when the alleged victim stopped cooperating. In 2021, Andy spent time in jail after an altercation with his ex-boyfriend who he claimed hit him over the head with a liquor bottle during an argument. A few months earlier, he was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon, with his ex-fiancee Elisa Jordana stating Andy went after her lover with a metal chair. The star was also sentenced to 14 days in jail back in 2019 on sexual battery charges when he grabbed a woman's butt when she walked past him on the sidewalk, though he only spent one night in jail due to overcrowding. In 2012, Andy was arrested for allegedly grabbing a 17-year-old girl's top and pulling it down to expose her breasts. He was later found with marijuana and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug and battery charges, for which he was sentenced to three years of probation. In 2010, Andy was arrested for allegedly grabbing a man's genitals while intoxicated at a West Virginia bar. In 2007, Andy groped Ivanka Trump during an interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and was pulled off stage by Jimmy Kimmel's security staff. You can share this post! Cover Images/Ik Aldama Celebrity The 'Fastastic Beasts' star pleads guilty to misdemeanor unlawful trespass when appearing in court for the hearing in Vermont, resulting in two other charges to be dropped. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Ezra Miller is grateful for the outcome of their latest hearing in their Vermont burglary case. The actor has secured a reduced sentence after pleading guilty to misdemeanor unlawful trespass in an agreement with prosecutors to drop two other charges. The 30-year-old appeared in person with their lawyer at the hearing at Vermont's Bennington County Superior Court on Friday morning, January 13. Initially pleading not guilty in October 2022, the actor had a change of heart and opted to plead guilty to misdemeanor unlawful trespass, admitting they were on the victim's property on May 1, 2022, in Stamford, Vermont, without the owner's permission. Ezra was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to cough up $500. In return, the felony burglary and petit larceny charges are dismissed without prejudice, meaning the case is closed if the yearlong probation is not violated. Ezra told the court they believe they can comply with the stipulations of the one-year probation, which include no contact with the victims, continued mental health treatment, random alcohol screenings, not being convicted of a criminal offense and more. "The Flash" star additionally told the judge they were not under threat to take the plea deal and that they were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs that would impact their decision-making. The prosecutor said the agreement "has the benefit of ensuring the compliance with the conditions, which protect the victim, but it also allows the defendant to continue their employment as well as continue the mental health treatment. So, given all that, the victim is in support of the agreement." The judge said she found that the agreement is "very sound" and an "equal balance between rehabilitation and punishment." Following the sentencing, Ezra's lawyer Lisa B. Shelkrot said in a statement, "Ezra Miller pled guilty this morning to a misdemeanor unlawful trespass in Vermont Superior Court and accepted the conditions imposed by the court." She added, "Ezra would like to thank the court and the community for their trust and patience throughout this process, and would once again like to acknowledge the love and support they have received from their family and friends, who continue to be a vital presence in their ongoing mental health." Ezra had several run-ins with the law in the past year alone, including allegations of grooming a minor, disorderly conduct, harassment and assault in 2022. In August, they acknowledged their mental health problems and sought help for "complex mental health issues." The "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" star said in a statement at the time, "I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life." You can share this post! Cover Images/JOHN NACION Music The pop star releases her new single on her ex-husband's birthday as she seemingly takes an ultimate dig at the actor by singing the lyrics, 'I can love me better than you can.' Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - A new detail about Miley Cyrus' alleged diss song "Flowers" has come to light. If a new report is to be believed, the music video of the track that allegedly detailed her failed marriage to Liam Hemsworth features a motel used by "The Hunger Games" actor to take his 14 mistresses while he's still married to her. On Friday, January 13, a source allegedly close to the former Disney Channel star told Pop Faction that the house where the video for the new track was filmed "was used as a motel by Liam Hemsworth and over 14 other women while he was married to Miley." Upon learning of the news, fans were left shocked. "FOURTEEN ?????? goddamn," one wrote in disbelief. Another commented, "my jaw dropped tf i didnt know this s**t." Someone else pointed out, "and yet people still blame miley for their divorce. i'm not taking sides but people were so quick to turn on her without listening to her side of the story. it takes two to tango." Others, meanwhile, were so thankful that Miley left him. "so glad she left him," one fan remarked. A different person wrote, "She is so iconic to this song, on his birthday, looks like his favorite song and the place were he had girls when he was married? Miley slayed." Someone chimed in, "If this is true, she is getting the best revenge with the success of 'Flowers'." Miley released "Flowers" and its visual on Liam's birthday. The music video sees Miley enjoying herself while singing, "I can buy myself flowers/ Write my name in the sand/ Talk to myself for hours/ Yeah, some things you don't understand." She continues, "But I can take myself dancing, yeah/ I can hold my own hand/ Yeah, I can love me better than you can." Fans are convinced that the lead track of her upcoming album "Endless Summer Vacation" is about Liam and their failed marriage. Aside from noticing that Miley intentionally dropped the song on January 13, fans said that in the MV, Miley replicated a dance she did at an event she attended with Liam. Lyrics like "I can love me better" might also hint at the tension in their marriage, which was evident in an awkward red carpet moment at the "Avengers: Endgame" premiere in May 2019. While posing for photos together, Miley pretended to lick Liam, who appeared to respond uncomfortably and to ask for her to "behave for once," according to MTV. Miley appeared to be pissed off as she pushed Liam away and posed for solo photos. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 'Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood' star assures that things are good between her and the 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' actor, who have been dating for over a year. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Apryl Jones has shut down rambling speculation about her relationship with Taye Diggs. After sparking breakup rumors with her boyfriend of one year, the "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star has denied that they called it quits. Apryl told The Shade Room that things are all good between her and the actor. She said that they are actually headed to Atlanta to work on a project together now. As to their suspicious social media activity, she claimed that following and unfollowing people means nothing when you're an adult. Rumors started to swirl on Thursday night, January 12 that there seemed to be trouble in paradise in Apryl and Taye's relationship after fans noticed that they stopped following each other on Instagram. People soon started wondering what this could mean to their favorite couple. "Oh LAWD not Taye Diggs and Apryl Jones mighta broke up," one person reacted on Twitter. Another weighed in, "Not Taye and Apryl unfollowing each other wasn't they in Paris with C and T." A third fan commented on Taye's post, "Please don't tell me you'll broke up." Someone else added, "damn..hope not!" Taye did not immediately respond to the fans' questions. The split news comes just a little over a month after the pair sparked marriage speculation. Back in December 2022, Media Take Out reported that Apryl and Taye might have secretly tied the knot in a small private ceremony. Fueling the wedding speculation, on December 3, Apryl flashed what looked like a wedding band on that finger in an Instagram video featuring her man. In the goofy clip, they appeared to be naked while lying in bed with a piece of white blanket covering their bodies. The two lip-synced to Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". Apryl and Taye first sparked dating rumors in December 2021 after they were caught attending Jennifer Klein's Christmas Party. They made their relationship red carpet official in February last year when attending the premiere of "Incarnation" at The Montalban theater in California. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The clip, which has garnered more than 30 million views on Twitter, sees the 'Under the Banner of Heaven' actor getting flirty with Amelia Dimoldenberg during a red-carpet interview. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - A video of Andrew Garfield's interview at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards went viral on social media. The clip saw the "Under the Banner of Heaven" actor chatting with Amelia Dimoldenberg in Beverly Hills as he appeared to get flirty with the interviewer. After he compared Amelia Dimoldenberg to a "capybara in the wild," the "Chicken Shop Date" host jokingly warned him, "Be normal!" The 39-year-old actor then told her while giggling, "I only ever want to see you." Surprised by the remark, Amelia asked, "What?!" The "Tick, Tick... Boom!" star then grabbed the microphone and responded, "I only ever want to see you in these kind of sort of situations." He seemingly referred to their first interview at the British GQ Men of the Year ceremony last November. Amelia was seemingly disappointed before she told him that she was planning to invite him to her birthday party later this month. Andrew later coyly changed the subject by asking her about her astrological sign, which she revealed to be Aquarius. "If you have the sun sign that's the same as the moon sign of someone else that's good," the Oscar nominee, who is a Leo, explained. He went on to say, "I don't think we should explore this. I'm scared of what it could turn into, and I'm not ready for that kind of thing." Later in the interview, "The Amazing Spider-Man" star signed an autograph for Amelia who called it a "best friend certificate." The video, which was shared by Amelia herself, has garnered more than 30 million views on Twitter. After watching the clip, fans were quickly shipping the two. "these two either need to only continue their love story on red carpets or end up together forever. no in between," one person tweeted. "If Andrew Garfield ever said 'I only ever want to see you' anywhere near my direction I would honestly just fall to the floor and not get back up," someone else added. "I usually don't ship people, but i ship this with all the might in my soul," a fan wrote. One user, meanwhile, likened their flirty interaction to a romcom, saying, "Already found my favorite british romcom of 2023." Another person joked, "When you know your crush's Moon sign but have to play it off like you haven't looked up their chart when it accidentally slips out." You can share this post! Cover Images/Instagram/ROGER WONG TV It arrives after it's reported that Holmes and his co-host Amy Robach will 'unlikely' return to their on-air roles despite not being fired from the ABC talk show following their affair scandal. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - DeMarco Morgan may no longer just be T.J. Holmes' seat filler on "Good Morning America 3: What You Need to Know". TV sources claim that ABC is eyeing Morgan to permanently replace Holmes on the talk show amid Holmes' affair scandal with co-host Amy Robach. According to Page Six, the former New York local newsman will take over Holmes' role after ABC News officially gives the latter his walking papers from the show. ABC allegedly "loves the job he's doing" and "everyone thinks he's been really great." On Thursday, January 12, Morgan was seen attending a media mixer at Plug Uglies, an Irish pub in New York's Gramercy Park area, alongside "GMA3" executive producer Cat Mckenzie, as well as some local ABC News talents, including Sade Baderinwa and Kemberley Richardson. Also spotted chatting with Morgan at the pub was his former CBS colleague Gayle King. It is said that people were "congratulating him and telling him nice job." A source further tells the news outlet, "A lot of [people] were giving him a lot of praise, and he seemed very happy. He was the first to arrive and one of the last to leave. The vibe was very positive. People were taking pictures and catching up." Recent report, meanwhile, stated that Holmes and Robach would "unlikely" return to their on-air roles despite not being fired from the show. "There are no negotiations about their future," a source revealed to PEOPLE. Noting that the pair "have not been terminated," the insider added, "ABC is completing their investigation." "While it is unlikely they will return in the capacity they were in - the longer time goes on, it becomes less likely they will return," the insider continued. "There are still open lines of communication and further discussions are being had about what will happen." Holmes and Robach have yet to break their silence on their relationship, but things seemingly are going strong between the two as they enjoyed the holiday together. Holmes himself has filed for divorce from his estranged wife Marilee Fiebig after nearly 13 years of marriage. As for Robach, she allegedly separated from her husband Andrew Shue in August. You can share this post! Cover Images/INSTARimages.com Celebrity The 63-year-old music mogul first shocked his fans with his unrecognizable look with his appearance in the 'Britain's Got Talent' promo video published in November last year. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Simon Cowell continues sparking concern among his fans with his radically different facial features. The "America's Got Talent" judge has been spotted with his "melted" face during a date night with his fiancee Lauren Silverman. On Thursday night, January 12, the 63-year-old star, who admitted that he no longer has Botox treatments after it left him looking like "something out of a horror film," was snapped enjoying a dinner date with Lauren at private members' club Annabel's in London. In photos obtained by Daily Mail, he could be seen sporting an incredibly smooth complexion and enhanced facial features. For the night outing, Simon looked dapper in a black blazer with matching trousers and an unbuttoned white shirt. Meanwhile, Lauren flaunted a glimpse of her taut midriff in a cropped black top which she paired with a black and white checked cropped blazer. She added a pair of sleek black trousers and pointed black heels. Simon's visage has seemed a little too tight and smooth lately, but his bright white teeth and dyed hair have also added to the shock factor of his look. Simon first shocked fans with his unrecognizable look with his appearance in the "Britain's Got Talent" promo video published in November last year. Many compared his "melted" face to Madame Tussauds' waxwork. Then in that December, Simon made his first live TV appearance with his bizarre appearance. At the time, he stopped by ITV's "This Morning" studios on December 14 for a reunion with "The X Factor" longtime host Dermot O'Leary and former "The X Factor" contestant Lucy Spraggan. A few days later, Simon left "Royal Variety Performance" viewers in shock with his unrecognizable face. One TV viewer at home tweeted at the time, "What's he done to himself?" Another added, "Just saw Simon Cowell on the Royal Variety show, what has he done to himself? He looks really gruesome." Even during the Christmas Carol event with his fiancee Lauren and his son Eric Cowell, Simon was barely recognizable. "Give me the real Simon back," one Instagram user commented in a photo he posted on his feed. Another sarcastically said, "some people said simon was dead." A third quipped. "As much as you like to criticize. What the f**k happen to your face?" You can share this post! Cover Images/Dutch Press Photo Celebrity The Duke of Sussex insists he wants to 'save' royal family from 'themselves' amid suggestion he is trying to ruin the British monarchy with his explosive tell-all book. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Prince Harry hopes to "save" the royal family "from themselves." Being accused of trying to destroy the royal family with his controversial memoir "Spare", the 38-year-old prince insists that isn't his intention at all. "This is not about trying to collapse the monarchy, this is about trying to save them from themselves. And I know that I will get crucified by numerous people for saying that," he explained. Harry also insisted he's happy to accept criticism if his memoir leads to meaningful change. The prince - who has Archie, three, and Lilibet, 19 months, with the Duchess of Sussex - told the Daily Telegraph newspaper, "I feel like this is my life's mission, to right the wrongs of the very thing that drove us out." Despite this, Harry recently insisted that he wants his kids to "have relationships with members of [his] family." Harry - who stepped down as a senior member of the royal family in 2020 - is hopeful that Archie and Lilibet will be able to develop strong relationships with their relatives. He said, "I've said before that I've wanted a family, not an institution, so of course. I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy." Harry is also happy to allow his family to form their own opinions about his memoir. The prince described his controversial book as a "raw account" of his life. He explained, "I don't want to tell anyone what to think of it and that includes my family. This book and its truths are in many ways a continuation of my own mental health journey. It's a raw account of my life, the good, the bad and everything in between." You can share this post! YouTube Celebrity The Duke of Sussex claims his therapy has led to 'further divide' between him and his older brother as the Prince of Wales accused him of being brainwashed in counselling. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - Prince Harry wants Prince William to feel the "benefits" of therapy. Admitting that therapy has transformed his life as it helped him to accept that Princess Diana had "gone", the 38-year-old prince now thinks his brother could experience the same benefits. "As two brothers, if one of you goes through that experience and the other one doesn't, it naturally creates a further divide between you. Which is really sad," Harry - who has Archie, three, and Lilibet, 19 months, with the Duchess of Sussex - told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "But as much as William was the first person to even suggest therapy, I just wish that he would be able to feel the same benefits of that as opposed to believing what he doesn't need to." Harry recently released his controversial memoir, "Spare", and the prince confessed that the 400-page book could've easily been 800 pages. He shared, "It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out." Meanwhile, a royal expert recently claimed that King Charles plans to invite Harry to his coronation as an "olive branch." The 74-year-old king will be formally crowned at Westminster Abbey in London in May, and Katie Nicholl thinks Harry - who has been openly critical of his father in his new memoir - will receive an invite for the landmark occasion. She said, "I'm not sure the reports about harry being dis-invited from the coronation are accurate. My sources close to the king say that he will be extending that olive branch and that he will be inviting Meghan and Harry to the coronation." Katie believes the king is ultimately determined to reconcile with his youngest son. She said, "It is his son after all, and the king really does want a reconciliation in the long term." You can share this post! OWN Celebrity A spiritualist is expected to be invited for a role in a memorial for Elvis Presley's only daughter before she is laid to rest at the family's property in Tennessee. Jan 14, 2023 AceShowbiz - A "spiritualist" memorial is expected to be held for Lisa Marie Presley before she's laid to rest at Graceland. The 54-year-old daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley will be buried at her late father's famous estate in Memphis, Tennessee and insiders have suggested that Deepak Chopra - who spoke at her son Benjamin Keough's funeral in 2020 - will have a role in the ceremony. "She will be buried at Graceland - alongside her father, and also her son Ben. She was also a big fan of Deepak Chopra. He's a spiritualist and an expert in alternative medicine who spoke at her son's funeral, so it's likely he may be asked to do the same for Lisa," a source told The Sun newspaper. Friends of Lisa Marie explained that the musician "never really managed to find peace" after Benjamin's suicide. The insider explained, "She never really managed to find peace. There always seemed to be something going on to cause her stress and pain, although losing Ben was the very worst of all." "It sent her spiralling again, and although she'd been in and out of treatment there is no getting past the simple fact that she never quite managed to stay on track. There had been a few health scares, but her body appears to have just given up. She couldn't take any more." Lisa Marie died earlier this week after suffering a "full cardiac arrest" at her home in Los Angeles. You can share this post! Digital India Startup Hub, through the Software Technology Parks of India, shall set up Indias first Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming at Shillong by March 2023. This was announced by Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, yesterday (January 14, 2023) at a function in Meghalayas capital. The Centre of Excellence in Shillong is expected to catalyse start-ups and entrepreneurs from the entire North East Region to build the Next Gen Online Gaming ecosystem. It is the vision of PM Shri Narendra Modi ji that the next wave of start-ups and entrepreneurs must come from Shillong, Kohima and other parts of the North East India, Chandrasekhar said while interacting with journalists at a press conference in Shillong. It is pertinent to mention that the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has recently circulated Draft amendments to the IT Rules 2021 in relation to the Online Gaming for public consultation. The Minister also highlighted the importance of Digital Skills post Covid, as the rate of digitalisation of products, services and devices continue to increase across the globe. Imparting Digital Skills to the youth in North East Region to enable them to grab opportunities of jobs and entrepreneurship in the fast-expanding Digital economy is an article of faith for Shri Narendra Modi Government. The Minister announced another initiative of MeitY to set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) to provide training on cutting edge Digital Skills at Shillong. A 10-acre campus shall soon be ready for this purpose which shall cater to the skilling requirement of youth in the North East Region. The Minister also informed that the Government is re-launching Skill India through PMKVY 4.0, which shall train around 50,000 youth in Meghalaya in future ready skills with industry-backed job opportunities. PM Narendra Modi is building New India with re-imagined ambitions and aspirations for the young Indians. There are multiple opportunities available today and therefore skills become important to take advantage of these opportunities. Skills are the new Passport to Prosperity, he added. As far as other states in the North East Region are concerned, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship under PMKVY 4.0 has set a target to skill around 60,000 youth in Tripura and 35,000 in Nagaland across a spectrum of approved courses. "What do We mean by the Revolution? The War? That was no part of the Revolution. It was only an Effect and Consequence of it. The Revolution was in the Minds of the People, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen Years before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington." Those are the words of John Adams from a letter written to Thomas Jefferson in 1815, nearly forty years after the colonies declared their independence. Having had more than enough time to grapple with the world-shifting events the two revolutionaries helped set in motion and looking back from the vantage point of success in their endeavors, Adams understood that American victory did not belong to the historical giants of their time, but rather emerged from the thoughts and dreams of the common people. His conclusion is no less true today than it was back then. Before you can transform any system, you must first liberate the minds trapped within that system. If that sounds like an impossible task, it is not. In 1760, the American colonies were not united, and the American colonials were loyal to a far-off king. Fifteen years later, their revolutionary fervor turned the world upside-down. Today, Americans are not united, and the American government appears loyal to the World Economic Forum's king. Consider where we'll be fifteen years from now. Things appear to happen awfully fast for those in power when they insist on burying their heads in quicksand. I make no bones about it: I have a guttural revulsion to one-world-government types who seek to rule the world by turning domestic populations against themselves. "Divide and conquer" is the only strategy they know, and oppression disguised as altruism is the only outcome they bring. They speak obsessively about racism not because they seek racial peace, but rather because the exploitation of such petty, ancient hatreds distracts people from the real problems those with power continue to create. They preach about "climate change" not because they fear that our planet is coming to an end, but because scaring humanity into handing governments complete control over the use of energy hands governments complete control over humanity as well. They hyperventilate over COVID variants today not because they seek to save lives, but because they seek to monitor and manipulate every movement of every life from here on out. Just this week, the World Health Organization is putting the finishing touches on a set of amendments to its International Health Regulations that seek to further weaken American sovereignty and empower bureaucrats in faraway, foreign offices to bully ordinary Americans in the name of "health." The Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit dedicated to religious freedom, has done an excellent job going through the forty-six pages of proposed amendments to highlight a few of the most obscene: In Article 1, the WHO is transformed from an advisory body to a governing body whose "standing recommendations" may be legally binding. In Article 3, the agency seeks to remove any formal limitations upon its power formerly requiring it to maintain "respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons," and instead replaces this language with a Marxist commitment to "principles of equity, inclusivity, [and] coherence." In Article 13A, the WHO's director general is empowered to redistribute wealth from advanced nations to poorer nations. In Article 18, the WHO is empowered to mandate treatments, proof of vaccination, contact tracing, and quarantines. Throughout the forty-six pages of proposals, the WHO creates the institutional structure for digital vaccine passports. In Article 45, the WHO is empowered to disclose personal health data. In Annex 1, the WHO is empowered to censor what it determines to be misinformation or disinformation. At the end of the day, who watches WHO(m)? Certainly not the American people! Three years of COVID-1984 insanity put on steroids and made permanent, so that the World Economic Forum's global cabal can have a new, powerful toy. What an absolute totalitarian nightmare! Relax, the kind, international health authorities tell the world's peasants. We come in peace. We need only for you to hand over your dignity, human rights, and freedoms and submit to our system of Marxist socialism, forced medical experimentation, lockdowns, digital tracking, and censorship and in exchange, we will save your lives! Scratch that, you have no choice; our directives are now legally binding! Ha-ha, suckers! Science! Tyranny always comes in the form of false benevolence in which those who profess to be doing the most good are actually orchestrating deep and costly harm. It should be no surprise that totalitarianism today arrives under the guise of medical authority. When spiritual faith and moral virtue are eliminated from society, scientific "objectivity" becomes the perfect vehicle for spreading tyranny because its priests insist that a higher power of unbiased professionalism guides their actions. When the "golden rule" is replaced with the cold, diagnostic rule of "just following the science," great evils are perpetrated against humanity in the name of humanity at the behest of self-declared learned men. Eugenics, genocide, and forced sterilization all had the resolute backing of "science" at one time, and those who insist on forgetting those atrocities while elevating transgender mutilation, abortion on demand, "climate change" population control, and forced experimental COVID injections in their stead only place themselves in a special category of "useful idiot" for future historians to dissect. While the United Nations and World Health Organization work the science angle to strip Americans of their rights and liberties, Pretend President Biden has joined hands with his communist comrades in arms from Canada and Mexico to release a joint "Declaration of North America," in which Biden, Trudeau, and Lopez-Obrador make clear that American sovereignty and self-determination will be replaced with a Marxist, bureaucratic super-state. Echoing the WHO's newly created mission objectives, North America's Commie Declaration asserts that government obsessions with diversity, inclusion, equity, climate change, mass migration, and health will forever take precedence over individual liberty, limited government, constitutional safeguards, or the Bill of Rights. Welcome to the "ruling class's" progressive vision for Americans' future, in which a tyranny of self-proclaimed expertise will be used to smother Americans' freedoms for their "own good." It goes without saying that the DNA should be put on DNR ASAP. Does this make you mad? Does this get under your skin and put a grimace on your face? Good. Cold, righteous anger is what changes the world not the Machiavellian machinations of the World Economic Forum's national security surveillance State. The globalists have bought into their new deterministic religion that quantifies human beings as nothing more than algorithms that can be manipulated at will to do the bidding of the self-identified "ruling elites." They see themselves as "gods" and the rest of us as "ones" and "zeroes" who have no free will of our own. As with all destroyers of humanity who falsely identify as its saviors, they are blinded by ignorance and consumed by hate. While they seek more and more control over humanity, they are waking up more and more humans who refuse to be controlled. They are reminding the world that the real battle before us is between "progressivism's" obsession with death and the human race's natural inclination to be free. When George Washington crossed the Delaware River in a surprise attack against Hessian forces on Christmas Day, after all, he didn't first ask permission from a Deep State or make sure the health bureaucracy said, "okay." No Dr. Fauci, WHO, or DNA could have gotten in the general's way. What the globalists don't understand is that in America and throughout the West, the Delaware River lies just ahead. And once a revolution in the minds of the people begins, they'll waste no time getting to the other shore. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Vladimir Putin has made the strategic aims of Russias war against Ukraine very clear. Those are not exclusively to eliminate Ukraines independence and make the country part of Russia. That is one minor subplot of the larger story, though the one most familiar to Western observers. Moscows major reason for the war is to stand up to the West -- the United States in particular. Vladimir Putin makes a point of stressing that it is a fight for survival. Russia, in Putins view, is defending not only itself against the imaginary forces of darkness intent on destroying it, Russia is the last stand of the Christian civilization under the assault from the forces of barbarism. That destructive power is the liberal order, bent on destroying civilization and its pillars and replacing it with something completely foreign to human nature. Vladimir Putin presents this fateful clash as a duel of ideologies in which no lasting compromise is possible. He presents it as a struggle of the weak against the powerful with Russia as the underdog. Russia, playing a weak hand, cannot rely on its inferior strength alone to sustain the fight. It needs a powerful fifth column in the West to support its propaganda narrative and provide dedicated cadre of enablers and possibly more. This apocalyptic view of the real and perceived tensions that exist between Russia and the West is simply a rebranded approach the Bolsheviks took in the first decades after the 1917 coup. The Bolsheviks found themselves in an inferior position vis-a-vis the West, similar to the one Russia finds itself now. They quickly realized they needed a strategic low-cost approach to keep the adversary off balance. The eternal flames of the worldwide struggle of the proletariat was their way of attacking the enemy from the rear. And so the Communist International, the Comintern, was born. Stalin disbanded the Comintern a few decades later, in the middle of the WWII, to placate the Allies. Yet the Comintern and the cadres it created during a few decades of its existence helped the Soviet Union during the Cold War to effectively influence and sometimes direct political processes in many democratic countries. The Comintern and its successors were in the business of selling Russias interests as universal communist ideology. The seemingly limitless reservoir of useful idiots provided a never-tiring, free, and dedicated labor force to guarantee that no democracy ever felt safe and secure in its struggle with the Evil Empire. Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative and diligent student of history, is wrapping Russias schizophrenic imperial ambitions in the cloak of the universal struggle against the ideology he describes as the Wests valueless unipolar world order. As in the days of the Bolsheviks, the rhetoric focuses on the real issues of Western societies. The analysis blows problems out of proportion, obfuscates the context and, more importantly, presents Russias brutal imperial ambitions as a quixotic quest to save the world. The woke ideology successfully conquering the politics and institutions of western democracies is a real concern and arguably a danger to the liberal order itself. Similarly, so were the terrible, sometimes inhuman, conditions of the working class back in the days before and after the Bolshevik coup d'etat. The injustices then and now are real and not imaginary. Neither the Bolsheviks then nor Putin now have invented them. That is the power of Russias propaganda of the past hundred years. It is based on facts. Karl Marx would be long forgotten by now if not for his religion being based on objective reality. The issue is not with the facts, but with the remedy. To many western opponents of the woke onslaught, the Kremlins propaganda are the voices of the sirens. Russia offers a response, a real alternative to the excesses and idiocy of the modern woke culture. Whereas in the West, the opponents of the woke are shunned and delegated to the far corners of cultural and political life, in Russia they appear to be thriving and free to express themselves. Yet those voices offer nothing else but the advancement of Russias imperial interest at the expense of everyone else. They thrive on confused and frightened individuals threatened by political changes in western democracies and unable to find strong and confident voices in the politics of their own countries. This is exactly how many members of the working class felt in the early part of the 20th century and who eventually found the answers in the simple propaganda coming from Moscow. The Kremlin started building its new Comintern in the last decade. It has assembled a very colorful coalition of forces that included, to name the most high-profile members Victor Orban of Hungary, Italys far right, Marine Le Pen of France, and some dark corners of the MAGA movement. They held conferences and ideological gatherings to cement the united front. There is no clear well-expressed ideology, such as Marxism, uniting these forces, but there is an ideology of opposition to the excesses of transgender rights, CRI, and other woke ideological underpinnings. Gender and sex, as an ideological leitmotif, used to unite the Left. Curiously, in the 21st century, it united the Right. Yet it is a very tenuous glue uniting very desperate forces. The war in Ukraine has chipped away some comrades who could not stomach barbaric Nazi-like aggression against another country. Yet many stayed. And even though the new Comintern has not even reached its teenage years, the results of good KGB organizational work are already clearly visible. Russias propaganda machine is thriving even though the Russian media is banned and sanctioned in the West. The New Comintern agents, the new useful idiots, disseminate Russias talking points free of charge with revolutionary zeal. All across Europe, Australia, and the U.S. you get a daily dose of Putin. Tucker Carlson is the most fascinating representative of that cadre. It is not always clear if he repeats Moscow propaganda or invents it. His vitriol and aggression towards Ukraine rivals even Moscows channels. This is unprecedented, as there had never been an equivalent to Tucker's act in standing and visibility during the Cold War. We should not be surprised to witness Cambridge Five of the right to appear soon. The great truth and irony of history is that neither the Right or the Left is immune to being naive and idiotic and McCarthys of the yesteryear may well become Kim Philbys of today. Image: Thespoondragon The reader cannot be faulted for asking, Who is Thomas Lane? For the record, Lane, who is white, is the most anonymous of the four lambs sacrificed to appease the bloodlust of the mobs incited by a video snippet of George Floyds last minutes on earth. On a day like today, it would seem a fitting time to heed the words of another man who was unfairly imprisoned. In his justly famed letter from the Birmingham jail, it was Martin Luther King, Jr. who reminded us, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. In recent memory, I would argue, no man has suffered more flagrant injustice than Lane. The former Minneapolis police officer was already serving a 2-1/2-year sentence on federal charges for allegedly violating Floyds civil rights, when he was sentenced in September to three years on state charges for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In their great mercy, Judge Peter Cahill and the prosecutors will allow him to serve that penalty at the same time as his federal sentence. In watching Sean Hibbeler and Maryam Heneins powerful new documentary about the death of George Floyd, The Real Timeline, I found myself drawn to Lanes case even above that of his three colleagues, none of whom belongs in prison. On just his fourth day on the Minneapolis PD, Lane and his partner Alexander Kueng responded to a call about a counterfeit bill being passed at a shady Minneapolis convenience store called Cup Foods. For Keung, whose father is African, this was only his third day on the job. It seems a little perverse that two novices would be assigned to the same vehicle, but that variable is irrelevant. Both men did their jobs by the book. We know this because Henein, who wrote, directed, and narrated the film, did excellent work piecing the timeline together from a wide variety of footage most people have never seen. At 8:08 p.m. on the evening of May 25, 2020, Lane and Kueng arrived at the scene. As the film shows, Floyd left the store about 20 minutes earlier and settled into the drivers seat of a borrowed Mercedes SUV. Sitting in the vehicle with Floyd were friends Morries Hall and Shawanda Hill. All three were convicted felons. Despite the fact that the store clerks had twice come out to the car and demanded Floyd return to the store, he did not drive away. Hall would tell police that Floyd took a couple of Percocets and fell asleep. The two officers approached the vehicle from the drivers side. Now awake, Floyd appeared to swallow something as they approached and started flailing about. Lane pulled his weapon and demanded that Floyd show his hands. Acting crazy, Floyd started crying, Please dont shoot. At this point in the film, Henein cut to the bodycam footage from a previous incident a year earlier in which in which Floyds vehicle was stopped by the police. This time too, he swallowed drugs in their presence, acted crazy, and begged the police not to shoot him. A frustrated officer shouted at Floyd, Keep your hands where I can f***ing see them. When he continued flailing about, the second officer threatened to tase him. Henein suggested that the crazy shtick was Floyds M.O. Floyd acted just as crazy back at Cup Food. Shawanda yelled at Floyd, Stop resisting. The officers said the same. Finally, he calmed down enough that the officers were able to holster their guns and get the huge, muscular Floyd in handcuffs. When Lane and Keung began to escort him across the street to their vehicle, Floyd did not go easily. Getting him to sit in the vehicle was well nigh impossible. Floyd not only resisted physically, but he also grew hysterical, claiming over and over that he was claustrophobic. When I stop breathing, he said at one point. Its gonna go off on me. This odd premonition started a litany of him saying, I cant breathe, although he obviously could. At 8:16 officers Derek Chauvin and Tuo Thao arrived at the scene, but even with two more officers helping, Lane and Keung were unable to secure Floyd in the back seat. At 6 6 he did not fit easily. Throughout this struggle, Lane was the most considerate. He offered to stay with the panicking Floyd, to roll down the windows, to turn on the air conditioning. I want to lay on the ground, said Floyd. The exasperated officers obliged him, but Floyd continue to struggle. He was a danger to himself and to the officers. As senior cop on the scene, Chauvin took over. He used a restraint that was featured in the Minneapolis PD training manual, but that Judge Cahill disallowed at trial, saying that Chauvin had not been officially trained on it. For the record, the Chauvin trial was a sham. A week or two before this incident, I had seen a Kansas City police officer use an identical maneuver to restrain a large white woman who screamed like a banshee for ten minutes before backup arrived to relieve the arresting officer. I chose not to record the incident, I wish I had. For about six minutes of the notorious 8 minutes and 46 seconds that Floyd was restrained, he continued to bitch: I ate too many drugs, My stomach hurts, I cant breathe. Toward the end of this stretch it was Lane who suggested to Chauvin that they roll Floyd over on his side. I think hes passing out, said Lane. It was the judgment of Chauvin that Floyd was better off as he was. By this time, the bystanders, who had no idea of what had been going on, grew increasing shrill. One even pushed Officer Thao. By no reasonable officer standard would a four-day veteran try to overrule a 20-year vet in such a harrowing circumstance. When the EMTs arrived, they seemed oddly nonplussed about Floyd. They pick up people passed out on the street every day. I am sure they suspected drugs, but no one knew that Floyd had major blockages in both arteries. As it happens, it was Lane who got in the vehicle and initiated CPR. So why exactly is Lane in prison now? And why is no one coming to his defense? To learn more, see www.cashill.com Image: PxHere House speaker Kevin McCarthy would be wise to name an arbitrator whose responsibilities would include settling intra-party disputes and recommending courses of political action. The premise of establishing an Office to Resolve Differences and Recommend Action (ORDARA) is derived from the following passage in The Prince, chapter 6, by Machiavelli: [I]t ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them. To be blunt, Donald Trump should have been counseled on the need for an ombudsman to assist him in introducing the principles of "Make America Great Again" to the country. With MAGA, President Trump was introducing "a new order of things" and, as an "innovator," had countless enemies, while supported by "lukewarm defenders" who were not confident that Mr. Trump would be successful in draining the swamp. The relevance of this passage from The Prince to Mr. Trump's difficulties with the Resistance of the Deep State is easily demonstrated: would a successful reformer face an investigation by a special counsel over the opposition of a Congress with a majority of members of the reformer's party? Paul Ryan was House speaker when President Trump took office. Ryan did not even rise to the level of "lukewarm" supporter of Mr. Trump. And so, the Mueller probe was created to hamstring, if not oust, Mr. Trump. The guidance for the ORDARA arbitrator would be the text of The Federalist Papers, which illuminates the solutions to arguments raised by MAGA critics in the Republican Party. For example, Madison in Federalist No. 58 pointed this out: "[the] power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effective weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure" (emphasis added). This passage, cited by the arbitrator, would silence "moderate" Republicans who would press GOP colleagues to accept leftist free-spending measures. (Presently, the left, supported by MAGA-phobes like Biden and McConnell, shrink with horror, like a vampire at the light of dawn, from the words "the power over the purse." For the denizens of the swamp, the purse is deeper than a Pacific Ocean trench.) This rule of thumb would indicate the arbitrator's fidelity to our founding of liberty: the more the media howl in protest to MAGA government, the more the people will understand how successful MAGA principles are to our legacy of liberty. As to courses of action the arbitrator would be authorized to encourage House Republicans to follow policies that would likely appear daunting without such encouragement. Consider, please, the silence, thus far, from the House majority on the ways and means to deal with ongoing effects of the Very Select House Committee on Jan. 6. The left, abetted by media and judicial allies, promote the actions of this rogue committee as examples of positive redress of anti-government conduct. The truth is that this "Very Select Committee" trampled on regular order in the House, due process, and fundamental fairness, threatening, if its terrible precedent is institutionalized, to end liberty and return the country to an age when crimes of heresy were the order of the day. Every day this rogue committee sat, it violated the terms of its organizing resolution: H. Res. 503. Accordingly, it is an offense to the spirit of American liberty, extolled by Madison in Federalist No. 57, that any action taken by this disgrace to the Constitution, to representative government, to democracy itself, should linger with malodorous effect. The arbitrator would recommend to the House majority the immediate enactment of a resolution declaring all actions taken by the Very Select Committee are in violation of the terms of H. Res. 503 and, consequently, null and void. The ORDARA arbitrator could also be given a brief to draft quick responses to the lies and hateful insults regularly hurled from leftist battlements, given the current cone of silence over the MAGA targets of political abuse. And with this recommendation in hand, how could House speaker McCarthy not do the right thing, and encourage the House to throw the action of the anti-American Very Select Committee on the ash heap of tyranny? Mr. Speaker, appoint an arbitrator to encourage the House to promote MAGA patriotism and fidelity to liberty by President's Day. Gladden the hearts of our Founders. Image via Max Pixel. On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents. Don't expect any indictments (sealed or otherwise) to come out of this investigation. That's not its purpose. Whenever the Democrats have something to hide, they hide it by starting a DOJ investigation. Have you noticed lately whom the DOJ works for? It's not us. What did Barack Obama do when news of Hillary Clinton's secret email server broke? He launched an FBI investigation. Remind me. What sort of punishment did she get? Here's what's going on. Joe's colossal stupidity has put the Dems in a bind again. He turned his attack dog loose on Donald Trump, for classified documents knowing that he had the same exposure. I don't know who's dumber: Joe or the Dems who keep underestimating his ability to eff things up. I guess they're all a little under-gifted. With the blessing of his boss, "Bunny Slope" Garland decided to take a run at the double diamond and got out over his skis. He took the unprecedented action of raiding a former president's home, in front of the cameras, over a document dispute that the president's attorneys were working to resolve. And now his boss has been caught doing the same thing making him appear like a complete idiot, too. In this case, appearances may not be deceiving. Now Herr Garland is in damage control mode. So what does he have to do? The same thing he did for the Donald Trump matter: appoint a special counsel. It gives the appearance that he's treating the indiscretions of both presidents the same. Of course, in this case, appearances are deceiving. Oh, and it's just a coincidence that the appointment of that special counsel keeps all of the evidence in the hands of the DOJ. Now that Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives, they can add keeping classified documents in an office that may have been funded by the Chinese to their list of urgent investigations. But they'd better get used to the words "I can't comment about an ongoing investigation." Sound familiar? If Garland were serious about investigating Biden scandals, he would have appointed a special counsel to look into the Hunter Biden laptop from hell. But he didn't. Why not? Because by the time he got in office, the damage was already done. About a gazillion copies of the laptop are floating around in public, and the information is already out. With no information to hide, and no intention to indict, no special counsel was needed. But this time it's different. There's plenty of information to hide though there's still no intention to indict. This investigation will drag on through the next election with no evidence shared with Congress. However, there will be plenty of information leaked to CNN (using the Comey gambit) all of which will be beneficial to Joe Biden. In the end, there will be no indictment (sealed or otherwise) and no negative information released. That will change only if the Dems decide to run over Joe with their bus, to keep him from effing up the next election. Whether they can pull that off will depend on where Garland's loyalties lie. There is only one way for Republicans to get to the bottom of this scandal. They need to pull funding from the FBI every time they hear the words "I can't comment about an ongoing investigation." When a bunch of agents start seeing mall security as their next career move, maybe a few of them will leak to Congress rather than CNN. I seriously doubt if even our new and improved House has the cojones to do that. John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He has written for American Thinker and American Free News Network. His work has been featured on The Dan Bongino Show, World View Weekend Broadcast with Brannon House, and Steel on Steel with John Loeffler. He can be followed on Facebook or reached at greenjeg@gmail.com. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Denver Riggleman, who most recently worked for the January 6 select committee analyzing the message traffic that led up to the rush into the Capitol, has written a book treating the matter as an attempted coup. A former one-term Republican congressman from Virginia (2018-20), he is also highly critical of the Republican Party. While his title The Breach is relatively neutral, on content he joins the ranks of one-time right wingers who have produced books with titles such as How the Right Lost Its Mind (Charles J. Sykes) or The Party Is Over: How Republicans went crazy, Democrats Became Useless and the Middle Class Got Shafted (Mike Lofgren). While Riggleman makes valid points about Trumps indulgence (verging on support) for some of his paranoid followers, he himself is far too ready to dismiss as 'paranoia' the legitimate and accurate criticisms of the right about the 2020 election, the interpretation of the goals of those who breached the Capitol, and the behavior of internet gatekeepers in shaping public opinion. As for the mistreatment of those arrested, he ignores the issue altogether. Riggleman first became disillusioned when he ran for Congress and encountered the movement called QAnon which espoused what he calls a toxic stew of conspiracy theories involving a secretive Satan-worshipping, child-killing global cabal that included Democrats, celebrities, and the media. The QA believers, writes Riggleman, genuinely believe someone they love could end up murdered in some sick ritual slaughter in tunnels underneath the halls of Congress. Despite this, says Riggleman, Trump invited "Lionel," an influential QAnon voice and talk show host, to the White House and there were days when Trump retweeted QAnon accounts multiple times. Riggleman also cites Katrina Pierson, a one-time national spokesman for the Trump campaign, who in one of the texts uncovered by the January 6 committee told rally organizer Amy Kremer about Trumpss affinity for Alex Jones and other on the fringe of what's supposedly the far-right. According to Pierson, the president wanted Jones to speak at the Ellipse rally on January 6. Jones is chiefly known for bizarrely (and cruelly) spreading theories that the killing of 20 first graders and six educators at the Sandy Hook elementary school was staged by the government and victims families as part of an elaborate plot to confiscate Americans firearms. He likes the crazies" Pierson said of Trump. But if this is fair criticism, much of what Riggleman writes is based on assumptions, not looking at the evidence. Rational people have pointed out that so-called reforms of the electoral process have made our elections less fair and secure, for example here, here, here and here. Riggleman dismisses suspicions of the 'deep state' based on no more solid basis than his intuition that our bureaucracy must represent many points of view. This is simply not correct; for instance, in the 2022 cycle, the American Federation of Government Employees has doled out over a million dollars, 94% of which went to Democrats. Riggleman uncritically buys media accounts that "peaceful protesters" were violently removed from the White House area at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. According to law professor Jonathan Turley, the reality, was that the protestors were not peaceful, that dozens of officers were injured, that the violence continued for several days with extensive property damage and the attempted burning down of the historic St. Johns Church. The attacks around the complex were so great that the president was moved into the White House bunker. Riggleman refers dismissively to a Texas congressman, Louis Gohmert, and others who promoted a conspiracy theory that there was a secret technology shadow-banning conservatives across all platforms. Shadow banning means that the target of the ban doesnt even know that his material has been either banned or its impact minimized. Riggleman correctly points out that there is no way for one program to work across operating systems and social media platforms. And yet, the Republicans turned out to be right about shadow-banning. We know this because after buying Twitter, Elon Musk allowed selected journalists to examine internal Twitter documents and they found that it was pervasive. Indeed, the situation was worse than most Republicans had guessed with heavy government (potentially illegal) involvement in the censorship. As far as the motives of those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, Riggleman sees authoritarianism, but according to a study at Harvard University of their motivations, Trump and his allies convinced an unquantifiable number of Americans that representative democracy in the United States was not only in decline, but in imminent, existential danger. In other words, the protestors were trying to protect democracy, not overthrow it. This is not to excuse the riot, though some trespassers meant to be peaceful, some of the January 6 footage is quite violent. A day before January 6, a man named Ray Epps told people attending the pro-Trump rally in Washington that they should enter the Capitol the next day. According to contemporaneous reports, the reaction from some of the people around him was to chant Fed, Fed, Fed. In other words, they thought he was a federal informant trying to entrap them into doing something illegal. Epps was never arrested in the massive roundups after the Capitol breach, compounding suspicions on the right of his role. Riggleman gives no credence to such suspicions, in part because Riggleman went through Eppss (unencrypted) message traffic and found only one (non-incriminating) message to the FBI. Riggleman adds that the crowds that didnt hit the cops and stayed outdoors have largely received a pass from law enforcement, and Epps did not go into the Capitol. Whether Riggleman is right about Epps or not, the incident suggests some of the people around Epps on January 5 had no intention of going into the Capitol the following day. Finally, Trump himself had asked for a National Guard presence in the days before the riot, which was not the action of someone plotting a coup. What Riggleman ignores is also important: What is going on in a jail a few miles from the White House: Ronnie Sandlin, one of the J6 protestors, wrote this about a year ago: "Im sitting in solitary confinement in my cell not much bigger than an elevator writing this cry for help. Ive been sitting in solitary confinement for almost a year with no trial date in sight facing 20 years in prison. Many of the Jan 6ers, including myself, are heavily medicated in order to endure the severe emotional, physical, and spiritual toll that has been inflicted on us. International standards state that solitary confinement should not last more than 7 days because its considered cruel and unusual punishment, yet the Biden regime has no problem subjecting perceived political rivals under this severe form of punishment indefinitely." Sandlin's full description at TheGatewayPundit website is even more hair-raising. Much of the left has fallen into an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. My 13-year-old niece was told by her public-school teacher that boys can be girls and vice versa and remarked to me on participating in one school group where she and one boy where the only kids who did not think they were gay or in the case of one girl pansexual. A graduate of Mount Holyoke college tells us that the four years she spent there left her totally indoctrinated and believing we live in an oppressive patriarchy. Our country is increasingly insane, and we on the right cant afford the sloppy thinking that characterizes the left. The problems we face are serious enough. Image: Screen shot from CNBC video, via YouTube Causing controversy is always what the news media is looking for, dating to even its golden era. In current times, controversy is the only reaction that the media aspires for. The cake of outrage with the icing of virtue-signaling and an occasional cherry of victimhood on top is served to consumers to generate revenue. Now for the latest controversial remarks by vocalist-songwriter Gwen Stefani. In an interview with Allure magazine, Stefani, who is of Irish-American and Italian-American descent, remarked: Im Japanese. Few cared for the context of the remarks, they slammed it as cultural appropriation. Social media amplified the chaos. Heres the context: Stefani said she was influenced by Japanese culture since childhood when her father, who traveled between California and Japan for work, regaled her with stories of Japanese street performers cosplaying as Elvis Presley and women with colorful hair in the town of Harajuku near Tokyo. Stefani said that she traveled to Harajuku as an adult and experienced the Harajuku subculture. Stefani was so enamored by it, she recalled saying My God, I'm Japanese and I didn't know it." This was Stefanis way of expressing an affinity and a deep but inexplicable connection to the culture. Harajuku influenced Stefanis 2004 debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby, and she toured with four Japanese and Japanese American backup dancers called Harajuku Girls and launched her popular Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection, available in bottles resembling the Harajuku girls. Stefanis interviewer, Allure editor Jesa Marie Calaor, who is Filipino-American, claimed that Stefanis words of being Japanese seemed to hang in the air between them. Calaor wrote that Stefani said she was Japanese multiple times and even identified with Hispanic and Latino communities and was a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl. Calaor wrote that as a first-generation Filipina-American teen starving for Asian representation in pop culture, she grew up wanting Stefanis Harajuku-inspired perfumes, but the price tag of $45 was unaffordable. Calaor revealed as an adult, she is reexamining Stefani's Harajuku era and thinks it may be cultural appropriation. Calaor recalled being attacked with racial slurs because of her appearance, fearing for her fathers safety while he traveled on New York City subways, and boiled with anger as grandparents were being attacked and killed because they were Asian. Perhaps those anger issues are still unresolved. Calaor characterized Stefani as insensitive for claiming to be part of this vibrant, creative community" but avoiding "the part of the narrative that can be painful or scary." Calaor conceded that Stefani wasnt purposefully malicious or hurtful, yet insisted that words dont have to be hostile in their intent in order to potentially cause harm. Calaor revealed that she and her colleagues, both Asian and Latina, walked away from the interview unsettled. It caused Calaor to consult the co-director of Asian-American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and a therapist of a psychotherapist group that serves the Asian-American community. Both seemed to confirm Calaor's belief that Stefani was inappropriate, and that her lack of awareness wasnt an excuse for her behavior, and being from the dominant group Stefani has the power to 'appropriate the customs of a marginalized group without the original context.' Calaor seemed resentful that Stefani made a lot of money tapping into other cultures for inspiration, explicitly mentioning Stefanis clothing line earning over $1 billion in sales. Also mentioned is Stefani selling over 50 million albums worldwide. Calaor also mentions that Stefani has taken some of those profits and made charitable donations including $1 million and proceeds from a Harajuku Lovers T-Shirt following the tsunami in Japan. The interview seemed like a premeditated hit job on Stefani. Allure magazine probably chose interviewers of Asian background knowing they could query Stefani about her fondness for Japanese culture and use her answer to cause outrage and attach their personal victimhood to it. That the story certainly gave Allure and Calaor some attention reveals the perils of print interviews. Now for the outrage itself. Some acts are definitely at this stage passe. Blackening a face like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did, or like former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam did for a fancy dress party is considered inappropriate. Democrats have a lot of interesting legacy like Jim Crow laws, Senator Byrd who organized and led a chapter of the Klu Klux Klan, the current Governor of Virginia, Ralph black face Northam, and theyve totally destroyed our economy. To undo damage spending 10 trillion to boot. pic.twitter.com/ijQxMEJsdo It was QT not QE (@joser290) October 9, 2021 Will you be wearing black face in honour of Black History Month Justin? https://t.co/yA96coCJba pic.twitter.com/fH0sLsPXhf SaskLass (@SaskLass) February 3, 2022 Mocking or faking accents is also considered inappropriate. Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television (with terrible ratings!). https://t.co/iQXCc7lvCt Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2020 Who has the worst, pandering fake Southern accent? 1. AOC 2. Hillary Clinton (I've made a little video for you to be the judge) pic.twitter.com/aEihBjLhTO Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 5, 2019 What about 'diversity' that those who are outraged by Stefani, claim to champion? It often means hiring people of minority groups based on skin color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. overriding meritocracy. These recruits are used for photo ops. Whenever there is an event, they are made to sit in the first rows. This forced diversity by the standards of those outraging over Stefani's comments can be called insensitive because it uses shallow tokenism instead of real empowerment. Lets look at the other side, i.e., the celebration of other cultures. Back in the '90s, Stefani dressed up in a traditional Indian saree for an awards event. I remember it brought a smile to my grandmother's face when I showed her a photo of Stefani. Stefani used to wear a traditional Indian Bindi during that phase. It clearly wasnt meant as an insult, it was a tribute. She was popularizing Indian culture through her art. Similarly opening an Indian restaurant where the servers dress in traditional Indian clothes is not an insult, it is a compliment to India that its food and culture are so popular that restaurants are opened in the U.S. or the U.K. If the servers apply brown color to their faces and do a mock Indian accent that may be rude. It about the details usually. The people outraged by Gwen Stefani's comments either fail to comprehend or purposefully conflate that chasm of difference between a tribute and a caricature. It is worth stating the obvious that a tribute is a compliment while a caricature is meant to be an insult. Similarly, there is also a considerable difference between adopting and celebrating another culture owing to its fondness and lampooning any culture with the purpose of demeaning it. Stefani was celebrating the Japanese culture and exposed to an audience the U.S. and Europe. Much like sports, entertainment can be an effective medium for bringing people together. It may have caused people to gravitate toward Japanese culture and even be empathetic toward people of Japanese heritage? Perhaps fewer people will face discrimination the way Calaor did. Yet she isnt celebrating. If faux controversies such as the one with Stefani continue to happen, it will cause complete cultural segregation. Nobody wants to suffer hassles, hence people will stick to their lanes and befriend only people from the same culture. There will be fewer forums for the exchange of ideas because people will be petrified of causing offense. This could be at the cost of us the next great invention that could make lives better or save lives. Another result of these hoaxes, where outrage triumphs over nuance, are that it will trivialize real bigotry and many dark chapters in human history, because if everything is bigotry, nothing is. The title of the following song when Stefani was part of the group No Doubt, is an apt message for the permanently outraged. Editor's note: An earlier version of this piece inadvertantly published only a partial version of this piece, the above is the item in its entirety. Apologies to Rajan. Image: Zach Cierzan, via Wikipedia // CC BY-SA 4.0 Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is recognized for three things: (1) She was the first Hispanic female justice on the Court; (2) Shes a leftists leftist; and (3) she is not wise but is, in my humble opinion, almost staggeringly ignorant and biased. All those factors benefit Democrats, but now theyre getting worried, not because of her manifest legal and intellectual deficits but because theres a possibility that they will not hold the White House and Senate after the 2024 election. Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to the Supreme Court in 2009, following her eleven-year stint as a Clinton appointee on the Second Circuit. Of Puerto Rican heritage, she has the Ivy League credentials that mean so much to Democrats. She graduated from Princeton with a summa cum laude degree in history (the focus of which was apparently entirely on Hispanic studies). She admits that she got in because of affirmative action. Image: Sonia Sotomayor by DonkeyHotey. CC BY 2.0. Sotomayor next went to Yale Law School, where she eventually became the editor of the Yale Law Journaland again, she honestly concedes that it was probable that affirmative action paved the way. No wonder even her Wikipedia profile concedes that she was not considered among the star students in her class. Her academic focus was her own race which might (Im just surmising) have intimidated the law schools White, bleeding-heart liberal faculty. When one reads about Sotomayors early career after graduating from Yale, two things stand out: She was a hard worker and a mediocre thinker and lawyer. Im a huge believer in being a hard worker, which will trump genius nine times out of ten. However, when it comes to Supreme Court justices, we want them to be more than hard workers. We want them to be brains. Throughout her tenure on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has made statements from the bench that leave one questioning her mental wattage. Last year, when the Supreme Court was hearing about Bidens attempt to use OSHA to enforce vaccine mandates, she was such a font of misinformation that even leftist media outlets were forced to correct what she said: NEW: Justice Sonia Sotomayor said during oral arguments today that we have over 100,000 children, which weve never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators due to the coronavirus. That's False. https://t.co/9itoVd1s1L pic.twitter.com/zX8Nf6Bx8r PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) January 8, 2022 In contrast, CNN's Jake Tapper called out the liberal justice. "That's just not true," he said of her claims about child hospitalizations as a graph was shown. "There are fewer than 5,000 minors hospitalized with COVID right now." pic.twitter.com/0qRwHVMfb1 Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 8, 2022 But hey, nobody expects a lawyer to understand numbers. One thing lawyers should understand, though, is that the Founders never expressed a desire to build a wall between Church and state. That came from Thomas Jeffersons pen in an 1802 letter long after the First Amendment was ratified. The Founders' concern was only that the government would not control or mandate worship or keep people away from institutions based on their faith. But that didnt stop a Supreme Court justice from assigning that idea to the Founders: WRONG. The government saying religious beliefs BLOCKS people from participating in government UNDERMINES the separation of church and state. The STATE is barred from isolating religious beliefs. Sotomayor ignores that. https://t.co/Sr9705sXFk Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) June 21, 2022 Forgetting entirely about the 10th Amendment (any powers not explicitly granted to the federal government belong to the states), Sotomayor was baffled that states have more powers than the federal government: Stotomayor says "I don't understand why the states would have power but the federal government wouldn't." That's basically the mantra for her approach to everything. #SCOTUS Ross Kaminsky (@Rossputin) January 7, 2022 And during the hearings on Dobbs, Sotomayor argued that fetuses are kind of like dead people, so why not kill them: Justice Sotomayor trying to argue that in dead people, the foot will recoil. Spontaneous acts by dead brain people so I dont think a response by a fetus necessarily proves there is s ENT ion of pain or consciousness. What changed in the science, she pushes further. Gayle Trotter (@gayletrotter) December 1, 2021 Sadly, none of the above examples of foolishness, ignorance, or real depravity explain why the leftists want Sotomayor off the court. According to Politico, their real concern is that, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, if she doesnt retire during a Democrat presidency, she may die during a Republican presidency. The worry is not unfounded, given that Sotomayor is 68 and has Type 1 diabetes. One certainly hopes shes managing it well, but it is a risk factor in terms of longevity. While Brian Fallon, who heads Demand Justice, the organization that drove a truck around D.C. insisting that Justice Breyer should retire, doesnt see the situation as urgent, there are some who are very worried about Sotomayor pulling a Ginsburg: Fallons position isnt echoed by everyone. Some Democrats close to the Biden administration and high-profile lawyers with past White House experience spoke to West Wing Playbook on condition of anonymity about their support for Sotomayors retirement. But none would go on the record about it. Indeed, right now, the only thing thats saving Sotomayor from the pressure that drove Breyer, an old White man, from the bench is Sotomayors identity: They worried that publicly calling for the first Latina justice to step down would appear gauche or insensitive. Sonia Sotomayor seems like a nice woman, and shes certainly a hard worker. She should never have been on the Supreme Court, but Id prefer to see her stay there for the next two years. If you look at Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has no idea what a woman is but feels that minor attracted persons are misunderstood, you realize that, while Sotomayor is a dim, leftist bulb, whoever comes along after her during a Democrat administration will be worse. Despite institutional hurdles to an honest election, Republicans may yet win in 2024, at which point we hope for better than the latest Republican hires. Speaking for myself, I will never forgive Gorsuch for giving the imaginary idea of gender identity full civil rights protection or Kavanaugh and Barrett for repeatedly siding with the leftists on the Court. Kathy Chung may be a key figure in the mishandling of classified documents from Joe Biden's two terms as vice president. As his executive assistant at the time, she was reportedly involved in packing up the documents he removed from government offices when his term as V.P. ended. Via NBC: Kathy Chung, who was Biden's executive assistant while he was vice president and helped pack up his vice presidential office in January 2017, is among those who have been interviewed, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing inquiry. Chung currently serves as deputy director of protocol for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Who is Kathy Chung? Curiously, neither the U.K. Daily Mail nor Fox News, both of which are experts at digging up photos, has been able to come up with a picture of Ms. Chung, despite her currently serving in a rather public position for a rather public figure, the Defense secretary, Lloyd Austin. The U.K. Daily Mail describes her: Chung is a behind the scenes operative who previously worked for Democratic senators and is now deputy director of protocol for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. She turned up in the news on Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, after she CC'd him at his Rosemont Seneca Partners firm on an email containing phone numbers for the Clintons, senators, and most of the Obama cabinet. Part of that email, redacted, is shown below: (source) Why would the V.P.'s executive assistant be sending this highly sensitive (see below) information to Hunter Biden, who was involved in a company in partnership with the communist Chinese? Back in 2020, retired FBI special agent Mark Wauck blogged (hat tip: Lynn Chu): ...the question that Michael Flynn is suggesting we should be asking: .@MZHemingway Ask who is Kathy Chung (EOP) and why in 2015 is she giving a treasure trove of intelligence (phone nos) to Hunter & Redacted. Any foreign power would love to have this information!!! https://t.co/PCfjFXvfHQ LTG (R) Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 1, 2020 It's an interesting question, and one that's easily answered. Kathy Chung (aka Kathy Sang-Ok Chung, Kathy S. Geraghty) was an assistant to then Vice President Joe Biden--that is, in 2015. (snip) Yes, it's easy to imagine that a foreign intelligence service would be interested in having all those cell phone numbers--but what use would Hunter Biden have for them? GNEWS thinks it has the answer, and in fact their answer seems to be what Michael Flynn is hinting at: Hunter Biden Sold the Clintons Phone Numbers to the CCP . Of course, there would be any number of ways to disguise what the payment was actually for. GNEWS doesn't go in for nuance: The CCP obtained the personal cell phone numbers available only to the Secret Service because the whereabouts of these members and their families were being protected by the United States Secret Service [USSS]. A traitor among them [USSS] had apparently supplied the list directly or indirectly to Kathy S. Chuang, who was hired by Rosemont Seneca, of which Hunter Biden was a co-founder. The CCP would secretly monitor and record the phone conversations of these officials who worked at the government at the highest level, in order to find their weakness and their dirty dealings, to blackmail them, and to own them. It's an interesting narrative. One that hangs together pretty well. A good working hypothesis. If a fall guy is needed, Ms. Chung would be a good person to start considering for the post. But she may have her own trove of compromising information to use as bargaining leverage in dealing with the special counsel's staff, with Biden himself, and with the puppet masters who may be behind the leaks that are pressuring Biden just as he was poised to announce a run for re-election, according to earlier media reports. Along with no picture, we have no information on what lawyer(s) Kathy Chung may have engaged in this matter. 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 Human rights campaigners have condemned Iran for having pitifully little respect for the right to life after it executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari on spy charges. The comments from Amnesty International UK came after Iranian state media on Saturday announced that Mr Akbari, a former Tehran defence official who was seen by the Islamic Republic as a reforming moderate, had been hanged. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also announced the UK has sanctioned Irans prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, in disgust at Mr Akbaris execution. Mr Akbari, an Iranian former deputy defence minister, was arrested in 2019 and accused of espionage for MI6 related to past nuclear talks between Iran and western nations, according to reports. The UK has sanctioned Iran'sProsecutor General. Sanctioning him today underlines our disgust at Alireza Akbari's execution.The Prosecutor General is at the heart of Iran's use of the death penalty. We're holding the regime to account for its appalling human rights violations James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) January 14, 2023 He denied the charge and said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit, BBC Persian reported. Mr Akbaris wife, Maryam Samadi, told the service she was invited to a final meeting at the prison where he has been put in solitary confinement, an apparent sign that an execution is imminent. Mr Cleverly had previously described the forthcoming execution as a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life while Alicia Kearns, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman, accused the Iranians of seeking to weaponise dual nationals as anti-government protests convulsed the country. After the execution was reported on Saturday, Ms Kearns tweeted: We must continue to give a voice to the Iranian people, to stop their voices being silenced through state murder. We cannot allow Iran to bully us into silence. After each murder of protesters or those blamed for them, new sanctions should be applied within 48 hours. No specific timings were given by the Iranian media as to when the execution took place. Sky News said Mr Akbari served as Irans deputy defence minister when Ali Shamkhani was minister from 1997 to 2005 as part of reformist president Mohammad Khatamis administration. He also served in other security roles, including as an adviser to the Iranian navy, and led the implementation of UN resolution 598, which ended the Iran-Iraq war in 1988. Earlier this week, Iran posted a video of Mr Akbari which appeared to show forced confessions, the BBC reported. This came after the countrys intelligence ministry described him as one of the most important agents of the British intelligence service in Iran. BBC Persian then broadcast an audio message on Wednesday from Mr Akbari in which he said he had been tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit. Mr Akbari said he had been living abroad and was invited to visit Iran at the request of a top Iranian diplomat who was involved in nuclear talks with world powers. After his arrival, he was accused of obtaining top secret intelligence from the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt. The BBC also reported that in his audio message Mr Akbari stated he had been interrogated and tortured by intelligence agents for more than 3,500 hours. Accusing Iran of seeking to take revenge on the UK by executing me, he added: By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, he said. By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims. After the execution, Freshta Sharif, of Amnesty International UK, said: This is absolutely terrible news and once again shows how pitifully little respect the Iranian authorities have for the right to life. Alireza Akbaris fate is particularly horrific given the human rights abuse he reportedly suffered in detention, including torture, being held in prolonged solitary confinement and being forced to repeatedly make false confessions. Alireza was convicted of the supposed crime of spreading corruption on earth, which weve repeatedly condemned for falling far short of international legal standards. We need to see UK officials doing their utmost to investigate allegations that Alireza was tortured and pursuing all avenues to hold those responsible in Iran to account. The application of universal jurisdiction should remain an option, with the possibility of a criminal trial being held in the UK or elsewhere outside of Iran if there is sufficient evidence available. Generative AI, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, could completely revamp how digital content is developed, said Nina Schick, adviser, speaker, and A.I. thought leader told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "I think we might reach 90% of online content generated by AI by 2025, so this technology is exponential," she said. "I believe that the majority of digital content is going to start to be produced by AI. You see ChatGPT... but there are a whole plethora of other platforms and applications that are coming up." The surge of interest in OpenAI's DALL-E and ChatGPT has facilitated a wide-ranging public discussion about AI and its expanding role in our world, particularly generative AI. "ChatGPT has really captured the public imagination in an extremely compelling way, but I think in a few months' time, ChatGPT is just going to be seen as another tool powered by this new form of AI, known as generative AI," she said. It's important to understand what exactly generative AI is and what it isn't. "What generative AI can do, essentially, is create new things that would have thus far been seen as unique to human intelligence or creativity," she said. "Generative AI can create across all media, so text, video, audio, pictures every digital medium can be powered by generative AI. So, I think these valuations that you're seeing for OpenAI are actually going to go up and you're going to start to see even more generative AI companies which have universal applications across many industries in 2023." This is all still really new, as applications for generative AI have "only really [been] coming to the fore in the last 24 to 6 months," added Schick. OpenAI logo seen on screen with ChatGPT website displayed on mobile seen in this illustration, on January 8, 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images) 'The pace of acceleration is so incredible' The generative AI space is set to get far more competitive in the next year, Schick said, who expects to see companies like Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Apple (AAPL) do "a lot more" in the space. Though much has been said about the extent to which ChatGPT may or may not present an existential threat to Google's search dominance, Schick said she expects to see Google compete rather than wither. "There's been a lot of debate about whether OpenAI is an existential threat to Google the fact that Microsoft is an investor in OpenAI, the fact that ChatGPT is going to be integrated into Bing, if that's going to challenge the dominance of Google," said Schick. "Although that's a fantastic story, there's no doubt Google is developing its own generative AI tools with the amount of data that they have, the amount of data they have." Though it's complicated, the extent to which ChatGPT in its current form is a viable Google competitor, there's little doubt of the possibilities. Meanwhile, Microsoft already has invested $1 billion in OpenAI, and there's talk of further investment from the enterprise tech giant, which owns search engine Bing. The company is reportedly looking to invest another $10 billion in OpenAI. Ultimately, look for the generative AI space to start changing fast. "The pace of acceleration is so incredible that these tools which are shocking and awing us at the beginning of 2023 are going to seem quite quaint by the end of the year because the capabilities are just going to increase so powerfully," Schick said. Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks. Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance. Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin this week became the latest states to ban the popular China-based video sharing mobile app TikTok from government-issued devices. They join the federal government and 25 state governments to make such a move. The bans, which apply to internet-enabled devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers, have been growing exponentially since November when FBI director Chris Wray expressed concerns that Chinas government could use the app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance to exploit Americans user data for espionage operations and to control their mobile device software. Later in December, Wray warned in testimony before Congress that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could potentially use TikTok's app to manipulate content for influence operations. The concerns flow from laws in China that allow the CCP to force foreign and domestic companies operating within its borders to share user data. Globally, TikTok known as Douyin in its domestic market and operated as a separate app boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users. In the U.S., the companys monthly estimated users as of July 2022 totaled 140.6 million, according to DataReportal. In testimony before members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee in September, TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas declined to pledge that the company and its parent ByteDance would refrain from collecting and sending Americans data to China and to China-based employees. Chief Operating Officer of TikTok Vanessa Pappas testifies during a hearing before Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee September 14, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing to examine social media's impact on homeland security. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Months later on December 1, South Dakota became the first state to ban the app through an executive order signed by Republican Governor Kristi Noem. The order says the purpose of the ban is to safeguard users' stored browsing data, keystrokes, and location information. In June, prior to Wray's publicly stated concerns, Buzzfeed News' Emily Baker-White reported that ByteDance employees had repeatedly accessed nonpublic information on U.S. TikTok users. A subsequent investigation by White for Forbes revealed that ByteDance had accessed the data of its U.S. TikTok users for surveillance operations. Faced with internal company audio recordings obtained in the investigation, the company admitted that its employees tapped the IP addresses of journalists to monitor their physical locations. Forbes further reported that nearly two dozen ByteDance directors and several hundred of its employees were currently or previously employed by China's state-run media outlets. On December 29, President Joe Biden signed into law a prohibition on federal employees' use of the app on devices issued by the federal government. Some exceptions to the law apply to devices issued to employees engaged in law enforcement, national security, and research positions. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which oversees national security concerns posed by foreign investments in the U.S., has also been working to impose oversight on TikToks U.S. operations to safeguard American interests. A Senate bill introduced by Republican lawmaker Marco Rubio (FL) on December 13 seeks to block and prohibit all transactions from any social media company that operates within or under the influence of China, Russia, and several other countries of concern. The bill is titled the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act, or ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news World War II veteran Joseph Eskenazi, who at 104 years and 11 months old is the oldest living veteran to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor, is greeted by staff as he arrives at the National World War II Museum on Wednesday. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) For the record: 11:08 p.m. Jan. 13, 2023: A previous version of this story said Pfc. Joseph Eskenazi was 18 during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 22. Joseph Eskenazi, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was told by his doctor that a heart condition would prevent him from flying on an airplane to attend a ceremony this week at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. That didn't deter the Army veteran from Redondo Beach, even as he approaches his 105th birthday. Eskenazi made it to the museum, where he and eight other veterans were honored and shared stories about their service, thanks to a cross-country train ride with Amtrak, funded by the Soaring Valor Program through the Gary Sinise Foundation. The train ride rocked a little bit and threw me around, Eskenazi said with a laugh from his hotel room in New Orleans on Friday. About 81 years ago, Eskenazi was nearly thrown out of his bed at 8 a.m. while he was stationed at Schofield Barracks, about 17 miles from Pearl Harbor. Pfc. Eskenazi was 22 years old. As he ran outside, he watched a low-flying Japanese airplane drop a bomb about 150 feet away. It did not detonate, but another Japanese plane strafed the barracks and killed his friend as the friend ran from a mess hall. A commanding officer arrived on a motorcycle and asked for volunteers. He needed someone to drive a bulldozer and clear bombed-out railroad tracks so soldiers could move heavy equipment and repair the airfield. My hand went up right away, Eskenazi said. But while he was in the vehicle, one last plane strafed him and machine gun fire erupted around him. He was not hit. This was an act of God, because I came so close to getting wiped out, he said. Over 2,300 soldiers were killed in the attack, which eventually forced the United States into the second World War. Over the years, Eskenazi has not shared much about that day. Eskenazis daughter, Belinda Eskenazi Mastrangelo, 68, remembers growing up with a father who kept mum about the war. When Eskenazi and his wife, Vickie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Hawaii with his family in 1997, Mastrangelo said her father did not want to visit the war memorial at Pearl Harbor. Even after all that time, he didnt want to talk about it, said Mastrangelo, who accompanied her father on his trip to the National World War II Museum. Its not unusual for veterans to keep quiet about their time in the war, but theres something about being in the museum that allows them to open up, said actor Gary Sinise, whose organization brings WWII veterans to the museum built in their honor. The Gary Sinise Foundation has helped raise millions for organizations and causes dedicated to serving U.S. military men and women and their families. So many times when walking through the museum, the veterans will start to talk and their family members will tell us that they had never heard some of the stories that came out during the trip, Sinise said. We are fortunate right now that we still have veterans of World War II living among us. Sinise was first introduced to the museum by actor Tom Hanks, who starred in the WWII movie "Saving Private Ryan." Sinise later arranged for his uncle Jack Sinise to be interviewed by a historian at the museum and share his own experience as a navigator aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress. "I thought that every single family of a World War II veteran should have something like this," Sinise said. Eskenazi was born in New York and his Sephardic Jewish family moved to Puebla, Mexico, when he was 7. He enlisted in the U.S. Army several months before Pearl Harbor was attacked. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but knew that he wanted to travel. "I wanted to live a life of adventure," said Eskenazi, who will celebrate his 105th birthday on Jan. 30. While at the museum, he and the other veterans were honored in a ceremony and had their oral histories added to the museum's archives, which includes 12,000 personal accounts from the war, according to museum spokesperson Keith Darcey. During the ceremony, Eskenazi was joined by his family, including his great-grandson, who is about to turn 5, and his 1-year-old great-granddaughter. He expects to make the trek back home by train. It was wonderful being there, Eskenazi said. Everybody would congratulate me and they would say, Thank you for your service. I never expected all of this, but here I am. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FILE - President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 12, 2021, in Washington. Questioned for a lawsuit, former President Donald Trump hurled insults and threatened to sue the columnist who accused him of raping her in a department store in the 1990s, according to excerpts of his testimony unsealed by a court on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File ) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) NEW YORK (AP) Questioned for a lawsuit, former President Donald Trump angrily hurled insults and threatened to sue the columnist who accused him of raping her in a department store in the 1990s, according to excerpts of his videotaped testimony unsealed by a court on Friday. Portions of his 5 1/2-hour October deposition in a lawsuit filed by columnist E. Jean Carroll were released publicly after a federal judge rejected his lawyers' request that it remained sealed. She said that I did something to her that never took place. There was no anything. I know nothing about this nut job, he said, according to the transcript. The excerpts reveal a contentious battle between Trump and Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, who questioned him as Trump called the former longtime Elle magazine columnist the perpetrator of a complete scam in which she described the rape as she was promoting a really crummy book. I will sue her after this is over, and thats the thing I really look forward to doing. And Ill sue you too, he told Kaplan. The release of excerpts from the deposition came the same day as Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, unrelated to the lawyer, also refused a request by Trumps attorneys to toss out two lawsuits by Carroll alleging defamation and rape. An April trial is planned. Trump has repeatedly said the encounter with Carroll in the mid-1990s at an upscale Manhattan department store never happened. In his testimony, Trump repeatedly attacked Carroll's depiction of him as a rapist. Trump said he knew it wasn't politically correct to say she's not my type when he responded to claims shortly after Carroll's 2019 book was published. The writer alleged she was attacked by Trump in a dressing room after they had a chance meeting in the store and she agreed to help him pick out lingerie for a friend. But Ill say it anyway, he said. Shes accusing me of rape, a woman that I have no idea who she is. It came out of the blue. Shes accusing me of raping her, the worst thing you can do, the worst charge. Speaking to her attorney, he added: And you know its not true too. Youre a political operative also. Youre a disgrace. But shes accusing me and so are you of rape, and it never took place. At one point in the deposition, Trump called Carroll sick, mentally sick. He mischaracterized an interview Carroll had given on CNN, falsely claiming she had talked about enjoying being sexually assaulted. She actually indicated that she loved it. Okay? She loved it until commercial break, Trump said. In fact, I think she said it was sexy, didnt she? She said it was very sexy to be raped. Didnt she say that? Kaplan, Carrolls attorney, then tried to elicit from Trump that he raped her client. So, sir, I just want to confirm: Its your testimony that E. Jean Carroll said that she loved being sexually assaulted by you? Trump answered: Well, based on her interview with Anderson Cooper, I believe thats what took place. And we can define that. ... I think she said that rape was sexy which its not, by the way. What Carroll has said in her writing, and in the interview with Cooper, is that she doesnt like to use the word rape because some other people think rape is sexy. She said she preferred the term fight. At another point in the deposition, Kaplan asked Trump if he had ever touched a woman on her breast or buttocks or any other sexual part without her consent. "Well, I will tell you no, but you may have some people like your client that lie," he responded. Late Friday, Trump attorney Alina Habba issued a statement, saying: While it was entirely unnecessary for the unsealing of a transcript both parties previously agreed would remain confidential, our client has nothing to hide and looks forward to resolving this meritless case. Roberta Kaplan declined to comment on the release of the deposition excerpts. Kaplan, the Manhattan judge, earlier Friday upheld the lawsuits alleging rape and defamation and seeking unspecified damages by Carroll, saying they could proceed to trial because Trump's challenges were without merit. The fact that Mr. Trump denies Ms. Carrolls allegations does not enter into the analysis at this stage of the case, the jurist wrote. What, if anything, actually occurred must await further proceedings if the complaint withstands the present motion. Habba said in a statement: "While we are disappointed with the Courts decision, we intend to immediately appeal the order and continue to advocate for our clients constitutionally protected rights. In his ruling, the judge said the Adult Survivors Act was similar to the Child Victims Act, another New York state law that temporarily allowed victims of sexual assaults when they were children to sue their abusers years later. Carroll initially sued Trump for defamation after he mocked her claims he sexually assaulted her. Carroll sued Trump with the rape claim in November, when the Adult Survivor's Act took effect. Days after authorities regained control of Brazils government buildings the nation is still facing the aftermath and hundreds of rioters have been arrested and jailed. But the countrys reckoning over the attempted coup is only beginning and one question is top of mind: how did Brazil get to this point? Current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and others point fingers at former President Jair Bolsonaro, and accuse him of encouraging the uprising with false claims of election fraud. The 67-year-old Bolsonaro denies he played a role in the riots. He denounced the violence after the fact. Still, for nearly a decade, Bolsonaro has called into question the reliability of Brazils electronic voting machines. "The deal with the hackers would be to divert 12 million votes from candidate Jair Bolsonaro to disappear 12 million votes. I repeat, I don't have proof and I don't know if this is true. But that's the story we're investigating," Bolsonaro said. As president, he doubled down on his criticism frequently attacking judges responsible for overseeing elections. "It's not surprising that people thought that they could go inside the buildings of the three branches and destroy everything. If the president himself is challenging democracy on a daily basis and suffers no consequence, why would they?" said Beatriz Rey, senior researcher at Center for Studies on the Brazilian Congress. SEE MORE: As Brazilian officials disperse rioters, Bolsonaro remains in Florida Domestic authorities, international observers and fact-checkers say Bolsonaros voting fraud claims are false. In October, after narrowly losing to his leftist rival Lula, Bolsonaro declined to concede defeat prompting his supporters to take to the streets and block highways. Convinced that the election was rigged, Bolsonaro supporters started camping outside the Brazilian army headquarters in Brasilia to demand a military intervention. "Everything was fine because this was, quote unquote, a peaceful demonstration within a democracy when at the same time those people were asking for a coup," Rey said. Their leader, though, fled to Florida ahead of Lulas inauguration. Despite the tense climate in Brazils capital, Lula was sworn in as president for the third time on January 1. He spoke to tens of thousands of his supporters in front of the presidential palace, the very same place that Bolsonaro supporters stormed just a week later. In the aftermath of the worst attack on Brazils democracy in decades, Lula has called on Brazilians to put differences aside and move on. "Democracy is the most complicated thing for us to do because it requires putting up with others, and living with people we don't like," Lula said. But for now, a shaken nation braces for the possibility of more political violence. 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. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Sunny. High near 70F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 41F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Commentary: COVID restrictions on travelers from China another political farce Xinhua) 09:21, January 14, 2023 Chinese passengers are welcomed by Thai officials at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan, Thailand, Jan. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak) A "final victory over COVID" is dawning in China and beyond; unfortunately, a political virus continues to linger in the West. BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- After China downgraded its COVID management, a few of countries imposed entry restrictions on travelers from China. These discriminatory policies are futile for public health, detrimental to a global economic recovery and performative at best. The United States, Japan, South Korea and several in Europe have imposed additional border rules only on passengers from the Chinese mainland, ranging from testing requirements and mask mandates to suspension of short-term visas, citing a possible infection surge and potential new variants. Such reasoning is faulty at best. In an article published in The New York Times, emergency physician Leana S. Wen opined that the coronavirus load from any infected traveler would be just "a drop in the bucket" for the United States. Tom Frieden, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated his country had had "at least 200 million infections" by the end of 2022. Also, an existing strain isn't a concern. Consider the predominant variants in China for now, BF.7 and BA.5.2, two offshoots of the Omicron subvariant BA.5. They have all circulated in the United States and many countries for quite a while and failed to exhibit an evolutionary advantage over other variants. Among the roughly 900 variants and subvariants documented in the SARS-CoV-2 lineages system "Pango" by researchers from the University of Edinburg, the single-digit number of variants found in China pales in comparison to more than 600 in the United States, 500 in Britain, over 240 in France, 150 in Japan, 50-plus in Italy. If those countries were sincerely committed to limiting imported cases, why not impose controls for all inbound travelers, not just from China? Furthermore, if saving lives is crucial, why were restrictions lax during the spread of the more pathogenic original strain and Delta variant? The probability that international travelers could export a severe outbreak to a destination country is relatively low, as is proven in the case of Singapore. In the last four weeks of 2022, about 200 travelers from China to Singapore were detected to have COVID, less than 5 percent of all imported cases in that period, while imported cases accounted for just 5-10 percent of all infections in the country, Singaporean Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told Parliament on Monday. Singapore has yet to add restrictions to arrivals from China since new variants can emerge from anywhere in the world. "How will other countries treat travelers from Singapore when we encounter another infection wave?" Ong asked. Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly suggested rules narrowly targeting China lack "sufficient public health rationale" in a letter to his country's health minister. Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the World Health Organization, also urged precautionary measures "rooted in science ... proportionate and non-discriminatory." Regrettably, the scientists' calls have fallen on deaf ears. Passengers queue for security check at Haikou Meilan International Airport in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) The way Washington and its allies are treating China travelers is reminiscent of their disastrous early response to the pandemic. Disregarding scientific advice and facts, stoking up racism and spreading disinformation, the United States, in the first half of 2020, delivered a COVID response "100 times worse" than China regarding numbers of deaths, TIME wrote. Although accusing the former administration of "hysterical xenophobia" amid the pandemic, the current White House and its allies are hardly behaving differently, applying the usual double standards and hypocrisy found in Western political discourse. In a piece in The New York Times, Frankie Huang, a Chinese American writer and illustrator, condemned Washington's selective reinforcement by geographic origin, saying, "The U.S. government effectively endorses the centuries-old tropes of Asians as the 'diseased other'... This places Asians in America once more in the crosshairs of racist scapegoating." Meanwhile, these biased rules could harm the return of corporate travel and tourism. "We have the tools to manage COVID-19 without resorting to ineffective measures that cut off international connectivity, damage economies and destroy jobs," said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, in a statement last week. A recent survey from Bank of America showed predictions for higher growth in China are up to about three-quarters, with those for a weaker world economy falling slightly. "The easing in (global) recession expectations were likely driven by an improved outlook on China's growth." That bit of good news could be hampered by the irrational and unreasonable application of COVID controls against China, undermining global cooperation. A "final victory over COVID" is dawning in China and beyond; unfortunately, a political virus continues to linger in the West. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, sent an urgent letter to the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Commons regarding the blocking of the Lachine Corridor by Azerbaijan, calling for an investigation into the security situation in Nagorno Karabakh and an making an urgent report. He emphasized that yet another process of implementation of the Armenian Genocide should be prevented. ARMENPRESS reports Baroness Caroline Cox emphasized in her letter that the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), has been blocked for more than a month by the so-called Azerbaijani eco-activists. 120,000 residents of the Republic of Artsakh are facing severe economic, humanitarian and health problems as a result of being cut off from the outside world. She also emphasized on a number of problems, noting that only a small number of patients were allowed to be transported to Armenia through the mediation of the Red Cross, but there are many, including people with cancer, who need chemotherapy and cannot receive it. "The Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh has issued a statement emphasizing the imminenence of a new genocide and calling on the international community to take responsibility for preventing terrorist acts carried out by Azerbaijan," Caroline Cox emphasized. He mentioned the disconnection of families as a result of blocking the corridor, the damage to the electricity supply line from Armenia to Artsakh and Azerbaijan's obstruction of its restoration and its severe consequences. She mentioned the division of families as a result of blocking the corridor, the damage to the electricity supply line from Armenia to Artsakh and Azerbaijan's obstruction of its restoration and its severe consequences. "Although the United Kingdom Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher denied allegations of UK culpability in the failure of the UN Security Council statement on the Lachin Corridor, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Vagif Sadigov "expressed gratitude" to Great Britain on December 31 thwarting this statement. This deepened the fear that our government's good relations with Azerbaijan, which are based on oil interests, will take precedence over the lives of the people of Nagorno Karabakh," she said. Baroness Caroline Cox therefore asked the Foreign Affairs Committee to: Start an investigation of the security situation in Nagorno Karabakh Urgently submit a report on its results to the Office of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, To meet with representatives of the Armenian diaspora to assess the reality in the light of Azerbaijan's disinformation campaign "The process of another Armenian Genocide must be stopped now," concluded Baroness Caroline Cox. Since December 12, 2022 Azerbaiajn keeps the only highway connecting Artsakh to the world, the Lachin Corridor, closed, citing false environmental reasons. In addition, on January 9, an accident was recorded in the 33rd km of the only high-voltage line feeding Artsakh from Armenia. The accident occured in the Aghavno-Berdzor section. Azerbaijan does not allow restoration works to be carried out. In Artsakh, internet connection supply was also interrupted from January 12. the cable was damaged in the very part of the Lachin Corridor, where the Azerbaijani pseudo-environmentalists are stationed. And only on January 13, thanks to the negotiations conducted by the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Artsakh, the technical specialists of "Karabakh Telecom" Company were able to go to the place of the accident and carry out appropriate work on the spot to restore the damaged part of the cable. Internet connection has been restored in the entire territory of the Republic of Artsakh. YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Due to Azerbaijan's blocking of the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, five patients from the "Republican Medical Center" of Artsakh were transferred to various specialized medical centers of Armenia on January 14 with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross, ARMENPRESS reports, the Ministry of Health of Artsakh informed. "Condition after kidney transplantation, left small kidney, recurrent disease", "Pregnancy VII, 19-20 weeks, high risk of chromosomal trisomies 21, 18, 13 in the fetus", "Left breast cancer", "Left lung cancer", and patients with the diagnoses "Condition after landmine injury, postoperative anophthalmos, integrated implant infection, rejection". Scheduled surgeries in Artsakh are still suspended. 12 children are in the neonatal and intensive care units in the "Arevik" medical unit. At the "Republican Medical Center", 11 patients are in the intensive care unit, 5 of them are in critical condition. The doctors are doing their best to stabilize the condition of the patients. So far, a total of 24 patients have been transferred from Artsakh to Armenia with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross. YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. On January 14, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the delegation led by Yael Braun-Pivet, the President of the National Assembly of France. As ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan welcomed the first visit to Armenia at the level of the President of the National Assembly of France, stressing that it testifies to the historical friendship based on the common values of the Armenian and French peoples and the high level of bilateral privileged relations. Issues related to the rich agenda of cooperation between Armenia and France were discussed at the meeting. The sides emphasized with satisfaction the close cooperation formed at the inter-parliamentary level, and in this regard, particular importance was attached to the activities of the friendship groups operating in the legislative bodies of the two countries and the interaction on multilateral platforms. The parties addressed issues related to regional security and stability. The sides referred to the day-by-day worsening humanitarian situation resulted by the blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the world, the Lachin Corridor, and the imperative to solve it. Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that Azerbaijan aims to subject the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing with its continuous actions. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia expressed gratitude for France's firm position at different levels and formats in relation to Azerbaijan's aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia and the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor. by Shafique Khokhar Ishtiaq Saleem is accused of posting pictures of the Prophet Mohammads name in Arabic tattooed on his body. Upon his arrest, he was beaten. His wife proclaims his innocence, saying that he is illiterate and the victim of a "conspiracy" based on religion. Pakistans electronic crimes law as well as blasphemy legislation are used to target religious minorities. Islamabad (AsiaNews) Another blasphemy case involving a Christian has been reported from Pakistan. The accused, Ishtiaq Saleem, was arrested on charges of defiling Islam and hurting the feelings of Muslims, by sharing offensive content about the Prophet Mohammed online. The accusations stem from a video posted on social media showing the accused with blasphemous tattoos; however, his family claims that he is innocent, saying that he is illiterate, unable to understand the meaning of the Arabic words tattooed on him. For human rights activists, this is further evidence of the kind of abuse, Christians face, as more and more content and comments reflect growing restrictions on religious freedom. The matter dates back to 20 November, but only came to light in the new year after a Muslim man, Muhammad Imran, filed a complaint. Saleem Ishtiaq, a sanitation worker in Islamabad, was accused of posting blasphemous content on social media. As a result, he was arrested for electronic crimes (section 11 of the Electronic Crimes Act of 2016) and blasphemy (295 A, B, C and 298, A of the Penal Code). When he was taken into custody, police beat him, took away his identity card and smartphone, forced him to "confess" to the crimes he was accused, and locked him up in prison. Ishtiaqs wife, Ghazal Ishtiaq, says that he is illiterate and would not commit any crime intentionally; in her view, he is the victim of a "conspiracy" against him on religious grounds.. "We have a two-year-old son, she said. The family is living in constant fear and trauma. Ishtiaq worked for over four months without getting paid, his father, Saleem Masih, notes. Calling on the Christian community to help, he warns that his son risks the death penalty. Speaking to AsiaNews about the affair, the president of Voice for Justice Joseph Jansen reports that a growing number of accusations and arrests have been linked to alleged violations of the electronic crimes law; in the case of members of religious minorities, blasphemy is added. Minorities live in an atmosphere of persecution with extensive use of blasphemy legislation with the authorities failing to assess the real intentions of the accused. For activist Ashiknaz Khokhar, blasphemy is misused to settle personal disputes and social issues are given a confessional twist in order to claim that religion has been defamed.. Another human rights activist, Ilyas Samuel, added that those who use spurious motives to accuse and stir hatred are not prosecuted, while innocent people who comment on social media end up being indicted and sentenced to death. In Pakistan, blasphemy has become a pretext for lynchings and extrajudicial killings. Islamic extremists have weaponised the aforementioned legislation to strike against religious minorities without legal due process, Christians and Hindus, but Muslims too, avenging in the name of Islam any alleged offence to the Quran or the Prophet Mohammad. Blasphemy accusations have become a quick way to exact appalling revenge and settling scores. One example is that of Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi. A Christian mother of five, she spent years on death row. Her case caused a sensation. Thanks to civil society groups, advocacy organisations, foreign governments and even Pope Francis himself, she was freed, but forced to flee to Canada to avoid revenge from extremist groups. On Thursday, a Baptist pastor and a Catholic deacon were killed in Lay Wah village, two women wounded, hundreds flee. Karen rebels call the attack a "war crime, urge the international community to cut off fuel supplies to ruling military junta. Myanmars government-in-exile condemns the attacks, extends condolences to victims families. Yangon (AsiaNews) Myanmars military bombed another church, killing five people, including a woman, her child, and a Catholic cleric. Thursday afternoon two jet fighters attacked Lay Wah, a village located in Mutraw district, Karen State, south-eastern Myanmar. The area is under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU) whose armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), has been repeatedly engaged in heavy fighting with Myanmars regular army. At least five people were killed as a result of the bombing. Hundreds of residents hastily left their homes and fled, fearing further raids and more violence. Local sources report that at least two bombs were dropped. Over the past few days, two churches and a school, as well as several other buildings were hit. The mother and the child died instantly, while a Baptist pastor and a Catholic deacon succumbed later to their injuries. Two other women were wounded albeit not seriously. The child, Naw Marina, would have turned three next month; she died along with her mother, Naw La Kler Paw; Catholic deacon Naw La Kler Paw; Rev Saw Cha Aye; and the last victim, Saw Blae, a villager who helped out in church. Four large craters now dot the area, the result of the blasts; some believe the churches were the target. But luckily, the death toll was limited because the school was closed. For some time, its pupils have been attending lessons in a nearby forest. KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee described the bombing as a "war crime". For him, It is very important to stop the supply of fuel for the junta militarys aircraft, to limit the attacks. I ask again that the international community take more effective action against the junta, he added. Following the bombing of Lay Wah, Myanmars exiled National Unity Government (NUG), which includes former MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy, issued a statement condemning the raid. We convey our condolences to all those who have lost their lives, the press release said. [W]e pledge that we will do our utmost to bring justice for all those lives lost, be it national or international, Myanmars military junta has repeatedly attacked civilian targets in Karen and Kachin states and Sagaing and Magwe regions. So far, the bombing campaign has killed at least 460 civilians, including many children. Today's news: Japan intends to dump more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea; the Shrine of St Anne in Penang becomes Malaysia first (minor) basilica; the Supreme Court of India warns the central and state governments against hate speech; China plans to introduce exams for professional journalists; one Russian in three depends on pensions or state benefits. IRAN Iran hanged Alireza Akbari, a former deputy minister, with Iranian and British nationality. Arrested in 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to death for spying on behalf of the United Kingdom. He allegedly played a role in the killing of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Before the execution, the authorities granted his family a "final visit. JAPAN Japan plans to dump this year more than a million tonnes of radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima plant destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011. After treatment, the levels of most radioactive particles meet the national standards. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given the green light to the proposal, but neighbouring countries are concerned. MALAYSIA The Church of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Diocese of Penang, was declared the first (minor) basilica in Malaysia. The solemn celebration was held on 9 January, led by Card William Goh Archbishop of Singapore. The shrine, built in 1846 by Fr Adolphe Couellan, is a famous pilgrimage centre, very popular among local Catholics. INDIA The Supreme Court of India has issued a warning to the central government and individual states, calling hate speech a "menace" that must be faced before it turns into a "monster". Christian organisations have called for an investigation into sectarian violence that displaced more than a thousand people among the Adivasi residents of two districts in Chhattisgarh. INDONESIA Thousands of Indonesians took to the streets today in Jakarta to protest a job decree signed by President Joko Widodo last month. The law will have to go through Parliament for final approval. According to critics, the law affects workers' rights and reduces environmental protection. CHINA China will introduce an exam for professional journalists starting 1 July. To pass, candidates will have to show "loyalty" and political "correctness". Anyone who fails the test, who engages in "unhealthy practices" or does not comply with directives will not have press card. Exams will include written questions, and be organised by the Ministry of Human Resources. RUSSIA According to data released by Rosstat, Russias statistical institute, one Russian in three (over 40 million) depend on pensions or state benefits, and 31 million consider state aid to be their main income. Some 70 per cent of people who rely primarily on state assistance are 60 years of age and older. TURKMENISTAN Former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, now president of the Senate, has proposed a reform of parliament that involves the elimination of one of the two chambers. The Halk Maslahaty, the upper house he leads, should become an independent and "representative" institution of government, with the power to change the constitution and guide foreign policy. by Stefano Caprio The great tune of Putin's propaganda, expressed in an increasingly radical and apocalyptic terms, echoes the latest statements by Iranian ayatollahs against charges of oppression of women and people: We have our culture and our values, and no one can impose another way of life on us. Meduza's newsletter Signal () contains a juicy anecdote from 1989, when Ayatollah Khomeini sent a handwritten letter to Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, his only written document addressed to a foreign leader. Irans supreme leader expressed concern that the collapse of the ideological influence of communism, which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, could weaken the solidity of the Eastern bloc that opposed the moral decadence of the West. Khomeini assured Gorbachev that this value vacuum could be filled by Islam, through a strong relationship between Iran and the Soviet Union, and recommended reading the medieval philosopher Abu Ali bin Sina (Avicenna) as a way to convert to the Muslim faith. The last Soviet leader thanked the Iranian leader for the advice, but was careful not to follow it. Thirty years after the end of the USSR, on the centenary of its foundation (30 December 1922), Khomeinis shadow is back hovering over the future of Russia, now at war to defend traditional values against a world dominated by the evil Anglo-Saxons. This is not mass conversion to Shia Islam, although Kadyrov's proclamations about Russian "jihad" in Ukraine seem to confer a Islamic poise to Putin's policy of aggression. No! It is about restoring the archetypally Soviet ideological attitude that split the world into factions in order to give meaning to its very existence. One of Putin's main advisers, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, gave a long interview to Argumenty i Fakty magazine. In it he reiterated the arguments repeatedly expressed by the Kremlin boss and Patriarch Kirill, on the metaphysical struggle in which Russia is called to sacrifice itself for the good of the whole world. In his opinion, in the West, our country has not place in the world, a mob of powerful people around the world are hostile to Russia because we have great resources, a boundless territory, intelligent and self-sufficient people who love their country, its traditions and history. Powerful Russophobes are identified as corporations" that propose to "impose the system of global exploitation", subjecting the new "Third World" to the domination of the "golden billion" of the great Western economies. The project that Patrushev slams inevitably needs the weakening of Russia, which must "be dismembered, erasing the Russian language and the Russian world", even using "disruptive technologies" capable of shattering the internal unity of each adversary to "divide them into small countries, so that Russia goes back to being only Muscovy". The latter refers to the period when Moscow claimed the legacy of Kyiv as "mother of all Russian cities", after the ancient capital was destroyed by the Tatar invasion. From the fifteen-century grand dukes, who prospered thanks to trade under Mongol protection, Muscovys greatness was embodied in the first tsars and patriarchs, distinguishing itself from western "Ruthenia", today's Ukraine as the Russians see it, then subjugated to Poland and popish influence. Even today, for Secretary Patrushev, a possible successor to Putin, this whole story with Ukraine was planned in Washington, to divide the greatness of the one Russian people ... Millions of people have been forbidden to speak their native language, forcing them to forget their roots. The war in Ukraine is thus not a conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, but an aggression by NATO and all Western forces against Russia, using the Ukrainians as an expendable human fodder. This is the great tune of Putin's propaganda, expressed in increasingly radical and apocalyptic terms, similar to the recent statements by Irans ayatollahs when accused of oppressing women and their own people: We have our culture and our values, and no one can impose another way of life on us. Yet Patrushev's interviewers react with unease. You present us with a very gloomy picture, almost as if the end of humanity is just around the corner; the ideologue reassures them that "the potential of human kind has not yet been exhausted". Russia wants to propose a "different culture in the use of resources, which knows how to preserve and protect natural and intangible treasures". This is why financial independence and technological sovereignty are needed, "reviving a true cult of scientists, engineers, workers". Young people must learn "to be inspired by the ideals of creative work for the good of the Fatherland, and not waste time with electronic games in the offices of Western companies". Taking up expressions typically used by the Orthodox patriarch, the secretary notes that "the Russian man is not capable of hating, his nature is made to unite; only Westerners are full of hatred against their opponents, from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Russia. The man of today's Muscovy thus goes back to the traits that characterised life in the Soviet Union, namely solidarity and the rejection of consumerism, the involvement of all in the creation of a perfect society, the communist utopia experienced as a moral elevation and example for all, up to the great policy of "friendship among peoples. Many of the initiatives the Kremlin undertook this year, 2022, the "war revival, are grotesquely reminiscent of the attempt to reconstruct the atmosphere of Soviet times, such as the restoration of the university course on the "Foundations of Russian Statehood", in fact a rehash of the old course in Scientific Communism". In every school, these notions are spoon fed in small doses in the "Conversations on the important things", as they were once upon once a time in the mandatory course on atheism, which was actually a patriotic religion, today re-morphed into Orthodoxy. This is tantamount to a post-communist and post-atheist Soviet mindset, in which what matters is Russia's role as a world leader, a geopolitical legacy more than an economic-ideological one. Support for this nostalgic thread is shared by half of the Russian population, which grew up in Soviet times, as several recent polls suggest. In 2020, a survey by the Levada Center found that as many as 75 per cent of Russians believe that the Soviet era was the greatest time in the countrys history, although less than a third express a desire to restore the old regime. Putin's radicalism, in its orthodox-sovereignist and militant variety, is an attempt to reconcile nostalgia for the past with fears of the present. It is mainly men, seniors and rural residents who support the regime's arguments, but often young people are also fascinated by speeches about how "once it was better", as they see nothing attractive in the future. Nostalgia is the refuge engendered by resentment, and this applies not only to Russia, but to many people in every country in todays world. This way, repressions, genocides, wars, and tragedies of the past can be forgotten; the identity crisis finds a resolution in the face of increasingly destabilising social and technological processes, providing a shelter in a world of controllable, colourful and mythological fantasy. It is not a world in which people truly believe; more than anything else, it is a facade behind which to hide; probably the first to disbelieve in the idealisation of post-Soviet Russia are Putin and Patrushev. As one of Russia's sharpest writers, Dmitry Bykov, observes in Business Online, "there is a desperate attempt by the archaic world to cling to life, according to Tyutchevs formula: up to our ankles in blood, we're fighting corpses resurrected for fresh funerals. The first half of the twenty-first century will thus be a "long divorce from the practices of the past; from radical and nostalgic governments, there will be a long war in various dimensions". Last but not elast, a "biological revolution" will be needed, a complete refoundation of Russia, Bykov argues, a "new revelation of the incarnate Christ." If Russians have always loved to express themselves using eschatological categories, we cannot forget that the Gospel itself says: for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end (Mt 24:6). RUSSIAN WORLD IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO RUSSIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY SATURDAY IN YOUR E-MAIL? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority wants to take another crack at convincing western Garfield County governments and residents to invest in mass transit. RFTAs board of directors on Thursday appointed a subcommittee to plan outreach to Garfield County communities regarding joining RFTA and/or forming a Garfield County Regional Transit Authority. Voters in Silt, Rifle and Garfield County as a whole have rejected charging a sales tax to contribute to RFTA in past elections, but those were years ago. Times always change and there might be a different environment now, RFTA Chief Operating Officer Kurt Ravenschlag told the board. RFTA officials say it is vital to beef up transit in western Garfield County because two recent origination and destination studies of traffic show roughly 50% of the morning rush hour traffic passing through Glenwood Springs to points south come from western Garfield County. A separate study concluded population growth in the region over the next 20 years will be most acute between Glenwood Springs and Parachute. Improvements to regional transit services, particularly in the I-70 corridor, will require a higher level of investment than is currently being made, said a memo to RFTA staff to the board of directors. RFTA currently operates limited bus service on the Grand Hogback route between Rifle and Glenwood Springs. For 2023, the cost is estimated at $3.8 million. Of that amount, Garfield County is contributing $550,000 and Rifle is contributing $20,000, the RFTA memo said. Colorado Department of Transportation grants cover $200,000 and fares are estimated at $252,320. Silt and Parachute are not contributing for the Grand Hogback service, but Parachute doesnt receive RFTA service. The balance of approximately $2.78 million is being funded by RFTA. The funding issue has been contentious in the past. Former Pitkin County Commissioner Dorothea Farris and longtime Garfield County Commissioner John Martin used to regularly butt heads over RFTA funding. Elected officials and some residents of western Garfield County are wary of implementing a sales tax in their communities because they feel it just subsidizes upper Roaring Fork Valley interests and their import of workers who cannot afford to live in Pitkin County. Sales tax ballot measures failed in Silt and Garfield County in 2004 and again in Silt in 2008. Rifle voters rejected a sales tax for RFTA service in 2006. The Garfield County municipalities of New Castle, Glenwood Springs and Carbondale are members of RFTA and collect sales tax revenues for transit. The other RFTA members are Basalt, Snowmass Village, Aspen, Eagle County and Pitkin County. New Castle Mayor Art Riddile, who also is a RFTA director, told the board Thursday he has worked for six years to get elected officials in Silt and Rifle interested in joining RFTA. They have resisted because they feel they would tax themselves to benefit Aspen and other jurisdictions. I think both these communities kind of have their head in the sand, Riddile said. I dont know if its worth it to go there. Another factor, he said, is Garfield Countys contribution is essentially a subsidy for Rifle and Silt. Why would they join as long as theyre getting a free lunch? Riddile said. But Glenwood Springs Councilwoman Shelley Kaup said she felt there are avenues that would be worthwhile for a RFTA subcommittee to explore. She volunteered for the subcommittee, as did Glenwood Springs Mayor Jonathan Godes and Carbondale Mayor Ben Bohmfalk. Godes said the willingness of the towns elected boards and citizens to participate cannot be judged solely by the actions and words of their mayors. My board tells me to go to hell all the time, he quipped. Riddile reluctantly agreed to try to find the time to serve on the subcommittee. Yeah, Im a sucker, he said. The subcommittee will explore if Rifle and Silt as well as Garfield County would place questions for a sales tax back on the ballot in the future or, alternatively, set up their own transit authority. In recent years, Garfield County has attempted to gauge support for the creation of a new Regional Transportation Authority that might include Garfield County, Rifle, Parachute and Silt, RFTAs staff memo said. However, that effort has not, so far, gained significant momentum. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Photo: Aero Build Photo: Aero Build Photo: Aero Build And although the charging infrastructure for electric RVs is not yet as widespread as it is for electric cars, advances in battery technology make it possible for electric RVs to have longer ranges and more power, making them more practical for use on longer trips.Aero Build, a Tennessee-based company known for creating sleek, custom trailers for mobile businesses like bars, cafes, and vacation rentals, has just announced a new line of fully electric luxury RVs. Baptized the Coast, the new product is a smart travel trailer that incorporates modern technology to allow for an effortless glamping experience. It is targeted at modern-day nomads who want to take to the open road and explore the outdoors in utmost comfort.Aiming to build the most advanced all-electric luxury RV yet, Aero Build has created a motorhome characterized by the same versatility and modern design as its previous products, but which brings so much more to the table.The tag-along Coast camper is built on a dual-axle galvanized Lippert steel trailer chassis with torsion axle suspension and measures 21 feet (6.4 meters) in length, 8 feet in width (2.4 meters), and 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) in height.Upon seeing its compact design, you might be tempted to believe its made to accommodate just one or two people at most, but youll be surprised to find out that it actually offers sleeping space for up to four people. And it does so in an environment that achieves the perfect blend of adventure and comfort, offering all the creature comforts of modern homes.On the outside, Aero Build decided to go for a rather unassuming design, but the exterior still looks stunning. Were it not for some minute details like the rectangular corners and the glossy black and white color scheme, the Coast could easily be mistaken for an ordinary rectangular caravan. The same effortless, understated elegance imbues the interior of the RV, which is also dominated by hues of black and white, interwoven with light and dark earthy shades and great high-end finishing touches.The clever layout makes the most of the limited square footage, being divided into a luxury kitchen space, a dining area, and a rear main bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Aero Build made it look like a modern condo with smart home features, like touch controls, smart TVs, and all-electric appliances.The open kitchen features white cabinetry with contrasting black countertops aligned against the wall on the drivers side. It is as luxurious as they get and seems taken out of the pages of an interior design magazine. It comes outfitted with an all-electric Smeg appliance setup, including a full-size 278L refrigerator, a two-burner electric stove, a range hood, and a stainless steel microwave. A very neat feature that future owners will surely enjoy is the pop-up bar/wine holder that hides within the cabinetry when not in use.That huge box you see in the middle of the trailer , right next to the entrance door, is the wardrobe. Yes, Aero Build thought of everything, so they also included enough storage spaces for the owners to store away their belongings. Two 32-inch flat-screen TVs are mounted on the side walls of the wardrobe, one set up for viewing from the bedroom and the other from the dining area.The main sleeping quarters are at the back of the trailer and include a 125 x 206 cm (49 x 81 in) bed with gel memory foam mattress, while additional sleeping space is provided by the convertible double bed created by lowering the dinette table and joining the available cushions.The en-suite bathroom is somehow divided into two parts - the sink and a dry partition that includes a separate toilet and shower. This setup makes it possible to easily access the sink even if the toilet or shower is being used.The builders chose a Laveo Dry Flush waterless electric toilet that is designed to seal the waste and compress it into a replaceable cartridge you can easily dispose of in the trash. It can be used between 15 to 25 times before being replaced and eliminates the hassle of dealing with black water.And if youre concerned about privacy in this area, worry not, as there is an expanding bathroom door and a bedroom curtain that will ensure complete privacy when you need to go where even the king goes alone.But the most important feature of the entire build is probably its high-performance off-grid electrical system. Aero Build endowed the Coast with a last-gen solar system with five roof-mounted monocrystalline solar panels that provide a combined output of 1,360 watts to charge an 810Ah lithium-ion battery bank. This is enough to feed all onboard systems and camping amenities, plus the two smart TVs, a smart home-style Firefly touchscreen control system, and mobile WiFi, without the need for shore power or LPG. Nonetheless, the Coast also comes equipped with a 50A socket for when connecting to shore power is necessary.The Coast is suitable for living and traveling in any weather conditions thanks to the built-in heating and air conditioning, complemented by New Zealand sheeps wool insulation, which is a sustainable solution to keep the trailer cozy and warm regardless of the temperature outside.The extensive list of features doesnt end here, though, as the Coast boasts additional luxury amenities, such as a remote battery, an electric outdoor awning with LED lighting, rooftop air conditioner, a full spare tire with branded cover, and a water tank monitoring system. It also has an electric tongue jack to make unhitching at your destination easy as a breeze.Pricing for the Aero Build Coast starts at $124,900, and the company is already taking pre-orders for the smart travel trailer, with deliveries expected to begin in the spring of 2023. kWh EV Alas, that does not mean it has not flirted on numerous occasions with a comeback, ever since. The latest one came just recently at CES 2023 . There, it presented the Inception Concept as one of the few noteworthy automotive novelties at the first big event of the year. The sleek sedan was brimming with juicy technical goodies, showcased in a modern even futuristic body style, and also dumped a Frenchy cockpit lifestyle on top of the Las Vegas, Nevada-based audience.Naturally, the prototype is fully electric and motivated by two rather compact motors that nevertheless have some impressive figures to boot. One in the front and one at the rear, they churn out 671 ponies and draw electrons from a 100-battery. That kind of oomph enables a 62-mph (100 kph) sprint in less than three seconds, by the way. Plastered on top of the new Stellantis STLA-Largearchitecture, the Inception is also, for sure, a sign of things to come. Maybe not in North America but at least at home in Europe.And, of course, that made lots of people think of potential candidates for the Inception translation. No, it is not a Christopher Nolan thing, it is more something for the imaginative realm of virtual automotive artists to ruminate. And so, they did, at least as far as we can tell from the latest CGI work done by the digital car content creator better known as Carbizzy on his YouTube channel, who has imagined the unofficial looks of the upcoming, all-new or 2024 Peugeot 508 refresh. In the real world of spy photographers , we are 99% certain the French sedan is getting a facelift rather than a fully-fledged redesign, but we are not going to spoil the CGI experts fun and tell him that. Instead, let us check out a potential transformation of the Inception concept into a mass-market sedan of the 508 variety. Plus, the author gives us his usual front- and rear-three-quarter POVs complete with a ritzy color palette reel. And let us not forget that his imagined 2024 Peugeot 508 is also a fully electric affair.Well, just in case you want a more traditional approach towards the CGI mid-size saloon sector, the virtual artist also recently gave us his digital thoughts on the Japanese Mazda6 matters. Unfortunately, this large sedan when it turns real will probably remain a forbidden fruit in North America, which is losing more and more passenger car nameplates by the day. Oh, well, at least the all-new, eleventh Honda Accord and upcoming next Toyota Camry are sure to at least soldier on for another generation! EV Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018 The judgment is based on Musks tweets about taking Tesla private with funding secured and paying $420 per share in 2018. The CEO was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and also by shareholders. With the SEC, Musk struck a settlement agreement that he is now trying to terminate. The shareholders' lawsuit still stands.Arguing that the media reports are character assassinations against his client, Alex Spiro argued that a juror questionnaire revealed that 80% of them had a negative impression of Musk. Only a trial in Texas where the Tesla CEO currently lives would ensure a fair result. Spiro focused on the purchase of Twitter as the reason for Californians to be mad at Musk , but there is a lot more to paint the CEO in a bad light.Tesla is facing several lawsuits for allowing racism and sexual harassment on its premises, especially at the Fremont plant. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is also suing themaker for that. Tesla recently tried to dismiss this lawsuit. When that failed, it countersued to avoid the trial. It also did not work, which only adds to the recent legal losses Tesla and its CEO have faced.When it comes to the security fraud trial in California, District Court Judge Edward M. Chens predictably denied the request to move the security fraud trial to Texas. Just think about it: which judge would ever agree that their court could not provide a just trial to anyone?Chens answer was that he was confident an impartial jury could be selected and that Musk still had a lot of fans in the Bay Area. Another reason for him to deny the move is that the lawsuit was proposed when Tesla was still headquartered in California, so it has no connection to Texas. In April 2022, the same judge ruled that Musk acted with scienter, meaning he knew the funding secured bit of his infamous tweet was false The shareholders lawyers did not lose the opportunity to mock Musks attorneys request. According to their answer to that petition, if negative attention was all that was required to disqualify a jury pool, Musk would effectively be untriable before a jury given his knack for attracting negative coverage. Again, it was so obvious the request would be denied that the best explanation for it was postponing the trial. Were yet to understand how that could be helpful, but the verdict may answer that. '64 Chevy Chevelle SS Photo: Ministry of Diecast '68 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S Photo: Ministry of Diecast '71 Dodge Demon Photo: Ministry of Diecast '71 Plymouth Road Runner Photo: Ministry of Diecast '73 Ford Falcon XB Photo: Ministry of Diecast Custom '69 Volkswagen Squareback Photo: Ministry of Diecast Nissan Fairlady Z Photo: Ministry of Diecast Porsche 934.5 Photo: Ministry of Diecast Mattel relaunched the Hot Wheels Ultra Hots series in 2022, almost 40 years since its original release. Following the same idea of using Spectraflame paint and special UH wheels on the cars, things seemed to kick off right away. It all clicked for both collectors that have been at it since the '80s, but also for the younger generation that was keen to experiment with a new line of diecast cars.After we got just one mix of eight cars in 2022, the first set for 2023 made an appearance back in December of last year. And now, it's time to look at Mix 2 for 2023. With any luck, we should be seeing at least two more of these by the end of the year.The '64 Chevy Chevelle SS is the first car included in the new mix. And right off the bat, you'll notice the mismatched wheels. The ones up front are the classic Ultra Hots rims you'd expect to see in a set like this. But on the rear, it makes use of a regular set of 5-spoke wheels instead.And that leads to an interesting conclusion. In Mix 1, the '70 Pontiac Firebird was the only vehicle that didn't use UH wheels. But for Mix 2 it seems like Mattel has shifted the strategy so that every car has at least two UH rims on it, to better fit the theme. Even though this isn't a Real Riders kind of design, it's still special in its way. The Chevelle SS casting was designed over a decade ago by Brendon Vetuskey, for its 2012 release.We've seen 13 variations of it up until 2021, with no new model coming out in 2022. And we've only seen one previous Spectraflame version before, as it was elevated to the rank of Super Treasure Hunt in 2020. The 2023 design was painted Spectraflame Aqua and features the classic afterburner flame tampos that are a defining element of the Ultra Hots series.The second tribute to the '60s comes in the form of a '68 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S, which was designed by Phil Riehlman. This casting made its debut in the 2013 HW Showroom: Muscle Mania series, when it had a Metalflake Purple body with Mopar decals on the side.Mattel has created 14 variations of it up until now, but this is the first one to feature a Spectraflame color. Granted, black isn't the most exciting color ever, but the flames manage to spice things up a bit.This is a genuine Ultra Hots design, with UH wheels on all four corners. Last year Hot Wheels unveiled a convertible '70 Plymouth Barracuda, but we would most likely go for the '68 model if we had to choose between the two.Moving on to the '70s, we get to see the '71 Dodge Demon. This is the oldest casting used in Mix 2, as it was first introduced in 2009. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that there are over 20 variations of it to collect if you're a completionist by nature.One of its highlights is the 2013 Super Treasure Hunt appearance when the car was painted Spectraflame Blue and rode on Real Riders 5-spoke rims. One of those will set you back between $25 to $50, depending on whether it's carded or not.We didn't get a new variation for 2022, which feels like a strategy to build up hype around the casting for the new Ultra Hots release. The Spectraflame Watermelon paint job features a rather subtle livery, making this one of the cleaner designs in the new set.The '71 Plymouth Road Runner is one of the rarer castings included in this Ultra Hots mix of cars. Since its debut in 2012, Mattel has only created nine variations of it not including the new UH appearance.Neither of these has been particularly special, but you'll probably enjoy either the First Edition in Metalflake Magenta or the fourth iteration in Metalflake Black. As for the new release, Hot Wheels has opted to paint it Spectraflame Green.Just like with the aforementioned Chevy Chevelle, this car is also rolling on mismatched wheels which are meant to provide a bit of diversity to the series. Still, we don't think it stands a chance at being the most popular casting in Mix 2, as it faces stiff competition against some of the following models.Both Mad Max fans and Australian collectors are going to love the '73 Ford Falcon XB that was designed by Rob Matthes. This casting was first featured in the 2010 All Stars series, and it has quite an impressive history to back it up.After three premium releases in 2011, a Super Treasure Hunt version came up in 2012. And it reached that status again in 2013, which is quite rare to see these days. So the new Spectraflame Orange iteration isn't likely to become the most special '73 Ford Falcon XB of all time.But it also has zero chances of ending up as a peg-warmer. Using the Spectraflame paint job was a brilliant idea, as it can make almost any car so much more desirable from the get-go. Still, the best is yet to come for Mix 2 of the Hot Wheels Ultra Hots, and it isn't until the end that we get to see the crown jewel of this set.Seeing the Custom '69 Volkswagen Squareback in this set feels a bit odd, and some of you might even think that this is a rather obscure casting. The First Edition was a premium model that came out in 2010 as part of the Hot Wheels Delivery: Slick Rides series.Up until today, there have been 18 variations of it, several of which had metal bodies and Real Riders wheels. One of the first things you'll notice about the Ultra Hots release is that Mattel opted for a ZAMAC presentation instead of the classic Spectraflame paint job.A similar approach was used in 2022 for the '69 Mercury Cyclone, and it doesn't feel like a bad idea at all. ZAMAC models are always quite popular among collectors, and some people have gone as far as customizing regular cars to get that unpainted look. The '69 Squareback is the second Volkswagen appearance in the Ultra Hots series, following the Spectraflame Apple Green SP2.In a rather unexpected turn of events, Mattel opted to use only one JDM car in this Ultra Hots mix. The previous one included both the Nissan Silvia (S14) Drift and the Honda Civic SI, but there were no such vehicles in the 2022 series.At least the Nissan Fairlady Z is an excellent choice for the current line-up. Jun Imai designed this casting for its 2016 release and we've already seen 16 variations of it so far. The 2017 Super Treasure Hunt was the first special one to hit the market, and then collectors were awed by the Car Culture: Japan Historic 2 release in 2018.The 2019 Fast & Furious: Fast Rewind was equally as amazing, and in 2020 the Fairlady Z even made it to the iD series. Even though the new iteration does not have Real Riders wheels, it still looks like something you're bound to see at the Tokyo Auto Salon or even at Daikoku Futo PA during a late-night car meet.Last but not least, here's the star of the show! Of course, not everyone is going to agree that the Porsche 934.5 is the most spectacular appearance in the new Ultra Hots mix, but online communities are already raving about it.Ryu Asada collaborated with Jun Imai on designing this casting, which first appeared back in 2017. Three variations and one year later, collectors were already on the lookout for the Super Treasure Hunt version in Spectraflame Aqua. A ZAMAC model was up next, and then it finally made its way into the Car Culture series in 2020. That means that the Ultra Hot appearance is the seventh one so far, and the first one after a two-year absence.We all know how important the choice of color and livery can be with these collectibles, but Mattel hit the nail right on the head this time. The 934.5 looks spectacular in Spectraflame Orange, with minimal intrusion from the Ultra Hots afterburner flames. One thing's for sure, you may have a hard time coming across one of these in stores as people will rush in to buy more than just one item. kWh EV WLTP PHEV I have seen some articles saying that Mazda was stupid for turning a rotary engine into a generator. For the people who wrote these texts, the fun with these machines is to hear them rev high and power the wheels. They totally missed the point. Mazdas strategy with the rotary engine was brilliant at least before it wasted it by cutting an already small battery pack in half.The only company to propose anything remotely similar to what Mazda did was Obrist. The Austrian startup developed the Zero Vibration Generator, or ZVG, a small engine that it created solely to generate electricity. It also modified a Tesla Model 3 to use a tiny 17.3-battery pack. Obrist never disclosed how far the car could travel only with the electricity that component can deliver, but we can try to calculate it.With a fully charged battery pack and a topped-up fuel tank, the Obrist Mark II prototype would have a 1,500-km (932-mi) range. With a depleted battery pack, the Austrian company said it could travel 700 km (435 mi) at highway speeds. That could lead us to imagine it could travel 800 km, but it would imply the vehicle demanded only 2.16 kWh/100 km, or 46.2 km/kWh (28.7 mi/kWh). That is something that not even the Lightyear 0 can offer as the worlds most efficient four-wheeled vehicle. The Dutch solar car can run 710 km (440 mi) with a 60 kWh battery pack, which means it can deliver 11.8 km/kWh (7.3 mi/kWh). Summing up, the Obrist Mark IIs electric range is lower than that.The Austrian company gave us another clue about the prototypes range: it spends 7 kWh/100 km or runs 14.3 km/kWh (8.9 mi/kWh). Multiply that by 17.3 kWh, and youll get 247.4 km (153.7 mi). The prototype achieves those numbers thanks to low mass and good aerodynamics, but Obrist said a Model 3 with this strategy could cost 20,000 instead of the 46,700 it did when I talked to the company.If you know the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-has a 17.8-kWh battery pack, it will seem that Mazda followed Obrists formula almost entirely, but there are crucial differences. The first one is that the MX-30 EV powered solely by its 35.5-kWh battery pack does not hand out as much mileage as the Obrist Mark II with half the battery pack the Japanese EV has. Itsrange is 200 km (124 mi) in Europe. The EPA test cycle grants it even less range: 100 mi (160 km).That has to do with aerodynamics, weight, and probably also how efficient the electric motor is, but Id bet more on aerodynamics . The MX-30 has a larger frontal area than the Model 3. In other words, it makes more effort to move at any given speed compared to the Tesla. That alone should have made Mazda realize it needs a bigger battery pack. For it to have the same performance as the Obrist Mark II, it should have kept the 35.5-kWh component.The deal with turning the rotary engine into a generator is that it is much smaller and lighter than reciprocating mills. MX-30 EV owners who popped up the hood saw there was plenty of room there to put the rotary engine. The issue would be where to put the fuel tank.Images released by Mazda show it was placed under the rear seats, as it is in most combustion-engined vehicles. A good chunk of the 35.5-kWh battery pack in the MX-30 is also placed there, with the component being taller in that area. The question is why Mazda used all of it to have a 50-liter fuel tank in an electric car.My old 225xe had a fuel tank of 36 liters (9.5 gallons), and it already had a great total range despite the lousy one provided by its 7.6-kWh (5.8 kWh of usable capacity) battery pack. Depending on how efficient the rotary engine is, that may offer an impressive range to the electric car even if the company not bragging about that makes it look like the mill is not exactly frugal. Anyway, that is not the point.Mazda could have given the MX-30 R-EV a smaller fuel tank and a larger battery capacity. Traveling 85 km (52.8 mi) with electricity may make it necessary to burn gasoline more often than it should. Volkswagen promised to offer 100 km in the new Tiguan. The BYD Destroyer 05 already offers 120 km (75 mi) of range with a battery pack slightly larger than that of the MX-30 R-EV: 18.3 kWh.If the Japanese carmaker reduced the battery pack to make the MX-30 R-EV cheaper than the electric derivative, that could make sense. However, I doubt that Mazda will manage to sell it for 20,000, as Obrist said its HyperHybrid system could make the Model 3 cost. In the end, the rotary engine will just deliver a reasonable PHEV when it could offer one of the best such vehicles around. Im still trying to understand what Mazda tried to accomplish with this car, and I do not doubt the Japanese carmaker is also baking its noodles with the same question. Neither of us may ever have an answer for that. EV chargers are enough. Sort of kW ICE Photo: Newspress EV Going full-throttle on EV-ification Photo: Newspress kWh A more conservative approach Photo: Newspress Is 2030 the year of EVs? Photo: Newspress Today, there are around 280 million vehicles operating on U.S. roads. Less than half of them are passenger cars, and around five million are publicly owned vehicles. Less than two million are EVs, while the other 99% are powered by internal combustion engines.Obviously, they need fuel to run, and they must use the around 170,000 fueling stations across the United States. The average gas station has between six and 12 pumps, which means there are roughly 1.5 million fuel pumps out there.Statistically, there is one fuel pump for every 185-190 vehicles. Now lets see if these values also apply to EVs and charging stations infrastructure.First of all, the fuel pump infrastructure is very different from charging station infrastructures. I used the plural for the latter, and its not a typo. Thats because there are two kinds of charging points: AC Level 2 and DC Level 3.AC Level 2 charging points are using alternating current, which means low power (much less than 50) and long charging times (several hours). DC Level 3 charging points are using direct current and provide fast-charging or ultra-fast-charging powers (up to 350 kW, for now).Fast-charging a battery from around 10-20% to 80% requires between 20 minutes and one hour, depending on battery size and how much power charge can handle the battery management system. Either way, its no match for the few minutes needed to fill ancars tank.But lets not get into that painful debate today. Lets stick to the numbers.Currently, in the U.S., there are around 56,000 charging stations, where almost 150,000 charging points are deployed. Around 130,000 are AC Level 2, while the other 20,000 are DC Level 3. Usually, the AC ones are separated from DC ones, because of very different connections to the grid.The number of electric vehicles registered at the end of 2022 in the U.S. was almost two million. This means there is one charging point for every 13 EVs. But we should separate them: there is one AC Level 2 charging point for every 15 EVs, respectively, one DC Level 3 for every 100 EVs.Compared to ICE vehicles and gas stations, it seems the number ofcharging points is more than enough. But then there are some details. For instance, 10% of all charging stations are private. Out of the roughly 20,000 fast-charging points, almost 17,000 belong to the Tesla Supercharger network only a few non-Tesla electric cars can use them.Taking into account that most EV drivers charge their cars at home overnight, and some even at the office during the day, things are not so bad. But they will soon be, most likely.The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is pouring $7.5 billion into public EV-charging infrastructure, aiming for 500,000 new public chargers by 2030. It seems a lot: more than a four-time increase in eight years. Not so bad, Uncle Joe Mister President!However, recent studies from McKinsey & Company and S&P Global reveal that the addition of half a million public chargers could be far from enough. Because in 2030, there will be tens of millions of electric vehicles in the U.S.If the federal target for 2030 will be met half of the new passenger cars and light trucks should be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) McKinsey & Company estimates that the EV vehicles fleet in the U.S. will be more than 48 million Were talking about a mind-blowing 24-fold increase in eight years! 44 million will most likely be passenger cars, while the rest will be electric buses, light commercial vehicles, and trucks. According to McKinsey & Company, all of these EVs will require at least 1.2 million public chargers more than double compared to the governments plan.Keep in mind that AC Level 2 chargers are becoming obsolete, because of long charging times. They will mostly be a solution for residential and office applications. There are the most common places where cars are parked for longer periods, so a longer charging time is not an issue.The focus is on DC Level 3 fast-charging and ultra-fast-charging stations. For instance, the number of all charging stations doubled in 2022 compared to 2021 but the fast-charging points had a higher growth rate. In the near future, cars will have bigger batteries, while commercial vehicles will have even bigger batteries.But most of all, the public expects much shorter charging times . This is a must, especially for drivers who need to travel hundreds of miles daily and cant afford long pauses. Besides, gaining around 50 miles range for a five to ten minute fast-charging is also common sense for daily commutes.McKinsey & Company is pointing out another interesting fact: annual demand for electricity to charge all electric vehicles in 2030 will surge from 11 billiontoday to a whopping 230 billion kWh in 2030. That is 5% of nowadays electricity demand in the U.S.Estimates show that the cost of hardware, planning, and installation for the millions of public chargers needed in 2030 will require around $35 billion by 2030. This is five times more than Biden Administrations funds for EV charging infrastructure.S&P Globals forecasts are a little different: the total number of EVs in operation could reach only 28 million units in 2030. EV market share for new vehicles is estimated to be around 40% by 2030, less than the federal target.Accordingly, around 2.13 million AC Level 2 and 172,000 DC Level 3 public chargers will be needed. So, a total of 2.3 million charging points more than four times than the governments target. And this is just the start of issues.S&P Global considers that the deployment of charging stations should follow the EV adoption rate, which is different state by state. In short, the states following the California Air Resources Board's path to zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales must be prioritized.California, Florida, Texas, and New York are traditionally the states with the highest number of vehicles in operation and the highest new-vehicle registrations. So, there youll find most of the electric vehicles, and most public stations funded by the government should be deployed there. The states where EV adoption happens gradually will require fewer funds for charging infrastructure.Theres another problem: currently, close to 90% of charging stations are in metropolitan areas. But according to S&P Global, distribution will need to be much wider as vehicles in operation grow, and consumers need to charge along their routes."One very interesting observation is related to other solutions, like battery swapping, wireless charging, or even the deployment of DC wallbox solutions on AC grid sites. They have the potential to change the established model of charging stations.For now, they are not in Bidens plans, but nonetheless, there are other government agencies that fund research for alternate solutions like these. Hopefully, in the following years, they will play a more important role in the transition of the refueling mechanism.Convenient and sufficient charging solutions for EVs are crucial for the mass adoption of electric vehicles, thats for sure. The $7.5 billion to deploy 500,000 charging points by 2030 is a bold step for this administration, although studies are showing theres much more to be done.Fortunately, the car industry is also taking Teslas example and, in the following years, there will be more other charging points and networks available for EV owners. Im talking about tens of thousands of EV chargers, mostly DC fast-charging, that will add to those already planned by the Biden Administration.However, theres something thats bugging me EV transition is too slow. I mean, the goal of 50% of new cars being electric vehicles in 2030 sounds kind of theatrical. Simple math is showing us that, in this scenario, in 2030, electric vehicles will count for about 15 percent of all vehicles in the U.S.This is way too little for a country where SUVs and guzzler pick-ups are the new normal. Their mpg is lower than normal passenger cars and makes the EVs gains in emissions reduction look more like a joke. It's also true that the car industry is a behemoth, and big changes require more time.But time is money is no longer a viable excuse in this climate change crisis that were gradually experiencing. We simply dont have time for a slow transition. Call me outdated, but Im afraid its time to listen carefully to Midnight Oils 1987 hit Beds are Burning. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. CARACAS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela on Friday proposed the creation of an international energy development bank to facilitate countries' access to diverse energy sources amid the ongoing global energy crisis. Vice President of the Economic Sector and Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami made the proposal during the virtual Voice of the Global South Summit hosted by India, saying that such a bank would "leverage and sustain projects for energy diversification." "In the proposal's first stage, the basic needs of the people should be met ... regarding access to affordable, safe and reliable energy sources," he noted, adding that the bank should operate under the principle of solidarity within the framework of South-South cooperation. He welcomed more foreign investment in his oil-rich country, saying: "Venezuela is ready to produce, export, and sign contracts and agreements with all energy companies in the world." UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's envoy to the United Nations on Friday called on the international community to create conditions for dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and to redouble efforts to open up new prospects for peace in the new year. The current situation in Ukraine is a result of the deep-seated security imbalance in Europe, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, told a Security Council briefing on Ukraine, noting that only when parties concerned overcome differences and sit down at the negotiation table, can a fundamental solution be found to end the conflict and rebuild the European security architecture. The international community, in particular countries with major influence on the current situation, should encourage Russia and Ukraine to engage in dialogue and help open the door to a political solution of the crisis, he added. The envoy warned that escalating sanctions or providing weapons will only make the situation more difficult and may even provoke more confrontations and exacerbate the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs. Continued international humanitarian assistance is indispensable to help conflict-affected people survive the winter, he said, stressing that it is imperative now to help Ukraine repair damaged energy infrastructure as soon as possible. Russia's 36-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Christmas should be welcomed, Zhang said, expressing the hope that in the future there will be more similar ceasefire initiatives, "so as to create conditions for a comprehensive ceasefire." He also urged all military operations that could affect the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to be stopped immediately. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency in maintaining communication with Russia and Ukraine over the Zaporizhzhia plant in order to reach a mutually acceptable and viable arrangement at an early date, Zhang said. Speaking of the spillover effects of the crisis, the envoy noted that the artificial disruption of the global industrial chain and supply chain by unilateral sanctions cannot be ignored. Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic, monetary and trade policies to avoid negative spillover effects that exacerbate the economic and livelihood difficulties of developing countries, not to mention using the world economy as a political tool or weapon, thereby undermining the hard-won momentum of recovery, he said. "At the beginning of the new year, all parties should take new actions to actively open up new prospects for peace," Zhang said. "China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial position, and make constructive efforts in its own way." Bennington, VT (05201) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Near record high temperatures. High 82F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low near 55F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close One year ago: The Australian government revoked the visa of tennis star Novak Djokovic for a second time as Djokovic fought to stay in the country and compete in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19. (Djokovic would be deported two days later, but returned in January, 2023 for competition.) China further tightened its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country as scattered COVID-19 outbreaks continued, a little over two weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics. TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday summoned British Ambassador Simon Shercliff to protest the United Kingdom's (UK's) "unconventional interference" in Iran's internal affairs. The director general of the Western Europe Department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry delivered to Shercliff Iran's protest against the UK's "acts of sabotage against the Islamic republic of Iran's national security," the ministry said in a statement on its website. The meeting came as former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari was executed on Saturday on the charge of "espionage for the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)." Pointing to "tangible information about the trap set for Alireza Akbari by the British side," the Iranian official said the British government "must be held accountable over its unconventional links that led to a breach of the Islamic Republic of Iran's national security." The director general said that "unjustified and mischievous support for a spy is at odds with claims of seeking relations based on mutual respect." The Iranian diplomat also stressed that "taking decisive actions" to protect Iran's security does not depend on other government's consent, particularly that of the UK, while warning that continuation of such "illegal and criminal" actions will not be tolerated by Tehran. The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported on Saturday that Akbari was executed on charges of spying on behalf of the UK, corruption, and acting against the country's internal and external security. In reaction to Iran's hanging of Akbari, who held dual Iranian-British nationality, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned in a Saturday tweet that the execution will not "stand unchallenged." In another tweet, Cleverly said the UK had imposed sanctions on Iran's Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri following Akbari's execution. NORTH ADAMS Desks were pushed to the side of the room and yoga mats filled Lisa Tanners fourth grade classroom at Colegrove Park Elementary School. Bring your arms up, Tanner told about 25 students Friday while she stood on her own yoga mat. Sigh out all the stress of today. The whole room let out of a collective sigh. This school year, Tanner has offered yoga on Fridays as part of a new mindful movement program in the district. Its a way to ease stress and anxiety as students are transitioning back to in-person learning after the pandemic shutdown. Fourth grade is a huge jump from third grade, Tanner said. And they were in second grade when the major pandemic hit. And so they missed a lot. And I think its just a way to help ground them and get them into the groove. Students felt refreshed after yoga on Friday. Weve got to get out all our energy, Jenna Mongeon, 10, said as she rolled up her yoga mat. She particularly likes the warrior poses. It makes me feel relaxed. It takes out all the stress, Colton Braman, 9, said after yoga. Its fun to do that after all the tests we had. Tanner is one of about 10 teachers in the North Adams district who were trained last summer through Breathe for Change. Its a program geared at educators, teaching them about yoga, mindfulness, mediation and social and emotional learning to help them and their students. Educators are incorporating that in different ways with students. Some hold weekly yoga practices like Tanner, others have students do short breathing exercises, and a teacher at Drury High School has started doing yoga as an alternative to detention. The program is not just for students its also supporting teachers, many of whom felt burnt out from teaching during the pandemic. Lets face it, Tanner said, were coming off of a pandemic, which really was extraordinarily traumatic for not only the students, but for the staff, for families, for whole communities. And so this is a really great way to bring everyone together. The new initiative started with Superintendent Barbara Malkas. Quite frankly, this all came out of being desperate to find something that could help my educators and help the kids, she said. Coming out of the pandemic people were carrying a lot of stress. People were very anxious The entire world had the rug pulled out under us. About a third of high school students, for example, said they had poor mental health during the pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2021 show. Educators, too, had a hard time. In Mary Sweeneys 31 years of teaching, she had never seriously doubted her career choice until she was teaching online during the pandemic. I really considered that I was not made to be a teacher, the Drury Spanish teacher said. It was so difficult to survive the day. Malkas was also stressed. I came out of the pandemic thinking I was fine, she said. Apparently I was not. I was carrying my own emotional stress. Kids pick up on that they are good emotional barometers. She turned to yoga and mindfulness to de-stress. After she got trained through Breathe for Change in 2021, she offered six weeks of after-school yoga classes open to district educators last school year. About a dozen people came regularly to her class, and they told her they wanted to bring it to their own classrooms. Once you feel it in your own body you say, Oh, Ive got to share this, Malkas said. So last summer, about 10 North Adams teachers, including Tanner and Sweeney, did a 200-hour training with Breathe for Change. After the training, Judith Fairweather, an English language arts teacher at Drury High School, started offering yoga every Wednesday after school for the Drury community, including those who would otherwise be in detention. Before the class, she goes to an office where students in detention are and asks if they would rather do yoga. Its far from letting students off the hook, Sweeney said. Its not that we are giving them a pass, we are giving them tools to self regulate and know better next time, she said. If you know better, you do better next time, she added, quoting the late poet Maya Angelou. In the after-school class, Fairweather offers modifications to poses to make it more inclusive, driving home the point yoga is for two words: every body, she said. I am a good example of that. I am not your little 80-pound, perky yoga instructor with a head piece, yet I can be successful at it. It helps with anxiety, too. Not all of our kids live the best lives, Fairweather said. Yoga is a way for them to step out of that for that brief amount of time. And ending in shavasana, a resting pose, can help recharge tired students. I think sometimes they dont rest at all, she said. In Sweeneys Spanish classroom, she has students do short breathing exercises. I feel re-energized, the students say afterward. This helps me to be here. Transitioning back into school in-person amid the pandemic was hard. The level of stress, you could feel it in the air, Sweeney said. The program has made it lighter. And even before the pandemics onset, Sweeney flirted with using mindfulness in the classroom. We have so many kids that are survivors of traumas or live in trauma, she said. I am looking for a way to help them be more mindful and present. One way Tanner has helped students feel present is doing regular check-in, asking students to describe how they feel using weather words partly cloudy with low lying fog, students might say. Its a way for students to say how they feel in a safer way. It gets them heard, Tanner said, but theyre not embarrassed. When she started those check-ins after her Breathe for Change training, students wouldnt raise their hands. No one wanted to be first, she said. I always went first. And Id say, two words about myself. And then Id have to call on kids. And now its like hands are going up, left and right. In Tanners class, one wall is covered in student art projects. I am... they all say, and the students wrote words and illustrated their ideas. I am ... capable, kind, focused, intelligent, and loved, one reads. Those are the students positive affirmations, and the class uses them. I want you to be saying that mantra, that positive mantra about yourself, Tanner tells students. The more you say it, the more you believe it. And we have a lot of kids who struggle with belief that they are smart. Theyre capable. They can do it. Are you thinking so much about a situation that youre feeling stressed or worried? While its good to be thoughtful, its harmful to your well-being to overthink about something. God can help you manage your thoughts well, and also give you the peace you need in any circumstance. What does the Bible say about overthinking? Learning that can help you overcome overthinking and experience peace of mind. What Is Overthinking? Overthinking means thinking about something in ways that are harmful rather than helpful. That involves focusing excessively on negative thoughts such as ruminating (dwelling on problems rather than on ideas for solutions) or worrying (choosing to be anxious rather than trusting God to help you). Any type of situation that concerns you can cause you to overthink, if youre not careful to intentionally manage your thoughts about it. For example, you may need to make a significant decision in your relationships or your work, and youre thinking so much about all the potential outcomes that you cant move forward with a choice. Or, you may be preparing for a significant event, such as an important family gathering or work presentation, and youre obsessing over plans for it and worrying about what might happen. You may also overthink when youre facing a complex problem youre trying to solve on your own, without asking God to help you. Overthinking can make you feel helpless, like youre stuck experiencing negative thoughts running through your mind. What Does the Bible Say about Overthinking? King David describes the stress of overthinking in Psalm 6, where he writes that My soul is in deep anguish (verse 3) and I am worn out from my groaning (verse 6) yet celebrates Gods intervention to help him in verse 9: The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. Psalm 42:5 sheds light on how overthinking be harmful to the soul and presents a solution to that problem: Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Jesus addresses the exhaustion that comes from lifes stresses, including overthinking, in Matthew 11:28-30: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Here, Jesus is encouraging you to find relief from overthinking and all other stress through a relationship with him. Colossians 3:2 urges: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Thankfully, the Bible assures you that its possible to take control of your thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the apostle Paul writes: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Its by taking every one of your thoughts captive that you can fight off overthinking and find peace of mind. 4 Biblical Ways You Can Fight Off Overthinking While overthinking is a challenging issue to deal with, the Bible offers powerful ways you can fight off overthinking and experience peace of mind. Here are 4 ways to do so: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind. Romans 12:2 advises: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. When youre overthinking, your mind can get stuck in a pattern of repeating thoughts that do you more harm than good. You can fight that off by asking the Holy Spirit to renew your mind regularly. The Holy Spirit will help you at any moment when you pray for help. Its also wise to ask for the Spirits help when you begin each day, so you can see situations from an accurate perspective on a regular basis. Over time, you can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to develop qualities that the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. My book Wake Up to Wonder includes well-being research about each of those qualities, showing how developing them can lead to a healthy mind. 2. Turn your worries into prayers. Philippians 4:6-7 urges you: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Whenever you notice yourself worrying about something because youre overthinking it, take that thought captive by praying about it. Refuse to dwell on anxiety, and instead talk with God about whats concerning you, asking God to help you with that situation and give you peace about it. Worrying just wastes your energy, but prayer always works because it invites Gods power into the situation. Choose to trust that God will answer your prayers at the best times and in the best ways. When worries are persistent, keep praying persistently, following the advice in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray continually. The more you pray when you catch yourself worrying, the more youll be able to overcome overthinking. Prayer focuses your thoughts on God, and Jesus assures you in Matthew 6:33-34 that seeking God is much better than worrying: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 3. Focus on positive thinking. Overthinking can make your negative thoughts spiral out of control. You can fight that off by focusing on positive thinking. Philippians 4:8-9 encourages you: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. ... And the God of peace will be with you. Bible verses about positivity show that choosing positive thinking can help you move closer to God, which will empower you to overcome overthinking and trust God in deeper ways. 4. Be still. Rather than letting thoughts run wild through your mind with overthinking, choose to rest your mind by meditating on Gods presence with you. Be still, and know that I am God, God encourages you in Psalm 46:10. When you trust God, you dont need to overthink, because God will fight for you in any situation. Exodus 14:14 assures you that: The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. You can strengthen your ability to still your mind by developing prayer and meditation habits you enjoy and will be motivated to practice regularly. In the process, your faith will grow stronger, helping you trust God more and be still with him in peace. Conclusion Learning what the Bible says about overthinking gives you the wisdom you need to stop the stress of unhealthy thoughts running through your mind. As you practice ways to overcome overthinking, youll experience more peace, and be free to notice and enjoy Gods presence with you no matter what circumstances you face. Photo Credit: Getty Images/globalmoments Whitney Hopler is the author of the Wake Up to Wonder book and the Wake Up to Wonder blog, which help people thrive through experiencing awe. She leads the communications work at George Mason Universitys Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Whitney has served as a writer, editor, and website developer for leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USAs national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She has also written the young adult novel Dream Factory. Connect with Whitney on Twitter and Facebook. And one of them is reeaaaalllll shiny. - The guard on Veggie Tales If you grew up on Veggie Tales, that really shiny guy might be what comes to your mind when asked where we find Jesus in the book of Daniel. There are some books in the Old Testament where it seems difficult to find Jesus. But hes real shiny, not only in the story of the fiery furnace, but really throughout the book of Daniel. In fact, Jesus himself uses language from Daniel (7:28-29) to identify himself as the Son of Man. There are many places we can find Jesus in the book of Daniel. Read on to discover more. How Do You Find the Gospel in the Old Testament? I suppose before understanding how to find the gospel in the OT, itd be helpful for us to define the gospel. The simplest definition is one given by JI Packer: God saves sinners. If youd like to put a bit more meat on your gospel presentation, I use two different frameworks with four points each. The first is GodManChristResponse. The second is more of a story: CreationFallRedemptionGlory. The first presentation centers upon Gods character and how humanity fails to meet Gods holy standard, as such the judgment of God is upon us. But the good news is that Jesus Christ fixes this by fulfilling what is required through his life, death and resurrection. Our only fitting response, then, is to respond to Him in repentance and faith. When this happens, we are united to Christ and his record becomes our record. The second presentation centers upon the overarching story of the Bible. God lovingly created us to love Him and enjoy Him forever. We were made for rest, rule, and relationship. But we made shipwreck of this, and so rather than having the blessings of obedience we are under the curse of disobedience. Rather than having peace (rest), purpose (ruling), and healthy relationship we often experience the opposite. Ultimately, we are alienated from God. But thankfully God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our curse and to fulfill what God intended for humanity. As such we now experience the blessings of Jesus obedience in our place. He restores the rest, rule, and relationship we were created to enjoy. Someday everything will be ultimately restored and we will live in a new heaven and a new earth. We could write entire books focusing on these various themes of the gospel. But every gospel story follows this basic skeleton. No matter where you find yourself in the Old Testament (or the New Testament) you can find one of these various threads. Every place in Scripture is either telling you something about God, something about our rebellion, something about His rescue, or something about our future restoration. If you can spot this, then you can fill out the rest of the story. How Do We Find the Gospel in Daniel? There was a movie that I watched, prior to having a relationship with Jesus, that kind of reminds me of the book of Daniel, because of its propensity to give the reader whiplash. The movie that Im referencing began as a movie about a kidnapping/hostage situation but ended up a story about vampires. It was incredibly strange because you are pulled into the story of the couple who was kidnapped, and then introduced into an entirely different story. Reading Daniel is similar. Daniel begins with the narrative of a young man who is exiled in the Babylonian, and later Persian, Empire. We also read of his three friends who were thrown into a fiery furnace but miraculously escaped. The narratives give us a picture of what it means to live as an exile. Its a model for believers who are living in a world that is ultimately not our home. But then in chapter 7 the book turns into the apocalyptic visions of Daniel. It tells of their immediate future but also stretches into the end of days. And it is a reminder that the final victory belongs to one who is like a Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, in Daniel 7. Though it seems as if these two are entirely unrelated, in actuality the second half of the book is what gives fuel to the narrative. We are able to stare into the fiery furnace or to be thrust into a den of lions because we know the end of the story. And it is here that we also see the gospel in Daniel. We see in Daniel that God is sovereign over history. He is able to intervene in the life of Daniel. He knows the future and is able to direct the hearts of kings. And he is fully able to bring about the events of Daniel 7riding upon the clouds and rescuing His people. Daniel also shows us the frailty of humanity. In the story Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the universe ends up eating grass like cattle. He has the power to throw three men into a fiery furnace, but he doesnt ultimately hold their life in his hands. Even the faithful Daniel and his friends are in the palm of Gods hand. They too are frail. The same is true of each empire outlined in the book of Daniel. Humanity is frail. Yet, we also see in Daniel that there is a kingdom, and a King, that is unshakeable. This is Christ for us, able to rescue us in our weakness. The people are in exile because of sinand the narrative here is that God is able to redeem, protect, and ultimately restore sinful people. He also is strong in the places where we are frail. His kingdom is unshakeable. Our only fitting response then, and the message of Daniel, is to trust in God regardless of what age or era you find yourself in. If you are in exile, its a call to be faithful because we serve the Eternal One. And if we rise to the heights of our own empire, we must also humbly acknowledge that every success comes from Gods hand. It is Gods kingdom which matters. Bryan Chappell says it well. The central message of Daniel is this: God will rescue his people from their sin and misery by the work of a Messiah. Where Is the Gospel in Daniel 5:1-31? There are a few places, like the fiery furnace and the Son of Man passage, where it is easy to draw a line to Christ. But what do we do with some of the more difficult passages? Remember that story in Acts where the Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah and Philip explains from that very passage the gospel of Jesus? I think its good practice to try to do what Philip did from every point in the Old Testament. If you had only Daniel 5:1-31 and you were called to proclaim the gospel to someone, how would you do it? Youve likely heard of Daniel 5:1-31 even if you have never read that passage. Or rather you are familiar with an important phrase from that passage. Here we see the handwriting on the wall. That has become a proverbial phrase to indicate that there are apparent signs that something bad will happen in the future. In the story in Daniel 5, Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, is drinking wining and praising all of his pagan gods. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing upon the wall. This, as it obviously would anyone, alarms the king. Worse still, he is unable to read the handwriting on the wall. In fact, none of his enchanters or astrologers are able to read it. But Daniel can and does read the handwriting on the wall. How, then, do we preach the gospel from a passage like this? First, we are attuned to the connection between the handwriting and the idolatry of Belshazzar. He is praising his gods and relying upon his enchanters and such. But their emptiness is quickly shown with this handwriting on the wall. It takes one of Gods prophets to discern the meaning. Secondly, we see here the sovereignty of God. He is in control. Not Belshazzar. The same is true for us. We are unable to read the writing on the wall and yet remain convinced that we are in control of our own destinies. We believe that we are the captain of our own ship, until by Gods grace we come to realize that we are not the ones in control. Belshazzar was weighed in the balances and found wanting. This is what the Bible declares of all of us. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But there is one who did not fall short. There is one who is even greater than Daniel. One who Himself moves history along. Jesus the Christ. Jesus was weighted in the balances and NOT found wanting. He has succeeded where every human before has failed. And He graciously invites us into covenant with Himself. When we agree to this, His record becomes our own. His accomplishments are credited to our account. That is the good news of the gospel. We are like Belshazzar; through our rebellion weve come up short. But in Christ we can be forgiven and made new. Related articles Where Is the Gospel amidst the Laws of Deuteronomy? How Isaiah Conveys the Beauty of the Gospel Message Where Do We See Christ in the Old Testament Book of Joshua? Photo credit: Unsplash/Prince David ISLAMABAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were killed in firing by terrorists in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the wee hours of Saturday, police said. The killed including a deputy superintendent police (DSP) went to the Sarband police station of the city to retaliate against an attack by the terrorists, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) of Operations Kashif, Aftab Abbasi told media. He said that all policemen were shot in the head by snipers, and succumbed to injuries while on the way to the hospital. Abbasi added that the attackers carried out a well-coordinated attack from different directions at the police station, using hand grenades and sophisticated weapons. The staff of the police station called an extra contingent of police from surrounding areas, and the DSP and his team were among the reinforcement who reached the site, the SSP added. "As long as the officer and his team reached the site, they surrounded the attackers who were trying to enter the police station, and were killed in a retaliatory attack," he added. No loss of life was reported inside the Sarband police station and the attack was foiled, he said. An search and combing operation will continue on Saturday morning to trace the attackers, he added. Before Bianca Censori became an overnight celebrity following reports of her marriage to rapper Kanye West, she was an impressive young designer making waves in Melbournes architecture community. Joe Toscano, Censoris former boss at Melbournes DP_Toscano Architects, said he was astounded when Censori told him in 2020 that she was off to work for Wests Yeezy brand. Bianca Censori at a Balenciaga fashion show at the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Credit: Christopher Peterson/SplashNews But he said he was sure she had the talent to take on such a high-profile role. It was surprising because she was still so young in the profession ... It was only the fact that it had happened so quickly and so soon, not because I didnt think that she had the skills to do it, Toscano said. SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan's unilateral push to discharge radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean is irresponsible and harmful, as the Japanese government pursued it without consultations with neighboring countries, a South Korean green activist said. "It is very concerned that Japan is still unilaterally pushing for the discharge of the Fukushima contaminated water," Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environment Movement, told Xinhua on Saturday. "Neighboring countries such as (South) Korea and China could suffer more direct damage, so Japan had to consult with them. The problem is that Japan follows its own process (without consultations)," said Ahn. "A sizeable amount of the contaminated water, such as tritium, is difficult to purify no matter how much purification is performed. It is very irresponsible to release it as it is." Japan's planned release of tritium-laced wastewater from the Fukushima power plant into the sea will start around this spring or summer, according to Kyodo News reports citing the Japanese government. Japan decided in April 2021 to start dumping about 1.25 million tons of nuclear wastewater into the ocean spanning 30 years from 2023. The Japanese government has claimed that the contaminated water could be diluted with water and discharged at a low concentration after being treated with an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS). The green activist, however, noted that the radioactive substances cannot be completely filtered through the ALPS, saying substances, such as tritium, will be poured into the sea unfiltered. "A lot of radioactive materials have already flowed into the sea after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Because of that, fish contaminated with cesium are caught in waters off Fukushima," said Ahn. According to the South Korean environmental group's analysis of the 2021 data from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, cesium was detected from 8 percent of Japanese fishery products. "Once (the contaminated water) is thrown into the sea, it cannot be retrieved. Environmental effects from radioactive materials cannot be felt immediately, but will inevitably appear over a long period of time," Ahn said. "The Pacific Ocean is not the sea of Japan, but the sea of everybody ... Pollutants will flow to neighboring countries in a situation that a lot of radioactive materials have already been released and contaminated (the marine ecosystem)," said the green activist. The South Korean government, which has opposed the radioactive wastewater dumping by Japan, reiterated its opposition. "Putting top priority on public health and safety, the government will continue to respond by maintaining its position that the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant should be safely disposed of in accordance with international standards from the objective and scientific perspectives," a South Korean foreign ministry official said Friday. The body of a woman who went missing in bushland on the states Central Coast on Friday has been found. Police were informed that a 78-year-old woman, who was visiting from the United States, was missing late on Friday night after reportedly becoming lost on a bushwalking trail between Pearl and Patonga Beach. Police searched the area around Middle Head with police dogs, surf lifesavers and the Toll Ambulance Rescue Helicopter, until about 3am on Saturday. The search resumed on Saturday morning before a police helicopter crew located a body, believed to be that of the missing woman. Three people have died in separate incidents since the early hours of Friday morning, continuing a grim holiday period on Queensland roads. The latest death, a 61-year-old man, at Tamborine Mountain on Saturday put the 2023 road toll at eight. A further eight people died in the week between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. The Queensland government recently announced a roundtable to find new ways to halt the upward trend of road deaths. The man died at the scene on Tamborine Mountain Road after his motorbike crashed with a vehicle about 10.45 am. The four occupants of the other vehicle escaped without injury. This followed the death of a 73-year-old man at Drinan on Friday afternoon and 24-year-old woman at Helidon the same day. Re said Pell was a protagonist of strong and determined character, characterised by a strong temperament, which at times could seem harsh, but he bore his unjust penalty with dignity and inner peace. Pell spent 404 days in a Victorian prison after he was convicted on sexual abuse charges from 2019 to 2020 when was acquitted in a unanimous decision of the full bench of the High Court in 2020. It was an experience of great suffering, endured with trust in Gods judgment, setting an example of how to accept even unjust punishments with dignity and inner peace. Faith and prayer were a great comfort and support for him. The coffin of Cardinal George Pell in St Peters Basilica before the requiem mass. Credit: AP The cardinals casket was blessed with holy water, reminiscent of the joy of baptism. A gospel book was placed on it, a sign that those who remain must carry on the Gospel of Christ to the world. The service was open to the public with mourners, mostly cardinals, priests, nuns and pilgrims, packed into a cordoned-off area in front of the altar while a group of tourists watched from behind the barrier. Archbishop Georg Ganswein, secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, and Pells long-time nemesis, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who is facing trial for financial corruption at the Vatican, were also among mourners. Applause broke out as Pells coffin was carried from St Peters Basilica. Pells dark brown wooden coffin had been lying in state before the funeral where, even in death, the late cardinal was fighting for the traditionalist cause. Having rarely taken a backward step over his lifetime, Pells funeral preparations were overshadowed by revelations he was the likely author of an anonymous memo last year that branded Francis pontificate a catastrophe. The popes economy minister for three years, Pell died on Tuesday night in a Rome hospital of heart failure after hip replacement surgery. The operation was understood to have been considered a success and Pell was conscious and chatting to the nurses caring for him before he went into cardiac arrest. Long one of the churchs most influential prelates, Pell played an outsized role in religious affairs in Australia, having been a leader of the Australian churchs conservative bloc. A priest from the diocese of Ballarat, Pell was appointed as auxiliary bishop for Melbourne in 1987 and as archbishop in 1996. He was named archbishop of Sydney in 2001 and made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003. On Wednesday Italian journalist Sandro Magister, a friend of Pell who has a long track record of receiving leaked Vatican documents, published an anonymous memo circulating in the Vatican condemning Francis papacy as a disaster and outed Pell as its author. He disclosed on his influential Vatican blog, Settimo Cielo, that it was Pell who had given him permission to publish it under the pseudonym Demos meaning The People in Greek. The memo criticised the Vaticans silence on issues involving the church including the war in Ukraine, human rights in mainland China and Hong Kong, and its move in some quarters to embrace the LGBTQI community, women priests and divorce. Pope Francis receives a cricket bat from Cardinal George Pell in 2015. Credit: AP Churchmen were overheard in cafes near the Vatican on Friday gossiping about the revelation and Pells final hours. Everyone here is talking about it, a Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The official said he did not doubt that Pell was the author but said the revelation should have been held back until after his funeral out of respect for the dead. Pells personal secretary, Father Joseph Hamilton, declined to comment on the report and Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said he had no comment. But one friend of Pell, Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, founder and editor of Ignatius Press, a Catholic publishing house in San Francisco, voiced scepticism that Pell authored the memo. Australian cardinal George Pell leaves the Quirinale hotel after meeting members of the Australian group of relatives and victims of priestly sex abuses in Rome in 2016. Credit: AP I think its just pure speculation as to whether hes the author or not, Fessio told EWTN, a global Catholic news service. Hes said enough things publicly that we can understand what his views were on these things. I will take a sed contra [counter view] on this. George Pell was a loyal son of the church. He would not publicly criticise the Holy Father, and I doubt that he would put his signature to something, even anonymously, that would be public criticism. The critical tone of the memo was matched by a more recent writing by Pell, published posthumously by the British magazine The Spectator, in which he called Francis three-year-long Synod on Synodality a toxic nightmare. Loading He was admired internationally as a leader of stature and theological orthodoxy, but to many in Australia he was forever tainted by his conviction and exoneration, and for turning a blind eye to paedophiles within the Victorian branch of the church over many years. Donald McLeish of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said its members did not celebrate the death of anyone, even of a man despised and mistrusted by thousands of survivors and supporters in Australia and beyond. George Pell had become a target and focus for survivors, and seen as the embodiment of the churchs attitude to those sexually abused by clerics, religious brothers and sisters, and lay employees of the Catholic Church in Australia, he said. Pell, rather than being instrumental in change as a church senior leader supporting survivors and victims of sexual abuse, adopted, even refined, the long-standing church practice of secrecy, and protecting the institution, seemingly at all costs. New York: The Trump Organisation has been ordered to pay $US1.6 million ($2.3 million) in fines to the state the maximum allowed by law following the conviction on tax crimes carried out by two of its long-time executives. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office argued for the top possible financial punishment under New York law for former president Donald Trumps private company, describing egregious and deliberate long-term conduct that benefited both his namesake company and the executives involved in the cheating. The sheer magnitude of this fraud merits the largest financial sanction authorised by law, Joshua Steinglass, an assistant district attorney, said at the companys sentencing on Saturday AEDT. A woman walks by The Trump Building in New Yorks financial district. Credit: AP Steinglass said the company cultivated a pervasive culture of fraud, underreported executive compensation, falsified business records and otherwise helping their senior management evade taxes to keep their own costs as low as possible. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) voice automation startup Skit.ai has sacked more than 115 employees, mostly from its India team, as part of the "restructuring process" amid the deepening funding winter, the media reported. According to a report in Inc42, Skit.ai Co-founder and CEO Sourabh Gupta announced the layoffs during a town-hall meeting. The layoffs impacted various verticals like software engineering, product and operations, among others According to the report, citing sources, the platform could not "generate enough revenue". The platform offered two months of salary as a severance package to the laid off employees, along with insurance coverage for the next six months, the report mentioned. "While the restructuring was unavoidable, the well-being of our ex-employees is important to us. Our priority right now is to support them in this transition and we are fully committed to that," Gupta was quoted as saying. Also Read AWS upbeat on India, sees massive headroom for growth in cloud adoption VVDN to Set Up CoE through Global Strategic Partnership with Google Cloud Oracle bets big on multi-cloud offerings for Indian govt, public sector AWS, Intel empower govtech and edtech startups with 'cloud' in Hyderabad NASA, Microchip to develop next-gen spaceflight computing processor USFDA pulls up Sun Pharma for manufacturing lapses in Halol plant RailTel bags Rs 170.11 cr contract from Puducherry govt for Smart City Google says India antitrust ruling to drive up costs for app developers Tesla cuts vehicle prices in bid to boost flagging demand Private equity major Apax Partners offloads 2.14% in Shriram Finance Skit.ai has raised about $30 million to date. The startup raised $23 million in September 2021, led by WestBridge Capital and existing investors Kalaari Capital and Exfinity Ventures, among others, also participated in the round. Gupta and Akshay Deshraj started Skit.ai in 2016 "with a mission to simplify the experience of connecting with contact centres". "Like all great visions, ours too is supported by a great team of 400+ people spread across geographies but bound together by our values in the pursuit of following through on this commitment," says the company's profile on its website. The platform has a customer service engine that leverages the combined power of human agents and its purpose-built voice AI technology. --IANS na/ksk/ Devotees and seers took a holy dip in the Ganges at the Gangsagar in the South 24 Parganas on Saturday, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. A prominent festival on the Indian calendar, devotees make offerings to the Hindu deity Surya on Makar Sankranti. The day marks the first day of the sun's transit into the Makara, marking the end of the winter solstice and the start of longer days. West Bengal Fire Services minister Sujit Bose said around 14,000 police personnel have been deployed at the fair site for security reasons, adding that 31 lakh pilgrims had arrived, till Friday, for the auspicious occasion. Bose further informed ANI that at least three devotees were airlifted for medical reasons and one person died. Bose said the devotees airlifted were identified as Chandravati Verma (39) from Uttar Pradesh, Rupa Shahi (56) from Nepal, and Devrani Mondal (65) from the South 24 Parganas. The deceased devotee was identified as 75-year-old Asha Ashok Korewar from Maharashtra. Her death was attributed to a heart-related problem, according to the minister. Also Read Bihar CM Nitish likely to expand his Cabinet after Makar Sankranti Makar Sankranti: Mumbai cops ban nylon kites for safety of birds, humans Here's a full list of bank and school holidays in Sept 2022; Check details Khattar announces Lord Parshuram Jayanti as gazetted holiday in Haryana Indian Railways to run tourist train between Ayodhya and Nepal's Janakpur HYV crops, favourable weather may add to wheat output by 5 mn tonnes: IIWBR Indian forces among best in world, thanks to veterans' courage: Army chief Cold wave sweeps North India, dense fog in Delhi-NCR; snowfall in Himachal MP Mohammed Faizal disqualified; Lok Sabha Secretariat issues notification Former IPL chief Lalit Modi hospitalised, placed on oxygen support The dip in the Ganges is believed to be sacred on January 14 and 15. Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious times in the year, marking the transition of the Sun from Dakshinayan to Uttarayan. Celebrated on January 14 every year, the festival is known by various names -- Pongal, Bihu, and Maghi. Devotees were seen taking a dip at ghats and performing rituals across the country. Devotees and Naga Sadhus from different parts of the country also gathered at Kolkata's Babu Ghat to take a holy dip during the Gangasagar Mela, the largest fair after Kumbh, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. He said as many as 40.7 lakh devotees have registered themselves for e-Darshan this year while 1,834 have registered for e-Snan. Also, 10.5 lakh devotees will offer puja virtually, the minister informed. "We have also deployed fire personnel and made necessary arrangements to prevent any untoward incident. Fire safety arrangements are in place and 29 people have been arrested, so far, for trying to disturb peace here," Bose told ANI. Several Naga Sadhus, who travelled hundreds of kilometres from across the country to take a holy dip in the Ganges, drew attention at the transit camp for the Gangasagar Mela. "I have been here since December 25 and will return to Ujjain after taking a holy dip in the Ganges," a Naga Sadhu, hailing from Madhya Pradesh told ANI on Friday. The temporary hamlet has been set up at Babughat for devotees visiting Gangasagar to camp. Naga Sadhus have been pouring into West Bengal for the annual pilgrimage fair from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu. "Gangasagar is considered as the largest pilgrimage in 'Sanatan Dharma' in India, and has been talked about for ages," said another Naga Sadhu, who has been visiting the fair since 2003. The second largest fair after Kumbh, the Gangasagar has returned after two years due to a Covid-induced hiatus. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 4 said her government will provide Rs 5 lakh insurance if any untoward incident takes place between January 8 to 17 at the fair ground. People experience a Seres 5 electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) BRUSSELS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. Boosted by the European Union's green transformation policy, sales of EVs in Europe have been increasing in recent years. And Chinese EVs have proved popular among European buyers due to their competitive prices and high quality. Build Your Dreams (BYD), the Chinese electric car manufacturer and inventor of the 3.0 blade battery, revealed three new models at the show. "With our design, technology, services and dealer partners, BYD will try to stand out and provide the best possible experience for European consumers," said Mike Belinfante, spokesperson for BYD Europe. The new X55 from Beijing Automobile (BAIC) was also officially unveiled at the show, and will be launched in Europe in February. Belgian car dealer OneAutomotive has introduced multiple models from BAIC Motor and DFSK (Dongfeng Sokon) to the markets in Belgium and Luxembourg over the last two years. A OneAutomotive employee said: "In the past two years, the import volume of these two brands of cars has grown steadily. Chinese cars are not only good quality, but also designed to meet the needs of European consumers." SERES Group released its new model SERES 5 SUV on Friday, while carmaker MG exhibited its MG4 and MG EHS models. The 100th Brussels Motor Show is the first live edition since the start of the pandemic three years ago, and will open its doors to the public from Jan. 14 to 22. Over 50 car brands are being showcased, which equal to roughly 95 percent of the Belgian automobile market. Many models are being unveiled for the first time in Belgium, as well as at European and global level, and 15 historic car models spanning 100 years since the first Brussels Motor Show are also on display. These historical models were selected by experts based on their lasting contribution to technological and societal innovation. Meanwhile, visitors will also be entertained by an LED and laser show on the facade of the Palais 5 building at the Brussels Expo Center. People visit the exhibition area of BAIC and DFSK during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) People experience a Seres 5 electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) People visit the exhibition area of BAIC and DFSK during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) A man takes photos of an MG4 electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Journalists make report on a BYD Atto 3 electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) People experience a BYD Han electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) People experience a BYD Tang electric car during a media preview of the 100th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 13, 2023. A fleet of luxury electric vehicles (EV) from Chinese manufacturers were showcased for the first time this week at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, which opened its doors to industry professionals and media on Friday. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Telangana's Minister for Industries and Information Technology, K.T. Rama Rao has sought budgetary support from the Centre for various industrial projects in the state. Reminding the Narendra Modi-led Central Government about the promises made to Telangana, he said that the upcoming Union Budget 2023-24 is the right occasion for the Centre to show its commitment to the development of the state. After writing a series of letters urging the Centre to support various sectors in the state, Rama Rao on Saturday dashed off a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the budgetary support that Central government has to extend to various projects in Telangana industrial sector. KTR, as the Telangana minister is popularly known, said that if the Centre truly believes in the slogans - Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, then support has to be extended to progressive states like Telangana which is filled with the potential to actualise those slogans. Stating that Telangana's pioneering policies achieved notable progress in the industrial sector after formation of the state, the minister said that world-class infrastructure is being created to meet the needs of industries and attract more investments. As part of it, KTR said, India's largest textile park, world's largest single pharma cluster - Hyderabad Pharma City are being established. He said that the industrial parks will usher in development of not only the state but the entire country. Also Read Telangana attracts over Rs 2.5 trn investments in 8 years: KT Rama Rao 'Every Indian has debt of Rs 1.25 lakh': KTR reacts to FM's Telangana jibe Telangana, Centre in war of words on Twitter over medical colleges Start with Gujarat if you can: TRS dares BJP to 'impose' Hindi across India Corporatisation of power, agri sectors will be disastrous: K T Rama Rao Customs dept monitoring toy imports, newer modus operandi adopted: CBIC Karnataka's 'pro-people' budget likely to be presented on Feb 17: CM Bommai RailTel bags Rs 170.11cr contract from Puducherry govt for Smart City Bihar govt initiates auction process for iron ore mines worth Rs 20,000 cr Coal Ministry offers relaxation in revision of Performance Bank Guarantee Reiterating that the country's progress can be fast tracked if states are strengthened, KTR sought huge funds to be allotted to Telangana which became a key player in the nation's industrial sector. KTR said that though the state sought Centre's support many a time in the past, it did not receive sufficient funds in the previous eight Union Budgets introduced by the BJP-led Union government. In his letter to the Union Finance Minister, KTR listed the industrial corridors, industrial parks and various other projects spread across the state which need budgetary support from the Union government. He sought funding support for external infrastructure development at NIMZ, Zaheerabad. He said the Centre should provide Rs 500 crore out of the total estimate of Rs 9,500 crore. KTR also sought budgetary support for development of Hyderabad-Warangal industrial corridor and Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor. At least 50 per cent of the total cost of Rs 5,000 crore is required to join two nodes of Hyderabad Pharma City and NIMZ Zaheerabad, he wrote. The Union minister was also urged to provide fund support for development of Hyderabad-Vijayawada industrial corridor. KTR sought Rs 1,500 crore out of Rs 5,000 crore to newly identified Hyderabad, Jadcherla, Gadwal, Kothakota nodes Establishing a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Jadcherla Industrial Park under TIES scheme and gas allotment for the same, sanction and upgradation of Brownfield Manufacturing Clusters, reopening of Cement Corporation of India in Adilabad, setting up a national design centre in Hyderabad, budgetary support for Hyderabad Pharma City, inclusion of Hyderabad in the proposed Defence Industrial Production corridor, support for development of Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and sanctioning of Mega Powerloom Cluster including Textile Park, Weaving Park and Apparel Park in Sircilla under the Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS) are among the other requests made by the minister. --IANS ms/pgh The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested a former assistant vice president of the RBL bank for allegedly transferring Rs 19.80 crore from bank's two accounts to his own accounts in other banks. The accused, identified as Nagendra Kumar (39), had also resigned from the bank after committing the crime in August 2020, and he was evading arrest. According to Jitendra Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (EOW), a complaint was filed by the vigilance department of the RBL bank wherein it was stated that Nagendra, was posted at RBL Bank at Barakhamba Road as Assistant Vice President, Implementation & Client Support - Transaction Banking. "On August 7, 2020, two account holders of the bank disputed some debit transactions from their accounts through the Cash Management portal of the bank. On further enquiry, the bank came to know that Nagendra transferred Rs 19.80 crore from two bank accounts to his own accounts with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The RBL Bank contacted ICICI Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd and returned the cheated amount to the victims accounts," said the official. However, a case was registered under relevant sections of the law and a manhunt was initiated to nab Nagendra, who was on the run. "Several efforts were made to trace the accused. Based on technical surveillance, Nagendra was apprehended on Friday from Vasant Kunj," said the Additional CP. Also Read What is the difference between a demat and a trading account? Six held for cheating HDFC Bank credit card holders of Rs 1.61 lakh CBI-Sisodia row: AAP supporters detained for protesting against the raid Banks seek clarity on 'grey areas' from RBI on Rupee Vostro accounts Rupee trade: Understanding difference between Nostro and Vostro accounts HDFC Bank's Q3 net profit jumps 18.5% YoY on healthy interest income growth HDFC Bank's profit rises 18.5% to Rs 12,260 crore in Q3, NII grows 24.6% India lets banks use face recognition, iris scan for transactions: Rpts Piyush Goyal calls for redoubling efforts at WTO for TRIPS waiver Credit growth of scheduled commercial banks tapers off in December Police said that Nagendra had permissions to read and write in the host to host banking system (Secure File Transfer Protocol) of the bank regarding bank accounts from which the money was transferred. On August 7, 2020 at about 05.18 p.m., Nagendra created two funds transfer files having eight transactions and uploaded them to the folder of these companies in a host to host banking system (Secure File Transfer Protocol). "After that the cash management system of the bank automatically sent these files for payment, Rs 6.9 crore was transferred to the account of Nagendra but the same was returned by ICICI bank on the request of the bank while Rs 10 crore was not accepted by HDFC bank as the beneficiary name mismatched while Rs 2.90 crore was not transferred as the daily limit was breached," said the official. "After transferring the cheated amount from the bank account holders he left the bank after sending an email of resignation on the same date at 05.44 p.m.," the official added --IANS ssh/pgh The Indian government is allowing banks to verify individual transactions that exceed a certain annual limit using facial recognition and an iris scan in some cases, in a bid to reduce fraud and tax evasion, three sources told Reuters. A few large private and public banks have begun using the option, said one of the sources, a banker, who declined to name the banks. The advisory allowing the verification is not public and has not previously been reported. The verification is not mandatory and is intended for cases where another government identification card used for tax purposes, the Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, is not shared with banks. The prospect of banks using facial recognition has concerned some privacy experts. "This raises substantial privacy concerns especially when India lacks a dedicated law on privacy, cybersecurity and facial recognition," said Pavan Duggal, an advocate and cyber law expert. The government has said it is targeting parliamentary approval of a new privacy law by early 2023. Also Read What is the difference between a demat and a trading account? Measuring jawlines: Decoding the new face recognition system at airports What is a Virtual Mobile Number? Benefits, usage and other details Fifa World Cup: Why are players wearing Batman-style facemasks in Qatar? Indian Air Force releases AFCAT 2 Admit Card 2022; here's how to download Piyush Goyal calls for redoubling efforts at WTO for TRIPS waiver Credit growth of scheduled commercial banks tapers off in December BHIM dilemma: Transaction value high, but volumes way lower than rivals Bank of Baroda hikes interest rates on retail term deposits by up to 65 bps Ind-Ra upgrades issuer rating for Bank of India, cites capital position The new measures can be used to verify identities of individuals making deposits and withdrawals exceeding 2 million rupees ($24,478.61) in a financial year, where the Aadhaar identity card is shared as proof of identify, said two government officials, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. The Aadhaar card has a unique number tied to an individual's fingerprints, face and eye scan. India's finance ministry in December asked banks to take "necessary action" on a letter by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which suggested verification should be done through facial recognition and iris scanning, especially where fingerprint authentication of an individual fails. The letter from the UIDAI, which is responsible for Aadhaar card issuance, makes no mention of a consent framework for the verification. Nor does it say that banks can take any action if a customer refuses. Responding to Reuters' queries, a UIDAI spokesperson said Aadhaar verification and authentication happens only with the explicit consent of the user. Use of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication helps in guarding against possible misuse, he said. "UIDAI regularly advises all authentication and verification entities to use face or iris authentications to cater to residents whose fingerprint authentication fails." He added that authentication and verification does not mean storing of data. The latest advisory follows a government order last year that mandated the quoting of an Aadhaar card or PAN number for making deposits or withdrawals exceeding 2 million rupees in a financial year. The federal finance ministry did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Conor Humphries, Kirsten Donovan) Russian military has claimed that it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar after a long battle. "The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Friday. However, Ukrainian officials said the fight for Soledar was still going on and accused Russia of "information noise". The victory would allow Russian troops to push on to the nearby city of Bakhmut, and cut off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman was quoted as saying by BBC. The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of just 10,000, and its strategic significance is debatable. But if it is confirmed that Russian forces have seized control of it, then there will likely be a big sigh of relief in the Kremlin, BBC reported. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his nightly address from Kiev on Friday, said that the battle in the region continued to rage, but avoided any reference to Russia's claims of control over Soledar. Also Read Russia says its forces took over Soledar, Ukraine denies its capture Zelenskyy visits front-line city of Bakhmut; Putin meets troops in Kremlin Ukrainian fortifications in Donbas region under pressure from Russia DPIIT working on policy for auction of salt land to private players President Biden signs bill to study salt lakes in drought-hit US West United Nation's nuclear watchdog IAEA to increase presence in Ukraine NATO plans to deploy surveillance planes to Romania to eye Russian activity Russia says its forces took over Soledar, Ukraine denies its capture Indian-American Usha Reddi takes oath as Kansas state Senator in US Biden takes classified documents, information very seriously: White House "Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our troops - the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defence and security forces - are defending the state," the Ukrainian President said. --IANS int/sha Hours after tweeting that Islamabad and Beijing will "work closely on matters of mutual interests including Rights & Freedom of Uyghurs community", Pakistan backtracked saying that their Twitter handle of Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu had been hacked. The tweet referred to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs being thankful to China for support to flood victims and then mentioned concerns regarding the Uyghur community. "MoFA Pakistan is thankful for Chinese aid and support for flood reconstruction. We will work closely on matters of mutual interest including the Rights and Freedom of the Uyghurs community," read the tweet from the official handle of Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu on Friday. The tweet was seen as the first instance of Pakistan coming out in support of Uyghur community, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang which has faced "serious human rights violations" from Beijing. UN human rights report had said last year that China is responsible for "serious human rights violations" in Xinjiang province. In a strongly-worded assessment, OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) had said that the extent of arbitrary detentions against Uyghur and others, in the context of "restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights, enjoyed individually and collectively, may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity." Also Read UNHRC: Dutch group raise Uyghur issue, blames China for Xinjiang genocide UN report on China indicates possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang UN rights commissioner slams pressure over Xinjiang report on China 10 killed, 9 injured in apartment fire in northwest China's Xinjiang region China rejects UN report on Uyghur human rights violations in Xinjiang UK to supply tanks to Ukraine as Russian missiles hit Kyiv: PM Rishi Sunak China reports almost 60,000 Covid deaths as govt fails to release data Indians travelling to Sri Lanka advised to comply with new Covid protocols Nearly all of Beijing's 22 mn population to get Covid by January-end: Study US, Japan sign pact at Nasa Headquarters for deep space exploration However, hours after the tweet, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson said that the Twitter account of the Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu, China "has been hacked". "As of today, any tweet or message issued from this account is not made by the Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu nor does it reflect the position of the Government of Pakistan," the spokesperson said in a tweet. Beijing has been accused for years of detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang region. China has vehemently rejected these charges, insisting it is running vocational centres designed to curb extremism. The UN released a report in September last year on alleged violations of the human rights of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China. The report found that mass detentions in China's Xinjiang region from 2017 to 2019 were marked by credible documentation of "torture, sexual violence, and forced labour, as well as forced abortions and sterilization". The UN report further stated that the allegations of sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, "appear credible and would in themselves amount to acts of torture or other forms of ill-treatment." UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns about the alleged detention and forced labour of Muslim Uyghurs in China, calling for unhindered access to the country to conduct fact-finding missions and urging global and domestic companies to closely scrutinize their supply chains. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has said that he is weighing a Senate bid in California, sparking speculation among Democrats in several key US states that he may be eyeing to run for the White House in the future, according to a media report. Those close to Khanna, 46, say he is keeping his options open ahead of a potential presidential run in 2028 or beyond. But others in his orbit are talking about an even more compressed timeline: running in 2024 if President Joe Biden, 80, decided not to, according to Politico, a political newspaper company based in Arlington County in the US. I think he would be a great United States senator, said Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist whose firm did media consulting for Khanna last year. But I also think, should Biden decide not to run, I think he's a very plausible candidate for president of the United States. So I think that those decisions are yet to be made. Khanna, who is a US representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017, for his part, denied in an interview that he would go for the White House should Biden ultimately forgo a reelection bid, saying I'll rule that out definitively. He has also said he would support Biden if he were to run. Also Read US seeks to add India as 6th nation for NATO plus, says lawmaker Ro Khanna India-US relationship can define 21st century: Congressman Ro Khanna American Express India appoints Sanjay Khanna as chief executive officer CAATSA waiver to India in US interest, need strong partnership: US lawmaker Self-publishing picks up among children, young adults; few go mainstream Brazil's Supreme Court agrees to include Bolsonaro in riots probe US, Pakistan share long-standing defence partnership: Defence Secy Austin UNSC unity key in wake of women's rights violations by Taliban: UN aide Pak: Imran wins in Punjab as govt fails to prevent CM's confidence vote Battle for salt mine town: Russian military claims victory in Soledar More immediately, he has begun talking openly about a possible run for the Senate as his next step, Politico reported. There are a lot of Bernie [Sanders] supporters and progressives who have reached out to me to encourage me to look at the race and what I've told them is I will do so over the next few months, Khanna told Politico of a Senate bid. But recent moves have sparked a new round of speculation among Democrats in several key states that the California congressman continues to have his eye on a higher office. Some consultants whose firms have worked with the Congressman in early primary states say they have a different impression about the extent of his political ambitions. I would just have to assume that while Ro has been incredibly interested in the great state of Iowa for a number of reasons, that perhaps it had to do with laying the groundwork for any potential future national bids, said Stacey Walker, the former Iowa campaign co-chair for Sanders and founder of the Iowa-based firm Sage Strategies, which Khanna paid USD 8,000 last year. If President Biden didn't seek reelection, his name would have to be on the list of top contenders." Just before and during the 2022 campaign cycle, Khanna showered money far afield from his district in Silicon Valley and even his would-be Senate territory. He paid USD 22,000 last year to Sanders' former New Hampshire state director, Shannon Jackson; USD 25,000 to the Sanders-founded progressive group Our Revolution for digital advertising; and USD 8,000 each to political firms in Nevada and Iowa. Walker said the payment to the Iowa firm was for help setting up meetings with labour leaders in the state. Jackson, who is close to Sanders, said he has been working with Khanna to help him build relationships with Sanders activists nationally as well as in states such as New Hampshire. He said Khanna is not running in 2024, but further down the line. "I believe he is one of the progressives who can build on Bernie's work in the future, Jackson was quoted as saying. Khanna, meanwhile, said his payments to the Nevada firm were related to building support in the Latino community around the country around a new economic patriotism, particularly focused on the Southwest. Khanna was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a Punjabi Hindu family. His parents immigrated to the US from Punjab. Prior to holding elected office, Khanna was a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Stanford University and an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara Law School. MOSCOW, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia will launch the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to bring home three astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) as their Soyuz MS-22 spaceship has an emergency situation, Russian space authorities said Saturday. Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin together with NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 in the next weeks, which is supposed to dock to the ISS on Feb. 22, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said in a statement. Last month, astronauts found damage to the outer skin of the instrument-assembly compartment of the Soyuz MS-22 docked to the ISS, which caused a pressure drop in the cooling system. The systems of the ISS and the Soyuz MS-22 are operating normally, but Roscosmos and its partner space agencies have taken measures to ensure the safe return of the crew to Earth in the event of an accident before the arrival of Soyuz MS-23, the statement said. The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 21, 2022, taking Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio to the ISS for a six-month stay in orbit. Feature: Shaolin Temple programs cheer vulnerable Zambian Community with hope Xinhua) 09:51, January 14, 2023 Photo taken on Jan. 4, 2023 shows a group of young people listening to their instructors at Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia. The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in Lusaka, is known for its Chinese cultural activities including martial arts programs. (Photo by Lillian Banda/Xinhua) LUSAKA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, is known for its Chinese cultural activities including martial arts programs. The place is a hive of activity particularly on weekends and holidays as people from different walks of life come through to get a glimpse of the Chinese culture. For residents of Ngwerere compound, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Lusaka, the Shaolin Temple is a symbol of hope for young and less privileged people. The Ngwerere compound, just a stone's throw away from the Shaolin Temple grounds, is a low-income community that grapples with challenges including the lack of access to education and recreational facilities for young people. "We are very happy to have the Shaolin Temple close by. Many young people will benefit from the education and skills programs being offered at the Temple," said Andrew Miti, the Ngwerere compound chairperson. Miti mentioned that a good number of parents in the Ngwerere compound were unable to provide food for their families or meet their children's needs because they lacked resources. He lauded Shaolin Temple management for providing education, food and shelter to indigent children, stating that the discipline and sound values embedded in the programs would help improve the lives of young people from the Ngwerere compound and other poorer areas. Shaolin Temple programs coordinator Yan Ming said his team was overwhelmed with requests from parents seeking to have their children take part in programs offered at the Temple. Yan revealed that there are currently 27 boys aged six to 16 years from very vulnerable backgrounds receiving education support, food and shelter at the Temple. The children, he said, come from different parts of Lusaka. "We are trying to see how best we can help the vulnerable children currently in our care before taking in more," he explained. Interactions with ordinary residents of the Ngwerere compound revealed that they were excited to have a place nearby where youth can be trained to be both responsible and productive citizens. "The only recreational spaces available in this compound are bars and liquor stores. As a result, most young people have been compelled to engage in illicit activities," lamented Eunice Musonda. Eighteen-year-old Musonda hailing from Ngwerere remained optimistic that the Shaolin Temple's youth-friendly programs would not only ensure youth have a better future but also help curtail juvenile delinquency in the Ngwerere compound. Clever Malambo, 27, echoed Musonda's thoughts and said that the Shaolin Temple in Zambia is serving as a beacon of hope for many young people in the Ngwerere compound and beyond. "I am certain that the programs offered at this Temple will inspire many youths to dream big and to achieve a lot in life," Malambo said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) A Greenwich man charged with manslaughter for his involvement in the December hit-and-run deaths of two pedestrians was extradited to Stamford Friday, according to police. Michael Talbot, 24, of Greenwich, was arrested by deputies of the Collier County Sheriffs Office in Florida on an active arrest warrant on Jan. 4 while Talbot was in the state visiting family . Prior to his extradition, Talbot was held at Collier County Florida Detention Center on multiple charges related to the Dec. 3 deaths of 25-year-old Stamford residents Giovanni Vega-Benis and Yuliana Arias-Lozano. Police believe Vega-Benis and Arias-Lozano were using the crosswalk to walk westbound across Washington Boulevard at the intersection with Manstreet in Stamford, at about 2:05 a.m. on Saturday Dec. 3, when Talbot struck them with his 2022 Mercedes as he traveled southbound on Washington Boulevard. The impact threw Vegas-Benis and Arias-Lozano into the northbound lane of Washington Boulevard south of Main Street, according to the Stamford Police Departments investigation. Police said Talbot allegedly continued to drive his heavily-damaged vehicle a short distance before stopping just north of 888 Washington Boulevard to flee the scene on foot. Stamford Police Department officers said that when they arrived at the scene, witnesses pointed police in the direction that Talbot fled. Officer Nick Gelonisi found Talbot hiding in the back of a building on Relay Place behind what police reports described as a dumpster or shed. Vega-Benis and Arias-Lozano were transported to Stamford Hospital where they were pronounced dead. Police said Talbot was also transported to Stamford Hospital for claims of minor injuries. Although police said they detained Talbot at the scene, charges were not filed against Talbot until Jan. 4. Talbot is held on a $1 million court-set bond, charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, felony evading responsibility, operating under the influence and reckless operation. Talbot is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on Tuesday, Jan. 17. A Middletown man convicted in the 2018 slaying of a Hartford teacher was sentenced to 57 years in prison in Superior Court on Friday. Judge Vernon Oliver of Middletown Superior Court sentenced Cornel Myers, 39, to 57 years in prison for the Sept. 8, 2018 murder of his ex-girlfriend, 29-year-old Danielle Fasciocco. A jury convicted Myers on Nov. 4. Fasciocco, a Middletown resident, was a beloved fifth-grade teacher at Hartfords Betances STEM Magnet School. Myers stabbed Fasciocco to death in her apartment. According to court evidence, Myers entered Fascioccos Middletown home at 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2018 and attacked her with a knife, slashing her throat and inflicting numerous stab wounds. At 3:30 a.m. the next morning, Myers called 911 to report her death, telling police he found Fasciocco covered in blood in her bedroom when he let himself into her apartments at 3 a.m. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, responding officers found Myers with dried blood on his clothes and body. Police also found bloody knives at the scene, one in the bedroom and one in a trashcan, and blood in the kitchen. Danielle Fasciocco, center, smiles besides friends in her Twitter profile picture. Fasciocco was 29-years-old and a fifth-grade teacher at Hartfords Betances STEM Magnet School when her ex-boyfriend, 39-year-old Cornel Meyers, in her home on Sept. 8, 2018. Hours before her death, Fasciocco told a co-worker that she was considering placing a restraining order on Myers, according to reports at the time. A statement from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said that During the last three days of her life, the victim repeatedly told Myers to leave her alone and, ultimately, refused to take his calls or respond to his texts. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, three weeks earlier police were called to Fascioccos apartment after her breakup with Myers. Fasciocco told police Myers had shown up to her home more than 10 times and sent her thousands of text messages. The affidavit said Fasciocco did not want to have any more contact with Myers, who, at the time, lived in the same apartment complex across the street from Fasciocco. On the night of her death, a neighbor called police to report an argument at Fascioccos apartment at 10:30 p.m. According to the affidavit, officers responded to the scene and knocked on Fascioccos door but did not get a response. This case shows the devastating effect domestic violence can have not only on the victim but also on the victims family members and friends, said States Attorney Michael Gailor, who prosecuted the case alongside Assistant States Attorney Jason Germain. We would like to thank the victims family members and friends for their patience during the prosecution and the Middletown Police Department and the Connecticut State Police for their work on the investigation. According to her obituary, Fasciocco grew up in Havertown, Pennsylvania. She graduated in 2011 from the University of Hartford and soon after took a teaching job at Hartfords Betances STEM Magnet School. Danielle was very passionate about her students and teaching. She loved her deaf dog Nova and her two cats. When she came home to Havertown she loved TV binge watching with her siblings. She enjoyed vacationing with family and friends, the beach, cooking, farmers markets, Starbucks, crafts and her favorite band was Pearl Jam, the obituary reads. An online tribute wall contains dozens of comments from former students, family and friends detailing Fascioccos humor, kindness and boundless impact. She touched me in a dramatic way and changed my life and made me enjoy school like no teacher ever had, wrote one student from Fascioccos 2012 class after finding out about her death in 2021. I graduated and hated every minute of it, but not with her, she made me love going to school the best year was the one I had with her and anybody that ever got to know her is lucky. Georgia Northwestern Technical College announces the appointment of Tony Ferguson to its board of directors.Mr. Ferguson, Georgia Powers northwest regional director, leads the companys external operations in 16 northwest Georgia counties. He will be sworn in during the Feb. 7 board meeting.Georgia Power supports economic development, workforce development and education in each of the communities we serve, Mr. Ferguson said, adding that he looks forward to serving on GNTCs board.GNTC is a leader in each of these areas, and their quality of programming and collaboration with industry prove their commitment to student success, he said.GNTC is committed to providing a quality education, industry leading skills and a pathway to lucrative careers for their students.Since beginning his career with Georgia Power in 1987, he has held various roles in Supply Chain, Distribution, Transmission, Sales, External Affairs and Safety. Prior to his current position, he served as Georgia Powers Safety and Health director, where he provided overall vision and leadership for the companys safety, health and industrial hygiene programs.He earned a bachelors degree in management and marketing from North Georgia College, a masters degree from Louisiana State University Shreveport and is a Georgia certified economic developer. He has also completed several leadership development programs including LEAD Athens, Leadership Oconee, Leadership Columbia County (Ga.) Executive Forum, Georgia Academy for Economic Development, Customer Service & Operations Leadership Series and the Georgia Power Leadership Development Council program.Mr. Fergusons community service includes serving as the 2016 chair of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce and previously serving on the boards of Central Education Center, Communities In Schools of Coweta County Inc., Fayette County Education Foundation, Fayette C.A.R.E. Clinic, Fayette Chamber of Commerce and the University of West Georgia Newnan Advisory Board.He also served as chair of the board for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Piedmont Athens Regional (Medical Center) Foundation board, Envision Athens Implementation Oversight Committee, Athens-Clarke County Industrial Development Authority and University of Georgia Innovation District External Advisory Board. Currently, Ferguson currently serves on the boards for the Floyd County College and Career Academy, as well as the YMCA of Rome and Floyd County. He is a member of the Rome Rotary Club.Listed are members of GNTCs board of directors showing the board members name, county, place of employment and title: Tony Ferguson, Floyd, Georgia Power, northwest regional director; Torrance Ford, Catoosa, Shaw Industries Group Inc., Talent Management vice president; Albert Al Hodge, Floyd, Hodge Consulting, founder and chief executive officer; Paul Meredith, Chattooga, Mohawk, Manufacturing director; Retired Maj. Gen. William Terry Nesbitt, Gordon, U.S. Army; Kenna Stock, Floyd, Harbin Clinic, chief executive officer; Michele Taylor, Gordon, Calhoun City Schools, superintendent; John Thomas, Whitfield, Dalton Utilities, chief energy services officer; and Cassandra Wheeler, Floyd, Southern Company, Supply Chain Management director. The first Barnett & Company Masterworks performance of 2023 will be Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium. Review for the concert: The Barnett and Company Masterworks performance is a diverse and exciting program opening with Valerie Coleman's Umjoa: Anthem for Unity, a work that celebrates the unity and diversity of the world through a fusion of African, Latin American, and Western classical music. The concert also includes Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto Madrigal for two guitars, a beautiful and virtuosic piece that showcases the technical and artistic skills of renowned guitarists Isaac Bustos and Alejandro Montiel. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, a dramatic and emotional masterpiece that is sure to leave a lasting impression. Before the concert will be a Spotlight Talk. Enter the Memorial Auditorium from the special backstage red door entrance at the corner of Oak and Lindsay for an informative live discussion. Spotlight talks begin at 6:45 p.m. on the evening of the performance. Spotlight Talks are free to attend, but attendees must hold tickets to that evenings performance to attend the Spotlight Talk. Attendance at Spotlight Talks is limited to 50, first come first served. A Boston man has been charged in a four-count indictment with sex trafficking a young adult victim and transporting a minor to Connecticut and New York to engage in commercial sex, according to federal authorities. Leon Blount III, 30, is charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and three counts of transportation of minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to federal authorities. Blount has been in custody since September 2022 and is due to appear in federal court in Boston on Jan. 19, 2023, authorities said. Authorities, citing charging documents, said that, beginning in the fall 2021, Blount allegedly began grooming a young adult victim, Jane Doe 1, to engage in commercial sex, including allegedly pressuring the victim into creating pornographic videos that were distributed online. Later, he allegedly insisted that Jane Doe 1 earn money for him by performing commercial sex acts. Jane Doe 1 was posted on websites that advertise commercial sex and Blount allegedly drove her throughout Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut to perform sex acts for his financial benefit, authorities said in a statement. Authorities also allege that, to maintain control, Blount threatened harm to the victim if she ever left his trafficking operation. During one incident, Blount allegedly threw a rock through the window of the car the victim was in, tried to pull her out of the car while spraying her in the face with pepper spray, then drove over her leg as she tried to flee, authorities said.. Authorities also allege, also citing charging documents, that in 2022, Blount brought a 17-year-old victim to New York and Connecticut to engage in commercial sex for his financial benefit. Authorities said Blount allegedly met the 17-year-old while she was living at a group home for transitional age adolescents, gave her alcohol and marijuana, and recruited her to travel out-of-state to engage in commercial sex. Blount also allegedly put her in hotel rooms in Woburn and Hartford, where he directed her to perform sex acts to earn money for him, the federal statement said. Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. Whether labor or sex trafficking, if someone is profiting off of a person they control through threat, force or coercion, they are committing a felony. We allege that Mr. Blount targeted two victims one of whom was a minor whom he groomed and trafficked to engage in commercial sex across multiple states and used extreme violence to keep one of his victims under his control, said Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. Rollins noted, January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and, with the perseverance and bravery of the victims, our dedicated Civil Rights & Human Trafficking Unit will spare no expense or resource to protect our communities, our children, and our Commonwealth from this growing public health threat. HSI New England, and our law enforcement partners, are constantly watching closely for indicators of human trafficking and child exploitation throughout our community, said Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Anyone who is or knows someone who may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, can visit https://polarisproject.org/ for information and resources. A woman on N. Chamberlain Avenue called police in regards to harassment/threats being made by her soon-to-be ex-husband. The woman said that she went to Shelbyville in an attempt to save her marriage with him, but it did not work after he was given an ultimatum. She then returned to Chattanooga and proceeded to turn off his phone because she was wanting to cut ties with him. She said he called her from a different phone and said that he would not be happy until she was dead. She told police he also said that he was coming back to Chattanooga tonight to handle some business. She said she just wanted this incident documented. * * * A suspicious person was reported at Harry's, 305 Frazier Ave. An employee told police a man was loitering in the store and he stole a sandwich as well. He wanted the man trespassed. Police identified the man and told him he was no longer allowed on the property. * * * An employee at Academy Sports, 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd., told police a black female who has shoplifted before came in and concealed shoes in her bag. The employee said he confronted her and she denied she had anything. The woman then left the store, passing all points of sale. The woman got into a white cab that traveled towards the mall. * * * Officers were dispatched to a call about a group of black males in the parking lot behind Mike's Hole in the Wall, 535 Cherokee Blvd., who were said to be pulling on door handles and looking in cars. Police spoke with four of the males, who said they were just hanging out in the parking lot. They said they were staying in the Airbnb at 500 W. Bell Ave, and they had parked their vehicle in the lot behind Mike's. Management at Mike's did not say they wanted them trespassed. All of them went their separate ways. * * * A property owner on Provence Street showed police a tent pitched on the corner of his property. He said it wasn't supposed to be there and he wanted police to speak to the occupants, ask them to leave and tell them that they had trespassed. He did tell police that he had left a note on the tent that they needed to go, but it was still there. Police attempted to contact the occupants, but the tent was unoccupied. Police told the property owner to call tomorrow afternoon again and police would make another attempt. * * * A woman on Brookmead Circle told police she believed a prowler was outside her residence because her dogs were barking. Police arrived on scene and walked around the home. There were no signs of prowlers in the area. This residence is directly behind a gas station. Police spoke with the woman, who showed signs of dementia while they were speaking with her. She said she did not see anyone walking around her residence. She believed someone was poking holes in the side of her house, causing damage. She said she had two paint cans in her garage and now only one was in there, believing an unknown man was messing with her. There was no evidence of any of these events happening. * * * A woman was reported yelling and slamming her car door at the Best Western Heritage Inn, 7641 Lee Hwy. She told police she wanted a man to leave and she was wanting to get the deposit back so they could split it and leave. Police went with the woman to the front desk where they were told that the woman would have to wait until the morning to check out. The whole time the woman was being vague with police about what had happened. Police were later called back to the motel because the man had left his belongings inside the room and he wanted to retrieve them. The man used his key to get in the room and get his backpack, clothes and his shoes. The man then gave police his key to give to the front desk, which they did. * * * Police were called to a residence on Rockway Drive where a 20-foot. tree in the yard of their neighbors had fallen, destroying the fence in front of the neighbor's house and landing on the vehicles sitting in their driveway. The tree pulled down electrical wires also, but no one was hurt. Historians largely agree that Confederate General Braxton Bragg wasnt the sharpest pencil in the drawer. He lost as many battles as he won and was such a crummy leader and arrogant goof his own men allegedly tried to kill him two different times. But whether we like it or not, Bragg is part of the Great American Story, and our history is so precious we should never ever dilute its good or its bad. This week the Pentagon joined The Legion of the Miserable. Get this: We are spending $62 million in taxpayer money to rename nine Army forts that in the early 1900s were named for Confederate generals. Those like Fort Bragg, Fort Benning and Fort Polk are intricately woven into the very vivid tapestry of Americas military but, due to the spread of wokeness, it was discovered that Bragg, Benning, and Polk were once slave owners, among other things repugnant to modern-day judges By todays standards, the belief that only if we erase their names is about as unsettling as the hundreds of statues and monuments that have already been torn asunder in the liberals quest to rewrite or forever bury - the history of one of our nations darkest times. The Civil War was awful indeed but to simply wish it away, or change an entrance sign, is equally obscene to many Americans. For the record, I live at 104 South Bragg Ave. It is on historically rich Lookout Mountain where, during the Civil War's Battles of Chattanooga, there was a famous Battle above the Clouds. Subsequently, when the town was incorporated about the same time military forts were being named, this years after the war was actually over, some streets on the mountain were named for Civil War generals who fought here. For example, at one time in my life I lived on Hooker Street, named for Fightin Joe, and thats a lot harder to explain than Bragg at an out-of-town saloon late in the night. There is a Lee Avenue, and a Lincoln Street, along with others. It could be worse. Across the state line the Georgia community of Fairyland has a bunch of streets named for fairies and gnomes. There is Tinkerbell Lane, Wood Nymph Trail, Red Riding Hood, and Mother Goose Village. This is due to the presence of Rock City, of course, and nobody seems to mind. At the time I reckon the street names seemed a cute idea. Then again, the best answer Ive learned about history is That was then, and this is now. Only a fool compares 1861 and leading 1,500 battle-weary troops into Chickamauga while arriving in Fort Oglethorpe in an air-conditioned Lexus on I-75. Comparisons other than to gauge the human spirit and a Christian faith are impossible. I cant imagine being a slave owner or chasing some Union soldier from the Indiana Third Dragoons through the rocks below where I live, trying to kill him over nothing. I cant envision the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of JFK or MLK, or stepping on the moon, but, as has been wisely noted, to not study history is to relive it. So leave my street sign alone. Dont add me to those who twist in whatever breeze is most popular this month. Bragg Avenue suits me just fine, and, if youll follow his lifeline, youll discover a troubled man who should have never become a general. Yet thats the beauty of history the ending of each saga includes the lesson and where we learn anew, That was then, and this is now. According to a news release from the Department of Defense: Some Army bases, established in the build-up and during World War I, were named for Confederate officers in an effort to court support from local populations in the South. That the men for whom the bases were named had taken up arms against the government they had sworn to defend was seen by some as a sign of reconciliation between the North and South. It was also the height of the Jim Crow laws in the South, so there was no consideration for the feelings of African Americans who had to serve at bases named after men who fought to defend slavery. All this changed in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, the Department of Defense statement reads. Many people protested systemic racism and pointed to Confederate statues and bases as part of that system. Congress established the commission in the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal 2021. Then-President Donald J. Trump vetoed the legislation because of the presence of the commission, and huge bi-partisan majorities in both houses of Congress overrode his veto. Here are the changes: FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA is renamed Fort Liberty. It is home to the Armys elite special forces and airborne warriors. The new name is n commemoration of the United States value on Liberty. FORT BENNING, GEORGIA is renamed Fort Moore after Army Lt. General Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Compton Moore. Moore commanded U.S. forces in the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. His book "We Were Soldiers OnceAnd Young" was made into the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers. FORT GORDON, GEORGIA is renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, the leader of the liberation of Europe in World War II, and the 34th president of the United States. FORT A.P. HILL, VIRGINIA is renamed Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Edwards Walker the first woman surgeon in the Civil War, and the only woman awarded the Medal of Honor. (She was awarded the Medal for her efforts at Chickamauga.) FORT HOOD, TEXAS is renamed Fort Cavazos in honor of Army General Richard E. Cavazos, a Hispanic-American hero of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. FORT LEE, VIRGINIA is renamed after two soldiers and will become Fort Gregg-Adams. Army Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg was an African-American soldier who rose from private to three-star during a career in military logistics. Army Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first African American officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II and led the first African-American WAAC unit to serve overseas. FORT PICKETT, VIRGINIA is renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Army Tech Sgt. Van T. Barfoot, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions with the 45th Infantry Division in Italy in 1944. FORT POLK, LOUISIANA is renamed Fort Johnson to commemorate Army Sgt. William Henry Johnson. Johnson was a member of the famous Harlem Hellfighters that fought under French Army command during World War I. Johnson belatedly received the Medal of Honor for an action in the Argonne Forest of France where he fought off a German raid and received 21 wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting. President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the medal in 2015, long after the soldier died in 1929. FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA is renamed after Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel. The chief was an aviator who flew combat in both World War II and Vietnam and received the Medal of Honor for a Medevac mission under fire in Vietnam where he saved 29 soldiers. * * * While Army bases are the most conspicuous examples, many installations have street names or buildings named after Confederates. The Navy will rename the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, which commemorates a Confederate victory, and the USNS Maury named after a U.S. Navy officer who resigned his commission to fight for the Confederate Navy will also be renamed. Battle streamers commemorating Confederate service will no longer be authorized. royexum@aol.com Cherokee Nation citizen and Cherokee National Treasure Eddie Morrison, second from left, was honored at the AARP Oklahoma Native American Elders Honors ceremony last November. AARP State President Jim Randall, left, AARP Oklahoma Associate State Director Mashell Sourjohn, former AARP Oklahoma Executive Council Member Tewanna Edwards and Jr. Miss Indian Oklahoma City Aubrey Elaine Berry took part in honoring Morrison when he received his award. An editorial from Hearst Connecticut Media: There was more than a little basking at the Capitol last Wednesday. And not without reason. Gov. Ned Lamont won a convincing reelection victory in November, bucking what could have been a tough year for Democrats with his partys biggest gubernatorial win in decades. The General Assembly remained firmly in Democratic hands, with the message from voters that the state generally approves of the way things have been going in state government. Lamont came into office four years ago with one goal foremost in mind to turn around the states chronic budget mess. The state was mired in deficits and projected shortfalls stretching off into infinity, with every year bringing yet another round of belt-tightening measures and novel ways to make dollars stretch further. It held back the states growth and sent a message that no one in Hartford knew how to manage our money. That situation has changed. The projections now show surpluses stretching into the far future, with billions of dollars more in tax revenue slated to come in compared to expenses. This has led to a shift in priorities, away from perpetual crisis management and toward a plan for a better, more prosperous future. Connecticut has been paying off its debts. The long-term indebtedness in state retirement programs dates back decades, and blame for it cannot be placed on current lawmakers. But its up to them to deal with it, just the same. As such, the state has been making real progress in paying down those long-term debts, a prospect that just a few years ago would have seemed impossible. So its fair for Lamont and fellow Democrats to feel good about what theyve accomplished. Its true that flush coffers are hardly unique to Connecticut many states have found themselves in a much-improved financial position in recent years, and not just because of pandemic relief funds from the federal government. But credit the current leadership team for taking advantage of opportunities as they became available. Now, in many ways, comes the hard part. All those billions of dollars in surpluses dont come free, of course. They come from tax dollars. And its natural to ask if the state is taking in so much more than its spending, that maybe it shouldnt be taking in quite so much. This has led to calls for big tax cuts, bigger than what the state put together in Lamonts first term. At the same time, calls have issued from other quarters for dramatic program expansions to take on the states many needs. Health care, housing, education all are increasing burdens on the states population, and all would benefit from an infusion of funding at a time the state is flush. Lamont has continued to urge lawmakers to stay the course. He wants to continue the programs that have put the state in its current enviable position, and stay away from either big tax cuts or huge program expansions. It wont be an easy sell, and the opening Wednesday of the General Assemblys session may be the last time everyone is all smiles for a while. But its the right move. The current course of caution has served the state well, and needs to be the way forward again. East Hartford officials said the town has purchased the long-troubled Church Corners Inn rooming house on Main Street. The acquisition of the building will be followed by relocating tenants, gutting the interior and developing an RFP so the structure can be renovated into housing supported by the market, according to town officials. East Hartford also will receive $750,000 grant to help rehabilitate the rooming house at 860 Main St., with a set-aside for low-income and veteran tenants. The funding is coming from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a federal government funding package that will bring $38.7 million to organizations in Connecticuts congressional First District. Mayoral Chief of Staff Connor Martin said the funds would be used towards the acquisition of the Church Corners Inn building by the town, a developer to rehabilitate the building, and relocating current tenants into new housing. Martin said the town also was recently awarded $2.5 million from the Community Investment Fund which will also help with this project. The fund is administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The building is located at 860 Main St. , and Martin said that the town is responding to the residents needs, as the Inn has had a number of problems related to health, safety, violence, and crime. The building is a mixed-use, 53-unit rooming house and commercial building in the towns Central Business District. The site includes 0.40 acres and a 4-story 24,820-square-foot building, of which 6,000 square feet is ground floor commercial space, according to town officials. He said that the town is working to purchase the building and secure it, to stop the problems that the community members have expressed issues with, and turn the rooming house over to a responsible builder who would turn it into a different form of housing as it currently houses 53 units in the boarding-house style building. Martin also said that the town is looking to drop the number of units in the building down to 20 to 25 units and are supportive of anything that the market would support, whether that is veteran housing, affordable, or market-rate housing. However, the town has not yet made a decision on what kind of housing it would like the inn to become, as it is waiting to secure the building first, he said. Were basically going to wait until after we secure the building and relocate all the tenants who are currently in there. And then before the building is rehabilitated, we would put out a Request for Proposal to a developer to [do the work], he said. During a recent council meeting, Mayor Mike Walsh said that they should have the inn fully vacated around April 10, as 20 former tenants have already moved out of the property and 33 tenants remain. The firm that will help us with relocation will have staffing for two shifts from 7 a.m. to about 10 p.m. Weve increased police patrols. There will be a physical walkthrough by our officers, once we own the building. Were working on final rent rolls, he said. Town council members also supported seeking the state assistance to help to purchase the rooming house and redevelop it. As a goal of the Community Investment Fund is to foster economic development in historically underserved communities, Councilwoman Angie Parkinson said the this project is the perfect match. The money will allow us to purchase the property and make it ready for development, so that it can become a bright spot on Main Street, she said. Walsh clarified that when he says the town is tearing down the building, he does not mean with a demolition and a wrecking ball but only the inside of the building, as the preliminary reports have said there is nothing worth saving on the inside. The utilities are turn-of-the-century, whether that be water, whether that be electrical. What you physically see will be left in place are the openings for the windows and the brick facade, but the building mechanicals will be stripped down to the boneWe will then use some of the money to strip the building and then say [to the developer] here you go. Its all yours, have it built back into high quality apartments, he said. When my alarm buzzes on the morning of an especially busy day, I often respond with a strange lack of urgency. A low rumble of dread builds as I ponder all the chores, errands, or work tasks that need completing. But instead of resolving to get up and get cracking, I linger in bed, nearly paralyzed by the weight of responsibility. I know what I need to do, but for some reason I cant summon the willpower to do it. Something similar plays out in the lives of many Christians, according to Uche Anizor, a professor at Biola Universitys Talbot School of Theology. They know theyre supposed to love God, study Scripture, and pursue a life of holiness, but they cant escape the clutches of spiritual indifference. In Overcoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care, Anizor appeals to lukewarm believers, not with an accusing glare or a motivational speakers bullhorn, but with the compassion of someone who has fought this battle himself. Its a worthy choice for CTs Book of the Year. Across the board, the judges who read and evaluated it commended Anizor for putting his finger on a problem that routinely flies under the radar, even as it sinks so many of Gods people into a spiritual quagmire. Like Overcoming Apathy, all of our Book Awards winners have the capacity to awaken slumbering souls, whether they ring out with theological wisdom, literary beauty, pastoral warmth, or everyday encouragement. Dont sleep on any of them. Matt Reynolds, CT books editor Apologetics & Evangelism The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality Glen Scrivener | The Good Book Company The Air We Breathe is a book for this moment. Western society increasingly seeks to break free from its Christian moorings, yet at the same time it holds in high regard such values as equality, freedom, science, and compassion. Scrivener shows that these values (and more) are in fact thoroughly Christian. They appear self-evident to our 21st-century thinking, but they were certainly not the norm in the ancient world. Scrivener writes in an engaging and powerfully persuasive way, connecting with key cultural reference points from the past and present and combining apologetic arguments with compelling appeals to believers and seekers alike. His book is honest, eloquent, and at times shocking, but all in the interest of getting to the heart of the matter. Sharon Dirckx, freelance speaker, author, and adjunct lecturer at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics Award of Merit Is God a Vindictive Bully?: Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments Paul Copan | Baker Academic Many Christians struggle to understand how a loving God could command some of the things he commands, and this book is the best single volume on the subject. Its scope is amazing. Most of us are familiar with what Copan calls critics from without, namely those, like Richard Dawkins, who argue that the God revealed in the Old Testament is evil. Copan forcefully answers their charges. But the real challenge today comes from critics from within, those who want to unhitch the Old Testament from the New, or worse, who wonder if the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New. Copan addresses questions about polygamy, divine smitings, foreign slaves, the Canaanite conquest, and much, much more. His work is well argued, discerning, and refreshing. Clay Jones, chairman of the board of Ratio Christi Finalists Why Believe?: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity Neil Shenvi | Crossway Logic and the Way of Jesus: Thinking Critically and Christianly Travis Dickinson | B&H Biblical Studies The Gospel and the Gospels: Christian Proclamation and Early Jesus Books Simon Gathercole | Eerdmans People are surprised when they first hear there are other gospels besides Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Why are these not in our Bibles? Various arguments have been proposed. One of the top New Testament scholars in the world, Simon Gathercole, brings all canonical and noncanonical gospels together and argues that the four canonical gospels share key theological elements that differentiate them: Jesus messiahship, his death, his resurrection, and his fulfillment of the Old Testament. While this book is geared toward scholars, it is an important argument for differentiating the canonical gospels from all the others. Patrick Schreiner, associate professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Award of Merit The Book of Jeremiah John Goldingay | Eerdmans While it is difficult to get excited about a Bible commentary these days, Goldingays volume is a treasure trove of explorations into the text, traditions, and theology of the Book of Jeremiah. As a modern commentary, this volume interacts with an enormous amount of recent research and reveals Goldingays years of Old Testament scholarship. Without a doubt, The Book of Jeremiah will be a new standard reference for all researching and teaching the message of the Weeping Prophet. William R. Osborne, associate professor of biblical and theological studies at College of the Ozarks Finalists The Samaritan Womans Story: Reconsidering John 4 After #ChurchToo Caryn A. Reeder | IVP Academic The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary David F. Ford | Baker Academic Bible & Devotional Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World Hannah Anderson | B&H Written with creative eloquence, this book invites readers to pause and reflect on the hope, faith, joy, and love communicated through the coming of our Savior. Anderson uses ordinary, everyday moments as a lens through which to gain insight into parts of the Advent story we often overlook. While each devotional runs only a few pages, all are full of wisdom. In a time when Christmas tends to be tainted by commercialism, Heaven and Nature Sing is a breath of fresh air. Elizabeth Woodson, author and Bible teacher Award of Merit Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study Kristie Anyabwile | Moody Gaining tools to understand the Bible can feel like getting your prescription glasses updated: Things you didnt realize you were missing suddenly emerge to your joy. Thats what happens when one uses the strategies Anyabwile recommends in this book. Her accessible writing is a helpful starting point for understanding the various forms of writing we find in the Scriptures, and her warm and passionate tone reminds us that our goal is not just knowledge, but transformation under the Word. Taylor Turkington, author and director of BibleEquipping Finalists Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible John D. Meade and Peter J. Gurry | Crossway Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt | Brazos Press Children A World of Praise Deborah Lock | Eerdmans Theres beauty in this book, not only in its captivating pictures, but in its affection for the places and people that span Gods world. It makes us marvel at the earthly home God has created for us and long for the day Jesus returns to make it all flawlessly, sparklingly his. This book has a song-like quality. Its a carol to the Lord of all the earth. Read it alongside a psalm that sings of how the world bursts with the Creators glory. Or read it alongside the prophets, who gaze at distant lands with the good news that the Savior is coming to restore all beauty and be the delight of all nations. Jack Klumpenhower, author of Show Them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids Award of Merit How to Fight Racism Young Readers Edition: A Guide to Standing Up for Racial Justice Jemar Tisby | Zonderkidz How to Fight Racism gives a challenging overview of the history of racism in the US, opening the eyes of young people to the inequalities and segregation existing today. With practical advice and inspiring stories, Tisby empowers children to engage with the reality of racism and change things for the future. Its great to see a book encouraging young people to seek out relationships across racial divides, armed with the humility of Christs example and the truth that all people are made in Gods image. Steph Williams, childrens writer, illustrator, and graphic designer Finalists Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week Mitali Perkins | WaterBrook Fly High: Understanding Grief with Gods Help Michelle Medlock Adams and Janet K. Johnson | End Game Press Young Adults Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? Chris Morphew | The Good Book Company In the latest installment in his Big Questions series, Morphew asksand answerswhat are perhaps the primary questions adolescents wrestle with: Who am I? Why do I matter? Relatable and accessible, the book never talks down to its young readers. Rather, their concerns are taken seriously, whether fitting in with friends, grappling with social media, or simply wondering if they can be themselves without social repercussions. Morphew takes readers back to Scripture, offering examples from the Bible and plenty of reminders that we are made in Gods image, that we have worth based on that simple fact, and that we are called to follow Christ. Even better, he offers the hope of the gospel, so that past mistakes dont define current self-worth or the future. Betsy Farquhar, managing editor and staff writer at Redeemed Reader Award of Merit The Dragon and the Stone (The Dream Keeper Saga, Book 1) Kathryn Butler | Crossway With nods to Narnia and The Neverending Story, Butler has crafted a portal fantasy adventure with charm and wisdom for middle-grade readers. After encountering a dragon slurping chili in her kitchen one afternoon, main character Lily McKinley is led by the creature into the Realm, a new dimension where dreams live and the nightmarish Shrouds threaten at every turn. Its a timeless formula, and Butler captures the high-stakes quest with a confident knowledge of her own world, as well as humor and a truly engaging voice. Glenn McCarty, author of the Tumbleweed Thompson series Finalists Youre the Worst Person in the World: Why Its the Best News Ever that You Dont Have It Together, You Arent Enough, and You Cant Fix It on Your Own Article continues below Scarlet Hiltibidal | B&H Your New Playlist: The Students Guide to Tapping into the Superpower of Mindset Jon Acuff | Baker Christian Living & Spiritual Formation Overcoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care Uche Anizor | Crossway One of the more surprising temptations Ive experienced in recent years isnt toward overt or egregious sin, but toward numb inaction. In a postpandemic world where politics are polarized and the news cycle constantly yells, Fire!, many followers of Christ are too overwhelmed to care. Were paralyzed and unsure how to hold all the sorrows in our hearts. Anizor graciously meets Christians in their apathy, helping readers discover the origin of their own numbness and offering gospel-rooted reasons for renewed passion. He challenges us to love deeper, with a Christlike affection that throws off apathy and propels us to action. Emily Jensen, cofounder and content director of Risen Motherhood (Read CTs interview with Uche Anizor.) Award of Merit Jesus and Gender: Living as Sisters and Brothers in Christ Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher | Lexham Press Jesus and Gender is an incredibly timely book. There is much debate in evangelical circles surrounding the roles of men and women in the church, with complementarianism and egalitarianism the two common categories. But Fitzpatrick and Schumacher tackle the subject with fresh language, calling us to be Christic men and women who seek to cooperate together for [Gods] glory rather than compete for glory amongst themselves. Vance Pitman, president of Send Network and founding pastor of Hope Church Las Vegas (Read CTs review of Jesus and Gender.) Finalists Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World Rich Villodas | WaterBrook (Read an excerpt from Good and Beautiful and Kind.) How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now James K. A. Smith | Brazos Press Church & Pastoral Leadership The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership Tom Nelson | InterVarsity Press Without attempting to be novel or imposing unreasonable expectations, Nelson sets out to recover what he considers the lost art, among pastors, of shepherd leadership. Refreshingly, he doesnt come off as superior or the lone expert in the field. He admits mistakes in his personal walk, ministry habits, and pastoral labors. I found plenty of pastoral encouragement, practices to ponder, and workable habits for shepherd leadership. Phil Newton, director of pastoral care and mentoring for the Pillar Network Award of Merit (TIE) The Pastors Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry Austin Carty | Eerdmans As a lifelong reader, Ive seen the value and richness that come from reading widely and deeply. A pastor whose mind and heart are formed by deep engagement with books can understand and communicate capital-T truth more clearly, creatively, and insightfully. By giving pastors permission to include reading as part of their regular schedules, Carty offers the gift of slowing down to think deeply and the opportunity for timeless spiritual themes to take root in their hearts. This is a recipe for greater wisdom, empathy, and lovequalities that in turn benefit the people God has called them to shepherd. Kelley Mathews, author and editor Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters Bob Smietana | Worthy Smietana helps church leaders face the sobering reality of the religious landscape in which they serve. Drawing on statistics and real-life stories, he demonstrates the waning influence of organized religion in many peoples lives. Alongside pictures of churches in decline, however, he shows us churches that have turned the corner toward growth and relevance in their communities. And he reminds us of the positive contributions churches make in American life and the negative impact our culture will experience as they decline or cease to exist. Michael Duduit, dean of Clamp Divinity School and executive editor of Preaching magazine Finalist On Earth as in Heaven: Theopolis Fundamentals Peter J. Leithart | Lexham Culture & the Arts Christian Poetry in America Since 1940: An Anthology Edited by Micah Mattix and Sally Thomas | Iron Pen I was very impressed with this anthology, which has a detailed and thoughtful introduction, helpful introductions to each poet, a few well-placed and appropriate footnotes, and amazingly good poems: challenging, diverse, and unsentimental. There is a great balance between famous and lesser-known poets, denominational backgrounds, and formal and free-verse poetry. A colleague of mine, who teaches on Christianity and literature, told me he has never encountered a resource like this and that he would find it very useful for his class. Eleanor Nickel, English professor and program director at Fresno Pacific University Award of Merit The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints Jessica Hooten Wilson | Brazos Press Wilson deftly plows the fertile field of literature, wonder, and the Christian mind. The book reads as both journal and love letter to her own past and her passion for literature. Her chapters brim with wonderment and awe, and I enjoyed the feeling of longing to read the books she celebrates. In the hands of another author, this book could have felt academic and stuffy. But Wilsons prose is elegant and clear while retaining the warmth of a voice inviting you to come sit by the fire and listen to a story. John Hendrix, illustrator and childrens author (Read an excerpt from The Scandal of Holiness.) Finalists A Supreme Love: The Music of Jazz and the Hope of the Gospel William Edgar | IVP Academic (Read CTs review of A Supreme Love.) Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just Claude Atcho | Brazos Press (Read CTs interview with Claude Atcho.) Fiction Count the Nights by Stars Michelle Shocklee | Tyndale In this dual-timeline novel, Shocklee tackles challenging topics like immigration, discrimination, and human trafficking with grace and hope, and her vivid use of historical detail adds intrigue to the story. Her writing is smooth and engaging, and I found myself pulled into the storylines of both time periods, which rarely happens with books of this sort. The way this book opens hearts and minds to the trauma experienced by victims of human trafficking is truly commendable. Christina Suzann Nelson, author of What Happens Next , Shaped by the Waves , and other novels Award of Merit The Book of Susan Melanie Hutsell | Paraclete My reaction to this book might be biased by the fact that I watched the wife of a close friend endure the anguish of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder after the birth of their first child, an experience that shattered their marriage. The Book of Susan stirred memories of that time, reminding me how vital it is to embrace compassion and tenderness toward those suffering the ravages of this illness. Hutsells writing is raw, real, and beautiful. While taking us inside a journey few can truly understand, she guides readers into the reality that all of us are flawed, bruised, and broken. Within that admission, there is hope and the chance for healing. James L. Rubart, novelist and professional marketer Finalists Absolute Music Jonathan Geltner | Slant The Baxters Karen Kingsbury | Atria Books History & Biography An Odd Cross to Bear: A Biography of Ruth Bell Graham Anne Blue Wills | Eerdmans This is historical biography at its finest. Wills has a profound empathy for Ruth Graham, born of meticulous research and the insights of gifted scholarship. Graham was a critic of second-wave feminism, and yet, as Wills shows, she also devised her own ethic of Christian womanhood, characterized by adjusting to her famous evangelist husband. This concept of adjustment becomes a central thread of the book, not only clarifying how Graham negotiated her own womanhood but also illuminating the complex relationship between evangelical womanhood and feminism. Both moving and captivating, An Odd Cross to Bear will be the standard work on Ruth Graham in her own right, as well as essential reading for anyone wishing to better understand Billy Graham, Ruth Graham, and their movement. Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, associate professor of history and Western civilization at Australian Catholic University Award of Merit Denmark Veseys Bible: The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial Jeremy Schipper | Princeton University Press Schippers book offers a concise but comprehensive look at how the Bible was litigated by enslaved people and white slaveholders before, during, and after Denmark Veseys planned 19th-century slave rebellion. It was common, in early American history, for debates on morality and criminality to involve dueling interpretations of Scripture, and Schipper illustrates how biblical language was co-opted by whites not only to strengthen slavery in the abstract but also to aid white legal responses to Vesey and his coconspirators. Miles Smith IV, assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College (Read CTs review of Denmark Veseys Bible.) Finalists A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship: Understanding the Ideas That Reshaped the Protestant Church Lester Ruth and Lim Swee Hong | Baker Academic Cotton Mathers Spanish Lessons: A Story of Language, Race, and Belonging in the Early Americas Kirsten Silva Gruesz | Harvard University Press Marriage & Family Teach Your Children Well: A Step-by-Step Guide for Family Discipleship Sarah Cowan Johnson | InterVarsity Press No parents can guarantee their children will walk in faithfulness to Christ. Our childrens eternal souls are first and foremost in the hands of God. But God, in his sovereign design, has not only given parents children, but given children parents. Johnson encourages and challenges parents with the call to be the primary disciplers of their children. She offers practical help supported by experience, research, and Scripture alike. Curtis Solomon, assistant professor of biblical counseling at Boyce College Article continues below Award of Merit Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms Justin Whitmel Earley | Zondervan There is no shortage of parenting books on the market, but Earley manages to break through the noise and offer a timely (and timeless) appeal to the power of liturgy within the home. The household rhythms and practices he advocates are neither onerous nor ridiculous, but simple ways for parents to lovingly disciple their children through the power of habit. Earleys humor and honest vulnerability shine through, and the reader has a sense of getting to know his lovely family on each page. Ill be returning to this book with joy for many seasons. Jonathan Holmes, founder and executive director of Fieldstone Counseling Finalists It Takes More Than Love: A Christian Guide to Navigating the Complexities of Cross-Cultural Adoption Brittany Salmon | Moody The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope Helen Lee and Michelle Ami Reyes | WaterBrook Missions & Global Church No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions Matt Rhodes | Crossway This volume provides a thorough appraisal of methods in American missionary circles that have gained massive popularity because they promise a vast harvest of new converts in the shortest possible time, with minimal effort or preparation from the missionaries themselves. For Rhodes, the appeal of these silver-bullet formulas reflects a distaste for professionalism and the abandonment of the painstaking training associated with earlier Western missionary heroes like William Carey and Adoniram Judson. His assessment is careful but devastating. He weighs in on erroneous obsessions with statistics, disparagement of traditional missionary methods, false or misleading representations of success, and distorted (or defective) biblical understandings of mission work. Most of the book, however, is devoted to making an energetic case for the missionary vocation as a profession, with the Pauline phrase ambassadors for Christ as a centerpiece. Jehu J. Hanciles, director of the World Christianity program at Candler School of Theology and author of Migration and the Making of Global Christianity Award of Merit Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church Edited by Hannah Nation and Simon Liu | Lexham The Chinese church has long been a model of how to chi ku (eat bitterness) while still walking faithfully with God. This book affirms that in the face of persistent persecution and suffering, the Chinese church, broadly speaking, continues to forge ahead in spreading the gospel throughout China and beyond. The personal reflections gathered here will humble readers and, hopefully, expand their understanding of the global church. There is much to learn from the Chinese church, and Faith in the Wilderness offers a good place to start. Jamie Sanchez, associate professor of intercultural studies at Biola University (Read an excerpt from Faith in the Wilderness.) Finalists The Realities of Money and Missions: Global Challenges and Case Studies Edited by Jonathan J. Bonk, Michael G. DiStefano, J. Nelson Jennings, Jinbong Kim, and Jae Hoon Lee | William Carey Publishing Virtuous Persuasion: A Theology of Christian Mission Michael Niebauer | Lexham Politics & Public Life Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism George Yancey | InterVarsity Press Yancey proposes a compelling alternative to our current racial stalemate thatdare I say it?actually gives me hope. Instead of touting colorblindness or antiracism, Yancey asks us to consider how we approach this issue instead of focusing on a desired outcome. Attempts to thread the needle between two extremes so often get the worst of both or simply fail spectacularly. They call it the mushy middle for a reason. But Yancey is not mushy. On the contrary, he writes clearly and persuasively, and he advances an argument that is internally coherent and backed by social science. Finally, Yancey writes movingly about his own experiences, demonstrating that he, like all of us, has much to learn. James E. Bruce, professor of philosophy at John Brown University (Read CTs review of Beyond Racial Division.) Award of Merit Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community Bonnie Kristian | Brazos Press There is a discernment crisis in pulpits and pews across the nation: We have lost the ability to name truth. In a climate where conspiracy theories and half-truths abound, Kristian writes with piercing insight into the epistemological crisis facing the church and the broader society. She examines the issues that have brought us to this state of affairs and offers wise counsel for navigating our current media and information envi- ronment. Kathryn Freeman, writer, speaker, and cohost of the podcast Melanated Faith (Read CTs review of Untrustworthy.) Finalists What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World Jake Meador | InterVarsity Press (Read CTs review of What Are Christians For?.) Uncommon Unity: Wisdom for the Church in an Age of Division Richard Lints | Lexham (Read CTs review of Uncommon Unity.) Theology (popular) Youre Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect Gods Design and Why Thats Good News Kelly M. Kapic | Brazos Press Some theology books offer in-depth treatments of a particular doctrine. Others seek to serve as guides for studying theology. Youre Only Human might seem much more practical than either of these, since it calls us to accept the limitations of being human as good gifts from God. But Kapic manages to convey incredible depth of doctrinal insight and teaching for such a supposedly practical book. From the nature of the Incarnation and the proper understanding of Mary to our union with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, Kapic covers enormous theological ground with detail and nuance, all while keeping the discussion alive and intimately connected to our own lives. Each chapter could be a book in itself. Emily G. Wenneborg, Pascal Study Center director and assistant professor at Urbana Theological Seminary (Read CTs interview with Kelly Kapic.) Award of Merit The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith Trevin Wax | InterVarsity Press This book presents a well-written, accessible, and winsome apologetic for recapturing and embracing the orthodox and historic Christian faith in the modern world. The church desperately needs to read and heed books like this. I plan on using this book in the context of my local congregation. Superb! Anthony Selvaggio, senior pastor of Rochester Christian Reformed Church (Read CTs review of The Thrill of Orthodoxy.) Finalists Fruitful Theology: How the Life of the Mind Leads to the Life of the Soul Ronni Kurtz | B&H Reading Theology Wisely: A Practical Introduction Kent Eilers | Eerdmans Theology (academic) Jesus and the God of Classical Theism: Biblical Christology in Light of the Doctrine of God Steven J. Duby | Baker Academic In this erudite and substantial volume, Duby examines New Testament Christology and how it relates to the doctrines of so-called classical theism. It is an important work, especially at a moment in evangelical theology, and in Christian theology more broadly, when contemporary theologians are rediscovering and reappraising the rich resources of the Christian past. Duby interacts with a wide range of sources: ancient philosophers, church fathers, medieval doctors, Reformers, and post-Reformation scholastics, as well as modern theologians and biblical exegetes. But most impressive is Dubys deep engagement with the text of Scripture itself, which he treats with exegetical care and theological earnestness. Luke Stamps, professor of biblical and theological studies at Oklahoma Baptist University Award of Merit Trinitarian Dogmatics: Exploring the Grammar of the Christian Doctrine of God D. Glenn Butner Jr. | Baker Academic This book helpfully lays out the landscape of Trinitarian dogmatics. Butner does a fine job at presenting the major issues and carefully defining the edges of orthodoxy from the vantage points of Scripture, history, and philosophy. He is refreshingly reserved, too, on many difficult issues on which orthodox theologians have historically differed. In that sense, while Butner is clear, persuasive, and convictional, he is also modest in his aims. I predict this book will become standard in the classroom for a long time. The truly curious reader will not walk away empty-handed. Samuel G. Parkison, assistant professor of theological studies at Gulf Theological Seminary in the United Arab Emirates (Read CTs review of Trinitarian Dogmatics.) Finalists Justification by the Word: Restoring Sola Fida Jack D. Kilcrease | Lexham Press God in Eternity and Time: A New Case for Human Freedom Robert E. Picirilli | B&H Book of the Year Overcoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care Uche Anizor | Crossway Meh may be the spirit of the age in which we live, but it is more than mere indifferenceit is a spiritual sickness that infects believers, churches, and cultures alike. Even if we feel like our lives are unending episodes of Seinfeld, that famous show about nothing, Anizor calls us from our spiritual slumber to wake up and care again. Douglas Estes, associate professor of biblical studies and practical theology at Tabor College Overcoming Apathy addresses an issue that feels quite prevalent in the American church, even if we hardly talk about it. Anizor succeeds in taking a vague, somewhat hard-to-define issue and turning it into a readable, immensely practical book. The real problem, as he observes, is not that believers care too little but that we care about the wrong things, while often showing indifference toward God and matters of the Spirit. I plan on recommending this book to fellow church members. It was refreshing and convicting. Andrea Burke, womens ministry director and host of the Good Enough podcast (Read an excerpt from Overcoming Apathy.) Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. Harvard course teaches med students how to treat 'sexual minority' infants UPDATE: 3:30 p.m. ET Jan 17: This article was updated to include a statement from Harvard Medical School. One of the nation's most historically prestigious universities is offering a course that instructs students how to provide healthcare services to LGBT individuals, including "infants" categorized as sexual minorities. The Harvard Medical School course, dubbed "Caring for Patients with Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities, and Sex Development," includes a course description that outlines how students will learn to provide "high-quality, culturally responsive care" for "patients [who] identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual." "Clinical exposure and education will focus on serving gender and sexual minority people across the lifespan, from infants to older adults," according to the description on the Harvard.edu site. The four-week elective course is designed to reflect Harvard Medical School's Sexual and Gender Minority Health Equity Initiative, which aims to "foster excellence caring for patients with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex development." The initiative's stated goal is to provide "high-quality, holistic health care for sexual and gender minority patients of all ages." In response to a request for clarification from The Christian Post, a university spokesperson pointed to an online statement stating that "[r]ecent reports referencing one of our medical education courses have neglected to mention that some infants are born with variations in sex development." The Harvard Medical School statement reads: "As part of our MD curriculum, HMS offers a four-week elective course that educates and trains medical students to provide high-quality, culturally responsive care for patients with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex development across the age spectrum. In this context, care for infants refers specifically to physical variations in sex development that arise in utero and are present at birth. These include chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical variations, all of which are relevant to medical care and treatment to ensure healthy development. This course aligns with Harvard Medical Schools Sexual and Gender Minority Health Initiative, and its educational framework is based on recommendations of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which together aim to address the health needs of patients who are LGBTQIA+, gender-nonconforming, or born with differences in sex development." As part of its Physician Competency Reference Set (PCRS), the Harvard course also offers learning goals for students to "acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to provide sensitive and affirming care" to patients from all backgrounds. The course description lists Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as the main meeting location for the 2022-23 academic year. Both course directors, Alex Keuroghlian and Alberto Puig, also work for the hospital. Massachusetts General is among several in the nation to offer transgender surgical services. In 2020, doctors at the hospital sought approval to perform a first-of-its-kind surgery to attach the penis of a dead man onto a woman who identifies as transgender. The operation, which has yet to be approved, would involve attaching an organ donor's penis to the groin of a biological female. Another partner in the course, Boston Children's Hospital, came under fire last year after an activist shared videos of the hospital purportedly offering "gender-affirming hysterectomies" and other services to minors. A March 2022 paper revealed 65 double mastectomies were performed on minor girls at the Center for Gender Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital between 2017 and 2020. Despite nearly two centuries of a strong Christian heritage, Harvard has, in recent years, strayed further away from its theological roots and even hired an atheist as its chief chaplain in August 2021. Harvard Medical School made waves in a 2020 tweet promoting one of its panel discussions when the school referred to women as "birthing people." As part of a discussion on "maternal justice," Harvard Medical School's Postgraduate and Continuing Education proclaimed, "Globally, ethnic minority pregnant and birthing people suffer worse outcomes and experiences during and after pregnancy and childbirth." NAMB church planter Clint Clifton dies in plane crash: 'His passion for the kingdom was always on display' Clint Clifton, a church planter with the North American Mission Board, tragically died in a plane crash in Georgia on Thursday at the age of 43, sparking an outpouring of grief from the church planting community. In an email sent to NAMB and Send Network staff and missionaries, NAMB President Kevin Ezell revealed Clifton died in a small plane crash in north Georgia on Thursday evening. Clifton was the only person in the plane and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to the Dawson County News. God generously gifted Clint in so many ways. He had a pastors heart and was a talented church planter with a passion for reaching people for Christ. He loved what we do here at NAMB and poured his heart and life into it. We miss him already and he leaves a void that cant be filled, Ezell wrote. As we pray for and encourage Clints family and closest friends, lets all take care of each other as we walk through the grief and shock of this moment. Nothing can prepare you for news like this, but we have a Savior who will carry us and sustain us in the days ahead. According to Dawson County News, the crash occurred Thursday evening but was not reported until Friday morning. Clifton was reportedly in his personal plane when the accident occurred. Clifton and his wife, Jennifer, had been married since 2000 and had five children: Noah, Ruthe, Isaiah, Betchina and Moses. Clifton hosted the New Churches podcast and served in numerous ministry positions throughout the Southeast prior to planting Pillar Church in Dumfries, Virginia, where he served as an elder, according to Baptist Press. In a letter sent to the members of Pillar Church, Colby Garman, teaching pastor of Pillar Church, said the news of Cliftons death comes as a tidal wave of sorrow to both the church and his family. There are not adequate words to express the feeling of loss that they have experienced. In addition to being a great pastor he was a better husband and father, he said. We share in the sorrow and loss with them not only because in Christ we have been made family together but also because of the powerful and practical impact Clints life has had on all of us. He was a special person that we are going to miss so deeply. It is impossible to imagine Pillar Church without his unique passion and joyful presence. In a social media post on Friday night, pastor and author David Platt mourned Cliftons passing. Words can't express the respect I have for Clint as a husband, dad, church planter, & friend. I'm stunned & really sad. And I really long for the day when news like this is no more, he wrote. Please pray for Clint's amazing wife, Jennifer, & their incredible kids. Trevin Wax, NAMB vice president for research and resource development, said his team was stunned by the loss. Clint was a gifted leader who loved pouring his life into mentoring and resourcing church planters. His passion for the kingdom was always on display, and he devoted ceaseless energies into seeing pastors strengthened and equipped for mission. In a recent Instagram post, Clifton revealed he was gearing up for the release of a new book titled How to Start a Residency, which he said answers nine practical questions about turning everyday members into ministry leaders. In a 2014 interview with The Christian Post, Clifton shared his passion for bringing the Gospel to underserved communities and areas resistant to the Good News. "The truth is, lost people don't see a need for new churches so the communities are always resistant to churches, especially churches that are clear on the Gospel," said Clifton. "It's an uphill battle planting churches in a city that doesn't see a use for them. The challenges are numerous, the city is expensive, the culture is diverse but Jesus saves. His Gospel is powerful and will grow wherever it's planted. In his email, Garman reminded Pillar Church members that as believers, they "do not sorrow as those without hope." "As you process this news I would encourage you to bring your sorrows to the Lord and share the burden with one another," he wrote. Share stories together of Clints impact on your life, give fresh consideration to the purpose God has given each of your lives, and endeavor to make the most of the moments God has given us to walk together." Pennsylvania school board votes to ban activist flags, teachers' partisan views from classroom A Pennsylvania school board has implemented a policy requiring teachers to refrain from engaging in political advocacy in the classroom as concerns about the promotion of LGBT ideology and critical race theory in public schools loom large in American politics. The board of directors for the Central Bucks School District in Bucks County voted to approve Policy 321 at a school board meeting Tuesday, according to NPR news station WESA which reported that the board voted 6-3 in favor of implementing the policy. Neutrality and balance in classroom instruction are desired in order to create an optimal learning environment and atmosphere of inclusiveness, where all students are welcome, the policy states. Because views and beliefs about partisan, political, or social policy matters are often deeply personal, employees should not, during assigned work hours, advocate to students concerning their views or beliefs on these matters. Such advocacy does not contribute to a positive learning climate and may be disruptive, divisive, and distracting. Rather, classroom instruction should relate to approved curriculum. The districts role is to teach students how to think, not want to think, thereby keeping classrooms places of education, not indoctrination, the policy adds. Under the new policy, employees of the Central Bucks School District cannot advocate to students concerning any partisan, political, or social policy issue nor engage in partisan, political or social policy electioneering or campaigning unrelated to employee representative elections. District employees must also refrain from displaying any flag, banner, poster, sign, sticker, pin, button, insignia, paraphernalia, photograph, or other similar material that advocates concerning any partisan, political, or social issue. Employees are also forbidden from distributing political literature such as leaflets, brochures or petitions and requiring students to do the same. The ban on flags has an exception for the American flag and the flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, district officials are permitted to discuss political topics when directly relevant to the curriculum and appropriate to classroom studies given the students age, class year, and course of study. Policy 321 did not single out any particular ideology by name or give specific examples of what might constitute banned material or advocacy. It does give teachers and school staffers permission to wear small pieces of jewelry, consistent with the professional dress code, that symbolically represent an individuals personal beliefs. This policy is not a prohibition on topics of speech, the document adds. Rather, it is designed to promote education instead of indoctrination or endorsement of partisan, political or social policy matters. In an analogous context, the district has long educated students about world religion but cannot endorse a particular religion. When implementing and enforcing Policy 321, District employees, the Superintendent and principals may be guided by that existing and familiar non-endorsement principle. The Central Bucks School District previously found itself the subject of a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania to the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education after the school board and district administration ordered the removal of LGBT pride flags from classrooms and common areas, which they described as inappropriate political symbols. Other actions cited as concerning in the complaint include the implementation of a policy designed to eliminate sexualized content from school libraries and textbooks, which the ACLU of Pennsylvania condemned as an effort to advance censorship of LGBTQ+ content. On Oct. 20, 2022, two weeks after the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed the complaint against Central Bucks School District, the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights announced it was opening an investigation into the district. The complaint characterized the ordered removal of pride flags as one of many examples of policies that exacerbated the existing hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students. The ACLU of Pennsylvania attributed the development of such policies to several new directors [joining] the school board following the November 2021 election. The implementation of policies designed to reduce political advocacy in Central Bucks School District comes as parents and community members across the U.S. have descended on school board meetings to express outrage over public schools embrace of critical race theory and inclusion of sexually explicit material as part of the curriculum. For example, the mayor of Hudson, Ohio, called on members of the school board to resign for allowing the use of a book with sexually explicit writing prompts in a college-level English class. Stacy Langton of the Washington, D.C.-area Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, confronted her school board over the presence of two books with sexually explicit content in the library at her sons high school: Gender Queer and Lawn Boy. She noted that one book describes [the illegal act of child sexual assault of] a fourth-grade boy performing oral sex on an adult male while the other book has detailed illustrations of a man having sex with a boy. As a result of concerns surrounding the content schools are teaching to students, several advocacy groups have emerged in an attempt to draw attention to the problem and change the makeup of the bodies that decide what material is taught to students in public schools. One such endeavor, the 1776 Project PAC, works to elect school board members nationwide who want to reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history and abolishing critical race theory and The 1619 Project from the public school curriculum. While the list of endorsed candidates on the 1776 Project PACs website does not include the Central Bucks School District, several of the groups preferred candidates running for school board seats in other Pennsylvania districts during the same election cycle won their races. The organization has also seen several of its preferred candidates secure victory in their races in the major states of Texas and Florida ahead of the 2022 general election and more than 100 of its endorsed candidates win in the November 2022 general election. Religious colleges urged to 'lean into' their identities, not mimic secular universities seeing enrollment drop WASHINGTON Amid a national decline in undergraduate enrollment, representatives from multiple religious colleges and universities gathered Thursday and were encouraged to remain loyal to their faith-based identities as they seek to boost attendance and success. The event, "The Fate of the Religious University," was held at the American Council on Education, consisting of various panels discussing how religious universities should be leaning into their religious identities even as they seek to bolster student enrollment. Some university presidents in attendance included University of Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins, Catholic University of America President Peter Kilpatrick and Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman. Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith America, was one of the event's opening speakers, stressing that colleges should make their religious identity known and have programs demonstrating interfaith cooperation. He said such programs would prove that their institutions are "reacting positively to other religious communities and working to serve the common good." According to an October report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the national undergraduate enrollment rate dropped 1.1% during the fall 2022 semester, declining by 4.2% since 2020. Despite this national decline, some Christian universities experienced record highs in enrollment. Commenting on this report, Patel pointed to Council for Christian Colleges & Universities President Shirley Hoogstra and former Brigham Young University-Idaho and Brigham Young University-Pathway President Elder Clark Gilbert's presentations, citing this as a potential reason for the trend. The CCCU is an advocacy organization representing the interests of its 140 member institutions in the United States. "Their institutions are differentiated," Patel told The Christian Post in an interview. "They serve a particular population that seeks to be nurtured in their identity and to have a positive relationship with the world. And those institutions do it very well." "And I think it is the case that many people of faith, of all faiths, they feel like they're in a broader social environment which is hostile to their identity." During his presentation, Gilbert said that for many students, their arrival at a faith-based college might be the first time they feel like they fit in. He told a personal story about his high school experience, saying how, at the time, his friends saw him as the "designated driver" after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. He remembered feeling more at ease once he enrolled in a religious college, a strength Gilbert believes faith-based institutions should capitalize on. Gilbert said religious institutions should not seek to mimic secular colleges and universities but lean into that particular "niche" that makes them unique. Hoogstra agreed, urging colleges to "lean into [their] distinctiveness" during her co-presentation with Gilbert. She also encouraged religious colleges to work on behalf of their community by partnering with local businesses so students can help spread their college's culture. Hoogstra, who formerly served as an executive at Calvin University in Michigan, used as an example a nursing student interning at a local hospital, saying that the student could help the hospital better understand the college's adherence to faith-based values. In an interview with CP, Shoogra said she believes the future of Christian education is "very bright" because religious institutions are honing in on their "distinctiveness." "I think today that the American public and families want to know what they're buying when they get a college education," she said. "So, our campuses are clear about that, and they're different than secular institutions." Hoogstra believes that one of the benefits of CCCU's campuses is that the colleges educate the "whole person," which better prepares students to think and ask questions. Another panel, led by College of Ozarks President Brad Johnson and Brigham Young University-Hawaii President Keoni Kauwe, discussed the innovative ways their schools are helping young people access a college education. Students at the College of Ozarks, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, do not pay tuition. Instead, they work 15 hours a week to pay for their education. Johnson said that the campus has a hotel, a restaurant and a stained glass and candle factory. He said the revenue from these features subsidizes the students' education. Johnson said that allowing students to work for their education helps them "know that they belong and can achieve all God wants them to achieve." Kauwe said BYU-Hawaii, affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, functions under a similar model where students fund their education by working at the Polynesian Cultural Center, a tourist attraction. The BYU-Hawaii president said that this enables students to fund their education and celebrate their culture, which creates a sense of "commonness" among the students. He said the celebration of religious identity and diversity is what helps students thrive. Kauwe said schools like the ones he and Johnson oversee must be vocal about the "success" of these models, proving that this is a "viable" way to run an institution. South Carolina police warn of gift cards scam that targeted church Authorities in South Carolina have warned about a fraudulent scheme in which scammers targeted members of an unnamed congregation to buy gift cards. The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office posted a press release on Facebook Thursday, issuing an alert about a scam that targeted a local church, trying to get members to buy $200 in gift cards. Members of a county church have received emails, purportedly from the pastor, asking them to buy a series of $200 gift cards and send pictures of the cards displaying the serial numbers, explained the sheriffs office. Gift cards are a popular tool of scammers. Once they have the serial numbers, the buyer cannot recover his money. Never agree to buy gift cards and share the serial numbers with people you don't know. The sheriffs office added that any other victims of the scam should contact authorities at 843-546-5102. This is not the first time that a scam involving someone posing as a congregations pastor to solicit donations has taken place in recent years. In February 2019, the Greenville, North Carolina-based WITN reported on a scam in which members of multiple local churches received scam emails asking for donations. I urgently need to get a Google play gift card for a cancer patient that I promised her as a birthday gift, but I can't do this right now. Can you get it from any store around you? I'll make sure it's refunded tomorrow, read the scammers request, as quoted by WITN. Pastor Chris Hopkins of Reimage Church in Winterville, one of the clergy impersonated by the scammers, told WITN at the time that he felt churches are a pretty prime target for something like this because members have a heart to give. If you are going to give to your church the ways to do that are the ways your church communicates to you on a regular basis, said Hopkins back in 2019. If they have something set up on their website, online or in a dedicated app, that you can use. Or just by giving by being here on Sunday morning. Really those are the best ways. In May 2019, a fraudulent Joel Osteen Ministries account on Facebook offered prayers in return for large monthly donations. Lakewood Church had to issue a statement informing people that it was fake. Joel Osteen Ministries never requests money for prayer. You can post your prayer requests here as well as pray for others: c.osteen.co/prayers, stated the Texas megachurch. Citizens who have been scammed by similar fraud crimes or received an email requesting money or the purchase of gift cards are also encouraged to contact the Justice Department. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center also provides an online complaint form to report online scams, such as get-rich-quick schemes or online auction fraud. Supreme Court to hear case of Evangelical Christian who asked USPS not to force him to work Sundays The U.S. Supreme Court late Friday said it will hear the civil rights lawsuit of an Evangelical Christian postal worker who resigned from the U.S. Postal Service after it refused to allow him to observe Sunday as the Sabbath. Gerald Groff of Pennsylvania quit USPS in 2019 after a service of about seven years because the Quarryville Post Office in Lancaster County required him to deliver Amazon packages on Sundays. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of religion, said Kelly Shackelford, who heads the legal firm First Liberty that is supporting Groffs case, in a statement. Its time for the Supreme Court to reconsider a decades old case that favors corporations and the government over the religious rights of employees. The postmaster initially granted Groffs request, allowing him to work additional shifts on other days of the week instead, but later the USPS offered only proposals that would require Groff to work on Sundays and thereby violate his conscience. Last May, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Groff. Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama appointee, wrote that if Groff were to receive exemptions from working on Sundays, the accommodations "would cause an undue hardship" for the postal service. "Exempting Groff from working on Sundays caused more than a de minimis cost on USPS because it actually imposed on his coworkers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale," the ruling read. Randall Wenger of the Independence Law Center, which is also supporting Groff, said, Observing the Sabbath day is critical to many faiths a day ordained by God. No one should be forced to violate the Sabbath to hold a job. Aaron Streett of the law firm Baker Botts, which is also helping Groff, explained, We are simply asking the Supreme Court to apply the law as written and require employers to grant meaningful religious accommodations to people of faith. ILC lawyer Jeremy Samek earlier told ABC 27 that its not uncommon for people to request reasonable accommodations at their workplace. Employers are actually required to provide reasonable accommodations. Its something that happens every single day. Samek continued, We should, as a society, seek to reasonably accommodate people with unique religious beliefs, that we can all live and work together in a pluralistic society. At the end of the day, Mr. Groff wants his job back. Its important for him, but its also important for lots of other people who work for the federal government or the post office that they be able to continue their employment and to continue to observe their religious beliefs. Voice of the Martyrs adds 4 African countries to list of nations hostile to Christians A persecution watchdog has added four more African countries to the list of the worlds most dangerous and difficult places to follow Christ in its 2023 prayer guide for churches. Announcing the launch of its annual 2023 Global Prayer Guide, The Voice of the Martyrs, which has tracked the persecution of Christians worldwide since 1997, said it has added and designated Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Niger as hostile nations. VOM explained that the hostile designation includes nations or large areas of countries where national governments attempt to provide protection for the Christian population, but Christians are routinely persecuted by family, community members and/or extremist groups because of their witness. The Global Prayer Guide is free to anyone who requests a copy here and was created to inform and equip Christians worldwide with how best to pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters. Benin, which borders western Nigeria, is considered the birthplace of voodoo, and many in the north view Christianity as a threat to their traditional beliefs. Jihadi violence increased in Benin during the second half of 2022, according to another watchdog, International Christian Concern, which says extremist groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State have been waging war in the Sahel for several years. However, the violence is slowly creeping south and west into neighboring states, including Burkina Faso and Benin. Christians account for roughly 30% of the population of 13.3 million in this small West African nation, and Evangelicals about 8%. In Congo, the church in the eastern parts is under immense pressure, VOM explains, as Islamist groups severely persecute Christians there, raiding villages, destroying churches and brutally killing hundreds of believers. Last October, a group of nongovernmental organizations urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow Congolese citizens to remain in the United States with a work permit as they face the possibility of severe persecution by Islamic extremist groups in their home country. ICC also warned at the time that Christians in the eastern DRC were suffering persecution at the hands of extremist groups like the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic extremist group mainly active in the eastern North Kivu province near the border with Uganda. "Though the Congolese government is pushing back against these terrorist groups, insufficient attention is paid to Christian communities, which are targeted for their differing religious beliefs," ICC stated at the time. "ICC has witnessed the violence in the DRC firsthand, in one instance coming across the still-smoking wreckage of a car attacked by terrorists in June of this year. Just days later, at least 10 Christians were killed when an Islamist extremist group ambushed their three vehicles near the village of Makisabo, Beni. The Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist extremist group, allegedly blocked the road, shot all the passengers, and set the vehicles on fire." VOM added that in Mozambique, an Islamic insurgency that started in 2019 continues to create chaos and instability in the northern province of Cabo Del Gado. Islamic extremists have been exploiting a crisis in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado. A civil war started in 2017 over the area rich with gas, rubies, graphite, gold and other natural resources. Protesters demonstrated against what they say is profits going to an elite in the ruling Frelimo Party, with few jobs for local residents. In Niger, radical Islamists from countries surrounding the nation, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, are attacking Christians inside the country with increasing frequency, VOM said. The ongoing spread of radical Islam on the African continent is increasing the daily danger for our Christian brothers and sisters there, VOM spokesperson Todd Nettleton said. The first thing that persecuted Christians ask Christians in free nations to do for them is to pray. In March 2021, over 130 people and nearly two dozen children were killed in a series of suspected Islamic extremist raids in Niger. In 2020, the U.S. State Department created a special envoy position to monitor rising extremism in Africa's Sahel region as al Qaeda and Islamic State-aligned militants were expanding their footholds. Along with the Global Prayer Guide, VOM also offers resources on its app for iOS and Android and the website, icommittopray.com. Abortion survivors praise the GOP Born-Alive Act In the eyes of abortionists, every successful abortion ends in the death of a child but, thankfully, not every abortion goes according to their plans. Countless abortion survivors, each one condemned to death as an innocent baby in the womb, walk among us every day. For pro-life advocates like Melissa Ohden and members of the Abortion Survivors Network, legislation that ensures protection for infants born alive after abortions holds deep personal significance. On January 11, House Republicans successfully passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act by a 220-210 vote. The bill passed entirely along party lines, with all Republican representatives voting in favor of the bill and all but one Democrat voting against it (with one Democrat voting present). The Born-Alive Act seeks to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion. To Sarah Zagorski, communications director of Louisiana Right to Life, the Born-Alive Act puts the penalty on the right party by criminalizing doctors who do not get medical care for the child. In my interview with Sarah, she described how an abortionist delivered her breech at 26 and a half weeks gestation. She shared, He told my mother to let me die on the table because I wasnt breathing. Thankfully, my birth mother resisted his coercive efforts and decided to tell him, Im going to sue you if you dont get my daughter breathing right now. Sarah was sent to a trauma birth ward, where she thankfully survived. Zagorski is part of the Abortion Survivors Network founded by fellow survivor Melissa Ohden, who lived through a failed saline infusion abortion at seven months gestation. Melissas organization has connected with over 600 abortion survivors in their journey of hope, healing, and educating others on the human dignity of all unborn children. I just want to thank members of Congress who are voting yes on that bill today. This has been years in the making, double digits of failure to get it to the floor in the making, Melissa told me. We are just grateful for members of Congress and their leadership showing that, as this legislative session is beginning, pro-life bills are front and center and that means the world. While abortion survivors are grateful for the progress that the House GOP has made in passing the Born-Alive bill, it is significant to note that every survivors story is profoundly unique. Lauren, another survivor who shared her story with me, described how the Lord worked in her mothers heart to change her mind during the middle of a second-trimester abortion. After leaving the abortionist and seeking medical care from a pro-life obstetrician, Laurens mother miraculously sustained the pregnancy for another five weeks until she found herself in preterm labor at 26 weeks. The doctor told my mom that there was a very small chance that I would survive such a premature birth, Lauren told me. I was rushed to the NICU, where I weighed in at 2 lbs. 6 ounces. I had a small brain bleed and underdeveloped lungs, but I was stable. Miraculously, I had no brain damage or complications from the abortion attempt or my premature birth. My mom saw my tiny body and decided to keep me. I spent 53 days in the NICU, but I made it home from the hospital just in time to attend my parents wedding. Lauren concluded, I can truly say that God intervened in my life in a miraculous way. He saved me physically from death, and He saved my mom spiritually. Another abortion survivor, Karen, turned 65 last month, having survived her mothers multiple abortion attempts that predated Roe v. Wade. Growing up unaware of the abortions she had survived, Karen struggled with the distance she perceived between herself and her mother until her mother revealed the truth when Karen was 61 years old. In her youth, Karen had experienced three of her own abortions, which drove her to contemplate suicide on multiple occasions. God intervened in my life by allowing me to finally go back to church and hear a pastor talk about life and love something he kept saying kept me going back, Karen told me. I was introduced to a young lady there who herself had gone through abortions, and she introduced me to a crisis pregnancy center in our area. I was so overwhelmed by what they do, thinking, I would love to share my story with others who have gone through this. For six years, Karen has taught a class for women who have experienced abortions. She serves on a board with an organization that reaches out to the African-American community about the truth of abortion and providing life-affirming alternatives. She joyfully shared with me that she is completing a masters degree in mental health counseling and plans to use her degree to continue supporting women who have undergone abortions. Through learning about her past as an abortion survivor, Karen says, God let me know that my purpose, which I thought was to try to please and make my parents happy, was not the reason why He has me here. My real purpose is to serve Him and do the work that He has for me to do. As Congress advances legislation to ensure that infants who survive abortions receive life-sustaining medical care, it is more important than ever to hear the voices of abortion survivors reminding us that life is precious and that every baby deserves a chance to experience it. Originally published at The Washington Stand. Auroras, a family-owned Guatemalan restaurant and bakery that opened on Capitol Avenue in Hartford in 2021, is expanding with a second location in Enfield, co-owner Karen Valenzuela said. The new spot at 117 Hazard Ave. where Go Fresh Deli-Restaurant used to be will be called Auroras Pizza. When we opened Aurora, we wanted two things, a bakery and a restaurant, Valenzuela said of the Capitol Avenue spot she co-owns with her mother Ericka Valenzuela and her sister and brother-in-law, Gabi and Joshua Orellana. But my brother Sebastian wants a pizza place. Thats what he likes to do. Sebastian and I are going to run it, she said. Auroras Pizza will sell pizza and some of the more popular foods from the Hartford location, Valenzuela said. These include Guatemalan tacos dorados and enchiladas, chicken soup and the Milanesa plate of breaded chicken or steak with rice, beans and tortillas. We are hoping to open the 15th of this month, she said. Were still waiting on the health department inspection. Valenzuela said the Enfield location is the first of what the family hopes is a series of Auroras locations. We want one for each of us, my sister, my mom, my brothers, she said. The family are natives of Villanueva, Guatemala. Auroras Pizza will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m., depending on how the first weeks turn out. On Sundays, Valenzuela said, it will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Find them at facebook.com/aurorascapitol. Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com. South Carolinas largest UMC church may leave denomination over homosexuality debate The largest United Methodist Church congregation in South Carolina is seriously considering a departure from the mainline Protestant denomination over ongoing debates on homosexuality. Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church of Lexington, which has more than 5,000 members, began a discernment period earlier this week to consider possibly leaving the denomination, reported the Post and Courier. We are thankful a plan, path and price has been provided for traditional churches to consider separation from the denomination, said the Rev. Jeff Kersey, senior pastor of Mt. Horeb, as quoted by the Post and Courier. Mt. Horeb UMC falls under the jurisdiction of the UMC South Carolina Conference, a regional body of the denomination that covers all the congregations in the state. In brief comments emailed to The Christian Post, a representative of the Conference explained that Mt. Horeb was the largest local church in the South Carolina Conference. The Conference also noted that, although other conferences in the United States are seeing large numbers of churches leave, at present, no local church in the South Carolina Conference has voted to separate from The United Methodist Church. The Conference spokesperson directed CP to its discernment policy, which lays out the steps that a congregation must take to possibly leave the denomination. These steps included a church council vote, having the district superintendent call a church conference, the payment of remaining financial obligations such as apportionments and 10% of the value of the congregations property and assets, and a congregational vote in which at least two-thirds of church members present must support disaffiliation. The Christian Post reached out to Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church for comment, however a response was not received by press time. Over the past several years, the UMC has been involved in a divisive debate over whether the denomination should change its official stance opposing the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. Although theological progressives have failed to officially change these stances, many have either resisted the official positions of the UMC or have refused to enforce them. Last May, the Global Methodist Church was launched as a theologically conservative alternative to the UMC, with hundreds of congregations in the United States voting to leave the UMC to join it. Last month, the UMC North Georgia Conference announced that it was putting a pause on allowing congregations to pursue disaffiliation, believing that "many local churches have been misled about the disaffiliation process and have been presented with information about the process that is factually incorrect and defamatory." We have significant concerns about this misinformation and are well aware that it has the potential to do irreparable harm, claimed the regional body. The North Georgia Conference had ratified the disaffiliations of 70 congregations representing 9% of the denomination's churches and 3% of its members last June, before the announcement. So. Baptists to Plant Churches in D.C. Area With Goal of Reaching 6 Million People The Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board will focus part of its efforts on planting churches in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with the aim of reaching nearly six million people. In order to implement its plan, organizers are recruiting Southern Baptist churches to partner and commit to the vision of planting and multiplying churches over the next five years. "We're focusing on D.C. because the Gospel is declining as D.C. grows in size and influence, so we want to provide a growing Gospel witness," Clint Clifton, city coordinator for the Send North America: D.C., told The Christian Post. The evangelical population in D.C. is only 12 percent, according to NAMB, and currently, there are only 607 active Southern Baptist congregations in the D.C. area serving 5.8 million, which means that there is only one Southern Baptist congregation for every 9,571 people. Clifton calls the effort an "all hands on deck" initiative and says D.C. SBC churches as well as churches from around the country have jumped in to help. In addition, state conventions and local associations are on board as well as individual Christians who are making sacrificial moves into the city to work for the progress of the Gospel. "We're seeing unity and momentum like never before and I couldn't be more excited about what's happening," said Clifton. So far, NAMB has also recruited the help of the leadership and congregation of Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Ga., for the initiative. Under their direction, the church planting strategy will take off while they aim to recruit others along the way. "Cross Pointe Church is leading the charge to see healthy churches planted in our nation's capital. We have committed prayer teams, short term mission teams and $30,000 per year for five years to this critical church planting initiative," Mark Maynard, missions pastor at Cross Pointe Church told The Christian Post. In addition to planting churches throughout the city, Clifton says he is also focused on planting churches at every United States Marine Corps base in the world. Pillar D.C. is going to be planted at Quantico base in Northern Virginia. However, Pillar Churches already exist at major USMC bases throughout North Carolina and California. "The church is being planted by Shawn Branscum, a veteran marine and Thomas Hudson," said Clifton. "These two men have rearranged their lives to plant in D.C. and are fully equipped to accomplish the task. Thanks to the generosity of Cross Pointe and other Southern Baptists, they are able to move their families into this tremendously expensive and difficult city." Although D.C. is a city of two extremes where the poor and affluent reside, Clifton is hoping their initiative will reach everyone on the spectrum. "The truth is, lost people don't see a need for new churches so the communities are always resistant to churches, especially churches that are clear on the gospel," said Clifton. "It's an uphill battle planting churches in a city that doesn't see a use for them. The challenges are numerous, the city is expensive, the culture is diverse but Jesus saves! His gospel is powerful and will grow wherever it's planted, even in the concrete of a city like D.C.!" Texas woman sues USPS for banning custom-made Jesus stamp A county official in Texas is challenging a U.S. Postal Services regulation banning religious content on personalized custom stamps. Susan Fletcher, a devout Christian who serves as the Collin County Precinct 1 commissioner, filed a complaint last month with the U.S. District Court of East Texas in hopes it will protect her constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty granted under the First Amendment. The lawsuit says Fletcher wanted to create personalized postage stamps to reflect her faith during the Christmas season. USPS allows customers to use third-party companies to create stamps designed by citizens. One stamp design Flethcer created for Christmas features a Nativity scene under text saying: Emmanuel God with us. Fletcher said she tried to create a stamp that reflected her religious beliefs through PhotoStamps.com, a subsidiary of Stamps.com. However, the lawsuit states that Fletchers stamps were rejected by Stamps.com and USPS because of a regulation that prohibits images or text that contain a depiction of religious content. USPS reserves the right to determine whether a stamp design meets the criteria. The lawsuit argues that the policy allows secular depictions on the same topics. Ms. Fletcher has a sincerely held religious belief that she is compelled by the Lord to use her God-given artistic abilities to advance a religious message in all available communications media, including custom stamps for various holiday and celebratory occasions, the lawsuit argues. Ms. Fletcher considers these stamps to be an essential aspect of her religious practices and Christmastime message for friends and family. Fletcher is represented by Winston & Strawn, LLP, a law firm that participates in a national network affiliated with the First Liberty Institute, a leading nonprofit legal group devoted to defending First Amendment rights. USPS offers its own version of a religious stamp, but, ironically, it will not allow religious Americans to personalize stamps containing an expression of their own religious beliefs for their own use, Jeremy Dys, special counsel for litigation and communications at First Liberty Institute, said in a statement. This regulation by the USPS not only chills speech, it silences it. The lawsuit contends that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that this kind of categorical exclusion of religious perspectives on permitted topics constitutes impermissible viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendments free speech guarantee. The lawsuit further states that the stamp regulation creates a substantial burden on Fletchers rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The lawsuit asks the federal court to enjoin enforcement of the illegal aspects of the regulation and order the USPS to allow PhotoStamps.com to print Fletchers holiday stamps. No comment will be provided by USPS, as the agency has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation. In addition to the Nativity scene design, the court document explains that Fletcher also created customized stamp designs for other federal and Texas holidays. Fletchers Texas Independence Day stamp reads: God bless Texas. In addition to an Easter stamp, Fletcher created a mission trip stamp that cites Matthew 28:18-20. The lawsuit notes that Fletcher has not yet submitted her stamp designs because of PhotoStamps admonition regarding potential liability for publicly challenging the customized postage criteria. The lawsuit also contends that while PhotoStamps policies prevent religious content, the company has advertised custom postage with religious imagery representing the religious holidays Hanukkah and Kwanza. PhotoStamps has engaged in conduct that is inconsistent with its stated policies and the policies of USPS, the lawsuit reads. By allowing PhotoStamps to promote and sell customized postage stamps that display certain religious images but not others, USPS has engaged in unlawful viewpoint discrimination and burdened Ms. Fletchers religious practices. Minnesota to require teachers affirm transgender ideology, critical race theory for license, critics say A parental rights group and Christian scholars are criticizing the new requirements for a teaching license in Minnesota, which include a mandate that teachers must address trans-identified students by their stated gender identity and embrace controversial ideologies on race. A new set of Permanent Rules Relating to Licensing and Academic Standards for teachers in the state are slated to go into effect on July 1, 2024, nearly three years after they were first proposed in December 2021. The new requirements completely overhaul the "Standards of Effective Practice" for teachers and contain multiple passages indicating teachers are expected to affirm "students' background and identities." A standard on student learning has been amended to read, "The teacher understands that students bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family, and community values, and approaches their work and students with this asset-based mindset, affirming the validity of students' backgrounds and identities." The document maintains that teachers must create "opportunities for students to learn about power, privilege, intersectionality, and systemic oppression in the context of various communities" and teaching their students to act as "agents of social change to promote equity." Teachers are expected to understand "the diverse impacts of individual and systemic trauma," including "racism, and micro and macro aggressions, on learning and development" and embrace "culturally responsive strategies and resources to address these impacts." Additionally, the standards outline requirements on how teachers should set up their "learning environments." A teacher who meets the requirements laid out by Minnesota's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board "fosters an environment that ensures student identities such as race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/developmental/mental ability, socioeconomic class, and religious beliefs are historically and socially contextualized, affirmed, and incorporated into a learning environment where students are empowered to learn and contribute as their whole selves." The call to affirm students based on their gender identity suggests that teachers will be required to refer to trans-identified students by names and pronouns that correspond with their stated gender identity as opposed to their biological sex. The new standards come as teachers elsewhere in the United States have been suspended and taken their cases to court after refusing on religious grounds to embrace an LGBT ideology that contradicts their sincerely held religious beliefs about sex and gender. While most of the policies many parents and citizens find concerning are implemented at the local level by school boards, the new standards for Minnesota teachers are issued by the state. In an op-ed published in Alpha News, Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary Adjunct Professor Allen Quist and Julie Quist, chair of the Minnesota parental rights advocacy group the Child Protection League, warned that "the new standards will embed basic Marxist principles such as critical race theory, fluid sexual identity, and gender politics into all Minnesota schools." "Standard Marxist principles and dogma divide people into opposing groups so that students and teachers must view themselves not as individuals, but as members of groups oppressor groups or oppressed groups, and oppressed groups must be liberated from the exploitation of their oppressors. When formally adopted, the new requirements must be met to become or remain licensed to teach in Minnesota." Catrin Wigfall, a policy fellow at the Minnesota-based conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment, notes that formal adoption of the rules is anticipated later in the winter or early this spring after most components of the document were approved by administrative law judges. "American Experiment believes the proposed rule changes to the Standards of Effective Practice (both those approved and modified) are bad policy, politicizing teacher training requirements by using language that is political and ideological, not academic," Wigfall wrote. "These proposed rule changes drew overwhelming public opposition throughout the 2022 public hearing and comment periods from teachers, education specialists, parents, legal centers, and many others." She adds that the rule changes "are not a license renewal requirement, and they do not determine or set standards and benchmarks, which are set by the Minnesota Department of Education, or curricula, which are selected by local school boards." She claims the new policy will impact teacher candidates completing their initial licensure program, existing teachers seeking an initial Tier 3 license and teacher preparation providers. A teacher who meets the standards laid out in the document "understands and supports students as they recognize and process dehumanizing biases, discrimination, prejudices, and structural inequities." To account for what the document characterizes as pervasive biases, teachers must "[understand] bias in assessment, [evaluate] standardized and teacher-created assessments for bias, and [design] and [modify] assessments that minimize sources of bias." Minnesota teachers are called to select "anti-racist, culturally relevant, and responsive instructional strategies, accommodations, and resources to differentiate instruction for individuals and groups of learners." In addition, Minnesota's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board mandates the use of "resources written and developed by traditionally marginalized voices that offer diverse perspectives on race, culture, language, gender, sexual identity, ability, religion, nationality, migrant/refugee status, socioeconomic status, housing status and other identities traditionally silenced or omitted from curriculum." The standards proclaim that teachers should encourage "critical thinking about culture and race and [include] missing narratives to the dominant culture in the curriculum." Much of the document is devoted to ensuring "equitable" outcomes, featuring instruction for teachers to understand "the historical foundations of education in Minnesota, including laws, policies, and practices that have had and continue to create inequitable opportunities, experiences, and outcomes for learners, especially for Indigenous students and students historically denied access, underserved, or underrepresented on the basis of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, socioeconomic status, or country of origin." It also asks teachers to engage in self-reflection by examining "how their biases, perceptions, and academic training may affect their teaching practice and perpetuate oppressive systems and [utilize] tools to mitigate their own behavior to disrupt oppressive systems." Teachers are also urged to make "adaptations and adjustments toward more equitable outcomes." When outlining the expectations for "collaboration and leadership" with parents, the document stresses "the importance of engaging in culturally affirming, reciprocal communication with families about student development, learning, and performance" as well as using a "culturally relevant and responsive lens" to communicate with families. An entire section of the document is explicitly dedicated to "racial consciousness and reflection." Teachers must understand "multiple theories of race and ethnicity, including but not limited to racial formation, processes of racialization, and intersectionality" and comprehend "the definitions of and difference between prejudice, discrimination, bias, and racism." The document identifies "ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, deficit-based teaching, and white supremacy" as sources of a lack of equity. "The teacher understands that knowledge creation, ways of knowing, and teaching are social and cultural practices shaped by race and ethnicity, often resulting in racially disparate advantages and disadvantages," the document states. "The teacher understands the histories and social struggles of historically defined racialized groups, including but not limited to Indigenous people, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, and Asian Americans." Additionally, the state wants teachers to acknowledge "the impact of the intersection of race and ethnicity with other forms of difference, including class, gender, sexuality, religion, national origin, immigration status, language, and age." Ryan MacPherson, a history professor and director of Apologetics and Worldview Studies at Bethany Lutheran College, contends that the new Minnesota standards mean that teachers "must personally advocate critical race theory and transgender ideology" to be licensed by the state. He warned that education departments at colleges and universities "must document their fulfillment of the new standards" or risk having their program certification rescinded by Minnesota's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. He added that teachers must "positively affirm extremist leftist positions about human nature and sexual practices in order to be allowed to teach in government schools." "The state's insistence that every teacher positively affirm homosexual behaviors and transgendered identities understandably aggravates consciences among moral traditionalists, but the issues run deeper than the 'culture war,'" MacPherson wrote for The Federalist. "What is at stake is the nature of knowledge, the future of liberty, and the prospects for a sustainable social order. In a word: civilization." "Teachers will be required to choose 'anti-racist' i.e. critical race theory instructional strategies for students," he added. "An administrative judge told the state to amend No. 4 here requiring teachers to expose children to sexual identities. It will likely still go into effect, with slightly different language." As noted in the Quists' op-ed, "the Minnesota teacher licensing board is called the Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board or PELSB. Each board member was appointed by [Democratic] Gov. Tim Walz." To change the makeup of the board, parents concerned about the new standards would have to elect a new governor who would have the power to appoint new members. Walz, a Democrat, just won re-election by nearly 8 percentage points. The next gubernatorial election in the state will occur in 2026, more than two years after the standards are slated to go into effect. Opposition to the implementation of elements of critical race theory in public schools has led to the creation of advocacy groups such as the 1776 Project PAC. The 1776 Project PAC focuses on "electing school board members nationwide who want to reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history" and working to abolish critical race theory from the public school curriculum. The organization has succeeded in helping candidates win elections in school board races in Texas and Florida before the 2022 election and more than 100 races nationwide in the general election. As defined by Encyclopedia Brittanica, critical race theory is "an intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour." DOJ seeks to recover money bilked from veterans by House of Prayer schools The Department of Justice has filed a motion to seize money in several financial accounts belonging to the nonprofit organization the House of Prayer, which is accused of bilking veterans and active service members out of millions of dollars in GI Bill benefits to pay for unaccredited Bible classes and related education services. Filed earlier this month, the motion, first cited by Court Watch, is seeking to recover some $150,000 from six seized bank accounts that government lawyers argue are the proceeds from the House of Prayers fraud. According to the motion, from January 2013 to January 2022, the VA paid veteran students enrolled at HOPBS under various VA education benefit programs approximately $15,952,721 in the form of tuition, housing allowances, and stipends. House of Prayer, a chain of schools that some students branded as a cult, is accused of theft and unlawful conversion of government property, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Investigators say the church used 20 financial institutions and 80 bank accounts to transfer funds in their scheme. The scandal has resulted in The House of Prayer being blocked from receiving any additional federal VA education funding. On June 23, 2022, the FBI raided at least six House of Prayer locations, including in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington state, Texas and California, but it was unclear if the raids were connected to any particular case. The organization is led by the elusive veteran Rony Denis and has 11 churches near U.S. military installations. House of Prayer allegedly used high-pressure tactics to recruit vulnerable veterans or active duty service members and exploited them for their government entitlements through programs such as the GI Bill, Military.com reported. In the meantime, Denis also reportedly enriched himself by building an untold real estate empire worth millions. Some of the former students who spoke to the publication were reportedly veterans or active-duty members when they were involved with the House of Prayer. Some sources "described having suicidal ideation or previous attempts, the publication said, adding that some were wounded in the post-9/11 wars or had previous trauma. The GI Bill benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, help qualifying Veterans and their family members get money to cover all or some of the costs for school or training. Arlen Bradeen, an Army veteran who ran the House of Prayer's Bible school from its inception in 2004 until he left the church in 2018, told Military.com how the organization exploited the GI Bill members' benefits once the Bible school was approved for the GI Bill in 2013. He recalled how the cost per semester for the Bible classes increased from an initial $300 to about $3,000. "It burns me because there were a lot of good people who burned their VA money at these schools," Bradeen said. "They used all their college money to donate to Denis' Rolls Royces." In testimony on GI Bill modernization before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last July, William Hubbard, vice president for Veterans & Military Policy at Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group focused on advancing higher education success for service members, veterans and their families, said the House of Prayer's abuse is proof that more oversight of the GI Bill program is needed. Irrespective of VAs efforts to modernize and improve the administration of education benefits, student veterans continue to face the threat of predatory actors in higher education, and in many cases with alarming consequences, Hubbard noted in his testimony. What music is for in corporate worship Today, January 13, we remember the Hussites who, on this day in 1501, published the first hymnal in history written in the language of the common people. The descendants of the Hussites are known as the Moravian Brethren, who carry on the rich tradition of hymns and church music today. Christians have good reason to commemorate this event. After all, ours, like Judaism, has always been a singing faith. The longest book in the Bible, and the one at its center, is the Psalms, a word that means songs. Davids plans for the Temple included clans of Levites whose entire job was music. Choirs, soloists, orchestras, and antiphonal singing were prescribed parts of Temple life and practice, and an entire class of Psalms, the Songs of Ascent, were sung by the people as they traveled to Jerusalem for the annual pilgrimage festivals. Throughout the biblical texts, music is also connected to prophecy and to dealing with evil spirits. Jesus and the apostles sang a hymn after the Last Supper, according to two of the Gospels. The Apostle Paul specifically associates singing with being filled with the Spirit in his epistle to the church at Ephesus. And, in Johns Revelation of what is constantly happening around the throne of God, there is lots of singing, sometimes accompanied by harps. Music also is part of the culmination of the creation story. When Eve is taken from Adams side, Adam awakes and exclaims, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Many scholars believe this to essentially be a celebratory song. Eliminating the musical element from the text of Scripture would be to gut them and the practices that have emerged from them. Monks chanted the Psalms daily, in some cases covering the entire Psalter in a week. Medieval thinkers thought of the human heartbeat, respiration, and daily cycle of sleeping and waking as music. They also believed the motion of the heavenly bodies was regulated by the music of the spheres. To the medieval mind, music was a glue holding the universe together. These ideas shaped the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, who used music as the agent of creation in their respective tales of Narnia and Middle Earth. In the Reformation, Martin Luther reintroduced congregational singing to the liturgy, an idea that spread through all the branches of Protestantism and, eventually, returned to the Roman Catholic Church. Reformed Christians focused on singing the Psalms and other songs from Scripture, though some also incorporated hymns in their worship. All of this points to a central truth of a Christian worldview, that God loves music. Because music has been so central to Church worship and the Christian imagination, the first common-language hymnal is a milestone to remember and an opportunity to reflect on how music serves Christian worship today. While I have no desire to reignite the worship wars of recent decades, Christians should not think of music as mere decoration to services that are really about teaching and preaching. The essential question, even as music styles change and new music is created and incorporated is, what is music in worship services for? The Psalms offer essential guidance. Some are songs of praise, others are confessions, but the largest category of Psalms are laments. In other words, the Psalms cover the full range of human emotions, bringing the totality of human experience into corporate worship. And yet, the Psalms always direct our attention to God. Even when talking about their own experiences and hardships, they always turn attention outward and upward, from self and toward God. And often, this is done by remembering what God has done and who He has revealed Himself to be. Too often, music utilized in churches fails to take us past expressing our own thoughts and feelings about God and, too often, only songs that elicit positive and happy emotions are sung. This does not follow the model of Scripture, a model that helps Gods people see trouble and sorrow in light of Gods faithfulness and character. This also misses what music is for. Music instructs. It is a tool of catechetical instruction, not merely a time of self-expression. In the end, songs centered on the subjective experience of Christians quickly become sources of bad theology. Another consideration is that music is for the entire congregation. When music in the Church is primarily about the performance of professional musicians, the songs are unsingable to much of the congregation. This is not an issue of style or preference. I thank God for modern writers of hymns and songs, committed to producing music that is true and excellent for the glory of God and the people of God. Music is a gift of God, a unique way of connecting His revelation with our hearts and minds. St. Augustine is thought to have said, he who sings, prays twice. The Church must recover a more robust understanding and practice of music. Originally published at BreakPoint. The arts appear in some magical places this week in Connecticut. Dozens of doo-woppers and sock-hoppers at a casino. A classical pianist at the arts center inside the Milford train station. Heroic cartoon dogs live on stage in an arena. A current TV reality show diva hosting a drag show at one of her familiar local haunts. A versatile drummer holding forth at a blues-loving restaurant. Six British queens (the royal kind) commanding The Bushnell, plus the visual art/music/conversation mix of a Creative Cocktail party. Here are some of the top things to do and see. Bowzers Rock N Doo-Wop Party XXI Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville The current editions of vocal groups and rock acts that have existed since the 1950s or 60s gather for the latest Rock N Doo-Wop Party XXI hosted by Jon Bowzer Bauman of Sha Na Na. The line-up includes twist master Chubby Checker & the Wildcats, Jay Siegels Tokens (The Lion Sleeps Tonight), Chris Montez of Lets Go fame, Lala Brooks (lead vocalist on The Crystals And Then He Kissed Me), Love Potion #9? imbibers The Clovers, The Dubs (Could This Be Magic), Johnny Farina of the Sleep Walk duo Santo & Johnny, New York firefighter Frank Pizarro (a 9/11 first responder) paying tribute to the songs of The Platters, the tours longtime backing band Rocky & the Rollers and Baumans own band Bowzer & the Stingrays, featuring another Sha Na Na veteran, Johnny Contardo. Its an early show, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. $25 and $35. mohegansun.com. New England LOL Comedy Show Funnybone Comedy Club, 194 Buckland Hills Drive, Manchester Connecticut comedians Marshall Brandon and Big Regg co-host an MLK Weekend comedy show Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Funnybone Comedy Club in Manchester ($25-$35). Later in the week, Jan. 21 at 7:30 and 10 p.m. and Jan. 22 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., one of the biggest Black female comedians on the touring circuit, Sommore, is at the same club ($37-$47). hartford.funnybone.com. PAW Patrol Live: The Great Pirate Adventure Total Mortgage Arena, 600 Main St., Bridgeport The kids show PAW Patrol began in 2013, which means its original fans are now sullen teens. The show continues to rejuvenate itself and capture new audiences with the latest PAW Patrol movie due in October and a spin-off, Rubble & Co., set to debut next month. Then theres PAW Patrol Live, a lively combination of human performers and giant dog costumes (and pirates!), returning to Connecticut for two shows Jan. 17 and 18 at 6 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport. $32-$130. totalmortgagearena.com. Creative Cocktail Hour Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St., Hartford The first Creative Cocktail Hour of 2023, Jan. 19 from 6 to 10 p.m., features live music by Habbina Habbina, party music from DJ Realistic, the East-West Grille food truck, art-making activities and a chance to hang around Real Art Ways with other cool people. An immersive art exhibit by Korean artist Kate Bae has its opening that night, joining exhibits by Rashmi Talpade and Howard el-Yasin. $15, $10 RAW members and bicyclists. RAW members on bikes get in free. realartways.org. Classical pianist Wynona Wang performs Jan. 19 at the Milford Arts Council. Wynona Wang Milford Arts Council, 40 Railroad Ave Milford Hartford-based classical pianist Wynona Wang has been playing since she was 4. At her concert on Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. at the Milford Arts Council, shell play Nikolai Medtners Fairytale sonata, Beethovens Appassionata sonata and Liszts Piano Sonata in B Minor. Its sonatamania! $22-$42. milfordarts.org. Chris Barron Wall Street Theater, 71 Wall Street, Norwalk Before they were MTV sensations for their hits Two Princes and Little Miss Cant Be Wrong in the early 90s, playing such giant venues as New Haven Coliseum, the New York alt-funk band Spin Doctors could be found visiting much smaller (now defunct) Connecticut clubs such as the Poco Loco and the Cape Codder. The smaller rooms suited the bands sweaty hippie fun-for-alls. Now Spin Doctors frontman Chris Barron is on a solo tour and happily playing relatively intimate venues again, including Norwalks Wall Street Theater on Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. $23-$35. wallstreettheater.com. Forever Fierce Chez Est, 458 Wethersfield Ave., Hartford Millions now know her as a current contestant on RuPauls Drag Race Season 15, but in Connecticut, Robin Fierce has been a drag legend for years. Shes hosting one of her Forever Fierce shows at Chez Est, also featuring Miss Rozzz, Angel Rivers and Ivanka, on Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. chezest.com. Liviu Pop & Friends Black-Eyed Sallys, 350 Asylum St., Hartford The internationally touring Hartford-based blues/soul/jazz/funk drummer Liviu Pop is the attraction at Black-Eyed Sallys on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m., bringing special guest performers with him. blackeyedsallys.com. Neighbor Infinity Music Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford The band Neighbor has been on tour playing big rooms alongside Greensky Bluegrass and Umphreys McGee. In June, theyre playing the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee and the Greensky Camp fest in Iceland. On Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Music Hall Hartford, they get a stage all to themselves, and the improvisational four-piece groove band knows how to use it. $22-$32. infinityhall.com. Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at carnott@courant.com. Connecticuts congressional delegation has requested a detailed briefing from the Army about its decision on the future long-range assault aircraft contract, arguing that there are still many unanswered questions surrounding the rejection of Stratford-based Sikorskys bid for the project. The lawmakers said they have made repeated attempts to get a more comprehensive briefing from the department about its criteria but that Army leadership has denied those requests because of the ongoing process of a formal challenge to the contract award. Last month, Lockheed Martins Sikorsky lost the bid to build the eventual replacement to the Black Hawk helicopter, a contract that is worth up to $7.1 billion. Sikorsky recently filed a formal appeal to the Armys selection of Texas-based Textron Inc.s Bell, a process that can take a few months. The decision shocked Connecticut with potential consequences not just for a major defense contractor but also the hundreds of suppliers to Sikorsky and the thousands of people who work for those smaller businesses. Since then, lawmakers in Connecticut say they have been seeking answers to little avail. The states five House members John Larson, D-1; Joe Courtney, D-2; Rosa DeLauro, D-3; Jim Himes, D-4; and Jahana Hayes, D-5 and its two senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy said they sent a letter to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth asking for a briefing as soon as possible. As you may be aware, there has been a considerable amount of confusion and valid criticism surrounding the award. It is our understanding that Sikorskys bid for FLRAA was significantly superior in terms of cost, but that due to a subjective unsatisfactory evaluation on a single criteria, Sikorskys bid was rejected and never fully evaluated, the letter reads. It is simply unacceptable for the Army to continue to thwart our oversight responsibilities as members of Congress that are mandated in the U.S. Constitution, the letter continues. Connecticut lawmakers have had some contact with the Army since the decision in early December. A week after Bell was awarded the contract, Murphy and DeLauro said they spoke with Army leadership to get a better understanding of the process. But at the time, there were legal barriers to getting certain information before Sikorsky and Bell received their debriefings. Murphy and DeLauro are members of their chambers respective Appropriations committees that fund the federal government and its agencies. And Sikorskys headquarters in Stratford is located in DeLauros district. But members of the delegation said there have been obstacles to getting a discussion with a larger scope. They argue that the denial of a briefing violates a rule surrounding government procurement and acquisition. And despite the pending protest by Sikorsky, lawmakers said that the federal agency reviewing the challenge said it does not prevent Congress from receiving one. The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a briefing or the letter. In December, Lt. Col. Terence M. Kelley, director of Media Relations with U.S. Army Public Affairs, told The Courant, The Army acknowledges Sikorskys decision to file for protest and will comply with GAO requirements. The Army will not comment further on this matter. Sikorsky entered the FLRAA contract competition with the Defiant-X in partnership with Boeing. Sikorsky president Paul Lemmo said the new model met the requirements when it comes to speed and range as well as noting its maneuverability and survivability. Lemmo recently said his team received a full debriefing from the Army after the decision was made and followed up with additional questions. But Lemmo said the company chose to pursue a challenge to the awarded contract because it believed the evaluation criteria were not followed. We remain convinced that based on the selection criteria the Army laid out that Defiant X is the transformational aircraft that ensures the Armys readiness and deters rapidly advancing threats, Lemmo told reporters in late December. We are going to maintain those suppliers as we continue to build Black Hawk, and well see the outcome of this protest as it relates to FLRAA, he continued, adding that Sikorsky will keep building Black Hawks, including for a different Army contract through at least 2027. Most protests to contracts are filed with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency for Congress. GAO has up to 100 days to make its non-binding decision and can recommend whether to sustain, deny or dismiss Sikorskys protest. If the GAO sustains the protesters arguments, it will recommend that the agency involved in this case the Army address the violation. The Army can then decide whether to go along with the recommendation. The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation and Engage CT The dominance of wealthy self-funders in Connecticut gubernatorial races is prompting an examination of how to restore the relevance of the states groundbreaking public financing system to top-of-the ticket elections. Campaign finance reports filed this week showed Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont spent $25.7 million to win reelection to a second term, while his Republican opponent, Bob Stefanowski, spent $14.5 million. Had they opted for public financing under the voluntary Citizens Election Program, they would have been limited to about $8 million roughly the amount Lamont spent just on television advertising in the last five weeks of the campaign. Created in 2005 after a bid-rigging scandal forced Republican Gov. John G. Rowland from office, the program provides public grants to qualifying candidates who agree to strict limits on fundraising and spending. It is used by most candidates for every state office except one governor. The Democratic co-chairs of the legislative committee overseeing election law and the leader of the House Republican minority all say the time is ripe for an examination of whether the program needs to be updated. At issue is both the sufficiency of the public grant for a gubernatorial race, which currently is $7.7 million for a general-election campaign and $1.6 million for a primary, and the more complicated question of whether the money is too hard to obtain and comes too late in the election cycle. We need to look at both the size of the grants but also the timeline for the process and the way people get access to CEP funds, said Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, co-chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee. Its incumbent on us to continue to examine how to ensure that its viable and successful and provides candidates the opportunity to participate and be competitive, said Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, her co-chair. House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, said he already has filed a bill with other Republicans to ease the task of qualifying. My concern over the last decade is what weve seen is while CEP might be working okay for state rep and state senate races, we are seeing a lot of self funders running for governor, Candelora said. And is it a function of the way the program is structured? Or is it just a coincidence? To qualify in 2022, a gubernatorial candidate would have had to raise $288,000 in small donations ranging from $5 to $290, a means of demonstrating broad-based support. No grant can be paid until a candidate has qualified for a primary or general-election ballot, which generally cannot come sooner than late May. Candeloras bill would raise the contribution limit to $1,000, making the qualifying amount easier to get. He said the Republicans also are ready for a conversation about increasing the grants for elections for governor and the other statewide constitutional officers. In 2018, when five Republicans competed in a primary for governor, none of the three Republican gubernatorial candidates who participated in the program qualified for their grants until late June, less than two months before the August primary. The grant for a primary that year was $1.35 million. By then, Stefanowski already had spent $1.5 million, leaving the publicly financed candidates Mark Boughton, Tim Herbst and Steven Obsitnik scrambling to catch up. At that point, the cake had already been baked, because Bob had been up on TV since January, Herbst said. Boughton and Herbst got their money on June 20; Obsitnik didnt qualify until July 18, less than a month before the primary. Stefanowski won the primary. Boughton, the GOP convention-endorsed candidate, finished second. Herbst finished fourth behind a self-funding businessman, David Stemerman, who had spent $6.7 million. Obsitnik was last. By the time they got their money, it was too late, said Roy Occhiogrosso, a Democratic strategist who advised Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the only publicly financed candidate to win a governors race. Occhiogrosso said candidates do not need to match their opponents in funding so long as they have sufficient funds to make their case. Established candidates can survive being outspent, since they often begin campaigns with the advantage of a political base and name recognition. Malloy was outspent in the 2010 Democratic primary by Lamont and in the general election by Republican Tom Foley, who each self-funded their campaigns. Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy won U.S. Senate races in 2010 and 2012. Each faced Republican Linda McMahon, who spent $50 million on both campaigns. Blumenthal spent $8.7 million; Murphy, $10.4 million. (Federal races are not eligible for the CEP.) As originally written, the publicly financing law provided an additional grant triggered by the spending of a self-funder. But the courts struck down trigger provisions in campaign financing laws. Tom Swan of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, part of the coalition that fought for passage, said the backers sought the trigger in anticipation of a publicly financed candidate competing against a self-funder. We still think its a great program, and we need to strengthen it, Swan said. House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said he supports a review. The system doesnt really work right now with respect to self-funders, Ritter said. Calculating a reasonable grant for a gubernatorial race will be easier than figuring how to provide money earlier while still ensuring only credible candidates qualify. Ritter said the standard for getting a public grant cannot be too easy. There should be a viability test to get public dollars, agreed Mike Mandell, the former executive director of the Connecticut Democrats. That is fair, but is that viability test meaning that you really cant do anything to run a campaign before the convention is complete, which at that point is the end of May? Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who won a primary as a publicly financed candidate in 2018 and is a likely candidate for governor if Lamont does not seek a third term, said she was encouraged to hear that the program is under review. I do think that we need to increase the amount of money that is available to candidates who run for governor, because the governors race cannot just be about the self-funders, she said. We had two this time, Gov. Lamont and Bob Stefanowski, so this is not a partisan issue. The State Elections Enforcement Commission, which administers the program, is working on its own proposed revisions regarding the grant amounts and the timing for obtaining them. Carnegie Mellon University's Rick Siger(opens in new window) has been nominated to serve in the incoming Shapiro-Davis administration as secretary of Community and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Siger, who is currently chief of staff and senior adviser to the president at CMU, will assume his duties on Jan. 17. The Department of Community and Economic Development's mission is to foster job and business growth and support the vitality of Pennsylvania's communities across all 67 counties. As secretary, Siger will serve as the department's chief executive, overseeing a staff of more than 300 and a budget of over $300 million, and as senior adviser to Gov.-elect Shapiro on economic and business development, job creation and community engagement. "Gov.-elect Shapiro has said his top priority is to grow our economy and build a better future for all Pennsylvanians," said Siger. "As secretary in the Department of Community and Economic Development, I will work tirelessly to help our small businesses grow, foster innovation and increase opportunities in forgotten communities across our commonwealth. I am honored to carry out Gov.-elect Shapiro's vision to help ensure every Pennsylvanian has access to good-paying jobs and an opportunity to thrive as we become a national leader in growth and innovation." Siger has spent a total of seven years at Carnegie Mellon University and has acted as chief of staff in the President's Office(opens in new window) since 2020. As chief of staff, he is a key member of the Executive Management Team, and plays a critical role in strategic planning, decision-making, and execution of decisions and provided leadership for a broad set of university-wide initiatives. (CNN) Bestselling author Colleen Hoover apologized for a planned coloring book based on her novel about domestic violence, "It Ends with Us," following criticism from readers, and announced that the project will be canceled. Hoover posted a statement on her Instagram story, which disappeared after 24 hours but was widely reported by media outlets and on social media, apologizing for the "tone-deaf" idea. "The coloring book was developed with Lily's strength in mind, but I can absolutely see how this was tone-deaf. I hear you guys and I agree with you. No excuses. No finger pointing. I have contacted the publisher to let them know I would prefer we don't move forward with it. Thank you for the respectful discourse and accountability. Nothing but love," she wrote. "It Ends with Us" is the story of a young woman, Lily Bloom, detailing her descent into an abusive relationship and her eventual escape from it, while recalling her childhood growing up in an abusive home. Hoover has said the novel's central relationship is based on her parents'. On the popular site Goodreads, users had given the planned coloring book an average rating of one star, criticizing the decision to release a coloring book based on a story about domestic violence. "I don't even know what to say," one user commented, while another wrote, "This is not okay. This coloring book shouldn't be a thing. Hoover's publisher, Atria Books, confirmed the cancellation of the coloring book, saying in a statement: "Atria Books will not move forward with the publication of The Official It Ends with Us Coloring Book. We developed this book to be uplifting and empowering, mirroring Lily Bloom's story; we appreciate the feedback and discourse and have the greatest respect for Colleen Hoover's fans. "Thank you for the honest conversation and passion for the world Colleen has created in her books and the character within." Hoover is currently the United States' bestselling novelist, with six of the top 10 bestselling individual books in 2022, according to figures from NPD BookScan. She sold 14.3 million print books in the US last year alone, more copies than James Patterson, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and John Grisham combined, NPD BookScan told CNN. "It Ends with Us" was first published in 2016, but it gained popularity on TikTok two years ago and has remained on the New York Times Best Sellers List for 82 weeks, as of January 13. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Bestselling writer Colleen Hoover apologizes for planned coloring book based on domestic violence novel" Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 13) Eastern Samar has been placed under a state of calamity due to nonstop rains and severe flooding. Governor Ben Evardone said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the declaration in a special session on Friday. "The declaration was requested by the Provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Council in the meeting this morning due to massive flooding in some areas of the province," the governor added. The red warning level - which means severe flooding and landslides are expected - was raised over Eastern Samar at 8:30 p.m. In its resolution, the province's disaster office reported that 22 towns have experienced flooding and that 248,968 people have been affected. RELATED: 17 deaths from bad weather - OCD The declaration allows the local government to tap the Calamity Reserve Fund effective Jan. 13, until lifted by the provincial board when the situation normalizes. Leyte-based correspondent Wil Mark Amazona contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) A lawmaker on Saturday urged the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to reconsider the deadline it had set for the registration of all SIM cards in the country. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda described the April 29 deadline as premature, "since we don't know how quickly most Filipinos will be able to register." "Registration, as per the law, should really end by June 27, 2023. And that's still extendible," he added. The chairman of the House ways and means committee pointed out that Republic Act 11934 or the SIM Registration Act states that the registration period - which began Dec. 27 last year - is 180 days. READ: All mobile SIMs must be registered beginning Dec. 27 Under the law's implementing rules and regulations, the 180-day period can also still be extended by 120 days. Salceda said the DICT's decision to move the deadline to April 29 - or just 120 days since the registration period began - was "a unilateral decision that the DICT is not within its bounds to make." "Absent any effort to make the registration more inclusive and accessible, moving the deadline earlier is not the right way to go," he added. "It's highly unusual to make that decision. Whatever the merits, let's just stick to what the law says." Salceda also explained that not all subscribers may be able to meet the deadline. "Remember that the registration is mostly online, and you have some 3 million Filipino mobile users who are not using smartphones. So, let's be fair to them," he said. "Another 1.3 million young users of smartphones do not have any reliable access to mobile data. And if you deactivate their SIM, you would affect their studies." A total of 18,531,223 SIM cards have been registered as of Jan. 12, according to the National Telecommunications Commission. The DICT earlier said it has no plans yet to extend the deadline due to the dwindling number of complaints about the registration process. READ: DICT: No plans to extend SIM registration deadline as number of complaints drop Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) Former Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano is back as a Cabinet member this time as the new National Security Adviser (NSA) of the Marcos administration. Malacanang on Saturday announced that Ano will replace NSA Clarita Carlos, who has decided to pursue scholastic endevours and is set to join the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) at the House of Representatives. Ano has already taken his oath before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to the Palace. Before leading the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Ano served as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as commanding general of the Philippine Army. Meanwhile, Carlos explained that she left the post after realizing that it may no longer be politic for her to continue on as NSA to the president. And so, I have decided to migrate to another agency where my expertise on foreign, defense and security policy will be of use and I shall continue to help build a better Philippines, the retired University of the Philippines professor said. The CPBRD provides the lower chamber of Congress with technical service in the creation of national economic, fiscal, and social policies. This is a developing story. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) The national government has so far provided 88 million worth of assistance to communities in the Visayas and Mindanao devastated by flash floods, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) identified around 1.8 million people affected by floods and heavy rainfall in Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, and Northern Mindanao, the PCO said, citing the agencys officer-in-charge and Undersecretary Edu Punay. So far, naka-distribute na po ang DSWD ng 88 million in total assistance po dito via food, non-food at mga emergency cash assistance natin na bigay sa ating mga affected communities doon, Punay said. [Translation: So far, the DSWD has distributed a total of 88 million in food, non-food, and emergency cash assistance to the affected communities there.] The DSWD official also said there are currently 102,500 people housed in 378 evacuation centers in the affected regions. RELATED: Death toll from bad weather rises to 20 OCD Punay reported that the DSWD still has 1.2 billion available stockpiles and quick response fund (QRF) that are available for use. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to improve data sharing among government agencies to help curb smuggling in the country. The President discussed the issue during a recent meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement on Saturday. We have a system but they are not working. The smuggling here in this country is absolutely rampant, Marcos, as quoted by the PCO, told PSAC members. So we really have to find something else, he added. We cannot continue to depend on these systems which have already proven themselves to be quite ineffective. Some of the recommendations discussed during the meeting include expanding the database for the Bureau of Customs and Department of Agriculture, as well as delineating functions or establishing new agencies if necessary. The government cannot continue to sweep the issue under the rug because the cost to the state and private businesses is enormous, the chief executive stressed. Reports of various commodities being smuggled into the country have surfaced in the past months. The current administration has repeatedly vowed to take action on the matter. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) The death toll from bad weather conditions since Jan. 2 has risen to 20, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported Saturday. According to OCD, 10 of the reported fatalities were already validated, with six coming from Eastern Visayas, three from the Zamboanga Peninsula, and one from the Davao region. The remaining half are still for validation. Authorities also said there were eight injured people while an individual in the Bangsamoro region was still missing. The OCD said the heavy rains and flooding have affected 133,258 families or 552,131 people in 744 barangays in the country. There were still over 15,000 families or nearly 80,000 people seeking temporary shelter, it added. Estimated cost of damage for agriculture was pegged at 257.7 million and 171.2 million for infrastructure. The province of Eastern Samar, along with Dolores town, has already declared a state of calamity. Other areas that have announced the same were San Miguel, Leyte; towns of Gandara, Basey, and San Jorge in Samar; Laoang, Northern Samar; and Tubod, Lanao del Norte. In its 11 a.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the low pressure area (LPA) currently being monitored was last located 225 kilometers east northeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. PAGASA said the LPA is not expected to develop into a tropical depression in the next 24 hours, but it is affecting weather conditions in most parts of the country, with flooding and rain-induced landslides a possibility. Moderate to heavy with at times intense rains will be experienced on Saturday over the Bicol region, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga. Light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be felt over Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Bangsamoro region, Romblon, and Marinduque. Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon commonly known as amihan will bring cloudy skies with rains to areas in Metro Manila, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) The Philippines is studying China's proposal to establish a partnership agreement with fishing villages in the West Philippine Sea, according to former National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos. Nagpo-propose ang China na magkaroon ng partnership between fishing villages at tinitingnan natin ngayon [China is proposing to have a partnership between fishing villages and we are studying it], Carlos said in a televised briefing on Friday. Aside from this proposal, the professor said the two countries have more levels of cooperation in the disputed waters that are not shared with the public. Halimbawa between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Chinese Coast Guard, at talagang binabalangkas kung paano talagang magkakaroon tayo ng modus vivendi na hindi magkaroon ng bungguan diyan sa contested South China Sea, Carlos explained. [Translation: For example, between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Chinese Coast Guard, and it is being drafted on how can we have a modus vivendi that would not cause conflict in the contested South China Sea.] Modus vivendi or mode of living means an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace until a final settlement is reached. Beijing continues to reject Manilas arbitral win on the maritime dispute, but this did not hinder President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s state visit to the East Asian giant last Jan. 3 to 5, which resulted in the resumption of negotiations on the joint oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea. LIST: PH, China sign 14 bilateral deals during Marcos state visit Without further explanation, such talks which went on for three years were terminated during the last days of the Duterte administration. Carlos, who was replaced by former Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano as national security adviser on Saturday, said Marcos visit was good for the continuing critical dialogue on maritime issues and concerns in the West Philippine Sea. According to Marcos, Chinese President Xi Jinping also promised that they would find a compromise and solution that will allow Filipinos to fish in the area. Fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA stressed that China must leave Philippine waters instead and abide by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea that recognizes our exclusive economic zone. Reacting to the proposed partnership with fishing villages, PAMALAKAYA said Filipino fishers will not accept any agreement with China as they are direct victims of its aggression in the West Philippine Sea. We are witnesses [of] how China abuses and plunders the resources in the West Philippine Sea, and how we are being harassed in our own fishing grounds, said PAMALAKAYA national spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo. So how can we enter into an agreement with a country that blatantly violates our fishing rights and our national sovereignty? READ: Marcos, Xi agree to peacefully resolve disputes in West Philippine Sea The recent ruling of the Supreme Court against the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) should serve as a warning to the Marcos administration in entering any agreement with China that could further its presence in our territory; whether it be joint oil and gas exploration or the proposed partnership with local fishing villages, Arambulo stressed. Last Jan. 10, the Supreme Court declared the 2005 Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) unconstitutional and void an Arroyo-era agreement among state-owned oil companies of the Philippines, China, and Vietnam that would explore a 142,886-square kilometer area in the South China Sea. READ: PH to consider SC ruling on void joint exploration deal in future talks with China Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) The Bureau of Correction (BuCor) has filed complaints of torture and infliction of serious physical injury against its former chief Gerald Bantag. The complaints were filed on behalf of two persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) identified by their aliases Luis and Rodel. A complaint of obstruction of justice was also filed against Bantag's right-hand man, former deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta. The two PDLs claimed that Bantag had stabbed one of them in the right palm and the other in the left thigh with a kris dagger in a fit of drunken rage in February last year. READ: 2 inmates to file charges vs. Bantag for allegedly stabbing them Both Bantag and Zulueta were earlier charged with murder over the deaths of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid and PDL Cristito Villamor Palana, who was pinpointed by self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial as his "middleman" in the killing of Lapid. Both murder complaints are still under preliminary investigation by state prosecutors. Zulueta, who was present during the alleged torture incident, reportedly did not stop Bantag from stabbing the inmates. He also supposedly offered the two inmates 50,000 in hush money, and warned that something bad might happen to them if they did not accept it. Based on the affidavit, the two accepted the money after coercion and used it to tend to their injuries. The duo are serving their sentences at the New Bilibid Prison. The BuCor also filed administrative cases of grave misconduct against Bantag and Zulueta, stemming from the complaints made by the two PDLs. Earlier, BuCor Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Catapang also said he would file complaints of torture and human rights violations against Bantag and Zulueta. READ: Catapang to file charges vs. Bantag on alleged torture of inmates CNN Philippines Correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report. China urges UK to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs Xinhua) 10:01, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China urges the UK to respect China's sovereignty and stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday. Wang's comment came after the UK government issued a six-monthly report on Hong Kong which contains criticism on Hong Kong affairs. "We stress again that the UK has been ignoring the fact that Hong Kong has long returned to its motherland. It keeps publishing the so-called six-monthly reports on Hong Kong. This grossly interferes in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, and seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations. China firmly rejects it," Wang said at a regular news briefing. Since Hong Kong's return, the Chinese government has fully, faithfully, and resolutely implemented the policy of one country, two systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy. Hong Kong residents enjoy far more rights and freedoms in accordance with the law than they did before 1997, Wang said. "Anyone unbiased would agree that the national security law and the improved electoral system for Hong Kong has enabled it to enter a new stage in which Hong Kong has restored order and is set to thrive," he said. This has effectively protected national security and social stability in the region. International investors share the view that Hong Kong's business environment has become safer, more stable and more predictable, Wang said. "The UK has no sovereignty, no jurisdiction and no right of supervision over Hong Kong after its return to China," Wang said, adding that the legal basis for the Chinese government's governance of Hong Kong is China's Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), not the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Despite Hong Kong people's shared desire for a safe and stable Hong Kong, the UK continues to smear the central government's governance of Hong Kong, denigrate the SAR government's lawful administration, undermine the rule of law in the SAR and openly endorse illegal anti-China elements who attempt to create chaos in Hong Kong such as Jimmy Lai, all in the name of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law, he said. "Such hypocrisy will lead nowhere. We urge the UK to grasp the historical trend, wake up from its colonial dream, respect China's sovereignty, and stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, otherwise it will only end up shooting itself in the foot," the spokesperson said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) In wide-ranging remarks at his recent second inauguration, Gov. Ned Lamont suggested state leaders consider an alternative voting system thats gained popularity in recent years. Addressing Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, Lamont suggested they collectively think a little bit about [ranked] choice voting, noting that the voting system could help to take some of the sting out of politics and bring some of the decency back to public service. Ranked-choice voting, where voters rank candidates according to preference rather than voting for a single one, reduces the chances of wasted votes and encourages campaigning, supporters say. Three states, Alaska, Maine and New York, employ ranked-choice voting in some races, and dozens of other local jurisdictions have adopted the system for elections. In Connecticut, efforts to adopt ranked-choice voting have been largely pushed by the Griebel-Frank for CT party, named for former gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel and his running mate Monte Frank. Griebel successfully petitioned his way onto the 2018 ballot for governor. In that race, Lamont beat Republican Bob Stefanowski by about 44,000 votes. Griebel got about 54,000 votes. Griebel died in 2020. The Griebel-Frank party endorsed Lamonts bid for reelection after he pledged to propose legislation that would authorize ranked-choice voting for federal races and give municipalities the option in local elections. A state constitutional amendment would be required to allow ranked-choice voting in elections for state offices. Frank, the chair of Griebel-Frank for Connecticut, said the party will be pushing legislation for ranked-choice voting this session. The Griebel-Frank party, among other groups including CT Voters First and Voter Choice CT, have supported ranked-choice voting legislation, but its unclear whether the legislature will make it a priority this session even with encouragement from the governor. Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, who is serving as House Chair of the Government Administration and House Elections Committee, said he believes ranked-choice voting will be discussed. We presume that, based on what the governor has said, that hell most likely be sending us a governors bill on the subject, Blumenthal said. House Assistant Majority Leader David Michel, D-Stamford, has filed a bill that would allow municipalities to allow ranked-choice voting. The bill, House Bill 5133, was referred to the Joint Committee on Government Administration and Elections on Tuesday. Joseph A. Coll, a visiting assistant professor of politics at Sewanee: The University of the South who has published a number of scholarly articles examining ranked-choice voting, said the process can be more complicated but not prohibitively so. Research does tend to suggest that individuals find [ranked-choice voting] slightly more difficult than plurality voting, but not by large margins, Coll said. Coll said that only a handful of cities in the United States have implemented ranked-choice voting, so there is still research to be done on how it would affect U.S. elections. Im committed to ensuring that our elections work and that they work well, Blumenthal said. Any action we take related to ranked-choice voting will be in accordance with those values. In New York, ranked-choice voting has been criticized since its inception. After New York City passed ranked-choice voting legislation in 2019, many officials ended up regretting it after they say it deterred voters, especially those from communities of color, from going to the polls. Jessica Bravo is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/ ). Copyright 2023 (c) The Connecticut Mirror. (CNN) The Western alliance's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine received a shot in the arm this week as multiple European nations for the first time answered President Volodymyr Zelensky's longstanding call to supply modern battle tanks to Kyiv. France, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit. Britain plans to send a dozen Challenger 2 tanks and additionally artillery systems as part of efforts to "intensify" support for Ukraine, Downing Street said. Zelensky thanked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners" after the two leaders spoke by phone Saturday. Speaking alongside Zelensky in the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said he hoped tanks from a range of Western allies would "soon sail through various routes to Ukraine and will be able to strengthen the defense of Ukraine." The moves have piled pressure on Germany, which last week said it would transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv but is yet to commit to sending tanks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that any such plan would need to be fully coordinated with the whole of the Western alliance, including the United States. Western officials told CNN said that the decision by some countries but not others to send more tanks was part of a broader assessment of what was happening on the ground in Ukraine. NATO allies have spent recent weeks talking in detail about which countries are best placed to provide specific types of assistance, be it military equipment or money. One senior Western diplomat suggested that more countries could increase their levels of military support in the coming weeks as the war enters a new phase, and a fresh Russian offensive could be just around the corner as the anniversary of the invasion approaches. But Germany's support is seen as crucial. Thirteen European countries, including Poland and Finland, are in possession of modern German Leopard 2 tanks, which were introduced in 1979 and have been upgraded several times since, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. While any re-export of the tank by these nations would typically need approval from the German government, Berlin has suggested it would not block their transfer to Kyiv. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Thursday that Berlin would not stand in the way of other countries re-exporting Leopard tanks. "Germany should not stand in the way of other countries taking decisions to support Ukraine, independent of which decisions Germany takes," Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Thursday said on the sidelines of a Greens party meeting in Berlin. German deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said Friday that it had not received an official request from Poland or Finland. "There is no question to which we would have to say no. But we're saying right now that we are in a constant exchange about what is the right thing to do at this point in time and how we best support Ukraine," Hoffmann told reporters. General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's most senior military commander, told the Economist in December that the military needed around 300 tanks to beat back the Russians. The European Council on Foreign Relations estimates that around 2,000 Leopard tanks are spread across Europe. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Thursday he was confident that the tanks promised from the European partners would be delivered "very, very fast" and that Ukrainian Armed Forces would "master" the use of the tanks "in a matter of weeks." The decision of NATO members to send the tanks to Ukraine is not an uncontroversial move. German diplomats are privately briefing their concern that it marks an escalation in the West's response to Russia and will be viewed in Moscow as an provocation. Other European officials argue that the West has already transfered plenty of other advanced weapons that have been used to kill Russians, as well as provided intelligence used extensively to the benefit of Ukraine. Notably, the US has supplied its long-range advanced HIMARS rocket systems to Ukraine, which have helped it turn the tide of the war in recent months. In light of this, the officials contend, sending additional tanks is not that significant an escalation, regardless of what Moscow might say. While European allies remain largely united in their support of Ukraine, diplomats who spoke to CNN said there was disagreement as to whether sending tanks and more weapons is the fastest and most effective way to bring the conflict to an end. According to the Kiel Institute's tracker on how much nations have donated to Ukraine, the UK, France and Poland have given $7.5bn, $1.5bn and $3.bn respectively. That money comprises a combination of military, financial and humanitarian aid, with Poland previously sending over 200 Soviet-style tanks. European citizens remain strongly in favor of providing support to Ukraine, according to a recent Eurobarometer poll, which found that 74% thought European countries should continue to provide assistance. This means that if Germany does decide to move in line with France, the UK and Poland, it will probably find it has the political cover to do. It is expected that the UK and France will continue to pressure Germany into joining them in the effort in coming days. If they succeed it would mean the three major European powers in lockstep as the war rumbles toward its one-year anniversary. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Europe gears up to send Western tanks to Ukraine." (CNN) Kyiv was rocked by several powerful explosions on Saturday morning, with officials in the Ukrainian capital reporting a missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities. "There is an attack on the capital," the Kyiv City Military Administration said Saturday. Kyiv's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said the strikes had occurred on the city's east bank, where there are several power facilities. "Explosions in Dniprovskyi district. All services are heading to the scene. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko said on Telegram. He added that debris from one incoming missile fell on a non-residential area in the city's west bank (Holosiivskyi district) of the capital. "There were no casualties," Klitschko said. The exact locations of the blasts could not be immediately verified by CNN. A thick fog blankets much of the city. The head of Kyiv region military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said explosions had been heard around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday. "A fire broke out at a critical infrastructure facility. Response teams are on site. As of now, no casualties have been reported," Kuleba wrote. Two other Ukrainian cities also reported explosions early on Saturday. Blasts were also heard in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials said. "The enemy is attacking Zaporizhzhia again. No detailed information yet on explosions or casualties," Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatolii Kurtev wrote on Telegram. In Ukraine's northeast, the head of Kharkiv's military administration urged residents to take shelter. "Attention, residents of Kharkiv city and region. Remain sheltered. The occupiers are striking again!" Oleh Synehubov wrote on Telegram. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russia had fired four S-300 missiles, with two hitting the city. However, Oleksandr Pavliuk, a Kyiv-based commander in the Ukrainian army, said the explosions in Kyiv were not caused by Russian attacks. "The explosions are not connected with the threat from the air or air defense, as well as with any military actions," Pavliuk wrote on Telegram. "If there was a threat -- you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosions will be reported separately." This story was first published on CNN.com, "'Attack on the capital': Ukrainian officials report several powerful explosions in Kyiv." (CNN) A 9-year-old aspiring paleontologist found the find of a lifetime on Christmas morning: a massive 5-inch tooth from a prehistoric megalodon. Molly Sampson, a fourth grader from Prince Frederick, Maryland, made the astonishing find on Calvert Beach. Molly told CNN that she has spent years combing Maryland's beaches for shark teeth, inspired by her father's love of fossils. "They're just cool because they're really old," she said. Molly's mother Alicia Sampson added that her daughter has long harbored a love of exploring the outdoors. "She loves treasure hunting," she explained. Maryland's Calvert Cliffs State Park is known as a hotspot for fossil finding, Alicia Sampson added. For Christmas, Molly asked her parents for cold-water waders so that she could hunt for shark teeth and other fossils in the Chesapeake Bay. Equipped with her new gear, she set out at 9:30 a.m. to search for the remnants of ancient predators. "I saw something big, and it looked like a shark tooth," she said. "We were about knee deep in the water." She explained that she tried to grab the tooth with a sifting tool, but it was too big. She was "amazed" when she realized just how large the tooth was. "I was so excited and surprised." The Sampsons took their exciting find to the Calvert Marine Museum, where paleontology curator Stephen Godfrey confirmed their suspicions: It was indeed the tooth of a megalodon, the massive sharks that lived more than 23 million years ago. Godfrey told CNN that there are usually only five or six megalodon teeth comparable in size to Molly's find discovered along Calvert Cliffs each year. "There are people that can spend a lifetime and not find a tooth the size Molly found," he said. "This is like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of find." Amateur fossil hunters typically find around 100 megalodon teeth on Calvert Cliffs per year, he added. But most of them are much smaller than Molly's huge tooth. The largest megalodon teeth ever found have been just over 7 inches. The size of the tooth indicates that this particular megalodon was between 45 and 50 feet long. Godfrey explained that millions of years ago, the waters off Calvert Cliffs would have been home to whales and dolphins that would have served as bountiful prey for megalodons looking to eat. Because sharks replace their teeth over the course of their lives and because the teeth are made up of hardy enamel, they are "by far the most abundant vertebrate fossil." Megalodons hold a particular fascination for humans because they served as the "apex predator on Earth" for millions of years, he said. Both Godfrey and Alicia Sampson said they hope Molly's find helps inspire other children, especially girls, to pursue their scientific interests. "This will inspire people of all ages, children included, to pursue their natural inclination in nature, art music, there's so many possibilities that are available to us today," said Godfrey. Alicia Sampson said children around the globe have sent letters to Molly sharing their excitement at her discovery. She set up an Instagram page to share her daughters' outdoor adventures. "We really want to reach other kids and get them excited about like being outside," she said. Molly said she hopes to display the huge tooth in a shadowbox in her room -- and one day hopes to become a paleontologist. This story was first published on CNN.com, "9-year old Maryland girl discovers 'once-in-a-lifetime' megalodon tooth." (CNN) Russia said Friday its forces had taken the small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine following weeks of fierce fighting, in what would be Moscow's first notable victory in months, although Ukraine denied the claim. The capture of Soledar would represent a symbolic if not an especially strategic win for Putin after a long string of military setbacks dating back to last summer. But it does not suggest a significant capitulation of Ukrainian forces, nor a substantial change to the overall complexion of the war. Ukraine's armed forces have denied Moscow's claim. Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Ukrainian outlet RBC-Ukraine that Russia's claim of capturing Soledar is "not true," adding that "fighting is going on in the city." It would also be a victory for the Wagner private military company, whose mercenaries did much of the frontline fighting. The battle for Soledar became a point of contention between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense, who had publicized competing claims about their roles in the fight. Two days after citing only regular Russian forces for the assault on Soledar, the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday also credited Wagner troops for spearheading the "direct assault" on the eastern Ukrainian town. The move appeared to be an effort at detente with the oligarch who runs Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after a rift opened up between him and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Taking Soledar would represent a symbolic PR win for Prigozhin, who has frequently criticized Moscow's management of the euphemistically titled "special military operation" in Ukraine. Ukraine's armed forces have denied Moscow's claim to have taken the town. Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Ukrainian outlet RBC-Ukraine on Friday afternon that "fighting is going on in the city." A CNN team just outside of Soledar reported ongoing mortar and rocket fire on Friday afternoon. In recent days there have been competing claims over who has control of the town amid fierce fighting. Wagner, the Russian private military company, said it had taken complete control of Soledar on Tuesday, a claim refuted by Ukraine. Russian forces had fought hard to take the town, but more battles remained, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. On Friday evening, Ukraine's 46th Airmobile Brigade said local battles were continuing: "Orcs [Russians] are pressing from the outskirts to the center. Apparently, they are trying to bring down to the center those of our units who did not have time to leave the city. You will not succeed, Russians." Earlier a Ukrainian soldier in the nearby city of Bakhmut said Ukrainian units, including the 46th Airmobile Brigade, were still on the edges of Soledar, but that being there made no sense because it was "completely destroyed. There is no single building which survived Russian shelling." One Ukrainian soldier in Soledar had on Thursday evening described to CNN the desperate situation on the ground, saying his group had run out of food, were running low on water, and had wounded colleagues, but still had some ammunition. "We tried to withdraw ourselves, but the orcs (a pejorative Ukrainian term for Russian troops) are already there," he said over the phone. CNN is not identifying the soldier for security reasons. "If there is no order to withdraw today, we will most likely not have time to leave," he added. "We were told that we would be withdrawn. And now we re just abandoned." "The last evacuation was three days ago," he said. "The order was to hold out to the very end. Judging by the sounds of the battle, our neighbors (other units) either withdrew or were ordered to withdraw. We were told to hold out." Rift between Wagner and Russian defense ministry Which Russian forces are responsible for the assault in eastern Ukraine has become a key point of contention this week in the machinations of Russia's power structure. The Russian Defense Ministry's crediting of Wagner on Friday comes after Wagner posted a video on Telegram Thursday directly disparaging the Russian defense ministry's claim that regular Russian military forces have participated in the assault on Soledar. Prior to Russian Defense Ministry's acknowledgment of Wagner in the capture, Prigozhin posted a thinly veiled retort towards the ministry, saying that while the United States is "a serious adversary, at the moment it is not a key one" the Russian Defense Ministry is. The Wagner boss has rarely missed an opportunity to take a swipe at the Russian establishment. In a series of recent videos Prigozhin was heard saying "once we conquer our internal bureaucracy and corruption, then we will conquer the Ukrainians and NATO ... The problem now is that the bureaucrats and those engaging in corruption won't listen to us now because for New Year's they are all drinking champagne." In his Friday Telegram post, Prigozhin said "they constantly steal victory from Wagner PMC and talk about the presence of someone who is not clear, just to belittle their merits." This appears to be another dig at the lack of acknowledgement of the fighting Wagner units have been doing around and in Soledar. Sergey Markov, a pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, said on Telegram Friday that the public feud and semi-insults between the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and PMC Wagner" was damaging Russia and "must be stopped immediately." The Defense Ministry statement on Friday appears to be an attempt to make peace with the oligarch. "Offensive operations in this tactical direction, which ended with the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the capture of the city of Soledar, were carried out by a heterogeneous grouping of Russian troops according to a single plan, which provided for the solution of a complex of combat missions," the statement said. "As for the direct assault on the city blocks of Soledar occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this combat mission was successfully solved by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner assault squads," it added. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Russia claims its forces have taken Soledar after weeks of fierce fighting" (CNN) The Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million the maximum possible penalty by a New York judge Friday for running a decade-long tax fraud scheme, a symbolic moment because it is the only judgment for a criminal conviction that has come close to former US President Donald Trump. Two Trump entities, The Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp., were convicted last month of 17 felonies, including tax fraud and falsifying business records. Under New York law, the most the companies can be fined is about $1.6 million, a penalty the Trump Organization can easily afford. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Juan Merchan to make the Trump Org. pay the maximum fine, though he admitted that it will have a "minimal impact" on a multibillion-dollar company. "We all know that these corporations cannot go to jail as Allen Weisselberg has," Steinglass said Friday, referring to the Trump Organization's long-time chief financial officer who was sentenced to five months in jail earlier this week as part of a deal he reached with prosecutors. "The only way to effectively deter such conduct is to make it as expensive as possible." New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, told CNN that the fine against the Trump Org. is important but he also wants lawmakers to raise the fines for companies that break the law. "It's important regardless of who the defendant is, because it's cheating and greed and cheating the taxpayers," Bragg said. "It obviously becomes more consequential given that it involved the former president's corporation and CFO. It sends a message I hope it sends a message to New Yorkers that you know we're one system of justice and that this kind of conduct, regardless of who you are, won't be countenanced in Manhattan." But, Bragg said, the fine isn't enough of a penalty. "It isn't sufficient. Plain and simple," Bragg said, saying the law should "reflect what I think many of us see, particularly those who sat through the trial and saw the 13 year you know pattern of deep greed and misconduct laid bare, we should have stiffer penalties for conduct like that." The Trump Org. entities have 14 days to pay the fine. The real estate business is not at risk of being dismantled because there is no mechanism under the law to dissolve the company. No individual will go to jail based on the jury's verdict. However, a felony conviction could impact the Trump Organization's reputation and ability to do business or obtain loans or contracts. Trump and his family were not charged in this case, but the former president was mentioned repeatedly during the trial by prosecutors about his connection to the un-taxed benefits doled out to certain executives, including company-funded apartments, car leases and personal expenses. One prosecutor said Trump "explicitly sanctioned" tax fraud. One of the jurors told CNN that the jury saw a "culture of fraud," at the Trump Organization, but referred to Trump as a nondescript "Bob Smith" at times when talking about the company owner's awareness of the crimes in relation to the charges. Weisselberg last year pleaded guilty to 15 felonies related to the tax fraud scheme and agreed to testify truthfully against the company at trial. He remained on paid leave at the Trump Organization, where he was compensated a little more than $1 million a year, until Tuesday when he was sentenced. Weisselberg received a severance package that one person familiar with the deal called "generous." Merchan, who sentenced Weisselberg, said at the time that but for the deal he would have given Weisselberg more time in jail after listening to the evidence at trial. Merchan said he found most "offensive" a $6,000 payroll check Weisselberg had made out to his wife, who never worked for Trump, so she could become eligible for Social Security benefits. A Trump Org. spokesperson said that Weisselberg "is a victim," as is the company and former president. "New York has become the crime and murder capital of the world, yet these politically motivated prosecutors will stop at nothing to get President Trump and continue the never ending witch-hunt which began the day he announced his presidency," the spokesperson said. "We did nothing wrong and we will appeal this verdict." Not over yet The Manhattan district attorney's office continues to investigate the company's business practices. Prosecutors are conducting a wide-ranging investigation and in recent months their focus has returned to the company's involvement in hush-money payments made to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels from going public with an affair with Trump just before the 2016 election, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has denied the affair. Prosecutors are also looking into potential insurance fraud after new material came to light from the New York attorney general's civil investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization's financial statements, the people said. The biggest threat currently facing the company could be New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million civil lawsuit, which has alleged Trump, his three eldest children, Weisselberg and others defrauded lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of multiple Trump Org. properties for more than a decade. In addition to money, James, a Democrat, is seeking to permanently bar Trump and the children named in the lawsuit from serving as a director of a business registered in New York state. She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization's corporate certificate, which if granted by a judge, could effectively force the company to cease operations in New York state. The judge overseeing the lawsuit put an independent monitor in place to review the Trump Organization's financial statements and business decisions. He recently denied motions to dismiss the case and said he considered sanctioning Trump's attorneys. The trial is set for October. Trump has denied wrongdoing and said the lawsuit is politically motivated. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Trump Org. fined $1.6 million after conviction for 17 felonies, including tax fraud" (CNN) Brazil's Supreme Court is to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro's alleged involvement in the January 8 attacks on government buildings in the capital Brasilia. The court's decision follows a request by Brazil's public prosecutor office, several members of which released a statement Friday describing the events of that day when Bolsonaro's supporters stormed and destroyed government buildings to protest the election of his rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as "antidemocratic acts." "By posting a video on January 10 (two days after the attack) questioning the legality of the 2022 presidential elections, Bolsonaro delivered a public incitement to commit crimes," the statement said. On Tuesday, Bolsonaro shared a Facebook video of a woman questioning the victory of Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the October presidential election. The video was then deleted a few hours later. Prosecutors say although the video was posted after the attacks, there is a "connection" between the content in Bolsonaro's video and the violence in Brasilia. The Supreme Court said Friday it had accepted the public prosecutor's request to investigate Bolsonaro's alleged involvement. It also approved the prosecutor's request to ask Meta to preserve the video he posted on Facebook, and to investigate its impact. Until now, the former far-right Brazilian president has not been directly linked to, or involved in, the investigation into the January 8 events. Separately from the prosecutor's request and without referring to any accusation in particular, Bolsonaro's lawyer, Frederick Wasser, said on Friday the former president always "rejected all illegal and criminal acts...and has always been a defender of the Constitution and democracy." "President Bolsonaro vehemently rejects the acts of vandalism and depredation of public patrimony committed by the infiltrators in the protest. He never had any connection or participation in these spontaneous social movements done by the people," the former president's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, said in a statement on Friday. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Brazils Supreme Court to investigate Bolsonaro over January 8 attacks" (CNN) A Greek court dropped espionage charges against a group of aid workers who rescued migrants from the sea, in a move hailed by rights groups and lawmakers. Irish-German citizen Sean Binder and 23 other humanitarian workers had their misdemeanor charges set aside by a court on the island of Lesbos Friday, however felony charges against the group remain pending. The court in the island's capital Mytilene called a halt to the prosecution of the some of the misdemeanor charges due to "procedural irregularities" in the investigation, Binder's lawyer, Zacharias Kessas, said outside the court. "They recognized that there are certain procedural irregularities that made it impossible for the court to proceed on the core of the accusation, so concerning the misdemeanors, somebody can say that the accusations are dropped," Kessas said. "But we cannot feel happy about this because really they just realized what we were shouting for the last four years, so there are still many things to be done in order to reach the final step which is the felonies that are still ongoing, and the investigation is still in process." A statement from Amnesty International Friday said the Lesbos court "sent the indictment back to the prosecutor due to procedural shortcomings, including a failure to translate the indictment." Binder and Syrian refugee Sarah Mardini were arrested in 2018 after participating in several search and rescue operations with non-profit organization Emergency Response Center International near Lesbos, an island in the Aegean Sea. The group had faced four charges classified by Greek judicial authorities as "misdemeanors": espionage, disclosure of state secrets, unlawful use of radio frequencies and forgery, according to a UN Human Rights Office statement. The court's move was welcome by rights group and politicians. Lawmakers from the European Union said it was "a step toward justice." The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, welcomed the court's recommendation to drop some of the charges but reiterated the UN's call "for all charges against all defendants to be dropped." Binder's elected representative, MEP Grace O'Sullivan, said the prosecution "essentially was full of holes" in a video posted to Twitter. "Good news from Greece. We've just heard that Sean Binder and the other search and rescue humanitarian workers have had their charges dropped," she said. While the misdemeanor charges were dropped on Friday, an investigation into felony charges against the humanitarian workers remains pending, Amnesty International said in a statement. The aid workers stand accused of assisting smuggling networks, being members of a criminal organization, and money laundering charges that could result in up to 25 years in prison if they are found guilty, according to a European Parliament report published in June 2021. Referring to the felony charges that remain pending, O'Sullivan said while they didn't know how long that would take, "today is actually a step in the right direction. A step towards justice." "All we want is justice. We want this to go to trial and it doesn't seem like this will happen anytime soon given what happened today," Binder said outside the courthouse. "At the same time, we have been so lucky to have so much support internationally, everywhere, and I think that has forced the prosecution of this court to at least recognize the mistakes made and at least to some extent there has been less injustice." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Greece drops some espionage charges against aid workers who rescued migrants from the sea" A new housing housing program will spend $40 million on constructing affordable homes throughout the state focused on innovative housing structures, such as modular and 3D printed homes. The Colorado's new Innovative Housing Incentive Program, announced by Gov. Jared Polis on Friday, is expected to help create up to 5,000 high-quality, low-cost housing units in the state over the next approximately five years, he said. "Transformative programs like this ensure there is housing for every budget in our communities, which is increasingly important as our state grows," Polis said. "This will support our teachers, health care providers, and other critical industry workers to access housing near where they work, helping ease workforce shortages. I look forward to exciting housing projects and the progress that will come from this exciting innovation." Homelessness has spiraled out of control in Colorado in the last several years. Today, almost 7,000 people are homeless in metro Denver alone, and the debate over what caused that explosion and how to address it rages on. The new program will offer grants, loans and per-unit incentives to Colorado-based, innovative housing manufacturers with 500 employees or less. This includes providing reimbursements of up to $450,000 for operating expenses, $50,000 bonus awards for producing affordable housing, up to $6,000 per built unit cash incentives and factory development loans. Modular, manufactured and kit housing can be produced more efficiently and at a lower cost than traditional housing, lowering costs for homebuyers and for local governments and organizations looking to provide rentals for low- and middle-income households, state officials said. The program is meant to provide short-term support to innovative housing manufacturers to respond to supply chain constraints and narrowing margins. The program was created by the state legislature's passage of House Bill 22-1282 in May. "This innovative program creates new manufacturing jobs while at the same time increasing our supply of housing, helping to solve one of the greatest challenges we face here in Colorado," said Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, who co-sponsored the bill. "Every Coloradan should be able to live where they work. Expanding the availability of this kind of housing will help improve our economy while keeping Colorado affordable." Applications for the program's grants and per-unit incentives are currently being accepted on a rolling basis. Applications for loans will open early this year. More information about the Innovative Housing Incentive Program is available online at oedit.colorado.gov/innovative-housing-incentive-program. Gov. Ned Lamont often pledged to bring Connecticuts state government into the 21st century. Our sales tax, he claimed in 2019, was designed for a Sears Roebuck economy and he wanted to acknowledge we live in the age of Amazon. Modernization is the all the rage. Yet some state agencies remain mired in a Wells Fargo wagon phase. Take the Governors Workforce Council. It was an early focus of reform for the Greenwich Democrats administration. The councils first of four priorities, according to its website, is to create a system where businesses are setting the overall workforce agenda through robust partnerships that focus on aligning curriculum with the needs of Connecticut employers and industries. Take a few deep breaths if you are woozy on jargon. The council needs another priority: putting a phone number on its website. The Office of Workforce Strategy provides the GWC with its 10 member administrative staff. The OWS proclaims its mission is to build systems, teams, and approaches that will make Connecticut a talent environment that attracts and motivates students, career builders, and companies alike. First contacts often arrive by telephone. Declining to provide a phone number on an agency website throws away opportunities to build those robust partnerships. The pandemic brought seismic changes to white collar state employees work rules. Many now work remote much of the time. Opinions may vary on the effect this new arrangement has on productivity. But technology in some state agencies has not kept pace with the changes. Making direct phone contact with some state agencies has became an endurance contest. Automated answering systems tell callers how long they can expect to wait until they will speak to a person. It can be as long as six hours. When an automated voice tells a caller that at 2 p.m. that the wait to speak to someone will be six hours, that call will not be answered. The caller will concede defeat. Experience adds to the frustration. Conversations with state agency workers are reliably productive, brief and cordial. State government wastes the asset of contact by failing to deploy technology that allows residents easy access to state employees. The legislature, now at the start of its long regular session, should exercise its informal powers. State agency leaders will soon begin to appear before legislative committees seeking money and new authority. Those public hearings provide frequent opportunities to ask those Lamont administration leaders what they are doing to accommodate immediate and direct contact from the public. Commissioners and others must know what the average wait time is for residents calling with a question or nettlesome problem to talk to an employee. Frustrated constituents sometimes contact their legislators for assistance with state agencies. Many members will have a sense of the technology failure that is keeping residents from their government. No law is going to remedy these troubles but a general sense of frustration among legislators shared with executive branch leaders should spur action. Democrats enjoy overwhelming control of state government. Rigid partisan lines mean Democratic legislators are often reluctant to ask pointed questions to the fellow Democrats who lead state agencies. Some Republicans know how to pose direct questions on agency shortcomings but their impact is limited by their small numbers. A critical test of the legislatures independence should arrive with the appearance before a committee of Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Michelle Gilman. Lamont tapped Gilman to lead the sprawling agency as federal criminal law enforcement officials had begun investigating the agencys school construction grants program. The governors decision to allow deputy budget director Kostantinos Diamantis to continue to head the school construction grant office was a serious blunder. Lamont fired Diamantis from the budget job, Diamantis simultaneously retired from school construction. Gilman, an old hand in state Democratic politics, was a safe pair of hands for a ticking election year issue. Gilman, an experienced practitioner of conjuring evasive answers, announced an audit of the school construction program. The audit was to be conducted quickly and include updates. Its completion date has been pushed into June likely after the legislature adjourns. Secrecy once more smothers transparency in the Lamont administration. How the program to build schools for children may have been abused requires more than shrouds and shrugs. This is a season for answers. Kevin F. Rennie of South Windsor is a lawyer and a former Republican state senator and representative. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. 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We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. A primary school in London, named after Sir Francis Drake, has changed its name to something so dull I cannot remember it. The original BBC report of this decision (now amended) described Sir Francis as a slave trader and failed to mention much else about him. Apparently the school has only just discovered this bad thing about the Elizabethan sailor, though I think it has been well known for years. The action is stupid. While I readily admit that Drake did some very wicked things, I think it idiotic to pretend that he was not a great Englishman. Pictured: Sir Francis Drake who had existed as a normal man, drinking, swearing, fighting and who knows what else. But a misty, magical idea of him still lingered in that deep green, rain-sodden peninsula, where the unresting sea is ever-present and our dependence on it for our safety is unforgettable The school (pictured) will now become Twin Oaks Primary School - a name originally suggested by pupils referencing two oak trees at the entrance to the grounds That belief is deep inside me. As my father was in the Navy, and so we moved all the time, I cannot claim to come from any one place in this country. I was born in Malta, in those days very British and now a foreign country. My first memories are of Scotland, a lot more British than it is now, and then, much more strongly, of the West Country about as British as you can get. In that part of the world and at that time, Sir Francis Drake was a figure out of legend. Of course, he had existed as a normal man, drinking, swearing, fighting and who knows what else. But a misty, magical idea of him still lingered in that deep green, rain-sodden peninsula, where the unresting sea is ever-present and our dependence on it for our safety is unforgettable. He had sailed round the world in a ship so tiny that the thought of the voyage makes me go pale. He had brought the wealth of Spain to England. He had defeated one of the most dangerous attempts to destroy this country by foreign invasion. DRAKES Drum (the legend said that it beat mysteriously at moments of national peril) was still at his old home in Buckland Abbey, not far from one of our many rented, temporary homes. I would gaze in awe at it. I would not have been wholly surprised to see Drake himself strolling in one of the deep lanes on the edge of Dartmoor. The great naval station at Devonport, still in those days a mighty fortress filled with warlike grey vessels, was called (it still is) HMS Drake. In September last year, a statue of Sir Francis in his hometown of Tavistock, Devon, was given a new information panel detailing his slave trading expeditions The information board on the statue reveals details about Sir Francis' past including three slave trade expeditions At my astonishingly old-fashioned preparatory school, where every dormitory was named after a distinguished seadog (including Sir Francis, of course), we learned Henry Newbolts poem Drakes Drum, spoiled by an embarrassing attempt to put it into Devon speech. In it, Drake lies dead or perhaps asleep in his hammock a thousand miles away, slung atween the roundshot in Nombre Dios Bay, but dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe. The general idea was that when danger threatened, this calm but ferocious old seaman would return to save us again, as he had when the Spanish Armada threatened us in 1588. It is about as true as the story that he played bowls while the Armada was approaching. But who cares? These stories sustain us and make us what we are. Drake certainly stole colossal piles of gold and precious stones from the Spanish Empire, which had itself stolen them from Latin America. The handsome gold doubloons and moidores which Drake brought home were the beginnings of Englands great age of wealth and power, and chests of them still remained in our vaults till the USA forced us to hand over our gold reserves to them in 1940. Nobody knows what happened to them after that. So if you now tell me that Sir Francis Drake was a slave trader, my reaction is that I am not especially surprised. But it is not the most important thing about him. We are kinder and better than the men of his age because we can afford to be, not necessarily because we are ourselves superior people. We still profit from the actions of men we now like to despise. Yet we survive nowadays by bowing and scraping to horrible despots in Saudi Arabia, who we literally cannot afford to offend. Sir Francis lived in a cruel and violent age in which the defeated were themselves enslaved or murdered. He committed his own crimes, rather than living at ease while letting others commit them for him. I think we need to continue to remember and to some extent revere such figures. There are no perfect heroes. Seek, and you will find worrying things in the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and other objects of worship. And I hope I shall never live to see a school (or anything else) named after Anthony Blair. Our heroes are all flawed. Yet, take them for all in all, they were still heroes and we should question ourselves carefully before being sure we are in any position to wipe out their memories from the land. How Elizabethan naval officer Sir Francis Drake helped defeat the Spanish Armada and was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world Sir Francis Drake was an English admiral who circumnavigated the globe - and is recognised as the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. Drake joined one of the first English slaving voyages as part of a fleet led by his cousin John Hawkins in 1567, bringing African slaves to work in the 'New World'. All but two ships of the expedition were lost when the fleet was attacked by the Spanish - who thus became a lifelong enemy for Drake. Sir Francis Drake was an English sailor who circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580 In 1572, the seaman commanded two vessels in a marauding expedition against Spanish ports in the Caribbean. He captured the port of Nombre de Dios on the Isthmus of Panama, and returned to England with a cargo of Spanish treasure. Following the success of the raid, Drake was secretly commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to set off from what is now known as Drake's Island on an expedition against the Spanish colonies in 1577. Drake reached the Pacific Ocean in October 1578 with only one of his five boats, the Pelican, remaining. He was the first Englishman to navigate the Straits of Magellan. The seaman used plans created by Sir Richard Grenville, an English sailor who died at the Battle of Flores in 1591, in his expedition. He travelled up the length of the South American coast, plundering Spanish ports, and hoping to find a route to the Atlantic Ocean. Drake navigated further up the west coast of America than any European before him, landing on the coast of California in June 1579. He then turned south in July 1579 and beginning a voyage across the Pacific with his lone ship, now renamed the Golden Hind. A few months later, he reached Moluccas, a group of islands in the western Pacific, in eastern modern-day Indonesia. On 26 September, the Golden Hind sailed back into Plymouth with Drake and his 59 remaining crew aboard, along with a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures. The sailor was hailed as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth, and he was knighted aboard his ship in April 1581. Source: BBC Advertisement Its not just tyrants who make people disappear THE Soviet tyrant Stalin sometimes went to great lengths to obliterate the past. He ordered all images of his defeated and exiled rival Leon Trotsky to be removed from official photographs, a huge task. The same thing happened to many other less famous figures who were pictured with Stalin and later murdered on his orders. But this was quite difficult with the technology of the day and the results often look rather fishy. Nowadays, computer software makes this sort of thing frighteningly easy, as we saw when the former Premier Al Boris Johnson was wiped by an unknown hand from a picture of Business Secretary Grant Shapps, posing with a rocket which failed last week thanks to what Richard Bransons company called an anomaly. Slide me NOW YOU SEE HIM: Boris Johnson in the original picture with Grant Shapps and the doomed rocket and, right, after he was Photoshopped out Why might this have happened? Mr Shapps likes being in the Cabinet, and Mr Johnson has become (for now) a Tory unperson who everyone is trying to forget. But Mr Shapps says the wiping was nothing to do with him. In fact, when the suspiciously doctored and Johnson-free picture was drawn to his attention, he removed the whole thing from Twitter, so wiping the wiped picture. Perhaps Mr Johnson should be asked if he erased himself from the picture because he did not want to be associated with Grant Shapps. Who could blame him if so? Mr Shapps is quite embarrassing, being, among other things, the man who introduced the e-scooter plague into this country. He also had an interesting business career before politics and must be the only person to have ever confessed he had over-firmly denied having a second job. In any case, we now know for sure that it is not just homicidal dictators who doctor sensitive pictures. Bear that in mind in future. One thing really struck me about Prince Harrys media blitz last week. Not so much the careless inaccuracies in his various accounts of events, from the death of the Queen Mother to recollections of his first date with Meghan. Nor even his petulance (bordering on naked aggression) towards the few hand-picked journalists enlisted to help sell his narrative whenever any of them dared ask him anything even vaguely approximating a searching question. No, the real question in my mind is this: where was Meghan? I dont mean in terms of the book after all, her fingerprints are all over that. I mean physically, where is she? We havent seen hide nor hair of her for days. Which, really, is most uncharacteristic. The real question in my mind is this: where was Meghan? Pictured: Meghan and Harry on their royal tour in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 2, 2019 Normally she never leaves Harrys side. Normally shes practically surgically grafted on to him, hanging off him like an extra appendage. Wherever he goes, she goes, him scowling darkly at anyone who ventures within ten feet of them, she with that fixed smile of hers firmly in place. Its most unlike Meghan to miss an opportunity to show the world her fabulousness. And after all, what better opportunity than this, the publication of her beloved husbands long-awaited tell-all memoir, all eyes upon him? Youd have thought she would have been front and centre of events, with her couture outfits and twinkling jewels, on hand to squeeze his as he sat through various interviews. That shed be keen to catch his eye, reassure him with an encouraging glance, place a guiding hand upon his back, as she so often has in the past in short, to stand firmly by her man as he weathered the inevitable storm of criticism. After all, he sat staunchly by her as she told the world her truth, whether it was recreating her first ever curtsy to the Queen or holding back the tears at the memory of yet another Royal-related trauma. 'Its most unlike Meghan to miss an opportunity to show the world her fabulousness.' Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala, New York, December 6, 2022 He goofed around in the chicken coop while she shared her secret sorrow with Oprah, juggled obligingly at the window as she delivered yet another one of her meaningful homilies to a grateful world. Youd have thought the least she could do was throw on a bit of cashmere and show a bit of solidarity. But no. Not a whiff of the fragrant one, not even a glimpse of those exquisitely well-turned ankles. It may, of course be, that there is a perfectly logical explanation. Perhaps one of the babies is under the weather, and shes too busy administering Calpol. Perhaps she is not feeling well, in which case fair enough. Who knows? One things for sure, though, its not like her to dodge the limelight. I really hope theres a good explanation, as otherwise her absence is slightly worrying. Because it would be awful, wouldnt it, if, having abandoned his home, trashed his entire family, burnt his bridges with the Army and let down the British public, Prince Harry found that he was no longer at the centre of her world? When you think of all thats hes given up for her, of all the personal sacrifices hes made to make her happy, it would be an unthinkable tragedy if that extraordinary bond between them were to loosen under the pressure of public exposure. And the truth is that this memoir has not had the desired effect. Yes, its sold plenty of copies, yes its captured headlines around the world, but in terms of the Duke and Duchesss poll rating its been an unmitigated disaster. Youd have thought the least she could do was throw on a bit of cashmere and show a bit of solidarity. Pictured: Harry & Meghan docuseries, Netflix An overwhelming majority of the public now want to see them stripped of their Royal titles. Theyve been roundly mocked on social media. And according to a YouGov poll, the Princes popularity has tanked, with some sectors of the population even ranking him below Prince Andrew. Plus, while 21 per cent of Britons buy the line that Harrys motivation for publishing the book is to tell his side of the story, almost twice that number (41 per cent) think hes only in it for the money. This will be the real test for Harry and Meghan. Relationships are easy when everythings going well. Romance thrives under favourable conditions. The hard part is what happens when the going gets tough. As much as Prince Harrys behaviour irritates the socks off me, I dont want to see him get hurt. Hes proven his loyalty to her in public beyond all doubt. It would be only right for her to do the same. Oh, to be cool like Coolidge I just love Jennifer Coolidge. Shes everything that women her age 61 arent supposed to be, as we saw during her hilarious acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last week. Theres so much pressure on us to age gracefully, stay slim, fill our wrinkles with goop, live like saints... but she does none of those things. And the fact that she can thrive in Hollywood against a background of hangry, tight-lipped actresses botoxed up to the eyeballs, gives me a strange kind of hope. I dont do New Years resolutions, but if I did, this would be it: be more Coolidge. I just love Jennifer Coolidge. Shes everything that women her age arent supposed to be. Pictured: Jennifer Coolidge with her award for best supporting actress for The White Lotus, Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 10, 2023 Strike will only hit poor students The University and College Union has joined other neo-Marxist organisations such as the British Medical Association (whose deputy chair of council is Dr Emma Runswick, a supporter of Chinas disastrous zero Covid policy) in announcing industrial action. University lecturers will now strike for 18 days next month which, given that there are only 28 days in February and taking into account weekends, basically means the whole month off. Students, meanwhile, having already suffered endless disruption due to Covid and additional strikes last year, will still have to pay their tuition and accommodation fees which, for the vast majority of them, means racking up debts that will take years to pay off. But of course none of that matters to the unions. All they care about is inflicting as much damage on the Government as possible at the cost of the future of thousands of young people. Keep the kids out of it, Harry One of the aspects of Prince Harrys revelations I find most distasteful is his referencing of the Prince and Princess of Waless children. Not only is it an appalling breach of a childs privacy to reveal that Charlotte burst into tears over those stupid, overpriced bridesmaids dresses (I still cant believe she got Givenchy to design them the most absurd waste of money), he is also inflicting on his niece and nephews precisely the sort of scrutiny and pressure that he claims led to so much of his own suffering. Unforgivable. Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk, 56, is shown frolicking in a pool with his new amour, 28-year-old beauty therapist Claudine Uwamahoro. She maintains he is the love of my life, and he says he wishes they had met earlier. Not too much earlier, one hopes, otherwise hed be dating an embryo. The Brit Awards, Britains pop Oscars, has ditched separate male/female categories in a bid to become more inclusive. Nominated for the all-important Artist of the Year category is Central Cee (weirdly a drill rapper that my kids used to go to school with in Kensington: a lovely polite boy as I recall), Fred Again (a DJ), George Ezra, Harry Styles and Stormzy. In other words, all males. Funny, isnt it, how these days inclusivity always seems to come at the expense of women. Nominated for the all-important Artist of the Year category is Central Cee (weirdly a drill rapper that my kids used to go to school with in Kensington: a lovely polite boy as I recall). Pictured: Central Cee at Alexandra Palace on November 22, 2022 Gary Lineker says MPs should be paid more to attract brilliant minds. I dare say that if you get paid as much as he does, a basic salary of 84,144 must seem woefully inadequate. What a shame not all taxpayer-funded organisations are as generous as the BBC, eh? I was amused to see, in a recent photograph of Prince Harry alongside a female friend taken at home in Montecito, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a monogrammed doormat. The epitome of sophistication or too tacky for words? You decide. Radio 2 in the afternoons used to be a gentle mix of dad jokes, musical nostalgia and cheesy japes. Then they replaced Steve Wright with Scott Mills, and now its a nightmare of frenetic dance music and trying too hard to be cool. In other words, indistinguishable from every other annoying radio station on air. Poor Lisa Marie Presley, dead at just 54. She was proof that money cant buy happiness. But in 2020 she suffered a devastating blow, when her son shot himself. I know she had addiction issues, but if you ask me her cause of death is simple: a broken heart. Princess Charlene of Monaco was garbed in 655,574 worth of clothing over the last year making her the royal with the most expensive wardrobe, with Kate's outfits valued at 192,636 and Meghan's at 94,796 for place three and six respectively. The retail values of the new clothes 19 princesses were wearing in public in 2022 were calculated by fashion watchdog UFO No More, a website dedicated to naming 'unidentified fashion objects'. No other princess came close to Princess Charlene of Monaco's spending. Next in line is Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, who spent about a third of Princess Charlene with 201,761. Princess Charlene of Monaco (far left) was garbed in 655,574 worth of clothing over the last year making her the royal with the most expensive wardrobe. Next in line is Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark (middle left), who spent about a third of Princess Charlene with 201,761. Kate, Princess of Wales (middle right), took third place, with a spending of 192,636 on her wardrobe last year. Her sister-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (far right), spent just 94,796 on new clothes last year Princess Charlene of Monaco was garbed in 655,574 worth of clothing over the last year making her the royal with the most expensive wardrobe, with Kate's outfits valued at 192,636 and Meghan's at 94,796 for place three and six respectively Kate, Princess of Wales, took third place, with a spending of 192,636 on her wardrobe last year. Her sister-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, spent just 94,796 on new clothes last year, UFO said. The princess with the lowest spending on clothes in the top ten was Princess Beatrice, who spent 77,348 on new pieces. UFO No More said the spending in their yearly fashion spending summary was calculated based on three categories: pieces that remain 'unidentified fashion objects', pieces that are identified and costs can be found and pieces where the designer is kown but the design is custom or the price is unknown. In total, they took 1,359 pieces of clothing into account across all 19 royals. The website for all things 'royal fashion' has also been able to estimate the value of outfits worn by the princesses. Princess Charlene showed off 105 new garments in public, 65 of which the UFO fashion finders were able to price. Princess Charlene spent 655,574 on clothing last year. Pictured: Charlene wearing an Akris dress worth 2,000, an Akris belt she has worn before worth an estimated 500 as well as knee-high Jimmy Choo boots costing 1,125 at the Red Cross Christmas gifts distribution at Monaco Palace on November 16, 2022 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. The outfit total she was wearing on the day is 3,625 Next in line is Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, who spent about a third of Princess Charlene with 201,761. For the Fashion Awards in London in December, she was wearing Tiffany earrings 40,000, a SS23 Richard Quinn dress estimated at 1,340, an Olympia Le Tan Frankenstein clutch 1,500 and Aquazzura suede pumps worth 575. Her total outfit value was 43,415 Princess Charlene showed off 105 new garments in public, 65 of which the UFO fashion finders were able to price. Her average price-per-piece in 2022 was 10,067, followed by Princess Maria-Olympia with about half the average price-per-piece Kate, Princess of Wales, took third place, with a spending of 192,636 on her wardrobe last year. During last year's visit in Boston, Kate dazzled in Asprey London emerald and diamond earrings worth 9425, a Solace London dress worth 350 (which she rented for 74), Gianvito Rossi pumps worth 2,070 as well as Queen Mary's Art Deco Emerald & Diamond Choker (borrowed, no estimate). The value of her outfit that evening comes to 11,845 at a minimum At a dinner and concert the Swedish royal family hosted for their newly-elected parliament in November, the princess was wearing a The Vampire's Wife dress (795) paired with two Ole Lynggaard bracelets (together worth 1,960), a Christian Louboutin clutch worth 1,000, three Bigli Jewels rings each worth 1,835, a Skultuna PPG Bracelet (39) and Stinaa.J pumps (450). Her outfit total comes to 9,749 Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, is among the top five royal fashion spenders with 119,222 worth of new pieces worn in 2022. Pictured: Maria Teresa in Lisbon last May, wearing a pink Alexander McQueen blazer (1,650), Prada pumps (estimated at 1,000) and two different Statement earrings (1,600 and 2,500 respectively), worth 6,750 in total Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was wearing a custom Louis Vuitton dress (estimated at 8,000), Princess Dianas aquamarine ring (worn before, no estimate), Carolina Herrera earrings (155), a Givenchy clutch worth 1,500 (worn before) and her Cartier bracelet worth 6,350 (worn before) in rainy New York in December for an award ceremony. Her outfit total for the look is 16,005 Kate's most expensive fashion year yet! Princess of Wales wore a record worth of new clothes The Princess of Wales saw her wardrobe total soar during 2022 as she returned to regular royal engagements and foreign tours following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic Advertisement Her average price-per-piece in 2022 was 10,067. Princess Maria-Olympia's wardrobe gained 51 pieces, with an average price-per-piece of 5,460. While Kate, Princess of Wales, was wearing 204 new outfits in public, her average piece cost her only 1,146. Kate featured the most new items, followed by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg with 148. MailOnline took two outfits of each princess to break down the cost of their day-to-day wear as well as occassion wear. In November, Princess Charlene was wearing an Akris dress worth 2,000, an Akris belt she has worn before worth an estimated 500 as well as knee-high Jimmy Choo boots costing 1,125 at the Red Cross Christmas gifts distribution at Monaco Palace. Her outfit total on the day was 3,625. During a Christmas tree ceremony with her family, Charlene was wearing a Loro Piana cape (5,400) as well as Stuart Weitzman overknee boots (895). While it is unclear which exact pieces she was wearing underneath the cape, her outfit total comes to 6,295 at a minimum. Princess Maria-Olympia, whose average price-per-piece was just half of Charlene's, was wearing an Yves Saint Laurent dress worth 410 and Aquazzura high heels (1,100) to a charity fundraiser in London last May, bringing her outfit total for the event to 1,510. For the Fashion Awards in London in December, she showed off 40 times that value, featuring Tiffany earrings (40,000), a SS23 Richard Quinn dress estimated at 1,340, an Olympia Le Tan Frankenstein clutch (1,500) and Aquazzura pumps worth 575, totalling 43,415. Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who came in 7th place after appearing in new clothes worth 91,721 in public last year, was wearing a Giorgio Armani ensemble consisting of a gold jacket (11,704) and dress (estimated at 4,500), paired with Giorgio Armani shoes and a clutch (820 and 1,150 respectively) during a concert of the Belgian royal couple to the Republic of Lithuania. Her outfit total was 18,174 In eigth place is Princess Mary of Denmark (81,771 worth of new clothes in 2022), pictured here in June, wearing a Scanlan tailored suit in coral (trousers 310, top 200, jacket 740) with a Scanlan belt (160), Dulong jewelry (ring 1,883, necklace 6,493, bracelet 2,974), Gianvito Rossi pumps worth 1,150, a Rebekka Notkin necklace 2,300, Sophie Bille Brahe earrings 12,400 and a Chanel bag 4,894, totalling a 33,504 Sophie, Countess of Wessex, comes ninth in the royal fashion ranking due to her being seen 77,387 worth of new clothes. In December, she made an appearance a the Royal variety Performance at Royal Albert Hall in London, wearing Graff sapphire earrings (experts estimate their value at 250,000), an Erdem Lindsay gown (2,895), LK Bennett pumps (195) and a Elie Saab clutch worth 400, wearing a staggering total of 253,490 worth of items Last in the top ten royal fashionistas comes Princess Beatrice, pictured here after the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in June. She was wearing a Beulah London dress (795), a Sydney Evan diamond ring (845), a Sophia Webster clutch (375), a Juliette Botterill headpiece (650) and Ralph & Russo pumps with an estimated worth of 800. Her whole outfit came to 3,465 Kate, who was wearing new items worth nearly 200,000 last year, showed her fashion sense during last year's visit in Boston. She was photographed wearing Lenique Louis earrings (225), an Emilia Wickstead hounstooth dress worth 1,150, her regularly worn Gianvito Rossi pumps (worn before, 520) and a Mulberry Harlow bag (850). Her outfit total was 2,745 Later that day, she attended the The Earthshot Prize at MGM Music Hall, dazzling in Asprey London emerald and diamond earrings worth 9,425, a Solace London dress worth 350 (which she rented for 74), Gianvito Rossi pumps worth 2,070 as well as Queen Mary's Art Deco Emerald & Diamond Choker (borrowed, no estimate). The value of her outfit that evening comes to 11,845 at a minimum. In fourth place among the royal fashion spenders is Princess Sofia with 145,296 worth of new items and a price-per-piece of 1,500. At a dinner and concert the Swedish royal family hosted for their newly-elected parliament in November, the princess was wearing a The Vampire's Wife dress (795) paired with two Ole Lynggaard bracelets (together worth 1,960), a Christian Louboutin clutch worth 1,000, three Bigli Jewels rings each worth 1,835, a Skultuna PPG Bracelet (39) and Stinaa.J pumps (450). Her outfit total for the green ensemble is to 9,749. For a festival in summer in Stockholm, she was wearing Nootka earrings (470), a By Malina top (150), a MaxJenny! skirt worth 418, the same three Bigli Jewels rings as before, a Susan Szatmary clutch (1,300), and Stinaa.J Elsa pumps (450), totalling 8,293 worth of items for this outfit. Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, is among the top five royal fashion spenders with 119,222 worth of new pieces worn in 2022. She was photographed wearing a pink Alexander McQueen blazer (1,650), Prada pumps (estimated at 1,000) and two different Statement earrings (1,600 and 2,500 respectively), worth 6,750 in total, in Lisbon last May. Kate featured the most new outfits, followed by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg with 148 During a Christmas tree ceremonywith her family, Charlene was wearing a Loro Piana cape (5,400) as well as Stuart Weitzman overknee boots (895). While it is unclear which exact pieces she was wearing underneath the cape, her outfit total comes to 6,295 at a minimum Maria-Olympia was wearing an Yves Saint Laurent dress worth 410 and Aquazzura high heels (1,100) to a charity fundraiser in London last May, bringing her outfit total for the event to 1,510 Kate was photographed wearing Lenique Louis earrings (225), an Emilia Wickstead hounstooth dress worth 1,150, her regularly worn Gianvito Rossi pumps (worn before, 520) and a Mulberry Harlow bag (850). Her outfit total that day was 2,745 For a festival in summer in Stockholm, she was wearing Nootka earrings (470), a By Malina top (150), a MaxJenny! skirt worth 418, the same three Bigli Jewels rings as before, a Susan Szatmary clutch (1,300), and Stinaa.J Elsa pumps (450), totalling 8,293 worth of items for this outfit Princess Diana's outfits in The Crown are branded 'cheap' and 'just wrong' by fashion icons who dressed the late royal According to the show's costume designer Amy Roberts, the team wanted to 'catch the spirit of Diana' rather than replicate her outfits Advertisement Her love for colours is apparent, as she was seen wearing a Carolina Herrera puffer jacket (estimated at 820), a Zadig et Voltaire blouse (280), Dries Van Noten trousers (440), tw Charlotte Chesnais rings (550 and 583 respectively), a Louis Vuitton pouch (405), Prada pumps (890) and Charlotte Chesnais earrings (320) to the Red Cross' Bazar as President of the Luxembourg Red Cross in November. The total outfit was worth 4,288. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was ranked in sixth place bu UFO No More. She was wearing a custom Louis Vuitton dress (estimated at 8,000), Princess Dianas aquamarine ring (worn before, no estimate), Carolina Herrera earrings (155), a Givenchy clutch worth 1,500 (worn before) and her Cartier bracelet worth 6,350 (worn before) in rainy New York in December for an award ceremony. Her outfit total for the look is 16,005. For the Platinum Jubilee of late Elizabeth II, Meghan stepped out in a head-to-heel Dior look, wearing a Dior trench coat estimated at 3,400, Dior pumps estimated at 700 and Birks earrings (12,500), totalling 16,600. Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who came in 7th place after appearing in new clothes worth 91,721 in public last year, was wearing a Giorgio Armani ensemble consisting of a gold jacket (11,704) and dress (estimated at 4,500). She paired the gold pieces with shoes and a clutch by the same designer (820 and 1,150 respectively) for a concert during the visit of the Belgian royal couple to the Republic of Lithuania. Her outfit total was 18,174. In October, Queen Mathilde made a appearance in a Natan dress (670), a Armani Prive SS15 clutch (estimated at 1,650), Monies earrings (120), a Rolex Datejust watch (priced between 6,000 and 12,200) and Manolo Blanik pumps (estimated at 650). Her overall look cost a minimum of 9,090. Her love for colours is apparent, as she was seen wearing a Carolina Herrera puffer jacket (estimated at 820), a Zadig et Voltaire blouse (280), Dries Van Noten trousers (440), tw Charlotte Chesnais rings (550 and 583 respectively), a Louis Vuitton pouch (405), Prada pumps (890) and Charlotte Chesnais earrings (320) to the Red Cross' Bazar as President of the Luxembourg Red Cross in November. The total outfit was worth 4,288 For the Platinum Jubilee of late Elizabeth II, Meghan stepped out in a head-to-heel Dior look, wearing a Dior trench coat estimated at 3,400, Dior pumps estimated at 700 and Birks earrings (12,500), totalling 16,600 In October, Queen Mathilde made an appearance in a Natan dress (670), a Armani Prive SS15 clutch (estimated at 1,650), Monies earrings (120), a Rolex Datejust watch (priced between 6,000 and 12,200) and Manolo Blanik pumps (estimated at 650). Her overall look cost a minimum of 9,090 Another outfit she was seen in publically was worth 25,496 featuring Chanel flats (800), more Dulong jewellery (worn before, bracelet 2,974 and ring 13,607), a Beulah London dress (695), a Max Mara bag (1,875), a Ole Lynggaard bracelet 3,050, Gianvito Rossi pumps (1,000) and a Rebekka Notkin bracelet with an estimated worth of 1495 In June, she was seen in a more casual look, wearing a Peter Pilotto dress (1,010), a Sophie Habsburg bag (150) and Penelope Chilvers espadrille (159), totalling 1,319 All dressed up for the inaugural summer party and funraiser for the National Gallery's Bicentenary campaign, Beatrice was wearing 50,145 worth of items: a sparkly Markarian Dana gown (2,900), an equally sparkly Tyler Ellis clutch (2,070), Aquazzura high heels (975) and Chopard L'Heure du Diamant earclips 44,200. In eigth place is Princess Mary of Denmark (81,771 worth of new clothes in 2022). Despite 'only' being spotted in 81,771 worth of items, she is no stranger to expensive designer ware. In June, she was wearing an outfit worth 33,504, consisting of a Scanlan tailored suit in coral (trousers 310, top 200, jacket 740) with a Scanlan belt (160), Dulong jewelry (ring 1,883, necklace 6,493, bracelet 2,974), Gianvito Rossi pumps worth 1,150, a Rebekka Notkin necklace 2300, Sophie Bille Brahe earrings 12,400 and a Chanel bag 4,894. Another outfit she was seen in publically was worth 25,496. It featured Chanel flats (800), more Dulong jewellery (worn before, bracelet 2,974 and ring 13,607), a Beulah London dress (695), a Max Mara bag (1,875), a Ole Lynggaard bracelet 3,050, Gianvito Rossi pumps (1,000) and a Rebekka Notkin bracelet with an estimated worth of 1495. Sophie, Countess of Wessex, comes ninth in the royal fashion ranking due to her being seen 77,387 worth of new clothes. In December, she made an appearance a the Royal Variety Performance at Royal Albert Hall in London, wearing Graff sapphire earrings (experts estimate their value at 250,000), an Erdem Lindsay gown (2,895), LK Bennett pumps (195) and a Elie Saab clutch worth 400, wearing a staggering total of 253,490 worth of items. In June, she was seen in a more casual look, wearing a Peter Pilotto dress (1,010), a Sophie Habsburg bag (150) and Penelope Chilvers espadrille (159), totalling 1,319. Last in the top ten of royal fashionistas comes Princess Beatrice. After attending the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in June, she was photographed in a Beulah London dress (795), a Sydney Evan diamond ring (845), a Sophia Webster clutch (375), a Juliette Botterill headpiece (650) and Ralph & Russo pumps with an estimated worth of 800. Her whole outfit came to 3,465. All dressed up for the inaugural summer party and funraiser for the National Gallery's Bicentenary campaign, Beatrice was wearing 50,145 worth of items: a sparkly Markarian Dana gown (2,900), an equally sparkly Tyler Ellis clutch (2,070), Aquazzura high heels (975) and Chopard L'Heure du Diamant earclips 44,200. Are you smarter than a 14-year-old? MailOnline has dug out a recent maths SATs exam paper sat by Year Nine pupils across the UK. The teenagers take the testsm which are monitored by teachers to track their progress before they head on to study their GCSEs in Year 10. After Rishi Sunak's pledge to make maths compulsory for every pupil up to the age of 18, adults shared numerical puzzles online this week to test themselves - Sky News presenter Anna Botting even asked for help with her 10-year-old daughter's maths homework. So, MailOnline asks... can you solve these Year Nine maths exam questions - and remember calculators are not allowed (Answers at the bottom of the page) MailOnline is challenging you to try and solve the same problems posed to 14-year-olds preparing for Year Nine SATs maths exams The Prime Minister set out his new plan last week for every pupil in England to study some form of maths until they're 18, to combat high rates of innumeracy in the UK. Young people will be required to take 'some form' of maths delivered either through new courses or existing qualifications such as A-levels, T-levels and Core Maths. While many have criticised this agenda, including actor Simon Pegg, some scientific studies do support it. For example, a 2021 study from the University of Oxford found that quitting mathematical studies at the age of 16 may have an adverse effect on brain development. Another study suggested that those who took maths at A-level had a salary 11 per cent higher than those who did not by age 33. Mr Sunak promised to equip children for the 'jobs of the future' by ensuring they had good maths skills when they leave school. For most the drive is likely to involve practical skills rather than algebra. Around eight million adults in England only have the numeracy skills expected of primary school children, according to Government figures. Only around half of 16 to 19 year-olds study maths in some form at the moment. And 60 per cent of disadvantaged pupils do not have basic maths skills at age 16. The UK remains one of the only countries that does not require children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18. Several countries in the OECD economic forum including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway and the US all insist that pupils maintain the subject. Young people will be required to take 'some form' of maths delivered either through new courses or existing qualifications such as A-levels, T-levels and Core Maths But union leaders have warned that teachers are now more likely to strike due to backlash against the PM's maths promise. Kevin Courtney, who oversees more than 300,000 educators as joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), accused Sunak of a 'baffling failure' to notice the obstacles facing the industry. 'Sunak's plan is disappointing not only in its lack of realism but its lack of vision', Mr Courtney said. 'It overlooks the increasingly detailed and urgent discussions about curriculum reform that have been taking place across the education sector and even within his own party. 'Most people who voted will have voted. But I think there will be a few people who will look at this and think 'is that all they've got to say about education?' 'It doesn't sound like they're taking the problem of the teacher recruitment crisis seriously because they've missed their maths teacher recruitment targets every year for the last 11 years.' Teachers, who are currently balloting, say the plan fails to tackle the recruitment crisis currently gripping the sector. More than 500,000 teachers across three unions are considering possible strike action in England and Wales, with deadlines for votes from January 9. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared this week his new plan for every pupil in England will study some form of maths until they're 18. He is pictured during a visit to Harris Academy at Battersea in south-west London today Unions have urged staff to vote as soon as possible amid fears that postal chaos may delay the return of ballots. Meantime, opposition parties have dismissed the initiative as 'empty' - while Tories urged Mr Sunak to focus on tackling illegal immigration instead. Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Prime Minister 'needs to show his working', as 'he cannot deliver this reheated, empty pledge without more maths teachers'. She added: 'Yet the Government has missed their target for new maths teachers year after year, with existing teachers leaving in their droves.' A Labour source said: 'In their desperation to ensure Sunak's speech doesn't happen after Keir's, No 10 have revealed they have nothing to offer the country except double maths. 'As the health service falls to pieces after 12 years of Tory rule, criminals terrorise the streets, and working people worry how their wages will last the month, the country is entitled to ask: is this it?' Former Cabinet minister John Redwood tweeted: 'As the Prime Minister turns his attention to maths teaching he should not forget his choice as most pressing priority was to stop illegal migration. 'Parliament needs to legislate urgently on small boats and public services.' Nigel Farage also waded in, saying: 'So Rishi Sunak's big idea to save the nation is maths until the age of 18! How will quadratic equations help to solve broken Britain?' WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS? Lorraine Kelly has called Prince Harry a 'damaged soul' amid the release of his bombshell memoir Spare which contains explosive allegations about the Royal Family. The ITV presenter said she hopes the rift can be resolved and Harry and Meghan can 'get on with [their] lives' after sharing their side of the story, but says the couple's Netflix series, Harry's memoir and the promotional interviews he has done are 'enough'. Speaking to You Magazine, the Glaswegian journalist said that, despite the explosive fall out between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and other members of the royal family, they should still be invited to King Charles's coronation next May. She said: 'I dont think the King should disinvite them. That would be silly, because its his son no matter what. All families have fall-outs.' Speaking about the furore surrounding Harry's claims in Spare and in his Netflix documentary, she said: 'I hope they can sort it, because I think its very damaging for Harry. He looks like a wee damaged soul. Lorraine added that she 'worries' about Harry and she hopes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's quest to tell their side of the story had been 'worth it'. Lorraine Kelly has told You Magazine she believes Prince Harry is a 'damaged soul' and added she hopes his quest to tell his side of the story has been 'worth it' after bombshell allegations made in his memoir, Spare Lorraine told the weekend magazine that she hoped the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could move on following the release of Spare and their Netflix documentary This week, Prince Harry's long-awaited memoir Spare was published, in which the Duke shared details about losing his virginity The outspoken TV presenter's comments come after she held no punches in giving her opinions on the memoir following leaks when the book was accidentally released in Spain last week, before its official publication date in the UK on Tuesday. After the Guardian reported Harry's explosive claim that his brother William ripped off his necklace and pushed him to the ground, leading him to cut his back as he fell onto a dog bowl during a row in Frogmore Cottage about Meghan, Lorraine described the rift as 'like a soap opera'. Speaking to Good Morning Britain presenters Susanna Reid and Ben Shepherd ahead of her own show, she said: 'The whole thing about the necklace and the dog bowl, it's not exactly a die-hard fisticuffs is it?' She then harked back to the infamous fight scene in Bridget Jones's Diary between the characters of Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver, played by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, suggesting Harry's account reminded her of the comedy scene. Lorraine added: 'It's just awfully sad... it sounds a wee bit more like that.' As details from the book surfaced, including steamy admissions about his love life and how he lost his virginity in a field behind a pub when he was 17 years old, Lorraine could not contain her shock. The memoir recalls the 'humiliating' encounter in which the older woman, whom he does not name, treated him like a 'young stallion'. He writes how he 'mounted' her while she 'spanked' him. Reacting to the description, which would make Jilly Cooper blush, Lorraine exclaimed on her talk show: 'My toes my will never uncurl again.' As Daily Mirror royal correspondent Russell Myers read out quotes from the book, including how Harry describes his 'frost-bitten penis', the Glaswegian presenter recoiled in horror. She said: 'I dont need to know that, thank you. I dont need to know about Prince Harrys willy.' Myers then added: You think about the headlines the Royal family is waking up to. I mean this is absolutely breathtaking.' Despite poking fun at the Duke's revelations in his memoir, Lorraine told You Magazine she thinks it's important that he and Meghan are invited to the King's coronation in May. She argued that, if Prince Andrew and 'dodgy' heads of state will make the invite list, then the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should also attend. Earlier this week the Prince and Princess of Wales resumed royal duties for 2023 Kate, who turned 41 this week, was reportedly left 'baffled' by Harry's claims The Princess of Wales is said to be focusing on her work focusing on early years The Princess of Wales has 'already moved on' after being left 'baffled' by Prince Harry's claims in his bombshell memoir, Spare, according to reports. Kate, who turned 41 this week, has reportedly 'dismissed' the Duke of Sussex's accusations against her in the book, including that she and Prince William 'stereotyped' Meghan Markle as a 'biracial American actress'. Other accusations levelled at the Princess of Wales included detailed claims about her rift with the Duchess of Sussex, including what Prince Harry said was a text exchange between the couple days before Harry and Meghan's wedding in a now-infamous row about bridesmaid dresses. But the Mirror reports the Princess of Wales remains 'totally immersed' in her royal duties and has been largely unfazed by Harry's claims in the book. The Princess of Wales (pictured visiting the Royal Liverpool University Hospital this week) is said to have 'already moved on' following claims in Prince Harry's memoir which 'baffled' her, according to reports A source told the newspaper Kate is busy continuing her work into improving early years education and experiences for children in the UK. During her time as a senior royal, the mother-of-three has championed early years development as one of her most important priorities. Prince Harry claims in his memoir that the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex exchanged tense text messages before Harry and Meghan's wedding (pictured: The sisters-in-law at Trooping the Colour, 2018) Prince Harry claims in his bombshell memoir Spare that the Prince and Princess of Wales 'stereotyped' Meghan as a 'biracial American actress' (pictured: Cover of Spare) In 2020, she launched the The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Writing in the Telegraph last November, she said: 'I am determined to continue to shine a light on this issue and to do everything I can to secure much greater focus on those first crucial few years for the youngest members of our society - they are, after all, our future.' As the Royal Family is left reeling from Prince Harry's claims in his book, the Princess of Wales is said to be focused on a new chapter of her projects - including the launch of a new programme which will focus on children between the ages of three and five. The source said: 'Of course there have been other distractions but the Princess has had far more important things on her mind. Its an important and exciting time.' This week, the Prince and Princess of Wales seemed to brush off accusations levelled at them in Harry's memoir as they resumed royal engagements in their first visit of 2023. The royal couple arrived at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Merseyside, which opened its doors to patients in October last year, to meet with staff and patients. Standing firm and dressed in co-ordinated navy blue and green outfits, the couple remained professional as they shook hands with well-wishers. Kate even posed for a couple of selfies, before joking she would be 'told off' by William. Prince Harry, 38, claimed in his book that the Prince and Princess of Wales did not welcome his wife Meghan Markle into the royal family. He also claimed that, before he met Meghan and was living in Frogmore Cottage, Kate and William did not invite him over for dinner despite only living a stone's throw away on the Kensington Palace Estate. The Duke of Sussex also revealed what he claimed were tense text messages between Kate and Meghan in the days leading up to Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding, regarding Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress. Harry wrote that Kate had texted Meghan to say: 'Charlotte's dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on a home.' He added Meghan reportedly told her to visit her tailor to have the dress refitted, before Kate allegedly responded to demand 'all the dresses need to be remade'. The Duke claims the exchange left Meghan 'sobbing on the floor'. But according to the Duke of Sussex, the rift between the sisters-in-law began long before the wedding as he detailed an incident involving lip gloss before the first appearance of the so-called 'Fab Four' at the Royal Foundation Forum Summit in 2018. According to the Duke of Sussex, Meghan asked Kate if she could borrow some lip gloss before the four took to the stage, to which Kate obliged. However, Harry claimed that, while Meghan applied the gloss with her finger, Kate had a 'disgusted' look on her face. They seemed carefree 10,000 miles from home as royal family reels from Spare Princess Anne's daughter and her ex-rugby ace Mike messed about for cameras Zara and Mike Tindall, 41 and 44, attended the Magic Millions race in Queensland Zara and Mike Tindall didn't shy away from a public display of affection as they attended the races down under. The royal and her ex-rugby player husband canoodled as they posed for photos at the Magic Millions event in Queensland, Australia, after a turbulent week for the royal family. As explosive claims from Prince Harry were laid bare following the release of his bombshell memoir, Spare, royal figures including the Queen Consort and the Prince of Wales were in the firing line. Today, the Duke of Sussex has further demanded an apology from his family to his wife Meghan, as he told them: 'You know what you did' and urged them to 'come clean'. But almost 10,000 miles from home, Princess Anne's daughter, 41, and her husband, 44, could not have been more carefree as they kissed for the cameras. Zara and Mike Tindall put on a VERY racy display as they attended the Magic Millions race day in Queensland, Australia The couple were attending the Magic Millions race day, after attending the festival over the last week. Dressed to the nines in a light blue, short-sleeved dress with multicoloured hues, complete with a matching hat, Zara leaned in for a kiss with her husband, who cheekily poked his tongue out. Mike Tindall, 44, took centre stage in a group photo from the Magic Millions race day as he lifted up his leg to be carried by a friend Ex-rugby ace Mike couldn't contain his laughter as he posed for photos at the Magic Millions race day Silly faces! Princess Anne's daughter jokingly grimaced at the camera while her husband Mike looked somewhat off-balance I'm a Celebrity star Mike, who came fourth in the 2022 series of the ITV reality show, couldn't keep his hands off his wife Zara Are we interrupting something? Zara Tindall, 41, pokes out her tongue as she places her hand over her husband's crotch Affectionate couple: Zara put her hand on her husband Mike's shoulder as the couple chatted to their friends on the raceday The couple then swapped roles as I'm a Celebrity star Mike leaned in for a smooch before Zara stuck out her tongue. Other snaps show the couple posing with their friends as they cheekily grabbed handfuls of each other in a racy display. Mike, dressed in a dapper checked suit, also took centre stage in one group photo where he raised his leg, to be carried by a friend. The parents-of-three are currently holidaying in the Gold Coast, with I'm a Celebrity star Mike sharing plenty of snaps from the trip on Instagram. Photobomb alert! Mike walked straight in front of the camera and posed in a mock-serious position as he took his place alongside Zara Beautiful in blue! Mother-of-three Zara showed off her toned legs as she donned a light blue, short-sleeved dress with multicoloured hues A look of love! Zara grabbed her husband's face in his hands and appeared to say something to him at the races Zara and Mike's PDA-filled display comes as Prince Harry resumes his attacks on the Royal Family, claiming the entire rift was 'avoidable' and demanding an apology to his wife Meghan. In an interview with the Telegraph he said he wanted to help reform the monarchy so that his niece and nephews, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis would not be affected by the concept of the 'spare' in the same way he has been. After expressing concern that one of the Prince and Princess of Wales's children may end up also feeling like the 'spare', he claimed Prince William had 'made it very clear that the children are not [Harry's] responsibility'. Despite several bombshell claims in his memoir, Harry has also revealed the first draft of the autobiography was twice the length of the final draft, but that he ended up leaving details out for fear that his family would not forgive him. Talking about his family, he said: 'I wish youd actually sit down with me, properly, and instead of saying Im delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what Id really like is some accountability. And an apology to my wife. 'Because you know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And youve been caught out, so just come clean, and then we could all move on.' Earlier this week, loved-up Zara and Mike, who have managed to avoid the royal crisis at home, were spotted mingling with Aussie A-listers - including Chris Hemsworth and wife Elsa Pataky, at another Magic Millons event. In one photograph shared by Mike, the couple sit with their heads close to one another while sharing a drink and offering a toast towards the camera. In another, they looked relaxed as they posed with a group of friends in the sunshine. A video clip also showed the royals could be seen standing in the gorgeous Australian sunshine as they inspected some of the horses taking part in this weekend's race meeting. Zara was announced as the first Magic Millions Racing Women Ambassador in 2012, and now travels to Surfers Paradise in Queensland every year for the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, seven days of auctions which culminate in this weekend's major race meeting where all contenders are horses bought at previous Magic Millions auctions. Included in the week's events are showjumping displays and polo matches - some of which Zara takes part in. 'This is an ongoing partnership that sees Zara attend events every year to present gifts to the winners,' Mischa Jolin, Managing Director of Influencer, PR and Branding agency, Edencancan previously told Femail. 'She is an integral part of the brand which empowers women within the equestrian field. I would anticipate this partnership is worth circa 125k per year.' Mike himself is about to launch a new podcast with Magic Millions, called Mike Drop - and a promotional clip for the series has teased Zara as a guest. In the video, the couple grin at each other and greet the other with: 'Hello, my love.' The next clip of Zara shows her rolling her eyes at her husband, who jokes: 'Welcome to my world.' They then dive into a conversation about horse racing, the topic which the podcast focuses on. As his bombshell memoir Spare was published in the UK this week, Prince Harry revealed in interviews that he had dabbled in psychedelic drugs while struggling with the death of his mother Princess Diana. The Duke of Sussex, 38, told 60 Minutes interviewer Anderson Coooper that substances including ayahuasca and magic mushrooms were like 'medicine' after Diana died in a car crash in 1997. But ayahuasca, a South American psychoative drink which is consumed in line with shamanic practices, can cause hallucinations, anxiety and intense nausea. Earlier this year, a coroner warned against the potentially deadly consequences of shamanic 'healing' rituals after hearing how a young artist, Katie Hyatt, 32, suffered a mental breakdown and took her own life as her parents told the inquest they believed she had consumed ayahuasca. Harry told Cooper he would not recommend people take the substances 'recreationally' but added: 'But doing it with the right people if you are suffering from a huge amount of loss, grief or trauma, then these things have a way of working as a medicine.' Ayahuasca, a drink native to South American countries, is made by boiling together vine stems along with leaves from a chacruna shrub and has hallucinogenic properties The drink, which is illegal in the UK, is made by boiling together vine stems along with leaves from a chacruna shrub both native to the Amazonia region. The psychedelic brew contains the compound N,N-Dymethyltriptamine (DMT) which is one of the world's most powerful known hallucinogens. Similar to drugs like LSD and psilocybin, DMT has demonstrated its ability to increase connectivity between different brain networks and boost synaptic plasticity. The Duke of Sussex spoke to 60 Minutes interviewer Anderson Cooper about his experiences drinking ayahuasca and taking other psychoactive drugs The powerful psychedelic combination affects the central nervous system and leads the user to feel a different statpowerful psychedelic brew that affects the central nervous system, leading to a different state of consciousness. As well as hallucinations, people who have tried the drink have reported out-of-body experiences and feelings of euphoria. Speaking about his experience of the psychedelic, Harry said: 'For me, they cleared the windscreen, the windshield, the misery of loss. They cleared away this idea that I had in my head that ... I needed to cry to prove to my mother that I missed [my mother]. When in fact, all she wanted was for me to be happy.' Prince Harry's account of using the drug is not uncommon, with addicts and people who have suffered trauma in their lives also claiming the hallucinogenic helped them, but doctors have expressed concerns about the drug's use. Last year, actor Will Smith revealed during an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he drank the brew over 12 times during a retreat in Peru, while having marital problems with his wife Jada. Mike Tyson said ayahuasca and other psychedelics saved his life, while Hunter Biden said profound trips helped him become sober. However, while the properties of ayahuasca are now being studied in relation to healing trauma, medical professionals have raised concerns about their safety. Just last week an inquest heard how a young artist took her own life after drinking the hallucinogenic 'tea' in a retreat in Malvern, Worcestershire. According to emails sent to Miss Hyatt and seen by the Daily Mail, the retreat was to feature wachuma, described as a 'teacher plant' allowing participants to 'dive deeply into ourselves'. As well as wachuma, which is made from a 'sacred' cactus and contains illegal hallucinogenic mescaline, Miss Hyatt's parents told the inquest they believe she also ingested ayahuasca another Class A drug at the retreat. Now Miss Hyatt's parents want to warn others attracted to alternative medicine to avoid the mind-altering drinks. 'These are not innocent drugs they need to be used in the context of carefully controlled trials,' said her father Ray, a retired hospital consultant. 'The kind of advice she got from the organisers of the retreat when she realised she was deteriorating was useless, frankly. 'We wouldn't want anybody else's health to deteriorate in the way that Kate did.' Many doctors are worried that hallucinogens' rise to the mainstream is causing vulnerable people to take them without proper preparation and psychological support. The effects of ayahuasca can be categorised into three stages. First, users have a sense of increased relaxation. They will feel sleepy and start to yawn a lot. The second stage is purging, where users will repeatedly throw up. This is thought to have a cleansing effect on the body. The third stage is an altered state of consciousness, during which users may have hallucinations where they see vivid and lucid beings, commonly 'mechanical elves'. Some people see and have conversations with people from their past. This week, a Brit couple were arrested in Murcia, Spain, accused of hosting unlicensed shamanic healing sessions using ayahuasca and other psychedelics. Spanish police said the couple, aged 47 and 52, were offering their services online and offering accommodation for up to 16 people at a time, and arrested them after interrupting a 'healing session' for seven people of different nationalities. A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Murcia confirmed: 'The Civil Guard, as part of an operation codenamed Kambo, has arrested two people who captured clients for supposed shamanic healing sessions. 'They are a British man aged 47 and a woman aged 52. 'A number of harmful substances have been seized which were being administered without any sanitary controls to Spaniards and people from other European countries. 'The British couple offered their services online with promotional material in which they advertised their rural property as a house of healing orientated towards self-help groups and things like addiction disintoxication. 'They had no licence or authorisation. Despite this they were charging people 40 a night for minimum stays of three nights, with group offers of 450 a day for 16 guests.' In May last year Spanish police raided a luxury Costa del Sol villa after a British holidaymaker claimed he had been offered ayahuasca when he complained about his accommodation. The tourist told detectives he was invited to 'chill out' by taking the hallucinogenic brew after discovering he was being expected to share a bedroom with strangers. Cops discovered an illegal party with 40 people was going on at the villa in the upmarket resort of Marbella when they went to investigate. Royal fans have gone wild over Boots' cheeky social media post urging customers to stock up on Elizabeth Arden night cream, after Prince Harry revealed that he used it on his 'frostbitten todger'. Boots left their followers in stitches after they encouraged people to buy the cream as temperatures are set to plummet next week, following the Duke of Sussex's incredibly revealing memoir. In the bombshell book Spare, published last Tuesday, Prince Harry, 38, recounts how his groin was severely impacted by the cold during a charity trip to the North Pole in 2011. After trying some home remedies, the father-of-two explained how a friend recommended a product by the US beauty brand to help relieve his discomfort. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounts how his groin was severely impacted by the cold during a charity trip to the North Pole in 2011. Pictured: Prince Harry on Stephen Colbert's Late Show, January 10, 2023 Although the Duke didn't name the product, he described in the memoir how his mother Princess Diana had used it on her lips. This prompted readers to speculated that it was Elizabeth Arden's cult classic Eight Hour cream. Quoting what he told his friend, Harry wrote: 'My mum used that on her lips. You want me to put that on my todger?' After his pal's reassurance that the cream worked, Harry procured himself a tube, saying the smell of it transported him back to his childhood, when his mother was still alive. 'I felt as if my mother was right there in the room. Then I took a smidge and applied it down there,' he recalled. In reference to Prince Harry's incredibly revealing anecdote, Boots tweeted: 'With temperatures predicted to drop next week, don't forget to stock up on your trusty @ElizabethArden Eight Hour Cream. IYKYK [if you know you know].' This left many of Boot's social media followers in hysterics. One user wrote: 'That's a great tip,' followed by a mischievous emoji. Another user replied with a meme saying 'I see what you did there.' 'It cures frostbite, according to a well known source....' another wrote. A user also replied: 'Lol... now this is marketing.' Royal fans were also left in hysterics after they spotted that Elizabeth Arden had tweeted about their Hyaluronic Acid and highlighted its benefits in the winter. Prince Harry pictured in the North Pole on a 2013 exhibition. The Prince recounted in his new memoir how he had suffered from a 'frostbitten todger' during his trip in 2011 Using a snowflake emoji, they wrote: 'You've heard all the buzz about plumping Hyaluronic Acid, but did you know it's extremely helpful during the colder months? 'The trick is to apply it to damp skin - HA pulls the moisture from the environment into the skin.' One joked: 'Can you confirm if this will help with a freezing todger?? Prince Harry says it does??' Another added: 'NO SUCH A THING AS BAD PUBLICITY, AIGHT.' 'Please let Harry be the Elizabeth Arden face of 2023,' a third wrote. Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: 'Explore Antarctica and the Arctic with no concerns about your todger!' An author has shared how a Tinder date in 2018 left her feeling 'like a worthless person' after her drink was spiked and she was raped. Zoe Rosi opened up about the confusion she felt in the immediate aftermath, and how hazy recollections made it easy to blame herself - but writing her new book has helped her explore the pain in a 'creative outlet'. The novelist from Greenwich, 36, revealed that the perpetrator had also acted like the pair simply had a 'one night stand' - and even texted her a few times afterwards. By the time she came to terms with the horrific events, Zoe said it was too late to take legal action because she had washed off the DNA. An author has shared how a Tinder date in 2018 left her feeling 'like a piece of meat' after her drink was spiked and she was raped She added that he seemed 'a cut above your average guy' at first when they matched on Tinder. Over text he told her he'd read her books, and seemed 'humble and normal' - apart from some gym selfies that made him 'look a bit vain.' The pair met in a pub in Woolwich, southeast London. After just one glass of wine Zoe nipped to the bathroom, leaving her drink with him on the table while he bought another round. During the second drink, she began to feel 'really, really drunk and out of it' - which was out of character, as she can normally drink a few glasses without feeling that drunk. As things began to get increasingly blurry for Zoe, the perpetrator asked her if she wanted to get fresh air. Zoe (pctured) has found that writing her novel - a book about a Me Too serial killer hunting sexual predators - has also helped her recovery Her memory blanked - next thing she knew she was in a taxi and he was offering the taxi driver cash. Fleetingly she thought this was bizarre because people rarely carry cash, and potentially indicated the events were premeditated. Zoe said he was acting as if he was taking care of her because she was drunk. The last thing she remembers is them being in her bedroom before she woke up the next day with him in her bed, them both naked, and feeling as if they'd had sex. The novelist from Greenwich, 36, revealed that the perpetrator had also acted like the pair simply had a 'one night stand' - and even texted her a few times afterwards 'I woke up the next morning, and he was just like lying next to me,' she said. 'I knew we'd had sex, we were both naked, and I just remember thinking what the hell happened? 'I felt this horrible dark feeling inside, like something was really wrong.' The author said she rushed to blame herself, thinking that 'maybe she just got too drunk, and maybe it's her fault', despite knowing that she couldn't have consented in the state she was in. Zoe Rosi opened up about the confusion she felt in the immediate aftermath, and how hazy recollections made it easy to blame herself - but writing her new book has helped her explore the pain in a 'creative outlet' 'And so that's why I was feeling quite guilty and bad about it,' Zoe explained. 'I knew something was wrong, seriously wrong, but I didn't want to admit it.' The writer said she also didn't want to think that she had been raped - 'because that is really traumatic'. She continued: 'He was acting like we just had a one night stand, he was just a bit sheepish and got up and left quickly. 'I was lying there with this horrible, foreboding feeling that I knew what happened was wrong.' Zoe reached out to some friends, but found that it was easy to have her traumatic experience normalised. 'I texted an older male friend from work about what happened, who's from a different generation, and he replied saying you haven't done anything thousands of other women do on a Saturday night,' she said. 'So I thought to myself, 'maybe it's normal' but looking back that was such a misogynistic thing to say.' She tried to put the events behind her, but eventually began 'feeling really violated, and really low'. 'My self esteem went down a lot because I thought I'm just a worthless person who no one respects and men can just use,' Zoe admitted. 'I thought, to men I am just a piece of meat.' She added: 'The guy texted me a few times afterwards, not asking to meet up but acting everything was normal, so I replied like that. 'After around a few months I started to realise that really wasn't right, but by that point I had no DNA because I'd washed it all off, and only some texts that looked like a one night stand.' While Zoe eventually briefly spoke about the incident with police - who said they could take a witness statement - she claims she was told they couldn't take things further 'because the Crown Prosecution Service wouldn't do anything'. She tried going back on Tinder a few times after the incident, but each time felt like 'lamb to the slaughter'. 'It was like self-harm,' she said. 'There's a lot of dodgy guys on there, they'll just act like they're on Uber Eats and they're ordering a pizza and ask you to come over to their place for a hook-up - you don't even know me, why would I do that?' Zoe admitted that the experience made her 'lose faith in men for a long time'. 'I would be very careful,' she warned. 'I think people should be friends before they become anything else because people can be a persona to get what they want. 'I now think it's a good thing to have a daytime date, without alcohol, just a coffee and a walk, and if a guy is decent and actually wants to get to know you he would be totally fine with that. 'If you're talking to a predator, they probably won't have the patience for that.' Zoe has found that writing her novel - a book about a Me Too serial killer hunting sexual predators - has also helped her recovery. In a mire of depression and unable to pursue legal justice, the writer created an empowered fashion editor who moonlights as a vigilante murdering rapists, paedophiles and abusers. Writing the novel Pretty Evil, for which TV rights are now optioned, was a therapeutic outlet to the date rape. Around three months after the event that left her feeling violated, depressed and destroyed her self-esteem - Zoe began to write. In Pretty Evil, due to be published January 17, her protagonist's first kill is based on her experience. In the book, Camilla Black sets up a date with Julian Taylor - not the alleged rapist's name in real life - after tracking him down on Tinder when she learned a judge let him off for beating up his girlfriend. During the evening, he tries to spike her drink - but Camilla realises and retaliates with the same strategy. The date closes with Camilla firing a crossbow at Taylor who is bound to a post on the rooftop of a derelict council estate 'like a Saint Sebastian-type scene'. While writing, Zoe described feeling 'almost possessed' because she was so in the zone. To prevent it becoming a 'popcorn thriller' she would at times call ex-senior police detective Stuart Gibbon to help check Camilla could legitimately get away with the murders. To add to the research, Zoe ordered a large stack of vintage and out-of-print true crime magazines, detailing how villains were brought to justice. Before Pretty Evil, she had written four romance novels, published with HarperCollins, but said she has never written anything like this book. 'I felt down at myself, defeated, angry and frustrated because I realised there was nothing I could do to gain justice, then bizarrely this character just arrived in my imagination,' she said. 'She arrived fully formed, and was this powerful, sassy, clever, confident woman - completely not how I was feeling at the time. 'She kills predatory men who evade justice by not being caught by the police or not being sent to prison, or who get out early for good behaviour. 'She doesn't feel that's good enough, so she kills these rapists, abusers, paedophiles and creeps, even using Tinder to track some of them down.' Zoe continued: 'For some reason I lit candles while I was writing, it sounds so pretentious, and I would just write - I wasn't going between Word and Twitter like I often do. 'I wrote the first 40,000 words in two or three weeks. 'I know writing stuff like that sounds a bit crazy, but writing it really did help.' Zoe describes her protagonist as 'the Dexter of predators', with 'her own moral code and her own standards for who she kills'. 'She wouldn't kill just anyone,' the author said. 'It has to be somebody who's done something really terrible. 'I wanted it to take itself seriously, and not just be a trashy book - I wanted it to seem realistic she got away with everything.' The novelist said she felt fortunate she could use writing as an outlet to process what was done to her. 'I think I'm very lucky because I write and I'm creative, when something difficult happens to me I use it as material, and I really feel for people who don't have that outlet. 'It's very easy to internalise a lot of pain and shame about rape and sexual assault, for a while I didn't feel like myself at all.' READ MORE: Two women seduced victim who had posed on Instagram with Rolexes before drugging him with date rape drug GHB and killing him for his watches - after string of similar attacks on other men Daisy was conceived after her mother was raped at 13 and it's shaped her whole life. So why doesn't the law recognise HER as a victim? EXCLUSIVE 'I battled in silence': Raye sang about struggle with substance abuse and assault 'to process her trauma' and her closest friends didn't know until hearing her new music Australians have uncovered the real reason Aldi checkout workers scan groceries so quickly at the registers. During a discussion about the supermarket's new self-serve checkouts in a Reddit thread, one former worker revealed the computers track how many items they are scanning per minute. Aldi is slowly rolling out self-serve registers across their Aussie stores which has shoppers divided - some prefer manned checkouts whereas others would rather pack their groceries at their own pace. Aussie shoppers online are divided over Aldi's new self serve checkouts. Many customers are in favour of them as they find staff at the registers scan their groceries too quickly A Victorian customer posted an image of the new customer-operated registers at their local Carnegie Aldi store, sparking a heated debate among users. Some were thankful for the new checkouts as they find the rate at which the retailer's workers scan through their shopping too overwhelming. 'At least now I can pack my groceries without it being thrown at my face! No offense to Aldi staff, but you guys are just too quick!' one customer wrote. 'Another place I don't have to interact with people now and as ex checkout staff it's generally quicker when I do it myself too,' a second replied. 'Love ALDI, my only beef is that I go for a few items and usually I'm stuck behind people doing their weekly shop,' a third added. A former Aldi worker offered an explanation as to why they are so fast saying the registers track how many items they are scanning per minute 'I think it is a recruitment test. If you scan your items as fast as the Aldi checkout operator they offer you a job!' joked another. Someone who used to work for Aldi offered an explanation as to why staff put through items so quickly and gave their advice for getting through the register fuss-free. 'We were measured on items per minute when on registers - which is shown at the end of your shift when closing out your individual till. Promise you, they're not doing it for fun,' they explained. Poll Where do you prefer to scan and pay for groceries? Self-serve checkouts I don't mind either Staffed registers Where do you prefer to scan and pay for groceries? Self-serve checkouts 197 votes I don't mind either 198 votes Staffed registers 596 votes Now share your opinion 'Don't pack your bags at the register. Toss it all into the trolley/basket when scanned at take your time at the packing bench just next to the registers. Or buy those bags that hook into the trolley basket so you can kind of pack quickly,' they added. Aldi employees review and adjust their scan speed based on how quickly or slowly each customer packs their shopping. If a customer would like a checkout worker to slow down, they are encouraged to request they do so. Some said the new self-serve registers made them feel rushed and said they will stick to paying for their shopping at the manned tills. 'They nag you if you aren't bagging fast enough. Really annoying. I don't frig around when I shop. I don't have a problem with normal Aldi checkout bagging speed. But even I'm not fast enough to keep the self checking robot voice from nagging me,' one user reported. 'After scanning a few items it said I needed staff assistance Obviously there's no staff to even give assistance apart from the two checkout chicks who were already flat out,' another complained. Though not everyone agreed as one person responded: 'The Aldi self service checkouts are so much faster than the ones at Coles and Woolworths. They don't f*** up the weights of goods, and demand a staff member every second item scanned.' You've got up to a one in a million chance of being hit by lightning. But, despite the phenomenon being extremely rare, it does still happen. Doctors in Italy have shared shocking pictures of the devastating injuries a lightning bolt can cause. The images are of a 50-year-old man who was struck while riding his bike in a forest during a summer rainstorm. He later died. A 50-year-old man from Italy was struck by lightning while riding a bike in a forest during a summer rainstorm. Pictured: The injuries to his head He also had burnt skin and hair in his pubic area (pictured), which medics believed was caused by the white hot bike frame hitting him when he was struck What makes lightning strikes deadly and how rare are they? Although rare, lightning strikes are incredibly deadly, killing up to 30 per cent of victims. They damage the body in four ways: light direct effect of electrical current on body tissues conversion of electrical energy to heat, resulting in deep and superficial burns complication of a fall after electrocution The sharp flash of light can cause eye damage, causing long-term damage with cataracts, as well as short-term issues like retinal detachment. Lightning can cause temperatures of up to 8000C in the milliseconds during the immediate impact, causing serious skin and hair burns. Electricity in the strike causes nerve and heart damage, killing nerves and leading to cardiac arrest, when the heart starts pumping. This can lead to reduced blood flow to vital organs and, eventually, death. How rare are they? Event Odds Dying by car Dying by fire Dying by tornado Dying by lightning Dying by meteor Dying by shark One in 90 One in 250 One in 60,000 One in 135,000 One in 1.6million One in 8million Sources: Natural Disasters Advertisement At the time of being struck by the bolt, the unidentified man immediately went into cardiac arrest and lost consciousness. Bystanders did not attempt to save his life, for reasons unknown. It was only by luck that a doctor hiking nearby, in a forested area n the outskirts of the city of Trieste, was on hand to start CPR. Paramedics turned up 15 minutes later, transporting him to hospital. When there, doctors checked his injuries and found a small black area of singed tissue on his head, where they believed the lightning had hit him. His hair was singed from the bolt and doctors described a burning smell coming from him. Burnt plastic from his bike helmet was found on the area of shredded skin on his head. Lightning can cause temperatures of up to 8000C in the milliseconds during the immediate impact, causing serious skin and hair burns. He also had burnt skin and hair in his pubic area, which medics believed was caused by him sliding onto the white hot bike frame when he was struck. His eardrum had burst and CT scans revealed bleeds on his brain. Surgeons operated on him and stemmed the bleeding, before he went to intensive care. His damaged muscle tissue released proteins into his blood, resulting in a serious medical condition called rhabdomyolysis. This caused dangerous kidney damage. After surgery, he was sedated and given further tests while still unconscious. Another CT scan the day after he was admitted showed brain damage, which got significantly worse as the days progressed. He died on the tenth day after he entered hospital from the reduced blood flow to his organs caused by the cardiac arrest and bleeds, having never woken up. His brain had also been directly damaged from the electric current in the lightning strike. Doctors who treated the man reported his case in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. His eardrum had burst in the strike and CT scans revealed small bleeds on his brain (pictured) Writing in the journal, they said: 'Lightning strikes cause injuries through different mechanisms. 'A direct strike is a lightning bolt that directly hits a person, and this was the main mechanism of injury in the patient reported here. 'Survival of persons after a direct lightning strike who suffer [cardiac arrest] is a rare event.' Lightning strikes cause around 300 injuries and 100 deaths per year in the US. In Britain, 30 to 60 people are hit a year, with around three dying. Around 30 per cent of people hit by lightning die, usually an hour later from an abnormal heart rhythm or breathing difficulties. Up to three quarters of survivors are left with permanent disabilities. In related news... Tragedy as a young man is killed after being struck by lightning - as wild weather strikes Australia British woman who was struck by lightning while escaping a thunderstorm on a Croatian beach was 'brought back to life' after her heart stopped Lightning strikes kill 20 people in just 24 hours across eight districts of India A Californian woman claims she got cancer after suffering a cut while getting a manicure. Grace Garcia, 50, a mother-of-three from San Gabriel, near Los Angeles, was diagnosed with stage 1 squamous cell carcinoma a common type of skin cancer in April. It had developed around a deep cut into the cuticle on her right ring finger made by a nail technician, which had become infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). Doctors cut out the cancer through a surgical technique used to remove cancerous lesions from First Lady Jill Biden earlier this week. Grace Garcia, 50, from near Los Angeles, says that she got cancer after a nail technician cut off a piece of her nail. She was eventually diagnosed with stage 1 squamous cell carcinoma Ms Garcia who has been getting her nails done for more than two decades went to a new 'fancy'-looking salon just before Thanksgiving in November 2021. But during the treatment, the nail technician slipped. 'She cut me, and the cut wasn't just a regular cuticle cut', Ms Garcia told Today. 'That was one of the first times that happened to me.' She put antibiotic ointment on the wound when she got home, but after a few days it had barely healed. Ms Garcia returned to the salon to complain. 'I was upset and I went back, and I told them that the lady cut me, and my finger is still bothering me,' she said. 'They said, "oh, we fired her [after] a lot of complaints". That was it.' The manicurist sliced deep into her cuticle on her right ring finger during the procedure, causing it to start bleeding. She went home and put antibiotic ointment on the cut, but a few days later it had not healed. When it eventually healed over it was still tender The cut healed as days passed, but Ms Garcia quickly noticed a 'bump' that was a darker color to the rest of her skin and felt tender if it was hit against something. She grew concerned and visited her primary care doctor in April 2022, who referred her to a dermatologist but they told her just said to monitor it. When the bump changed to look like an 'open wound', and a wart started to develop, she returned to the doctors, who ordered a biopsy. It revealed she had stage 1 skin cancer medically termed squamous cell carcinoma and also an HPV infection in the wound. HPV can cause cancers when infections linger on wounds over time, turning normal cells into cancerous ones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It usually occurs during sexual activity. But what made Ms Garcia's case unusual was that the HPV infection had emerged in the wound in her nail. Dr Shari Lipner, a top dermatologist at Cornell University in New York City, added to DailyMail.com: 'It's generally genital warts that are responsible [for carrying HPV]. 'It would have to be a piece of equipment that came into contact with a genital wart and was not sterilized.' The patient's dermatologist Dr Teo Soleymani, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health, added: 'Generally speaking, the strains that cause cancer from an HPV standpoint tend to be more sexually transmitted. 'In Grace's case, she had an injury, which became the portal of entry. 'So that thick skin that we have on our hands and feet that acts as a natural barrier against infections and things like that. [But for Ms Garcia] that was no longer the case, and the virus was able to infect her skin.' Ms Garcia was treated using Mohs surgery, a procedure that allows doctors to see 100 percent of the cancer and then remove it without damaging too much skin. The cancer had not spread to other areas of the body. Ms Garcia did not require further treatment, but now needs to visit her dermatologist regularly for check-ups. Doctors suggest that HPV may have gotten into the wound if she was having a manicure with equipment that had not been sterilized beforehand. There is no evidence at this time that the equipment used for her treatment was not sterilized. Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to slash the time it takes for NHS patients to receive a lung cancer diagnosis. The program analyses X-ray scans immediately after they are carried out and alerts doctors if any worrying signs are spotted. It means a diagnosis could be reduced from as long as a week down to the same day. Experts say early diagnosis is crucial for treating lung cancer, which is so aggressive that spotting it even just a few days earlier can save lives. Doctors reviewing x-rays for possible signs of lung cancer can take up to a week to provide a diagnosis, which can harm the patient's long-term prospects The software, developed by Indian tech company Qure AI, is being rolled out across Greater Manchester as part of a pilot study led by the British Covid vaccine firm Astrazeneca involving more than 250,000 people over the next six months The software, developed by Indian tech company Qure.ai is being rolled out across Greater Manchester as part of a pilot study being led by British Covid vaccine firm AstraZeneca involving more than 250,000 people over the next six months. Doctors involved say that, if successful, the system could be used across the NHS. AstraZeneca is now the second Covid vaccine-maker to turn its focus to artificial intelligence, as experts predict all NHS doctors will soon be expected to work with the high-tech software. Every year, nearly 50,000 Britons are diagnosed with lung cancer. During that time, more than 35,000 people die of the disease, making it the UKs biggest cancer killer. An X-ray is usually the first test carried out for signs of the disease, which include growths in the lungs that could be tumours, and fluid or swollen lymph glands in the chest. Id say it is the hardest X-ray to analyse, says Professor Matt Evison, consultant chest physician at the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance. Because youve got so much going on in that area of the body the spine as well as the lungs you have to look very carefully. This means that it can take up to a week for patients to get their results. Given how aggressive lung cancer is, this wait can make a real difference to how effective treatment will be. According to one study in The Lancet medical journal, delayed diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in England is responsible for almost five per cent of deaths from the disease. The AI software flags X-rays which show concerning signs of disease, so doctors can have a closer look at them first. We still look at all the scans, says Prof Evison, but this new system means we check the most worrying ones as a priority. You could get results the same day. This is more important than ever given the immense pressure the health service is under right now. We need to make these diagnoses quickly, but we only have finite resources. If this works, I could absolutely see this being used across the country. The news comes just days after Covid vaccine developer BioNTech which worked with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to create the first approved jab in the US announced that it had bought the British artificial intelligence company InstaDeep for 562 million. BioNTech plans to use the firms technology to accelerate the process of developing drugs and vaccines. Experts say AI will play an increasingly important role in the NHS over the coming decade. Every NHS doctor will be trained to work with artificial intelligence in the near future, says Professor Nick Hawes, an AI expert at the University of Oxford. It could be used to decide which treatment works best for a newly diagnosed cancer patient or create a much more effective 111 phone referral system. Artificial intelligence will never replace doctors, but it will be an accompanying tool which speeds up the medical process. Ocado will shine a light on changing shopping habits when it announces its trading update for the all-important festive period on Tuesday. Investors will be hoping for more Christmas cheer after stellar figures from the likes of Tesco and M&S in recent days. But their hopes could be dashed after a challenging year for the online grocer, which has struggled to maintain growth rates as pandemic-fuelled enthusiasm for online shopping wanes and cost-conscious shoppers hunt for bargains. Hailed as the ultimate pandemic-winner, Ocado Retail a joint venture between Ocado and M&S saw sales boom as bricks-and-mortar retailers shut their doors. But the tide quickly turned. Ocado's shares have slumped 55 per cent over the past year. On Tuesday, analysts will be looking at whether customers at Ocado Retail which sells Ocado and M&S products are shunning its pricier range in favour of cheaper goods. Updates on the retailer's tech arm will also be front of mind, including the rollout of microsites to support Ocado Zoom, its planned one-hour delivery service in the UK. Sophie Lund-Yates, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said average basket value at Ocado was expected to be down 6 per cent. She added: 'The difficult conditions mean Ocado expects to see a small sales decline for the full year, and close to break-even cash profits.' Investors will approach the update with trepidation after fellow online retailer Asos saw sales slip 8 per cent over Christmas. Opting for ESG environmental, social and governance investments should be good for the soul, the planet and the wallet. Lately, however, this has not been the case. About $4trillion is invested in ESG funds worldwide. But performance has been less than life-enhancing, since most do not own the defence, mining and oil companies that have prospered amid the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine. $4trn is invested in ESG funds worldwide, but performance has been less than life-enhancing The MSCI World SRI index of socially-responsible stocks tumbled by 22 per cent last year, in a decline deeper than that of the broadly-based MSCI World Index. This creates a tricky dilemma for investors who want to see growth but also value ethics and the regeneration of the eco-system. As well as discontent about performance, there is also concern about fund managers allegedly 'greenwashing' that is, exploiting the ESG label to attract customers. in the US, there are rows about whether companies and fund managers are letting progressive values get in the way of financial decisions. Here, Terry Smith, of Fundsmith, has blasted Unilever for being too preoccupied with 'woke' concerns. So should investors shun sustainability? Or ought they to bide their time in anticipation that ESG will pay off in the long run? As an investor in a range of ESG funds, with a focus on energy storage and renewables, i am enthused about the benefits that could flow from 'green tech', which strives to cut energy consumption in homes, commercial premises and transport. Fathom Consulting calculates that as much as $100trillion will be spent globally on this type of innovation over the next two decades. But I am also braced for further upsets, which Mike Fox, head of sustainable investments at Royal London Asset Management, warns are inevitable. He says: 'investors are underestimating some of the headwinds that sustainable funds face in the short term.' Among the headwinds are those 'greenwashing' charges. Shortly before the war in Ukraine, about $8.3billion of supposedly ESG funds were invested in Russian assets. Terry Smith, of Fundsmith Fortunately, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is attempting to address the greenwashing deception. As part of his post-Brexit City reforms, ESG ratings providers will be brought under the control of City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority. Research shows that many investors think funds should engage with companies to foster reform. But they would also like a great deal more openness about funds' strategies, such as 'tilting'. Under this, some of your cash will be invested in companies with distinctly non-green characteristics to boost returns. A 'best-in-class' strategy targets companies that are concentrating more of their efforts on ESG compared with others in their sector, such as BP and Shell, both of which are fast expanding their hydrogen, solar, wind and other renewables divisions. Big Oil will always be anathema to some, however, which suggests that you should check whether your holdings align with your personal principles. Some global ESG funds own US tech shares, which will raise a few eyebrows, although some, like me, take a pragmatic view. For example, the largest holding at CT Responsible global Equity is Apple. Not the most obvious candidate for an ESG fund, perhaps, given its goal of persuading people to buy and upgrade electronic gadgets. I am looking to diversify into Ct Responsible global Equity and other funds recommended by FundCalibre, including ninety One Global Environment and Liontrust Sustainable Future growth. Peter Michaelis, of Liontrust, says it has just acquired a stake in the US quality control and testing group Agilent technologies, which ensures that 'the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink does not contain harmful chemicals and contaminants'. If you are building an ESG section of your portfolio and want similarly inspiring companies, Max Richardson, of Investec Wealth, suggests Nvidia, the US semiconductor group. He also suggests Schneider Electric, whose systems aim to reduce greenhouse emissions from buildings. Schneider, a French company, is best known to UK investors for its recent bid to take over software developer Aveva. Some leading shareholders disliked the deal and Schneider's links to China. In ESG investing, nothing is simple. Banks have been closing branches at a terrifying rate across the UK, and now new analysis reveals Yorkshire is set to lose the most banks this year. High street banks have shut 5,355 branches since January 2015, according to consumer group Which?. That will rise to 5,549 by the end of this year. Banks say the closures are necessary as more people look after their money online, not by using physical branches. But critics say the declining number of bank branches hammers groups such as the elderly and carers, who are often paid in cash. Several high street banks have announced plans to shut yet more branches this year. This Is Money has crunched the numbers to work out which regions will see the most banks move out in 2023. The regions with the most bank branches shutting down in 2023 are all in England, but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also affected Yorkshire is the UK region losing the most bank branches this year, with 17 confirmed to be shutting. London will see 13 banks close down, and Dorset and Cornwall will lose eight each. But sadly almost no UK region is immune from bank branch closures this year, with 194 confirmed to be shutting. That figure is likely to rise, as it comes from announcements banks made back in 2022. It comes at a time when cash usage is rising for the first time in 13 years, according to Nationwide, as some people turn to physical money to help them budget amid rising costs. Check for banks closing near you Zoom in and click the coloured icons to see which banks are shutting down in 2023 Source: high street banks Some individual towns will be rocked by more than one high street bank leaving their community in less than 12 months. For example, the Yorkshire town of Wetherby, population 11,000, will see an HSBC branch close down this year - as well as a NatWest outlet just 30 metres away. St Neots in Cambridgeshire, which has a population of just 36,000, is also losing a branch of HSBC and NatWest in 2023. Bank branch closures hit the elderly hard, according to Dennis Reed, director of retiree campaign group Silver Voices. Reed said: 'The Government must step in and dissuade the banks from this wholesale branch closure programme. 'Ministers have talked the talk about safeguarding access to cash, on which millions of older people depend, but the banks have other ideas. The banks are only interested in customers who want digital banking and it is being made increasingly difficult for those who prefer face-to-face or even telephone banking.' Closing bank branches can be a particular problem for isolated communities who might not have another bank nearby. In extreme cases bank customers have to travel for miles in order to do their banking in person. From last April around 1,700 people on the island of St Mary's on the Scilly Isles, have had to take a ferry or plane to get to a bank, as the final branch - Lloyds - shut up shop for good. The nearest bank branch for these residents is now a five-hour ferry ride away in Penzance, Cornwall. Sam Richardson, deputy money editor at Which?, said: 'Bank branch closures are commercial decisions taken by individual firms, but their impact on local communities, especially more rural ones, can be significant. 'Not only do they inhibit customers' ability to deposit and withdraw cash locally, but also to access face-to-face banking services. 'Government legislation to protect cash can not come too soon, however new laws risk being undermined if minimum levels of free access to cash are not guaranteed.' What is being done about bank branch closures Last May the Government brought in laws protecting access to cash. These laws gave the Financial Conduct Authority regulator powers to make banks and building societies allow cash withdrawal and depositing options across the country. However, these rules only protect cash use, and do not replace the full range of banking services lost if a community loses its last bank. Rising: The amount of ATM withdrawals has been on the decline for years, but ticked up in 2022 as people used cash to budget, according to Nationwide It is also possible to carry out banking services using Post Office outlets. This is because banks pay the Post Office to offset the impact of them shuttering branches. However, banking this way is limited compared to a standard bank branch. For example, you cannot open a new bank account using a Post Office, or resolve any banking problems you have. The only banking options allowed at a Post Office are depositing cash and cheques, taking cash out and checking your balance. To make matters worse, some banks do not even allow you to do this restricted list. For example, if you are with Nationwide all you can do is deposit cash or check your balance in a Post Office. Halifax gives its customers the full - but limited - range of Post Office banking options, as do big names like Bank of Scotland and TSB. Other banks, such as Barclays, have brought in pop-up or mobile banks to help fill the void left by fewer permanent branches. Shared banking hubs is another option mooted by banks as a way to offset the impact of closing branches. But currently there are only two, in Rochford, Essex - which Money Mail visited last year - and Cambuslang, Lanarkshire. What the banks say A Barclays spokesperson said: 'Our customers' behaviour has changed significantly in recent years, with the majority choosing online banking. As we adapt, we are closing less well used branches whilst investing in brilliant customer service and digital technology.' Barclays says it is setting up pop-up banks, called Barclays Local, in regions that need physical banking services. The days of easy access to banks in every town are long over, with 10 entire constituencies having no bank at all, according to Which? Jackie Uhi, HSBC managing director of UK distribution, said: 'People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.' A Santander spokesperson said: 'There will be no further branch closures in 2023, bar the five branches announced in 2022 unless due to a compulsory purchase or another rare exceptional circumstance.' A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: 'Our customers have more choice than ever in how they bank with us and we have seen visits to some of our branches fall by as much as 85 per cent over the last five years as our customers choose to do more online. 'Alongside our online, mobile and telephone services, we're continuing to invest in our branches to ensure they are great places for our customers to use and colleagues to work, but they need to be in the right places, where they're well-used.' Her brother said the cancer was discovered following a sudden chest pain The median life expectancy after diagnosis is 7 months and there is no cure Woman diagnosed as the only person in Australia with super rare cancer An Australian woman has opened up on her battle with one of the rarest cancers in the world after being rushed to hospital with chest pain. Seema Haider, 47, was having a regular Monday afternoon in October and was on her way to her brother's house when she had a crippling bout of chest pain. After multiple trips to hospital, including an emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen, Ms Haider was diagnosed with T cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL). The aggressive and incurable form of cancer is so rare she is the only person in Australia suffering from it. Her brother Saeed Haider, 40, told Daily Mail Australia Seema who was rarely sick had seemed lethargic and low on energy in the months leading up to her diagnosis, but did not suspect anything major was wrong. He said his sister's ordeal started when she called him to say she had bad chest pain and was going to get some Nurofen. Seema Haider's (pictured) sudden chest pain turned out to be one of the rarest cancers in the world After multiple trips to hospital, including an emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen, Ms Haider (pictured with her nephew) was diagnosed with T cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) What is T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) is an extremely rare and typically aggressive malignancy (cancer) that is characterized by the out of control growth of mature T-cells (T-lymphocytes). T-cells are a type of white blood cell that protects the body from infections. Source: Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society Advertisement Ms Haider went to her brother's house every afternoon to spend time with his children. But when she arrived that day she was in such agony that she collapsed to the ground and was rushed to hospital. 'When she came through the back of the house she was crying and yelling, saying "take me to the hospital, I think I am having a heart attack",' Mr Haider said. 'So we did and they took her in and did some blood tests which came up clear so she was sent home.' Two days later Seema returned to the hospital to get a bone marrow biopsy before returning the next day after collapsing in agony. 'On Thursday we went back to the hospital and the doctors were really worried about her and we just had no idea what was going on,' Mr Haider said. 'I finally got a hold of one of the doctors and was like "what is going on?" and they told me "look, I'm really concerned about your sister, she's got internal bleeding and we think her spleen is about to explode".' Seema was taken in for emergency surgery after an ultrasound of her spleen showed it had ruptured and was slowly leaking blood. The surgery managed to stop the bleeding but after she awoke from the anesthetic the bone marrow results came back with a diagnosis of T-PLL. 'My mum called me absolutely hysterical and said you have to come to hospital now and told me my sister had one of the rarest cancers in the world,' Mr Haider said 'I was just floored and I got all the doctor's notes and started researching what she had and the more I read I just broke down more and more. 'There just isnt much you can do and there are no stories of survival or any way of really treating it.' Her brother Saeed Haider (middle), 40, told Daily Mail Australia it all started when Seema (right) called him to say she had a sudden bout of chest pain 'There are no survivors and no way of treating it and the cancer is so rare they can't even really test it,' Mr Haider said. As the family learnt more about the rare cancer they were informed by doctors that she was the only person in Australia to have this form of cancer. While there is no known treatment for it, chemotherapy was flown in from the United Kingdom to attempt to treat it. Mr Haider said the family has tried to join groups, interface with doctors overseas and learn as much as possible about the cancer. But he said Australian doctors are barely aware of it and are at a loss at how to treat it. One final treatment option that was floated was the potential of a bone marrow transplant and Mr Haider came up a match for his sister. Mr Haider said the day his sister heard they were a match her face lit up and was just elated that there was hope for her. But the same day Seema received the disheartening news that the tumours had spread to her spleen. Now Seema and her family are waiting to hear if the bone marrow transfer is even plausible as they deal with mounting bills and stress. The median life expectancy once diagnosed with T-PLL is about 7 months as it is generally resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Pictured: Seema with her nephew 'The transplant with my bone marrow is the only treatment option, it is the last hope,' Mr Haider said. Seema's mother once she heard about her daughter's diagnosis travelled up from Canberra to take care of her, spending her days by her bedside in the hospital. She knows cancer all too well, battling it herself on three different occasions. Looking back on his sister's diagnosis Mr Haider said there were signs something wasn't right but no-one could have imagined the situation would be this dire. 'Thinking back she kept getting sick for about a month before, which was really rare for her as she has always been so healthy. 'She was lethargic, really lacking energy and was a bit off but that's hindsight. 'The worst part is there is nothing we can really do, I feel helpless and because it is so rare and the leukaemia foundation barely even knows about it, it's hard to remain positive, we just need some hope to cling onto.' The median life expectancy once diagnosed with T-PLL is about 7 months as it is generally resistant to conventional chemotherapy, according to the US government National Library of Medicine. Describing his sister Mr Haider said she is the 'nicest, sweetest and most loving person you will ever meet'. 'She has never done anything wrong to anyone and with a diagnosis like this you just ask yourself why this could happen to someone like my sister,' Mr Haider said. 'We can't change it but just question why my sister of all people. 'I am her strength and I am the backbone at the moment and she is emotionally taking it hard and I dont think she can handle it much more, I can see she is emotionally broke.' A GoFundMe has been set up to support Seema (left) and her family as they face a tough financial time, raising more than $5000 Apart from supporting their beloved family member, the Haider family say they want to raise awareness of the rare forms of cancers as throughout the journey they felt like they had no support. 'When someone goes through this rare of a disease there is nothing to support them or any real information on it, it is like there is no hope,' Mr Haider said. 'So while Seema is the only one in Australia with this form of cancer, someday someone else might get it and I want them to know more about it so they don't feel so alone like we do' A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family as they face a tough financial time. Mr Haider said their mother has moved to Sydney while Ms Haider receives treatment. After a year-long investigation by Claudia Joseph, Simon Trump, Ewan Fletcher, Adam Luck, Jason Buckner and Craig Hibbert, the Mail on Sunday named Banksy as Robin Gunningham. The search began with a photograph taken in Jamaica showing a man in a blue shirt and jeans, with a hint of a smile on his face and a spray can at his feet. Taken in 2004, it was said to show Banksy at work. When the picture was published it appeared to be the first chink in the armour of anonymity with which the artist has shielded himself ever since his work began to attract the attention of the art world. Armed with this photograph, the team travelled to Bristol, long said to have been Banksy's home city, where they made contact with a man who claimed to have once met the artist in the flesh. Many people claimed as much, but the moment one started asking for more information, one discovered they actually 'know someone who met Banksy' - and the trail ran cold. However, this man claimed not only to have met the elusive artist but was able to furnish us with a name - not the usual variations of the name Banks but one all the more intriguing. The man in the photograph, he insisted, was formerly known as Robin Gunningham - and it didn't require much imagination to work out how such a name could result in the nickname Banksy. From records available to the public, they were able to glean further information. Robin's father, Peter Gordon Gunningham was from the Whitehall area of Bristol. His mother, Pamela Ann Dawkin-Jones was a company director's secretary and grew up in the exclusive surroundings of Clifton. The couple married on April 25, 1970, at Kingswood Wesley Methodist Church. On February 8, 1972, their daughter Sarah was born at Bristol Maternity Hospital, by which time Peter had been promoted to area manager for a hotel company and the couple had bought their first home, a semidetached house in Bristol. On July 28, 1973, Robin was born in the same hospital. According to neighbours, the boy had early surgery for a cleft palette. When Robin was nine, the family moved to a larger home in the same street and it is there he spent his formative years and became interested in graffiti. A neighbour, Anthony Hallett, recalls the couple moving into the street as newlyweds and living there until 1998. They have since separated. When they showed Mr Hallett the Jamaica photograph, he said the man in it was Robin Gunningham. In 1984, Robin, then 11, donned a black blazer, grey trousers and striped tie to attend the renowned Bristol Cathedral School, which currently charges fees of 9,240 a year and lists supermodel Sophie Anderton as a former pupil. It was hard to imagine Banksy, the anti-authoritarian renegade, as a public schoolboy wandering around the 17th Century former monastery, with its upper and lower quadrangles and its prayers in the ancient cathedral. But they then found a school photograph, taken in 1989, of a bespectacled Robin Gunningham in which he shows a discernible resemblance to the man in the Jamaica photograph. Indeed, fellow pupils remember Robin, who was in Deans House, as being a particularly gifted artist. In the rare interviews Banksy has given (always anonymously), the artist has acknowledged that it was while at school that he first became interested in graffiti. Robin Gunningham left school at 16 after doing GCSEs and began dabbling in street art. As the investigation continued, their inquiries demonstrated again and again that the details of Robin Gunningham's life story dovetail perfectly with the known facts about Banksy. By 1998 Robin Gunningham was living in Easton, Bristol, with Luke Egan, who went on to exhibit with Banksy at Santa's Ghetto, an art store which launched at Christmas 2001 in London's West End. Egan and Gunningham are believed to have left the house when the owner wanted to sell it. Camilla Stacey, a curator at Bristol's Here Gallery who bought the property in 2000, said that Banksy and Robin Gunningham are one and the same person. She knew the house had been inhabited by Banksy because of the artwork left there - and she used to get post for him in the name of Robin Gunningham. Once the group were almost certain Banksy was Gunningham - they went searching for him and tried to see if his parents would help. His mother Pamela lived in a neat modern bungalow in a village outside Bristol. After identifying ourselves, they asked her if she had a son called Robin. Her reaction was very odd. They showed her the Jamaica photograph and she was visibly startled, but said she didn't recognise the man in the photograph, to whom she bears more than a passing resemblance. They asked if she could put us in touch with him. 'I'm afraid I don't know how to get in contact with him,' she said. So she did have a son called Robin? 'No, I don't. I don't have a son at all.' They asked her if she had any other children. 'Yes, a daughter.' But no son and certainly not a son who went to Bristol Cathedral School? 'No,' she said, and went on to deny she was Pamela Gunningham, insisting that the electoral roll must be incorrect. Their conversation with Peter Gunningham, who now lived in a gated development in the suburb of Kingsdown, was equally baffling. Again, they presented the photograph of Banksy/Robin Gunningham. Mr Gunningham said he didn't recognise the person in the picture. They told him that they believed his son to be Banksy. 'No,' he replied. 'I can't help you, really.' Mr Gunningham politely continued to deny that his son was Banksy but his manner was almost playful. He refused to give them any information about Robin. It was all very strange. Had the couple never heard of Banksy or Robin Gunningham, one might have expected a reaction of complete bewilderment. This did not seem to be the case. Struggling each day to survive, 17-year-old Hanneli Goslar couldn't help but feel envious of her old schoolfriend, Anne Frank. No life of hell for Anne in a Nazi concentration camp! Rumour had it she'd escaped with her family to Switzerland. Why, Anne Frank was no doubt eating fine chocolate. Or so thought Hanneli, who'd been deported from Amsterdam to Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. The only good thing about Hanneli's section of the camp was that Red Cross parcels occasionally made it through. There were no such life-savers for the neighbouring barracks, separated from hers by an impenetrable barbed-wire fence. Sometimes Hanneli's fellow inmates would creep up to it at dusk. You couldn't see through the wire, and you risked being shot if spotted by the guards. But there was always the chance you'd recognise the voice of a friend. One day, to Hanneli's astonishment, someone said they'd heard Anne Frank was on the other side. Was it possible? 'So I had no other choice than to go to the barbed-wire fence in the evening, as much as I could,' Hanneli recalled. 'And I started shouting: Hello, hello!' Her call was eventually answered by a woman who volunteered to fetch Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most significant works of the 20th century 'After about five minutes, I heard a very weak voice and it was Anne. We both started to cry and then I said: 'How did you come here? I was hoping you were with your grandmother in Switzerland.' 'And Anne said: 'We never tried to get there we hid in Dad's office and we were betrayed.' This exchange took place in early 1945, when temperatures were often below freezing. Anne was clearly in a bad way. No longer able to wear any clothes because they were crawling with lice, she was naked beneath a thin blanket. The following evening, Hanneli returned to the fence with a small package. Inside was some food from a Red Cross parcel and some odd socks that had been donated by other prisoners. 'I said to Anne: 'Be careful! I'll throw it over.' I couldn't see her, and the barbed wire was high and the night was dark, and I just had to throw at what I could hear. 'But there were hundreds of other hungry women, and another woman picked up the parcel, running away with it. Anne was crying and shouting and angry. 'I had to calm Anne down and then I promised: 'We'll do it again'. And we were able to do it again. I met her three times and then she caught the parcel.' Hanneli's story was later confirmed by several inmates. Along with other eyewitness accounts, it provides an agonising glimpse into what happened to Anne Frank. Over the ensuing years, more details have emerged, though these have long been scattered in numerous places, including various archives and obscure publications. Now, however, all these testimonies have finally been gathered together in my book, After The Annex to present the most complete picture yet of Anne Frank's incarceration. Six months before Anne's brief reunion with her schoolfriend, on August 4, 1944, the Germans had burst into the Frank family's hiding-place. The identity of their betrayer remains unknown. As the Franks and their friends were marched off for questioning, an SS officer picked up a briefcase and turned it upside down. Out fluttered a clutch of handwritten pages, which were left lying on the wooden floor. Picked up later by a friend, Miep Gies, the extraordinary diary of Anne Frank kept from the age of 13 would later be published in more than 70 languages and become one of the best-loved books of the 20th century. Yet she would never know what had become of it. Anne and her family - including father Otto, right - hid in an annex behind this bookcase The Frank family's only 'crime' was to be Jewish. They had gone into hiding when their daughter Margot, three years Anne's senior, had received a summons to register for work in a German labour camp. Aware that all their lives were in imminent danger, Otto Frank, then 53, had already prepared an annex, whose door was hidden behind a rotating bookcase, above his herbs-and-spices business. There, the family were joined by Otto's Jewish colleague Hermann Van Pels (46), plus Hermann's wife Auguste (41) and their 15-year-old son Peter, for whom Anne briefly developed romantic feelings. A later addition was a Jewish dentist, Fritz Pfeffer (53). After two years in the annex, they were all arrested as 'criminals' simply because they had hidden from the Nazis. Under guard, they were taken by tram to the main Amsterdam railway station. It was a beautiful August day as they boarded a passenger train for Westerbork, a concentration camp about six hours' away. Otto Frank recalled: 'It was still as though we were going on another trip together, and actually we were quite cheerful.' On arrival, Anne and the others were stripped naked, checked for lice and diseases, then ordered to put on blue overalls and clogs. Westerbork turned out to be a labour camp where everyone had to work six days a week for ten hours a day. For a middle-class teenager, the heavy physical work splitting open old batteries with a chisel and hammer was punishing. When Anne stepped into the showers after work, her skin was pitch-black. There was no soap. Anxious about his youngest daughter, Otto tried to persuade an inmate responsible for cleaning toilets to get Anne a job like hers. The woman agreed to meet her. 'Anne was very friendly,' she recalled. 'She said: 'I can do anything, I can be really useful.' She was truly delightful, a little older than in the photograph we know of her, cheerful and lively. Unfortunately I had no say in the matter [of the job].' Prisoners were at least free to associate with each other after work. One of the Franks' new acquaintances was Rosa de Winter-Levy, who noticed that Anne's mother Edith 'looked almost paralysed. In the evening, she was always doing the washing [without] soap.' By contrast, Anne walked round looking 'happy and free', was always connecting with new people and spent a lot of time with her former crush, Peter van Pels. 'They were always together and I often said to my husband: 'Just look at those two beautiful young people'. At first she was very pale, but her gentle and expressive face was so attractive. Perhaps I shouldn't really say that Anne's eyes shone. But they did shine, you know. She was happy . . .' Should we trust Rosa's romantic account? Other witnesses claim that the Frank family seemed lost and bewildered, and kept themselves to themselves. Anne, said one, was often seen clinging to her father's arm. Equally, both descriptions may have been accurate at different times. However, if Anne found a measure of happiness at Westerbork, it was fleeting. After just 26 days, on September 3, 1944, more than a thousand Dutch Jews were packed into cattle-trucks bound for Auschwitz in occupied Poland. Did they know the horrors that awaited them? Earlier that year, in February, Anne had written in her diary that they all considered it a 'fact' that 'millions and millions' of people were being murdered and gassed in occupied Poland and Russia. She may not have known that their destination was a death camp, but she was undoubtedly consumed with fear. The train left at about 11am. There were no windows in the wagons, which contained just one barrel of water which eventually ran out and a second barrel to be used as a toilet, which overflowed. Lenie de Jong-van Naarden, who was in the same wagon as the Franks, said it contained about 70 people. 'Someone had hung up a tin with a candle in it from the ceiling so that there was some light. People had turned into animals, crowded together. They couldn't get up and they couldn't sit down either.' Edith Frank, she recalled, had smuggled her overalls on to the train and set to work removing the red patch that identified her as a 'criminal'. She thought a distinction might be made between 'criminal' cases and 'ordinary prisoners', and hoped to improve her family's chances. After three torturous days, Anne and her family arrived at a ramp in the middle of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp at night. After three torturous days, Anne and her family arrived at a ramp in the middle of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp at night Lenie remembered: 'The doors were pulled open and immediately there was a tremendous shouting and screaming through the loudspeakers. There were many uniformed police and soldiers on the platform. Everyone fell out of the cattle wagons together the dead, the sick, children.' The men were immediately separated from the women by SS guards with barking dogs. This happened so quickly that there was hardly any time for Otto Frank to say goodbye. It would be the last time he saw his family. Next, there was a selection, made by one of the camp doctors, between those considered fit for work and those who weren't. The elderly, and children aged 15 and younger, were sent directly to the gas chamber. Despite being 15 herself, Anne was one of 249 women taken to the so-called Sauna, where she waited outside for hours until it was her turn to have all her hair shaved off and her arm tattooed with a number. After taking a shower, she stood outside, completely naked, until old clothes and wooden clogs were tossed at her. She was then taken to an overcrowded quarantine barracks supposedly to prevent the spread of disease. The next few weeks in Barracks number 29 were a nightmare for the Frank women, who formed what inmates recalled as 'an inseparable trio'. Two survivors remembered that Anne shared an upper berth made of wooden planks with her mother, sister and six other women. It was such a tight squeeze that if one woman turned over, everyone had to do likewise. The food consisted of watery soup made from potatoes or rotten vegetables, bread, and sometimes a piece of sausage, cheese or margarine. As Jews weren't allowed to receive any food parcels, they were the first to die from diseases. There were beatings by the guards and seemingly endless hours of pointless work digging up tufts of grass or heaving stones from one place to another. The women also had to line up twice a day: morning roll-call started at 4am and evening roll-call often lasted until late at night. Like the others, Anne lived in constant fear of the regular selections for the gas chamber. Some women became completely apathetic; others took their own lives by throwing themselves against an electric fence. Rosa de Winter-Levy was struck by how Anne empathised with other women and often cried over the things she saw. 'It was she who was looking at what was happening around her up to the very end. We hardly saw it at all any more. But Anne couldn't protect herself from it. She cried.' Each day, Anne had to walk past the camp gallows, where women's bodies were deliberately left hanging. One dismal afternoon she saw a large group of newly arrived Hungarian children standing hand-in-hand in the rain. 'Anne was crying when we marched past the Hungarian children, who had been waiting in front of the gas chamber naked for half a day because it was not yet their turn,' said Rosa. 'Anne touched me and said: 'Just look at their eyes!' ' On October 30, after evening roll-call, all the women were ordered to strip naked so a doctor could assess their condition. Sick and older women were told to stand to one side, destined for the gas chamber. Then it was Anne and Margot's turn to be examined. 'Anne stood with her face under the floodlights and touched Margot so Margot stood straight up in the light,' said Rosa, 'and they stood there for a minute. Naked and bald. 'Anne looked at us with her bright face and she stood up straight and then they went. 'It was no longer possible to see what was happening behind the floodlights and Mrs Frank screamed: 'The children! Oh God!' ' Each day, Anne had to walk past the camp gallows, where women's bodies were deliberately left hanging The traumatised Frank sisters left Auschwitz on a transport the following day. On that occasion their mother escaped being gassed, but two months later she developed a high temperature and died in the camp infirmary, aged 44. Anne and Margot were shipped to Bergen-Belsen. The journey took three days because Allied bombing raids kept forcing their train to a halt. This time, there were no gas chambers and no work to be done. Bergen-Belsen was where the Nazis sent Jews to die from hunger and disease. The sisters slept in overcrowded conditions on lice-ridden straw, with only a horsehair blanket for warmth. There was often no water. Freda Silberberg, there at the same time, had terrible memories of a roll-call on New Year's Eve 1944 which lasted all night. 'It actually snowed. You just had to stay standing there . . . so you can imagine how many people died that night in the icy cold. That's how they tried to get rid of us. I don't know how we survived.' The women's already meagre rations shrank until they consisted of just a piece of bread once every three days. Thousands died while Anne and Margot were there, from hunger, disease, hypothermia and exhaustion. Rachel Frankfoorder, who knew the sisters from Westerbork, remembered: 'The Frank girls were almost unrecognisable because their hair had been cut off they were much balder than we were,' she said. 'And they were very cold. They were in an especially bad state.' And at the beginning of 1945, conditions deteriorated even further due to an enormous increase in deportations from other camps. In March alone, 18,000 inmates died. Ellen Daniel, who was in the same barracks as the sisters, recalled: 'Anne lay in bed with her sister. The only thing I remember about her was that she cried all day long. She didn't want anything and couldn't do anything.' But others were adamant that the sisters, while visibly weaker, hadn't given up. Lientje Brilleslijper remembered: 'One day Anne came to us very excited and whispered: 'In the small block, there's some sweet soup. We'll organise something.' 'Margot was angry Anne had shared this secret. But that's what Anne was like: she was kind, very spontaneous, impulsive, oversensitive and open-hearted.' Lientje's sister Janny has a positive memory of Anne and Margot helping her to look after a group of small Dutch children. The Frank sisters would sing songs and share 'a bit of culture' with them. Even more heartwarming for Anne and Margot was the news from a new inmate that their mother had escaped being gassed. They never knew she had subsequently died. In January 1945, it became clear that the sisters were seriously ill. They lay together on their bunk, right next to a door that frequently let in blasts of cold air. Rachel said: 'You constantly heard them shouting: 'Shut the door! Shut the door!' And that sound became a bit weaker every day.' Both girls, she said, were 'in a sort of apathetic state, combined with better periods, until they were so sick that there was no longer any hope.' We don't know exactly when Anne and Margot died, but new research suggests it was almost certainly in February 1945, a month earlier than previously assumed. Like thousands of others, they had been suffering from epidemic typhus, a disease passed on by infected lice. Accounts slightly conflict as to the exact timing. According to inmate Nanette Blitz, Margot was the first to go: 'I think that she fell out of her bunk. She fell, and Anne died the following day.' After Margot's death, Anne had been heard to say to the others: 'Now I don't have to come back any more either.' She gave up the struggle after Margot died, said Lientje. 'A few days later, Anne went to sleep for ever, calmly and quietly.' A trio of slick thieves snatched a $40,000 6-karat diamond ring right underneath the store owner's nose at a Southern California jewelry store - but not without being caught on the store's security cameras. Two women and a man walked into Jewelry Fixx on Bouquet Canyon Rd A in Santa Clarita at around 4:45pm on Wednesday and distracted the store's owner, before stealing the ring in the most cunning of ways. The store owner Edmond was behind the counter as they walked in, and his son Avo, who did not wish to give his surname, told DailyMail.com that the trio said they were Italian tourists looking to take home a gift for their mother. They looked at Rolex watches first and then at the gold and diamond necklaces, asking a lot of questions about what the priciest items were. Edmond told KTLA News that the group 'were talking to each other really loud, and their hands were everywhere' - which matches up perfectly with the security video footage. The heist began when the group spotted the ring - an 18 karat-gold marquee shaped ring with a 4-karat diamond in the center and 2-karat diamonds on the side - and learned how much it was worth. The trio of bandits - two unmasked women and one man - who stole a $40K diamond ring An 18 karat-gold marquee shaped ring with a 4-karat diamond in the center and 2-karat diamonds on the side valued at 40,000 was stolen on Wednesday by a trio of brazen thieves Avo said the diamond ring was in the box and as one of the women were holding the box his father was getting the wrapping paper, gift bag, and another box they had asked for That is when one of the women slyly swiped the ring right out of the box and clutched it concealed behind a wallet she was holding That was the moment when one of the women slyly snatched the ring out of the box, closed the box and placed it onto the tissue paper, as the man was handing the owner $1,000 in cash She then closed the empty box and placed it onto the wrapping paper as the man was handing Edmond $1,000 in cash as a retainer Both women are seen here at the display counter fiddling with the empty box they were placing onto the tissue paper while the stolen ring was in the woman's hand Avo told DailyMail.com: 'They were pretty distracting - asking what the price is of this or the price of that. 'They wanted the ring. They had a big wad of cash and and they were counting it. They said we will give you a $1,000 right now, but we need to run out to the car to get our credit card and pay the rest on the card.' As one of the women held the box with the ring inside, Edmond turned away to get some wrapping paper, a gift bag and a different ring box that they asked for. That is when one of the women slyly swiped the ring right out of the box and clutched it concealed behind a wallet she was holding. She then closed the empty box and placed it onto the wrapping paper as the man was handing Edmond $1,000 in cash as a retainer. The trio then told the store owner they would be back with their credit card to pay the rest of the $40,000 and exited the store. Avo said they waited for nearly ten minutes before realizing what had happened. 'We opened the box and realized the ring was gone. It was very fast. It happened within a millisecond. They were very slick - real professionals,' he said. He said that the money they gave them was turned over to the police for evidence. Avo said he had no idea if it was counterfeit bills that were given to them. The store's security video captured the brazen thieves who were all unmasked. 'They looked like normal customers. Their was nothing suspicious about them we would have realized,' Avo said. 'Were a small family-owned business. Every day is a struggle for us to survive,' he said. 'We are angry and we hoping they get caught and we get the ring back.' Avo's father told the news outlet that it was his mistake he made for looking away to get the wrapping paper, and gift bag. 'I shouldnt have left it right there. Its a lesson learned. You cant just trust anybody. You have to be careful,' he said. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office who are handling the case was unavailable when DailyMail.com contacted them, but authorities told the news outlet it was likely, these crooks have stolen before. Anyone who recognizes the thieves is asked to call the L.A. County Sheriffs Office at 661-260-4000 'We opened the box and realized the ring was gone. It was very fast. It happened within a millisecond. They were very slick - real professionals,' said Avo, the son's owner The father of a gang leader has faced court after allegedly hiding hundreds of thousands in crime money collected by his fugitive son. Omar Zakaria appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Friday on two charges of dealing with property considered proceeds of crime following a police raid on his Westmead home in western Sydney on December 8, 2021. Police allege that $200,000 in cash, 30 pieces of jewellery and 210 precious gemstones discovered in his home are the proceeds of his son Masood Zakaria's alleged criminal activities, the Daily Telegraph reports. Masood is an alleged senior member of the Alameddine gang and one of Australia's most wanted men. Omar Zakaria faced court on Friday for allegedly hiding the illegal assets of his gangster son, Masood Zakaria (above) Masood Zakaria fled Australia to the Middle East after a warrant for his arrest was issued over the attempted murder of rival gang member Ibrahem Hamze (centre) A warrant for his arrest was issued in August, 2021, for the alleged attempted murder of rival gang member Ibrahem Hamze. He reportedly fled the country in the weeks after the raid on his father's home by sneaking into Western Australia, catching a fishing boat to Malaysia and settling in the Middle East. A hidden camera in Masood's car captured footage of him giving a man - alleged to be his father Omar - a wad of $50 notes. The video was shown to the court on Friday. It is understood to be one of the last recordings of Masood in Australia. The court also heard police discovered a black duffel bag containing $150,000 at the bottom of one of Omar's bedroom cupboards. They allege Masood gave the money to his father for safekeeping over a length of time. Parramatta Local Court (above) heard police found $200,000 in cash, 30 pieces of jewellery and 210 precious gemstones in Omar's home which they allege belong to his son, Masood Police also allegedly found more money inside two safes, a suitcase and a padlocked room at the back of Omar's home. Following his arrest, Omar told police the 210 gemstones they discovered were part of his gemstone business - despite also telling police he is a full-time carer for his brother and receives Centrelink payments. Omar said the $150,000 found in the duffel bag did belong to Masood but claimed he'd never 'dealt' with it. The court heard Omar's DNA was not found on the bag, only Masood's. The father also claimed the other money uncovered was profit from his gemstone business, wins from the pokies and savings from his pension. NSW Police said it has been unable to find any documentation of Omar's gemstone profits. Omar's continued bail was granted and the matter will return to court on February 21. A black man who was tried four times for the same killing has seen all charges dropped as he was finally freed as promised by Baltimore's new top prosecutor. Keith Davis Jr., 31, was accused of fatally shooting Pimlico Race Course security guard Kevin Jones in 2015, after police claimed his gun matched casings from the shooting scene. Before arresting Davis, officers shot him multiple times, leaving him badly wounded. He survived and has maintained his innocence ever since as he faced multiple trials under former Batimore's State Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Mosby's replacement, Ivan Bates, who was sworn in on January 3, announced Friday that charges were being dropped and that the state would not seek a fifth trial that was originally scheduled for May. Davis' wife, Kelly, sobbed as she was reunited with her husband after seven years. 'I hope people realize, we have watched a wrongful conviction in real time - and we did not look away,' she said. 'Keith survived the bullets because that was not the end of his story. It was meant to be so much bigger.' Keith Davis Jr., 31, who faced four trials for a fatal 2015 shooting, was freed after the state dropped all charges against him. He is pictured hugging his wife, Kelly, after seven years Newly elected Baltimore State Attorney General Ivan Bates (pictured swearing in) said the state would not seek a fifth trial against Davis that was slated for May Bates had pledged on the campaign trail to reconsider the case, which his predecessor Marilyn Mosby repeatedly brought to trial. Mosby was defeated in a Democratic primary last year while facing federal perjury charges. 'Today's dismissal is about the prosecutorial missteps of my predecessor in her pursuit of a conviction at all costs,' Bates said in a news release. 'I have a duty to ensure justice for all, not just the victim but also the accused.' When contacted Friday, Mosby told the AP the case 'has always been about the pursuit of justice for Kevin Jones and his family.' She declined to comment further. Jones' grandmother, Earlene Neals, said she felt blindsided and heartbroken by the news. 'Our family is destroyed,' she told AP by phone. 'Kevin is getting no justice whatsoever - none.' She accused Bates of using the case for political gain, saying she's skeptical police will ever identify another suspect now that Davis is free. Davis, pictured hugging Kelly, had been incarcerated for seven years as he faced four trials Former state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby (above) defended the repeated cases against Davis, saying her office was always seeking justice for shooting victim Kevin Jones Davis was the first person shot by Baltimore police after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man severely injured in police custody whose case triggered protests and civil unrest in Maryland's largest city amid calls for police reform. A recent confluence of factors helped Davis regain his freedom after seven years behind bars, including growing support from activists and Bates' 2022 election. Then a defense attorney, Bates beat Mosby in the Democratic primary, which assured him election in November in the heavily Democratic city. Davis requested privacy Friday and made no public appearance, though he was photographed smiling widely from inside a vehicle after his release. He celebrated with supporters, including his wife, Kelly Davis, who led a yearslong grassroots movement seeking to clear his name. She called the case 'an indictment of the entire system.' 'Keith is not an anomaly,' Kelly Davis added, saying many other defendants with credible innocence claims remain behind bars. He's home now, she said, but 'we cannot get these years back that were stolen from us.' Keith Davis Jr.'s supporters erupt with joy as he arrives at a gathering following his release from custody on Friday Pictured: Davis hugging one of his supporters, Peggy Amaker, as his case was driven into the national spotlight over false incarcerations Attorneys with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which represented Keith Davis throughout, said Friday's decision helps restore confidence in Baltimores justice system. Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue said Mosby's handling of the case ran 'counter to any concept of justice.' Davis, faced his fourth murder trial in 2019, when the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder - an outcome that was later overturned on appeal in 2021. Two previous trials ended in mistrials. A third trial led to a second-degree murder conviction that was also overturned. At the time of his release Friday, Davis was awaiting a potential fifth trial. Davis was smiling as he boarded the car that would finally take him home after seven years His supporters greeted him with hugs following four trials accusing him of murder Davis was accused of fatally shooting Pimlico Race Course security guard Kevin Jones (pictured) in 2015 In 2021, after his latest conviction was overturned, prosecutors filed additional charges against Davis, accusing him of attempted murder in a stabbing nearly a year earlier while he was behind bars. When those charges were filed, a Baltimore judge found a 'presumption of vindictiveness' behind the prosecution. The same judge also held Mosby in contempt of court after finding she willfully violated a gag order by commenting about the high-profile case on Instagram. The attempted murder case also was dismissed Friday. Jones was shot on June 7, 2015, at the Pimlico track in northeast Baltimore. Hours after the shooting, a Baltimore police officer was flagged down by an unlicensed cab driver in a nearby neighborhood who said someone tried to rob him at gunpoint. Police identified Davis as the suspect, chased him through the streets and cornered him in a mechanic's garage. Police then fired at least 33 rounds at Davis, striking him three times, including once in the face. Pictured: Davis talking for an interview after he was finally freed on Friday Authorities said Davis had placed a gun on top of the refrigerator he was hiding behind inside the garage. But Davis said the weapon was planted on him after the police shooting. Davis initially went to trial in 2016 for armed robbery. The jury found him not guilty of all charges except illegal possession of a handgun. About a week later, prosecutors charged him with murder in the Pimlico shooting, citing ballistics testing. In his announcement Friday, Bates stopped short of declaring Davis innocent. Because he made comments about the case on the campaign trail, Bates said, he requested one of his deputies conduct the formal review. 'It is clear that a blatant disregard for the rules of professional responsibility and the law has permeated throughout the attempted prosecutions of Mr. Davis,' Deputy State's Attorney Thomas Donnelly said in a statement. Baltimore activist DeRay Mckesson, who celebrated with Kelly Davis and others Friday, said he became hopeful after Bates won the primary election, but 'it's not real until it's real.' He said many of Davis supporters were excited to finally meet him in person. 'Today is a reminder that when you organize, you win,' he told AP. 'It wasn't easy, but we did it.' A friend who attended Dominic Perrottet's now-infamous 21st birthday party has revealed the Premier offered to remove the Nazi uniform he wore at the event. During a special press conference on Thursday, Mr Perrottet, 40, said he was 'naive' and regretted the decision to wear the costume in September, 2003 as he made a grovelling apology. Speculation about his future as NSW Premier is growing as a guest at the party revealed how Mr Perrottet offered to take the costume off during the shindig. He made the offer to a Jewish friend, according to the anonymous source. The source, who said the offer was 'jovial' at the party, didn't share how the friend responded. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is fighting for his political life after Holocaust survivors slammed him for wearing a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party 'It was the year after we had taken over the Young Liberals,' the source told the Daily Telegraph. 'We'd taken over a lot of the branches ... We were feeling on top of the world. 'Every time Bon Jovi would come on - Dom's favourite band - everyone would all be yelling and singing Livin' On A Prayer together. 'I don't remember too much - we were young and there was some drinking ... so it is a bit of a blur. 'But I do remember Dom in his Nazi uniform, which he offered to take off that night.' Sources at the party say another guest was also wearing a similar Nazi uniform. The party took place in the lower level garage and driveway of Mr Perrottet's split-level family home in Sydney's northwestern suburbs. It was well attended, with sources recalling seeing from 50 to 100 people. Shortly after making the shocking announcement, Perrottet arrived at the Jewish Board of Deputies museum in Sydney to meet with leaders on Thursday afternoon Speculation about his future as NSW Premier is growing as a guest at the party revealed how Mr Perrottet offered to take the costume off during the shindig Among the guests were Mr Perrottet's close-knit group of friends, ex-students from Redfield College in Dural, where he had attended high school, students from Sydney University where he was studying law, and Warrane College, the Opus Dei residential college attached to the University of NSW. One guest, an unnamed sitting NSW MP, attended in a Osama bin Laden costume. No photos have yet been released of Mr Perrottet's costume, though sources suggest his father walked around with a camera at the event. The latest details come after Mr Perrottet gave a grovelling apology in a press conference. 'At that age in my life I just did not understand the gravity and the hurt of what that uniform means to people, not just in our state ... but around the world,' he said. 'I'm deeply ashamed of what I did and I'm truly sorry for the hurt and the pain this will cause for people right across our state, and in particular, members of the Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, veterans and their families. 'I am truly sorry I am not the person I was when I was 21.' Insiders have predicted his leadership is over, with some even tipping the Liberal Party could dump him before the state elections on March 18. However, NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns said he doesn't believe the Premier's admission will have an impact on the election. Mr Minns said: 'I'm not going to offer a running commentary in relation to it. My view is pretty straightforward. 'It was obviously a big mistake, he's made an apology. I thought that the apology was sincere.' The premier issued a second grovelling apology on Friday morning after it was revealed exiting cabinet minister David Elliott had raised the alarm on the row. Jewish leaders have revealed how one Holocaust survivor was reduced to tears by the father of seven's revelation. 'There is a sense of worry about what kind of world we are creating,' Breann Fallon of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies told the ABC. '[A Holocaust survivor who rang in] was mostly concerned about how future generations would take this... and conveying that it is not a past issue, it's a present and future issue.' She added: 'That uniform is not just an inanimate object. 'It is a symbol of hatred, of bigotry, of genocide and discrimination and it will bring back all of those memories.' The death toll from a series of devastating tornadoes that tore through Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky on Thursday night has risen to nine, with authorities warning it could still rise. The unseasonal storms cut their way through multiple counties, carving out 20-mile-wide paths in some cases. At least 30 tornadoes were counted, with some reaching 165mph. Seven people died in Alabama, and two in Georgia - one government official, assessing the damage, and another a five-year-old boy who was hit by a falling tree in a car. The adult he was with in Butts County, near Jackson Lake, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital. Trees are uprooted and houses destroyed in Selma, Alabama on Friday after a tornado whipped through the town on Thursday night INCREDIBLE video of the Lagrange, #Georgia #TORNADO. Several power flashes, debris flying. This was a camera on the side of the home showing the tornado approaching them.. everything went downhill afterwards. Video credit: @JacobFinnTurf on twitter. pic.twitter.com/sJYN7sNl4A Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers (@ChicagoMWeather) January 13, 2023 Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, said on Friday morning that his state had endured a 'tragic night'. 'The storm moved all across our state unfortunately, it's been a tragic night and morning in our state,' he said. 'It's a very dangerous environment.' The storm hit in Griffin, south of Atlanta, with winds damaging a shopping area, local news outlets reported. A Hobby Lobby store partially lost its roof, and at least one car was flipped in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart. Damage was also reported west of downtown Atlanta in Douglas County and Cobb County, with Cobb County government posting a damage report showing a crumbled cinder block wall at a warehouse in suburban Austell. In Kentucky, videos and photos shared on social media showed fierce winds as the tornadoes approached. The National Weather Service in Louisville confirmed that an EF-1 tornado struck Mercer County and said crews were surveying damage in a handful of other counties. Worst hit was Alabama, with Autauga County, between Selma and Montgomery, counting the cost on Friday. A giant downed tree outside the Henderson House following an outbreak of tornadoes in Selma, Alabama, on Friday. During the Civil War following the Battle of Selma, the property, built in 1855, was occupied by Wilsons Raiders and used as a hospital for Union soldiers Debris and downed trees litter the grounds outside Sturdivant Hall in Selma, Alabama People work to board up a roof and windows of a damaged home in Selma on Friday Some 40 houses were destroyed in Selma by the tornadoes, which ravaged swathes of the region between Montgomery and Selma People burn debris from their homes as they clean up in the aftermath of the tornado in Old Kingston, Pratville, Alabama A man with a chainsaw attempts to clear the debris from a home in Selma on Friday, after the devastating storm series National Weather Service social media accounts were warning Alabama residents to take shelter immediately amid the 'life threatening situation' Forty homes were destroyed, said Ernie Baggett, the Emergency Management Agency Director for Autauga County. He said the damage was unprecedented. 'It's complete devastation,' he said. 'There's some, a couple of our county roads that there's only one or two homes left that may be livable.' In Selma, a city of about 18,000 people, a tornado cut a wide path through the downtown area, where brick buildings collapsed, oak trees were uprooted, cars were on their side and power lines were left dangling. Plumes of thick, black smoke rose over the city from a fire burning. James Spann, a meteorologist and host of Weather Brains, shared a video of the tornado roaring towards the town, as people outside a Walmart stood and looked on in shock. James Perkins, mayor of Selma, said no fatalities have been reported, but several people were seriously injured. First responders were continuing to assess the damage and officials hoped to get an aerial view of the city Friday morning. 'We have a lot of downed power lines,' he said. 'There is a lot of danger on the streets.' Tornado at Selma video from Caleb LeGrone pic.twitter.com/mNXaaYxq44 James Spann (@spann) January 12, 2023 Traffic lights and power lines lie in the roadway following an outbreak of tornadoes in Selma A factory roof is sheared off and the debris scattered in Selma on Friday, following Thursday's tornadoes At a Selma tax office, Deborah Brown said she and her colleagues had to rush for shelter when they saw a tornado barreling down the street. 'We could have been gone, y'all,' Brown said in a Facebook video. 'We had to run for cover. We had to go run and jump in the closet.' An overturned car flipped by the winds is seen in Pratville, Alabama, on Friday after the storms the previous night Locals inspect remains of residences that have been reduced to piles of rubble in Pratville The top half of a house is seen entirely exposed in Selma, as people inspect the damage on Friday Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, visited on Friday and said she was shocked at the scale of the devastation. She said it 'was far worse than anything I had envisioned.' She added: 'Roofs are just gone, trees look like toothpicks.' At least 33,400 home and businesses in Alabama and Georgia remained without power on Friday afternoon. Australian officials have been holding meetings with Beijing to discuss a joint response to the growing Covid-19 wave in China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin revealed on Thursday several discussions have already taken place between the two nations. 'In addition, over the past days, the competent Chinese authorities held a series of bilateral meetings with the EU and Australia to have exchanges on Covid-related issues and strengthen response cooperation,' he said. It comes as China is being battered by a Covid outbreak with estimates that 64 per cent of the country has been infected and images emerge showing overcrowded funeral homes and crematoriums. Australia has joined a growing list of countries around the world that have introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for travellers coming from China. Tensions have been thawing between the two countries with Beijing accepting coal imports for the first time in two years, though China has warned the progress could be undone if Australia pursues its military deal with the US. Australian officials have been holding meetings with Beijing to discuss a joint response to the growing Covid-19 wave in China Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin revealed on Thursday several discussions have already taken place between the two nations (pictured, Chinese residents at Tongren hospital in Shanghai) The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care said in a statement a meeting had been held on Wednesday with the prospect of more discussions on the horizon. 'The discussion provided an opportunity to exchange information on our respective COVID-19 situations and discuss clinical management approaches,' it read. 'Both countries agreed on the importance of ongoing communication and information sharing. 'We look forward to further opportunities to discuss the COVID situation and our respective responses with China.' China last month abruptly abandoned the strict anti-virus regime of mass lockdowns that fuelled historic protests across the country in late November, and finally reopened its borders on Sunday. The abrupt dismantling of restrictions has unleashed the virus onto China's 1.4billion people, more than a third of whom live in regions where infections are already past their peak, according to state media. Although international health experts have predicted at least 1million COVID-related deaths this year, China has reported just over 5,000 since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world. Mr Wang insisted Chinese officials have been open with the international community about the virus outbreak. 'We reported the spread of the virus to the WHO at the earliest opportunity,' he said. 'We immediately sequenced and published the genome of the virus and shared with the world China's protocols for diagnostics, treatment and containment. It comes as China is being battered by a Covid outbreak with estimates that 64 per cent of the country has been infected and images emerge showing overcrowded funeral homes and crematoriums (pictured, Chinese patient on a stretcher in Beijing) 'Those efforts marked an important contribution to global vaccine and drugs research and development. We have been in close communication with the WHO.' The first shipment of Australian coal will reach China this month as the Chinese Communist Party looks to rebuild its economy after it was battered by the pandemic. China was careful never to announce an official ban on Australian coal, however, imports dropped by 85 per cent in 2021, with the country instead importing coal from the United States, Indonesia and Russia. Despite the development, China will maintain restrictions on wine, barley and lobster that were introduced after a security pact was signed by the US, UK and Australia. There are hopes these bans will be lifted after four Chinese power companies will begin to purchase Australian coal from April 1. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in November last year, while Penny Wong recently met with her counterpart Wang Yi met in China's capital, Beijing, in December. Tensions have been thawing between Australia and China with Beijing accepting coal imports for the first time in two years, though China has warned the progress could be undone if Australia pursues its military deal with the US But China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has warned it could all come crashing down with a devastating effect on local jobs if Australia persists with the US military deals. 'If that happens, that is not going to serve the interests of Australians,' he said. 'Maybe it's going to serve the interests of other countries.' China has reportedly offered to drop the trade war if Australia withdraws its complaints to the World Trade Organisation about bans on certain goods. But that offer now appears to be subject to Chinese concerns over Australia's military upgrades through the planned $70billion nuclear submarine fleet and a $558million deal to buy the HIMARS missile launchers. FBI agents raided a Manhattan building in the fall of 2022 that was allegedly being used as a secret Chinese police station and was staffed with 'illegal cops' who solved crimes. The raid occurred at the headquarters of the American Changle Association, a non-profit that helps Chinese nationals who live in New York. The group's former chairman was Lu Jianshun, who in 2021 donated $4,000 to Eric Adams' mayoral campaign, reports The New York Times. The police station was located on the third floor of the organization's building. The police unit is linked to a unit code named 110 Overseas, based in China's Fujian province. The US Attorney's Office, who participated in the raid with the FBI, told DailyMail.com, 'No comment,' when asked to authenticate the Times story. In October, DailyMail.com visited the office which is on top a ramen shop and next to an acupuncturist where a receptionist was surprised to hear it was a secret police station. It was closed and locals said it seldom opened The American Changle Association, located along East Broadway in downtown Manhattan, was raided in the Fall of 2022. The alleged police station was located on the third floor The raid occurred at the headquarters of the American Changle Association, a non-profit that helps Chinese interests in New York. The group's former chairman was Lu Jianshun, who donated $4,000 to Eric Adams' mayoral campaign The public was alerted to the existence of the secret Chinese police stations thanks to reporting from the Europe-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders which published a research study in September detailing more than 100 secret Chinese law enforcement installations worldwide. The Fall 2022 raid is the first known raid by law enforcement on a secret police station in the US. According to the Safeguard Defenders, there are two secret Chinese police stations in New York, one in Los Angeles and one in an undisclosed location. The Times report notes that it is not clear if Lu Jianshun, who also goes by Jimmy Lu, is a target for the Feds. The article did not mention any arrests in the wake of the raid but said that materials were seized from the offices. In October 2022, Mayor Eric Adams appeared at a gala held by the American Changle Association, reports the New York Post. Just a few months earlier, the group's tax-exempt status was pulled by the IRS. The Times article adds that reports in China have described the operations as 'overseas police service centers' which aid in solving crimes in their designated countries without collaborating with local officials. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pictured here in Albany on January 10, appeared at an American Changle Association gala in October Workers of the American Changle Association pictured outside of their offices last year In a statement on the Times story, the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC said: 'They are not police personnel from China. There is no need to make people nervous about this.' In response to previous reports about secret police stations, Chinese embassies and consulates have downplayed their existence and said that the offices merely help citizens to renew documents such as driver's licenses. Around the same time as the raid, a secret Chinese police station in Ireland was ordered to shut by government officials while authorities in the Netherlands began to probe similar operations. Many of the stations are open in Western Europe, with only four in North America Chinese president Xi Jingping pictured on January 9, China's Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not 'police stations' or 'police service centers In November, Beijing pushed back on claims it was operating 'police stations' on U.S. soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said the same month he was 'very concerned' about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing's influence operations. FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing in 2022 that it was 'outrageous' that the Chinese government would attempt to set up a police presence in the United States, saying it 'violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes.' At the time, China's Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not 'police stations' or 'police service centers.' Republicans in the U.S. Congress, including Representative Jim Banks, have requested answers from the Biden administration about the operations of the sites. Rights activists say the sites are an extension of Beijing's efforts to pressure some Chinese nationals or their relatives abroad to return to China to face criminal charges, and have tied them to activities of China's United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party body charged with spreading its influence and propaganda overseas. Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said such stations needed to be 'stopped in their tracks.' 'By allowing the CCP to operate these types of institutions in their countries, international governments are complicit in Beijing's actions,' Clifford said. According to Safeguard Defenders, there are 102 overseas police stations in 53 countries, including 11 in Italy, the highest number of any foreign nation. Chinese authorities have characterized the facilities as volunteer-run centers which help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services that were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Red Arrows commander who got a junior colleague pregnant has left the squadron abruptly following an inquiry into his conduct. David Montenegro, a married father of two, was recalled from a promotional tour of Gulf states in November after the Mail revealed the affair. The RAF has refused to disclose any of the findings of the subsequent inquiry into the wing commander's relationship with a female engineer. But yesterday, hours after being approached by this newspaper, defence officials unveiled Adam Collins as his successor as 'officer commanding' of the aerobatics team. Top brass insisted the timing was pure coincidence and the wing commander was always due to leave his post. The engineer, a corporal, has accused Cmdr Montenegro of pursuing her then trying to 'manipulate her' into an abortion, allegedly telling her: 'You know, it's just a bunch of cells, it's not a baby.' She later suffered a miscarriage. David Montenegro (left), a married father of two, stepped down as wing commander of the Red Arrows after the Mail revealed an affair (pictured alongside his successor Adam Collins) The RAF has refused to disclose any of the findings of the subsequent inquiry into the wing commander's relationship with a female engineer Senior officers are strictly forbidden from indulging in any physical relations with colleagues, in particular when the affair could compromise operational effectiveness. The Mail can also reveal that one of the officers who led the inquiry is Facebook friends with Cmdr Montenegro, who is a former 'Red One', the lead pilot of the team. Squadron Leader Katie Adcock is said to have referred to Cmdr Montenegro by his 'Monty' nickname throughout her interview with the corporal a move the woman claims indicates bias. The Red Arrows are now embroiled in the biggest scandal of their 60-year history. As the Mail has revealed, two pilots have been sacked over sexual misconduct claims and four more have been disciplined after more than 40 personnel made complaints. A 'toxic culture' in the squadron led to sexual assault claims being played down and sexual harassment and bullying allegations scarcely drawing attention. Last night the woman said: 'Everything has been brushed aside. That's the RAF's overriding approach to misconduct and abuse of women. Her calling him 'Monty' time and again was overfamiliar and unprofessional. I felt there was a conflict of interest.' An RAF spokesman said its investigation into the allegations made against Cmdr Montenegro was 'a matter for the individual and the RAF'. Boris Johnson is planning a trip to Kyiv to visit the Ukrainian president as Russia claimed its first battlefield breakthrough in months. The former prime minister is a hugely popular figure in the war-torn country, having travelled to Ukraine three times since the conflict began. Mr Johnson struck up a bond with Volodymyr Zelensky during frequent phone calls while in office, and they are said to regard each other as 'friends'. He has told allies he intends to return to Kyiv in coming months to show his public support, The Guardian reported. No10 was said to have been unaware of Mr Johnson's plans, and a spokesman for Rishi Sunak yesterday declined to comment. But an ally of the PM suggested Mr Johnson was trying to have his 'Churchill moment'. Boris Johnson is planning a trip to Kyiv to visit the Ukrainian president Zelensky for the fourth time (Pictured together in August) They said: 'This is as much about how Boris views his role on the world stage as it is about backing Ukraine. 'The situation there remains extremely fragile so he needs to be careful not to compromise Rishi's relationship with Zelensky.' A source close to Mr Johnson declined to comment last night, amid speculation that he could become a special envoy to Ukraine. It came as Russia claimed yesterday that its forces had captured the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine in what would be its first victory in six months. Ukraine denied that the Russians had control, saying 'severe fighting' was ongoing in the key salt mining town. However there were reports of Ukrainian forces being seen withdrawing in an apparent controlled retreat. The Russian defence ministry said it had 'completed the liberation' of Soledar and that the victory would pave the way for more 'successful offensive operations' in the Donetsk region. The country claimed Soledar's capture 'makes it possible to cut off supply routes of Ukrainian troops' and surround them. A source close to Mr Johnson declined to comment last night, amid speculation that he could become a special envoy to Ukraine But the US Institute for the Study of War called the move a 'small-scale victory', which had been 'overexaggerated'. Moscow's last major gains were in June and July with the capture of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in the eastern Luhansk region. Putin's forces have since suffered a string of heavy defeats, including its retreat from the southern city of Kherson. The battle for Soledar comes after a major reshuffle in Moscow, with chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov now in charge of operations in Ukraine. A Moscow-based analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move was 'unprecedented' and indicated 'very serious problems' for Russia on the battlefield. Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov meanwhile said the country had effectively become a NATO member despite the alliance's reluctance to enter into a conflict with Russia. Mr Reznikov said he was confident Western allies would shed their inhibitions about supplying Ukraine with heavier weapons such as tanks and fighter jets. 'This concern about the next level of escalation, for me, is some kind of protocol,' he told the BBC, dismissing NATO fears about provoking Russia. A horrified British tourist filmed the moment a 'hero' caught a huntsman spider hiding under her seat during a visit to Australia Zoo. Stephanie Cara shared the video on Monday after she'd headed to the famous Queensland zoo to watch its crocodile show. 'This is insane, a huntsman spider was just underneath my seat while we were waiting for the show,' she said. 'There's no way, no frickin way.' A baby huntsman spider (above) crawled out from underneath British tourist Stephanie Cara's seat at Australia Zoo Huntsmans are a large spider - averaging about 12cm wide - that like to hide in small, dark places and are found across Australia. While the spider is poisonous, huntsmans are typically very timid and their bite only has mild affects. A man seated beside her jumped to the rescue and tried to catch the baby spider, armed with a zoo map and paper cup. He started to follow the spider as it moved between the seats while scared onlookers watched on. 'Get someone from the zoo to get it,' Ms Cara yelled out to him. 'Don't try to be a hero.' Just seconds later it looked like the man had caught the spider but it managed to run up the cup and escape as the crowd around him screamed. However, the man was determined and managed to trap the spider a short time later. A crowd gathered round as a man seated near Ms Cara caught the spider between a zoo map and paper cup (above) Commenters wrote Ms Cara (above) was overreacting to the spider while hundreds more wrote they would've run away 'You are so brave, well done!,' Ms Cara yelled as the crowd cheered and applauded. However, several Aussies in the comments said the whole saga was 'hilarious' and accused the tourists of overreacting. 'He wanted to watch the show,' one commenter joked. 'I do not get how people get so scared of spiders,' another said. 'Just a normal house spider down here lol,' a third person wrote. But hundreds more commenters said they would have been even more terrified if the large spider crawled out from their seat. 'Omg I would run and never stop running! This is absolute horror for me,' one said. 'And that's why Australia is not on my list of places to visit,' another person wrote. 'I nearly threw my phone when he dropped the spider,' a third commented. A fourth said: 'I would marry any man who did this for me in an instant.' A family of a Japanese woman found mummified in their Yorkshire cottage were convinced that she was still alive, an inquest heard yesterday. Police found the body of Cambridge graduate Rina Yasutake, 49, on a mattress in an upstairs bedroom after she apparently wasted away from not eating. Detectives discovered that the family, comprising an elderly mother and three siblings, lived in isolation from the world with no modern technology such as a television or radio. They even communicated with each other using a 'unique' Japanese dialect, an inquest at Northallerton Coroner's Court heard. Rina Yasutake, 49, was said to have wasted away from not eating before found partially-mummified in her Yorkshire family home. Her family were convinced she was still alive A diary entry found at the cottage in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, stated Rina 'became unresponsive' on August 18, 2018. It was unclear who the author was. Police attended the house, after being alerted by a pharmacist, more than five weeks later on September 25 to discover the gruesome scene. The family had been using surgical spirit to 'cleanse' her body and there were signs of mummification when police found her remains, the inquest was told. But Detective Inspector Nichola Holden, the senior investigating officer, agreed with the family's barrister that Rina's loved ones were 'utterly convinced she was still alive'. She said: 'Yes, they were. They were at the time and for many months afterwards.' For 20 years, Rina lived with mother Michiko, now 80, brother Takahiro, 51, and sister Yoshika, 56. They had left Japan after Michiko married a British man, and moved to Helmsley when they split up. Detectives discovered that the family, comprising an elderly mother, Michiko, and three siblings, lived in isolation from the world with no modern technology such as a television or radio Rina was a gifted artist, having been privately educated at Queen Mary's School, near Thirsk, before reading classics at Cambridge. But she did not work after leaving university. She visited her GP in 2013 due to family concerns about 'aggressive episodes' but had not sought any further medical treatment since. Following the death of her father in Japan, Rina stopped eating and eventually went to bed and 'stopped moving', the inquest heard. The family members were originally due to stand trial for not allowing a lawful burial, but the prosecution was dropped because it wasn't in the 'public interest'. Rina's siblings told consultant psychiatrist John Kent that she stopped eating and eventually stopped moving. A diary found at the cottage in Helmsley stated Rina 'became unresponsive' on August 18, 2018 But Yoshika did not accept she was dead, telling the doctor: 'She was still breathing, her body was warm, and she still had a pulse. 'She did not say much to us. So we said to eat and drink more. She looked like she was nourished by eating her soul. I don't know how to explain. Even though she was not eating, she was nourished with spiritual food and was fulfilled.' The alarm was raised after local pharmacist Eva Ward became concerned that the family were buying large quantities of surgical spirit. Ms Ward said Takahiro Yasutake had a pink folder of letters and she spotted Rina's name among them. Ms Ward asked about the bottles of spirit 'Are they for her?' and he nodded. Police went to the address and paramedic Karen Tomlinson said it was obvious she had been dead 'for some weeks'. A post-mortem examination established there were no signs of injuries, disease or drugs. The cause of death was 'unascertained'. There was no suggestion of suspicious circumstances. Coroner Jon Heath recorded an open conclusion. He then walks past the counter and leaves the store before taking a drink in the parking lot In footage taken from the Chepes meat market where Anggy worked, Dicus's car can be seen arriving and he can be seen on camera taking a beer from the fridge Victim's mutilated body was discovered at the couple's home near Magnolia, Texas, with her head separated from the rest of her body According to police, Dicus admitted to killing his wife Anggy Diaz, who he had been married to for less than four months, shortly after officers arrived Surveillance footage shows Jared Dicus, 21, who is accused of murdering his wife, calmly entering the store where she worked, stealing a beer, and drinking it Surveillance video has been released which shows a man from Texas, suspected of having just killed his wife, calmly walking into the store where she worked, stealing a beer and then drinking it outside. According to the police, Jared Dicus, 21, confessed to murdering Anggy Diaz, his wife of less than four months, shortly after the police arrived at the gruesome scene. Diaz's mutilated body was found at the couple's home near the small town of Magnolia, northwest of Houston, with her head separated from the rest of the body, The video footage was taken at the Chepes Meat Market where Diaz worked and shows Dicus' car arriving around 11:40am. Surveillance footage shows Jared Dicus, 21, who is accused of murdering his wife, calmly entering the store where she worked, stealing a beer Dicus can be seen on camera taking a beer from the fridge and walking towards the exit Dicus then calmly walks past the counter and leaves the store Dicus can then be seen taking a drink in the parking lot, all while being caught on camera He is seen wearing a T-shirt and jeans, grabbing a beer from the fridge, walking past the counter and out of the store, before taking a drink in the parking lot. The entire episode was caught on store security cameras. Later that same day, investigators found the knife, which is believed to be the murder weapon, and Diaz's missing severed head on the property. According to Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry, later that same day, investigators found the knife, which is believed to be the murder weapon, and Diaz's missing head on the property. Diaz was found dismembered and covered in blood as Dicus was arrested and confessed to the gruesome killing. The couple had been married for less than four months. One of Diaz's friends saw her at a Christmas party less than a month ago where Dicus stormed out. 'Everyone was having a good time and he left looking really upset,' the friend told the New York Post. She believes that Diaz may have been subjected to domestic violence. 'She never said there were any problems; maybe she was just embarrassed to admit her relationship wasn't perfect,' she explained. Anggy Diaz and Jared Dicus are pictured on their wedding day months ago in October 2022 Guidry initially described the victim as a Hispanic woman and said investigators found 'a portion of a body, dismembered, and a residence that was covered in blood.' A knife that investigators believe to be the murder weapon was found at the home, along with Diaz's head. The law enforcement officials said there had been prior incidents involving the couple. 'There have been prior calls, disturbance-wise, but nothing to this effect, to this level of violence,' Guidry told reporters on Thursday. The woman is believed to be dead since around 11pm the night before her body was found after Dicus' family members called law enforcement to their home in the 200 block of Oak Hollow Boulevard. The call came in around 4.45pm. The couple lived in a cottage behind his parents' house outside of Houston. Law enforcement officials described the victim as a Hispanic woman and said investigators found 'a portion of a body, dismembered, and a residence that was covered in blood' Diaz's dismembered head was found inside the residence set apart from her body Diaz posted this picture of her and her husband just two weeks ago for Christmas. In a comment, Dicus called her 'my beautiful wife' and referred to her as a 'trophy' The couple was married in October Dicus' parents told deputies their son came inside their home after he made statement that prompted them to check the cottage. The parents then found Diaz's body and called 911. 'That's the world we live in today, it's a gruesome scene,' Guidry said. 'Both sides of these families will be altered by it.' Diazs friends told KHOU-TV that she was an immigrant from Nicaragua who had been working two jobs to help pay for her mother's cancer treatment back home. Waller County Judge Trey Duhon said a statement on Facebook that he had married the couple in October. 'That's the world we live in today, it's a gruesome scene,' the Waller County sheriff said. 'Both sides of these families will be altered by it' Diaz was an immigrant from Nicaragua who had been working two jobs to help pay for her mother's cancer treatment back home In a post on her 20th birthday in October 2021, Diaz wrote 'Solo puedo dar gracias a Dios por bendecirme tanto' which translates to 'I can only thank God for blessing me so much' Just two weeks ago, Diaz had posted a picture of herself and her husband on Christmas day to her Instagram, wishing her friends and family a 'happy merry Christmas.' 'Merry Christmas my beautiful wife,' Dicus responded to the post, calling his wife a 'trophy.' Diaz last posted to Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a photo of her lunch just hours before investigators believe she was brutally killed by her husband. In a post on her 20th birthday in October 2021, Diaz wrote 'Solo puedo dar gracias a Dios por bendecirme tanto' which translates to 'I can only thank God for blessing me so much.' Diaz was just 21-years-old at the time of her death This is the comment Jared Dicus left on his wife's picture of them from just two weeks ago The local judge who married the couple also shared a heartbreaking post remembering Diaz and stating his intention for taking down their marriage photo. 'As with many of you, I'm greatly saddened and shocked by the news of this tragic event and my prayers are with all of their families,' Waller County Judge Trey Duhon said. 'Out of respect for the families, I have taken down my photo with the couple and the post announcing their marriage, primarily due to the insensitive nature of some comments that were being made on that post,' he continued. The judge said he is 'confident' justice will be brought for Diaz and her family. 'This matter will now go through the our court system, and I am confident that the Waller County Sheriff's Office and the Waller County District Attorney's Office will see to it that justice is served,' Duhon wrote. After speaking to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on a call on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent his thanks to the UK after it confirmed it will provide Kyiv with Challenger 2 tanks. Zelensky tweeted: 'Always strong support of the UK is now impenetrable and ready for challenges. In a conversation with the Prime Minister, I thanked for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.' Following the call a No 10 spokesperson said: 'The leaders reflected on the current state of Russia's war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues. 'They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine.' A Challenger 2 main battle tank taking part in exercise Saif Sareea 3 in Oman (file photo) A Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank during a Land Combat demonstration (file photo) The spokesperson added: 'The Prime Minister outlined the UK's ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems. 'The Prime Minister and President Zelensky welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland's offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks. 'The Prime Minister stressed that he and the whole UK Government would be working intensively with international partners to deliver rapidly the kind of support which will allow Ukraine to press their advantage, win this war and secure a lasting peace.' It marks the first time in the war that Britain has supplied Ukraine with military tanks and it will significantly ramp up Western support. The additional tanks could assist Ukraine in taking back territory that Russia occupies and the support comes amid hope that Zelensky will be in a position to launch a decisive counter-offensive in the early spring. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent his thanks to the UK after it confirmed it will provide Kyiv with Challenger 2 tanks (pictured) The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Saturday that the UK has committed 2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The MoD said: 'Our commitment to Ukraine remains steadfast and we will match or exceed last year's military support in 2023. The military aid we have donated will help Ukraine defend against air attacks, fight on land, defend their shores, and be equipped for winter.' Zelensky said on Friday in an address to Lithuania's parliament that his country required 'urgent decisions by our entire anti-war coalition', including on the supply of tanks. The transfer of the tank squadron may also be a major step in persuading Germany to send its much sought-after Leopard II tanks. Europe has more than 2,000 Leopard II tanks, held by armies in 13 countries, but Berlin's consent is needed before any of the German-made kit can be re-exported to Ukraine. A total of 12 of Britain's Challenger 2 tanks will be provided to Ukraine as part of the additional support, according to reports. Initially, four will be deployed to the war-torn country before another eight are sent at a later date, the reports added. Challenger 2 tanks are a source of pride for the British military and have been in operation for almost 25 years. They each weigh 62.5 tonnes and come equipped with a 120mm rifled gun and a 7.62mm chain gun. Ukraine's military has previously said it requires around 300 tanks from allied countries to continue its war efforts in liberating the country. Pictured: Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street on January 11, 2023 A Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank on manoeuvres in the Oman desert (file photo) Former commander of 1st Royal Tank Regiment, Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon, previously said that the use of western tanks could 'tip the balance' of the war for Ukraine. He said: 'Strategically this sends a very firm message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that nothing is off the table. When Challenger 2s beat Saddam's tanks 14-0 Tank-on-tank exchanges are rare in modern warfare, and the only time a Challenger 2 has been defeated by another tank on the battlefield was in a friendly fire incident in Iraq at the hands of another Challenger 2. But it was in that conflict in 2003 that the Challenger 2 had its proudest moment. A squadron of 14 tanks from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards confronted a similar number of ageing Soviet-era T55 tanks. Every Iraqi tank was destroyed and every British tank was untouched in a battle that one cavalry said 'was like the bicycle against the motor car'. Advertisement 'Challenger 2 and Leopard II are modern tanks. They are much better protected, more reliable, quicker.' Earlier this week, Russia insisted that the supply of western tanks would only 'deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people' and not shift the course of the conflict. At present, Russia is dependent on tanks dating back to the Cold War. But at the top of Ukraine's shopping list are the Leopard II battle tanks, which Germany has not yet supplied. On Friday, France's armed forces minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said the vehicles would be delivered to Ukraine 'within two months'. Other European nations who use the Leopard II tanks, including Poland and Finland, have said they are ready to provide them, but this requires approval from Germany - which holds the export licence. Challenger 2 and Leopard II tanks were designed specifically to take on the exact same kit that Ukraine is facing. A squadron of British Challenger 2 tanks have been on tour in Estonia this week as part of a NATO mission to offset any further Russian interference in eastern Europe. The tanks previously served with distinction in the Bosnian conflict in 1994 and the Iraq War in 2003. Last year, the UK signed over 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Poland as part of an arrangement to assist Ukraine, by freeing up capacity for Poland to send its Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine. Poland's President, Andrzej Duda, said on Wednesday during a visit to Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, that a company of Leopard tanks 'will be handed over as part of coalition-building'. He also noted that he wanted such a move to be part of a broader set of announcements, adding: 'We want it to be an international coalition.' Robert Habeck, the German economy minister, said on Monday that the nation had no plans to send Ukraine its Leopard II tanks, but that it 'can't be ruled out' in the future. The military contributions to Ukraine will go towards hope that Zelensky will be in a position to launch a decisive counter-offensive in the early spring. Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen stand on their tanks in Bakhmut, Donetsk region on January 13, 2023 A Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank in the Oman desert (file photo) Last week, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Britain was open to sending Ukraine tanks and 'will continue to evolve our support' as Kyiv prepares 'the next phase of their self-defence'. Labour said it would support any decision to hand over Challenger 2 tanks and noted that such a move would help reassure Ukraine. However, John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said: 'Ministers must move beyond ad hoc announcements and set out a plan for military, economic and diplomatic support through 2023 and beyond.' The Challenger 2 announcement comes as Russia launched its first major assault in days, with missiles fired at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday. In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a missile strike obliterated a section of a multi-storey residential building, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram. At least five died and 27 were injured, officials said. A rescue operation was underway, with scenes of smoke billowing from the collapsed building. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles struck infrastructure again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning. 'Emergency power cuts are currently being applied' in the Kharkiv region, Synegubov said. In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a missile strike obliterated a section of a multi-storey residential building, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram Tymoshenko said there were likely to be people beneath the rubble. A rescue operation was underway An infrastructure facility was also hit in the western Lviv region, according to Governor Maksym Kozytskyi. Air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, as regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter. Earlier in the day, explosions also rocked the capital, Kyiv. According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north. It was the first assault on the Ukrainian capital since New Year's Day. The head of the NHS has demanded more places for home-grown doctors and nurses at medical schools and warns hospitals are over-reliant on foreign staff. Amanda Pritchard said excellent British candidates are being rejected from medical schools due to a lack of places. About half of new doctors, nurses and midwives registered in the UK have received their training overseas. The chief executive told The Times the NHS should stop spending 3billion a year on agency staff who should be the exception, not the rule. he head of the NHS has demanded more places for home-grown doctors and nurses at medical schools and warns hospitals are over-reliant on foreign staff Health trusts last year spent up to 2,500 for a single agency nurse shift and 5,200 for a doctors shift. NHS England has more than 133,000 vacancies according to recent figures, but the 7,500 medical school places on offer in the UK each year remain hugely oversubscribed. Meanwhile, Steve Barclay has been told to find cash from his existing budget if he wants to raise his pay offer to NHS staff, it was claimed yesterday. The Health Secretary is reported to have privately acknowledged that more than one million frontline staff deserve more money. But the Treasury is said to have made it clear that any improved pay offer would have to come from the departments existing budget. Steve Barclay has been told to find cash from his existing budget if he wants to raise his pay offer to NHS staff, it was claimed yesterday It raises the prospect of cuts to key services. Treasury officials are said to be waiting for Mr Barclay to identify 2billion to 3billion-worth of services that would need to be scale back to free up enough money to table an improved offer. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out raiding the Treasurys reserves to fund a one-off payment for 2022-23 for NHS staff. A new offer is unlikely to be tabled before the next 48-hour walkout by nurses on Wednesday and Thursday, which will again force hospitals to cut back services, and unions warn strikes could continue for weeks. However, sources close to Mr Barclay said they did not recognise the claims that he has acknowledged the need for NHS staff to receive extra money. A school going boy protects his sister during the drizzle rain while going on the two-wheeler with their father at Hitech city on Friday. (Photo: R. Pavan) Hyderabad: Hill station Hyderabad. That's how Hyderabad looked with fog and drizzles on Friday, giving citizens their first experience of cold this winter. The sun struggled to shine through for most part of the day and the mercury stayed at about 27C. Areas such as Tellapur, Banjara Hills, portions of Hitech City, Tarnaka, Mehdipatnam, Shaikpet, parts of the Old City, Jubilee Hills, Jeedimetla, Secunderabad Cantonment, Rajendranagar, Quthbullapur, and Nampally all received light rain showers. Netizens took to Twitter to post about the weather with pictures and videos of the fog and rains. Hyderabad has become a hill station today at 22 degrees (sic), tweeted Mohd. Sohail Khan. Chandrashekhar Bhalki posted a video of dense fog captioned, A foggy morning in Hyderabad. K. Rajkumar, a resident of Jubilee Hills, characterised the foggy weather as lovely, reminding him of his hill station. I woke up to pleasant weather this morning and saw a scenic view from my balcony, which felt like a hill station and not Hyderabad (sic), he tweeted. Indian Meteorological Department director K. Nagaratna explained that it was due to a rear phenomenon, which meant that there was cooling in the atmosphere, resulting in rain and fog. She predicted that the maximum and lowest temperatures would fall in the next two to three days. Dry weather along with fog is forecast to prevail throughout the state for the next three days, although temperatures are expected to decrease with orange and yellow alerts. The city will continue to be cloudy and foggy, with misty or hazy mornings and afternoons. The city's temperature will drop due to easterly surface winds. Weather chart > Coldest in state: 14.1C in Sirpur, Kumaram Bheem district > Coldest in city: Patancheru at 18.9C. > 5 C deviation from normal at Bhadrachalam, min temp at 22C. > Min temp of 10-13C in northern districts, 13-16C over south and central districts predicted > Orange alert (7-10C) for Kumaram Bheem, Adilabad, Sangareddy, Nirmal, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Bhadadri Kothagudem, Mulugu, Peddapalli > Orange alert (9-10) in city in LB Nagar, Karwan, Rajendranagar, Falaknuma, Hayathnagar, Chandrayangutta, Santoshnagar, Charminar. On grim winter days, the fishermen of Hartlepool shelter in a Portakabin perched beside Victoria Harbour. Gazing through its rain-lashed window, Paul Widdowfield, a veteran catcher of lobsters and crabs, points to a battered blue boat, removed from the water to be refitted. Shes called the Georgina Marie, he tells me in his lilting Teesside accent. I bought her for 27,000 as an investment for the grandbairns my eldest sons three lads, Michael, whos 12, Charlie, ten, and young Alfie, whos nine. Theyve been coming out fishing with me since they were wee, and they love it. The idea was that theyd be ready to go by themselves by the time they were 16, passing the family tradition down the generations. Entire stretches of beach putridly carpeted with the shells of dead crabs; upturned lobsters whose eggs have melted into a ghastly black morass; razor-clams, starfish, sea slugs, krill I didnt want them sitting at a computer all day. I think thats wrong. Theres no better job than fishing. Once you chuck off those ropes, theres not another thought in your head. Youre watching the sun come up, and seeing all the wildlife. He stops and sighs: That is, when everything is right. Up here, on the rugged coastline of North-Eastern England, however, things are far from right. Stacked against the wall, behind the Georgina Marie are some 250 barnacle-encrusted lobster pots. By next week, when Mr Widdowfield has finished fetching them in, there will be 500 more. Ordinarily, the pots would be lying on the rocky seabed, a few miles offshore, each trapping up to half a dozen darkly glistening lobsters for which fishmongers might pay up to 25 a kilo, and a good many edible crabs, too. Theres no point leaving them out now, because theres nothing out there to catch, he says bleakly. Ill probably end up re-selling the kids boat. Theres no future for them in fishing here any more. His lifelong friend, Stan Rennie, is similarly despairing as he shows me the disturbing photos stored in his phone. A huge swathe of Britains second-biggest fishing ground has been virtually wiped out, and with it an industry supporting more than 6,000 jobs (Pictured: Trawlerman Paul Graves pictured with at Hartlepool Marina) Entire stretches of beach putridly carpeted with the shells of dead crabs; upturned lobsters whose eggs have melted into a ghastly black morass; razor-clams, starfish, sea slugs, krill: all manner of dead creatures that have washed up in their masses, in a 250 sq mile area fanning out from the Tees estuary now known, in these parts, as the die-off zone. Its like the Coast of Doom, says Mr Rennie, 61. All thats left are the vultures of the sea horrible, slimy things like hagfish (ghoulish, eel-like creatures with pin-prick eyes) that feed off the rotting corpses. Messages he receives from fellow fishermen tell the same story. The trail of marine devastation extends more than 30 miles south, through ports such as Redcar and Saltburn, all the way to Whitby. A moratorium, jeopardising a coastal regeneration plan, is a prospect that the Prime Minister must be dreading A huge swathe of Britains second-biggest fishing ground has been virtually wiped out, and with it an industry supporting more than 6,000 jobs. It has been this way since the autumn of 2021, when anglers digging for bait noticed large numbers of dead crabs on the mudflats. Had this catastrophe happened in the South, Mr Rennie contends, it would have caused a national outcry. There would have been marches on Parliament. Yet because it has hit this northern outpost, nobody seems to care. So, what caused this cataclysmic event? It is a crucial question, the implications of which extend beyond fishing in the North-East and threaten a key plank of the Governments levelling-up policy. First, though, some background. In the aftermath of the dramatic die-off, scientists from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) conducted an inquiry. They ruled out several other potential causes, including sewage, animal diseases, seismic activity, wind farms, undersea cabling, temperature fluctuations and severe storms, before announcing that the shellfish were probably poisoned by a naturally occurring algae bloom. Work is under way to turn a stretch of the Tees estuary into a vast freeport one of eight such economic zones to be created around the coast, as announced by Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor This involves a build-up of plankton usually caused by an increase in nutrients in the water, warm temperatures and abundant sunlight which starves sea life of oxygen. Suspecting, from longstanding experience of North Sea conditions, that this was unlikely, some North-Eastern shellfishermen formed a collective and enlisted an environmental consultant, Tim Deere-Jones, to produce an independent report. As he told me this week, when poring over Defras own data, Mr Deere-Jones noticed something highly unusual. Though the Government scientists had tested the tissue of dead crabs for dozens of chemicals that might have been expected to escape into the sea off Teesside, once the heartland of Britains steel and shipbuilding industries, there was one reading that seemed, to him, abnormal. As was discovered from a Freedom of Information request, it came from a colourless compound called pyridine, produced in great quantities, over many decades, in the grimy factories that once flanked the estuary. It was a by-product of steel manufacturing in the area, but three companies made it as a solvent used, among other things, in the production of pesticides. Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that the shellfish were probably poisoned by a naturally occurring algae bloom One of the Teesside crabs had a pyridine reading of 440mg per kilogram of tissue nearly 75 times higher than the 6mg/kg recorded for a crab taken from Penzance, Cornwall, and tested as a control. Defra has since played down the significance of this, saying the level of pyridine in dead crustaceans could rise naturally. And this week they dismissed the Cornwall comparison as misleading. As Defra stresses, the science in this area is fiendishly complex. In essence, however, they say the pyridine test they used assesses its concentration in water and hasnt been validated for tissue samples. They further point out that relatively high pyridine levels were also found in healthy crabs from areas far from the die-off zone, such as the Norfolk Wash (at 195 mg/kg). One of the Teesside crabs had a pyridine reading of 440mg per kilogram of tissue nearly 75 times higher than the 6mg/kg recorded for a crab taken from Penzance, Cornwall, and tested as a control The trail of marine devastation extends more than 30 miles south, through ports such as Redcar and Saltburn, all the way to Whitby Nonetheless, the fishermen are astounded the highest pyridine reading had not been flagged. Particularly as a major dredging operation was carried out in the Tees estuary just before the die-off. The river mouth is routinely dredged on a smaller scale. However, as the fishermen found when doing their detective work, as Stan Rennie calls it, over ten days between September 25 and October 4, 148,000 tons of sludge was shifted and dumped. It had clogged the estuary after a landslip. Could this exercise have churned up a reservoir of pyridine discharged into the sea by the old industrial plants and locked in the sediment for many years, poisoning shellfish for miles around? If so, the possible consequences are immense. For amid this environmental disaster, work is under way to turn a stretch of the Tees estuary into a vast freeport one of eight such economic zones to be created around the coast, as announced by Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor, in the March 2021 Budget. The Teesside Freeport will be served by a new, 1km-long dock whose construction requires the removal of a further 1.5 million tons of material from the seabed Freeports are seen as a levelling up policy tool on the grounds that they promote trade and business by lowering duty, tax and paperwork costs and thereby encourage development, create jobs, and attract international investment. The Teesside Freeport will be served by a new, 1km-long dock whose construction requires the removal of a further 1.5 million tons of material from the seabed ten times more than the amount unearthed on the eve of the great die-off. It will be dumped in two sites, several miles out to sea. This huge dredging operation is due to begin next month, and South Tees Development Corporation is adamant it will take place. So, too, is Ben Houchen, 36, Tees Valleys high-profile Conservative mayor, who has pledged to revive the fortunes of his post-industrial parish by re-inventing it as Singapore-on-Tees. Mayor Houchen and the corporation say this dredging is essential to bring thousands of jobs to the region and insist that it will meet the highest of standards. However, given that a giant question-mark hangs over the cause of the die-off, there must be doubts over it proceeding on schedule. This surely depends on the findings of an independent panel of marine scientists, belatedly assembled last autumn on the instruction of Environment Secretary Therese Coffey to find the definitive explanation. Indeed, it may be no coincidence that, as the Daily Mail has learned, that panel is due to deliver its report shortly before dredging commences, possibly next week. Mayor Houchen and the corporation say this dredging is essential to bring thousands of jobs to the region and insist that it will meet the highest of standards' We cant second-guess the eminent experts (chosen by the Governments Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance). Yet if they do pin the blame on pyridine or perhaps some other chemical dumped into the sea what then for the future of this, and the other seven new freeports? There would doubtless be calls for a moratorium on them all, jeopardising a coastal regeneration plan that promises to revitalise huge brownfield sites, generating billions for the economy and tens of thousands of new jobs. It is a prospect that the Prime Minister must be dreading. He will hardly have welcomed a highly critical comment article on the Teesside catastrophe published this week in The Times. The short-term goals of politicians are driving the careless poisoning of the only sea we have, it declared. Sunak, Coffey, Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen: this is on you. Are we to be the deliberate vandals of our age? Simon Clarke, Tory MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, who briefly served as levelling up secretary in the Truss administration, hit back. Supporting Defras algal bloom theory, he claimed the die-off had now finished, an assertion that caused anger and incredulity among the men I met in Hartlepool. Mr Clarke also accused Labour and Green Party activists of stirring up claims that dredging was the cause to undermine the Tories achievements in revitalising a former red-wall stronghold. Since he expressed sympathy for the local fishing industry, his attack was presumably aimed at the assortment of campaigners and academics who have rallied to their cause. They are being helped by former police officer Sally Bunce, a seal rescue volunteer who believes seal-pups are starving to death along the North-East coast because the crustaceans they eat have disappeared. Partly funded by a fishmongers charity, experts from four North-Eastern universities, Newcastle, York, Hull, and Durham, are also conducting extensive studies for the shellfish-fishermen. Former police officer Sally Bunce, a seal rescue volunteer who believes seal-pups are starving to death along the North-East coast because the crustaceans they eat have disappeared Prominent among them is Dr Gary Caldwell, a marine biologist at Newcastle University. He is supplying data to the Governments independent panel and gave evidence to a Commons select committee hearing on the die-off. This week, Dr Caldwell admitted to being a member of the Green Party. Yet, like Sally Bunce, he is irked by the suggestion that his work is politically motivated. You couldnt find a less active activist than me, he told me, with a hollow laugh. He said he would welcome the Teesside freeport if measures were taken to dredge the quay safely. Since he began investigating the die-off last year, Dr Caldwell has made a series of ground-breaking findings that may prove significant to the investigation. As he could find no studies on the effects of pyridine on large crustaceans, he caught some crabs off the island of Lindisfarne and conducted the experiments himself, placing the crabs in tanks of seawater infused with tiny drops of the chemical. Because pyridine isnt highly toxic in other fish, he didnt expect much of a reaction, yet what he saw astounded him. I found that it was incredibly toxic in crabs. They were doing what I can only describe as somersaults and throwing themselves around the tank. In 25 years, Ive never seen anything like it. Within about 20 minutes they were on their backs and began to die. The behaviour he describes mirrors that seen by the fishermen, when they open their pots. With his colleagues, he has since produced a computer model showing how the pyridine if, indeed, it was dredged up could have been spread to deadly effect by prevailing North Sea currents. While algal blooms have caused mass mortality events around the world, he says they usually last no more than a fortnight. He accepts that a bloom occurred 18 months ago on Teesside but describes it as unexceptional: part of the natural heartbeat of these seas. With the 1.5 million ton dredge imminent, however, Dr Caldwell has a fresh concern. The area around South Bank Quay could be the most toxic part of the estuary, he says, yet despite repeated requests he has been denied permission to test it for possible hotspots. There will be pyridine there, but there are other things which are of even more concern heavy metals, PCBs and other hydrocarbons that wont break down quickly. They could get into the food-chain and potentially you could get human health being impacted. A chilling scenario. Of course, science could prove Dr Caldwell wrong. Back in the Portakabin, however, the notion that algae killed their livelihoods, and that the pyridine theory was concocted by lobster-huggers and Lefties has the fishermen spluttering into their tea. Ive never voted Labour in my life! says Stan Rennie. And I voted for Brexit, like most people in this town. Someone chimes in that hed have Boris Johnson back tomorrow, a comment that draws a chorus of ayes. Claims that their 18-month nightmare is nearing its end bring more derision. If anything, they say, the zone of death is bigger. It now extends up to ten miles from the shoreline, depleting softer patches of the seabed once teeming with succulent prawns that would grow to a length of eight or nine inches. On one day in June 2021, prawn fisherman Paul Graves came back with a net-bulging haul that fetched 2,600. On the same day last year, his takings were 92. In recent months, a dozen shellfish boat owners, half the ports fleet, have sold up and left the industry. The gnarled seadogs who plied me with tea this week are gamely clinging on. Given that lobsters take seven years to grow big enough to land, they accept that their time is over. Even if the die-offs stop now, they will be near their seventies by the time numbers fully recover. However, as Paul Widdowfield said, their campaign for the truth is not motivated by self-interest, and certainly not by politics. It is about making this stretch of the North Sea clean enough for their grandbairns to fish. Carrying on the tradition. Before that can even begin to happen, we must be told, unequivocally, what poisoned the waters along the Coast of Doom. Additional reporting by Tim Stewart A London council is rebelling against Sadiq Khan's 'unfair' plans to extend a clean-air car charge zone by refusing to let traffic cameras be installed. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to be expanded across the whole of Greater London next year, forcing around 200,000 more vehicles a day to pay 12.50 to drive in the capital. But the borough of Sutton in south London has vowed to fight the mayor's expansion by refusing Transport for London (TfL) access to install enforcement cameras. Sutton council is rebelling against Sadiq Khan's plans to extend a clean-air car charge zone The council said: 'We are taking this step to send a strong signal to the mayor that he must start listening to local people. Though the mayor... may attempt to force this unpopular decision on the residents of Sutton, we are clear that would be the wrong thing to do. 'Sutton does not have the public transport links other boroughs rely on, like Tube and overground services. Instead, people here need cars to get around.' The Lib Dem-controlled council said it wanted to see action on air pollution but vowed it would not sign an agreement or cooperate with TfL. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to be expanded across the whole of Greater London next year, forcing around 200,000 more vehicles a day to pay 12.50 to drive in the capital TfL's Alex Williams said: 'Expanding the ULEZ is vital for public health in this city. 'We know that there are more deaths that are attributed to toxic air in the city's outer boroughs and that bringing in these world leading standards over a larger area will see millions more breathing cleaner air. 'Our experience of these schemes shows that they work, with significant reductions in pollution since the first zone was introduced in 2019.' Up to 20 sealed search warrants relating to the search for missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe were executed on Thursday. A day later, evidence recovered through the warrants was ordered not to be made public by Quincy District Court, according to NewsNation's Evan Lambert. More than 10 warrants returned evidence Friday, reports WCVB. Ana Walshe, 39, a mother of three, was reported missing on January 4 by her employer in Washington, where the couple has a home and to which she often commutes during the week for work at a real estate company, authorities said. Brian, 47, is charged with misleading a police investigation as cops investigate the possibility he killed his wife In 2014, Ana called the police to allege that her then-fiance Brian Walshe was threatening to kill her Her husband, Brian Walshe, 47, is charged with misleading a police investigation. And it has since been revealed that he Googled 'How to dispose of a 115lb woman's body' just days before her disappearance. While in 2014, Ana called the police to allege that her then-fiance was threatening to kill her. Police reports obtained by DailyMail.com show that Ana, a Serbian native, called the Washington DC Metropolitan Police on Brian Walshe in 2014, saying he 'made a statement on the telephone that he was going to kill her and her friends.' Authorities in DC say that the case has since been closed. The call came just one year before the couple said 'I do' in Serbia and years before she was last seen on New Years Day 2023. Ana and Brian married in Serbia in 2015, just one year after she made the police complaint The Cohasset home that Ana shared with her husband and their three children Ana had alleged that on August 2, 2014 before the couple married Walshe made a threat over the phone that he was going to kill her and her friends. The report to Washington DCs Metro Police does not specifically name Walshe. It identifies the person who made the chilling move as S-1 and adds that he now lives in Boston in a clear reference to him. Ana made the report to Timothy Jefferson in her previous name of Knipp at 6pm. She gave her address as 435 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001 but then refused to cooperate in the prosecution. The realtor, who works for a DC real estate firm during the week, resided there before her marriage to Brian and living in Cohasset, Massachusetts. She was last seen at that house in the early hours of January 1, when she supposedly took a car to Boston's Logan Airport to fly to DC. Ana left behind an ominous note on a champagne box before she disappeared Ride-share services show no pickups at the family home, according to WCVB, and Ana's cellphone continued pinging from there for two days after she allegedly left the house. She wasn't reported missing, however, until January 4, when she failed to show up for work. Brian has since been arrested for allegedly misleading the cops about his wife's disappearance after cops discovered traces of blood, a hatchet, a hacksaw, a rug and used cleaning supplies while searching dumpsters near Brian's mother's home. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held on a $500,000 bond. Meanwhile, the couple's three sons are now in Massachusetts state custody. Before her disappearance, Ana left behind an eerie message in red marker on a champagne bottle box to her husband. The message, first transcribed by the New York Post, reads: 'Wow! 2022What a year! And yet, we are still here and together! Let's make 2023 the best one yet! We are the authors of our livescourage, love, perseverance, compassion, and joy. Love, Ana.' On another side there are the words: 'To the Best' The final word of that sentence is undiscernible. At the bottom he wrote '12.31.22' and 'Love Brian.' TIMELINE LEADING TO DISAPPEARANCE November 2016: Brian Walshe is arrested in connection with an $80,000 art fraud of Andy Warhol paintings. He is ordered by a court to remain under house arrest until sentencing. Walshe has yet to be sentenced for the fraud. January 1. 2023 Ana reportedly books a rideshare car to take her to Logan International Airport at 4am, but it is unclear if she ever gets into a vehicle or takes a flight. Her husband claims he went to Whole Foods and CVS, but there is no surveillance or receipts to prove he went. January 2: Walshe tells authorities that he only left the family home in Cohasset to take his son for ice cream. He is caught on surveillance footage buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies in Home Depot. Ana's phone pings in the area of the house on Jan 1 and 2. January 4: Ana's employer reports her missing. January 5: Police say Walshe is cooperating with the investigation into his missing wife. January 8: Walshe is seen leaving the property on Sunday in a red Volkswagen. His three children are taken away in a separate vehicle. Officers execute a search warrant at their home and found blood in the basement, along with a broken knife. The officers load a Volvo SUV onto the back of a truck while others search the grounds of their home. Police arrest Walshe on suspicion of 'misleading' authorities but do not charge him with anything else. January 9: Walshe grins at reporters as he is transported to his arraignment at Quincy District Court. He is held on $500,000 cash bail. Advertisement On Thursday, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Brian wrote a prepared statement and a 'to-do' list scribbled on lined paper before Ana went missing, The folded note, written in blue ink, is titled 'Response to friends', and seems to be his own scripted message to relay to concerned loved ones amid the growing speculating over his wife's disappearance. Brian writes: 'I appreciate your concern. Right now my focus is finding Ana and spending time with' The remainder of the statement goes below the fold and can't be made out from the photo, but the tone suggests he could be referring to their three young children. Right beneath it, a second note containing a list of numbered tasks is partially visible, starting with '1. Ta', believed to the word talk or tax. It goes on to list, '2. Cal...' and '3. Call .......tomorrow....' DailyMail.com also revealed an exclusive image of two US passports on the same table neatly arranged near the note, which was placed on a book titled, 'The Obstacle.' Newly-released security footage taken from behind a liquor store showed Brian near a dumpster just hours after his wife went missing. He can be seen close to the garbage of a liquor store just a five-minute walk from his mothers apartment in Swampscott where police impounded several dumpsters. The garbage bin is located on Paradise Road, with a camera near a Whole Foods Market with Walshe telling authorities that he stopped at the store while running errands for his mother. Authorities are now scouring through the garbage for any evidence, NBC Boston reports. It has also emerged that on January 2, Brian was spotted on security video at a juice bar in Norwell, Massachusetts, where he placed an order for his three kid's smoothies and two large smoothies. He was also spotted on surveillance footage that showed him at at a Home Depot in Rockland, authorities learned. Cops had previously found traces of blood, a hatchet, a hacksaw, a rug and used cleaning supplies while searching dumpsters near Brian Walshe's mother's home. Massachusetts State Police and local police took Brian Walshe into custody, believing they had 'probable cause' to think he had misled investigators in the search for his wife. He did not tell police he had been to the Home Depot store, where he bought $450 worth of mops, buckets, tarps, tape and cleaning supplies on January 2, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Lynn Beland said at a hearing in Quincy District Court. Instead, Brian told police that he had been to a supermarket and a pharmacy - though there is no evidence he had been to either store, she said. He misled investigators so he could either clean up or dispose of evidence, she added. Missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walsh, left, once called the cops on her now husband, Brian, claiming he threatened to kill her and her friends Ana's mother, Milanka Ljubicic, refuses to believe that her son-in-law could have killed her daughter He has been accused by prosecutors of not giving a full account of his activities in the days after his wife vanished while the search for her was underway. Fortunately for authorities, Brian was already under home confinement while awaiting sentencing in a fraud case involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings, according to federal court records. Cohasset police said Ana's disappearance and her husband's case seem to be two very separate things. The couple own several properties together including their home in Cohasset and a $1.3 million house in DC. They also owned another property in Massachusetts, worth $1.4million which they sold last year before she went missing. That was the building that went up in flames days after she vanished, but cops investigating the matter believe the fire is not linked to her disappearance. This week, a friend of Walshe's father claimed he was a 'long-term patient' at a psychiatric center and had been diagnosed as a 'sociopath.' Walshe had received treatment at Austen Riggs Psychiatric Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, before being discharged a few years ago, Jeffrey Ornstein alleged. Ornstein, who was a friend of Walshe's neurologist father, Dr Thomas Walshe, for 35 years, aired the claims in an explosive 2019 affidavit. He also claimed Walshe had been estranged from the rest of his family after he had been accused of stealing millions of dollars from Dr Walshe's estate following his death. Walshe's cousin, and two close friends of his father, made the claims against him in the scathing 2019 court documents following the death of Dr Walshe in 2018. Ornstein said he had known Brian Walshe since he was 13, but said father and son had been estranged since 2009. He claimed that, when Walshe was released from Austen Riggs after around 12 years and attempted to contact his father, Dr Walshe turned him down. Still, Ana's mother, Milanka Ljubicic, says she does not believe that her son-in-law would have killed her daughter. She told DailyMail.com how Brian once dropped everything when she suffered from a stroke last year and rushed her to the hospital , where she had to stay for a month. 'I had a very bad pain in my head and I started bleeding from my mouth and nose,' Ljubicic, 69, said, speaking in her native Serbian at her home in the nation's capital, Belgrade. 'I was crying for help. He heard me. He called my daughter and drove me to the hospital.' 'I can say he saved my life then and that is why I can't believe he is responsible I just can't believe it.' Ljubicic added that her daughter visited her in Belgrade in November and December last year and she never said a bad word about her husband. But she knew there was some strain on their marriage because Ana had to spend so much time in Washington, where she worked, while Brian was under house arrest in Massachusetts. Ljubicic said Walshe would not let his wife take their three sons with her to the nation's capital, which increased Ana's sense of loneliness and isolation. At one point, she claimed, Ana didn't see her children for almost an entire year because she was away so much. 'She was upset because she was traveling but she didn't blame him.' She had earlier said that Ana had begged her to fly to the United States to visit her just a week before she vanished, which made her think there were some problems in her daughter's life. She told Fox News Digital: 'She just said, ''Please, mama. Come tomorrow''. Clearly, there must have been some problems. 'Now I can't forgive myself for not just letting things fall where they may, and just go, and whatever happens to me, happens.' Two life-size bronze statues are to be created of Dirt, a semi-feral cat who shot to fame after he was photographed on the Nevada Northern Railway. The Nevada Northern Railway Museum announced that its beloved shop cat had passed away at the age of 15 on Tuesday of this week. Dirt was discovered as a kitten in the railroad's locomotive shop in 2008 and was taken in by the shop crews who provided him with food and eventually took him to a vet for a checkup. He quickly made the cabs of the railroad's steam locomotives his home, earning him his nickname 'Dirtbag' which was later shortened to simply 'Dirt'. Dirt, a semi-feral cat who became an internet sensation has passed away at 15 The orange and white cat resided at the Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nevada Dirt, a railway cat, was an unofficial employee of Nevada Northern Railway A photo of him posted on social media went viral and brought international attention to the museum, with Dirt becoming as much of an attraction as the museum's steam locomotives. Despite his fame, Dirt remained a semi-feral cat and was known to avoid baths. The two bronze statues that will be created in his honor will see one serving as his gravestone and the other placed in the machine shop so he can continue to watch over the premises. The history of the railway was literally engrained in fur of the kitty as he loved nothing more than rolling in the coal dust left on the engine house floor, giving him his distinctive sooty style. The 15-year-old cat became a permanent resident of the area, as he enjoyed rolling around in the coal dust left on the engine floor The organization Dirt lived with features some of the United States' oldest steam engines Dirt's legacy will be honored with two bronze statues at the museum His internet fame brought many visitors to the small town of Ely and even inspired other railway museums to adopt their own shop cats Dirt is seen alongside one of his food bowls at the museum shop where he lived Part-pet, part-employee, and part brand-ambassador, Dirt would often spend his days wandering or sleeping in the large shop complex, but employees say he would always come out to see visitors during the daily 2:30pm shop tour. When the tour was over and the guests got their fill of the famous cat, he'd go back to his hiding spot. Although Dirt was unusually friendly, the one thing he didn't like was being cleaned. Railroad officials said that Dirt was buried near the East Ely depot. His gravesite sits opposite where the locomotives sat prior to departure, giving him a view of the yard. 'Dirt has fans that love him from all over the world. But we few at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum are the lucky ones. We got to love him in person,' the railroad's employees wrote. 'Dirt was one-of-kind.' Dirt made himself at home as seen in this particular snap of him nestled in the machinery The dusty engine floor inspired his name Dirt because he has a distinctive sooty look Dirt made his own home among the employees at the station 15 years ago Dirt was reportedly born at the railway station and then abandoned so he made his own home among the employees at the station Dirt, who had lived in the locomotive repair shop of the Nevada Northern Railway for 15 years, was front and center of the museum tours and had fans from all around the world 'We had a family fly over from China to LA, to Las Vegas, rent a car and drive to Ely to see Dirt,' Nevada Northern Railway President Mark Bassett said to the Las Vegas Review Journal. 'And it's like, he's a cat! He's not on display.' Ely, a town of 4,000 is a four-hour drive from Las Vegas. 'He became famous, and he knew he was famous,' he said. Guests would meet Dirt after riding the train at the museum and touring the machine shop. As soon as Dirt would hear the words 'This is the machine shop,' he would appear. 'Here came Dirt. And when Dirt came, the tour stopped because everyone had to get their picture with Dirt,' Bassett said. 'Yes, we took him to the vet, but we didn't own him,' Con Trumbull, a trainmaster at the railway said to the Review Journal. 'He stuck around on his own terms and left at any time. The doors are always open, and you can just walk away and never come back. So everybody just thinks he's a pet. He wasn't, and 15 years for a semi-feral shop chat that's pretty darn good.' When it came to souvenirs of the railway, those featuring Dirt sold best. 'One of our fellow museums back east put in their posts that Dirt was the inspiration for them to adopt a cat and make him their shop mascot,' Trumbull said. 'Dirt started a trend, not just here, but nationwide where museums found a brand new tool to bring people to their historic programs, which is a pretty great legacy for him to have.' Dirt is seen sitting on the laps of workers in the museum shop at the railroad Dirt is pictured rolling around on the floor of the train shop in Ely, Nevada Due to social media, Dirt has acquired a fan base around the world who enjoy seeing pictures of the cat around the area 'He was an ambassador not just for the railroad but for rural Nevada, bringing people to rural Nevada and exploring their public lands and getting back into small town America,' Trumbull said. 'Dirt was born in our engine house 15 years ago, his mom was a stray cat that got into the building, had some kittens, and once they were done nursing, mom and the other kittens left and ran off,' explained Eric Mencis, Dirt's spokesperson and head of guest services at Nevada Northern Railway. 'Dirt was left behind all alone hiding under our 1907 rotary snowplough, a giant steam powered snow blower for trains. 'He was too timid to come out so the crews left a can of tuna out every night for him by morning it was always gone.' 'Dirt soon got used to us and got his name because he was always rolling in the muck in the back of our engine house, that area of the building has a floor made of regular dirt and also cinders from our locomotives over the years it seemed like the natural choice and it sure suited him. 'Growing up in the 100-year-old rail yard, Dirt gained a personality,' Mencis said. People have been known to make a 400-mile round trips just to catch sight of Dirt, staff say Dirt was famous for not taking a bath. Still, it's believed his sooty coat helped keep him clean Despite being semi-feral, Dirt would allow himself to be photographed with shop workers 'You can look into his eyes and see that he is an old railroad man who has many stories to tell. 'He walked around like he owns the place I suppose he does in a way and is fiercely proud of his crew and his trains. 'It's often noted that he walks around like he is inspecting the trains and making sure not a bolt is lost or a bearing incorrectly oiled. Many see him as an old soul from a railroader born into a cat. 'He is like the John Wayne of cats he is tough, a little chubby, has his distinct walk and an imposing air. 'But when it comes to people he was as friendly and as loving as a cat can be.' The railway has a second rescue orange tabby known as Dirt Jr. or DJ who will now be around to greet visitors. A star city fund manager and his wife have won a landmark legal battle that has spelt the end to 'wild camping' in England and Wales. The pastime undertaken without the landowner's permission is illegal outside Dartmoor where campers have camped on unfenced land for 100 years. But Alexander Darwall and his wife Diana brought a High Court case claiming that 'recreation' does not include the right to pitch as they aimed to deter people from their 3,500-acre estate near Ivybridge, Devon. Alexander Darwall and his wife Diana brought a High Court case against wild camping on their 3,500-acre estate near Ivybridge, Devon Dartmoor National Park, designated in 1951, covers a 368-square mile area in Devon In a ruling, judge Sir Julian Flaux agreed, adding: 'Any such camping requires the consent of the landowner.' The Campaign for National Parks tweeted: 'We should be extending access to nature, not taking away.' Adidas has lost a court battle with a fashion designer who it was trying to stop from using a four-stripe design. The sportswear giant wanted more than 6.4million in damages from Thom Browne, arguing his designs were too similar to its signature three stripes. But yesterday a jury in New York sided with Mr Browne, ruling there was no infringement of Adidass iconic trademark. The jury found there was a low probability of customers being confused between Adidas products and Mr Brownes high-end activewear which features four parallel stripes. The sportswear giant wanted more than 6.4million in damages from Thom Browne (pictured), arguing his designs were too similar to its signature three stripes The designer argued the number of stripes were different and that stripes are common on clothing. The German brand sued Mr Browne in June 2021, saying his Four-Bar Signature, along with other products featuring parallel stripes on activewear, infringed its own well-known trademark. Adidas said: We are disappointed with the verdict and will continue to vigilantly enforce our intellectual property, including filing any appropriate appeals. Newly-elected New York congressman George Santos introduced himself to people as Anthony Devolder, it has emerged, with video from 2019 showing him using his alternative identity. Santos, 34, is proving an early headache for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as a stream of revelations flow forth about the lies he told on the campaign trail and the inventions on his resume. In 2019, at a Walk Away LGBT event, Santos stands up during the question and answer session and says: 'My name is Anthony Devolder, and I am a New York City resident. I have recently founded a group called United for Trump.' He then asks the panel how trans people can escape the 'media narrative' of conservatives not supporting LGBTQ rights. At a subsequent event, during his unsuccessful 2020 campaign to unseat Democrat incumbent Tom Suozzi, the host at the Queens Village Republicans Club expressed surprise that he was referred to as George Santos. 'Folks, another important speaker, another congressional nominee,' the host said. 'George Santos. George, who we know is a friend - he's known as Anthony Devolder to me. So I don't know where George Santos came into the thing, but that's what it says here.' Later on, the host calls him 'George, Anthony, whoever you are.' Santos, whose parents immigrated from Brazil, explains to the audience: 'I'm a victim of circumstance. My parents were Latino. So it's George Anthony Devolder Santos. Commonly known as Anthony.' George Santos is seen in 2019 at a LGBTQ event introducing himself as 'Anthony Devolder' In 2019, George Santos introduced himself as Anthony Devolder, the founder of United for Trump, during a Q & A session at a Walk Away LGBT event in NYC. Santos said trans people could benefit from a trans conservative activist educating them. pic.twitter.com/b2RkA3YPnI PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) January 13, 2023 Freshman GOP Rep. George Santos of New York continues to face growing calls to resign after admitting to fabricating much of his professional and personal background. He is seen on Wednesday inside the Capitol Santos' alter-ego was exposed as the New York Times revealed how many of his lies had been exposed pre-election. But GOP members and their Democrat rivals were unwilling or unable to stop the then-aspiring lawmaker from campaigning, with many believing he'd fail to beat his Democrat incumbent rival - only to be proven wrong. Santos claimed to have graduated from Baruch College and New York University - which was not true. He said he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but both companies denied having any record of his employment there. Santos had been evicted multiple times, had a suspended driving license, and was married to a woman despite being openly gay and living with a man. The host of the Queens Republican Village event in 2020 said he had no idea why Santos was not using his usual name of Anthony Devolder Santos, whose parents were born in Brazil, said that his full name was George Anthony Devolder Santos, and he usually went by Anthony Santos is facing increasing pressure to resign, but McCarthy, who endorsed Santos and assisted his campaign, is standing by him. McCarthy told reporters on Thursday that Santos has 'a long way to go to earn trust' and that concerns could be investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Dan Conston heads the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House Republican super PAC. He told associates he was worried Santos's lies would be exposed But he emphasized that Santos is a part of the House GOP conference, and said he was not seeking to remove him. 'The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference,' he said at a news conference on Capitol Hill. Yet on Friday, The New York Times reported that one of McCarthy's top aides had even expressed concern before the election. Dan Conston, who leads the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House Republican super PAC, told lawmakers, donors and other associates that he was worried information would come out exposing Santos as a fraud, two sources told the paper. It is unclear whether McCarthy himself was informed. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he would not demand George Santos' resignation, claiming that 'voters' have a say in who represents them Kristin Bianco, a Republican donor, said that Santos told her Donald Trump endorsed him - which he had not. 'We're just so tired of being duped,' Bianco texted Mr. Santos in early 2022, after he refused her request to produce his resume. Santos replied, according to the Times, that he found the request 'a bit invasive as it's something very personal.' In December 2021, a research firm which was commissioned by Republicans to conduct a 'vulnerability report' - identifying areas which the Democrats might use to attack him - found a long list of inconsistencies. The report found some worrying issues - involvement with a company, Harbor City, accused of a Ponzi scheme; eviction records; business records; and a suspended Florida driving license, which led to questions about whether he was a legal New York resident and as rich as he claimed to be. It did not discover the false academic record, suspicious marriage or claims to have worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Yet the report was so troubling almost his entire team quit, The New York Times reported. A new team was hired, and new strategists took over. They vowed to campaign on Santos's policies, rather than his track record. Calls for Santos to step down are mounting. On Thursday, two New York Republicans Representatives Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler told CNN that Santos was unfit for the job. Rep. George Santos of New York in the House chamber with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia 'There's no way I believe he can fully fulfill his responsibilities,' Molinaro said. Lawler said, 'I think it's clear, like I said, he has lost the confidence of people in his own community, so I think he needs to seriously consider whether or not he can actually do his job effectively and right now it's pretty clear he can't.' Lawler later said in a statement, 'I believe he is unable to fulfill his duties and should resign.' Santos is refusing to address the questions, and on Thursday only said: 'I was elected by the people.' Leaders of the Nassau County Republican Party on Wednesday called for Santos to resign. 'Today, on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Committee, I'm calling for his immediate resignation,' chairman Joseph G. Cairo said at a news conference on Long Island, adding that the congressman's campaign was made up 'of deceit, lies and fabrication.' Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, has also been outspoken in demanding Santos' resignation. 'America is a very compassionate and forgiving country, and there is a road back for George Santos. It starts with his resignation,' said Blakeman. 'It starts with him trying to rebuild his life not on lies but on substance. 'But so long as he sits in Congress and stains that institution, I don't see him being able to rehabilitate himself, and I don't think he's going to get a second chance.' A ransomware gang close to Russia is thought to be behind the cyber attack It is understood that the postal service is unable to export any international post The cyber attack has caused havoc at the Worldwide Distribution Centre More than 100 Royal Mail workers are still scrambling to find a solution to the cyber attack that has wreaked havoc on the Worldwide Distribution Centre since Wednesday. A team of engineers were trying to find a 'work around' after two days of chaos, The Times quoted a Royal Mail source as saying. The hacking incident has effectively paralysed Royal Mail's huge Worldwide Distribution Centre near Heathrow with the postal service unable to export any letters or packages. It was revealed yesterday that a hacking gang close to Russia called Lockbit had claimed responsibility for the attack. The hacking incident has effectively paralysed Royal Mail's huge Worldwide Distribution Centre near Heathrow, pictured December 18, 2018 The gang specialises in using ransomware, a type of cyber attack that threatens to block access to or publish sensitive data unless the victim pays a ransom. The gang's signature software, known as Lockbit Black, scrambled computer systems on Royal Mail machines that are used to print customs documents needed to send parcels overseas. This has left outgoing post stuck in postal distribution centres. It is understood that six Royal Mail depot sites use the affected system, including the Worldwide Distribution Centre near Heathrow. The Times reported that a source at the Royal Mail had told them that engineers were in the process of creating a system to resume its international postal service. 'All our efforts are looking into some kind of work around. We have more than 100 people working on it and they will be working through the weekend,' the source said. When the initial attack happened on Wednesday, printers reportedly began spurting out ransom demands at the Royal Mail's Northern Ireland sorting base in Mallusk, Country Antrim. Sheets of printed paper read the groups demands and warned that data had been stolen and encrypted. It is understood that six Royal Mail depot sites use the affected system, including the Worldwide Distribution Centre near Heathrow, pictured December 18, 2018 Staff were then invited to get in contact with the gang to decrypt one file 'for free' intended to prove their claim to be behind the hack. It is not known if Royal Mail has communicated with the hackers. Lockbit emerged in 2019 and has become one of the most prolific ransomware gangs. Lockbit's members are estimated to have extorted 82million from other victims, which has included children's hospitals and businesses like car dealership Pendragon. Royal Mail is yet to say when the cyber attack could be rectified, but it is thought that the recovery effort could take up to a week. External experts have been brought in to help fix the problem as well as the Government's National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency. Royal Mail has been approached for comment. Police charged four men over the alleged chase and shooting from December Police allege someone inside the Toyota was firing gunshots at the Volkswagen An allegedly stolen car hit another car while chasing a silver Volkswagen in what police believe was a gang shooting. Victoria Police said the allegedly stolen Toyota RAV4 chased the Volkswagen Passat through Moonee Ponds, Essendon and Coburg in Melbourne on December 24. The footage showing the moment the RAV4 hit another car at an intersection was captured at 7.20am on Bell Street, near Coburg. Police allege the car was travelling at high speed and ran a red light before it hit the front of a car that was mid-turn. An allegedly stolen white Toyota RAV4 collided with another car (above) after police allege its occupants were chasing a silver Volkswagen Video shows the RAV4 clipping the side of a second car just seconds later. A man was taken to hospital with minor injuries following the collision. During the apparent chase, a person inside the vehicle allegedly fired gunshots at the Volkswagen with Gang Crime Squad detectives investigating the incident. 'It appears an occupant of the Toyota fired several shots in the direction of the Volkswagen,' a spokesperson told ABC. It is understood the Toyota was stolen from Thornbury more than a month before the chase between November 19 and 20. The Volkswagen was found on New Year's Eve, December 31, with a shattered back windscreen which police believe was caused by a bullet. Police have charged four men in connection with the alleged car chase that damaged two vehicles (pictured, the aftermath of the crash) Three men were charged earlier this month over the alleged chase with a fourth man, a 32-year-old from Cranbourne, arrested on Friday. Another man was charged for multiple firearm offences and is set to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 13. Echo Taskforce and Maribyrnong Criminal Investigation Unit officers are also involved in the investigation and released the footage in hopes of finding more witnesses. Anyone with relevant information or footage of the chase is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. A massive heatwave is sweeping across Australia while a monsoon trough is bringing the 'heaviest rain in years' and potential flash flooding to Queensland. The eastern parts of Western Australia, northern South Australia, western NSW and northwest Victoria will swelter through days above 40C this weekend. Temperatures are expected to reach 35C in Melbourne, 38C in Adelaide, while Brisbane and Sydney will reach just shy of 30C. The heatwave comes as heavy rainfall pummels parts of Queensland with 300mm expected to fall along a 630km stretch of coast between Cardwell and Carmila. Clean-up efforts are continuing months later in Victoria after heavy rain led to record flooding in the rural town of Rochester in October. A massive heatwave is sweeping across Australia while a monsoon trough is bringing the 'heaviest rain in years' and potential flash flooding to Queensland The eastern parts of Western Australia, northern South Australia, western NSW and northwest Victoria will swelter through days above 40C this weekend Meteorologists warned on Friday the heat from the desert Pilbara region of Western Australia is funnelling hot air southeast into South Australia and Victoria bringing sweltering temperatures to the states. The state capitals, however, will be spared from the country's most extreme heat. Southern NSW and Victoria is likely to see some showers on Sunday but remain hot. Despite heavy showers across much of Queensland, Brisbane may not see even a drop of rain and is expected to be spared from the wet weather but still be cooler than southern states with highs of 29C in the city. Sydney will be spared from NSW's heatwave with the weekend forecast to be sunny with highs of 29C and lows around 20C. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned Queensland residents to remain vigilant and prepare for the worst. 'Locally intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is also possible over small portions of the warning area during this period,' the bureau said. Flood watch notifications have been issued for Charters Towers, Bowen, Townsville, Palm Island, Ingham, Innisfail, Ayr, Cardwell, Giru, Abergowrie, Clare and Lucinda. A vast swathe of inland central and northern Queensland could also see moderate to major flooding with 17 catchments placed on flood watch. The dynamic monsoon trough has made it difficult for forecasters to get a handle on exactly which towns and settlements could be at risk of deluge. 'At this stage, there is some uncertainty over the location of the heaviest rainfall and therefore which catchments are most at risk of flooding,' the bureau said on Friday. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services warned residents to keep up to date with warnings and alerts and not to attempt to drive through floodwaters. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese echoed the caution on Saturday morning. The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts 300mm will fall along a 630km stretch of coast between Cardwell and Carmila in the sunshine state on Saturday and Sunday This weekend temperatures will reach 35C in Melbourne, 38C in Adelaide, while Brisbane and Sydney will reach just shy of 30C 'Follow the advice of the authorities,' he said to reporters. 'Don't risk driving through floodwaters if they're present. Make sure that you stay safe because that's the most important thing.' Police told motorists not to ignore the advice as the 'extraordinary weather' set in over the next several days. 'Trying to navigate these hazards, either in vehicles or on foot, can be treacherous, as water levels rise and fall quickly and very often with little or no warning,' police said in a statement. A police 4WD with an officer inside was swept off the Pump Creek causeway, near Almaden in far north Queensland, on Friday afternoon. The officer managed to get out of the vehicle as it was swept into Pump Creek and swam a short distance to the creek bank. He was not injured. The bureau also said a tropical low could develop near the northeast coast over the weekend or early next week. Meteorologists warned on Friday the heat from the desert Pilbara region of Western Australia is funnelling hot air southeast into South Australia and Victoria bringing sweltering temperatures to the states Around 1,000 homes and local businesses in Rochester - with a population of about 3,100 and some 180km north of Melbourne - were inundated when water surged over the banks of the Campaspe River in October before peaking at 115.7 metres above the mean sea level. An undersupply of tradespeople and materials mean Lorraine and hundreds of others have no idea when they will be able to move back into their homes. 'Without exaggeration, there will probably be somewhere between 150 and 200 caravans in people's driveways,' Mr Wilson said. On Saturday, Mr Wilson and his wife counted 250 caravans parked in driveways across Rochester. Mental health services, builders, tradespeople and labourers were already in short supply before the floods. 'Now we need them more than ever,' Mr Wilson said. 'If people want a little bit of a working holiday, and they've got proper trade skills, there is so much work on the go.' Nepal ready to work with China for regional peace, stability: president Xinhua) 10:05, January 14, 2023 KATHMANDU, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday voiced readiness to work with China to maintain regional peace and stability, promote prosperity and development in the region, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Bhandari, while receiving here the credentials presented by new Chinese Ambassador Chen Song, spoke of the close and cordial ties between Nepal and China as traditional and friendly neighbors, saying fruitful results have been achieved in practical cooperation in all fields. The Nepali side appreciates the support and help offered by the Chinese government and people, including supporting Nepal in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, the president said, stressing that Nepal has always firmly upheld the one-China policy and will never allow any forces to use Nepal's territory to oppose China. Nepal is ready to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, enhance political trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to create a better future for the people of the two countries and advance bilateral ties to be as towering and majestic as the Himalayas, Bhandari said. For his part, Chen noted that the two countries have advanced and deepened good-neighborly and friendly relations based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The China-Nepal relationship was lifted to a strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity in 2019, thus opening up new prospects for the friendly ties, Chen said. China is ready to work with Nepal to enhance high-level exchanges, consolidate strategic mutual trust and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for the development and prosperity of the two countries, Chen said. Chen arrived in Nepal for his new office on Sunday. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Bhogi bonfires marked the Sankranti festivities in all the 26 districts of AP. (DC Photo/Representational) VIJAYAWADA: The three-day Sankranti celebrations kicked off with Bhogi bonfires in various parts of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. Bhogi prayers and cockfights followed even as people indulged in festivities with gusto after a two-year gap because of Corona crisis. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his spouse Bharati started the festival by joining Sankranti rituals at their house. Leader of opposition Nara Chandrababu Naidu participated in the celebrations at his native Naravaripalle village in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district. Actor Balakrishna, along with his family, joined the festivities at Naravaripalle. Wishing his fans, he hoped a good leadership will lead to better development of the state. Mohan Babu University in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district also organised Bhogi celebrations grandly with popular film actor Manchu Mohan Babu attending the ceremony along with his family members. Cine actor Manchu Vishnu said Bhogi is celebrated to leave past bitter memories and move forward with new ideas. Water resources minister Ambati Rambabu became the star attraction of Sankranti at Sattenapalli right from 5 a.m. on the day. He energetically danced with Lambadi women to the tunes of folk and movie songs. Bhogi bonfires marked the Sankranti festivities in all the 26 districts of AP, with women and children in large numbers participating. Vedic pandit N. Jagganatha Sarma explained that the first day Bhogi is for the family which wakes up early in the morning and burns waste wood accumulated in the house during the year, symbolising destruction of evil. Elders of the family bless younger people by putting Bhogi pandlu (jujube) on their heads. A senior Victoria Police officer has been found dead at a station in Melbourne's inner south, police have confirmed. Victoria Police confirmed the death of the senior sergeant which happened at around 7.30pm on Friday. A spokesman confirmed he was not on-duty at the time. 'It is with great sadness that we can confirm a senior sergeant has taken his own life on Friday 13 January,' a statement from Victoria Police reads. Victoria Police confirmed the death of the senior sergeant which happened at around 7.30pm on Friday at Moorabbin station in suburban Melbourne 'The male police officer was located deceased at the station just before 7.30pm. 'His death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.' The senior sergeant's death has sent shock waves around the police community. The Police Association of Victoria shared their condolences and said the officer's family and colleagues will be taken care of. 'We can confirm reports of a non-operational incident that occurred at the Moorabbin police station yesterday afternoon where a police member has sadly passed away,' read a post made on social media. 'Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the deceased member who will be supported by The Police Association and Victoria Police.' The Police Association of Victoria shared their condolences and said the officer's family and colleagues will be taken care of In a Facebook group dedicated to fallen members of the force, one member said it was a 'sad day' for the force. 'RIP Sarge,' he wrote. 'Rally around the troops and make sure they're okay. 'It's going to be hard for them.' Former police officer and Opposition corrections spokesman Brad Battin also shared his condolences. 'My thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of a life gone too soon,' Mr Battin, who is also the MP for Berwick, shared on social media. 'Today, reach out and thank all police for the stress and pressure they put themselves and their family under to protect our community.' Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 Heinz, 45, said the man is his 24-year-old 'travel companion' Two hours in to the meeting, a man in a Speedo and a vest wandered in Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz was Zooming into the meeting from a cruise The incident occurred during a meeting of the Pima County Board on Tuesday An Arizona Democrat went viral after a scantily clad man interrupted his Zoom A half-naked man in speedos popped into the background of an Arizona lawmakers Zoom call during a meeting of the Pima County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.County Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz, 45, who previously served in the Obama administration, joined the meeting remotely from a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The 9:00 am meeting was two hours in when Heinz's unidentified 24-year-old travel companion wandered in to the shot. The man is wearing black vest and a black Speedo. The man begins to lift up his shirt, then freezes and looks at the computer, apparently not immediately realizing that Heinz was in a meeting. The physician, who is gay, quickly turned off his camera at that point. None of Heinz's colleagues made reference to the unexpected cameo. The board is scheduled to meet again on January 24. The physician later explained that the man in the video is his 'travel companion' and said that the pair are not an item nor is he a sex worker. He compared the moment to other viral moments in which Zoom calls are interrupted by children and pets. County Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz, who previously served in the Obama administration, joined a meeting of the Pima County Board remotely from a cruise ship in the Caribbean The 9:00 am meeting was two hours old when the openly-gay Heinz's unidentified 24-year-old travel companion wandered into the shot After the clip went viral, Heinz addressed the awkward moment in an interview with The Advocate. The Democrat said that he was 'baffled' with how much attention the clip has generated. Heinz explained that he is on a 10-day Ritz Carlton cruise with a 'travel companion, a friend.' Heinz said his friend, who is more than 20 years his junior, had been out on the balcony of their room and came back in to get a shirt when the moment was captured. The good doctor did not identify the companion merely saying: 'He's 24. He's clearly an adult, and we're good friends who travel well together.' He added: 'We are not dating. We are not boyfriends. Were not engaged. Were not married.' Heinz later labored the point saying: 'Leave my friend alone. He was in a swimsuit. He accidentally walked into the frame for like not even three seconds, was not naked, is clearly an adult, and is not a sex worker not that theres anything wrong with that.' Heinz pictured with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden Matt Heinz took to Twitter to defend the appearance of his 24-year-old travel companion Speaking about why he was calling in to the meeting, Heinz said that because he is a single man, he works a lot around the holidays in order to allow his colleagues who have families to spend time at home. Heinz also mentioned that he works three full-time jobs, in addition to his medical and political work, the Michigan native has a small business. On Twitter, Heinz also mentions that he spends a lot his time caring for his aging father. His cruise ends on Saturday at which point he's due to fly home via Florida. At the time of the interview, Heinz was at the Panama Canal. Heinz was invited to the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act at the White House in December 2022 Heinz is an attending physician at the Tucson Medical Center, a role he's been in since 2003. In 2008, Heinz made history by becoming the first openly gay member of Arizona's House of Representatives Heinz is an attending physician at the Tucson Medical Center, a role he's been in since 2003. In 2008, Heinz made history by becoming the first openly gay member of Arizona's House of Representatives. He served two terms in the house. According to his official website, the issues close to Heinz's heart are veteran's affairs, seniors and healthcare in general. Between 2013 and 2015, Heinz worked in the Obama administration as the Director of Provider Outreach in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. In 2021, Heinz became the Pima County Supervisor. He was an outspoken advocate for mask mandates in the county throughout his first year in office. According to posts on his Instagram page, Heinz was present at Biden's signing of the Respect for Marriage Act in December 2022. He has made multiple unsuccessful attempts at gaining the Democratic nomination for congressional elections in various districts. Teenagers from middle-class backgrounds have 'no chance' of winning places on prestigious university courses because of the SNP's social engineering policies, it has been claimed. Data from the University of Edinburgh has revealed that no Scottish student who was not classified as 'disadvantaged' won a place on its law course this year. Those from strong schools or less deprived backgrounds also failed to be accepted to business, Japanese and joint philosophy and psychology courses. It sparked warnings from critics that policies aimed at forcing universities to widen access have actually closed doors to swathes of average families. Labour MSP Michael Marra, who uncovered the figures, said: 'No matter your background, rich or poor, if you work hard, and you get the grades, you should be able to get access.' Teenagers from middle-class backgrounds have 'no chance' of winning places on prestigious university courses because of the SNP's social engineering policies, it has been claimed (pictured: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon) Of the 1,200 Scots who applied to study law at the university, 659 were flagged as widening access, compared to 555 unassigned applicants. Some 170 students from deprived backgrounds were subsequently offered a place, while no student without a widening access category was admitted. Seventy-two foreign students were accepted to study law, alongside 19 from the rest of the UK. Ms Sturgeon, a law graduate from Glasgow University, attended Greenwood Academy in Dreghorn - a state school in North Ayrshire - from 1982 to 1988. Responding to the figures, she said: 'The data provides a really, really positive story for those applying from deprived areas. 'In my earlier days as First Minister, I used to be regularly criticised for the fact that there were too few young people from deprived communities going to universities.' But industry experts aren't convinced. Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham said the policies 'close more doors' than they open. Labour MSP Michael Marra, who uncovered the figures, said: 'No matter your background, rich or poor, if you work hard, and you get the grades, you should be able to get access' He said: 'These astonishing figures clearly show that a policy designed to increase diversity, in fact, can sharply reduce it by shutting out the middle class. 'This can only weaken the universities and ultimately society itself. It would be smarter to ensure equality of opportunity and allow the universities to admit on merit when diversity would arise naturally.' A spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh, said: 'We take our commitment to widening access very seriously and recognise that a long term and sustained effort is required to achieve meaningful social mobility in communities. 'More than 80 per cent of our entrants from Scotland consistently come from a state school and the proportion of students from Scotland's most disadvantaged areas has almost doubled since 2015. 'The number of students we can accept from Scotland is capped by the Scottish Government, which means that applicants are only in competition with those who are also within their own fee pool i.e. Scotland, rest of UK and international. 'This means that the number of places for international students has no bearing on the number of places available to students from Scotland or the rest of the UK.' FEBRUARY 28, 2022 7:03am Pilot Seb Robinson and egg collector Chris 'Willow' Wilson are on one of three Robinson R44 helicopters which set off from Noonamah on a crocodile egg collection operation on West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, about 500km from Darwin. Each chopper has one pilot and one egg collector. They fly for 90 minutes to a drum refuelling site in the bush near Mount Borradaile. 8.30am Choppers fly from drum refuelling area to the King River staging area, 20 minutes away. Mr Wilson allegedly shares a picture of the fuel gauge showing it was almost full to their shared WhatsApp group. Around 9am Choppers split up to go to their various egg collection areas. Two head 12km north-east and collected eggs from nine nests between 0911 and 1014. 10.14am The other two crews realise they've not heard from Robinson and Wilson and chief helicopter pilot - and director of Remote Helicopters Australia - Michael Burbridge, 44, goes to look for them. 10.36am It finds the wreckage of their helicopter, 30km south of South Goulburn Island. Mr Wilson, 34, is dead 40m from the wreckage and Mr Robinson, 28, is seriously hurt with spinal injuries on the ground next to the aircraft. Their chopper has collided with trees and terrain. The second chopper briefly takes off again to make radio contact and raise the alarm. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright allegedly flies to the crash scene with off-duty police sergeant Neil Mellon and Darwin publican and crocodile farmer Mick Burns. Mr Burns has not been charged with any offences. 12.30pm A CareFlight helicopter arrives at the scene and airlifts the pilot to Maningrida, where he was transferred by plane to Darwin. APRIL 19, 2022: The Air Transport Safety Bureau release their initial findings into the crash, with the full report expected in the first quarter of 2023. It finds the helicopter's engine stopped prior to impacting the ground. Just 250ml of fuel was in the fuel bladders which were both intact, but the report notes fuel may have drained into a nearby creek as the fuel system was damaged in the crash. There were no other obvious signs of mechanical failure and no fire at the scene. AUGUST 25, 2022: Father of three Neil Mellon, 47, is arrested shortly after he arrives for work at Darwin police station. Police raid his home and allegedly find illegal wildlife, fireworks and firearms. AUGUST 26, 2022: Mellon is charged with 31 offences, including attempting to pervert the course of justice and stealing and unlawfully accessing data. His charges also relate to weapons, firearms and wildlife offences, as well as alleged destruction of evidence in relation to a major crash investigation. Later the same day, his wife Sandi, also a serving NT police officer, posts accusations on Facebook, unrelated to the crash, about a former close female friend which were later deleted. Mellon is understood to have since resigned from the police after 27 years' service. SEPTEMBER, 2022: Outback Wrangler and father of four Matt Wright, 43, relocates with his pregnant wife Kaia from Darwin to the Gold Coast in Queensland. SEPTEMBER 20, 2022: Helicopter pilot Michael Burbridge - who was first on the scene of the tragedy - is charged in connection with the crash. He is accused of destroying evidence, conspiracy and attempting to pervert the course of justice, and providing a false statement. NOVEMBER 28, 2022: NT Police issue an arrest warrant for Wright and he's told to present himself at Darwin police station within 48 hours to face at least six serious charges concerning the crash. They relate to his actions before and after the crash and allege he tampered with evidence. NOVEMBER 29, 2022: Wright checks in for an 8.15am flight from Sydney to Darwin with his wife and their newborn daughter Dusty. He is charged in the afternoon with a string of offences in relation to the chopper crash. NOVEMBER 30, 2022: Wright appears at Darwin Court on seven charges relating to the crash which he strenuously denies and is granted bail until the next court appearance on January 25, 2023. Wright is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, destroying evidence, fabricating evidence, unlawfully entering a building, unlawfully entering a dwelling, making a false declaration and interfering with witnesses in a criminal investigation or court process by making threats/reprisals. WARNING: Graphic. A convicted paedophile who terrified Sydney during a two-year crime spree in the 1990s - including sexually assaulting a young girl - is locked in a legal battle with the state who want to impose strict supervision orders on him following his release. The State of NSW has applied to the Supreme Court in an attempt to keep tabs on notorious rapist Raymond Barry Cornwall following his release from jail last year. Cornwall, 67, has spent the majority of his adult life in prison after being convicted of a series of sexual offences dating back to 1989 and repeated breaches of parole and supervision orders. Supreme Court Justice Mark Ierace granted interim supervision orders which placed a series of strict conditions on Cornwall, including that he not view pornography and wear an electronic bracelet monitor, with the state also applying for a two-year order to keep tabs on him. Cornwall's extensive criminal history and why authorities fear he could offend again unless he was closely monitored was spelled out in a judgment handed down in the Supreme Court this week. The State of NSW are desperate to continue keeping tabs on Raymond Barry Cornwall The court heard that Cornwall was imprisoned for the first time as a 19-year-old for drink driving offences, as well as in his 20s and 30s for further driving offences. Then in his mid 30s he committed his first sexual offences and pleaded guilty to a string of rapes committed against women during a shocking two-year spree across Sydney from 1991 to 1993. In June 1991 he raped a woman at knifepoint when he forced her into bushland near the Georges River before stealing her handbag. Four months later he sexually assaulted two 14-year-old girls after threatening to kill them while they were walking through the University of Western Sydney. He attempted to sexually assault a 15-year-old girl in similar circumstances three months later when he grabbed his victim by the arm and pointed a knife at her. She broke free and ran to safety. He also sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl as she was on her way to school and another 18-year-old woman, attacking her as she was pushing her bicycle along a track. He was released from prison in December 2007 after more than 14 years behind bars. Just 30 minutes later he removed his electronic monitoring bracelet and went on the run. He was seen by an off-duty police officer on a beach two days later and rearrested. Cornwall was jailed again for another 15 months. Authorities fear Raymond Barry Cornwall could offend again unless he's closely monitored Cornwall has been previously convicted of a series of sexual offences dating back to 1989 (stock image of a traumatised woman) He was again released in March 2009 but was brought back into custody just six months later after he was found in a tree with a bottle of whiskey and threatening to self harm, which resulted in another 20 months in jail for failing to comply with orders. While Cornwall was in custody, police used emerging DNA technology to link him to the rape of a woman at Pottsville in northern NSW in September 1989. He pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and detaining a person for advantage and was jailed for a further four-and-a-half years. Cornwall was released in June 2015 and before he was again rearrested in April 2019. He ran from police after they requested to see his phone and a search of his device found a video of him masturbating on a train in front of a female passenger. Cornwall was jailed for two years and police also found a cache of 112 child abuse images - some of which depicted the vile exploitation and abuse of pre-pubescent children. As a result another two years and three months added to his sentence. He was allowed back into the community on conditional release in March last year however that order, which imposed strict conditions on him, is to expire in March. Photos of Raymond Cornwall released by police after they sought his arrest for offences on a train in 2019 Justice Ierace said that while Cornwall had stayed out of trouble since his most recent release, the last time he was taken back into custody, his crimes were only discovered because he was subject to a supervision order. Justice Ierace granted a 28-day interim supervision order which imposed a long string of conditions on Cornwall. They included that he wear an electronic ankle monitor, abide by a 9pm-6am curfew, not possess a passport and not leave NSW. Under the orders, Cornwall is barred from going to day care centres and schools, amusement parks, playgrounds and any residence where a person aged under 18 lives. He is also banned from viewing pornographic material as well as being required to undergo psychological and psychiatric assessment and counselling. The matter will return to court next month as the state attempts to impose a two-year control order on Cornwall. Two paramedics have been charged with murder after bodycam footage showed them putting a patient face down on a stretcher an hour before he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, both employees of LifeStar, have been charged with first degree murder following the death of Earl J. Moore Jr on December 18. He was 35 years old. Sangamon County States Attorney Dan Wright said at a press conference Tuesday that in addition to being face down, Moore had straps placed on his back and legs. Authorities in Springfield said that police were called to Moore's home in the Pillsbury neighborhood around 2 am after receiving a call about people inside an apartment in the building with guns. After they arrived, authorities encountered Moore, who was experiencing alcohol withdrawal induced hallucinations, a statement from the Springfield Police Department said. An ambulance was called and arrived minutes later. Earl Moore Jr, shown here on his sister's Facebook page, was suffering from alcohol withdrawal when he was put face down on the stretcher It was Moore who called the police. When officers arrived, a woman let them into the home. She tells the police: 'There no one here with guns.' The woman also said that Moore was suffering from alcohol withdrawals and that he hadn't had a drink in days. In the bodycam footage, the woman can be seen bringing in the police into a back bedroom where Moore is lying. The woman says: 'He called you guys for no reason.' When asked by an officer if an ambulance should be called, the woman says: 'Every time I take him to the hospital, all they do is release him.' She also said: 'Hes seeing stuff thats not there and hearing voices in his head.' An officer tells Moore: 'Shes worried about you man. Shes said youve been struggling a bit.' Moore finally speaks for the first time: 'I can use some water.' Peter Cadigan, 50, shown here, is being held on a $1 million bond at the Sangamon County jail Peggy Finley, 44, can be heard in the body cam footage berating Moore on multiple occasions Police in Springfield said that police were called to the address in the Pillsbury neighborhood around 2 am on December 18 after receiving a call about people inside an apartment in the building with guns The woman who answered the door to responding officers said that Moore had not had a drink in days A few minutes later, the ambulance arrives. Finley enters the apartment. She subsequently yells at Moore: 'I am not playing with you tonight. Sit up' and later says: 'Quit acting stupid.' She goes on: 'Youre gonna have to walk cause we aint carrying you! I am seriously not in the mood for this dumb sh*t.' Then, a police officer chimes in: 'If you want to go to the hospital, man, youve got to help us out a little bit.' It was the police who brought Moore outside to the stretcher, States Attorney Dan Wright said. Once outside, the paramedics begin putting Moore on the stretcher, the video shows. From there, he is wheeled towards the ambulance and put inside. The video ends shortly afterwards. Officials said that Moore was pronounced dead at the hospital around an hour later. The woman who answered the door said that Moore was 'seeing stuff thats not there and hearing voices in his head' His cause of death was compressional and positional asphyxia 'due to prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back and lower body in the setting of lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism,' Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said at Tuesday's press conference. Moore's death was investigated by the Illinois State Police. It was their findings that led to charges being brought against Cadigan and Finley. They were taken into custody on January 9. Both are being held on a bond of $1 million each at Sangamon County jail. The jail records show that Cadigan is in custody in the prison's medical facility. The pair face up 60 years in prison if convicted. They will make their next appearance in court on January 19. During the press conference, Wright said that Cadigan and Finley 'did act without lawful jurisdiction' and he accused them of putting 'tightened restraints' on Moore. He added that thanks to the pair's training they should have known 'that such acts would create a substantial probability of great bodily harm or death.' The pair's lawyer, D. Peter Wise, told The Washington Post: 'These are two good people that find themselves in a very odd criminal case.' While the president of NAACP's Springfield chapter Teresa Haley drew comparisons between Moore's death to George Floyd's murder at the hands of a police officer in 2020. In an interview with The Illinois Times, Haley said: 'It was almost worse. If this guy was already having difficulties breathing, and then you put him on a stretcher facedown, I mean, it was hostile to see the video and how they treated him.' She continued: 'They literally threw his hands behind and just strapped him down. He couldnt move if he wanted to.' According to his obituary, Moore's funeral was held in Springfield on December 29. The tribute said that the victim worked as a manager at McDonald's for 18 years. It goes on: 'He loved fishing having fun and helping whoever he could whenever he could.' His sister wrote on Facebook following the announcement of the charges against Cadigan and Finley: 'My brothers death was caused by careless, unsympathetic, unprofessional, "medically trained" personnel.' She continued: 'Earl Moore was kind, caring, funny, with a contagious smile and he definitely did not deserve this. They ALL had a role and they ALL failed my brother; Im praying the justice system does not fail him too.' Moore's cousin, Darris Cole said in a Facebook post: 'Praying for Justice for my family. Just remember God is in control.' A relative called Moore 'sweet and loving' and was 'one of the greatest men.' She concluded: 'He is gone but never forgotten.' A Californian teenager sobbed before the city council as she told of her trauma at seeing 'a naked man' she says was a transgender woman inside the women's changing rooms at her local YMCA. Rebecca Philips, 17, addressed the meeting in Santee, a city suburb of San Diego, on Wednesday night to demand reform to the existing policy after encountering the unidentified individual. She told the council how, two weeks ago, she was getting changed after swimming at the Santee YMCA when she saw a transgender woman naked in the changing rooms. 'As I was showering after my workout I saw a naked male in the women's locker room,' she said. 'I immediately went back into the shower, terrified, and hid behind their flimsy excuse for a curtain until he was gone.' Philips, who went on to discuss the area's transgender policies, said she was haunted by the thought of her five-year-old sister, who she brings to the gym in the summer, encountering the same situation. Her voice quivering, she said: 'This is the YMCA, where hundreds of children spend their summer afternoons in child care camps. 'This is the YMCA where my little sister took gymnastics lessons. 'The locker room was supposed to be her safe haven to gossip with her friends, and shower and change.' Rebecca Philips, 17, addressed the Santee City Council on Wednesday night She urged them to change their policy on transgender women using whichever facilities they chose, saying it was indecent and 'obscene' Philips came across the transgender woman in the changing room of the YMCA in Santee, California - a city suburb of San Diego Philips says staff told her the trans woman was perfectly entitled to be in the changing rooms, and that only those on the sex offender's registry were banned from entering. Women's facilities - changing rooms, shelters, prisons - can be used by anyone in California thanks to a state law saying people must be allowed to use facilities which align with their gender identity. And in May 2022 three Democrat supervisors for San Diego County decided to redefine the word 'woman' to include trans people. Nathan Fletcher, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nora Vargas all approved the measure. The two Republicans serving as supervisors voted against the bill. Philips told the council she was horrified by the experience. San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was one of three to vote to approve the May 2022 bill which said anyone who defines themselves as female can use the facilities of their choice Terra Lawson-Remer (left) and Nora Vargas (right), both San Diego County supervisors, also voted to approve the bill Philips said that the YMCA management, asked about their transgender policy, told her 'the man I saw was indeed allowed to shower wherever he pleased'. She added: 'A grown male can shower alongside a teenage girl at your YMCA, here in Santee.' Philips said she was dismayed at the response from the YMCA staff. 'I was made to feel as if I had done something wrong,' she said. 'The indecent exposure of a male to a female minor was an inconvenience to them.' Philips said her father, who complained, was contacted by Teri Maas, the Association Director of Membership Experience at YMCA of San Diego County. Teri Maas, the Association Director of Membership Experience at YMCA of San Diego County, rang Philips' father to reassure him his daughter was never at risk 'She informed my dad that I was not in any danger,' Philips said. 'That I was safe.' But, she added: 'Could you knowingly send an underage girl into a room with a naked male and say she was safe? Or it was right?' The YMCA said in a statement: 'We are aware of a situation involving two members in the locker room of the Santee YMCA earlier this month. The comfort and safety of all our members is our highest priority. 'As a community focused organization, we strive to meet the needs of all individuals. We recognize that birth and gender identity are sensitive subjects. We rely on subject matter experts, laws, and guidelines established by the State of California to ensure our policies are welcoming and respectful for all community members.' They said they were now reviewing their procedures, in light of Philips' complaint. 'As part of this commitment to ensure all individuals feel comfortable, we are reviewing lock room floorplans across all facilities within our association,' they said. 'Our goal is to ensure that everyone has access to additional privacy if desired and needed.' Trans women using female changing facilities - and entering some single-sex sports - has proven a political flashpoint in recent years. Critics say trans women who still have male private parts should not be allowed into spaces where women may be undressed or vulnerable. Supporters say only a tiny minority of trans women are sex offenders, and that banning all trans women from accessing female spaces persecutes the blameless majority. Rishi Sunak has condemned the act of what he described as a 'barbaric regime' Iranian officials said he was an MI6 spy - regime critics say he was murdered Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said the execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari in Iran was a 'callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime'. Sunak, writing on Twitter after Iranian state media announced Tehran had executed Akbari on charges of spying for Britain, said: 'I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran. 'This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alireza's friends and family.' Akbari was an Iranian former deputy defence minister who was arrested in 2019 and accused of espionage for MI6 related to past nuclear talks between Iran and western nations, according to Iranian state media. Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian former deputy in Iran's defence ministry, was executed by the Iranian government in the early hours of Saturday over claims he was an MI6 spy Sunak, writing on Twitter after Iranian state media announced Tehran had executed Akbari on charges of spying for Britain, said: 'I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran' Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among the officials who green-lit Akbari's execution 'Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption on Earth and extensive action against the country's internal and external security through espionage for the British government's intelligence service... was executed,' Iran's Mizan news agency said in a tweet. It accused him of receiving 1,805,000, 265,000, and $50,000 for spying. The Islamic regime proceeded with his execution just hours after British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned them not to execute Akbari, a former Iranian deputy defence minister. Britain had described the death sentence as politically motivated and called for his immediate release in an unsuccessful bid to save him. Cleverly said on Twitter: 'Iran has executed a British national. 'This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. 'This will not stand unchallenged. My thoughts are with Alireza Akbari's family.' In an audio recording broadcast by BBC Persian on Wednesday, 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. Akbari was executed after being sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth and harming the country's internal and external security by passing on intelligence' Iranian state media broadcast a video on Thursday that they said showed that Akbari played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in a 2020 attack outside Tehran which authorities blamed at the time on Israel. In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh. Iran's state media often airs purported confessions by suspects in politically charged cases. Earlier this week, Mr Akbari's wife Maryam said an official asked her to visit her husband in prison for a 'final meeting' before the state killing. He was transferred to solitary confinement, a sign that the execution was imminent after the death was sentenced issued by the Revolutionary Court. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence described Akbari as 'one of the most important agents of the British spy service'. He previously worked in Iran's military and security institutions and has joint citizenship of Iran and Britain. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence described the politician (pictured) as 'one of the most important agents of the British spy service' He then served as the international deputy of the Ministry of Defence under two-star general Ali Shamkhani, who served from 1997 to 2005. Shamkhani is the current secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, a key decision-making body. Some believe the charges against Akbari may have been politically motivated by rivals of Shamkhani. Iran claims that after Akbari was identified as a spy, he was used by Tehran authorities to mislead Britain with 'directed information'. At one point, Akbari was in Europe but he said he left Iran legally and was involved economically in several companies on the continent. But Iran accused him of 'running away' and having a 'front company', and his financial lawyers have been accused of being intelligence agents. Ties between London and Tehran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts have stalled to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear pact, to which Britain is a party. Britain has also been critical of the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown on anti-government protests, sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September. Tehran has detained a number of dual and foreign nationals in recent years, including British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held in 2016 and released last year. Do you know know more? Email tips@dailymail.com An elderly woman has crashed a car into a caravan at Toowoon Bay Holiday Park Four children and their mother have been rushed a hospital after an elderly woman, 76, lost control of her Mini Cooper, crashing into a caravan's verandah where the group of five were sitting. The drama unfolded just before midday on Saturday at the Toowoon Bay Holiday Park on New South Wales Central Coast, just over an hour's drive north of Sydney in middle of the school holidays. One woman was left with leg injuries while one child has a broken femur and another suffered abdominal injuries. The two other children were also taken to hospital in a stable condition. Four children and a mother have been injured after a car crashed into the caravan verandah they were sitting on (pictured) The Mini Cooper (pictured) was being driven by a 76-year-old woman before she mounted the curb and lost control of the car Initial reports suggest the elderly woman's car mounted the curb and travelled some distance along the footpath before crashing into the group of five. One child was trapped between the car and a barbecue while others were flung some distance from the impact. Two young boys were taken to The Childrens Hospital at Westmead in serious but stable conditions, one having to be airlifted by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Two young girls were taken to John Hunter Hospital, also in serious but stable conditions. Four children were seen to by NSW Paramedics at the scene (pictured). One child suffered a broken femur while another received abdominal injuries, the other two are stable All four children were taken to nearby hospitals in serious but stable conditions, one having to be airlifted (pictured) The elderly driver is assisting police with their inquiries and will undergo mandatory blood alcohol testing. NSW Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the cause of the crash. The caravan park is a favourite for holidaying young families for its waterfront accommodation and proximity to numerous pristine beaches. NSW schools are set to commence for the new year in just over two weeks on January 31. The former police officer was subsequently fired for use of excessive force An Arizona grand jury opted not to indict an ex-Tuscon cop this week A second grand jury in Pima County, Arizona, has decided not to recommend charges of manslaughter against a former Tucson cop who shot a wheelchair-bound suspect nine times in a mall parking lot, killing him. Ryan Remington, 32, shot Richard Lee Richards, 61, in the parking lot of a mall in the city while off duty. Richards pulled a knife on a Walmart employee as he was leaving the store with a stolen tool box on November 30, 2021. Richards was headed to a Lowe's across the parking lot when Remington, who was working security for Walmart at the time, ordered Richards to drop the knife and not to enter another store. The suspect ignored the officer before Remington opened fire, causing Richards to fall out of his scooter and die. The Pima County Superior Court jury on Wednesday came back with a no bill vote on charging Remington. Despite the grand jury's decision, the state could still opt to bring charges. Former Tucson Police Officer Ryan Remington, 32, was indicted on manslaughter charges for shooting a wheelchair-bound man accused of shoplifting in 2021 outside a Lowe's Richard Lee-Richards has been confined to a wheelchair since getting hip surgery while in prison, his sister Victoria Richards said last year Defense attorneys alleged state prosecutors presented misleading statements to the first grand jury. Pima County Superior Court Judge Danelle Liwski agreed but believed they did not do it deliberately. Liwski last month granted the defense request to remand the case to a grand jury again. In a statement, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said 'victim notification is our focus and top priority at this time, as the matter continues under our review.' Remington was fired in January 2022 for what police determined was excessive use of force. A civil rights lawsuit filed by Richards family against Remington and the City of Tucson remains tied up in federal court. During the theft, Richards allegedly flashed a knife at the store employee who asked for a receipt for the product. 'Here's your receipt,' Richard reportedly told the clerk, showing the weapon. 'He's got a knife in his other hand,' someone can be heard on the bodycam video as Richards wheels up to the entrance of the big box store. Seconds later Remington can be seen unloading his weapon on the shoplifter. Remington catches up with Richards in the parking lot and asked him to turn over the knife, which he refused Remington (left, back turned) told Richards: 'Do not go into the store, sir,' but began firing when Richards did not stop After the shooting, Richards slumped out of his chair where an unidentified on-duty police officer handcuffed Richards while Remington and another officer Stephanie Taylor grabbed medical supplies During the theft, Richards allegedly flashed a knife at the store employee who asked for a receipt for the product. 'Here's your receipt,' Richard reportedly told the clerk, showing the weapon Richards has been confined to a wheelchair since getting hip surgery while in prison. His sister Victoria Richards told KGUN. She said that her brother had battled drug addiction and been in prison most of his life. He volunteered to help fight forest fires while serving a sentence and fell off a cliff, hitting his head. 'He came out with severe brain damage. He came to live with me and I taught him how to drive, how to count money. Everything came back pretty quickly but it was like having a child again,' she told the TV news channel in 2021. She and her brother had an argument and she dropped him off at a Salvation Army center a couple of years before the shooting. Office Ryan Remington (pictured holding a gun) was fired from the Tucson Police Department (TPD) in January 2022 for use of excessive force Richards (left, in wheelchair) was shot 'in the back and side,' his family has filed a lawsuit against Remington Rick Resch, a lawyer for Richards family, said in August that they were relieved that the officer will finally stand trial. 'It has been a long and difficult past nine months for Mr. Richards's family, but they are relieved that former Officer Ryan Remington has been indicted and will face the prospect of justice for the shooting and killing of Mr. Richards,' Resch said in a statement. In Arizona, manslaughter, a class two felony that carries a minimum seven years in prison, is defined as 'recklessly causing the death of another person.' Remington did not testify before the grand jury to present any self-defense arguments. 'Manslaughter doesn't even fit,' Remington's lawyer Mike Storie told KVOA. 'I don't want to get into legal arguments but it's a legal fiction. So I'll be very interested to read the grand jury transcript and find out what went on in that room when I was not present.' Storie has said in the past that his client 'had no non-lethal options.' 'He did have a taser, but in his mind, he couldn't use it because he didn't feel he had the proper spread to deploy it, with the wheelchair between him and Richards,' the lawyer said. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero lauded the charges against the former cop in August. 'Now that the Grand Jury has issued an indictment and Ryan Remington will face criminal charges, it is a matter for the courts to adjudicate,' she tweeted. After an internal investigation following the shooting, Remington, a four-year veteran of the department, was canned by then-police Chief Chris Magnus. The chief said he was 'deeply disturbed and troubled' by the ex-cop's response. 'His use of deadly force in this incident is a clear violation of department policy and directly contradicts multiple aspects of our use of force and training,' Magnus said. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu wished the state and Telugus a happy Sankranti. (File Photo: DC) Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has extended his Bhogi and Sankranti greetings to the states denizens and all the Telugu people around the world. Former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu too wished the state and Telugus a happy Sankranti. In a message released on Friday, Jagan Mohan Reddy said, The Sankranti festival was a farmer's festival, a festival of our sisters and a village festival. In short, it is a Telugu festival that reflects our culture and traditions. The Sankranti traditions of Bhogi bonfires, muggu designs, the Haridasa kirtan chanting, the Gangireddu dances with decorated bulls, the kite-flying sessions are all with us. The villages are set under the lush green canopy, which adds to the splendour of the Sankranti festival in the villages. The Chief Minister wished that every family in every village celebrated Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma festivals with joy and happiness. This Makara Sankranti would bring more progressive change in the lives of everyone in the state, he has said. The CM said the sense of abundance and joy associated with the Sankranti festival should be evident in every home. Meanwhile, extending festival greetings to the people, Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, said, Makar Sankranti is the festival that brings greater knowledge and wisdom. The three-day festival would light up the lives of all the people on the Telugu land. It would fill their lives with the warmth of glory and happiness. This is a great festival wherein Telugus across the globe move to their homeland to share their intimacy and memories with their kin back home, Chandrababu said. Prince Harry has demanded the Royal Family apologise to Meghan Markle after he made a series of explosive claims in his new book, claiming his family were treating him as if he were 'delusional and paranoid'. The prince said: 'You know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And you've been caught out, so just come clean.' It is not clear what Harry wants his family to apologise to his wife for but he claimed he was fighting the 'good fight' by siding with Meghan. He claimed that 'if people had listened' to his concerns earlier, the gulf between he and Meghan and the rest of the royals would not have grown so wide. Prince Harry has demanded an apology from the Royal Family to his wife Meghan for unspecified reasons Harry and Meghan (pictured shortly after the Queen's death in September) stepped back from royal duties in 2020 The prince has made a series of explosive claims in his new memoir, Spare, released this week The Duke of Sussex said he could not understand why it seemed 'shocking and outrageous' for him to tell his side of the story In an interview with The Telegraph before the official launch of his book earlier this week, Harry appeared to blame his family for the feud. He said: 'It was all so avoidable. But they just couldn't help themselves.' The Duke of Sussex added that he could not understand why it seemed 'shocking and outrageous' for him to tell what he said was the 'truthful' side of the story. Harry also claimed he felt a 'responsibility' to reform the monarchy in the interests of his two young children. He also described how therapy had helped him, but said he was unable to 'get through' to his family to agree with him. He said: 'Thats when I started trying to explain to them how some of their decisions and some of the things they were doing - or not doing - was going to reflect on them. Badly. 'Especially across the global stage, especially across the Commonwealth, with relation to my now wife. And I couldnt get through to them. And it wasnt one or two people that I was trying to get through to. 'It was a mindset. It was a culture, within a bubble within a bubble, that while I was there was unbreakable.' After a falling out with the the rest of the family which saw them step back from royal duties, Harry and Meghan moved to Canada in 2020. The prince accused the royals of being a 'bubble within a bubble', saying that he could not 'get through' to them Prince Harry voiced concerns about the future of the other 'spares' in the royal family to his brother - who 'made it very clear that the children are not his responsibility' The Duke of Sussex claimed his family were acting as if he were 'delusional and paranoid' Harry has now claimed the royals 'scuppered the whole plan... through their need to financially control us, the jealousy, and this unfortunate situation whereby us just existing outside of their control is somehow problematic for them.' In his new book, Harry claims members of the royal household regularly briefed to the press, including for negative articles about Meghan. He said in the new interview that 'the very people who were supposed to protect us were complicit in all of the stories that were literally destroying my wife in front of my very eyes, to the point that I was coming back from London to Frogmore after Archie was born, and I would walk into the nursery and there she was in floods of tears, tears dripping on Archie while she was breastfeeding him.' Harry has been criticised for sharing private conversations with and intimate details about his family members. However, the prince claimed there are many other details he has chosen not to share because 'I just don't want the world to know', adding his family might not 'ever forgive' him if he did so. Harry also challenged his family members to speak with him and apologise to Meghan, though it is not clear what for. Talking about his family, he said: 'I wish youd actually sit down with me, properly, and instead of saying Im delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what Id really like is some accountability. And an apology to my wife. Prince William was the first to introduce Harry to therapy, before becoming concerned his brother was becoming 'brainwashed' by his sessions Harry (pictured at the procession of the Queen's coffin) said he wanted to sit down and talk with his family 'Because you know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And youve been caught out, so just come clean, and then we could all move on.' In his memoir Spare and several interviews to promote it, Harry has levelled wide ranging and damaging accusations against his closest relatives. It is a week since Harrys ghostwritten biography made world headlines, and this was the sixth interview he has granted to push sales of the book, which publisher Penguin Random House says is already a record breaker. Harry has spoken openly that he used ayahuasca, a psychedelic, with a professional while seeking therapy for his mental health issues. While William was the first person to encourage Harry to try therapy, he says after he sought out the alternative treatment he realised there was only a greater divide with his brother on the other side of it. He hopes one day the heir will also embrace therapy after the traumatic experiences they shared in childhood. In Spare, Harry revealed William believes all his therapy has made him delusional and questioned whether he was being 'brainwashed' by the therapist he was seeing. Elsewhere in his interview with The Telegraph, Harry expanded on his motive for speaking out. He said: 'This is not about trying to collapse the monarchy, this is about trying to save them from themselves. And I know that I will get crucified by numerous people for saying that.' Harry also suggested that reform was needed in the Royal family. 'If only 10 per cent of the scrutiny that was put on me and M was put on this institution, we wouldn't be in this mess right now,' he said in a condemning remark. 'It's so dirty. It's so dark. And it will continue and it will carry on and I look forward to the day when we are no longer part of it, but I worry about who's next,' he added. Woolworths staff, shoppers and security have struggled to restrain an unruly customer hurling a tirade of abuse at them as shocked bystanders watched on. An altercation with a staff member appeared to have sparked the incident on Saturday afternoon inside Woolworths at the Hibiscus shopping centre in the Darwin suburb of Leanyer. Footage of the confrontation posted by the Mango Inquirer shows the woman lunging at staff members before being restrained by a fellow shopper. She was then escorted from the store by security. The footage filmed by a shopper returning his trolley to the store, shows the woman being held back by a store supervisor while she hurls abuse at another worker. A female shopper is held back by a Woolworths store supervisor as she hurls a tirade of abuse at a staff member on Saturday afternoon 'Don't attack my staff!' the store supervisor can be heard saying. The woman manages to break the supervisor's hold and lunges at the worker before a male shopper at a nearby checkout intervenes, holding her in a tight bear hug. 'Get off me you gronk,' the woman can be heard yelling at the man. Security guards quickly arrive on the scene, escorting the seemingly recurring offender outside of the store. 'You do this every time,' the store supervisor can be heard yelling at the woman as she leaves. Woolworths confirmed police were contacted about the incident and plan to ban the woman from the store. 'There is no place for this kind of abusive behaviour anywhere in our community,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'Our team members do the very best they can to help customers, and deserve to be treated with respect on the job.' 'Woolworths offers ongoing support and counselling for all staff members.' A member of the public eventually intervenes and restrains the woman in a tight bear hug Many viewers who watched the viral video the angry customer came to the defence of the staff and customer who restrained her. 'The dude giving the bear hug is the real MVP,' one user commented. 'Dang!!! Don't flash your crazy about in Woolies,' another wrote. However, others questioned security's involvement in the incident. 'The security guard needs to be stood down or properly trained. The staff and public dont need to be the ones dealing with this,' one commented A large ferry packed with more than 200 shocked passengers has crashed into a popular pier with a pregnant woman among the injured. The Lady Cutler vessel was trying to dock at Yanonung Quay at Docklands in Melbourne when it smashed into a concrete wall around 6pm on Saturday. Dozens of police and paramedics rushed to the scene where they remained for at least an hour speaking with and assessing the large crowd. All 210 passengers on board were from a local Somali community group as witnesses recalled the 'scary ordeal'. It's understood a pregnant woman was among several injured after hitting her head and suffered concussion as a result. A ferry caused extensive damage when it smashed into a pier at Docklands on Saturday night 'A lot of people broke their teeth and someone was pregnant and hurt themselves, one shaken passenger told Nine News. 'A lot of people are just hurt.' The busy precinct was packed with families who saw the crash unfold. 'We saw the boat come in pretty fast and we see it's about to dock and we thought there was no way he was going to save it, even if he puts it in reverse,' a group of young onlookers told Seven News. A shocked passenger revealed some of the 220 on board were injured, including a pregnant woman A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the incident was a matter for WorkSafe Victoria. Ambulance Victoria is yet to provide details on the injured. Previously referred to as 'VH08' before it was recently renamed Yanonung Quay is a prominent point for locals and tourists when visiting Docklands, A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murdering a woman in her 50s who was known to him - after her body was found at her home. The boy appeared before Brighton Magistrates' Court yesterday and has been remanded in custody to appear before Lewes Crown Court on Monday. Officers responded to a report of concern for a person at a property in Hollington Old Lane, St Leonards, at around 6:08pm on Wednesday, January 11. When officers and paramedics arrived, a local woman in her 50s was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers attended the scene after there was a report of concern for a person at a property in Hollington Old Lane, St Leonards, on Wednesday, January 11 When officers and paramedics arrived, a local woman in her 50s was pronounced dead at the scene The 17-year-old boy was arrested at the woman's home and has now been charged with one count of murder. The boy and the woman knew each other, and officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Detective Inspector Alex Campbell from the Major Crime team said: 'This a tragic case and our thoughts are with the victim's family. 'We ask, on their behalf, that their privacy is respected at what will be an extremely difficult time for them.' The boy, who knew the victim, was arrested at her home and has been charged with one count of murder They added: 'This is a fast-moving investigation with a charge secured within 48 hours of us being called to the address. 'Our enquiries are still ongoing. A cordon is in place and police will remain at the scene for the coming days.' Around the time that the boy was arrested, a Sussex Police spokesman said: 'Police responded to a report of concern for a person at a property in Hollington Old Lane, St Leonards, about 6.08pm on Wednesday, January 11. 'A local woman aged in her 50s was sadly pronounced deceased. A boy was arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody at this time. 'This is a fast-moving investigation and our enquiries are ongoing. A cordon is in place and police will remain at the scene for the coming days.' The residents of a small town in South Australia have been told to leave or take shelter from an out-of-control bushfire as communities south of Perth, in Western Australia, also battle a raging fire. An emergency warning was issued for Montacute, a community with a population of about 300, in the Adelaide Hills on Saturday afternoon. Fifteen tankers and eight aircraft are facing an uphill to contain the blaze, which is burning southeast toward the town. Firefighters are contending with steep, inaccessible terrain in the Black Hill Conservation Park. Residents are being told to take action as the bushfire could threaten their safety. Dozens of fire crews have spent the afternoon battling a massive fire in the Black Hill Conservation Park as the blaze threaten nearby towns in the Adelaide Hills 'Leave now. Check that the path is clear and go to a safer place,' the SA Country Fire Service said. 'Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous. Fire crews are responding but you should not expect a firefighter at your door.' Police have warned the uncontrolled fire could escalate with increased wind on Saturday afternoon. 'The Montacute fire is uncontrolled. This scrub fire is burning in both a southerly and easterly direction ... conditions are continually changing,' police said in a statement. Authorities have also advised 22 residents in the nearby small village of Castambul to evacuate. Water tanks were deployed as the raging fire headed towards the SA town of Montacute In Western Australia, an emergency bushfire warning has been issued for parts of the Donnybrook-Balingup Shire in the southwest of the state - about 200km south of Perth. Some 100 firefighters are on the scene working to extinguish the blaze. Aerial support has also been dispatched. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the bushfire was moving fast to the northwest and had already burnt 5095 hectares. They said lightning had caused the fire. Doctors were perplexed, as every diagnosis for seven years resulting in no cure A dream family holiday to Thailand has turned into an ongoing nightmare for a young woman who has spent the last seven years at the mercy of a rare parasite. Nursing student Tess Swift, then 20, returned home from the holiday in 2015 with a slight stomach illness that saw her rushed to hospital a few weeks later. Since then, Ms Swift has been in and out of hospital as doctors tried to work out what was wrong before she finally got the answers she needed two months ago. She had contracted a parasite induced disease called gnathostomiasis which had attacked her digestive system, partially paralysed her digestive tract and has forced Ms Swift to wear have a feeding tube for the last four years. Immediate treatment potentially killed the parasite, however Ms Swift, now 28, still lives with untreatable effects such as chronic pain and nausea and fighting numerous mental illnesses. She's now sharing her rollercoaster ordeal to be a warning to other travellers of the potentially fatal parasite. Tess Swift (pictured), was just 20 when she first became ill after returning from a family holiday to Thailand in 2015 The illness forced Tess (pictured in 2017) to drop out of her nursing studies and move home 'It kind of ruined my life. I was only 20 when it happened and there's so much going on in your life when you're 20, and there was so much I had to miss out on because I was in hospital or too unwell to go I ended up losing a lot of my friendships because I was so unwell I could never do anything,' she told news.com.au. Within six months of first feeling ill, Ms Swift dropped out of her nursing degree. As she was regularly in and out of hospital, she was forced to move back in with her parents near Geelong, almost two hours south-west of Melbourne. Doctors have spent seven years trying to work out what was making Ms Swift so severely ill. They diagnosed her with everything from irritable bowel syndrome to an eating syndrome but no treatment could help curb her symptoms. In 2018 it was found that her digestive tract had become partially paralysed and her first feeding tube was placed directly into her stomach. The following year, Ms Swift was at her sickest and spent six-and-a-half weeks in hospital she was tested for a myriad of rare diseases as a last resort. Testing was done in Bangkok and Thailand with the Covid-19 pandemic causing extensive delays. The tests identified the culprit almost three years later in November 2022, in a letter from Melbourne's Alfred Hospital, a hospital Ms Swift had never been to. 'I thought it was a scam,' Ms Swift's mother Virginia Dickson-Swift recalled. 'We open it and it says 'Dear Tess, you've tested positive for gnathostomiasis, call me.' Tess Swift unknowingly picked up a rare parasite on her holiday (pictured in Thailand in 2015) that would go unidentified for seven years until 2022 Tess underwent her latest surgery last week to fix complications with her feeding tube, which she has worn since 2018 Gnathostomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by several species of parasitic worms of the genus, Gnathostoma, that can be fatal in some cases. Ms Swift underwent immediate treatment to kill the parasite. She now lives with major depressive disorder, chronic pain and nausea, PTSD and still has to use a feeding tube. She underwent her latest surgery last week to fix complications with her tube. Because the parasite lived inside for many years, a lot of damage has been caused to her nerves which at the moment there's no way doctors can repair'. Her health issues have also had a huge impact on her career and not being able to use her nursing degree but now works as casual disability carer. Gnathostomiasis Gnathostomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by several species of parasitic worms of the genus, Gnathostoma, that infect humans primarily by eating undercooked or raw freshwater fish, eels, frogs, birds, and reptiles. The disease is common in South-east Asian countries such as Thailand, but can also be found in South and Central America, and in some areas of Africa During the early stages of infection, the parasitic worm makes it's way into the blood system through the walls of the stomach, intestine or liver. The parasite induced gnathostomiasis (pictured) is found more often in south-east Asian countries and can cause nerve damage, loss of eyesight or even death if untreated Many people don't show symptoms in the early weeks of infection, but some may experience fever, excess tiredness, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or abdominal pain. When the parasite enters the blood stream it can cause painfully itchy swellings under the skin, but can also cause nervous damage, loss of eyesight and even death. Advertisement Ms Swift and her mother now want to raise awareness for the mostly-unknown disease that has only been treated 68 times by the only gnathostomiasis specialist in Australia. Ms Dickson-Swift believes more information should be available for travellers to areas where the parasite is 'an endemic' and that the parasites be tested more often. 'It's such a rare parasite. The doctors we've spoken to since have no idea really, they've never heard about it,' she said. '[We want] to raise awareness that it could be a possibility from someone who has returned from Asia... If you've been to the specific places where this thing is then it's a possibility.' Her daughter documents her health struggles on social media. 'I always viewed my journey as an 'illness' only journey, but my perspective has shifted. I now view it as my 'illness and wellness' journey,' Ms Swift recently wrote. 'I look forward to continuing to explore the best ways and combinations to support my body, my mind and my soul.' Meghan and Kate's relationship was doomed from the start, as resentments were clear early on over the then-Duchess of Cambridge's wardrobe being prioritised over the Duchess of Sussex's, it has been reported today. During her career as an American actress, Meghan Markle fell in love with clothes from British designer Erdem Moraloglu, having worn his dresses to several engagements before entering royal life from 2016. But upon becoming publicly involved with Prince Harry, the Princess of Wales is said to have been given priority over Meghan as she, too, was an existing customer. The new details of the pair's relationship, published in The Telegraph - the same paper that published an exclusive interview with Prince Harry just last night - come after Prince Harry released his highly controversial memoir Spare last Tuesday. It was not until 2019 that Meghan Markle wore an Erdem look on an official engagement, when she wore this custom green coat dress Meghan arrives at Westminster Abbey for Monday's Commonwealth Day service, wearing a chain print Victoria Beckham dress and Erdem coat The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured in a stylish Erdem dress in October 2016 Meghan wore Erdem's 'Davina' dress from his 2015 collection in early 2016 - before it was available to the general public - for an appearance on NBC's Today Programme, before she had even met the Duke of Sussex. She was also seen in Erdem dresses in March 2017 during a wedding in Jamaica, and around the time of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, when she wore his 'Sebla' dress. But as a royal, Meghan did not publicly wear her favourite designer until March 2019, The Telegraph reports. The fact that looks by the British designer, who was born in Canada, were being handed to Kate first is said to have gone down badly with the Sussexes, with Meghan allegedly saying Kate 'wasn't even Queen'. The dresses saga comes after a previous alleged row between the pair over bridesmaid dresses for Harry and Meghan's wedding, and a reportedly-awkward first meeting with the Cambridges. The Duchess of Sussex wore the outfit in London while she was pregnant with Archie, accompanied by Prince Harry Erdem Moralioglu is a favoured designer of both the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle wore sheer black Erdem dress during a January 2016 appearance on NBC's Today Prince Harry claimed in Spare that one of the couple's assistants was asked to resign over allegations they were 'trading' on their position to attain free gifts Both Kate and Meghan were said to have left the meeting in tears after it was found that none of the dresses fit correctly. In a separate row, it emerged in Prince Harry's book Spare that Meghan kept freebies which she was given while a member of the royal family, supposedly sharing them with her staff at Kensington palace. The usual practice within the Royal Family is to send back unsolicited gifts which have been sent to the palace for free. Yet in his book, Harry admits that Meghan took free gifts, but also distributed them to her staff. The prince wrote: Harry says: 'She shared all the freebies she received, clothes and perfumes and make-up, with all the women in the office.' But this is also said to have caused problems, as Prince Harry claims one assistant was 'asked to resign by Palace HR after we showed them evidence she'd traded on her position with Meg to get freebies'. His claims are disputed, as royal family members are not allowed to accept gifts unless for a major occasion, such as a marriage, or 'official' gifts from royal engagements. There is also said to have been confusion over Meghan being given or 'lent' items of clothing and jewellery. In one such incident, Meghan wore a pair of diamond earrings, given to her by Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman, supposedly as a wedding gift, to a state banquet in 2018. The palace claimed at the time that the earrings were loaned to the Duchess by Chopard, but it was later discovered they were, in fact, a wedding gift. Kate was pictured in an Erdem dress at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 2019 Meghan's lawyers, Schillings, initially said: 'At no stage did the Duchess tell staff that the earrings were 'borrowed from a jeweller', as this would have been untrue and therefore any suggestion that she encouraged them to lie to the media is baseless.' Two days later, Schillings then added it was 'possible' Meghan said the earrings were borrowed as she referred to the fact that gifts given to the royal family are automatically the property of the monarch. Much attention was drawn to the fact that the earrings were worn just days after the the Saudi regime admitted to killing journalist Jamal Khasoggi. Lawyers for Harry and Meghan at the time denied the Duchess had ever said the earrings were a loan. Things got off to a bad start between the two couples after Meghan Markle met Kate for the first time wearing ripped jeans and no shoes. She later revealed in the couple's Netflix documentary that she was shocked at the level of formality 'behind closed doors' after meeting the couple. She had previously hugged Prince William upon meeting him, which is said to have 'completely freaked [William] out', according to Spare. Prince Harry gave an exclusive interview to The Telegraph, published last night. He has also called for the royal family to apologise to Meghan Markle after he made a series of explosive claims in his new book, claiming his family were treating him as if he were 'delusional and paranoid'. The prince said: 'You know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And you've been caught out, so just come clean.' It is not clear what Harry wants his family to apologise to his wife for but he claimed he was fighting the 'good fight' by siding with Meghan. He claimed that 'if people had listened' to his concerns earlier, the gulf between he and Meghan and the rest of the royals would not have grown so wide. The Duke of Sussex added that he could not understand why it seemed 'shocking and outrageous' for him to tell what he said was the 'truthful' side of the story. Talking about his family, he said: 'I wish you'd actually sit down with me, properly, and instead of saying I'm delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what I'd really like is some accountability. And an apology to my wife.' He also spoke about his belief that his family could benefit from unconscious bias training: 'I think the same process that I went through regarding my own unconscious bias would be hugely beneficial to them. 'It's not racism, but unconscious bias if not confronted, if not acknowledged, if not learned and grown from, that can then move into racism. And the way that I understand it is that we all want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.' Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been contacted for comment. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and rescuers are now hunting for survivors Harrowing images show the total destruction of one civilian high-rise in Dnipro A rescue mission in under way in Dnipro after Russian missiles scored a direct hit on a nine-storey apartment block in central Ukrainian, killing at least five people. Harrowing images show how an entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets. Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among the 39 people transported to hospital with severe injuries. The death toll is likely to rise as there are dozens of people still feared trapped under the debris. 'They (Russians) are just inhuman. At least one stairwell is gone. Under the rubble there are people who were at home for the holiday,' said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office. Rescue team work among the rubble of a damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2023 Emergency workers clear rubble with many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023 Harrowing images from the scene show how an entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023 Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, January 14, 2023 Rescuers work on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023 Rescuers and local residents are seen at a site of an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro Emergency workers and local residents pick through rubble in a desperate attempt to dig out survivors A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine Smoke rises over an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 14, 2022 Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames in the aftermath of the attack as rescuers began to pick through the wreckage in the hope of finding survivors. Moscow also launched a fresh wave of missile attacks on Kyiv this morning as a series of explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital for the first time since New Year's Day. No one was reported hurt there, but missile debris caused a major fire at one 'critical infrastructure object' and damaged houses on the outskirts of the city, officials said. A pair of missiles rained down on the industrial district of Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, the regional governor reported. Moscow's fresh aerial assault comes as both sides continue a bitter fight for the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar in Ukraine's embattled eastern region of Donetsk. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain will soon deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks to help 'push Russian troops back' as a sign of the UK's 'ambition to intensify support for Ukraine.' Local residents clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023 Rescuers and local residents evacuate a wounded man after a missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023 Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames and a rescue operation is underway to save any survivors A view shows a crater left by a Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 14, 2023 Men stand next to a crater left by a Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 14, 2023 People dance to music as they take shelter inside a metro station during massive Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine January 14, 2023 Kids take shelter inside a metro station during Russian missile attacks in Kyiv this morning No one was injured in this morning's attacks on Kyiv, according to officials. City residents are pictured piling into the metro tunnels amid airstrikes Critical infrastructure in Kyiv was targeted in this morning's attacks, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram. An unidentified infrastructure object was hit in the city and emergency services were operating at the site of the strike, Kyiv's city military administration said. Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He added that fragments of a missile fell on a non-residential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far, as civilians piled into the metro tunnels below the city and waited for the raid to end. Elderly civilians played music and danced as waited for the air raid sirens to abate. Earlier on Saturday, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv - regional governor Oleh Synehubov said Putin's troops fired two S-300 missiles at the industrial district of Kharkiv. The strikes targeted 'energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region,' Synehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said. The attacks come amid conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraine's embattled eastern region of Donetsk. Medics of Ukrainian Army evacuate a wounded soldier on a road not far of Soledar, Donetsk region on January 14, 2023 Blood-stained helmets of Ukrainian servicemen are pictured beside the road as a wounded soldier is evacuated Ukrainian soldiers equip trenches on a field not far from Soledar, Donetsk region on January 14, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023 Ukrainian soldiers try to stave off the cold a few miles from the frontline near Soledar, January 13 Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023 Russia's Defence Ministry said Friday that Soledar was captured on Thursday night, after a Ukrainian official earlier admitted their forces had faced 'high intensity' battles for the town. But Ukrainian authorities and Zelensky insist the fight for Soledar continues. 'Soledar is controlled by Ukrainian authorities, our military controls it,' regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on national television. But he said 'battles continue in and outside of the city' and added that Soledar and nearby Bakhmut were the 'hottest' spots on the frontline. Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere. But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defence of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces who are reported to have suffered considerable casualties amid the battle for Bakhmut. Ukrainian armed forces will see their efforts to drive Russian troops back bolstered in the coming weeks after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Downing Street said Sunak made the pledge during a call on Saturday morning with Zelensky. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks (pictured) to Ukraine Germany is said to be considering sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine In a readout of the phone conversation, a No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister offered Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems as a sign of the UK's 'ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine'. Zelensky thanked the UK on Twitter for making decisions that 'will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners'. The move makes the UK the first Western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks. UK Government insiders said the decision on tanks had to be made now in order to ensure Ukrainian soldiers could be trained in how to use the mobile weapons before a potential spring offensive. Ministers hope the announcement will encourage other allies to follow suit, with Germany said to be considering sending a shipment of its Leopard 2 battle tanks. No 10 has not yet confirmed the exact numbers of tanks it will send to Kyiv. The family of an American businessman imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for the last 15 years say he is rotting in a 'dungeon' prison - diseased with a flesh-eating infection and near death - and claim the US overlooked him for WNBA star Brittney Griner. Zack Shahin, 58, is serving a 53-year-prison sentence on charges of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes. His heartbroken family insists he is innocent and is being illegally detained for crimes that are false and politically motivated as they continue to desperately fight for his release. Shahin's health has been deteriorating as he battles an infection in his lungs and rotting flesh and skin sores, as his family believes his condition is far worse than they know. Nearly three months ago, his condition became so grave he was transported to a Dubai hospital where he had numerous surgeries but they were unsuccessful. The family submitted mercy letters to the State Department on November 23, 2022 and after several revisions they were sent to the UAE December 6. But, while this was taking place the Shahin's were unaware that the US had been negotiating the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner - who was released from a Russian prison December 8, 2022 after the US reached a deal returning international arms dealer, Viktor Bout - that the UAE helped facilitate. Zack Shahin pictured with his two children has been in a Dubai prison for 15 years. His son Ramy told Fox News 'they completely abandoned us they completely pushed us to the side.' 'Maybe we're not newsworthy enough for them we're not famous, we're just an ordinary family and they just left us' Brittney Griner was released on December 8, 2022 from a Russian prison after the US reached a prisoner swap deal returning international arms dealer Viktor Bout. After President Biden gave final approval, the swap took place in the UAE after an agreement had been made Shahin's son, Ramy told Fox News 'they completely abandoned us they completely pushed us to the side.' 'Maybe we're not newsworthy enough for them we're not famous, we're just an ordinary family and they just left us,' he said. Martin Lonergan, a British activist who met Zack while he was in prison told Fox News it as a 'dungeon' a place that 'where you are pushed away to be forgotten about.' 'He is rotting, Longeran said. 'If you can imagine a man is dying because he's rotting they're cutting bits of Zack away, and he's dying trying to fight the infection.' He said, in part: 'I have never in my life witnessed such injustice.' The Lebanese-born married father of two was a truck driver for Pepsi and eventually worked his way up to to an executive for PepsiCo and went to the UAE in 2004 after he was recruited by the country's minister of finance and chairman of the Dubai Islamic Bank, Deyaar Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash. During his four years as CEO, the $5 million private firm became a $1.5 billion publicly traded company, and the second-largest publicly traded real estate company on the Dubai Stock Exchange. Zack Shahin, 58, is serving a 53-year-prison sentence on charges of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes. His heartbroken family insists he is innocent and is being illegally detained for crimes that are false and politically motivated as they desperately fight for his release Zack Shahin pictured with his wife, who his son Ramy described is a shell of a person since his father has been held captured against his will Two years later when Dubai's ruler died the political fallout engulfed bin Kharbash and hindered Shahin's success and eventually his freedom. After he resigned from the bank in early March 2008, he was abducted by the state security and charged with crimes, the family said, he never committed. His family said he was detained for 13 months before formal charges were filed against him. He was released on bail, then spent the next nine years in jail before he was finally convinced in 2017. He was sentenced to 49 years, which didn't include time served. The family said the big four global accountancy firms audited Deyaar for the years Shahin was CEO and found no financial losses or evidence of the financial crimes he was accused of. 'My dad's just an ordinary American guy who started working hard to make a name for himself,' Ramy told Fox News. 'He took this little real estate company and made it what it became and built so much of what Dubai is known for. And then they just took him down.' According to Detained International, a British organization that provides pro bono legal services to prisoners, Shahin is the longest-serving American white-collar prisoner overseas. A policeman enters Dubai's Al-Awir central prison in the United Arab Emirates, on May 21, 2020. It is unclear if this is the prison that Shahin is being held at In July, when President Biden supported an existing hostage recovery law the family became a bit more hopeful. The law directs US agencies to communicate more with families of Americans unlawfully detained overseas and allowing for their captors to face sanctions. But, their request for advocacy for their loved one under the law, the Levinson Act, was denied within five days. 'I think the Biden administration and the State Department should look at our case and treat it with a little more respect,' Ramy said. 'Because we haven't even been given any of that.' Human Rights Watch, Detained International and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation are some of the human rights organizations that have been trying to raise awareness of the inhumane and appalling conditions of Shahin's imprisonment. But, the groups claim they have gotten no response from the US government. His family who is broken says they will keep on fighting. 'I'm going to keep fighting until he gets out,' Ramy said. 'And if I fail, then so be it. But I'll never let this go.' A Florida man was arrested and hit with 1,182 child pornography charges after police looked through just one of the 15 devices confiscated from him. Johnathan Jhovanni Hernandez, 23, of Avon Park, was first arrested on December 29 on four child pornography charges after a months-long investigation resulting from tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said: 'At that time... the investigation was just getting started and there would likely be more charges. What we should have said was there would likely be A LOT more charges - like more than anyone in our county ... ever.' 'There is no telling how many charges he could face if detectives went through all the devices. Detectives say Hernandez's collection of child porn is the largest they have ever seen.' Johnathan Jhovanni Hernandez, 23, of Avon Park, Florida, was arrested on January 10 and faces 1,182 child pornography charges Hernandez was originally arrested on December 29 facing only four charges and released on bond. A comb through just one of his 15 devices saw the charges skyrocket The investigation against Hernandez began in August, where tips led investigators to obtain search warrants for the man's Discord account, which was found to have child porn. Hernanez was originally charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of transmitting child pornograpy, and one count of using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. While he was initially released on bail, police executed a search of Hernandez's home and confiscated 15 electronic devices. Just one of those devices brought the charges up to nearly 1,200, with police arresting Hernandez, again, on Tuesday. Along with the child porn charges, Hernandez was also charged with four counts of possession of beastiality images under a new law that went into effect last October. Hernandez is being held on a $2.4 million bond and is facing life in prison if convicted of all charges. The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is still ongoing as detectives look through the other 14 devices taken from Hernandez's home. For the first time formaldehyde, a deadly chemical that is used to preserve corpses was traced in milk, said Yadadri zonal assistant food controller V. Jyotirmayi.(File Image: DC ) Hyderabad: Formaldehyde, a deadly chemical that is used to preserve corpses is being added in milk and dairy products. Around 600 litres of milk adulterated with formaldehyde was supplied to hundreds of hotels in the city for the past six months, police said. This case came to light during raids conducted by food safety officers on a private diary in Kondamadugu village, Bibinagar mandal in Yadadri district. Food safety and police officials after getting the milk test reports on Friday were shocked to learn that formaldehyde was being mixed in the milk. Bibinagar police arrested three persons and charged them with cheating, adulteration and selling spurious products, said Bibinagar inspector K. Saidulu. For the first time formaldehyde was traced in milk, said Yadadri zonal assistant food controller V. Jyotirmayi. The accused Kadem Kumar Yadav, manager of the milk collection centre, said formaldehyde was being used to prevent milk from spoiling. The other accused, P. Kali and G. Srinivas, used to mix sucrose and ammonium sulphate in Kumar Yadav's milk in order to increase the quantity Meanwhile , sources disclosed that a BRS public representative from Bibinagar mandal called the food security officers and urged them not to file any cases against Yadav. Jyotirmayi and district food safety officer Swathi along with local police conducted the raid two days back and sent the samples for tests. Even if there is no immediate threat to consumers, there is a risk of long-term diseases if milk is mixed with formaldehyde chemicals as it could lead to respiratory, gastrointestinal and liver disorders, Dr Madhusudhan Reddy, a senior doctor of Yadadri district said. Jyotirmayi and Swathi warned of strict action against those selling adulterated milk. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has banned the Thin Blue Line flag from public areas within police departments this week over a complaint that the flag represents 'violent, extremist views.' The 'thin blue line' typically refers to the concept of the police as the line which keeps society from descending into violent chaos and has been used by the 'Blue Lives Matter' movement which began in December 2014 after the homicide of two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers. LAPD Chief Michel Moore defended the move to ban the flag to Fox News and said that the flag had been adopted by extremist groups who he said are 'undemocratic, racist and [have] bigoted views.' While the flag is banned from public display Moore said that officers can still display it at their workspace, locker door or personal vehicle. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has banned the Thin Blue Line flag from public areas within police departments over a complaint that the flag represents 'violent, extremist views.' LAPD Chief Michel Moore defended the move The 'thin blue line' typically refers to the concept of the police as the line which keeps society from descending into violent chaos and has been used by the 'Blue Lives Matter' movement which began in December 2014 'We received a community complaint of the presence of a Blue Line Flag [with] the view that it symbolized support for violent extremist views, such as those represented by the Proud Boys and others,' he said in an email to the outlet. 'I directed to have the item taken down from the public lobby. The U.S. flag should be proudly displayed in our lobbies whenever possible. Memorials for our fallen are also authorized in all public spaces.' Moore said he viewed the flag as symbolizing 'the honor, valor, dedication, and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities' but added that overtime it has been undermined with 'racist, bigoted and oppressive values.' 'It's unfortunate that extremist groups have hijacked the use of the 'Thin Blue Line flag' to symbolize their undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views,' he said. Station lobbies should be places where citizens feel welcome and safe and 'free of political ideology,' he continued. The Board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union representing police officers in the county, slammed the move in a statement calling it 'political pandering.' 'It is difficult to express the level of utter disgust and disappointment with Chief Moore's politically pandering directive to remove Thin Blue Line flags and memorials for fallen officers from all public areas within our police stations,' they said. 'This direction came as a result of complaints from anti-police, criminal apologists, and activists who hold too much sway over our city leaders and, unfortunately, our Chief.' Moore said the LAPD received a community complaint of the presence of a Blue Line Flag with the view that it 'symbolized support for violent extremist views, such as those represented by the Proud Boys (pictured) and others' Large groups of Proud Boys joined tens of thousands of Trump supporters in Washington to rally and march to declare the 2020 Presidential election results a fraud a Nov 14, 2020 The union said they 'vehemently' opposed 'this disrespectful and defeatist kowtowing by our department leadership to groups that praise the killing of police officers and outright call for violence against those of us in uniform. We have directly expressed our outrage to the Chief.' The group, which represents more than 9,900 members of the LAPD, disagreed with the chief's sentiment that the flag was divisive arguing that it was a 'symbol of unity.' 'Let's all remember what the Thin Blue Line flag is and what it represents: The Thin Blue Line flag features a black and white image of the American flag with the horizontal stripe beneath the field of white stars on the black background,' they said. 'The stars represent the citizenry who stand for justice and order. The darkness represents chaos and anarchy, and to many, a memorial to the law enforcement officers who have perished in the line of duty.' In a post to Facebook, the group said they had no plans to stop displaying the flag. 'We will display it proudly and will not let anyone distort the true meaning,' the post read. 'The imagery of American policing has come to be represented by the thin blue line. A flag created around that theme is black and white with a blue line as the center horizontal strip. 'The blue line represents the men and women of law enforcement who stand in the gap between the lawless and the innocent.' In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a similar step was taken by the Springfield township board, who voted 5-2 to ban the Thin Blue Line from township employees or property. The black and white flag with a Thin Blue Line is seen on the Police Benevolent Association logo. The decision to ban the symbol came after nearly two years of controversy and debate over the issue. The issue arose in 2021 when a flag with the pro-police symbol upset some residents. Commissioner Eddie Graham argued that the flag was comparable to the Confederate flag for African Americans. 'When you wave this flag, it is just like for African Americans the waving of a Confederate flag,' he said. Ultimately the board members voted to ban the symbol, arguing it was divisive which spurred an uproar from the community. Moore said he viewed the flag as symbolizing 'the honor, valor, dedication, and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities' but added that overtime it has been undermined with 'racist, bigoted and oppressive values' While the flag, seen here at a Blue Lives Matter protest in New York in 2020, is banned from public display Moore said that officers can still display it at their workspace, locker door or personal vehicle John English told the Delaware Valley Journal that when his family put up a blue heart with the Thin Blue Line in their window after an officer was killed, his family was targeted. 'My family is looked upon as white supremacists. To use that term so loosely in this society is disgusting. It's vile. These are the vilest people on earth and this is what you're comparing people to,' he told the board. Police officers argued that the board didn't understand what the symbol meant to them. 'Unless you've stood in the shoes of a police officer, you really don't know what we do,' one officer said. 'Nobody goes to work wanting to kill anybody,' he said before describing a Black Lives Matter protests from 2020 where he said he had 'rocks and bottles' thrown at him. 'You are asserting every time you see the Thin Blue Line flag that person is a racist. That doesn't make it racist,' he said. Black Lives Matter is an activist movement formed in 2013 that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. One board member said his vote was 'not in any way' meant to disrespect police officers but hoped the ban would 'remove the stigma' of those opposed to Black Lives Matter. Springfield Township manager Michael Taylor told Fox News that 'the resolution that was adopted by the Board of Commissioners of Springfield Township prohibits the display of what is actually the 'Blue Lives Matter Flag' on the uniforms of Township employees or that symbol being affixed or installed on Township Property.' The Board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union representing police officers in the county, slammed the LAPD's move in a statement calling it 'political pandering' In a post to Facebook, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said they had no plans to stop displaying the flag 'The Resolution does not prohibit the use of the flag or symbol by the Police Benevolent Association (PBA).' Taylor said that the black and white American flag with thin blue line is relatively new and 'while intended to support police departments everywhere, it has been co-opted by extremist groups and used to counter the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.' The township 'asked the PBA to consider using the original Thin Blue Line flag instead. The PBA declined. 'The resolution is simply the Township's attempt to disassociate itself from a symbol which many of our residents find divisive,' said Taylor. 'The Township remains strongly in support of its Police Department and all of the citizens of Springfield Township. In April 2019, an Oregon county agreed to pay $100,000 to a black employee who sued alleging she was harassed after asking that a Blue Lives Matter flag not be displayed in the office. Karimah Guion-Pledgure said in her January lawsuit against Multnomah County that the flag demeans the Black Lives Matter movement, The Oregonian reported. She said she was harassed by others in the office after she and other black co-workers complained, and notes on a photo wall of minorities killed by cops that she erected in response, included 'thanks a lot' and 'bitch'. Guion-Pledgure's lawsuit said the Blue Lives Matter movement 'co-opts' the Black Lives Matter movement and 'repurposes it to shift focus to law enforcement a chosen profession, not a racial identity and thus denigrates, dilutes, and demeans the purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement.' The NRA blasted the regulation and dubbed President Joe Biden 'an enemy of our Second Amendment' The Biden administration announced new rules against pistol stabilizing braces, which were used in mass shootings, sparking outrage from the GOP and NRA. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF) filed new regulations on Friday that would require guns with a stabilizing brace to be treated like short-barreled rifles, and would therefore need owners to register for a federal license. The owners have 120 days to file for the license or either remove the stabilizing brace from their guns or surrender them to the ATF. The new law is part of President Joe Biden's plan to crack down on gun violence, targeting the tools used in the mass shootings in Colorado in 2021 and Ohio in 2019. The move, however, has stirred fury among Second Amendment advocates, with the NRA saying: 'The Biden Administration chose to shred the Constitution today.' 'Joe Biden is an enemy of our Second Amendment,' the group added. The Biden administration launched a new regulation targeting pistol stabilizing braces, requiring owners to register them with the government or get rid of them The ATF said the tool (pictured) allows pistols to be transformed into short-barreled rifles The NRA blasted the regulation and dubbed Joe Biden 'an enemy of our Second Amendment' Debate over pistol stabilizing braces has remained heated in the US as the tool, which was originally designed to help disabled combat veterans enjoy recreational shooting, has been used to carry out mass shootings. In August 2019, Connor Betts had one equipped to his rifle when he killed nine people, including his own sister, in Dayton, Ohio. The suspect was seen running with the modified .223-caliber rifle while wearing a bulletproof vest, a mask, and hearing protection as he chased down a crowd of terrified people. Then in March 2021, Ahmad Alissa had a stabilizer equipped to his weapon when he shot and killed 10 people at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. Among Alissa's victims was Officer Eric Talley, 51, a father-of-seven who rushed to the scene when the shooting was reported. During Friday's gun reform announcement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland commended the new regulation as a way to combat mass shootings by not allowing pistols to be transformed into short-barreled rifles. 'Keeping our communities safe from gun violence is among the Department's highest priorities,' Garland said. 'Almost a century ago, Congress determined that short-barreled rifles must be subject to heightened requirements. 'Today's rule makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles.' ATF Director Steven Dettelbach echoed Garland, saying: 'Certain so-called stabilizing braces are designed to just attach to pistols, essentially converting them into short-barreled rifles to be fired from the shoulder, therefore, they must be treated in the same way under the statute.' The stabilizing tool was used by Connor Betts (above) when he gunned down nine people in Dayton, Ohio, in 2019 It was also used by Ahmad Alissa (above) when he killed 10 inside a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado in 2019, with one of his victims including a hero cop Along with the NRA, the Gun Owners of America lobby group condemned the new rule and vowed to file a legal challenge. Erich Pratt, the group's senior vice president, said in a statement: '[The Biden administration] continues to find ways to attack gun owners. We will continue to work with our industry partners to amplify the disapproving voices in the firearms industry and [Gun Owners Foundation], our sister legal arm, will be filing suit in the near future.' US Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican who spoke out against the then-proposed change in 2021, reiterated that the ATF's rule was an 'overreach.' 'I will continue to fight against the ATF's unconstitutional overreach that could turn millions of citizens into felons,' Hudson said in a statement. GOP lawmakers also slammed the regulations as a government overreach Hudson was also joined by Sen. Mike Crapo, of Idaho, who said, 'The ATF's announced rule on pistol braces today is nothing short of a massive executive branch-imposed gun registration and confiscation scheme. This is an unacceptable attack on the Second Amendment and law-abiding Americans.' Despite Hudson's claims that the new regulation would affect disabled combat veterans, the ATF said the rule does not apply to them. The new rule will go into effect next week, with officials estimating that about 3 million stabilizing braces are in circulation around the nation. This is the moment a humungous female whale washed up dead on a Cornwall beach before floating back out to sea. The fin whale - the second largest animal on earth - was discovered on Friday along Cornwall's south coast - with marine experts from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust now urging the public to help track the whale after it was swept away overnight. British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were alerted to the stranded whale on Friday afternoon at 3:20pm, after someone reported what was believed to be a live whale near Perranuthnoe Beach. A team of volunteer marine mammal medics attended the scene but the whale was confirmed dead on their arrival. A fin whale, the second largest animal in the world, was discovered on Friday along Cornwall's south coast Someone reported what was believed to be a live whale near Perranuthnoe Beach on Friday afternoon Dan Jarvis, director at BDMLR, said: 'The whale was not very easy to spot, being some distance along the coast on a headland and mostly still submerged. 'Only its head was really noticeable having been forced up on to the rocks by the rough sea, while the rest of its body was very much in motion with the tide and waves. 'Unfortunately when we arrived it became apparent the 12-15-metre-long animal was already deceased. 'It was far too dangerous to get close, so our team stayed back a safe distance to assess it visually, collect photos and feed back information to our colleagues at Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Falmouth Coastguard.' The animal was later identified by BDMLR volunteers as a female fin whale. Volunteer marine mammal medics attended the scene but the whale was confirmed dead on their arrival It was considered to be in poor nutritional condition, but the cause of death could not be determined without a postmortem examination. A volunteer from Cornwall's Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network also attended the scene. The whale was then assessed for a potential postmortem examination for the next day by the Cornwall Marine Pathology Team. However, when volunteers came back to look for the whale on Friday it had vanished. Sightings of large whales, including fin and humpback whales, have become more common along Cornwall's coastline in recent years. The fin whale, pictured, can grow up to 80 feet in length and weigh up to 120 tonnes. [File image] Volunteers from Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Seaquest Southwest project recorded 12 fin whale and 21 humpback whale records in 2021. The fin whale The fin whale also called 'the greyhounds of the sea' - can grow up to 80 feet in length and weigh up to 120 tonnes. The species can be found all over the world but were heavily hunted during the 19th and 20th centuries. The fin whale is currently considered a vulnerable species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Advertisement Abby Crosby, marine conservation officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: 'To see the body of this majestic mammal onshore is extremely upsetting and sad. 'But, if the animal is found again, it provides a fantastic opportunity for us to examine the individual and collect scientifically robust evidence that will help us conserve our marine megafauna for the future. 'At Cornwall Wildlife Trust, we're celebrating 20 years of running the Marine Strandings Network this year. 'It's safe to say we would know far less about the state of our Cornish seas and the threats to our vulnerable marine life if it wasn't for our dedicated strandings volunteers, reports from members of the public and the partner organisations we work so closely with.' She added: 'If you come across the whale, or indeed any dead marine animal on our coastline, please ring our hotline straight away.' The wildlife charities are now asking anyone who might find the missing whale to report it immediately. Members of the public are urged to report all dead animals found along Cornwall's coastline to the Trust's 24-hour strandings hotline on 0345 2012626. Meanwhile, all live stranded animals in need of rescue can be reported to BDMLR's rescue hotline on 01825 765526. The family of a man who starved to death in an Arkansas jail because he was unable to pay his $100 bail have sued after his medication was taken away and he had to eat his own feces. Larry Eugene Price Jr., 51, died at the Sebastian County Detention Center in August 2021, after being held for a little over a year at the facility awaiting trial on a terroristic threatening charge, a felony. Price, who had a history of serious mental illness - including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder - had been held in solitary confinement at the county facility, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit against Sebastian County accused the jail and its medical provider of neglecting Price as he ate and drank less over the course of a year and his weight dropped from 185 pounds to 90 pounds. Jail staff also discontinued Price's mental health medications after he refused to take them, the lawsuit said, and didn't make any effort to follow up with the inmate to address his mental health needs. Price was arrested in August 2020 after he walked into the Fort Smith Police Department and threatened officers while pointing his finger as if her were pulling an imaginary trigger, the lawsuit said. Price, who also had a developmental disability, was homeless at the time of his arrest and had no real weapon. Larry Eugene Price Jr., 51, died at the Sebastian County Detention Center in August 2021. Price, who had a history of serious mental illness - including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder - had been held in solitary confinement at the county facility His bare bones cell had food cartons and a few towels on the floor He was held in solitary confinement while at the detention center He was found in his cell with his eyes wide open, naked, with dried saliva on his mouth, and in a pool of standing water. He had reportedly taken to eating his own feces and drinking his urine prior to this death, according to Newsweek. Even after his death, the jail continued to mark Price and his cell as 'okay,' Newsweek reported. 'Larry Price suffered in the tortured throes of his untreated mental disorder for months on end as jail healthcare and security staff watched him waste away-apathetic to his life-threatening medical and mental health needs and to the cruelty of his confinement,' the lawsuit said. 'I was appalled a developmentally disabled, mentally ill man, who couldn't afford his low bail amount, was held in solitary confinement for a year,' Attorney Erik Heipt told Newsweek. 'He was not serving a sentence. He was awaiting trial the whole time for a crime that he wasn't mentally capable of committing. 'There is no excuse for an atrocity like this.' Heipt said Price's case is perfect example of 'everything that's wrong with the cash bail system.' 'It punishes the poor. He was essentially jailed for being in a mental health crisis. He didn't hurt anyone. If anything, he was the one who needed help. Instead of getting him that help, they took him to jail and locked him in solitary confinement for a year. This was a colossal systemic breakdown,' the Seattle-based attorney said. The lawsuit was filed against Sebastian County and Turn Key Health Clinics LLC, the jail's medical provider, along with two employees of Turn Key. It also lists several unnamed employees of the county jail and Turn Key as defendants. Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz said the sheriff is conducting an internal review of Price's case. He went into the jail at 185 pounds and died at just 90 pounds (pictured). He was stuck in the facility for more than a year because he was unable to afford his $100 bail He was found in his cell with his eyes wide open, naked, with dried saliva on his mouth, and in a pool of standing water He was in the water so long his feet shriveled up (pictured) He also reportedly started to eat his own feces and drink his urine before he died 'The county places a high priority on the safety of every person in our jail. We have medical personnel available to treat inmates in need of care,' Hotz said in an email to AP. 'The sheriff is conducting an internal review of this situation and hope to know more in the future.' According to the lawsuit, inspections at the jail over the years identified problems such as overcrowding, understaffing and inadequate space at the county facility. The Arkansas State Police launched an investigation into the incident and turn over their results to Sebastian County without any charge recommendations, which is typical, according to Newsweek. The prosecuting attorney wrote back to the police that no charges would be pressed. Price has diagnosed mental health issues, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder He was also taken off his medication after he refused to take it, but the jail did not follow up to check on his mental illness His family is suing Sebastian County and Turn Key Health Clinics LLC, the jail's medical provider, along with two employees of Turn Key 'I have personally reviewed the entire Arkansas State Police investigative file, which includes interviews with the Detention Center staff, Arkansas State Police reports, and the autopsy report, before making this decision,' wrote prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue. 'It is the opinion of this office that no criminal charges can be filed against any person with regard to this death.' Sebastian County has set up mental health court, but it was after Price was arrested and therefore did not apply to him. The court is supposed to look into other options for the mentally ill, such as rehabilitation centers, instead of jail. Price was being house at the Sebastian County Detention Center (pictured) Price has been arrested a few times before and had several run-ins with police, according to police spokesperson Aric Mitchell. 'I don't even have a count for how many interactions we had with Mr. Price, but it was many,' he told Newsweek. 'That day, he was more agitated than normal.' Mitchell said he was stunned to find out the manner of Price's death, as many police officers believed he had died from COVID-19. 'Oh dear God, that's horrendous,' he told the outlet. A man jailed in Arizona is facing a murder charge in connection with the disappearance of a four-year-old Oklahoma girl that he had been caring for as the search continues for the missing child. Ivon Adams, 36, and his estranged wife Alysia Adams, 31, had been caring for missing Athena Brownfield, 4, and her older sister Adina, 5, when she vanished. Adams was arrested on Thursday in Arizona on one count of child neglect in the case of Athena Brownfield, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said. Police said in a post to Facebook on Friday evening that 36-year-old Adams is now facing one count of First Degree murder but did not give further details about what led to the charge. Ivon Adams (left) who was jailed in Arizona in connection to the disappearance of a four-year-old gilr is now facing a murder charge. Earlier, authorities said that they arrested Alysia Adams (right), 31, on two counts of child neglect - police say the pair are married The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations continues to search for Athena Brownfield. The four-year-old is said to have vanished Jan 6 and reported missing on Tuesday Jan 10 Adams is being held in the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix pending extradition to Oklahoma. Earlier, authorities said that they arrested Alysia Adams, 31, on two counts of child neglect, the OSBI saying the 31-year-old is married to Adams. The bureau has released no further details about the arrests and its not clear whether either have sought legal counsel. While authorities have revealed that the pair are married, it appears the couple have since split, with Alysia seen spending a romantic weekend away with her boyfriend just days after Athena went missing. Athena and her five-year-old sister Adina were being looked after by Alysia. Adina was found by a postal worker wandering the streets outside her home in Oklahoma. Police said that Athena could have disappeared Jan 6 four days before she was reported missing on Tuesday Jan 10. Athena is shown with her older sister Adina, who was found on Tuesday wandering around outside the home the girls had been living in Athena's grandmother Penny Brownfield said the family is trying to remain hopeful Oklahoma Highway Patrol were seen searching for Athena in a body of water near her home The child vanished from this house in Cyril, Oklahoma - authorities saying her disappearance only reported four days after she's said to have gone missing While authorities have said Ivon and Alysia are married the pair appear to have split. It's unclear when this happened. They have four biological children of their own When the worker said she checked the home no one appeared to be home, she claimed. Adina is said to have told the worker that she was hungry, and that she couldn't find Athena - who is described as being 'very shy'. Law enforcement told Fox News that Athena may have been missing since January 6, four days before the postal worker found her sister. Over the weekend of Jan 7 and 8, Alysia, who had guardianship of the sisters, was seen enjoying a trip to the movies and a meal over an hour away in Oklahoma City with her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis. Alysia was taken into custody on Thursday on charges of child neglect, whereas Ivon was arrested on Friday. Athena's caregvier, Alysia, spent the weekend enjoying romantic dates with her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis Alysia calls herself a 'beauty influencer'. She regularly uploads videos to TikTok but the kids are never shown Over the weekend of Jan 7 and 8, Alysia - who had guardianship of the sisters with her estranged husband Ivon - enjoyed a trip to the movies and a meal over an hour away in Oklahoma City with Davis It's remains unclear why Ivon was in the state, or why he and Alysia had custody of the sisters. Adina is now being cared for by the state. Alysia regularly shares videos of herself rapping on TikTok, singing along to the N-word and making joke clips about her life as a busy mother. She has four children of her own who regularly feature on her Instagram account, but Athena and Adina are never shown. It remains unclear how the girls ended up in her care. The children's paternal grandmother, Penny Brownfield, is in Cyril, Oklahoma, and joined the search for her missing grandchild - the girls' biological parents are yet to be named. Part of the police investigation is identifying where the parents are, according to a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation on Friday. Police are now searching bodies of water near the child's home. They have not given any indication of evidence that she is no longer alive. This is the shocking moment when a circus acrobat fell from an aerial hoop and crashed down onto an ice rink, knocking herself out cold. Circus-goers audibly gasped as the female acrobat, Mia Gonzales Soto, landed awkwardly after losing her grip at the Fantasy World On Ice circus in Tampico, Mexico on January 10. Footage shows Mia performing acrobatics from the hoop as it swings around the room to a song from the film Frozen, before she plummets more than 16 feet onto the floor. After her fall, the video shows her lying motionless on the ice rink as officials switch off the lights and staff rush to her aid. Footage shows Mia Gonzales Soto performing acrobatics from the hoop as it swings around the room to a song from the film Frozen, before she plummets more than 16 feet onto the floor The audience then applauds Mia in the hope of reviving her. She was taken to a hospital in Tampico after the horrifying incident. In a statement, the circus said: 'Among our audience there was a female paramedic and she voluntarily gave her first aid. 'We will be forever grateful to her.' It added: 'The fall was dramatic. However, there were no fractures or internal damage. 'It is worth mentioning that Mia was able to walk out of the hospital. She is in perfect health.' Circus-goers audibly gasped as Mia landed awkwardly after losing her grip. After her fall, the video shows her lying motionless on the ice rink as officials switch off the lights and staff rush to her aid Local media reported that following a brief intermission, the circus show was able to continue as planned. Earlier this month, a circus performance had to be halted after two female tigers battled in front of an audience of children and parents. Trainers repeatedly hit the tigers with poles and threw props at them to try and separate the beasts at Kislovodsk State Circus in Russia. One female tiger named Eru was attacked by a nine-year-old white tigress, Gina, that went on the rampage in the ring during an act. Eru was badly injured but climbed back on a ring stool before collapsing with blood pouring from her gaping wounds in front of hundreds of watching children and their parents. Furious female lawmakers in Missouri went head-to-head after one of them proposed a 'ridiculous' and 'sexist' new dress code for women - banning bare arms and forcing them to wear blazers while in the House chamber. The original dress code for women in the House was a dress, skirt or slacks worn with a sweater or blazer, and appropriate dress shoes or boots. But now Ann Kelley, a Missouri representative and Republican lawmaker has proposed an amendment to the dress code, in which jackets - defined as blazer or knit blazers sweaters - must be worn over the arms. She said the update is necessary because 'it is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere' but she was met with outrage during Wednesday's House chamber session - and features in a video from the debate with her shirt untucked. In a video from the chamber, Democrat Rep. Ashley Aune told Kelley: 'You know what it feels like having a bunch of men in this room trying to decide whether it's appropriate or not?' Kelley countered: 'You would think... you would think... you would think that all you would have to do is say dress professionally and women could handle it.' Ann Kelley, a Missouri representative and Republican lawmaker proposed an amendment to the dress code, in which she stated that the update is necessary because 'it is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere' Democrat Representative Raychel Proudie also stood up and spoke out about the new rules. 'There are very serious things in this rule package that I think we should be debating but, instead we are fighting - again - on women's rights to choose something and in this time it is how she covers herself and the interpretation of someone who has no background in fashion. 'Again, this is not a shot, it is inappropriate to wear sequins before 5pm telling me that I cannot wear a crispy good St. John sweater if it has too many buttons. 'I spent $1,200 on a suit, and I can't wear it in the People's House because someone who doesn't have the range tells me that's inappropriate,' she said. Representative Peter Meredith spoke out about new dress code and some of the drama that unfolded during Wednesday's session at the House chamber. 'Yep, the caucus that lost their minds over the suggestion that they should wear masks during a pandemic to respect the safety of others is now spending its time focusing on the fine details of what women have to wear (specifically how to cover their arms) to show respect here.' Kelley's modified version of the proposal was eventually approved by the state House, permitting females to wear cardigans as well as jackets, but still requires no bare arms. Spectators on Twitter responded to the heated debate, many siding with Reps. Proudie and Aune - and some commenting on how Kelley herself was presented. Rep. Peter Meredith tweeted his reaction to the dress code announced in the House Chamber The Democrat, who represents St. Louis City, was elected to his first two-year term Nov. 2016 'She doesnt even tuck her shirt in! Talk about professionalism!,' Justin Longs Walrus Suit tweeted: Mia Nill tweeted: 'THIS lady has the final fashion word? Normally I don't care: BUT since she's about 'professionalism' why's the shirt untucked&jacket buttoned? 'What's with THAT blue/black/'Business Blah' olive/brown? jacket combo? (this coat lives in her office and gets thrown on every day right?)' The tightening of the dress code was announced on Wednesday during the new session, a standard protocol at the the start of new General Assembly when members discuss changes to the House rules, which takes place every two years. 'Men are required to wear a jacket, a shirt and a tie, correct? If they walked in here without a tie, they would get gaveled down in a heartbeat,' Kelley said. 'If they walked in without a jacket, they would get gaveled down in a heartbeat. So, we are so interested in being equal.' On Thursday in a Facebook statement Kelley spoke about the dress code modification to Rule 98 - a house rule on how members are supposed to dress in the House Chamber and on the floor during session. 'I have had lots of hateful calls, emails, and messages in regards to this amendment, which is funny because we already have a dress code all I was doing was fixing the errors and clarifying the rule,' she said. 'Every business is in charge of their protocols and rules, when you run a meeting there are rules that must be followed. Before the House can begin their work, rules must be adopted. This was something that the Chief Clerk, who is in charge of decorum has requested for many years to get fixed in our rules. Now, it has been fixed. 'Any time a bill is brought to the house floor, anyone has an opportunity to add an amendment and then that amendment is voted on by the whole body. There were over 15 amendments that were filed and less than five made it on the rules package, one of which was mine. 'I spoke less than 5 minutes introducing my amendment, so time, I did not waste anyones time. Spending 5 minutes to fix a grammatical error in the rule book of the MO House of Representatives, in my mind is not a waste of time.' Members of the Missouri House Committee (pictured) Representative Brenda Shields was one of those members who defended Kelley's proposal, Fox News reported. Shields suggesting that Kelley was clarifying the rules that were already in place and suggested adjusting the language to let cardigans count as jackets. Nevertheless, the move was criticized as sexist since the men's dress code in the Chambers - men are required to wear 'business attire, including coat, tie, dress trousers, and dress shoes or boots' - was left unchanged. A Texas elementary school teacher who was found dead in her backyard with multiple gunshot wounds is said to have met her alleged killer on a dating app just a week before she was murdered. Police responded to reports of a shooting at 9.50pm Jan 7 in the 1100 block of Oxford Mills Lane in Sugar Land Texas when they found Wendy Duan, 28, dead in her backyard. The man she had been dating, Charvas Thompson, 26, was arrested in connection to the murder on Wednesday in Louisiana, over 260 miles from the deadly shooting. The two had met on the dating app 'MeetMe' according to Duan's mother, who did not want to be identified. She told KHOU11 that she had not been comfortable with the arrangement. Texas elementary school teacher, Wendy Duan, 28 was found dead in her backyard with multiple gunshot wounds and is said to have met her alleged killer, Charvas Thompson, 26, on a dating app just a week before she was murdered Thompson was arrested in connection to the murder, which took place in the 1100 block of Oxford Mills Lane in Sugar Land Texas, on Wednesday, in Louisiana, over 260 miles from the deadly shooting 'She showed me the picture. I don't know his name. She said, 'do you like him?' I said 'no,' Duan's distraught mother recalled. Despite her strong intuition and warning to Duan about the danger of meeting a stranger online she never imagined her daughter would end up dead. 'It's unbelievable. The guy is very evil. He took her life away. I hope this guy gets the full legal punishment,' she said. Duan was a third-grade language arts teacher with the Alief Independent School District and was named English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher of the Year in December 2021. According to her mother, Duan was a dedicated teacher who put her students first. 'Every Thursday she asks me to go to dollar store to buy gifts for kids,' she said. Duan was a third-grade language arts teacher with the Alief Independent School District and was named English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher of the Year in December 2021 Thompson is in the process of being extradited back to Texas. An arrest warrant was issued Sunday charging him with murder and setting his bond at $500,000. In December 2021, Duan was named English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher of the Year, according to a post on her Facebook page. 'I still can't believe that I won ESL teacher of the year. The whole time I kept telling people that there's no way that I would win,' she wrote. 'Especially going against other teachers who have been teaching way longer than I have. Thanks to the people who believed in me and voted for me!' In a video on her Facebook the 28-year-old teacher can be seen marking papers for school. In the video Duan can be seen panning her mobile to a stack of paper she'd left to mark over the weekend. 'My a** has been procrastinating because I'm just not one of those teachers that grades throughout the week so I wait last minute and their due tomorrow,' she is heard saying. On her Instagram profile the young educator wrote that she is a University of Houston Alumni and of Chinese-Vietnamese decent. Tributes flowed for the Texas teacher after news of her death spread to family and friends. One person said that Duan loved to help her community posting pictures of her doing charity work The person who Duan volunteered with wrote: 'Sad to learn about one of our volunteers 29-year-old Wendy Duan being killed' The bio on her profile reads an ominous homage to her feelings about life: 'Live life to the fullest. We are only getting older.' The profile has several pictures of the 28-year-old showing her day to day activities and hanging out with friends as well as pictures of her car. Some posts indicate that Duan was never short of date offers, with followers questioning her relationship status and some even asking her out. In a video post to TikTok Duan wrote 'When you realize your Tinder guy can actually sing while doing drunk karaoke' indicating the 28-year-old had previously used other dating apps, prior to 'MeetMe.' Tributes flowed for the Texas teacher after news of her death spread to family and friends. 'The small moments I spent with her she was a force of light. You can just tell. I remember going to her home and see all the cards on her fridge from her students and the faculty members from her school,' one person posted to Facebook. 'She was and still loved by many people & my heart breaks that she lost her life. No one deserves that. On her Instagram profile the young educator wrote that she is a University of Houston Alumni and of Chinese-Vietnamese decent The bio on her profile reads an ominous homage to her feelings about life: 'Live life to the fullest. We are only getting older' Some posts indicate that Duan was never short of date offers, with followers questioning her relationship status and some even asking her out 'When I met her we laughed and sang a Drake song and repeated all night '21 can you do some for me' we ran outside in the freezing cold, laughing and singing. 'She was a kind soul, from what I knew of her and my heart breaks that none of her friends and family will ever be able to experience that again.' Another person who Duan volunteered with said: 'Sad to learn about one of our volunteers 29-year-old Wendy Duan being killed.' 'She wanted to do some good deeds in the community, so she came out to volunteer with us. She was a very friendly, and soft-spoken person. 'We all had a good genuine vibe about her. We had prayer with herWow you just never know what a person is going through. Our sincere condolences to her family.' The Alief Independent School District wrote in a statement: 'We are deeply saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Alief ISD employee Wendy Duan.' 'She was a third grade reading and writing teacher at Boone Elementary. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time. 'She is a 2017 Graduate of the University of Houston and was on the Dean's List in the College of Education from Fall 2015-2017 and is the HAABE (Houston Area Association of Bilingual Educators) 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.' The hands-on approach to stopping the brawl appeared to stray far from Schnieder's philosophy of finding 'creative responses to conflict' Schnieder was filmed pushing one of the students away and raising his fists in a boxer-like pose, despite a school officer nearby already trying to stop the fight The fight began after one of the grown ups allegedly sucker punched a student after he reportedly dumped milk on a girl two days prior Bronx Collaborative High School principal Brett Schneider jumped in to stop a fight between students and adults in October A woke Bronx high school principal was filmed raising his fists against students in a fighting stance during the middle of a brawl despite preaching about 'civility.' The shocking video opens with a fight outside the Bronx Collaborative High School after the relative of a girl who allegedly had milk dumped on her two days prior by a male student sucker punches him. During the ensuing chaos between students and adults, principal Brett Schneider, 49, is seen intervening as he raises his hands and pushes one of the teens away, motioning his fists towards the minor. One of the students who witnessed the scene told the New York Post that Schneider 'looked like he was a boxer,' while others were stunned that he was defending grown adults against one of his own students. Schnieder's actions also appeared to be in stark contrast to how he previously described his leadership skills. In an undated post to the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility in Manhattan, he boasted: 'We hadn't had a single fight, physical or verbal, in 12 weeks. It's because we've been building trust. We've created a climate of civility and respect.' Bronx Collaborative High School principal Brett Schneider (in the yellow shirt) jumped in the middle of a fight in October, pushing one of his students away from adults. The fight began after one of the grown ups allegedly sucker punched a student In the video, a school safety officer could be seen nearby working to break up the violence, yet Schnieder still jumped in to push the student away. The principal drew scrutiny from parents and students alike who condemned him for failing to peacefully stop the brawl that ensued at the school. Tom Sheppard, a parent representative on the Department of Education's Panel for Educational Policy, tweeted: 'You're talking about the principal, the leader of the school, a grown man, who is supposed to be trained in de-escalating situations actually out in the street fighting and making it worse.' A senior in the school echoed the criticism, telling the Post: 'That's a grown man. So, as a grown man, why are you helping another grown man fight a kid?' Schneider and the New York City Department of Education did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. The NYPD confirmed that the incident happened on October 24, and that no arrests were made. The hands-on approach to stopping the brawl appeared to stray far from Schnieder's philosophy of finding 'creative responses to conflict' Schneider is then seen squaring up against the minor with his fists raised Students and parents alike said they were shocked at the principal's actions and for appearing to defend grown adults against a minor Schneider's hands-on approach during the fight strayed far from his philosophy when he became the high school's first principal in 2013. In another Morningside Center post, Schnieder, who made $223,861 last year, said that his team had 'created a whole different atmosphere one of love and respect. Kids are less likely to get into fights. 'When there is a fight, they know that they won't be demonized Finding creative responses to conflict can be life-changing.' The school, which serves about 550 students, the majority of whom are Latino and black, also touts this philosophy on their website, as they also state they're committed to social justice. 'We prize individuality, diversity, and authenticity working together to address issues of social justice and to create positive change in the world,' the school says on its website. 'Teachers work with students on social justice issues through community circles each week and resolve conflicts creatively through restorative circles, conversations, and conferencing.' Schnieder jumped in despite the fact that a school officer was at the scene breaking it up Schnieder is the founding principal at the school (pictured), touting his leadership for supposedly reducing the number of fights at the campus Along with recent criticisms over the brawl, Schneider was also blasted by former staffers on the UFT Solidarity website, a caucus of the teacher's union that allows educators to post anonymous comments about administrators 'in need of improvement.' One former staffer described him as 'misogynistic' and unwilling to hear out anyone else' ideas to help the school. 'He repeatedly says he wants to build community but only ever implements his ideas,' the former staffer wrote. 'The joke is that at Bronx Collaborative, there is nothing collaborative about the place.' Prior to working at the high school, Schneider worked at the Institute for Collaborative Education, another public high school based in Manhattan. He was also a member of the 2019 to 2020 cohort of Teachers College's Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished Principals. Cahn fellows are chosen from the top principals of major cities around the US who collaborate on special projects to improve their leadership and schools. A manhunt is underway to find the gunmen responsible for a devastating mass shooting which left a seven-year-old girl fighting for her life and five others injured in north London. The victims were shot as they exited a funeral service for British-Colombian cancer victim Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother Fresia Calderon, 50, outside St Aloysius church on Phoenix Road opposite Euston railway station about 1.30pm on Saturday. A police source told The Mail on Sunday a man jumped out of the car and started firing into the crowd as white doves - symbols of peace - were released. It is believed the gunman may have been targeting a guest at the funeral as part of a revenge attack. 'People are saying the intended target of the shooting was a man who attended the service,' one woman from the funeral said last night. 'There's speculation that it was some sort of revenge attack.' Police forensic officers remain on the scene this evening amid an ongoing investigation Single mum Fresia Calderon and her daughter Sara Sanchez died within a month of each other Met Police confirmed this evening six people in total were injured in the attack; four women aged 21, 41, 48 and 54, along with two children aged 12 and seven. It marks one of the worst mass shootings in London for decades. The seven-year-old girl 'remains in hospital in a life threatening condition' after she was rushed to a hospital with a major trauma centre as a priority. Horrified witnesses revealed they had to run for cover as a black car pulled up and 'started shooting bullets' out of nowhere into the crowd, who had gathered to celebrate the lives of the mother-daughter duo, who died within a month of each other in November. One witness claimed to The Sun a suspect appeared to be chased into nearby Euston station. No arrests have been made and Met Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward and assist with the investigation. The drive-by shooting happened on Phoenix Road in NW1, London Police forensic officers remain on the scene this evening amid an ongoing investigation A 12-year-old girl was discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for a minor leg injury sustained in the incident. The adult victims were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, though police said the 48-year-old suffered potentially 'life-changing' trauma. Witnesses told MyLondon they were fired upon as they went outside to watch the flying of doves after the service. They ran for cover as a black car pulled up, seemingly out of nowhere, and 'started shooting bullets'. 'It was chaos. It was horrible. No one knew if it was a bomb or gunman,' one said. 'We were looking for places to hide. We all just snuggled into corners where we could. We left after about 10 minutes, I did not dare [leave before]. It was not nice.' It is not yet clear how the victims knew the mother and daughter duo whose funerals they were attending. Police are pictured at the scene of a shooting outside a funeral on Phoenix Road, next to Euston railway station Police responded to reports shots were fired from a moving vehicle, during a funeral at St Aloysius Fresia Calderon (pictured) died after suffering a pulmonary embolism after she arrived to Heathrow from Colombia on November 5 Fresia Calderon died after suffering a pulmonary embolism after she arrived to Heathrow from Colombia on November 5. Latest in tragic spate of shootings The shooting is the latest case of innocent bystanders getting caught up gun crime plaguing the UK. Elle Edwards, 26, was shot dead in the beer garden of the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey, Merseyside, on December 24. Deliveroo moped rider Guilherme Messias Da Silva, 23, was hit and killed by a driver who was shot eight times in a gang shooting in Brixton last October. Nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead after a masked gunman burst into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool last August. Council worker Ashley Dale, 28, suffered fatal gunshot wounds in the garden of her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, last August. 19-year-old Rio Jones of Liverpool was last week jailed for life for opening fire in Toxteth, shooting a 15-year-old schoolgirl in the neck in March 2022. Three-year-old Sophie Martyn was killed alongside her father Lee during a shooting spree in Plymouth in which six people died in August 2021. Four gangsters were jailed after fashion student Natalie Bignall, 32 was hit by a stray bullet outside a pub in Hackney, east London in November 2020. Advertisement Her daughter Sara Sanchez, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia three years ago, succumbed 25 days later after 'giving up all hope', according to a family member. Sara was diagnosed with leukaemia in May 2020 and after six months of chemotherapy experienced two years in remission. She relapsed in July 2021 and required a bone marrow transplant. It was her mother who instilled hope that she would recover on days when she otherwise felt like giving up. So after Fresia's sudden and unexpected death, relatives say she struggled to carry on. The duo, along with Sara's younger brother, had travelled to Colombia for a 'final goodbye' and were on their way back when Fresia collapsed in front of both children. Father Jeremy Trood, who conducted the service at St Aloysius church, said: 'I heard a big bang and police are in the church at moment. People who were leaving the church have rushed back in.' He described the ceremony as a 'Requiem Mass' rather than a funeral. 'They were very scared, people sheltered in the church until the police said they can leave but some of them were so scared they had to wait a while to get their confidence back up to go outside. 'But I was in the church the whole time so I didn't actually see what had happened.' Pictures posted on Instagram last night from the funeral showed how a photograph of Fresia and Sara hugging each other had been placed by the altar during the service. Although the service was for two members of London's Colombian community, a mourner said fellow guests were from a wide variety of backgrounds, with 'British Colombians' a minority. Mourners invited to the 'celebration mass' for the two women were asked to wear white. Stephanie, who lives near the church, said her 11-year-old daughter had been walking home from a friend's house and saw someone lying on the ground before the police arrived. She added that an emergency services helicopter had made an aborted landing in front of their home before flying off and eventually landing in a nearby school playground. When emergency services arrived at the scene, they found the victims suffering bullet wounds on a small side street near Euston station. Single mum Fresia Calderon and her daughter Sara Sanchez died within a month of each other It was Sara's mother who instilled hope that she would recover on days when she otherwise felt like giving up. So after Fresia's (pictured) sudden and unexpected death, relatives say she struggled to carry on The church remains closed as of Saturday evening, with detectives still on the scene as investigations continued into last night. Superintendent Ed Wells said: 'Any shooting incident is unacceptable, but for multiple people, including two children, to be injured in a shooting in the middle of a Saturday afternoon is shocking. 'Our thoughts are with all the victims, but in particular with the seven-year-old girl who is in a life threatening condition and with her family. 'An investigation into this dreadful attack is already well under way involving local officers and specialist detectives. I can assure the communities of Camden and beyond that we will do everything we possibly can to identify and bring to justice those who were responsible. 'Local residents can expect to see an increased visible police presence in the area through the weekend and into the days ahead as we progress this investigation.' All four sustained gunshot wounds when unidentified perpetrators performed a drive-by shooting outside St Aloysius church (pictured) on Phoenix Road The Met released a statement claiming initial enquiries suggest the shots were fired from a moving vehicle which quickly fled the scene The Met released a statement claiming initial enquiries suggest the shots were fired from a moving vehicle which quickly fled the scene. Officers initially said a seven-year-old and three women were hurt but later updated this as it emerged six people in total had sustained injuries. 'There is a significant police presence in the area. An urgent investigation is underway and details of the incident are still emerging,' the statement read. 'At this early stage there have been no arrests.' A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We sent three ambulance crews, five paramedics in fast response cars, an advanced paramedic and two incident response officers to the scene. 'We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance. The first paramedic arrived in around five minutes. 'We treated four people at the scene, one of whom was seriously injured and was taken to a major trauma centre, as a priority. The others were taken to hospital.' It is not yet clear how the victims knew the mother and daughter duo whose funerals they were attending, or why the funeral service was targeted The Met released a statement claiming initial enquiries suggest the shots were fired from a moving vehicle which quickly fled the scene Police cordons have been established in the area surrounding the church, and traffic is slow moving in the area Tragedy which led to Saturday's joint funeral The shooting yesterday came in the wake of a heartbreaking family tragedy. Fresia Calderon and her daughter Sara Sanchez had died just 25 days apart. Ms Sanchez had been diagnosed with leukaemia in 2020 and spent nearly three years of her life trying to defeat the disease. After raising more than 30,000 to try to treat it, Ms Sanchez was eventually told the treatments had not worked. Determined to make the most of her final weeks, Ms Sanchez decided to travel with her mother and 11-year-old brother to Columbia to visit family. On their way back to the UK, Ms Calderon began to feel unwell and collapsed in front of Sara on the airplane steps at Heathrow Airport. She died from a blood clot on November 5 last year. After her mother's death, Ms Sanchez refused to take any further treatments for leukaemia, including chemotherapy which could have extended her life. Just 25 days later, she succumbed to her illness and passed away. A family member said: '[Fresia] said that she felt very lightheaded and collapsed in front of both Sara and her younger brother. Although the emergency services worked tremendously hard to save her life, Fresia sadly passed away at the scene. 'The family travelled to Colombia after receiving the devastating news that the treatment had not been successful. 'Fresia's unexpected passing hurt Sara beyond repair. Sara gave up all hope for her future and lost the drive to fight cancer.' Family members described how Fresia and Sara had enjoyed a blissful time dancing in Colombia with family and friends during their holiday. Sara's cousin Darcy Diaz, 24, said: 'She could definitely dance better than me, Sara's hips did not lie. I remember her being very upset when coming back to London. Coming back to reality, coming back to palliative care.' She added: 'She just wanted to be with her mum. We just had to accept Sara had done all this treatment to make her mum happy and be with her. The moment she passed away I knew Sara was going to go soon after.' Advertisement One resident of an estate across the road from the church, who did not want to give her name, said: 'I heard the gunshots. 'I was having a quiet day on my balcony and I heard this almighty bang and I thought this was not normal, and the next minute everyone was screaming and shouting. 'We have a food bank there and everyone was running off. Neighbours came in and said there has been a shooting. What a terrible thing.' Sue, 54, a resident of the block next to the church who preferred not to give her last name, said the shooting victims were 'lucky to get an ambulance' given the current crisis in the NHS. She said: 'I heard screaming going on but that is not unusual for around here. I heard shouting and I came out and saw the police and ambulances. 'They must have caught the car on CCTV, round here it would got stuck in traffic.' Police cordons have been established in the area surrounding the church, and traffic is slow moving. Bus routes have been placed on diversion. Motorists travelling through the area have been warned of a significant police presence, and to expect delays. Labour leader Keir Starmer issued a tribute to the victims on Twitter this evening, stating: 'I am deeply shocked by the shooting in Euston and want to thank the emergency services for their response. My thoughts are with the victims.' And London Mayor Sadiq Khan also spoke out about the 'deeply distressing' attacks. Mr Khan said: 'This is a deeply distressing incident and my thoughts are with those who were injured and their families. 'A police investigation is now under way and I am in close contact with the Met Police to determine what happened.' Home Secretary Suella Braverman also volunteered her support to police as the investigation continues. 'I am deeply concerned by the shocking shooting incident in Euston this afternoon, which has sadly involved a seven-year-old girl and several women. My thoughts are with them and their families,' she said. 'The @metpoliceuk have my full support to conduct a thorough investigation and catch those responsible for this terrible crime.' Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information about what took place should call 101, giving the reference 3357/14JAN. Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. BJP National President J.P. Nadda. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: The two-day long national executive meeting of the BJP will begin on January 16 in the national capital, which could see the meet endorsing the extension of national president J.P. Nadda's term, which is ending on January 20. The meeting will also see deliberations on organisational issues, including the planning for the impending Assembly elections in nine states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be attending the national executive meeting. Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram are among the states that will be going to the polls this year. The BJP's performance in these states will have an impact on the parliamentary elections as well. With an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party top brass could also assign tasks for the party leaders and cadre. The national executive is also expected to pass resolutions on political and economic situations, and on foreign policy, with a special mention about India's G-20 presidency. The meeting could also see the BJP leadership giving a mantra on how to win the 160 parliamentary seats that the party's assessment shows could be problematic during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. According to party sources, Mr Modi will likely also hold a road show. While Mr Nadda will give the inaugural speech, Mr Modi is likely to give the valedictory address. The BJP leadership will also assess the poll preparedness of its organisational units in states where Assembly polls are slated this year. A total of six documents have been found in Biden's Wilmington home, bringing the total number up to 16 'That long delay in putting it out there is going to encourage people to believe: "What are they hiding?"' he said He also slammed him for not speaking up after the third batch of documents was found on Thursday, but not announced until Saturday Bill Clinton's former advisor David Gergen said he thought this was a 'very, very big deal' for Biden's campaign Democrats are worried Joe Biden's reelection bid could be in ruins after a third batch of documents were discovered at his Delaware home on Thursday Democrats are worried the controversy surrounding the classified documents found in Joe Biden's home and office could damage a 2024 reelection bid, as Bill Clinton's former advisor said this is 'very, very big deal' for the president. The president's attorneys announced on Saturday that five additional documents were found in the room adjacent to the garage - where the first set was found - at his Wilmington, Delaware, home. This is the third set found in Biden's possession and a total of 16 overall. While Republican lawmakers celebrate it as another chink in Biden's armor, Democrats are said to be secretly worried this will ruin his 2024 campaign and morph into the Hillary Clinton's email scandal. Her husband's former advisor David Gergen also think it could harm Biden's bid, telling Anderson Cooper: 'Its very, very big. Not legally but politically, its a very, very big deal. 'This is a president that was marching upward for the first time in his presidency. He got his numbers up. People are feeling better about the economy. There are all sorts of reasons to believe that he can now present himself - the fears that people like me have about how old he is and can he govern well? Those fears would be dissipated if he were able to stay on that track. Democrats are worried Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign could be in the hole after a third batch of documents were found in his possession. His lawyers announced the find on Saturday, although the documents were found on Thursday evening Democrats are worried the could become a remake of Hillary Clinton's email scandal 'Theyve done a wonderful job being cooperative with the government, and theyve done it by the books. I dont think sitting there hunkering down now, just acting like its not out there is good. Theyre going to get creamed doing that,' he said on Anderson Cooper's show. 'That long delay in putting it out there is going to encourage people to believe: "What are they hiding?"' Biden's former Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said it wouldn't be great for president to go under a special consul so soon to launching his reelection campaign. 'No one wants a special counsel. You dont go into a year before you may run for president and think: "I want a special counsel this year". No one wants that,' she said on MSNBC. She also said the documents being left behind was 'sloppy staff work in a transition,' between administrations, but said it could provide 'over the long-term - even if it brings short-term pain - being to their benefit.' A Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous, also worried for Biden, telling The Hill: 'This is going to be a pretty big problem for the president.' 'Republicans have always been good at drumming up scandal and even though the situation here with Biden is completely different than the situation involving Trump, theyre going to act like this is a huge deal.' Rodell Mollineau, another Democratic strategist, agreed, claiming the two situations were 'apples to oranges,' but Republicans won't treat it that way. 'This isnt their silver bullet, but theyre [Republicans] going to try,' he told The Hill. Republican lawmakers were certainly quick to take shots at the president and his administration on Twitter. 'Wait, I thought the WH said on Thursday the search was complete and there were no more docs,' Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Marsha Blackburn jumped in as well, writing: 'Another batch of classified documents has been located at Bidens private residence. They keep coming.' Senator Rick Scott wrote: 'Either @JoeBiden is an absolute hypocrite or completely clueless. Probably both. We need to get to the bottom of this. How long has he had these6+ years? Time for accountability.' Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability, writing: 'Just like the #BidenBorderCrisis, the Biden classified documents story is too big for the mainstream media to ignoreand the American people want answers.' 'As a former Senator and now President, Biden should know better on how to handle classified documents. This is exactly why stricter control should be enforced to prevent classified documents from leaving the White House,' wrote Senator Thom Tillis. Bill Clinton's former advisor David Gergen said he thought this was a 'very, very big deal' for Biden's campaign. He also slammed him for not speaking up after the third batch of documents was found on Thursday, but not announced until Saturday Biden's former Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said it wouldn't be great for president to go under a special consul so soon to launching his reelection campaign, but said this could benefit him 'long-term' Ever-outspoken Representative Marjorie Taylor Green wrote: 'Whats the easiest way to cover up Biden family crimes and corruption from Republican investigations? Easy. When Rs take majority, have Bidens attorneys suddenly turn over classified docs found in multiple locations & have Bidens AG appoint a special counsel to "investigate."' Ohio Representative Jim Jordan retweeted: 'WOW. THEY JUST FOUND MORE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AT JOE BIDENS HOUSE.' Ted Cruz also joked on Thursday that 'Hillarys server was also in Joes garage.' The third batch of classified files from Joe Biden's Vice Presidency were found on Thursday evening, but it was not announced to the public until Saturday morning. It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware, as the first one was found in the garage. It also brings the grand total of classified documents from Biden's days as vice president up to 16. A total of six classified documents have been found in Biden's Delaware home (pictured) The first document was discovered in the garage of Biden's Delaware home His personal attorneys discovered the documents in the room adjacent to the garage, but did not have clearance to view them, so they had to call in Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president. 'Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the Presidents personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department,' Sauber said, according to Fox News. 'While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them. 'The Presidents lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ,' he said. Biden's personal lawyer, Robert Bauer, defended the delay in releasing the information, saying the president's legal team 'have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigations integrity.' 'These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing,' he said in a statement. Republican lawmakers did not take lightly to the revelations on Saturday, quickly taking to Twitter to air their grievances The latest discovery comes just days after two other sets were found. The first set of sensitive files were found at a DC office for his think tank and as the Biden administration dodged questions on whether they were tracking down any other records. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was hounded by reporters during her Thursday briefing shortly before the article was published - and insisted that Biden takes classified documents and their retention 'seriously.' On Wednesday, Jean-Pierre was asked by reporters whether Biden had looked into whether he might have possibly taken other documents to any other office he has or his homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth, Delaware. She refused to provide an answer, saying: 'I'm just not going to speak to this. I'm going to let the process continue. It's an ongoing process. And so, I'm just not going to, to speak to this from here. It is more prudent and more appropriate for my colleagues at the White House Counsel.' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not go into further detail at a press briefing about classified documents found at a think tank office formerly used by President Joe Biden Earlier in the week, it was reported that in November 2022, attorneys for the president discovered documents at his former office in the Penn-Biden Center in Washington DC, which he used after his time as vice president. The documents were discovered in a locked closet while the lawyers were cleaning out the office to move out. The White House acknowledged that Biden's attorneys had found 10 documents with classified markings at an old office at a Washington DC think tank, the president has been peppered with questions about the discovery. The classified documents that appeared to be from the Obama administration were found on November 2 - before the midterm elections - though news of the documents did not come out until months later. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox News on Wednesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland should appoint a special counsel to handle the matter, as he did for the Trump investigations. 'Garland, if you're listening, if you thought it was necessary, attorney general, to appoint a special counsel regarding president trump, then you need to do the exact same thing regarding President Biden when it comes to handling classified information,' the South Carolina Republican said. The DC office building where 10 classified documents were found at a former office of now President Joe Biden US Attorney General Merrick Garland, who sanctioned the FBI's search warrant served at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is being asked to do the same for President Biden and his handling of classified documents Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri reacted to the news by simply tweeting out the words: 'Special counsel.' 'My question is with regard to the first batch, what did Merrick Garland know when they were discovered November 3, and he declared a special counsel for Trump on November 18?' Republican Representative Mike Waltz of Florida said to DailyMail.com. 'Obviously, he had some knowledge and yet chose a special counsel, announced it, you know, had this entire rollout and no mention. What did he know?' Waltz also questioned 'who knew' about the documents between November 3 and November 8, midterm Election Day. 'The timing is incredibly suspicious,' Waltz continued. 'It's got to be one of the world's biggest coincidences, if not, politics, were involved.' Biden was asked about the documents at the top of his trilateral press conference Tuesday in Mexico City, alongside Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The president said he was 'surprised' to find out classified documents were discovered in a box in a locked cabinet. But said his lawyers 'did what they should have done.' 'They immediately called the Archives - immediately called the Archives, turned them over to the Archives,' the president said. The documents were discovered on November 2 and handed over to the Archives on November 3. Armed Secret Service agents stand outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, late Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida while the FBI searched portion of his home for classified files taken from the White House Former President Donald Trump says that Biden's home should be 'raided' like his Mar-a-Lago estate in search of classified documents Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigation on November 18. Biden said he didn't know the content of the documents and that his lawyers suggested he not ask. 'And we're cooperating fully with the review,' the president added. Republicans have cried of a 'double standard' saying that Trump's possession of classified documents made him the subject of a raid on Mar-a-Lago in August. The Biden team has pointed out that in Trump's case, the FBI was aware that Trump had not fully complied with a subpoena from the Archives to return all classified documents. In Biden's case, the Archives was unaware of the missing documents. Representative Mike Turner from Ohio, the freshly appointed chair of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, contacted the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, saying that Biden's retention of the documents put him in 'potential violation of laws protecting national security, including the Espionage Act and Presidential Records Act.' The O2 Academy Brixton will remain shut for a further three months after a crowd crush at the venue killed two people and leaves a third fighting for her life in hospital. Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, were fatally hurt when fans without tickets tried to enter a show by Nigerian artist Asake at the south London site on December 15. A 21-year-old woman remains hospitalised in critical condition. Lambeth Council suspended the Brixton O2's licence shortly afterwards, pending a full hearing by a sub-committee on Monday, which the Metropolitan Police force said it would use to 'seek a further suspension'. Academy Music Group (AMG), which owns the O2, said today that it had 'reflected deeply' on the incident, and its Brixton venue would remain closed regardless of the licensing decision in two days. The O2 Academy Brixton will remain shut for a further three months after a crowd crush at the venue killed two people and leaves a third fighting for her life in hospital. Pictured: The crowd outside Brixton O2 Academyon December 15 Security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, (left) and nursing graduate Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, (right) were fatally hurt when fans without tickets tried to enter a show by Nigerian artist Asake at the south London site on December 15 An AMG spokesperson said today that the venue 'recognises the gravity of the events' that occurred during last month's concert and 'expresses its sincere condolences to the families of those who died during the tragic incident.' The licence holder, AMG, also expressed 'its genuine concerns for anyone affected' by the tragedy. The spokesperson explained that AMG is 'committed to understanding what happened' on December 15 and is 'co-operating with the various investigations that are under way.' The firm has also provided full co-operation to the police in the conduct of their inquiries, AMG claims. 'AMG has reflected deeply and has come to its own decision to close the premises for three months while the investigations take place,' the spokesperson said. 'And, at the same time, to work in partnership with the responsible authorities, which will include a review of the licence conditions and proposed amendments. 'The company's decision to close for this period will be the case whether or not the licence is suspended but AMG agrees to the suspension as an enforceable measure.' Met Police said it had previously sought the longer licence suspension 'to allow time to work with the venue to facilitate a safe reopening and to ensure appropriate safeguards, aimed at improving public safety, are in place'. Nigerian star Asake's (pictured) concert descended into chaos after fans were filmed clashing with police outside Brixton's O2 Academy on December 15 Academy Music Group (AMG), which owns the O2, said today that it had 'reflected deeply' on the incident, and its Brixton venue would remain closed regardless of the licensing decision in two days Heartbroken partner pays tribute to second Brixton O2 victim: Click here to read more Gaby's partner, Phoebie Turley, posted a picture of the couple in a social media post that said: 'My absolute world. I love you with my entire heart and soul' Advertisement Calls to emergency services were first made shortly after 9pm on December 15 following reports that a large crowd had gathered outside the music venue. Another call was then made at 9.35pm reporting people forcing entry into the building. The crush left a number of people with serious injuries, with many being treated at the scene by staff, police officers and paramedics. Mother-of-two and nursing graduate Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, died two days later in hospital from their injuries. The force also confirmed to MailOnline this evening that the 21-year-old woman who was injured during the incident is still hospitalised in critical condition. Ikumelo, Hutchinson and the woman still in hospital had been in the foyer of the venue when the crush occurred. Scotland Yard issued an appeal last month for anyone with information about the crush to call police the police non-emergency number on 101, providing the reference 6725/15DEC. Alternatively, tipsters can call independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org. This is a charity independent of police that does not ask for your name, trace your number or your ID address. The Met has also set up a dedicated page for the investigation, where photos and video footage can be uploaded. Mother-of-two and nursing graduate Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newman, East London, died in hospital as a result of her injuries two days after the fatal crush Phoebie Turley, left, is demanding someone is held accountable for the death of her partner Gaby Hutchinson, right, who died following the crush at the O2 Brixton Academy on December 15 Mother-of-two who died in Brixton Academy crush was an autism campaigner who offered parenting tips on TikTok: Click here to read more Rebecca Ikumelo (pictured), 33, from Newham, east London, died in hospital after being critically injured in the crush which unfolded during Asake's concert Advertisement Hutchinson's partner, Phoebie Turley, 25, has also demanded that the people involved in the crush be held responsible. 'Things like this should never have happened,' Turley said last month. 'Every action has a reaction, and this consequence has come out of people turning up with no tickets or turning up trying to kick through a door. 'For what? What purpose did that serve? Because now you have killed innocent people.' The couple, both from Gravesend in Kent, had been dating for more than three years after meeting through mutual friends. Turley paid tribute to her partner saying they were the nicest person she had ever known. 'They were just a good person,' she wrote. 'Gaby literally would have done anything for anyone at the drop of a hat. They weren't bothered who you were, Gaby would have given you the shirt off their back if someone else needed it. And they were like that our entire relationship. They did everything for me from the minute we met. 'They did not deserve this. Justice needs to be served and someone needs to be found accountable for what happened. 'Not just for Gaby, but just for Rebecca as well.' Following her death, tributes also flooded in for Rebecca, with friends describing the single mother and autism campaigner as a 'beautiful woman who radiated positive energy and was dedicated to being the best version of herself for her kids'. In a statement, Rebecca's family said: 'Rebecca was a graduate of nursing. She was an adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids. 'She was well respected in the family for her care, kindness and love. Her parents call her Tosin (short for Oluwatosin) meaning "Lord is Worthy".' An animal welfare charity has issued an appeal for information after three huge boa constrictors were found dumped near a loch near Glasgow. The reptiles were discovered dead next to stacks of rubbish at a fly-tipping spot near Carbeth Loch in Blanefield, north of Glasgow. Scottish SPCA inspector, Mairi Wright, said the snakes were found lying close together amid bags of rubbish. The welfare charity called the discovery 'very concerning' as they appeal to the public for help in their investigation. The three dead boa constrictors were found next to stacks of rubbish at a fly-tipping spot near Carbeth Loch in Blanefield, north of Glasgow Boa constrictors are a species of large, non-venomous, snake. They are usually found in the wild in warmer climates around South America and the Caribbean. Due to their long and heavy bodies, they can wrap themselves around their prey, crushing them to death. It is not uncommon for them to be kept as exotic pets, but they require large vivarium tanks as some can grow up to 12ft (3.7metres). The Scottish SPCA said they were alert to the incident after the discovery. SPCS inspector Mairi Wright said: ''They were lying close together, next to bags of rubbish at a fly-tipping spot. Scottish SPCA inspector, Mairi Wright, said the snakes were found lying close together amid bags of rubbish 'We are unsure of the cause of death for these reptiles, but the circumstances they were found in are very concerning. She added: 'We are keen to ascertain what happened to these snakes and how they came to be there. 'If anyone recognises these reptiles, please contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.' Former President Donald Trump has been seething on his Truth Social account as a third batch of classified files from Joe Biden's Vice Presidency are found at his Delaware home. Critics have been quick to compare the situation to the FBI raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, where authorities sought to collect classified materials after his lawyers falsely claimed that he had returned all the documents in response to a grand jury subpoena. Trump is seen to argue that Biden keeping classified documents is much worse than what he did saying Mar-A-Lago is 'essentially an armed fort.' In his latest online posts, the former U.S. President slams the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble.' Former President Donald Trump (right) has slammed the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' (referring to U.S. President Joe Biden pictured left) as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble' 'What Biden did was wrong, but he was given a reasonable and stable Special Counsel who is sane, inclined not to make waves, friendly with RINOs (republicans in name only), and is not known as a flame-throwing lunatic or a Biden hater,' Trump said. 'What I did was RIGHT, secured documents in a secured place, lock on the doors, guards and Secret Service all around, security cameras working. 'Mar-a-Lago is essentially an armed fort, and was built that way in the 1920's, with High Walls & structure to serve as the Southern W.H.' Trump argued that Biden keeping classified documents is worse as they date back to when he was vice president, whereas Trump's position was higher as president. 'I was President of the U.S. and covered and protected by the Presidential Records Act, which is not criminal and allows and encourages you to talk to the NARA, which we were, very nicely, until the FBI, who it is now learned has been after me for years without pause or question, RAIDED Mar-a-Lago,' he said. Former President Donald Trump was seen seething on his Truth Social account as a third batch of classified files from Joe Biden's Vice Presidency are found at his Delaware home 'A stupid and probably Illegal thing to do. As President, I have the right to declassify documents, Biden did not. Special 'Prosecutor' Jack Smith, however, is a Trump Hating political Thug.' Trump has repeatedly claimed that he secretly declassified the documents he took home but that claim has been refuted by former senior officials and his lawyers have not made similar claims in court. 'The Boxes Hoax Case against me should be dropped immediately. I have done nothing wrong!' he finishes. As the day wears on Trump is seen taking a swipe at the prosecution between both cases describing them as 'sick thugs.' 'How come the Biden 'Prosecutor' is a nice guy, very friendly with Democrats and RINOs alike, close to Christopher Wray, & pretty much liked & known by everybody, while my 'Prosecutor' is a Radical Left Trump HATING Lunatic, whose wife & family get a perfect '10' for spewing Trump HATE, & whose 'friends' are the most evil, angry, & disgusting Marxists & Communists in & around Government?' 'They are GRILLING innocent people in Grand Juries for hours, all to 'get Trump.' These are Sick Thugs!' Trump goes on to claim that the FBI are 'CROOKED, CORRUPT and BROKEN' in capital letters sending a stern warning to Americans that the country is in 'serious trouble.' A third set of classified documents have been found at Joe Biden's Delaware home on Thursday It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware The first document was discovered in the garage of Biden's Delaware home where he also keeps his Corvette 'THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AGAINST ME FOR YEARS. THE FBI & THE DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE ARE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & BROKEN,' he wrote with apparent ferocity. '(Just look at the Lunatic Radical Left Prosecutor they gave me, but not Hopeless Joe, Twitter Files & the RIGGED 2020 Presidential Election, the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, & all the rest!). 'OUR COUNTRY IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE, NO BORDERS, NO VOTER I.D., NO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS NOT BEEN SMART & TOUGH, BUT MAYBE THEY WILL BE NOW. GOOD LUCK AMERICA!!!' Biden's attorneys announced finding the third batch of classified documents on Saturday, stating that they found five additional pages that were marked classified inside his home on Thursday evening. It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware, as the first one was found in the garage. The grand total of classified documents from Biden's days as vice president are now up to two dozen. Republican lawmakers did not take lightly to the revelations on Saturday His personal attorneys discovered the documents in the room adjacent to the garage, but did not have clearance to view them, so they had to call in Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president. 'Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department,' Sauber said, according to Fox News. 'While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them. 'The President's lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ,' he said. Biden's personal lawyer, Robert Bauer, defended the delay in releasing the information, saying the president's legal team 'have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigation's integrity.' 'These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing,' he said in a statement. The latest discovery comes just days after two other sets were found. The first set of sensitive files were found at a DC office for his think tank and as the Biden administration dodged questions on whether they were tracking down any other records. Trump is seen to argue that Biden keeping classified documents is much worse than what he did saying Mar-A-Lago, his Florida home, is 'essentially an armed fort' Armed Secret Service agents stand outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Aug 8 2022 Republican lawmakers did not take lightly to the revelations on Saturday. 'Wait, I thought the WH said on Thursday the search was complete and there were no more docs,' Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Marsha Blackburn jumped in as well, writing: 'Another batch of classified documents has been located at Biden's private residence. They keep coming.' Senator Rick Scott wrote: 'Either @JoeBiden is an absolute hypocrite or completely clueless. Probably both. We need to get to the bottom of this. How long has he had these6+ years? Time for accountability.' Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability, writing: 'Just like the #BidenBorderCrisis, the Biden classified documents story is too big for the mainstream media to ignoreand the American people want answers.' Earlier in the week, it was reported that in November 2022, attorneys for the president discovered documents at his former office in the Penn-Biden Center in Washington DC, which he used after his time as vice president. The documents were discovered in a locked closet while the lawyers were cleaning out the office to move out. The White House acknowledged that Biden's attorneys had found 10 documents with classified markings at an old office at a Washington DC think tank, the president has been peppered with questions about the discovery. The classified documents that appeared to be from the Obama administration were found on November 2 - before the midterm elections - though news of the documents did not come out until months later. Prince Harry has been branded a 'fool' for detailing the layouts of various palaces and official residences in his tell-all memoir. Dai Davies, the former head of royal protection, told The Telegraph the Duke of Sussex had compromised the safety and security of his family. Even his own personal protection detail could be at heightened risk after Harry wrote in excruciating detail of the palace interiors in his best-selling memoir, Spare. In recounting the introduction between Meghan Markle and the King and Queen Consort at Clarence House, Harry went into minute detail about its interior. Prince Harry pictured in the Hague, Netherlands in April 2022 Clarence House in London He wrote: 'They led us down the long corridor, past the big paintings and gilt-edged mirrors, along the crimson carpet with the crimson runner, past the big glass cabinet filled with gleaming porcelain and exquisite heirlooms, up the creaky staircase, which rose three steps before jogging right, up another twelve steps, then jogged right again,' he said. 'There, at last, on the landing above us, stood Pa.' The vivid passages, written with the help of a ghost writer, paint a picture of life inside the palace walls for readers. But Mr Davies said he was filled with great concern upon reading this passage, and several others which are just as detailed. He told the publication: 'It makes the job of protecting him, whether privately or otherwise, problematic. Only a fool would reveal this kind of detail about the royals' inner sanctums. 'Whether they are fixated individuals with mental health problems or terrorists, this information could prove very useful. 'There is a reason Buckingham Palace never discusses any detail about its security operations, big or small. It would never expect someone with such an intimate knowledge of private royal residences to disclose such information.' Elsewhere, Harry counted the stairs one would need to travel down to reach his old hideout in Highgrove - a former bomb shelter he dubbed 'Club H'. Balmoral Castle in Scotland Harry described the interior Clarence House while describing the introduction between Meghan Markle and the King and Queen Consort He described travelling down sleep flights of stairs, walking through dewy corridors with an arched roof and 'past several wine cellars, wherein Camilla kept her fanciest bottles'. Harry says the doors to his hideout were painted green, with brass handles. He separately detailed the layout of the latte Queen's 'favourite' home, Balmoral - sharing with his readers everything from the colour of the granite steps and carpets to the pattern of the wallpaper. Mr Davies' comments come amid furore among military veterans, who also claim his revelation that he personally killed 25 Taliban insurgents will further paint him as a target. Questions are now being raised about whether Harry has 'shot himself in the foot' and made himself a bigger target with his startling revelation. Meanwhile the Taliban taunted the Duke as a 'big mouth loser' who 'fled Afghanistan and hid in his grandmother's palace' and his confession sparked protests at a university in Helmand province. The Duke - who is currently in a legal battle with the Home Office over security in the UK - also faces allegations that he wrote about his kill count in a tactical bid to get police protection when he visits Britain. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: 'This may, of course, be a tactic to get the security he feels he needs when he visits Britain, but it is surely irresponsible. Who is advising him, one wonders.' New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city has reached its 'breaking point' as 400 asylum seekers arrive at the Big Apple every day. Adams has submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the state and Gov. Kathy Hochul asking for immediate help over the weekend to house the incoming migrants. 'We are at our breaking point,' Adams said. 'Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own. 'Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well.' The plea for help comes a week after Colorado joined the list of states busing migrants to New York City to alleviate the burden for those near the southern border and to get the asylum seekers to their preferred destination. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city hit its 'breaking point' on Friday as he requested state aid to deal with 400 migrants arriving every day Adams said that about 40,000 asylum seekers have reached the Big Apple since last spring, with 835 coming on Thursday alone. Many have been bused into the city by governors and city officials from border states Adams called on Gov. Kathy Hochul (pictured) to help house 500 asylum seekers, but predicted the city will need to help housing many more Adam's office noted that the city has received more than 3,100 asylum seekers in the previous week, averaging about 400 each day, with 835 arriving on Thursday alone. 'All this is pushing New York City to the brink,' Adams said. 'Since last spring, the city has stepped up to welcome approximately 40,000 asylum seekers, providing them with shelter, food, and connections to a host of resources. 'We have opened 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers at breakneck speed, and done this almost entirely on our own.' The mayor also appeared to take a swipe at the Biden administration and federal lawmakers over the lack of solutions at the border, which saw a spike in illegal immigration in recent months. 'The absence of sorely needed federal immigration reform should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities,' Adams said. 'We need support and aid from our federal and state partners and look forward to working together to meet this crisis head-on.' Back in October, Adams declared a state of emergency over influx of migrants in the Big Apple, calling on the Biden administration to help with the $1 billion cost of assisting the asylum seekers. Last week, Adams accused Colorado's Democrat governor of launching an 'unfair' plan to send an influx of migrants to the Big Apple. Pictured: Buses filled with 100 migrants from El Paso arrive in New York City on December 19 Adams has declared a national emergency over the influx of migrants as the city has opened 74 shelters so far to house the asylum seekers Adams said the situation is a result of not only the 'unfair' busing tactics, but the Biden administration and federal lawmakers inability to crack down on the southern border Jared Polis, Colorado's Dem governor, called the NYC mayor on January 2 to inform him large numbers of migrants would be transported to the city. Adams publicly criticized the plan on Tuesday morning and insisted New York has taken its fair share of migrants, adding: 'There's no more room at the inn.' The row marks a rare confrontation between two senior Democrats over the issue of migrants who are crossing the Mexican border into the United States. Previous rows have centered on Republican states like Texas, Florida and Arizona sending migrants to Democrat states that took a much softer approach to the issue. 'This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation,' Adams said in an interview following the Colorado busing. 'This has really impacted on the quality of life in New York, and our ability to provide everyday long-term New Yorkers the needs that they have during this difficult time. So this must be addressed.' Officials in Colorado, which is not a sanctuary state like New York, are working with non-profit organizations, including ones which work specifically with the Venezuelan community, to help migrants reach their 'preferred locations'. The migrant influx at the Big Apple has also put a strain on local hotels who have taken in the asylum seekers. Filipe Rodriguez, who works at The Row NYC hotel, said there has been a number of 'domestic violence' incidents among migrants, young people 'having sex in the stairs,' and added there was a fight between a migrant and a hotel security officer at the building housing them Rodriguez added that thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded food is being wasted with migrants throwing it out because they insist on cooking in their rooms on hotplates Migrants who arrived in New York City from the border have been housed temporarily in this luxury Manhattan hotel - The Row in the tourist hotspot of Times Square Many of the new migrants are being housed temporarily in the luxury 1,300-room Manhattan hotel The Row NYC, a $500-a-night hotel in the tourist hotspot of Times Square. Hotel employee Filipe Rodriguez has called the situation a 'disgrace' and shared videos and photos of the chaos, which included 'good food' sitting out to rot in trash bags because 'the migrants don't want to eat it.' 'The chaos that we see at the Row today is [caused] by migrants being drunk, drinking all day, smoking marijuana [and] consuming drugs,' Rodriguez told The Ingraham Angle on Fox News this week. Alcohol is prohibited in all migrant shelters, ABC7 reported, but the employees say they often find empty beer and liquor bottles in the rooms and hallways, as seen in photos shared by Rodriguez. 'The form in which they keep their rooms is horrendous. They don't clean it, they don't fold their clothes. They're hoarding clothes, they're hoarding whatever they can hoard,' he said. He added that thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded food is being wasted with migrants throwing it out because they insist on cooking in their rooms on hotplates, which is also a danger to themselves and others staying at the hotel. 'They said they don't like it,' he said about the migrants and hotel food. 'This is all food that is going to waste. This is insane.' Convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell met the Queen, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. In an exclusive interview, the former socialite and friend of Prince Andrew says spending time with the monarch and discussing their shared love of horses was one of the greatest honours of her life. Speaking from the Florida prison where she is serving a 20-year sentence for grooming young girls for her paedophile lover Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell told me: I thought the Queen was one of the most exceptional women I ever had the honour and privilege of meeting. In an interview to be released in full next week, the 61-year-old adds that Her Majesty had a sparkle in her eyes and says that she was profoundly sorry to hear of the Queens death last year. Convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell met the Queen, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. She is pictured with Jeffrey Epstein at the Queen's log cabin at Glen Beg, Balmoral Maxwell says spending time with the monarch and discussing their shared love of horses was one of the greatest honours of her life. The Queen is pictured in September 2022 Maxwell was Prince Andrews guest at Buckingham Palace on several occasions, but was also invited to a more intimate gathering at Balmoral in the summer of 1999 while the Queen was believed to be in residence. On that visit to the Highland estate, Maxwell and Epstein who hanged himself in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex offences were pictured relaxing at the Queens log cabin. In June 2000, they attended Andrews 40th birthday party at Windsor Castle, hosted by his mother. The following day they joined the Prince for a days racing at Ascot. And in December 2000, Andrew invited the couple to Sandringham, where the Royals spend their Christmas holidays, for what the Prince memorably described as a straightforward shooting weekend. Maxwell, who is serving her time in the Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute, has previously described Andrew as a dear friend. She is expected to file an appeal against her conviction soon, and has previously spoken of a prison plot to murder her in her sleep. Maxwell was Prince Andrews guest at Buckingham Palace on several occasions, but was also invited to a more intimate gathering at Balmoral in the summer of 1999 while the Queen was believed to be in residence. Pictured: Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein and Caroline Stanley in June 2000 Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for grooming young girls for her paedophile lover Jeffrey Epstein. She is pictured with Epstein in an undated photograph Daphne Barak is a renowned interviewer and documentary film maker, whose subjects have included Nelson Mandela, Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, Johnny Depp and Michael Jackson among many others. Daphne's best-selling book Saving Amy, based on her months' filming with Amy Winehouse and her family, is being adapted into a scripted eight part TV series by Halcyon Studios. Daphnes interview with Ghislaine will be released next week in conjunction with US Network CBS. Daphne's latest book, Struggling for One America, written with Erbil Gunasti, is published by Skyhorse Publishing and is available to buy here. Read her pop culture scoops here. Shameful conditions have been exposed at the barracks where the Army pallbearers who carried the Queens coffin stayed before her funeral. A video obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows a mould-ridden ceiling and dirty water streaming down walls and stairs at Wellington Barracks in London. Hundreds of soldiers who marched in the Queens funeral procession in September live at the site, while the eight pallbearers from the Queens Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who were hailed for their extraordinary composure, also stayed there the night before. The video was recorded last month but Army sources say the 19th Century barracks, set just 300 yards from Buckingham Palace, has been beset with problems for months. Shameful conditions have been exposed at the barracks where the Army pallbearers who carried the Queens coffin stayed before her funeral. Pictured: Pallbearers carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022 A video obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows a mould-ridden ceiling and dirty water streaming down walls and stairs at Wellington Barracks in London One guardsman, who asked not to be named, told The Mail on Sunday that soldiers enjoyed better quality accommodation when serving in Iraq. I was honoured to have a role in giving our Queen the send-off she deserved, he said. However, the view that the public got of a well-turned-out guardsman is only half the story we live in conditions not fit for pests. The MoS last month revealed the appalling condition of military homes, and how sleeping bags were being handed out to soldiers and their families whose properties had been without heat or hot water for weeks. Our investigation prompted Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to intervene to deal with the crisis. Shocking new figures this weekend reveal that Amey, a Ministry of Defence maintenance contractor, missed 10,535 urgent repair appointments since April 2022, with fellow contractor Vivo missing 4,041 urgent appointments. Further data revealed that more than 44,000 Armed Forces personnel were housed in Grade 4 properties in 2021 the lowest rating given by the Ministry of Defence. Shameful conditions have been exposed at the barracks where the Army pallbearers who carried the Queens coffin stayed before her funeral. Pictured: Soldiers from 94 Squadron on September 8, 2022 Which royal comes out WORST in Harry's memoir? From 'wicked stepmother' Camilla to 'arch-nemesis' 'Willy' and Kate who has a 'heavily disguised silly' side but grew angry over Meghan - Click here to read more In almost every chapter of the Duke of Sussex's book, Spare, which was released worldwide on Tuesday, attacks were fired Advertisement The information was obtained by Labour Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey. The Conservatives are breaking fundamental promises we make to our Armed Forces, he said. Ministers have appointed bumbling contractors who are incompetent on an industrial scale and its causing misery for service families and wasting taxpayers money. This is a slap in the face to those serving our country. The squalid conditions at Wellington Barracks are particularly embarrassing because of the pivotal role it played as the nerve centre of Operation London Bridge the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. On conditions at Wellington Barracks, the MoD said: While 95 per cent of this type of accommodation meets the Decent Homes Standard, we are spending more than 1.6 billion over the next decade to make improvements and build new living quarters. The spokesman added: It is completely unacceptable some of our personnel and their families are not receiving the level of accommodation services they deserve. Amey apologised to anyone experiencing undue delays and said it was working with the MoD and other suppliers to address the challenges. Vivo said: Two-thirds of the appointments during the nine months to December where we arrived outside of the one-hour time slot a family was given were due to an IT issue in June, which has been resolved. He has a broken femur, bleeding on the brain An Australian man is fighting for his life in hospital after he was ruthlessly beaten on the streets of Bali, according to close friends. Lachie Hunt, from Perth, Western Australia, was 'attacked and mugged' in the tourist hotspot earlier this week. He was rushed to BIMC Hospital in Kuta suffering a broken leg, bleeding on the brain and a potentially fractured spine. Lachie's mother, Melissa, has flown to Bali to be by her son's bedside as he slowly recovers. Lachie Hunt (pictured) was 'beaten' on the streets of Bali earlier this week during what his friend believes was a mugging Nursing staff revealed they had spoken to Lachie and his mother after he woke up on Saturday morning, the West Australian reported. A GoFundMe page has been set up by Lachie's friend, Jarrad Visser, to cover his friend's hospital bills. 'Sounds like he was mugged and bashed pretty good, he cant remember much,' he wrote. 'He's pretty banged up all round. He's in hospital in BIMC Bali getting the best care but the best care is bloody expensive. So asking if you are able to help out in anyway to dig deep it would go along way and mean a lot to the family.' He said Lachie had a long road ahead of him and listed his horror injuries. 'I'm in contact with his mum Mel she's over there taking good care of him and his injuries are a potential fractured back and he has bleeding on the brain,' Mr Visser wrote. The young Australian man has suffered a broken femur, bleeding on the brain and a potentially fractured back and is recovering in BIMC Hospital in Kuta Lachie has posted numerous photos of his trips to Bali on social media. In one post, he wrote: 'One day Ill get to call this place home' Mr Visser shared the link to the GoFundMe to Facebook and wrote: 'Lachie needs our help people. If you can help out would mean a lot.' Lachie appears to have visited Bali a number of times, even wishing in one post he could move to the Indonesian paradise. 'One day Ill get to call this place home,' he wrote on Instagram. Rishi Sunak is set to declare a new war on woke by appointing a free speech watchdog and more closely vetting the appointment of Left-wing bishops, The Mail on Sunday understands. A free speech tsar, with the power to investigate universities which censure academics for their views, is expected to be announced shortly by the Prime Minister. Whitehall sources say that the favourite is Arif Ahmed, a Cambridge professor who has spoken out against the cancel culture on campuses. The move comes as Mr Sunak is also understood to have instructed officials to perform more due diligence on bishops before they are appointed, following their outspoken criticism of Government policy. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) is set to declare a new war on woke in the coming weeks Whitehall sources say that the favourite is Arif Ahmed (pictured), a Cambridge professor who has spoken out against the cancel culture on campuses Earlier this month, No 10 announced that Philip North would become the next Bishop of Blackburn. He had been forced to withdraw from previous nominations following complaints about his opposition to women priests. The new front in the so-called culture wars is being driven by Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, Cabinet Minister and Sunak ally Oliver Dowden and by powerful figures within Downing Street. During last summers leadership contest, Mr Sunak promised to tackle the woke nonsense he claimed was permeating public life. The moves are likely to partially reassure Tory MPs on the Right of the party concerned about what they regard as a Leftward drift through policies such as the ditching of the privatisation of Channel 4, Prof Ahmed, a philosophy lecturer at Gonville & Caius College, recently sparked a backlash from students for inviting Helen Joyce, a feminist, to speak about her book, Trans, which criticises aspects of trans activism. The academic is regarded by No 10 as someone who will be able to stand up to woke students and academics who have been described by one commentator as the statue-smashing, history-erasing thought police, although Downing Street stressed that other candidates were also being considered. Earlier this month, No 10 announced that Philip North (pictured) would become the next Bishop of Blackburn Recent controversies include the campaign to have the statue of 19th Century diamond miner Cecil Rhodes removed from an Oxford college because of his role in British colonialism. Numerous academics have also been threatened with being cancelled over their views, such as the attempt in 2021 by students at Durham to oust Professor Tim Luckhurst after he invited Rod Liddle, an associate editor of The Spectator, to give a speech. They claimed he had promoted a culture of harm and hate. Under the new plans, Prof Ahmed will take up the role expected to be titled Director of Academic Freedom being created via the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which is passing through Parliament. He would be appointed to the board of the Office for Students and investigate possible breaches of free speech, with the authority to recommend fines. The Right Reverend Philip North, who serves as the Bishop of Burnley in the Diocese of Blackburn, withdrew his accep-tance of the nomination to become the next Bishop of Sheffield in 2017 after he said he had been the subject of highly individualised attacks over his opposition to the ministry of women as bishops or priests. He withdrew as Bishop of Whitby in 2012 for the same reason. Last year, all 25 bishops in the House of Lords sent a letter to The Times in which they condemned the Governments plan to send migrants to Rwanda, describing it as an immoral policy that shames Britain. Mr Sunak has also pleased the Right of his party by planning to block legislation passed in the Scottish Parliament last month that waters down UK stipulations on changing gender. Ms Badenoch, who is also the Westminster Minister for Women and Equalities, is particularly concerned by the Scottish Bills impact on the safeguarding of women. Last night, a No 10 source said: The new free speech watchdog and the tougher approach to bishops is a clear sign of our direction of travel on these issues. TOBY YOUNG: A good start... but we need an army to fight this monster By Toby Young for the Mail on Sunday Better late than never. I am delighted the Government has finally declared war on woke, but having waited this long, it has an awful lot of ground to make up. Despite the country having been led by Conservative Prime Ministers for 13 years, the public sector has been totally captured by this quasi-religious cult. According to a report by the Conservative Way Forward campaign group, the British taxpayer is funding 10,000 equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) jobs at a cost of 557 million a year. The NHS, for instance, employs 800 EDI officers at a cost of 40 million. So, well done Rishi Sunak. Declaring war on woke is more than your four Conservative predecessors have done writes TOBY YOUNG Arif Ahmed would be a terrific appoint-ment as free speech tsar. But hell be one man facing an army of woke warriors. Britains 175 universities employ on average four EDI officers each, at a cost of 30.2 million. The same goes for the Rev Philip North, the new Bishop of Blackburn. Great choice, but hell be one dove in a field full of crows. At the Free Speech Union, we are part of what might be called the anti-woke coalition but by my calculations this little force numbers fewer than 500 people and has a yearly budget of under 25 million. That means were outgunned by a ratio of 20 to one and I havent factored in the huge number of diversity specialists in the private and charity sectors. If Rishi Sunak is serious about wanting to take on the mass ranks of highly motivated, highly organised campaigners, he needs to provide more money and manpower. The Free Speech Union gets about 25 cries for help a week, nearly all from people whove said something perfectly lawful but which someone usually a junior colleague has found offensive. These are things which five years ago wouldnt have raised an eyebrow, like saying you dont think a woman can have a penis or the British Empire wasnt all bad. We do our best to help, but every time we rescue one, another two get into difficulty. Its like fighting a multi-headed hydra. So, well done Rishi Sunak. Declaring war on woke is more than your four Conservative predecessors have done. Its fantastic that youre committed to a free speech general to fight the cause. Now give him an army. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy. (Photo: Twitter/@hd_kumaraswamy) BENGALURU: Ruling out the possibility of a hung verdict, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday exuded confidence that his party will grow beyond its traditional old Mysuru region in the upcoming assembly polls and form a government on its own strength in Karnataka. The former Chief Minister also claimed that there is a strong undercurrent in his favour, especially in rural areas, and people are saying "this time it is Kumaranna (as Kumaraswamy is popularly known among his supporters)" He said his party has already announced a list of 93 candidates for the assembly polls, which is likely by May, and will announce the second list of 50-60 candidates in about 10 days. "In my opinion there will be a government with a clear majority this time, I have belief in it, I'm saying this as I'm able to gauge the pulse of the people. All these days it was said that JD(S) was limited to certain constituencies of the old Mysuru region. Today, growing beyond those boundaries, I'm confident about reaching the target we have set," Kumaraswamy said. Interacting with the media at Bengaluru Press Club, he said, there is no question of a hung mandate, and that he and his party are making all out efforts to meet the 123-seat target (in 224 member assembly) and will achieve it. "There is a feeling among people against national parties and they want to give a chance to a regional party. Even if Modi and Shah visit a hundred times, it is difficult for BJP in Karnataka, as their government has performed that bad in the state," he said, adding that BJP seeks votes in the name of PM Modi, Congress cites Bharat Jodo Yatra, while JD(S) is the only party asking for a mandate for its programmes. Ruling out any alliance with any party as of now, Kumaraswamy said in the days to come if any like-minded smaller parties come forward, his party was open to consider it. JD(S) is the team of 6.5 crore people of the state, he said as he hit out at Congress and BJP for calling his party as "B team" of each other, and asked "whose team are they?" "This time despite all their (BJP and Congress) misinformation campaign, people have decided and will not take them into account. There is an undercurrent in villages- this time it is Kumaranna," he added. Kumaraswamy also highlighted JD(S)' "Pancharatna Ratha Yatre", a statewide tour that he is undertaking ahead of polls. This Yatre is to inform people about a five-fold programme called 'Pancharatna' that the JD(S) plans to implement on coming to power, which includes quality education, health, housing, farmer welfare and employment. Noting that to meet JD(S)' 123 seats target, he was working 18 hours a day and sleeping for just 3 hours, the party leader said, "45 constituencies I have covered travelling 140 km a day, covering villages, and by March 20 will be covering 116 constituencies." "Including North Karnataka, we have reached the people. I have no doubts. We are strong in Raichur, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi and Bidar districts," he said, adding that he was not going to district or taluk headquarters like other party leaders, but was going to villages. Claiming that he is not perturbed by BJP's focus on the old Mysuru region, Kumaraswamy asserted that JD(S) will win all seven seats in Mandya district. Conceding that certain legislators and leaders are planning to desert the party in the days to come, he said, that's the reason he has not announced tickets to all constituencies including in Hassan district. "I'm aware that they have decided, feeling that our party is weak. Let them choose their path." Responding to a query, Kumaraswamy said the BJP and Congress may try to poach his MLAs and leaders, but our party is not worried about someone going out, as JD(S) is a factory that creates leaders. "Have not discussed with anyone to join our party, I want to give opportunity to fresh faces. Have already announced the first list of 93, in 8-10 days will announce a second list of 50-60 candidates," he said, as he also expressed confidence about winning 6-8 seats in Bengaluru city Accusing certain political leaders of trying to 'misuse' religious leaders and heads of maths on the reservation issue, Kumaraswamy said the government should do it in accordance with the Constitution and law. "The government should not take decisions for the sake of political gains, it should be done based on population and backwardness. Call everyone and make understand what can be implemented within the ambit of constitution and law, and take a decision based on data and numbers," he suggested. Targetting the BJP government on 'Santro Ravi' issue, alleging his close connection with those in the administration and the ruling party, Kumaraswamy said, "he was in Pune, who made him to move to Gujarat, what was he promised, what happened there?" "Why was the Home Minister (Araga Jnanendra) coincidentally in Gujarat at the same time? The Home Minister should be asked, the government should answer...I have certain doubts so I'm saying, I don't have proof, but some information has leaked and I have got to know," he said. K S Manjunath alias 'Santro' Ravi', who is accused of being the kingpin in human-trafficking and having links with politicians and meddling with police transfers, was arrested in Ahmedabad on Friday. "This is such a bad government that there was no such government in the past and it will not come in the future too," Kumaraswamy added. The Prime Minister could be drawn in to the increasingly intense debate over whether Prince Harry should be invited to the Coronation, after senior Royal insiders argued that the decision should be 'taken out of the King's hands'. Sources say King Charles should use the so-called 'Churchill precedent' to escape the 'impossible' decision of either inflaming tensions by barring his son, or enduring the circus that would surround his attendance with wife Meghan. Harry has so far refused to say whether or not he would come to the ceremony if he was invited, even when directly asked. In 1953, Churchill, then Prime Minister, made it clear to the Duke of Windsor who had abdicated as Edward VIII more than 16 years earlier that he would not be welcome at Queen Elizabeth's Coronation. Sources say King Charles should use the so-called 'Churchill precedent' to escape the 'impossible' decision of either inflaming tensions by barring his son A well-placed source told The Mail on Sunday: 'The Coronation is a State event and funded by the State. So, in the same way that Winston Churchill advised the Duke of Windsor to stay away [from Elizabeth II's Coronation], the decision of whether to invite Harry, who has no official Royal role and no state function at the ceremony, will be down to the Government rather than just his father.' However, Whitehall insiders tried to hand responsibility for the 'Harry hot potato' back to Buckingham Palace. A source said last night: 'Traditionally, the Royal Household provides us with the number of Royal guests, without giving their identity, and we construct the arrangements on that basis.' This newspaper understands that the Cabinet Office is establishing a 'Coronation committee' of civil servants, Royal officials and Church of England representatives to plan the May 6 event. The Home Office will also be heavily involved in the arrangements. If Harry attends there will be additional security concerns given his revelation that he killed 25 Taliban fighters when serving in Afghanistan. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the arrangements last night, but a Royal insider said the King was 'livid' about the allegations aired in Harry's memoir, Spare, including his attacks on the Queen Consort. Harry has branded Camilla as 'dangerous' and ramped up the rhetoric in an interview with US journalist Anderson Cooper last week. In 1953, Churchill, then Prime Minister, made it clear to the Duke of Windsor who had abdicated as Edward VIII more than 16 years earlier that he would not be welcome at Queen Elizabeth's Coronation He said: 'She was the villain, she was a third person in the marriage, she needed to rehabilitate her image. There was going to be people or bodies left in the street because of that.' Harry has also accused his brother William of physically attacking him and claimed that the Palace planted negative stories about Meghan in the media. When asked by ITV's Tom Bradby why he was making his private grievances public, Harry said staying silent 'only allows the abuser to abuse'. Despite his onslaught, Harry has called for a reconciliation with his family, albeit on his terms and with them apologising for their behaviour. So far the Palace has maintained a dignified silence about the claims, with a well-placed insider telling The Mail on Sunday they were adopting a 'least said, soonest mended' approach. But some believe the divisions will only be healed by another face-to-face summit. A source told today's Sunday Times: 'It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and Prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of 'his people' he trusts, who always had his back, so he doesn't think he's being ambushed.' Harry has so far refused to say whether or not he would come to the ceremony However, as this newspaper revealed last week, previous summits resulted in insults being traded and Harry claiming his brother 'lunged' at him. Harry would have no official reason to attend the Westminster Abbey Coronation, which falls on the fourth birthday of his son Archie. Unlike previous ceremonies, Royal Dukes will not 'pay homage' to the new monarch although the Prince of Wales is expected to do so. Hugo Vickers, a Royal historian and constitutional expert, said: 'I'm afraid Harry would be a great distraction from the main business at hand were he to attend the Coronation. Where is he sitting? How is he behaving? And so on. 'It is not a trivial matter. No other crowned heads are invited to the Coronation precisely because they might deflect attention from the King. It would be better if Harry stayed away. There is also the question of security. Deliberately or not, the Prince has been seen to taunt the Taliban. 'I think the Government should think very carefully before involving him.' Boris Johnson's Partygate interrogation will be broadcast on TV in what his supporters have described as a 'live kangaroo court', it emerged yesterday. Major broadcasters are likely to air the entirety of the former Prime Minister's testimony to Parliament's Privileges Committee. It will examine whether he misled MPs about law-breaking parties during the Covid lockdowns. But key allies of Mr Johnson yesterday dismissed the probe, saying: 'This is not just a kangaroo court it's a live kangaroo court.' Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in front of the Liaison Committee in the House of Commons, London, July 6, 2022 They signalled that the stakes were also high for the current Prime Minister, adding: 'Rishi Sunak was cheek by jowl with Boris in Downing Street when all this was going on. He knew what Boris knew.' Mr Johnson is expected to appear before the cameras next month and his testimony will be broadcast live on Parliament's televised feed. Sky News is already understood to have decided to show his whole evidence session, the Observer newspaper reported. The BBC is likely to decide based on the news agenda that day. So much sensitive evidence has been submitted to the inquiry that it is being kept in a 'strong room', the paper said, with highly restricted access. One source told the paper that some of the claims about parties were 'decidedly weird' and indicated that new information would come to light. Last week, Mr Johnson was accused of joking at one leaving party during lockdown that 'this is the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now'. However he repeatedly told Parliament that he did not know gatherings broke Covid laws in place at the time. A spokesman for Mr Johnson did not deny the comment but said the then premier had 'worked constantly' to ensure the Government did all it could to save lives and livelihoods during the pandemic. The inquiry is also likely to become a headache for Mr Sunak. Major broadcasters are likely to air the entirety of the former Prime Minister's testimony to Parliament's Privileges Committee. Pictured: Boris Johnson on a visit to Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire, January 7, 2023 MPs will have to vote on any sanction on Mr Johnson recommended by the committee. While it is likely to be a 'free' unwhipped vote, some MPs said that, in reality, Tories would seek advice over how they should vote. That puts Mr Sunak in a difficult position Mr Johnson's allies and Tory members will blame him if he advises against backing the former PM, but voters could punish him if he does the opposite. The Privileges Committee, chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman, held a meeting last week to study the information about gatherings in Downing Street during the lockdowns. The documents were released by the Cabinet Office in late November, soon after Mr Sunak became Prime Minister. If the inquiry finds Mr Johnson to be in contempt of Parliament, he could be suspended from the Commons. If he is barred for more than ten days, there could be a recall petition and a possible by-election in his Uxbridge constituency. When the Downing Street lockdown parties came to light in December 2021, Mr Johnson insisted in the Commons that 'all guidance was followed completely'. The probe by the seven-member committee will determine whether the comments broke parliamentary privilege. A Metropolitan Police investigation in 2022 found that lockdown rules had been broken, and fines were issued to 83 people, including Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak. The Government has committed to spending up to 220,000 for legal advice defending the former PM during the probe. Advertisement These staycation destinations have the royal seal of approval. From the remote Scottish Highlands to the bustling heart of London, these are the Royal Family's favourite British hotels and guest houses, having hosted everything from King Charles and Princess Dianas wedding reception to Prince Philips stag do. Some even have 'Royal Suites' that you can check into to get a taste of the royal treatment. Scroll down for more on the crowning glories of the UK hospitality industry... The Savoy Hotel - London The Royal Family have been 'intrinsically linked' to The Savoy since the London hotel's opening in 1889. Above is the Royal Suite Throughout the 1940s, the Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, would attend dinners and dances at The Savoy. 'There was no special treatment, just a call from the Palace to The Savoy, informing them of the princesses plans, and the royal party would be seated at a discreet table in the Thames Foyer (above) for dinner and dancing,' the hotel says Elizabeth at the wedding reception of Vicary Gibbs and Captain Hon. A.G.V. Elphinstone at The Savoy in 1946 This photograph taken at the Elphinstone wedding in The Savoy caught Elizabeth standing beside a handsome man in uniform Prince Philip. This was their first public appearance as a couple, the hotel says Diana, Princess of Wales (centre) attends The Savoys Centenary Ball in 1989 The hotel sits on the River Thames in the heart of the city of Westminster The Royal Family have been intrinsically linked to The Savoy since its opening in 1889, says the hotel. The relationship began with the Prince of Wales (later Edward the VII), who frequently dined at the hotel with various friends, romantic entanglements and at times his wife. The esteemed establishment, which sits on the River Thames in the heart of the city of Westminster, welcomed Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret throughout the 1940s - the sisters would attend dinners and dances at the hotel. There was no special treatment, just a call from the Palace to The Savoy, informing them of the princesses plans, and the royal party would be seated at a discreet table in the Thames Foyer for dinner and dancing. The princesses left their coats in the same cloakroom as all the other women present and checked their make-up in the same mirrors. Margaret especially loved to dance and would pretend not to notice when her sister indicated it was time to go home, the hotel reveals. In 1946, when Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Vicary Gibbs and Captain Hon. A.G.V. Elphinstone, which had its reception at The Savoy, a photograph was taken (above) that caught the princess standing beside a handsome man in uniform Prince Philip. This was their first public appearance as a couple, the hotel says, adding: 'Many years later the happy couple would spend their wedding anniversary [in] one of the hotels private dining rooms.' Later, in the 1980s, King Charles and Princess Diana also 'favoured' The Savoy, with Diana attending fundraising events and award ceremonies such as The Savoys Centenary Ball of 1989. Diana often greeted her admirers outside our river entrance, a statement notes. Its royal ties are just as strong today - recent years have seen The Savoy host multiple events for the Princes Trust, a charity established by King Charles in 1986. At the time of writing, doubles at The Savoy are priced from 874 (www.thesavoylondon.com). Cliveden House - Berkshire Berkshire's Cliveden House, pictured, has hosted royalty from King George I to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Queen Victoria often travelled to Cliveden by boat from Windsor Castle to take tea with her friend the Duchess of Sutherland. Pictured is the hotel's Sutherland Suite Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, arrive at Cliveden House Hotel on the night before Meghan's royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 Rooms at Cliveden are priced from 503 per night Cliveden House, set on a 376-acre estate in Berkshire, has a fascinating origin story - it was built in 1666 by the second Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury. Its royal connections are many, with the hotel explaining that it 'has hosted royalty from King George I to Queen Elizabeth II'. Megan Markle is one of the more recent royal guests. The National Trust notes that 'it was, for a while, in the 18th century the home of Prince Frederick of Wales'. It continues: 'The current Grade I listed house owes its elegant architecture to Sir Charles Barry, who is best known for designing the Palace of Westminster. His Italianate masterpiece was built for the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland in the 1850s and is the third house here, the other two having burned down.' The hotel's website adds that 'Queen Victoria often travelled to Cliveden by boat from Windsor Castle to take tea with her great friend the Duchess of Sutherland, arriving at Cliveden's secluded Spring Cottage on the banks of the Thames'. What's more, 'George VI and Queen Elizabeth were guests at Cliveden with their two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret', the hotel reveals. More recently Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and her mother, Doria Ragland, spent the night at Cliveden before her royal wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018. At the time of writing, rooms at Cliveden House are priced from 503 per night (www.clivedenhouse.co.uk). Penolva holiday cottage - Cornwall Penolva holiday cottage was built in the early 1960s by Dick Wilkins, a close friend of the Queen Mother 'It is documented that the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal Family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva,' the guest house reveals. Above is one of its bedrooms This holiday cottage, which can host up to 12 people, is set in the pretty Cornish harbour village of St Mawes, and was built in the early 1960s by Dick Wilkins, a close friend of the Queen Mother. The owners reveal: It is documented that the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal Family often visited Wilkins and stayed at Penolva coming ashore from Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia [which was in service between 1954 and 1997] via the slipway originally built for that purpose. According to the owners, the jewel in the crown of the property is its private jetty, which offers guests access to the sea for swimming, kayaking or just floating about. Penolva is open for rental, and prices are available upon request (www.stmawesretreats.co.uk/properties/penolva). Claridge's - London Claridge's received its first royal visit in the 1860s when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert graced its rooms and corridors In the hotel's Royal Suite, many of the design motifs and materials reflect the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, taking inspiration from the 'intricately embroidered gown' that she wore in the 1953 ceremony King Charles and Princess Diana attend a state banquet held by the King of Morocco at Claridge's in 1987 A venerable London institution, Claridge's received its first royal visit in the 1860s when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert graced its rooms and corridors. 'The hotel soon [became] a favourite of heads of state and royalty throughout Europe,' the hotel's website explains. King Charles and Princess Diana hosted their wedding reception in the establishment in 1981. The Royals also arranged to have a private dinner at the hotel for Queen Elizabeths 60th birthday in 1986, and it's here that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary the following year. In the hotel's Royal Suite, many of the design motifs and materials are said to reflect the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, taking inspiration from the 'intricately embroidered gown' that she wore in the 1953 ceremony. At the time of writing, double rooms at Claridge's are priced from 840 (www.claridges.co.uk). Coworth Park - Ascot Coworth Park, dating back to the 1700s, can be found on the borders of Windsor Great Park In 2018, Prince Harry spent the night at Coworth Park before his wedding to Meghan Markle Rooms at Coworth Park are priced from 570. Above is the bathroom in one of the suites This stylish country house hotel, dating back to the 1700s, can be found on the borders of Windsor Great Park. 'The Prince and Princess of Wales, the future Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, stayed at Coworth Park in 1879 and 1883 when they attended the races at nearby Ascot,' the hotel reveals. It has also attracted the contemporary royal crowd - in 2018 Prince Harry spent the night here before his wedding to Meghan Markle. At the time of writing, rooms are priced from 570 (www.dorchestercollection.com/en/ascot/coworth-park). Lygon Arms Hotel - The Cotswolds The Lygon Arms Hotel, set in The Cotswolds' village of Broadway, counts King Edward VII and King Edward VIII among its royal guests Guests can check into the Charles I suite (above), where King Charles stayed before launching into battle during the English Civil War in 1649 Rooms at The Lygon Arms Hotel are priced from 259 per night. Pictured is the hotel's eye-catching pool This Cotswolds gem, set in the village of Broadway, has been hosting guests since the 16th century. Today, visitors can check into the Charles I suite, where King Charles I stayed before launching into battle during the English Civil War in 1649. A coat of arms sits above the fireplace to mark his royal visit, and a four-poster bed 'continues the regal theme'. The hotel adds: 'Royal visitors [also] include King Edward VII - who motored to the hotel in 1905 - and in 1913 his young grandson, the playboy Prince of Wales and future Edward VIII, who in 1936 was to abdicate over his determination to marry the American divorcee, Mrs [Wallis] Simpson.' Notable non-royal guests include Oliver Cromwell, said to have occupied a room here immediately before the Battle of Worcester in 1651. At the time of writing, rooms are priced from 259 per night (www.lygonarmshotel.co.uk). The Dorchester - London The Dorchester has long been 'favoured by royalty and celebrities, hosting countless state banquets and legendary parties'. Above is the bathroom in the Elizabeth Taylor suite Before she was made Queen, Elizabeth attended her first charity ball dance at The Dorchester. Pictured is the Eisenhower Suite In 1947, Prince Philip held his stag night party at The Dorchester. Above is the hotel's panoramic rooftop The Dorchester, which lies beside London's Hyde Park, has been welcoming guests since 1931 Queen Elizabeth II dancing at the Midsummer Festival Ball at The Dorchester in 1951 This revered hotel - set by London's Hyde Park - opened in 1931 and has long been 'favoured by royalty and celebrities, hosting countless state banquets and legendary parties'. The royals have passed through its doors on many occasions - before she was made Queen, Elizabeth attended her first charity ball dance at The Dorchester. Listing the other royal engagements, the hotel notes: '[Queen Elizabeth] attended an event at The Dorchester the day prior to the announcement of her engagement to Prince Philip on 10 July 1947.' What's more, in 1947, Prince Philip held his stag night party at The Dorchester. The hotel continues: 'The Dorchester celebrated the coronation of [Queen Elizabeth] in 1953 by inviting leading British stage set designer Oliver Messel to decorate the hotel facade. 'The decorations were said to be the best in London.' The hotel notes that, in the years that followed, Queen Elizabeth visited The Dorchester a number of times for state visits, and when the hotel reopened after a refurbishment in 1990, Prince Philip unveiled a plaque in the lobby. At the time of writing, rooms are priced from 894 (www.dorchestercollection.com). The Goring Hotel - London The Goring Hotel, a family-run establishment that dates back to 1910, lies in London's Belgravia, a short stroll from Buckingham Palace The Goring was honoured with a Royal Warrant in 2013 - it's the 'only hotel to have been granted a Royal Warrant for hospitality services' The penthouse Royal Suite (above) has a 'unique collection of royal artefacts, from handwritten letters and stationery to military regalia' and a 'life-size' portrait of Queen Victoria on the wall The Goring Hotel, a family-run establishment that dates back to 1910, lies in London's Belgravia, a short stroll from Buckingham Palace. 'The Goring has been a firm Royal favourite for many years, since it first opened its doors,' says a statement from the hotel. 'The coronations of George VI and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth saw the hotel filled with royalty attending these great occasions from all over the world. The Queen Mother also famously enjoyed Eggs Drumkilbo a lobster and egg-based dish that remains one of the most popular dishes in The Dining Room.' It continues: 'In 1990, the late George Goring accepted an O.B.E. from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace for "services to the hotel industry". This was followed by the appointment of a Royal Warrant to The Goring in 2013 - the only hotel to have been granted a Royal Warrant for hospitality services.' The hotel notes that Royal Warrants of Appointment 'are a mark of recognition to those who supply goods or services' to members of the Royal Family. Guests may feel closest to the monarchy with a stay in the Royal Suite - the penthouse suite has a 'unique collection of royal artefacts, from handwritten letters and stationery to military regalia' and a 'life-size' portrait of Queen Victoria on the wall. At the time of writing, rooms at The Goring Hotel are priced from 684 (www.thegoring.com). The Granary Lodge - the Scottish Highlands The Granary Lodge is a bed and breakfast on the grounds of The Castle of Mey, the holiday retreat purchased by the Queen Mother in 1952, in the Scottish Highlands The 17th-century lodge was used as a garage to house cars used by the Queen Mother, and also held guest rooms that were used by her chauffeur and staff According to Clarence House, the official London residence of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, the B&B is owned and operated by The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust King Charles opening the 10-bedroom property in 2019 The Granary Lodge is a luxury bed and breakfast on the north coast of the Scottish Highlands in the grounds of The Castle of Mey, the holiday retreat purchased by the Queen Mother in 1952. One part of the 17th-century lodge was used as a garage to house cars used by the Queen Mother, and the accommodation section, which today houses guest rooms numbered seven and eight, was used by the Queen Mothers chauffeur and staff. When the Queen Mother died in 2002, an animal centre was opened in the lodge under The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust. The centre was moved to a new facility in 2016 when the building underwent restoration to turn it into the cosy guest house it is today, with the help of King Charles' charity The Prince's Foundation. King Charles himself - dressed in a tartan kilt - formally opened the 10-bedroom property, which offers sea views over the strait of Pentland Firth to Dunnet Head and Orkney, in 2019. According to Clarence House, the official London residence of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, the accommodation is owned and operated by The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, and profits raised go towards maintaining and operating the estate as a tourist destination. At the time of writing, double rooms are priced from 165 (www.castleofmey.org.uk/hospitality/granary) . Milly Alcock set Twitter alight this week thanks to her drunken appearance on stage at the Golden Globes. The House Of The Dragon star is a rising star thanks to her role as a young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the hit Game Of Thrones prequel. Her major role has meant a move across the world, swapping her mum's attic in Sydney for a flat in London's picturesque Primrose Hill, where she shares a postcode with her HotD co-star Matt Smith. 'She's drunk as HELL!' Milly Alcock (pictured centre) set Twitter alight this week thanks to her drunken appearance on stage at the Golden Globes Milly started her acting career young, admitting that she has always been independent and driven during her childhood in Sydney with her mum and dad and two brothers. An early school production of Little Red Rocking Hood lit the fire, with a young Milly chasing 'that euphoric feeling' she found on stage. She enrolled herself in a performing arts high school without telling her parents and bagged herself an agent at age 13. 'I called up the agency, like, 'Hi, can I have an audition?', because I learned very young that no one's going to do it for me,' she's said. Breakout role: The House Of The Dragon star is a rising star thanks to her role as a young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the hit Game Of Thrones prequel She made her first appearance on the small screen in the Channel 10 series, Wonderland, which premiered in 2014. She later appeared in the Australian series Janet King. Her film roles include The School (2018), The Gloaming (2020), and Reckoning (2019) while she hosted her own programme, The BF Chefs, which aired on the Disney Channel and was filmed in her native Sydney. The actress also has a number of TV adverts to her name for major brands such as Cadbury, KFC and Woolworths. It was when she was cast as troubled teen Meg opposite comedian Tim Minchin in Aussie road-trip comedy series Upright that she made a major decision - to drop out of school to film the project. Rising star: It was when she was cast as troubled teen Meg opposite comedian Tim Minchin in Aussie road-trip comedy series Upright that she made a major decision to quit school 'I knew that this opportunity would be so much more of a valuable experience than getting my piece of paper,' she told of Vogue. 'I never doubted it for a second. I was almost too impulsive. I was like: 'No, this is what I've been working towards and I've been given this amazing opportunity with this amazing cast, with this beautiful script.' She also told Gold Coast Bulletin in 2020 that school was never for her, and she's glad she discovered acting. 'It wasn't my place. I never did well. I really struggled and I really wanted to do well,' Milly said. 'It just wasn't for me. I didn't really have any great teachers who saw me until I found acting, which was where I felt safe. So, yeah, it was the right decision.' Upright was an eight-part series about two misfits, Lucky (Tim) and Meg (Milly), who find one another and forge an unlikely friendship. They bond during a road trip through the Australian desert as they transport a valuable piano across the country. Opportunity: Milly was living in the attic of her mum's farmhouse in Australia, washing dishes in between acting roles when she sent off two self-tapes for an 'unknown HBO project' (pictured aged 19 in 2019) In March 2022, Milly traveled back to Australia to shoot the second series of the lauded comedy. On the back of the success of Upright, Milly decided she needed to leave Australia to really pursue her dreams. 'There's no budget,' she told the Evening Standard of her home country's attitude toward the arts. 'The government really does not fund the arts. There's no appreciation of the arts at all. People don't go to the theatre, really; they can't afford it. She was living in the attic of her mum's farmhouse in Australia, washing dishes in between acting roles when she sent off two self-tapes for an 'unknown HBO project'. Big move: Milly moved to the UK in early 2021, in the middle of the pandemic to start shooting for the HBO series, befriending her castmates in a city where she knew barely anyone (pictured on set with co-star Emily Carey) She shot the audition tape with the help of a friend, with no clue what the project was as HBO had removed the names from the script. Her friend though quickly worked it out, telling her 'This is a Game of Thrones scene. This is the scene with Arya Stark.' Speaking to Stellar magazine Milly recalled the moment she heard she had won The House Of The Dragon role: 'I never thought this would happen to me. I was washing dishes in a restaurant, living in my mum's attic.' 'This doesn't happen to people like me, so it was incredibly quick. I froze, and took a deep breath and said to my friend, 'Do you have wine?' Then I called my mum.' Milly moved to the UK in early 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, to start shooting for the HBO series, befriending her castmates in a city where she knew barely anyone. Fast forward to 2023 and the now famous face jetted to Los Angeles with her co-stars to see the show pick up the Best Drama Series Golden Globe. Major production: Speaking to Stellar magazine Milly recalled the moment she heard she had won The House Of The Dragon role: 'I never thought this would happen to me' (pictured filming in 2021) Milly stole the spotlight during the show's acceptance speech, looking very worse for wear as she clung on to her co-star Emma D'Arcy (who took over as the older version of Alcock's Rhaenyra). Viewers begged 'drunk as hell' Milly to 'eat some bread' as she, Emma and director Miguel Sapochnik accepted the Best Television Series for the hit show, with clips of the moment going viral. Milly is moving onto new ventures after House Of The Dragon entered a 10-year time jump after episode six. Rhaenyra Targaryen has been replaced by her aged-up counterpart Emma D'Arcy and series creator Ryan Condal has admitted he's not sure if they'll be capacity for Milly to return to the role. '[Flashbacks] are not a part of the story that we're telling yet,' he told Variety. Milly isn't keen on returning to the fantasy genre at all, revealing that while she is 'grateful' for the freedom her role has given her to pick future projects, she'll be steering away from similar roles. 'I don't want to do anything like that. I have done it and I don't need to do it again. I am just kind of waiting for the right project. I am not in a rush to jump on something,' she told the Herald Sun. 'I would rather work not a lot and do work that I am really proud of and passionate about. When you sign on to a project you have to get used to talking about it for six months or a year of your life, so you want to make sure you really adore it and I am waiting for that project to come along and surprise me.' Coco Lodge today claimed Love Island producers forced her to wear a bikini against her wishes, leaving her feeling 'humiliated.' The former Islander, 28, told MailOnline she fought against bosses who insisted she couldn't wear a swimsuit during her entrance despite her saying she felt 'uncomfortable' in the look they had chosen. She joined the 2022 cast as a Casa Amor bombshell and was filmed in slow motion walking into the Spanish villa ready to entice the boys away from their partners during the show's dramatic loyalty test. Coco was left mortified after producers told her to go after Andrew Le Page, 27, who was coupled up with girlfriend Tasha Ghouri, 24, and they were intimate under the sheets, only to be rejected by the real estate agent once the challenge was over. Coco Lodge today claimed Love Island producers forced her to wear a bikini against her wishes, leaving her feeling 'humiliated' Coco told MailOnline she fought against bosses who insisted she couldn't wear a swimsuit during her entrance despite her saying she felt uncomfortable in the look they had chosen In scenes that were never aired on the ITV2 show, Coco sobbed after Andrew kissed her breasts and then attempted to lessen the sexual act to 'I licked her tit or whatever' in what became the standout quote of the series. Producers ordered Coco to be a 'bad b****' and not a 'sad b****' and riled her up until she confronted Andrew, in a move she said was to create more drama when in reality she was suffering a 'meltdown.' Coco explained: 'When you first arrive to isolate you have to take photos in three options. 'I wanted to wear this orange swimsuit I had, which was flattering for my body. They decided I should wear a bikini though so I was going back and forth with them because I didn't feel comfortable. She joined the 2022 cast as a Casa Amor bombshell and was filmed in slow motion walking into the Spanish villa ready to entice the boys away from their partners Coco was left mortified after producers told her to pursue Andrew and they were intimate under the sheets, only to be rejected by the real estate agent once Tasha returned 'They said they didn't want anyone in swimsuits and they wanted us all in bikinis. They forced me to wear a bikini and when I got there, one of the other girls was in a swimsuit so I thought you told me I wasn't allowed and I really didn't feel comfortable walking in wearing a bikini. 'I knew there were going to be slow mo cameras and I'm sorry, we don't all have perfect bodies. I wanted to feel really great just for that moment walking in. You put a lot of pressure on yourself and they forced me to wear a bikini I was humiliated.' For the first time since her Love Island appearance, which saw Coco become the victim of horrendous trolling, she has revealed that producers told her to pursue a romantic connection with Andrew despite him being coupled up with Tasha. Coco was attracted to Davide Sanclimenti but turned her attention to Andrew after being lured into the idea by bosses. She ended up growing to have genuine feelings for Andrew, their chemistry unquestionable as they passionately kissed in the villa pool. For the first time since her Love Island appearance, which saw Coco become the victim of trolling, she has revealed that producers told her to pursue a romance with Andrew She said: 'For me, it was hinted to me that I should not go for Davide and I should 'explore' Andrew. I didn't feel like I wanted to do it but it was the way they worded it. 'Casa Amor is essentially a massive game to stay in and you don't want to go home, you want to stay in bed with someone. 'There's a lot of pressure already so when they said that to me I thought 'I'm going to have to do it because I want to stay.' He wasn't my first choice at all. They knew what they were doing. I felt manipulated and I didn't realise until I got out the villa and saw how things played out.' When Andrew and Tasha later rekindled their romance and Coco was left vulnerable, not only in the competition as a 'single' Islander but after feeling used, producers told her to stop crying and fight back. Andrew was filmed playing down his intimacy's with Coco, telling girlfriend Tasha he had 'sucked her tit or whatever' who was shocked to learn the extent of their fling She said: 'With the whole 'tit' thing I was so upset. I felt like I had been pied off and before I went into the villa I had just got out of this awful relationship, which had broken down my self-esteem. 'It was a trauma response how upset I was. I was crying loads and they kept taking me out to talk to me. I hadn't eaten in two days and they said to me "no more being a sad b****, you have to be a bad b****" that's what the producer kept saying to me. "No more being a sad b****, you have to be a bad b**** and tell everyone exactly what Andrew has done." 'You see me getting angrier and angrier throughout the episode because they were pushing me to say something. 'The producers hyped me up to be this 'bad b****' and said on the outside world everyone was on my side so I genuinely thought I was loved by the public but in reality everyone already saw me as a villain so they were trying to feed into that narrative. 'You never saw me break down in tears, you just saw me being this sassy, b****, 'yeah he sucked my tit' but the reality is I was literally having a meltdown.' Coco was attracted to Davide Sanclimenti, who won the series with Ekin-Su Culculoglu, but turned her attention to Andrew after being lured into the idea by bosses It's not easy being a Casa Amor bombshell. To become a fully fledged cast member, you have to break up one of the couples who have already spent weeks forming bonds and sharing a bed together. Coco says she felt like an 'extra' in the storyline of the main Islanders and insists any dating hopefuls recruited for the cruel series twist have 'drawn the short straw.' She explained: 'You have a worse experience going in as a Casa Amor bombshell compared to people in the original cast or regular bombshells, your experience is so much worse. 'Coming out I've had a lot of amazing times and I'm happy with everything I've received but when you compare and that's one thing people struggle with once they're out comparing yourself to other people's experiences. 'I don't just mean silly things like followers and fame the people who go in first, they have more time and they're well liked by the public. Coco says she felt like an 'extra' in the storyline of the main Islanders and insists any dating hopefuls recruited for the cruel series twist have 'drawn the short straw' 'The public hate the bombshells because they're already connected to the other characters and you're treated by producers as an extra in someone else's storyline. 'I was being trolled to death but they didn't give me a chance to go on a date or show my personality so when I came out things were a lot worse for me.' However, a source close to Love Island claimed producers don't choose what contestants wear and Islanders make their own connections on the show. 'Islanders can wear whatever they like and we would never let anyone go into the villa feeling uncomfortable,' a TV insider told MailOnline. 'Viewers watched Andrew and Coco explore their bond and contestants are left to make their own decisions in the villa.' An ITV spokesperson said: 'Islanders are never told what to wear. The decisions they make and connections they form are theirs and theirs alone.' Morgan Freeman is headed back to the small screen. The 85-year-old actor has signed on to join the cast of Lioness, co-starring with Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman, according to Deadline. The Oscar winner will star as US Secretary of State Edwin Mullin in the political thriller about a young Marine, played by Laysla De Oliveira, who is recruited by the CIA to befriend the daughter of a terrorist. New role: Morgan Freeman is headed back to the small screen. The 85-year-old actor has signed on to join the cast of Lioness, co-starring with Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman, starring as the US Secretary of state in the political thriller (Pictured in Beverly Hills in February 2020) The idea behind the operation is to bring down the organization from within. The Paramount+ show, created by Yellowstone showrunner Taylor Sheridan, is based on a real-life CIA program. Zoe, who is also executive producing the project, will star as Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program. Co-stars: Zoe and Nicole are executive producing the show. Zoe will star as Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program. Nicole is executive producing the series as well and will star as CIA Senior Supervisor Kaitlyn Meade, who has a history of playing and surviving the political game Joe is responsible for training, managing and leading female undercover operatives. Nicole is executive producing the series as well and will star as CIA Senior Supervisor Kaitlyn Meade, who has a history of playing and surviving the political game. Kaitlyn is facing difficulty with a work-life balance and is concerned about mentoring someone who is eerily following in her footsteps. Guest-star: Brittney Spears' husband, Sam Asghari, will guest-star as Kamal, an unapologetic womanizer (Pictured in July 2019 in Los Angeles) Brittney Spears' husband, Sam Asghari, will guest-star as Kamal, an unapologetic womanizer. Morgan will be seen next in A Good Person with Florence Pugh as a woman whose life falls about after her involvement in a fatal accident. The drama, written and directed by Zach Braff, is set to open in theaters in March. Claire Tregoning has finally confirmed her split from husband Timothy on Saturday after they separated eight months ago. The P.E Nation co-founder, 42, and filmmaker, 40, who share two children together, kept their break-up under wraps for most of last year. But the high-profile Sydney fashion socialite broke her silence in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald where she said they 'still love each other'. Claire Tregoning, 42, (left) finally confirmed her split from husband Timothy, 40, (right) on Saturday after they separated eight months ago 'It is very amicable, we still love each other, we are co-parenting and he remains a great friend,' she said. 'Things change and that's just what happened for us, but we are getting through that with a lot of respect and support for each other.' Rumours emerged last November that the pair had quietly split after they deleted each other from Instagram and stopped posting loved up pictures. The P.E Nation co-founder and filmmaker who share two children together (pictured), kept their break-up under wraps for most of last year Claire and Tim Tregoning quietly parted ways after more than a decade together. They have two kids, age eight and nine They spent most of their marriage renovating their family home in Avalon, in Sydney's northern beaches, and raising their two children. From relaxing family weekends to lavish trips away, the businesswoman was constantly tagging her cinematographer husband in Instagram posts with their kids as she wore P.E Nation gear. She even shared one particularly intimate bedroom picture with the caption 'Lover' with her 19,000 followers. But the high-profile Sydney fashion socialite broke her silence in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald where she said they 'still love each other'. Pictured with P.E Nation co-founder Pip Edwards Claire Tregoning (pictured, right) is seen with good friend and P.E Nation business partner Pip Edwards (left) at Australian Fashion week in 2022 P.E Nation at the 2021 Australian Open: Claire Tregoning is pictured right, next to her husband Tim. Pip Edwards is on the left On Father's Day last year, Claire posted an image of Timothy and their kids eating croissants together on the deck of their $1.2million renovated 'shack' - gushing about how he's a 'beautiful chaotic loving dad' to their 'crazy cubs'. 'The love you shower our crazy cubs in is endless. Your journey and growth as a father has been an inspiring one to watch. We love you,' she wrote. It was the last time he featured on her feed. Since then, Claire has been on holidays to Tasmania and Los Angeles, a ski trip to New Zealand, and two jaunts to London - splashing her getaways on Instagram, tagging friends and family members each time. Her husband, however, had been notably absent from her feed. Claire, who had been in London with P.E. Nation co-founded Pip Edwards, did not respond to questions about her suspected separation when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. 'It is very amicable, we still love each other, we are co-parenting and he remains a great friend,' she said They spent most of their marriage renovating their family home in Avalon, in Sydney's northern beaches, and raising their two children The same question was put to Timothy, who didn't deny the rumour. When responding to a Daily Mail Australia reporter, he said: 'Keep working babe, you've got a long way to go.' Little more than a year after the Father's Day post, on September 30, Tregoning was arrested in Bondi when police found him with two resealable bags of cocaine. He pleaded guilty to drug possession in Waverley Local Court and will be sentenced in January. The maximum penalty for a drug possession charge is $5,500 or two years in prison. Garcelle Beauvais has given her seal of approval for Jennifer Coolidge to join Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. According to Page Six, Beauvais, 56, saw an Instagram post speculating that the Legally Blonde icon was joining the reality show, leading her to comment: 'Yes please.' The beloved White Lotus star, 61 who won her first Golden Globe on Tuesday and brought down the house with her eccentric speech has expressed her love for the ladies of Beverly Hills and would be open to holding a diamond herself. Give her a diamond: Garcelle Beauvais, 56, has given her seal of approval for Jennifer Coolidge, 61, to join Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 'Yes!' Coolidge declared on the Golden Globes red carpet when Page Six asked her if she'd ever consider joining the hit Bravo show. In an interview with Variety last year in August, Jennifer spoke about her affinity for Housewives. When asked if she watched the Bravo phenomenon, she responded: 'I do! I do! I get a kick out of a lot of that.' The Emmy Winner went on to say that she watched RHOBH more than any other franchise and revealed her hilarious Housewives tagline. 'If any of you girls say anything cty to me,' Jennifer warned, 'Im gonna beat the st out of you.' Pretty please: According to Page Six, Beauvais saw an Instagram post speculating that the Legally Blonde icon was joining the reality show, leading her to comment, 'Yes please' Next stop, Bravo! The beloved White Lotus star who won her first Golden Globe on Tuesday and brought down the house with her eccentric speech has expressed her love for the ladies of Beverly Hills and would be open to holding a diamond herself 'Beverly Hills is riveting,' Coolidge said to E! News in October. 'It is riveting for many reasons.' And Jennifer has a soft spot for Lisa Rinna, calling her 'such a good villain.' There would certainly be room for Coolidge to join the cast now that Rinna's iconic eight-season run has come to an end. One-season Housewife Diana Jenkins has also announced that she is leaving the show, opening up another vacancy for Bravo to fill. 'Yes!' Coolidge declared on the Golden Globes red carpet when Page Six asked her if she'd ever consider joining the hit Bravo show Vacancies: There would certainly be room for Coolidge to join the cast now that Lisa Rinna's iconic eight-season run has come to an end. One-season Housewife Diana Jenkins (pictured left) has also announced that she is leaving the show, opening up another vacancy for Bravo to fill Coolidge cut a dazzling figure on Tuesday night in a Dolce and Gabbana off-the-shoulder gown. She took home the award for Best Supporting Actress - Television Limited Series/Motion Picture, beating out Claire Danes (Fleishman Is in Trouble), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Under the Banner of Heaven), Niecy Nash (Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) and her White Lotus co-star Aubrey Plaza. Backstage at the awards ceremony, Access Hollywood asked Jennifer: 'What's the ultimate dream role for you now? If anything could happen what would it be?' Without hesitation Jennifer responded: 'I've always wanted to play a dolphin.' Olivia Wilde, 38, later took to social media and promised to make Jennifer's dream come true. Grant Gustin stepped out in his bright red Flash costume while filming one of the final episodes of the show in Vancouver on Friday. He was joined on set by his longtime co-stars Keiynan Lonsdale and Danielle Panabaker as well as former Arrow stars Stephen Amell and David Ramsey. The addition of Amell is surprising given that his character, Oliver Queen, was killed off during a crossover event in Arrow's final season in 2020. Bright red: Grant Gustin stepped out in his bright red Flash costume while filming one of the final episodes of the show Gustin, who turns 33 on Saturday, January 14, donned the bright red suit and mask with a metallic gold belt wrapped around his waist. Lonsdale, 31, donned a suit with a gold top and scarlet pants and matching gloves. The stars held huge umbrellas in between takes to keep the rain pouring down on them while they filmed. Lots o stars: He was joined on set by his longtime co-stars Keiynan Lonsdale and Danielle Panabaker as well as former Arrow stars Stephen Amell and David Ramsey (L to R: Ramsey, Gustin, Panabaker, Amell) He's back? The addition of Amell is surprising given that his character, Oliver Queen, was killed off during a crossover event in Arrow's final season in 2020 Amell, 41, donned the tight leather ensemble which he made famous during his eight seasons as the titular vigilante. His appearance in the episode may come as a shock to fans of The CW's superhero universe, known by fans as the Arrowverse since his character was killed off in 2020. He was killed during a crossover event titled Crisis on Infinite Earths, a five-night mega event which premiered across five separate shows: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow. Bright red: Gustin, who turns 33 on Saturday, January 14, donned the bright red suit and mask with a metallic gold belt wrapped around his waist Co-star: Lonsdale, 31, donned a suit with a gold top and scarlet pants and matching gloves Famous costume: Amell, 41, donned the tight leather ensemble which he made famous during his eight seasons as the titular vigilante In an exclusive The Hollywood Reporter interview published around the time of Arrow's end, Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz said he was 'really dead this time.' 'Because the whole point of this death and the culmination of what brings us to the crossover is that everything hes learned throughout the series and these past eight years has led him to this moment to give the ultimate heros sacrifice,' she explained. 'And thats his life to save everyone else. Thats what a hero does. His journey has led him to make that ultimate sacrifice for his family, for his friends, for the other superheroes,' she said. Killed off: He was killed during a crossover event titled Crisis on Infinite Earths, a five-night mega event which premiered across five separate shows: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow (L to R: Melissa Benoist, Gustin, Ruby Rose, Tyler Hoechlin, Brandon Routh with Amell kneeling) When asked if he could ever return, Schwartz added, 'Thats up to the other shows, and thats up to Stephen [Amell], really.' Shows in the Arrowverse have used both flashbacks and time travel in the past, and Amell's appearance in the show could be chalked up to either of those. The CW announced The Flash was coming to an end back in August. The ninth and final season will be shorter than previous, airing just 13 episodes. Season 9 is set for premiere on February 1, 2023. She had reportedly 'grown close' to her former co-star Charlie De Melo in recent months, following her 'split' with partner of 14-years, Mark Letheren. And Coronation Street's Georgia Taylor is now officially dating the actor - with their romance 'common knowledge among their pals', according to a new report. The actress, 42, and Charlie, 33, - who played couple Toyah Battersby and Imran Habeeb on the ITV soap - were seen strolling arm-in-arm in Manchester in pictures obtained by The Sun this week. Change: She had reportedly 'grown close' to her former co-star Charlie De Melo in recent months, following her 'split' with partner of 14-years, Mark Letheren Now the publication claims that they are definitely a couple after Georgia and Mark secretly split last July and have both 'moved out of the home they shared'. A source told the newspaper: 'Georgia and Charlie have been dating for a few months. 'They became great friends while playing on screen lovers in Corrie and when they found themselves single their relationship developed into romance. Heating up: And Coronation Street's Georgia Taylor is now officially dating the actor - with their romance 'common knowledge among their pals', according to a new report 'The relationship is common knowledge among pals and they went to the soap's Christmas party as a couple. It will be hard for Mark to see Georgia has moved on so soon because they were together for a long time.' Representatives for both have been contacted by MailOnline for comment. It comes as it has been revealed that Mark told how his life 'finally fell apart' in 2022 and that he had 'the worst year' in a recent Facebook post - amid the claimed trouble in his romantic life. Taking to Facebook recently, Mark reportedly wrote: 'It's been the worst year after a number of increasingly s**t years. My life finally fell apart. Moving on: Now the publication claims that they are definitely a couple after Georgia and Mark secretly split last July and have both 'moved out of the home they shared' (Mark and Georgia pictured together) 'Thankfully, I'm incredibly lucky and have a family who have picked up the pieces and are trying to help me re-build myself. 'It's thanks to them I'm still here and trying to move forward. For that I'm truly grateful. Whatever the new year brings I hope that strength, humility, joy and love are in abundance for you all.' Charlie has not been linked to anyone since he split from former partner, fellow Corrie alumni Nicola Thorp in 2019, following a 10 month romance. Close: A source told the newspaper: 'Georgia and Charlie have been dating for a few months. They became great friends while playing on screen lovers in Corrie and when they found themselves single their relationship developed into romance' MailOnline have contacted representatives of Georgia and Charlie for comment. On Friday, it was reported that Georgia and Charlie looked cosy as they strolled together before stopping for a coffee. The duo have remained close since Charlie's character, lawyer Imran, was killed off from the soap last year - in a crash caused by Georgia's character Toyah. Speaking of Charlie's decision to leave Coronation Street, Georgia said at the time that she was: 'Heartbroken. I absolutely adore him.' She continued: 'He's been a dream, an absolute dream. He's so funny so we laugh a lot but he is honestly one of the most supportive people I have ever worked with and even now, we're still in touch obviously, he's texting me, "How did the day go? Are you OK?" 'He's just a team player. And I mean look at him, there's no complaints there either. He's beautiful.' Earlier this week, it was reported that Georgia had split from her long term partner Mark, with a source telling The Sun: 'The split was in July 2022 and they have both moved out of the home they shared.' End of an era: The duo have remained close since Charlie's character, lawyer Imran, was killed off from the soap last year - in a crash caused by Georgia's character Toyah The pair, who started dating in 2008, lived together in Bristol. Georgia hasn't posted about Mark on Instagram since March 2020. They celebrated 10 years together back in 2018 in Lisbon, with Georgia calling Mark 'my love'. Georgia previously spoke about how she first met Mark on the set of BBC's Casualty in 2008 and said at the time that they weren't married. She played Ruth Winters on the show while Mark starred as Ben Harding in the drama. He's also known for shows including The Bill and Wire in the Blood. 'Yeah, we're actually not married but we practically are because we've been together so long,' she said. 'We met, he was a sort of semi-regular character, he was playing a councilor ironically, which is then what Toyah ended up doing. We met, gosh 13 years ago. So yeah, got him out of the job and lots of friends and it was a really good time,' she said on Lorraine. A representative for ITV's Coronation Street declined to comment. Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal, who was recently convicted in an attempt to murder case by a court in the union territory, was disqualified on Saturday by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Thiruvananthapuram/ New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued notification disqualifying Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal, who was recently convicted in an attempt to murder case by a court in the union territory. As per the notification issued on Friday, Faizal stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from January 11, the date of his conviction by a sessions court in Kavaratti. The decision was taken under the provisions of Article 102 (l) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Sessions, Kavaratti, Lakshadweep in Sessions case no. 01/2017, Shri Mohammed Faizal P.P., Member of Lok Sabha representing the Lakshadweep Parliamentary Constituency of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 11 January, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(l)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, it said. The court in Lakshadweep had on Wednesday sentenced four people, including Faizal, to 10 years in jail after they were found guilty in an attempt to murder case. Kavaratti Sessions court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the convicts for attempting to kill Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of late Congress leader and former Union Minister P M Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. All the convicts are relatives. She already boasts an impressive collection of tattoos around her body. And Demi Sims took things up a notch on Friday as she added another ink to the roster, this time on her face. The former TOWIE star, 26, surprised fans by getting a small love heart inked onto her cheek during a joint session with sister Frankie, 27, who also got one on her lower back. Bold move: Demi Sims surprised fans on Friday as she added to her tattoo collection with a daring new face ink Sharing a glimpse into the trip with her 573K Instagram followers, Demi shared a mirror snap before going as she penned: 'Tattoo time'. She donned a simple black cami top and matching joggers for the trip to see tattoo artist Sophie Wilde - who has provided inks for the star in the past. And after going under the needle, the beauty posted a short clip to her Instagram Stories to show off her complexion, which now features a dainty black love heart on her right cheek. Exciting: Sharing a glimpse into the trip with her 573K Instagram followers, Demi shared a mirror snap before going as she penned: 'Tattoo time'. New ink: And after going under the needle, the beauty posted a short clip to her Instagram Stories to show off her complexion, which now features a dainty black love heart on her right cheek Frankie also decided to join in on the fun, but steered clear of any face ink as she lay flat for one on her lower back. The brunette is yet to disclose what she went for, but Demi was on hand to document the moment as she filmed her sister for social media. It comes after the youngest Sims sister added another back tattoo in October, going topless as she showed off the huge permanent marking. With the addition of this, her back is now covered with quotes, two giant tigers and outlines. Joint: Her sister Frankie also decided to join in on the fun, but steered clear of any face ink as she lay flat for one on her lower back Filled: It comes after the youngest Sims sister added another back tattoo in October, going topless as she showed off the huge permanent marking While she also has numerous hand tattoos, including the phrase 'pretty poison' transcribed on her hand. She is currently in Los Angeles alongside sisters Frankie and Chloe and brother Charlie as they film for their new OnlyFans reality show, House Of Sims. Last year, eldest Chloe said she and her family are going to 'live out our dream' on their new reality show, with sister Frankie promising it will be as raw as possible'. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Chloe, who recently left TOWIE to appear on the new show said: 'I'm so excited that I took the leap...we're going to get to live our dream out together.' Inked up: She also has numerous hand tattoos, including the phrase 'pretty poison' transcribed on her hand While Frankie added that fans will see a different side to the Sims family on the new show where they will be in control of how they are edited. The family's deal with the OFTV platform is a 'six-figure' sum set to rise to millions with extra add-ons and earnings, MailOnline has been told. The new show is slated to be broadcast around the start of next year on the free viewing app. Tammy Hembrow has shown off her incredible physique in a colourful bikini. In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday, the mum-of-two showed off her very toned stomach and legs as she posed for series of mirror selfies. The fitness influencer, 28, tied her hair in two pigtails and opted for a bright pink denim floppy hat. Tammy Hembrow has shown off her incredible physique in a colourful bikini. In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday, the mum-of-two showed off her very toned stomach and legs as she posed for mirror selfies She accessorised with rings and small gold hoop earrings while matching her bright pink phone case to her outfit. The blue and pink bikini bottoms were pulled up high, while Tammy showed off her tan lines in the barely-there string top. Perhaps not the most suitable for a dip in the water, Tammy added a full face of make-up including black mascara and bronzer. She added three sun emojis to celebrate the summer. The fitness influencer, 28, tied her hair in two pigtails and opted for a bright pink denim floppy hat It comes after the fitness guru hinted at an exciting new project in a series of videos on her Instagram stories. On Wednesday, the 28 year-old's followers caught a glimpse of her on-set in Los Angeles, after she travelled to the US earlier in the week. Crew members were seen in the background of what appeared to be a photo shoot. She posed alongside her three children, son Wolf, daughter Saskia and her latest addition, baby daughter Posy Tammy appeared to have finally 'confirm her split from ex fiance Matt Poole' (left) during a recent trip to Sydney in December Wearing a black tube top with a matching skirt, Tammy had her blonde hair tied back and was made up with a heavy makeup palette. She appeared in a few outfits in different settings, suggesting she was part of a large project. One video showed her posing in a tightly-fitted burgundy frock, followed by an intimate moment with her daughter Posy in-between takes. The pair, who were once an It-couple, have two kids together, son Wolf, six, and daughter Saskia, five. Reece pictured with his children 'Sneak peek, something exciting coming,' she teased her fans. On Sunday, her former partner Reece Hawkins shared a rare image to Instagram Stories which revealed he was spending time with the children they share - Saskia and Wolf. Tammy recently revealed she's split with her fiance Matt during a photoshoot in Sydney. On Wednesday, the 28 year-old's followers caught a glimpse of her on-set in Los Angeles after she travelled to the US earlier in the week Rumours the couple had split arose in August, just three months after welcoming their daughter Posy in June. The pair had began dating in 2020 before they became engaged in November 2021. Just two weeks after announcing their big news, the pair found out they were also expecting their first child together. Billy Bush opened up about being one the last individuals to have interviewed Lisa Marie Presley before her sudden and tragic passing on Thursday at the age of 54, telling PEOPLE on Friday that, 'It feels awful.' The television host, who was interviewing for Extra during the 80th Annual Golden Globes held earlier on Tuesday, had the chance to talk to Elvis' daughter on the red carpet less than 48 hours before her death. Bush, 51, further emotionally expressed to the publication that, 'I feel my heart is very heavy for pretty much anyone in pain.' 'Feels awful': Billy Bush, 51, informed People on Friday that, 'It feels awful,' to have been one of the last individuals to have interviewed Lisa Marie Presley before her tragic passing on Thursday at the age of 54 Recent interview: The talk show host interviewed celebrities for Extra during the 80th Golden Globes, including Elvis' only daughter Billy recalled that both he and Lisa Marie were, 'just talking about her father. And what characteristics of her father's that Austin Butler did get right... the singing, the glances, the look, the twinkle.' 'This is a woman who just encountered so much grief in her life. It's just impossible to fathom,' he added, referencing to her own father's death at the age of 42 in 1977 and the loss of her own son, Benjamin, in 2020, with his death being ruled a suicide. He was only 27-years-old. During the night, she had been accompanied by Jerry Schilling, a long-time family friend who stood closely by her side during the brief interview, shortly before the award show commenced. Bush recently went into further detail about the interview with Lisa Marie when talking to Fox LA, stating that both he and Jerry had, 'each grabbed an arm' to help her up two steps that led up the platform for the interview. He added, 'And it was clear that she was not coming up the two flights. I went down and I met her on the carpet itself. You can see her hanging onto Jerry's arm...' By her side: She was accompanied by Jerry Schilling, a long-time family friend who stood closely by her side, during the brief interview shortly before the award show commenced Recalling: Bush recently went into further detail about the interview with Lisa Marie when talking to Fox LA 'Something's off': The Extra host recalled, 'She was very uneven in her balance. The speech was very slow. And, definitely, when the interview was over, I turned to my producer next to me and said, 'Something's off here'; Billy seen in December 2021 in Malibu The Extra host then explained, 'She was very uneven in her balance. The speech was very slow. And, definitely, when the interview was over, I turned to my producer next to me and said, 'Something's off here.' 'She was cognizant. She was certainly with it, just a second slow. But she was there. She was definitely there, but just a tad off in some way,' Billy stated. He also expressed that after his interview, Lisa Marie promptly entered The Beverly Hilton to watch the ceremony. Bush was also the last individual to interview Michael Jackson before his death in 2009. Lisa Marie and Michael were married from 1994 to 1996. Bush predicted 'a wonderful night for Elvis' at the beginning of the interview on Tuesday evening, in which Lisa Marie stood next to longtime friend Schilling, who was also a talent manager who worked closely with Elvis. Billy then asked her if she had gotten to know Butler, at which point she told Schilling 'I'm gonna grab your arm' and locked her right arm with Schilling's left arm. She said she adored Butler and was 'mind-blown' after seeing his performance in the film (which earned him a win for Best Actor- Motion Picture Drama at the ceremony). Kind words: During the interview with Bush, Lisa Marie stated that she adored Butler and was 'mind-blown' after seeing his performance in the film (which earned him a win for Best Actor- Motion Picture Drama at the ceremony) 'She was there': When talking to Fox LA, Billy added, 'She was cognizant. She was certainly with it, just a second slow. But she was there. She was definitely there, but just a tad off in some way' Lisa Marie said she needed five days 'to process [Butler's performance] as it was so spot on and authentic'. During the chat, Lisa Marie said that she thought Butler nailed the 'characteristics [and] the talking without doing it like in a caricature way like it's been done in the past'. She added: 'It's kind of done in sort of a funny, joking way, the way [Elvis] spoke, but Austin actually got it and did it perfectly without making it comical.' Schilling noted Butler 'didn't overdo' aspects of his performance as Elvis. Bush asked Lisa Marie if she had lived in the Montecito-Santa Barbara area - which was battered earlier this week by storms and flooding - and she said she 'did at one point', noting that the results of the storm were 'really awful'. The interview wrapped up with Lisa Marie telling Bush that Butler was making his way down the entrance. Long-time friends: Billy then asked her if she had gotten to know Butler, at which point she told Schilling 'I'm gonna grab your arm' and locked her right arm with Schilling's left arm Emotional: During the interview, Lisa Marie said she needed five days 'to process [Butler's performance] as it was so spot on and authentic' Recognition: Austin Butler, who portrayed Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's biopic, received the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama on Tuesday, which both Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla Presley were able to see in person Earlier Thursday, Lisa Marie was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles after reportedly suffering from a cardiac arrest, reported TMZ. Before being taken to a nearby hospital, she had been given CPR by both her ex-husband Danny Keough and EMTs at her Calabasas home, regaining a pulse. However, sources informed TMZ later on Friday that upon arriving at the hospital, Lisa Marie was 'pronounced brain dead.' The sources further added to the tabloid that her family reportedly signed a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR). The publication had previously reported that she had also been put into an induced coma by doctors as well as life support. Hours later, she suffered a second cardiac arrest, and the news of her sudden and shocking death was announced not long afterwards. Tragic loss: Sources informed TMZ that upon arriving at the hospital on Thursday, Lisa Marie was 'pronounced brain dead' and further added to the tabloid that her family reportedly signed a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR); Lisa Marie and Austin seen in June 2022 Australian Yeezy designer Bianca Censori was thrust into the spotlight this week after marrying Kanye West in a non-legally binding ceremony. And now the Melbourne-born bride's family have spoken out about Bianca's decision to wed the troubled rapper. Speaking to the Herald Sun, one of Bianca's sisters, Angelina Censori, asked for 'privacy' but admitted that the family was happy with the news. The family of the Australian designer (pictured) who 'married' rapper Kanye West have broken their silence on the shock news Family: Alexandra Censori is pictured with Bianca, Alyssia and Angelina Censori in 2020 'Its very exciting news for both my sister and the family but we choose to have some privacy for the time being,' she said. Another relative, Alyssia Censori, said she was 'super happy for them both'. The rapper, 45, is said to have held a private ceremony with the Aussie designer, 27, and the pair have been spotted wearing wedding rings. A Kim Kardashian lookalike through-and-through, Censori hails from Kew, Victoria where she went to Carey Baptist Grammar School, according to her LinkedIn. Bianca Censori's sister Angelina said it was 'exciting news' but asked for 'privacy'. Kanye is pictured in 2012 After graduating from high school, she started her own jewellery company Nylons as she completed a Bachelor's degree at the University of Melbourne from 2013-2017. The business began with her friend Irene when they created chokers and bracelets made from Swarovski crystals for themselves and friends, before they realised the potential to set up a store. In the last two years of her degree, Censori also worked as a design consultant at Kelektiv, a furniture design company in the city. The Melbourne-born beauty (left) shares a striking resemblance to Kim Kardashian (right) Censori then moved on to DP Toscano Architects in Collingwood where she stayed as she went for her Masters in Architecture. In November of 2020, it appears she left Australia right after she graduated from university and moved to Los Angeles to work for West as the Head of Architecture at his fashion design company Yeezy. Not much else is known about Censori, as she deactivated her social media accounts quickly after the news about her secret nuptials with West broke. Censori was raised in Kew, Victoria where she attended Carey Baptist Grammar School before she got her Bachelor and Masters degrees in architecture at the University of Melbourne The music artist's followers were stunned by the news, with many left scratching their heads about who Censori is and how their relationship began. Last month, West paid tribute to his 'wife' by releasing the track Censori Overload - a play on her last name. In the lyrics he revealed that he stayed celibate before tying the knot, singing: 'And The Bible said, I cant have any more sex til marriage.' The song appears to reference his split from Kardashian, opening with the lines: 'Waking up to "I cant do this anymore" text', adding 'I know its 'cause the headlines / Why she wanna leave.' The stunner joined the Yeezy team in November 2020 and lists herself as the Head of Architecture for the brand on her Linkedin page West is said to have held a private ceremony with Censori and the pair have been spotted wearing wedding rings. The Stronger hitmaker wore his band on a lunch date earlier this week, with sources telling the site the ring symbolises his commitment to her following the ceremony. However, the union isn't legal because the pair do not appear to have filed a marriage certificate, DailyMail.com reported. The late Queen and Prince Harry were big fans of The Royle Family and watched it together 'all the time', according to star Ralf Little. Ralf, 42, played Antony in the 90s sitcom, which ran on the BBC for three series from 1998 to 2000, followed by a series of specials from 2006 to 2012. But now, the Death In Paradise star has recalled a time when one of Prince Harry's friends told him that the royal pair enjoyed the show. Special times: The late Queen and Prince Harry were big fans of The Royle Family and watched it together 'all the time', according to star Ralf Little (the pair are pictured in 2019) He said: 'Years ago, I happened to be at a party where Prince Harry was. I got talking to a lot of Harry's mates and one of them was like, "All of us love The Royle Family." I went, "Even the big man?" 'He went, "Loves it. Him and his gran watch it all the time."' Ralf continued: 'Maybe it's not true but I like to believe it is. It went from being this maybe being a Northern thing, to maybe it's a working class thing, to apparently the Queen watching it.' The show starred Ricky Tomlinson as Antony's dad Jim and Sue Johnston as mum Barbara. 90s hit: Ralf, 42, played Antony in the 90s sitcom which ran on the BBC for three series from 1998 to 2000, and specials from 2006 to 2012 It centred on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family and showed a comic portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium. Speaking on the White Wine Question Time podcast, Ralf said: 'We genuinely believed that we had something special, we felt it was working and that people should love this. 'It's always a difficult thing, I've also been in shows where you think, "This is great," because we're all making the crew laugh, we're making each other laugh so much and you think this is gonna be great because if we love it so much then everyone else is going to, and then no one watches it, no one gives a s**t. 'But sometimes you can just feel a bit of magic happening. We were tentatively hopeful. Anecdotes: Now, the Death In Paradise star has recalled a time when one of Prince Harry's friends told him that the royal pair enjoyed the show 'We sort of hoped and figured that it might be a success up North because it would be so familiar. Then, we were surprised that it was a success down South as well. 'And then we thought, "Well maybe it's just a working class connection?" Then we were surprised to find that it was a success with middle class people, I mean we're obsessed with class in Britain anyway. The actor went on: 'I think what linked [the show] to everyone is that family dynamics tend to be very similar and it's interesting that it transcends class, age, everything. 'Also it felt like there was only one other show at the time where people on television watched television and that was The Simpsons. I can't think of another show.' Now and then: The BBC show centred on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family and showed a comic portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium.(pictured left in 2022 and right in 2000) Meanwhile, the over 20 years since it aired, the series was handed a warning for discriminatory language in an episode including Jim Royle using a 'nancy boy' slur. The third episode of the second series, which first aired on 7 Oct 1999, sees Ricky Tomlinsons disagreeable character watching an episode of Changing Rooms, during which he calls Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen a 'nancy boy'. Following similar warnings on shows including Fawlty Towers and Dad's Army, the particular episode, which already had an 'adult humour' warning, also carries the tag: 'Contains discriminatory language which some viewers may find offensive.' A BBC representative told MailOnline: 'Some older programmes on occasion contain language that some viewers find offensive, inappropriate or which have now fallen out of use, and for that reason, we do make that clear on iPlayer and elsewhere.' While the show is much-loved, the warning has now been added to that particular episode - in the latest warnings which have been deemed too 'woke'. Around the same time, the channel slapped a 'discriminatory language' warning on the 1971 Dad's Army film, which was met with outrage. The BBC aired the film with the warning that some viewers may find it 'offensive' prompting outraged fans to call for the corporation to 'stop making issues when there aren't any'. The broadcaster said the warning has, 'has nothing to do with the general content of #DadsArmy, which is a British TV classic,' but said the film, 'includes a specific racially derogatory phrase.' The warning refers to the archaic term 'fuzzy-wuzzies', used by British soldiers to describe people from the Sudan. In the film, Clive Dunns character Lance Corporal Jones Joness uses the term fuzzy-wuzzies, to describe enemies he fought in the Sudan under General Kitchener. The BBC issued a warning before it aired as parts of the classic 'could cause offence'. Viewers who went to watch the film on the BBC's iPlayer had a message pop up reading: 'Contains discriminatory language which some may find offensive.' The Frasier reboot has reportedly cast British actor Nicholas Lyndhurst to star alongside Kelsey Grammer as his 'old college buddy'. In the months since Paramount+ gave the green light to the new series of the 1990s sitcom, many have wondered if the cast will look the same as it did 30 years ago. And now it is understood that the Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas, 61, will play a key role in Frasier's past, hinting towards the speculative storyline which has been kept so under wraps. Reveal: The Frasier reboot has reportedly cast British actor Nicholas Lyndhurst to star alongside Kelsey Grammer as his 'old college buddy' Variety reports that he is the first cast member announced to join the fan favourite sitcom, and that it marks a reunion for Grammer and Lyndhurst. The pair worked together at the English National Opera at the London Coliseum for the Man of La Mancha back in 2019. While the plot has been kept secret since the reboot was announced in 2021, the official log reads: 'Frasier is off to a different city with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge, and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Frasier has re-entered the building!' And the publication explained that Lyndhurst's character is Alan Cornwall: 'Frasiers old college buddy turned university professor'. Star role: It is understood that the Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas, 61, will play a key role in Frasier's past, hinting towards the speculative storyline which has been kept so under wraps The description read: 'British, boozy, and larger than life, Alan has an intellect on par with Frasiersif only he ever felt like using it. 'Alans mischievous streak might be just what Frasier could use to shake up his routine, while Frasiers thoughtful guidance might help Alan find some of the direction hes been missing in his own life.' Best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in British sitcom Only Fools And Horses, Nicholas's performances in Goodnight Sweetheart, New Tricks and Butterflies are just a few other titles under his belt. The actor has had a difficult few years, after losing his son Archie at the age of 19 following a brain haemorrhage. Returning: Variety reports that he is the first cast member announced to join the fan favourite sitcom, and that it marks a reunion for Grammer and Lyndhurst Back in the day: Best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in British sitcom Only Fools And Horses (pictured with Dellboy), Nicholas's performances in Goodnight Sweetheart, New Tricks and Butterflies are just a few other titles under his belt It was then claimed that he was considering retiring from acting following the tragic loss. The star's close friend, writer Laurence Marks, 73, said that Nicholas may not return to public life after his heartache, something the actor's camp insists is 'ridiculous'. Laurence told the Daily Star Sunday: 'Nicholas underwent tragedy. It must have broken his heart. It would break anyone's heart. 'He has always kept himself to himself and now he'll do that more than ever. Now he's lost his son, he'll never come out again. I doubt we will see him do any more acting.' However, a representative for Nicholas told MailOnline: 'It is complete nonsense that Nicholas Lyndhurst is retired or retiring. Reunion: While the plot has been kept secret since the reboot was announced in 2021, the official log reads: 'Frasier is off to a different city with new challenges to face' (cast is pictured at the Emmy Awards) It comes after an insider claimed that the long-anticipated Frasier sequel could leave fans disappointed over missing cast members, Z-list writers and producers and a lack of lavish sets. Sources familiar with the new show, helmed by Kelsey Grammer as he reprises his role as Dr. Frasier Crane, claimed the set was running on a low-budget with novice actors and writers, RadarOnline reports. 'With the Paramount+ Frasier reboot, you're getting the actor you know and love in his most famous role, but you're not getting much else,' the sources said. 'There will be no lavish sets and none of the beloved faces fans held dear. Even the writers and producers are Z-list.' The alleged troubles come just months after Grammer, 67, announced that the reboot was greenlit by Paramount+, with the beloved actor serving as the executive producer. Kelsey Grammer's Frasier sequel series is reportedly low rent, lacking in lavish sets and helmed by Z-list writers and producers The 90s saw Grammer propel to nationwide fame on the Cheers spin-off series, Frasier, with the actor reportedly in talks for years to try and revive the show. However, Grammer is set to be the only returning original cast member after David Hyde Pierce, who played Fraiser's little brother Niles, is said to have demanded a larger role in the reboot and more pay. 'David has become a huge star on Broadway,' a source told RadarOnline. 'He doesn't need the show, so he decided to leverage his appearance to the hilt. In the end, he overplayed his hand and lost.' Original: Only Grammer is set to reprise his role as Dr. Frasier Crane, with his fellow co-stars reportedly cut after a fall out with David Hyde Pierce (second from the right) who played Frasier's little brother, Niles, one the show's most popular characters The fallout with Niles led to the show scrapping a big reunion scene and instead opting to move Dr. Frasier out of his Seattle hometown to a new city with a brand new cast. 'They were all excited about coming back and were devastated when they found it wouldn't be happening,' an insider told the outlet. The missing big-name actors are accompanied by a lack of seasoned writers, as the show's chief scribes are Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli. Both writers have short profiles on IMDB, with Harris previously working on How I Met Your Mother and David Letterman. Cristalli's best known work is Life In Pieces, a canceled CBS sitcom starring Colin Hanks, the son of famed actor Tom Hanks. Despite the lack of big names attached to the show, sources said Kelsey is hoping his charm along will see long-time fans return. 'Kelsey's bet is he'll be enough to attract a big audience,' one insider said. 'The reboot will have all of those delicious one-liners that made him so famous to begin with.' Storytellers: The lead writers on the Frasier reboot are Chris Harris (left) and Joe Cristalli (right). Harris previously worked on How I Met Your Mother and Letterman, while Cristalli's biggest work was on the canceled CBS sitcom Life In Pieces Along with a missing Niles, one of the original show's most popular characters, Frasier's father, Martin, also won't be returning. Martin was played by John Mahoney, who died aged 77 in a Chicago hospice in February 2018 due to complications from throat cancer. Also missing from the reboot will be Jane Leeves, who played Daphne Moon, and Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle. Their absence, Grammer said, will be dealt with on the show. 'We'll certainly be responsive about the fact that there was a brother and such. But the new world for Frasier is one of new friendships and some new twists and turns he didn't know were still in there,' Grammer said in October. Paramount+ confirmed the reboot had been in development in February 2021, with Grammer announcing last July that the scripting was underway. The Iconic Series, Frasier, is available to stream now only on Stan in Australia. Brian Turner has revealed that he was hospitalised after having a stroke last summer and thanked the 'fantastic' medical staff who looked after him. The renowned celebrity chef, 76, brought viewers to tears as he shared his recent health struggles during an appearance on James Martin's Saturday Morning. James, who describes Brian as his 'TV dad', introduced the Ready Steady Cook star for a segment which saw them cook a delicious lamb meal together. Health: Brian Turner has revealed that he had a stroke last summer and thanked the 'fantastic' hospital staff who looked after him But before they got to work, James reminded Brian that he had something he wanted to share live on-air, with the restauranteur then revealing that he had a stroke in June. Prompting Brian, James said: 'First of all, you want to say thank you - there's the camera - because you've not been very well recently.' Brian then shared that he is recovering after being hospitalised with a stroke last summer, apologising to viewers in case he 'stammered' during the segment. He revealed: 'Yeah well unfortunately I had a stroke in June this year and the people at the London hospital were fantastic and helpful. So excuse me if I make a stammer occasionally, but we will catch up at the end.' Career: Brian has featured on BBC2's Ready Steady Cook since 1994 and has made regular appearances on Saturday Kitchen across the years Emotional: The chef, 76, brought viewers to tears as he shared his recent health struggles during an appearance on James Martin's Saturday Morning A supportive James gushed: 'It's OK, it's OK. I love you fella. So a round of applause for everyone who've been looking after you. It's a pleasure to have you back, you're welcome anytime.' Following his appearance on the weekend cooking show, emotional viewers took to Twitter to admit they were brought to tears by his revelation as they also praised James for his kind words. One person wrote: 'Was lovely to see Brian Turner on today. Had no idea he'd been ill. Thoughts with him and his family, but what a guy still out there doing what he loves. Culinary legend and a good bloke.' Close bond: James, who describes Brian as his 'TV dad', introduced the Ready Steady Cook star and the pair started cooking together, when Brian revealed he had a stroke in June Sharing: Brian said: 'Yeah well unfortunately I had a stroke in June this year and the people at the London hospital were fantastic and helpful. So excuse me if I make a stammer occasionally' Another said: 'Nice piece on @jamesmartinchef this morning where we saw the return of Brian Turner who has been recuperating from a stroke. 'Lovely TV and proper food brought to life by Brian with empathy from James. I may have some dust in my eye' A third tweeted, 'Love Brian Turner, great to see him looking so well,' while a fourth added: 'Bless Brian turner brought a tear to my eyes seeing him today god bless you both.' And a fifth penned: 'Two great chefs, always had a lovely bond when James hugged him think there's something in my eye. Brian you were ace.' Tearful: Following his appearance on the show, emotional viewers took to Twitter to admit they were brought to tears by his revelation as they praised James for being 'supportive' Another commented: 'Just loved seeing Brian Turner on the show this morning. It was so touching to see the love and respect between both chefs. James, you were so gentle and supportive.' After the show aired, James also took to Twitter to thank fans for all their support, saying Brian had been 'in tears' after hearing of all the kind messages. He tweeted: 'Wow, well what can we both say just had Brian on the phone, ended in both us in tears at the amazing messages and support from you allhe wanted me to tell you all out there "thank you" for all of them!' Support: After the show aired, James also took to Twitter to thank fans for all their support, saying Brian had been 'in tears' at the kind messages Brian has a very close relationship with James having made regular appearances on Saturday Kitchen over the years. The popular TV chef has featured on BBC2's Ready Steady Cook since 1994, as well as frequently appearing on This Morning and presenting an array of cookery programmes, including A Taste Of Britain and My Life On A Plate. He has also worked at and launched an array of esteemed restaurants in London, including celebrity hotspot The Greenhouse in Mayfair, visited by the likes of Gary Rhodes and Paul Merrett, and The Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square. Acclaim: The popular TV chef (pictured in the 1990s) has also worked at and launched an array of restaurants in London, including celebrity hotspot The Greenhouse in Mayfair Impressive: Brian (pictured in December 2016), who was born in Halifax, was awarded a rare Michelin star in 1973 after opening The Capital Hotel with Richard Accolades: In 2002, Brian was featured on the Queen's birthday honours list and was awarded a CBE for his services to tourism and training in the catering industry Before launching his own eateries, Brian trained under Richard Shepherd at prestigious restaurants Simpson's in the Strand and The Savoy Grill. Brian, who was born in Halifax, was awarded a rare Michelin star in 1973 after opening The Capital Hotel with Richard. In 2002, Brian was featured on the Queen's birthday honours list and was awarded a CBE for his services to tourism and training in the catering industry. As well as a successful career as a TV chef, Brian has also penned a number of cookery books, including A Taste Of Summer, Grills and Barbeques and A Yorkshire Lad: My Life with Recipes. Amy Childs has revealed she thought she was going into labour this week after getting 'really painful' contractions. The TOWIE star, 32, who is expecting twins with her boyfriend Billy De Bosq, is 26 weeks into her pregnancy but thought she could be going into an early labour. Describing the scare, Amy said Billy was terrified and 'panicking' but she knew it was Braxton Hicks - contractions and relaxation of the uterine muscle. Braxton Hicks: Amy Childs has revealed she thought she was going into labour this week after getting 'really painful' contractions 'These contractions were coming on really strong, theyre so painful. Its like having a real contraction. I called the midwife about it and she said its because Im getting bigger and my skin's tightening,' Amy told OK! Magazine. 'It didnt scare me too much as Ive experienced it before, but I think it scared Bill, the thing about me, when Im in pain I just take loads of deep breaths.' Amy said Billy was worried they would need to dash to hospital, but she knew it was Braxton Hicks having experienced it during her pregnancies with Polly, five, and son Ritchie, four. Pregnant: The TOWIE star, 32, who is expecting twins with her boyfriend Billy De Bosq, is 26 weeks into her pregnancy but thought she could be going into an early labour She said: 'It was really painful. While he was panicking, Im glad Billy saw what was happening so he can prepare for when I gave birth.' The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate recently confirmed her boyfriend Billy is joining TOWIE as a full time cast member. Amy revealed she's 'really looking forward' to having her partner film with her, adding that TOWIE bosses were keen to have him join the show. Family of six: Amy is expecting a boy and girl with Billy, whom she has been with since October 2021 The TV personality recently said her third 'whirlwind' pregnancy is very 'different' to when she was expecting her other two children. Amy and Billy, 38, have been an item since October 2021, just two months after the mother-of-two split from her ex-boyfriend Tim following 14 months together. During the last season of TOWIE, Billy flew to the Dominican Republic to surprise the Essex star for their first anniversary. Amy, who shares daughter Polly, five, with ex-Bradley Wright, started dating TOWIE newcomer Billy following her split from former partner Tim last July. She is also a mum to Ritchie Jr from her relationship with businessmen Ritchie, but unlike Polly, who regularly features on TOWIE, her son remains out of the spotlight. Opening up: The TV personality, who is also mum to Polly and Ritchie, said her pregnancy is very 'different' to when she was expecting her other two children (pictured in 2019) Rylan Clark has revealed the horrifying moment he received a death threat from a hotel worker who said they'll 'slice his neck' in his sleep. The presenter, 34, detailed the shock threat in a preview from his interview on the High Performance podcast. Speaking in the short clip shared to Instgram, Rylan revealed his horror at the worker knowing his room number and where he was at the time. Shocking: Rylan Clark has revealed the horrifying moment he received a death threat from a hotel worker who said they'll 'slice his neck' in his sleep The former Big Brother star says in the clip: 'I don't care if someone calls me talentless. 'I don't care if someone says "big tooth p***k". I don't care. It's like, I've got money in the bank, I'm fine, babe. 'But when someone's saying "I can see you currently on your balcony of your room, 401, and I've got a key card because I work here and I'm gonna slice your neck in your sleep". Ordeal: The presenter, 34, detailed the shock threat in a preview from his interview on the High Performance podcast 'Then you sit there and go "f**k, that's a bit too much information that they know".' It comes after Rylan sadly denied being in a new relationship following his painful split from ex-husband Dan Neal. The TV and Radio favourite who separated from Dan in July 2021 after six years of marriage, told his 1.6million Instagram followers a new post didn't reveal a mystery man after fans mistook Rylan's leg for someone else's. Scary: Speaking in the short clip shared to Instagram, Rylan revealed his horror at the worker knowing his room number and where he was at the time Horror: 'Then you sit there and go "f**k, that's a bit too much information that they know"' Writing on Instagram Stories, Rylan confirmed 'I'm eating chocolate and it's resting on my leg. It's not a chocolate ice pack. It's not someone else's leg, sadly.' The post which caused confusion was a picture of Rylan relaxing on the sofa with a bar of Galaxy chocolate resting on his leg. He captioned the upload, 'that's me sorted', before fans believed the leg belonged to a new man in his life. Rylan's loyal following jumped to conclusions after the Radio 2 host shared a selfie of himself ahead of Christmas Day wearing a grey Nike hoodie, giving a thumbs up, but he appeared to be alone in the shot. 'It's not someone else's leg': It comes after Rylan sadly' denied being in a new relationship following his painful split from ex-husband Dan Neal 'That's me sorted': The TV and Radio favourite, who separated from Dan in 2021 after six years of marriage, told his 1.6million Instagram followers a new post didn't reveal a mystery man In the summer of this year Rylan dated Ex on the Beach star Declan Doyle but their romance was short-lived, with the couple's relationship only lasting a few weeks. He has been on the market since the breakdown of his marriage, which Rylan speaks about in depth in his book Ten: The Decade That Changed My Future. Rylan confessed in the memoir that he cheated on Dan during their relationship but had his reasons, believing for years that he was inadequate. Yazmin Oukhellou took to Instagram on Saturday to share some sizzling snaps from her sun-soaked trip to Dubai. The former TOWIE star, 28, flaunted her peachy posterior as she posed in an orange thong bikini at a beach club. Yazmin smiled at the camera as she left little to the imagination in the thong two-piece as she enjoyed the warm weather during her trip to the UAE. Stunner: Yazmin Oukhellou, 28, took to Instagram on Saturday to share a racy bikini snap from her sun-soaked trip to Dubai She left her brunette tresses wavy - falling long past her shoulders towards the bottom of her back. The stunner flaunted her golden tan and accessorised the beach look with a silver watch. Yazmin has been keeping her Instagram up-to-date with her luxurious getaway after posting a variety of photos. Also on Saturday, she posed outside a restaurant as she put on a busty display in a colourful dress. Holiday ready: The TOWIE star has been keeping her Instagram up-to-date with her luxurious getaway after posting a variety of photos Sporting a bright pink Channel handbag and multicolour dress, Yazmin looked stunning in the holiday snap. This comes only a week after she was spotted with an Essex gangster who is on the run from police six months after her ex-Jake McLean died in a car accident, MailOnline can reveal. Yazmin, who was a passenger in the car with on-off boyfriend Jake when he crashed in Turkey and lost his life at the scene, was pictured cosying up to Kirk Holdrick, 40, at restaurant Montecristo Marrakech. They were also seen relaxing in the sunshine together on a bed at luxury hotspot Nikki Beach Marrakech, where Yazmin posed on Instagram for glamorous bikini pictures. Tragic: It comes after Yazmin was spotted with an Essex gangster who is on the run from police six months after her ex-Jake McLean died in a car accident Sources close to Yazmin say the couple are 'inseparable' and she is hoping to relocate to Morocco, where she has setup a boutique hotel rental called The Little Palace Marrakech. An insider told MailOnline: 'Yazmin and Kirk are getting serious after meeting through mutual friends in Morocco and spending Christmas and New Year's Eve together. 'Kirk has met Yazmin's family and she's finally feeling happier again after everything that happened this summer. 'She hoped to start 2023 afresh and sees Kirk as her rock following his support throughout the aftermath of Jake's passing.' Reality star Yazmin was seen posting a flurry of glamorous bikini pictures from Morocco, including in the swimming pool of her family's boutique hotel. She shared photos with her 745K Instagram followers showcasing her curves at Nikki Beach Marrakech, where she was pictured on a sun bed relaxing with Kirk. Former partners: Yazmin's new love interest Kirk is currently on the run from police following an altercation with TOWIE's Hannah Voynan's ex-boyfriend (pictured in September) In a second photo exclusively obtained by MailOnline, Yazmin and Kirk look close at dimly lit bar and restaurant Montecristo Marrakech. Yazmin's new love interest is currently on the run from police following an altercation with TOWIE's Hannah Voynan's ex-boyfriend. Kirk, who was seeing Hannah after she joined the ITVBe series last year, breached the terms of his licence following an alleged ruckus with her ex and is wanted by cops. A spokesperson for Yazmin told MailOnline: 'Yazmin is single and not dating anyone. She was away with her family over the Christmas period in Marrakech.' Rest in peace: Jake lost his life aged 33 in July when his car veered off a cliff in Turkey, while Yazmin miraculously escaped the crash with injuries to her arm In 2004, he was arrested for attempting to rob a Securicor vehicle at gunpoint and five months later, while on remand, he escaped Pentonville Prison by scaling a 30ft wall and claiming through razor wire, according to a local news report. A jury at Harrow Crown Court found Kirk guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and being in possession of a loaded firearm and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2005. TOWIE bosses subsequently axed Hannah from the series after she was last pictured together with Kirk at London's Sexy Fish restaurant in September. Yazmin's new romance comes six months after her ex-Jake lost his life aged 33 in a tragic car accident. Sun kissed: Reality star Yazmin posted a flurry of glamorous bikini pictures from Morocco, including in the swimming pool of her family's boutique hotel, The Little Palace Marrakech The on-off couple were on holiday together when Jake crashed his car off a cliff in Bodrum, Turkey and died at the scene. Jake was famed for his relationship with TOWIE star Lauren Goodger and the Essex businessman also romanced Love Island's Georgia Harrison. Yazmin told The Sun that to survive the smash she climbed down a cliff covered in blood with a broken arm and now she has permanent physical scarring. After being told by doctors that she was lucky to walk away from the devastating accident, Yazmin confessed to experiencing sleepless nights and needing therapy because she couldn't understand why she had been given a second chance at life. Fun in the sun: James Lock's former girlfriend posed at Nikki Beach Marrakech, pouting and showing off her voluptuous figure as she enjoyed her Moroccan holiday in a post shared on January 1 In July last year, she said: 'I severed an artery and a nerve, that's why I bled so much. The doctors called me an angel, a miracle, because it's a notorious spot and people have never survived. 'Now I'm just wondering how the hell did my partner die while I've survived? It's made me look at life totally differently.' Yazmin was reportedly banned from attending Jake's funeral after his family blamed her for his sad passing and said the couple had been arguing at the point of the crash. The ITVBe star shared a post on Instagram ahead of the turning of the New Year, reflecting on the painful and life changing events of 2022. Glamorous: Yazmin kept her Instagram followers updated with her travels, sharing a mirrored selfie in her bikini She said: 'This was the year that changed my life forever. 'I lived through something I shouldn't have. I learned that I am not as weak as I thought I was. 'I learned the importance of family and good friends and I learned that each and everyday is simply a blessing. 'There are nights I still cry myself to sleep and days I put my phone on aeroplane mode and hide away from the world and that is okay. 'There are days I glam myself up and post on here so that everyone thinks I'm doing great and living my best life. And you know what? That's okay too.' Theo James cut a low-key figure as he arrived at Heathrow Airport on Saturday after promoting The White Lotus in the U.S. The British actor, 38, who plays Cameron Sullivan in the HBO series, looked casual in a white T-shirt which he layered beneath a khaki jacket and grey joggers. Completing his outfit with a pair of white trainers, he lugged his essentials around in a black leather satchel and clutched a paper cup of coffee. Emerging: Theo James cut a low-key figure as he arrived at Heathrow Airport on Saturday after promoting The White Lotus in the U.S Theo and his on-screen wife Meghann Fahy looked stylish while attending the AFI Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Theo and Meghann's appearance came after their show won the Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. It beat out fellow nominees Black Bird, Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Dropout and Pam & Tommy. Back home: The British actor, 38, who plays Cameron Sullivan in the HBO series, looked casual in a white T-shirt which he layered beneath a khaki jacket and grey joggers Jennifer Coolidge, who appeared in each of the show's first two seasons, also took home the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. In the second season, Theo and Meghann played a married couple with serious issues between them. The Divergent star recently landed the starring role in Netflixs upcoming series The Gentlemen, based on the 2019 action-packed drama of the same name. Talented: Theo and his on-screen wife Meghann Fahy looked stylish while attending the AFI Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon Hooray! Jennifer Coolidge accepted the Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film award for The White Lotus at the Golden Globes on Monday He will portray the fictional character Eddie Halstead, who inherits 'his fathers sizeable estate only to discover' its a 'weed empire owned by the legendary Mickey Pearson.' In the film, directed by Guy Ritchie, Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) was a drug lord that tried to sell off his profitable marijuana business to a dynasty of billionaires. James is thought to have already begun production on the highly-anticipated series adaptation in London. She was known as AK47 because of her temper and had a fractious relationship with Prince Harry. But now Angela Kelly, dresser to the late Queen, appears to be following in Harrys footsteps by heading to America to speak on the chat-show circuit. Angela has already released two books chronicling her life at the Palace with the Queens blessing. Now, in a move that may well have King Charles groaning, she is said to want to release a third, and do the rounds in America and on the cruise ship circuit to promote it. Angela Kelly, dresser to the late Queen, appears to be following in Harrys footsteps by heading to America to speak on the chat-show circuit Angela, pictured here with the Queen during London Fashion Week in 2018 is said to be preparing a third book about the late monarch's wardrobe Friends close to Angela, 65, tell me she has been at a low ebb since the Queens death. After losing her friend and confidante, she has not been offered new work dressing other members of the Royal Family. She also had to downsize to a smaller grace-and-favour property on the Windsor estate in 2021. However, Angelas hopes of releasing a third book specifically about the late Queens wardrobe could yet be dashed, as it is unlikely the King will grant her the same access to the Royal wardrobe as was given to her by the Queen. My source says: Theres no way of stopping her writing her own book, but she wont get access to images, jewellery, clothing, to the Queens wardrobe. Its shut to her now. King Charles, pictured, is said to be unhappy about the prospect of a further book on his late mother's wardrobe and will stop Angela from accessing the garments to assist her research Angela is known to have had an incredibly fractious relationship with Prince Harry, pictured Liverpool-born Angela served as personal assistant and senior dresser to the Queen from 2002 until the monarchs death last year and was a central figure in the infamous tiara-gate debacle, in which she allegedly prevented Meghan from accessing her chosen wedding-day tiara. An insider says Angela shouldered the blame internally for the incident, during which Harry reportedly said: What Meghan wants, Meghan gets. Harry denies this and offers his own version of events in his book, Spare. She was being obstructive, he wrote. Angela was a troublemaker and I didnt need her as an enemy. 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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 J. Rama Krishna, Secunderabad Cantonment Board member, said that the boards properties, movable and immovable assets have been valued at close to Rs 50,000 crore. (DC File Image) Hyderabad: While the state government has demanded that all the Secunderbad cantonment land be merged with the GHMC, the Indian Army wants to retain its land and the old bungalows. The local military authority (LMA) wanted enforcement of the Army Establishment Rules that mandate that residents under certain conditions in the periphery obtain a no-objection certificate after the merger. These were some of the critical points submitted by the Army when the eight-member committee constituted by the ministry of defence (MoD) on the SCB-GHMC merger met virtually on January 13. Even if residents obtain such a NoC the process is said to take nearly two years it comes with certain conditions including building height restrictions. The residents are allowed to construct only the up to the first floor. This is the one rule that the Army wants to apply even after the merger, sources said, adding that the Army officers also insisted that all the old bungalows and surplus lands under the military should be under the Army's control even after the merger. J. Rama Krishna, Secunderabad Cantonment Board member, said that the boards properties, movable and immovable assets have been valued at close to Rs 50,000 crore. This valuadion does not include parcels of A1 defence land and B3 bungalow land areas. If the state government grants a yearly budget of Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore, the cantonment could be turned into a model township or modern urban local body, Rama Krishna said. On the other hand, sources differed on the valuation of SCB's properties, stating that it would not be so high value. They also said that the state government does not have to pay anything as the government would only take over the jurisdiction of the land which was discussed under excision. Only the jurisdiction and the land rights were being passed on to the GHMC from the cantonment, sources said, adding that how much of the land and what all parts of the land would be merged would be the MoD's decision. The political decision to marge cantonments with adjacent municipalities applied to all the 62 cantonments in the country and not just Secunderabad, Rama Krishna added. l In reference of the circular dated 18. May.2011 read with amendments issued vide circular of even number dated 18.March.2015 and 17.November.2015 and No guidelines issued vide MoD letter dated 21.a October.2016 regarding grant of No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Local Military Authority (LMA) for construction of buildings in vicinity of defence establishments. In supersession of above guidelines, fresh guidelines for issue of NOC for construction in vicinity of defence establishments were laid down on 23 December 2022. l For all other defence establishment not listed at Annexure A, the said prescribed distance shall be 100 meter (for multistoried building of more than four storey, the distance shall be 500 meter) from the periphery; l In such Defence establishments not listed at Annexure A, wherever buildings / structure of four storeys or more already exist within 500 metres of the periphery of any Defence establishment and the construction proposed is in the line with or behind i.e. in the shadow or shield of such building / structure, the State Government / Municipal Corporation may, after obtaining comments from the MA and giving due consideration to the same, decide whether to approve such proposals or not. LMA shall give his comments within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a reference from the State Government / Municipal Corporation. l NOC once issued will not be withdrawn without the approval of the Service HQrs. However, MoD reserves the right to review any NoC granted by the Station Commander and pass such order thereon as deemed fit. The fog disrupted heavy morning vehicular traffic too. (DC Representational Image) VISHAKHAPATNAM: Flights into Visakhapatnam city on Saturday morning got diverted to other airports as a thick fog enveloped the entire city. The fog disrupted heavy morning vehicular traffic too. Airport sources said services of Akasa Air from Bengaluru and Air Asia from Delhi had been scheduled to land at Visakhapatnam Airport on Saturday morning. However, due to poor visibility, they got diverted to Shamshabad Airport in Hyderabad. Flights from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi to Visakhapatnam too got delayed. Sources say this is the first time this winter that fog has hit flights into the city. Low visibility owing to dense fog forced vehicular traffic to a crawl in many parts of Vizag city, especially between Gajuwaka and Madhurawada. Vehicles plying on NH-16 passing through the city moved slowly. The situation was the same in Anakapalli and its surroundings. Citizens of Visakhapatnam got a surprise with dense fog continuing till 7 a.m. when they were still celebrating the Bhogi festival. In some places, roads remained foggy till 8 am. Smog in the industrial area affected traffic moving south. Reports from the agency area said traffic on ghat roads involving mostly holiday revellers moved slowly till 10 am due to the fog. Rs 1,500 crore ofRs 5,000 crore for the newly identified Hyderabad, Jadcherla, Gadwal, Kothakota nodes: KTR. IT, Industries and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao (Photo: Twitter/@MinisterKTR) HYDERABAD: Emphasising that Union Budget 2023-24 was the right occasion for the Centre to show its commitment to the development of the state, IT minister K. T. Rama Rao urged the Union government to support the progressive state for actualising Make in India. In a letter to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rao pointed out about the budgetary support it needed for funding various projects in the states industrial sector, regarding which many reminders have been sent to the Centre, he said. If the Centre truly believes in achieving Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat, then support has to be extended to progressive states like Telangana, which has the potential to make a reality of the slogans, he underlined. Listing out industrial corridors, industrial parks and various other projects spread across the state, which need budgetary support from the Union government, Rao said that though the state sought Centres support many a time in the past, it did not receive sufficient funds in the previous eight Union Budgets, introduced by the BJP-led NDA government. He urged the Centre to fund external infrastructure development at NIMZ, Zaheerabad of at least `500 crore out of the total estimate of `9,500 crore; development of HyderabadWarangal industrial corridor; Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor; Hyderabad-Vijayawada industrial corridor and establishing a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) in Jadcherla industrial park, which is TIES scheme. Amongst other projects he sought support for included Brownfield manufacturing clusters; reopening of cement Corporation of India (CCI) unit in Adilabad; setting up a national design centre in Hyderabad; inclusion of Hyderabad in the proposed defence industrial production corridor and supporting projects pertaining to textiles, powerloom and handloom. Claiming that Telanganas 'pioneering policies' achieved notable progress in the industrial sector, the minister said that world-class infrastructure is being created to meet the needs of industries and to attract more investments. Union minister G. Kishan Reddy during his press conference on Saturday. (Photo: @kishanreddybjp) Hyderabad: Union minister G. Kishan Reddy on Saturday denounced Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for the latters comments that the BJP government in the country will turn India into another Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Addressing a press conference, Reddy said, Raos comments must be condemned by every Indian. It has become a habit for the Kalvakuntla family to insult the country and besmirch its image in the world. He said, The Kalvakuntla family insults our soldiers, our country and compares our economy to that of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Anyone with even minimal intelligence and understanding knows that India has been peaceful, thanks to the Narendra Modi government. There are no terror explosions and no religious conflicts. Around 50, 000 children went around Dal Lake in Kashmir carrying the national flag. Does this show India is turning into Afghanistan? Pouring scorn on Chandrashekar Rao, who under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi banner wants to become Prime Minister, Reddy said mocked the Telangana Chief Minister saying, The country certainly needs a PM who will not go to his office, will not meet people, and will have a cabinet without a woman member. The Union minister chided minister K.T. Rama Rao for his recent comments that he, Kishan Reddy, had distributed Kurkure packets and tried to pass it off as development of his Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency. These snacks were provided by the manufacturer during the Covid lockdown for distribution in orphanages. KTRs comments are an insult to orphans in Telangana. He speaks without responsibility or honour. People thought here is an educated man, he will bring good politics, but he is proving worse than his father, the Union minister said. He added, We came up in politics from the ground level, did not rise under the shadow of our fathers or relatives like Rama Rao has. A person like him also has no business commenting on Prime Minister Modi. Reddy said that he and Kaushal Kishore, the Union minister of state for housing and urban development, will on January 20 hand over appointment letters to those selected for jobs in Central government departments in Telangana. The Prime Minister will start the programme virtually. It is part of BJP governments assurance to fill up 10 lakh posts in the central government and its agencies before Independence Day. So far, 1.5 lakh vacancies have been filled, and every month close to 90,000 vacancies will be filled, Reddy said. He also expressed disappointment that the Telangana government is yet to fully implement Ayushman Bharat in the state as there is little evidence that the scheme is functional at the ground level. Centres health push in Telangana > 4,549 health and wellness centres given to state, called basti dawakhanas, PHCs, UHCs, sub-health centres; > Rs 5,550 crore given since 2014 under National Health Mission > 175 PM Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana generic medical shops set up > Rs 146 crore for TB-free programmes; > 50 oxygen plants in hospitala; > 31.2 lakh toilets built under Swachh Bharat Energy minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy underlined that Naidu did not develop even his own Kuppam constituency despite being the CM for 14 years. (File Photo: DC) Vijayawada: Energy minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy accused Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu of foul-mouthing ruling YSRC party even on the festival day as part of his drama to gain sympathy from public. He maintained that whether early elections or general elections, YSRC will sweep the next polls following enormous development works done and welfare schemes implemented by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The minister underlined that Naidu did not develop even his own Kuppam constituency despite being the CM for 14 years. He pointed out that if, as claimed, Naidu has developed his constituency, why would there be any need for CM Jagan to distribute 20,000 house site pattas in Kuppam. Ramachandra Reddy maintained the Chief Minister has upgraded Kuppam into a revenue division to ensure its development. Referring to Punganur, the minister said police had to file cases against Telugu Desam-sponsored rowdies, who created anarchy in the area, with several of the injured requiring hospitalisation. News While India is perennially on an election treadmill, with 10 state elections and a national election coming up in the next 18 months it is perhaps an apposite time to discuss the issue of freebies, i.e. the squandering of the public purse for electoral gains. Even the Supreme Court is seized of a petition in this regard that has been referred to a three-judge bench. The fundamental questions are -- Should political parties be permitted to make promises of free sops in lieu of votes? Are these sops not mere inducements or can they be qualified as well-intentioned public welfare commitments? Is it constitutionally even permissible to burden the public purse in a manner that ends up debilitating the public exchequer? Does such economic distortion not create a heavy burden on future generations who would directly or indirectly end up servicing the debt incurred by the financing of freebies? What about fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets qua financial profligacy? Freebies need to be defined clearly and the definition tailored precisely. The diffidence in defining freebies has led to great perplexity regarding what is a permitted welfare measure and what would constitute a 'revdi'. Permitted welfare measures are invariably properly thought out and the beneficiaries identified. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) fits this definition in a sterling manner. MNREGA is an employment guarantee scheme with clearly identified beneficiaries and a longer term goal of rural employment and development. Moreover, it creates infrastructure and assets in rural areas helping build capacity and capability within rural households. Freebies, on the other hand, are short-term measures announced as boilerplate policies offering free electricity, free water, large-scale debt waivers, and write-offs of bank loans. These freebies create no production or productivity. When political parties promise the moon and then rely on borrowings to buy the moon, it gives rise to a vicious cycle of debt accumulation and reckless spending. In an article analyzing state finances published in June 2022, the Reserve Bank of India expressed concern over the growing preference for the distribution of freebies. It noted that state governments expenditure on subsidies has grown at 12.9 per cent and 11.2 per cent during 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Further, the RBI estimated that the cost of freebies announced in 2022-23 ranged between zero per cent to 2.7 per cent of the GSDP for the following states, viz., Punjab, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Even debt stressed states are on a freebie spree. In Punjab, the freebies announced are 45.4 per cent of its total own tax revenue. Yet that does not prove to be a moral or even ethical impediment in announcing freebies. With higher revenue deficits, borrowings are bound to increase and so will the consequent interest. Little surprise then that Punjab spends 21.3 per cent of its revenues on interest payments. According to RBI data, the fiscal deficit to GSDP ratio of Kerala (4.1), West Bengal (3.5), Punjab (4.6), Rajasthan (5.2), Uttar Pradesh (4.3), Andhra Pradesh (3.2), Tamil Nadu (3.8) and Telangana (3.9) remained above three per cent. Indeed, based on the debt-GSDP ratio in 2020-21, Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana turn out to be the states with the highest debt burden. Moreover, the interest payment to revenue receipts (IP-RR) ratio was more than 10 per cent in all these states excluding Jharkhand and Bihar. In its risk analysis report, the RBI identified the following as highly stressed states: Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Bihar and West Bengal. Further, Kerala (37.1), West Bengal (37.1), Punjab (49.1), Rajasthan (40.5), Bihar (38.7), Jharkhand (34.4), Madhya Pradesh (31.9) and Andhra Pradesh (32.8) have very high public debt to GSDP ratio of above 30 per cent for FY-21, as per the RBI State Finances data for the year 2021-22. An indicator of whether government spending was done well is the quality of expenditure which is indicated by high revenue spending to capital outlay ratios. Punjab's revenue expenditure to capital outlay ratio was, again, very high at 16.6 and for Kerala, it stood at 12.1. Capital outlays are longer term growth measures that generate greater and more positive economic impact. On the other hand, short-term welfare measures hardly have an impact beyond a one-year term. The reversion to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is another contentious debt-creating regression critiqued by many eminent economists. Pension expenditure alone accounts for 12.4 per cent (average of 2017-18 to 2021-22) of total revenue expenditure of the 10 most indebted states, as per the RBI. Power subsidies are a major portion of the financial burden of state governments. Three bailouts of power distribution companies over the last 20 years have had major repercussions for the health of state finances. The RBI warns that Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab are most vulnerable to a possible bailout. It forecasts that most states are likely to exceed the debt-GSDP ratio of 30 per cent in 2026-27 with Punjab performing the worst. Punjab is expected to remain in the worst position as its debt-GSDP ratio is projected to be greater than 45 per cent in 2026-27, with further deterioration in its fiscal position. The position of the Union government is hardly better. Till September 2022 it had received 12,03,748 crores and spent 18,23,597 crores. Out of which 4,36,682 crores is towards interests payments of debt. The recent extension given by the Cabinet to the free grain scheme under the National Food Security Act (NSFA) on December 24, 2022, must also be scrutinised similarly, given its impact on the Union's finances. About 81.35 crore people around the country are covered under the NFSA. The government has said that the cost of distributing free food grains under the NFSA would be around Rs 2 lakh crores. When the UPA government had conceived, conceptualised and implemented the NFSA, it had the choice of distributing free foodgrains, but it deliberately eschewed the option and opted for providing subsidised foodgrains. A public debate on fiscal prudence has been conspicuously absent in our polity. While the Constitutional Directive Principles of State Policy, Articles 38 and 39 in particular, envisage welfare measures for the betterment of citizens, it was never the intent of these provisions to make elections, and by extension democracy, a transactional exercise where voters get something for free in return for their vote. One of the issues before the Supreme Court is the extent and scope of Article 282 of the Constitution which allows the Union and state governments to utilise revenues for a public purpose. A definite ruling that defines the contours of public purpose may help mitigate if not proscribe this licentiousness. One morning in late October, Russian forces blocked off a street in downtown Kherson and surrounded a graceful old building with dozens of soldiers. Five large trucks pulled up. So did a line of military vehicles, ferrying Russian agents who filed in through several doors. It was a carefully planned, highly organised, military-style assault on an art museum. Over the next four days, the Kherson Regional Art Museum was cleaned out, witnesses said, with Russian forces bustling about like insects, porters wheeling out thousands of paintings, soldiers hastily wrapping them in sheets, art experts barking out orders and packing material flying everywhere. They were loading such masterpieces, which there are no more in the world, as if they were garbage, said the museums longtime director, Alina Dotsenko, who recently returned from exile, recounting what employees and witnesses had told her. When she came back to the museum in early November and grasped how much had been stolen, she said, I almost lost my mind. Kherson. Mariupol. Melitopol. Kakhovsky. Museums of art, history and antiquities. As Russia has ravaged Ukraine with deadly missile strikes and brutal atrocities on civilians, it has also looted the nations cultural institutions of some of the most important and intensely protected contributions of Ukraine and its forebears going back thousands of years. International art experts say the plundering may be the single biggest collective art heist since the Nazis pillaged Europe in World War II. Also Read | Turkey ready to push for 'local ceasefires' in Ukraine In Kherson, in Ukraines south, Ukrainian prosecutors and museum administrators say the Russians stole more than 15,000 pieces of fine art and one-of-a-kind artifacts. They dragged bronze statues from parks, lifted books from a riverside scientific library, boxed up the crumbling, 200-year-old bones of Grigory Potemkin, Catherine the Greats lover, and even stole a raccoon from the zoo, leaving behind a trail of vacant cages, empty pedestals and smashed glass. Ukrainian officials say that Russian forces have robbed or damaged more than 30 museums including several in Kherson, which was retaken in November, and others in Mariupol and Melitopol, which remain under Russian occupation. With Ukrainian investigators still cataloging the losses of missing oil paintings, ancient steles, bronze pots, coins, necklaces and busts, the number of reported stolen items is likely to grow. The plundering is hardly a case of random or opportunistic misbehavior by a few ill-behaved troops, Ukrainian officials and international experts say, or even a desire to turn a quick profit on the black market. Instead, they believe the thefts are a broadside attack on Ukrainian pride, culture and identity, consistent with the imperial attitude of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has constantly belittled the idea of Ukraine as a separate nation and used that as a central rationale for his invasion. Its not like one soldier putting a silver chalice in his rucksack, said James Ratcliffe, general counsel of The Art Loss Register, a London-based organization that traces stolen art. This is a far, far larger scale. Also Read | Five dead, 27 wounded in Russian missile attack in Dnipro At one museum in Melitopol, a southern Ukrainian city that the Russians seized in the first days of the war, witnesses said that a mysterious man in a white lab coat had arrived to carefully extract, with gloves and tweezers, the most valuable objects from the collection, including gold pieces from the Scythian empire crafted 2,300 years ago. As he lifted out the priceless antiquities, a squad of Russian soldiers stood firmly behind him, in case anyone should try to stop him. In each case of looting, witnesses including caretakers, security guards and other museum employees, who said they had been pressured or forced to help reported a centrally controlled expert-led operation. Shocked is not the word. I am furious, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukraines culture minister, said in a broadcast interview as he toured the looted Kherson art museum, visibly upset. If they stole our heritage, they believe that we wouldnt continue to live and to create. But we will. The Ukrainians have a lot of battles on their hands. Towns in the east like Bakhmut are being pummeled. Drone swarms continue to take out critical infrastructure, plunging thousands into the dark. Vast swaths of territory in the south and east remain occupied, and 1 out of 3 Ukrainians has been forced to flee from home. But even with the war raging, a group of Ukrainian lawyers and art experts are working day and night to collect evidence for what they hope will be future prosecutions of cultural crimes. From dimly lit offices in frosty buildings with no power or heat, wearing gloves and woolly hats indoors, they make meticulous lists of missing objects, comb through museum records and try to identify potential witnesses and local collaborators who might have helped the Russians steal. The Ukrainians are also working with international art organizations, like The Art Loss Register, to track the looted pieces. Everyone in the art market is on red alert to look out for this material, Ratcliffe said. Every auction house that sees material from Ukraine is going to start asking a lot of questions. His organisation, he said, has already registered more than 2,000 items from Ukraine believed to have been stolen and others at risk, including paintings from Khersons art museum and Scythian gold from Melitopol. The Ukrainians accuse the Russians of breaking international treaties that outlaw art looting, such as the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Created in the wake of World War II, the treaty calls for signatories to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft of cultural property. Both Ukraine and Russia signed it. But the Russians have flipped the narrative and presented their actions not as theft but liberation. Dont panic, said Kirill Stremousov, Khersons Russia-installed deputy administrator, when he explained in October what had happened to the statues that disappeared from Kherson. He said that when the fighting stopped, the monuments would definitely return, and that everything was being done for the benefit of preserving the historical heritage of the city of Kherson. The statues have yet to be returned. (And a few weeks later, just as Ukrainian troops were liberating Kherson, Stremousov was killed in a suspicious car crash). Many of the paintings looted from the Kherson art museum, including beloved classics like Piquet on the Bank of the River. Sunset, by miniaturist Ivan Pokhytonov, and Autumn Time, by Heorhii Kurnakov, recently showed up at a museum in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia snatched from Ukraine in 2014. The director of the museum, Andrei Malguin, offered a familiar rationale. We have 10,000 pieces and we are inventorying them, he told a Spanish newspaper, El Pais. He said his museum was keeping the collection for its own protection. (Russian soldiers similarly displayed the four-legged booty they had liberated from Khersons zoo. In videos that went viral, paratroopers declared that the stolen raccoon was now their mascot, traveling with them along the front, and had been named Kherson. That led to a popular meme on the Ukrainian internet: Saving Private Raccoon). This is hardly the first time that Russia has interfered with Ukrainian art or culture. For hundreds of years during imperial Russia and then in the 20th century during Soviet times, Moscow constantly tried to suppress the Ukrainian language and anything that would bolster Ukrainian identity. After Russia grabbed Crimea, Interpol, the international police organization, said that it was searching for 52 paintings by Ukrainian artists that had been illegally transferred to an art museum in Simferopol, Crimeas second-largest city, in March 2014. So this time, when war erupted in February, Ukrainian officials were quick to wrap outdoor statues in sheaths of sandbags and move precious works of art into underground vaults. But the Russians were not so easily deterred. In Melitopol, Russian soldiers kidnapped the art museums director and a caretaker and eventually found the Scythian gold hidden in cardboard boxes in the cellar. In Kherson, after Dotsenko fled for the capital, Kyiv, pro-Russia collaborators took over the art museum. Ukrainian officials said that in August, a well-dressed delegation from Crimean museums had arrived to scout out the goods. But they didnt have much time. Ukrainian forces pressed in from three sides. By October, Russias hold on Kherson was unraveling faster than anyone expected. At the art museum, Russian agents rushed to get everything out as fast as possible. The removal took place with the participation of museum specialists but with gross violations of the transportation and packaging of the works, said Vitalii Tytych, a Ukrainian lawyer who is part of a special military unit documenting war crimes against the cultural heritage of Ukraine. Paintings were taken out of the frames in a hurry, frames were broken, cultural objects were also damaged or destroyed. Many works, he lamented, will be lost. Touring Khersons museums now is depressing. Virtually all of the thousands of oil paintings that had been stowed in the art museums basement and the computer records documenting them are gone. I am the daughter of an officer who raised me to be strong, but I cried for two weeks, said Dotsenko, who has worked at the art museum for 45 years. No, she corrected herself, I didnt cry, I sobbed. I bit the walls. I gnawed. Across the street, at the Kherson Museum of Local Lore, there is one shattered display case after another. Deep gouges have been cut into the floor from soldiers dragging out centuries-old artifacts. Sometimes they didnt succeed. Denys Sykoza, an inspector of cultural objects for the Kherson government, stood in front of the remains of a delicate glass cup from the fifth century, staring at the shards. They broke this trying to steal it, he said quietly. And there was only one like it. The Australian Open was hit by two more withdrawals on Saturday with 11th seed Paula Badosa and home hope Ajla Tomljanovic both injured. The first Grand Slam of the year has seen several players pull out ahead of the opening day on Monday, including the injured men's number one Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka, who is pregnant. Spain's former world number two Badosa became the latest high-profile casualty because of a thigh injury picked up this week in a warm-up tournament. Also Read Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal can only meet in Australian Open final "Bad news... during the quarter-final match in Adelaide I hurt myself and after receiving the results I will have to be out for a few weeks," the 25-year-old tweeted. "Sad to miss Australian Open this year, really going to miss it. "I will do everything I can to return as soon as possible." Also ruled out on Saturday was Australia's 35th-ranked Tomljanovic because of a knee injury. They will be replaced by Brazil's Laura Pigossi and Leolia Jeanjean of France. Senior JD(S) leader YSV Datta and former minister H Nagesh joined Congress on Saturday. Datta and Nagesh joined Congress in the presence of Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar. Hundreds of supporters thronged the Congress office to see their leaders being inducted. Datta, a former Kadur MLA, was a close aide of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda. Nagesh, an Independent, is the Mulbagal MLA. He served as a minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition before extending support to the BJP. Later, he became a minister in the BS Yediyurappa government. On January 9, Nagesh resigned as chairperson of the Ambedkar Development Corporation. Former Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairperson Mohan Kumar of the BJP and Kolar Yuva Janata Dal president Dayanand also joined Congress on the occasion. Speaking at the induction, Shivakumar said this was just the beginning. "Once every week or once in three days, there will be inductions," he said. "The pro-Congress wave has begun in Karnataka. People have already decided. Congress will exceed expectations and win big to form the government," he said. Welcoming the new entrants, Siddaramaiah urged his party colleagues to "defeat the communal BJP" and bring Congress to power. While Datta will be considered for the Kadur ticket, Nagesh is said to have expressed his interest in contesting from Mahadevapura, his native. "I've been associated with one family and party for 50 years. My decision today means there's a historic emergency facing the country, state and my constituency," Datta said. Nagesh said he found Congress' ideology better than BJP's. "If SC/STs are safe, then it's because of Congress," Nagesh, a Dalit, said. "My native is Mahadevapura, but I'll work hard wherever the party asks me to contest from." With Nagesh joining Congress, there are no Independent MLAs left in the Assembly. Hoskote's Sharath Bachegowda is already an associate member of the Congress Legislature Party. Libraries NI and Samaritans are working together to bust the Blue Monday myth by running Brew Monday in libraries on Monday 16 January, turning the day into something meaningful by getting people out to their local library for a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Both organisations are keen to dispel the idea that the third Monday of January is particularly difficult. In fact, Samaritan volunteers are consistently busy every day of the year, responding to a call for help every 10 seconds. Libraries also connect regularly with people across Northern Ireland by offering programmes of free events and activities which help people to engage with others in their own community and with supportive information such as health and wellbeing books. Jim OHagan, Chief Executive of Libraries NI explains: Libraries NI is proud to partner with the Samaritans for this years Brew Monday. Libraries that are open on the day will provide free tea and coffee and a listening ear and we encourage everyone to come along for a chat and to find out about the range of services that local libraries can provide throughout the year. Libraries and the services they offer are free for everyone to access. Located in communities right across Northern Ireland our 98 branches offer safe, welcoming spaces where anyone can visit, browse our collections of books and newspapers, make use of the computer equipment and free Wi-Fi/Broadband access, work, study, take part in one of the many activities we provide for children and adults or simply meet and connect with others. Robert Bell, Belfast Samaritans Branch Director, said: Its simple, there is no such thing as Blue Monday. People can feel low at any point in the day, week or year and we want them to know that they are never alone. Forget Blue Monday and instead check in with people who you care about for a cuppa and a chat as talking really can save lives. Our volunteers are available around the clock to listen to anyone who needs support this Brew Monday and every other day of the month and year, 24/7. Anyone can contact Samaritans, free, any time from any phone on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org If you want to visit a library on Brew Monday you can find your nearest library and check opening times here. Anyone who lives, works or studies in Northern Ireland can join Libraries NI. You dont have to be a member to visit and take part in library activities but if you join you can borrow books, use computers and access the internet free. You can join online in a matter of minutes, get a membership number and start to download eBooks, eMagazines, audiobooks and eNewspapers straightaway. If you want to use your membership to borrow books from a library you can call to your local branch and they will provide you with a membership card. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) placed a fine of 1337.76 crore on Google in retaliation for the company abusing its monopoly over Android. It also asked the company to remove its restrictions on smartphone manufacturers being able to pre-install apps. Three days ago, on January 11, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) refused the stay order on the grant, and the Supreme Court agreed to entertain Googles request for another stay order. Google has posted a reply to the CCI Before the hearings, Google posted a response that allows its stakeholders and users to understand the implications of the fine and what the CCI is asking it to do. The company believes that the ruling comes as a blow to the efforts in accelerating digital adoption in India. It says that its free Android services play a critical role in making smartphones easier to afford as well as transforming India into a digital-friendly nation. Googles response to CCI rules The company said For a country like India, where the cost of adoption is the biggest barrier to digitisation, this has had profound implications. More users have incentivised more developers, and each of those developers achieves immediate scale by writing a single app for Android. Google also addressed forked Android versions. Devices built on incompatible forks would prevent Google from securing those devices, as these versions will not support the security and user safety features that Google provides. Lack of robust and consistent security upgrades will leave the users of those devices exposed to cybercrime, bugs, and malware which is most troubling for the millions of new internet users who are especially vulnerable. For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. FIRST it was Twitter, then it was Stripe, and now its Meta. There have been thousands of high-profile layoffs in the tech sector in recent months. Hundreds of people in Ireland will have been given notice that they are losing their jobs. Its devastating news for those affected and unfortunately it could be a sign of things to come. Other companies like Microsoft, Zendesk and Amazon have been taking steps to reduce staff numbers and there are many others just like them. While the consensus is that a global recession is likely sometime in 2023, it's impossible to predict how severe it will be, or how long it will last. And typically with a recession unemployment rates go up as economic growth slows but its too early to know if that will happen in very big numbers. Whats almost certain to happen though is that there will be fewer job openings because companies are flagging now well in advance that they are putting a freeze on any new hiring. Whatever happens, we should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And there are many reasons someone could lose their job i.e. their employer runs out of capital, or they want to reduce costs, or because the demand for what they provide or makes diminishes, or the company over hired, but sometimes the reason doesnt matter much to the person being made redundant. What matters to them is that theyre losing their job and losing their source of income, and their immediate concerns are (a) how long will it be before they run out of money, (b) how quickly theyll be able to find a job and (c) how much will it pay them. So, this and next week Im going to focus on what you should be doing if youve been told by your employer that your time with them is coming to an end. And I also want to talk about what you should be doing if you still have a job, but youre worried its under threat sometime in the future. Before I do, let me first tell you what severe weather events and losing your job have in common. In the United States, theyve looked at why so many people are killed each year from weather events like tornados, cyclones, wildfires etc. Their national weather agency is really good at predicting such extreme events and despite people receiving advanced warnings from them, saying that something very serious is heading their way, and to take cover and go to designated shelters, why do so many people choose to ignore the advice and stay in their homes? They do so, because home is where they think theyre safe, and the tornado or whatever it is, will never go through their house. And I think, the same type of thinking happens with people and their jobs. They dont want to think about losing their job. Its not pleasant and why stress themselves. And why should they do anything anyway, like moving to a different industry, or up-skilling? There are plenty of jobs available and despite any rumours in their organisation, they are very busy with their job, and everything appears on the surface to be going just fine. And their employer could either be a big private or multi-national company, with deep pockets so nothing much to worry about, theyll always take care of them. So, they choose to stay at home and do nothing. And then bang. They are given notice that their job is gone. The tornado has just ripped through them and the company they worked for. And they never took cover. Did they see it coming? Were there warning signs? Maybe, maybe not, but if there were, did some people simply choose to ignore them? I encountered one such person recently who told me he was worried about losing his job, but hes been saying that to me every time Ive met him over the past two years. Hes just waiting to be told his time is up and hes a nervous wreck. I keep asking him what has he been doing to make himself redundancy proof? How many courses has he attended? Has he updated his LinkedIn profile? How many people has he reached out and connected with? How many other employers has he spoken to about opportunities that might suit his skillset? Has he reviewed his finances? Why is he waiting to be told his job is no more before he does anything about it? His excuse is that he doesnt have the time, but not investing the time in himself and being busy doing work for an employer hes fairly sure is going to make him redundant, doesnt make sense. Were frequently asked by companies who are downsizing to come in as part of an outplacement support programme, to give financial advice to people exiting their companies, whether that is part of a voluntary or compulsory redundancy programme. And when that happens, I carry out presentations, and workshops and one to one sessions. And its during one of them I can easily identify who is redundancy ready and who isnt, just by observing and listening to what people say and how they are reacting. Those who have prepared themselves and have a plan in place are much less stressed, and some see the loss of their jobs as an opportunity and not as a threat. You see theyve been proactive over the past number of years, and have been looking after their finances, in tandem with up-skilling, re-training etc. And then there are those who are in a state of disbelief, a state of shock, a state of fear, because it dawns on them, from a financial perspective, that this is the absolute worst thing that could have happened to them. And thats because they have very little savings, have big debt that is being serviced by their present income, but with that being cut off and the likelihood that they may not earn the same amount again, how will they be able to keep up with repayments? Their reaction to the news is one of devastation and they think it could spell disaster for them. So, let me ask you a question? Are you, redundancy ready? Do you have a plan in place if you were told in the morning that your job is gone? Getting job ready and financially insulating yourself go hand in hand, so the better prepared you are, the easier it will be until you land that new job. And there are things you could have in place from a financial perspective like maintaining a budget and knowing how much you spend each month, having an emergency fund in place, not taking on new debt or reducing what existing debt you have, so if worst does happen, the easier it will be to ride out the storm until you land another job. If you dont know how to go about doing this yourself or youre unsure what your starting point should be, reach out and get help from someone who does, someone who can map out that Ive just lost my job plan for you. Liam Croke is MD of Harmonics Financial Ltd, based in Plassey, Co Limerick. He can be contacted at liam@harmonics.ie or www.harmonics.ie PALO ALTO, California, January 11, 2023Bruce B. Kelson and Agatha H. Liu, Ph.D., have joined Duane Morris LLP as partners in the firms Trial and Intellectual Property practice groups, respectively, in its Silicon Valley office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Kelson was partner at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, where he served as chair of that firms Securities Litigation Practice Group. Liu was a partner at Hickman Becker Bingham Ledesma LLP. Bruce is a top-notch litigator and Dr. Liu is a very skilled IP practitioner with substantial experience, a passion for technology and remarkable technical expertise. Both have a deep knowledge of the Silicon Valley and San Francisco business environments, and we are honored that they have chosen to grow their practices at Duane Morris. They will be a tremendous addition, said Duane Morris Chairman and CEO Matthew A. Taylor. After a productive 2022, we will continue our growth trajectory into 2023, which we expect will be a very strong year for Duane Morris in California. We foresee more great news and ongoing growth for Duane Morris in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Weve been in the Bay Area for 25 years and our clients certainly enjoy a deep bench here. But lawyers like Bruce Kelson and Dr. Agatha Liu dont come around very often, and their practices will thrive at Duane Morris, said Stephen H. Sutro, managing partner of the firms Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices. With Bruces arrival, we build on our already strong trial presence in California while augmenting our solid East Coast securities litigation capabilities with a notable West Coast presence. Agatha is a real game-changer; she holds a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering and has a significant research background in artificial intelligence and computational biology, all of which will provide great benefit to our clients with computer science needs, but in particular for life sciences and research university clients building emerging technologies in bioinformatics, Sutro added. In the last three months, the firm more than tripled its headcount in Silicon Valley. With the additions of Kelson and Liu, the firm has added a total of five new lawyers to its Bay Area offices in 2023. The firm expects more additions to be announced in San Francisco in the next several months. We offer a very attractive platform for laterals, Sutro concluded. Kelson focuses his practice on securities litigation and other complex commercial litigation for U.S. and foreign clients. He represents clients in SEC, FINRA and other regulatory agency investigations and enforcement proceedings, internal investigations, securities class action and shareholder derivative litigation, M&A transaction-related issues and litigation, director and officer liability and corporate governance issues and litigation, antitrust and unfair competition litigation and other commercial litigation. Kelson has extensive experience in federal and state courts and arbitral forums in California, New York, Delaware and other states. His clients span a range of industries including financial services, real estate, venture capital, software and technology, among others. The global Duane Morris platform will be beneficial to both my clients and my practice, said Kelson. I was incredibly impressed by the strategic focus of the firm and its commitment to California. I am very excited to be part of it. Kelson is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School (J.D., 1993) and Dartmouth College (A.B., cum laude, 1987). Liu concentrates her practice on IP analysis, portfolio management and strategic counseling. She routinely advises investors, business owners and inventors on all areas of IP related to computer technology. Liu also speaks and writes extensively on different IP topics, such as eligibility for IP protection, IP protection for emerging technology and global IP protection. Prior to entering the legal profession, Liu held positions in technology and management consulting. She has a significant research background in artificial intelligence as applied to internet communications, database system management, computational biology and speech recognition. This was an incredible opportunity for my clients, said Liu. The depth and breadth of the resources of Duane Morris and its already significant patent group, and their growth-oriented and strategic focus, are significant draws. I am excited to be part of the firms continued growth in the heart of the technology world. Liu is a graduate of Fordham University (J.D., 2010), received her B.S. in computer science from Columbia University, a masters in computer science from Cornell University and her doctorate in computer science and engineering from the University of Washington. Her doctorate concentrated on artificial intelligence and her dissertation was in computational biology. About Duane Morris Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to todays multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm. Cllr Sean Kelly raised concerns from residents about continuous localised flooding after heavy rain in the Pearse Park area at Januarys meeting of Dundalk Municipal District. Raising the matter at the January meeting, Cllr Kelly commented that since resurfacing works have taken place at Pearse Park last summer, "there have been ongoing issues with flooding in the estate after heavy rain. This flooding is leaving footpaths impassable, and people are being prevented from leaving their homes unless they wade through the water." The Dundalk councillor says that "Irish Water have cleared the gullies on several occasions, but the issue still persists. Im asking that the Operations section of the Council along with Water Services and Irish Water to visit the estate and carry out a full inspection to ascertain the source of problem and rectify it as soon as possible. People should not be prevented from leaving their homes or forced to walk on the centre of the road because of ongoing drainage issues." Responding to Cllr Kelly's request, the Council stated that it would carry out the inspection as soon as possible. House Republicans have begun their probe of President Joe Biden after new Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan ordered an investigation of the POTUS' classified documents scandal. The inquiry comes as the White House faces questions regarding the timing of the files' disclosure. The first batch of classified documents was first discovered in November, shortly before the 2022 midterm elections that gave the Republican Party control over the lower chamber of Congress. Joe Biden's Classified Documents Scandal Now, armed with the majority, the GOP has vowed to scrutinize the Biden administration. News of the first discovery was revealed on Monday, followed by a disclosure of the second wave of classified documents on Thursday. On that day, Attorney-General Merrick Garland also announced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the matter. Rep. Jim Jordan of the GOP, the head of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) saying that the events "raise fundamental oversight questions that the Committee oversees," as per BBC. Jordan also questioned whether or not the department "actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 election." The Republican's letter read that American citizens deserved transparency and accountability from their most-senior executive branch law enforcement officials. The GOP member has called for all documents related to the findings and the appointment of a special counsel to be provided, setting a deadline of Jan. 27, 2023. White House officials said they were fully cooperating with the DOJ's inquiry and with all required legal processes on disclosures upon discovering the documents. Several Republican lawmakers have called on the White House to release visitor logs of Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, where the first batch of classified documents was discovered. The papers are believed to come from his time as vice president under the Obama administration and were stored in a locked garage. Read Also: Trump's 2024 Campaign: Greene Seen as Potential Running Mate Mirroring Donald Trump's Woes The GOP cited similar situations where the DOJ allegedly acted differently to how they handled Biden's classified documents controversy. This was a reference to former United States President Donald Trump being criticized for a slew of government documents being discovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to Fox News. The situation over Biden's classified documents scandal is set to undermine Democrats' attempts to hold Republicans accountable for their issues. The former president's retention of hundreds of documents and his continued attempts to keep them from being transferred to the National Archives appears to be a more serious issue. However, Biden's growing embarrassment from the recent findings offers a huge opportunity to the new pro-Trump House majority. Republicans are set to launch an investigative machine that seeks to prove their long-held belief that the left has weaponized the federal government and intelligence agencies against conservatives. President Biden's harsh criticism of Trump regarding classified documents has now come back to haunt him and opens him up to criticisms of hypocrisy. There is also the question of how possible criminal charges being filed against the former president would affect the investigation into Biden's situation, said CNN. Related Article: Joe Biden Classified Documents Scandal: Special Counsel Appointed @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A local man who went into prison to serve a sentence for a serious assault, came out a heroin addict, Dundalk District Court was told last week. Gerard Soraghan (33) with an address at Ashling Crescent, Dundalk admitted a number of minor drugs possession charges at his home and also at Naughton's Close and Ecco Road on various dates in 2021. The smallest amount was 20 worth of Cannabis and the largest was 40 worth of Heroin. The court heard Mr. Soraghan had 21 previous convictions including assault causing harm for which he was jailed in 2017 for four years. He was released in July 2020. The defence solicitor said her client has battled with addiction from the age of 12 when he started of on cannabis before progressing to other drugs. She added he had never taken heroin, until he went into prison and he came out of prison, during the Covid pandemic, a heroin addict. However the solicitor said he is now a completely changed man, having attended a residential treatment programme. She outlined how he sought out his treatment place at St. Francis' Farm, when he couldn't access addiction services locally. Judge Vincent Deane imposed a 200 fine for possessing cannabis at the defendant's home on March 16th 2021 and marked the rest of the offences taken into consideration. Half of U.S. states allow permitless gun carrying Xinhua) 10:14, January 14, 2023 WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Half of U.S. states sanction carrying a gun in public without first securing a license, said an article published Wednesday on the website of American Black newsroom TheGrio. In the United States, Black Americans are already 10 times more likely to die from gun homicides, 18 times more likely to experience gun assaults and three times more likely to be fatally shot by the police, TheGrio also reported. The United States continues to struggle with gun violence with more guns on the streets. Lethal risks increase with the presence of more guns on the streets in the absence of licenses requiring arms owners to keep guns to themselves. Crime researchers say the possibility of shootings increases, said the article. Black Americans are obviously taking the brunt. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) United States President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday and has agreed to work on a military build-up amid China's growing global influence. The two leaders seek to transform the Asian nation into a potent military power that would assist in efforts to counterbalance Beijing. Biden and Kishida also agreed to bolster their countries' alliance to become a linchpin for their security interests in Asia. Biden Meets With Kishida During their meeting in the White House Oval Office, Biden said that they sought to modernize their military alliance, building on Japan's historic increase in defense spending and new national security strategy. The Democrat also said that the US is fully, thoroughly, and completely committed to the alliance. The meeting with Biden is Kishida's first trip to Washington since becoming Japan's prime minister in October 2021. The talks came a month after the Japanese lawmaker's government announced plans to strengthen the country's military capabilities and significantly increase military spending, as per the New York Times. The decision to increase military spending was prompted by China's rising international power and North Korea's repeated missile tests. Japanese authorities were infuriated with Beijing's lobbing of missiles around Taiwan last August. Five of the projectiles landed in Japanese waters, which is the first time that such a situation had occurred. Japan has grown increasingly anxious due to increased maritime activity conducted by the Chinese military in the East China Sea and around the Senkaku Islands. The latter is a disputed territory between the two Asian governments. In a statement, Kishida said that his administration decided to take major steps with the aim of "fundamentally reinforcing our defense capabilities." This includes an increase in military spending and growing Japan's missile strike capabilities. Kishida said that the efforts would be beneficial for the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance as well. Read Also: Canada's New F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets Strengthen Security Biden hailed the meeting with Kishida as a "remarkable moment" for the US-Japan alliance. The Democrat said that there was never a time that the two nations have been closer to each other, according to Yahoo News. Prior to Kishida's trip to the US, Japanese authorities agreed on Wednesday to upgrade their security cooperation. They have opted to equip Tokyo with long-range missiles and refitted a US Marine unit in Japan to confront Beijing's military build-up in the region. A senior fellow who studies US defense strategy in Asia at the American Enterprise Institute, Zachary Cooper, said that Japan was doubling down on both itself and the United States. He added that Tokyo was building more independent capabilities while deepening its relations with the US. The Japanese prime minister's trip to Washington is his last stop in a tour of the G7 industrial powers. He also thanked his American counterpart for the work on regional security and added that the two nations are currently facing the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history. Kishida noted that Tokyo's new defense strategy that was released last month sought to ensure peace and prosperity in the region, said Inquirer. Related Article: China Slams UK, Japan Defense Pact @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The removal of previous leftist President Pedro Castillo a month ago sparked the ongoing turmoil, which has taken at least 41 civilian deaths and one police officer in Peru. The Congress of Peru, supported by the opposition, voted to remove Castillo from office on December 7, after he attempted to "temporarily" dissolve the legislature and govern by decree before the third impeachment attempt of his troubled administration. Peru Protests' Cause His former vice president, Dina Boluarte, succeeded Castillo upon his impeachment. Protesters have demanded Boluarte's resignation, and many are also demanding early elections and the release of Castillo, who is in pre-trial incarceration on charges of "rebellion" and "conspiracy." He denies the accusations. Mid-December, the new president proclaimed a countrywide 30-day state of emergency to quell the demonstrations, restricting key civil freedoms and authorizing the deployment of Peruvian security forces. Boluarte has also advocated "peace, tranquility, and unity," Al Jazeera reported. However, protests have persisted, and on January 9, at least 17 protestors were slain in southern Peru on the worst day of violence so far. Human rights organizations have accused officials of deploying weapons and smoke bombs against protestors. According to the army, demonstrators utilized guns and improvised bombs. On Tuesday, Amnesty International asked the Peruvian government to cease the "unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" against civilians following the deaths of civilians in the country's south, a base of support for Castillo, a former rural teacher and union leader. The 17 victims were put to rest on Thursday in Juliaca, a city in the southern Puno area near the Bolivian border where demonstrators attempted to seize the airport earlier in the week. Due to the demonstrations, train and air ties to Peru's famous Machu Picchu monument were severed on Friday. Thursday saw the death of a 16-year-old who was shot during a demonstration in the southern Peruvian region of Puno, raising the death toll to 49 since the resignation of President Pedro Castillo. Relatives of the kid, identified by the initials B.A.J. by Peruvian officials, claim he was hospitalized in serious condition for two days after being shot in the head. His death brought the total number of protest-related fatalities in the Puno area, home to Lake Titicaca, to 19. A police officer assaulted and burnt to death by a gang of demonstrators is among the deceased. The death toll from the demonstrations in Peru currently stands at 49. The Ombudsman's Office said on Thursday that there were mobilizations, strikes, and barricades in 35 Andean provinces, primarily in the south, as per ABC News. In the city center of Lima, hundreds of protesters demanded the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of Congress, and rapid elections. Despite calls for Castillo's release, he remains incarcerated. The governors of Puno, Cusco, and Apurmac have demanded that Boluarte step down. In Cusco, the Inca citadel Machu Picchu location, a group of protestors attempted to set fire to the police headquarters, but officials were able to extinguish the flames. Other protesters stormed the Antapaccay mining site and set fire to two vehicles. In the southern district of Apurimac, locals demonstrated outside the entrance of the Las Bambas copper mine. A group from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arrived in Puno to collect information on the demonstrations and the socioeconomic problems. The upheaval began in early December due to the impoverishment and detention of Castillo, Peru's first president from humble, rural origins, when he attempted to dissolve Congress and prevent his impeachment. Boluarte served as Castillo's running partner before assuming the presidency. She has supported moving the previously scheduled 2026 presidential and congressional elections to 2024. She has also voiced support for judicial inquiries to determine if security officers used excessive force. However, these measures have thus far failed to quiet the discontent. Protesters have blocked highways, set buildings on fire, and infiltrated airports, resulting in millions of dollars in property damage and lost income. Blockades have interrupted commerce, stopped planes, and left visitors stranded. The security forces' response has been violent. There have been people who were not protesting among the victims. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has criticized both police and protester brutality and urged for discussion. Protesters have thus far declined to engage in dialogue with Boluarte. Read Also: Shinzo Abe Murder Update Who is Pedro Castillo? In 2021, voters elected Castillo, a socialist, from a crowded field of candidates, following years of political instability and a pandemic that devastated Peru more severely than any other nation. Castillo, a little-known teacher and union leader from an impoverished Andean hamlet, needed elected office experience and links to the Lima elite. Castillo's supporters hoped he would improve the representation of poor, rural, and indigenous Peruvians while standing up to the elites, according to NBC News. Once in government, however, corruption scandals, party infighting, and legislative opposition eroded his popularity. Castillo struggled to govern during his brief administration, appointing five prime ministers and more than eighty ministers. Castillo has maintained sympathy from those who view him as a victim of unpopular and corrupt political elites and Congress. In a November IPSOS survey, Castillo's favor rating of 27% was still higher than Congress' approval rating of 18%. Related Article: Peru Protest: Officer Burns to Death in Patrol Car @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A MAN, aged 42, who was in a highly intoxicated condition stood out in front of two lanes of afternoon traffic at Parnell Place in Cork, waving his arms around, and when gardai asked him what he was doing he said: Im directing traffic. Cormac Fitzpatricks impromptu intervention in traffic flows in the city occurred at around 3.30pm on November 17, 2022. Garda Jonathan Corcoran saw him blocking two lanes of traffic after 3.30pm and waving his arms around. Asked what he was doing, he said he was directing traffic. At the time, the resident of Cork Simon Community was unsteady on his feet, slurring his words, and his eyes were bloodshot, Judge Olann Kelleher was told at Cork District Court. Fitzpatrick then shouted: F*** you at the security man from a nearby premises. He had 33 previous convictions including 14 for being drunk and a danger and seven for threatening behaviour. He pleaded guilty to similar charges in respect of the Parnell Place incident. To complicate matters, he has a one-month suspended sentence hanging over him and the new offence could trigger the activation of that sentence. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said of the defendant: The only danger he was creating was for himself. However, Mr Buttimer said Fitzpatrick had been benefitting from the assistance of a key worker and clinical nurse through Housing First, and he is also dealing with a probation officer. Judge Kelleher agreed to adjourn sentencing until March 1 for a report on the defendants progress. For the first time since the streaming service's inception in 2020, Warner Bros Discovery Inc is increasing HBO Max's ad-free subscription price in the United States. With this, existing ad-free members must start paying $16 per month beginning with their upcoming billing cycle, but not before February 11th, Engadget writes. HBO Max Is Putting The Extra Fee Towards Improving Its Services Since HBO Max's launch in May 2020, there have been no price increases, but given that Warner intends to combine it and Discovery+ this spring, the timing of the price increase is noteworthy. Additionally, the firm has not disclosed the cost or even the name of the merged package, and it is unclear if the cost of the ad-supported plan will increase from $10 a month. However, the cost of a new HBO Max no-ads monthly subscription in the US will rise to $16 with effect from Thursday, January 12, from $15 with any applicable taxes. "This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users," the company says. The price increase comes after Warner Bros Discovery, which was created after Discovery acquired WarnerMedia in 2022, made a number of content reductions intended to minimize costs. In addition to 200 earlier "Sesame Street" episodes and a number of exclusive film releases, it has also canceled the HBO original series "The Nevers," and the HBO Max original series "Minx." Additionally, the company revealed intentions to pull a number of series from HBO Max last month in order to license them to FAST partners who offer free, ad-supported streaming TV, Variety reports. The revised prices for the ad-free plan, which is now $15.99/month, and the ad-supported plan, which is now $9.99/month, are both listed on the HBO Max website as of Thursday. Read More: Warner Bros. Discovery To Merge HBO, Discovery Apps To Form 'Max' The Increase Has Been Expected But Still Surprising Slowing user growth and intense rivalry from bigger rivals like Netflix Inc. and Disney Plus from Walt Disney Co. put pressure on HBO Max. According to Reuters, HBO Max's price increase was previously hinted at by Warner Bros. Discovery, following Netflix and Disney's recent pricing increases for several of its streaming services. HBO Max and Discovery Plus will be combined under Warner Bros. Discovery, which was created last year through the merger of AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia division and Discovery Inc. It can also be remembered that at an investor conference last week, chief financial officer Gunnar Weidenfels, added that there is no question that the company's services are priced way too low, CNN Business says. "We're coming from an irrational time of overspending with very limited focus on return on investment, and I think others are going to have to make some adjustments that we frankly have behind us now," he says. In November, JB Perrette, president and CEO of worldwide streaming and games, told investors that the business had a chance to boost the price of HBO Max's ad-free tier. He stated that it will have been three years since prices had changed by 2023, and there could have been different price advantages and opportunities that the move entailed. Meanwhile, a combined HBO Max-Discovery Plus platform is being prepared by the media conglomerate and is scheduled to debut in the US in the spring of 2023. According to Variety, the company hasn't yet disclosed information about pricing, packaging, or a name, however "Max" is now the front-runner. Related Article: 5 Best Comic Book Movies That You Can Stream on HBO Max Right Now Senior officials in Kyiv have reported that a successful surgery was performed on a Ukrainian soldier to remove an unexploded grenade from his chest. According to Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense, surgeons extracted the weapon from the injured serviceman's chest right below the heart. Then Surgery Can Only Be Described As A Miracle Interesting Engineering writes that two sappers stayed on duty throughout the procedure to watch that everything went according to plan and that the grenade did not go off. According to Maliar in her post, military surgeons performed an operation to extract a VOG grenade from the soldier's body, which, fortunately, did not break. Andrew Willow, one of the most skilled surgeons in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, performed the procedure without using electrocoagulation because the grenade could explode at any moment. Despite this, the surgical procedure was successful, and the injured serviceman was transported for further healing and rehabilitation. The team of sappers neutralized the munition, according to Anton Gerashchenko, the ministerial adviser for internal affairs of Ukraine, in an epic medical feat, The Guardian notes. In addition, he cited Yevgenia Slivko, the communications advisor to the commander of the medical forces in the Ukrainian military, who stated that the patient was thought to be around 28 years old. Since an identical surgery was carried out during the Afghanistan War, such surgeries have never been performed in a medical setting, according to Gerashchenko. A brief internet search will reveal that there have been no previous surgeries of this kind, making the treatment truly unique. While most medical advances are the result of technological improvements, in this case everything depends on the skill and knowledge of the surgeons and sappers. It is possible to draw the conclusion that the surgery was carried out using the same standard tools utilized by surgeons worldwide. This is because no mention of any unique equipment or technology has been made to far abou the surgery that has taken place, Interesting Engineering claims. Read More: Ukraine Claims Russian Hackers Infiltrate Systems With New Somnia Ransomware The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Has Been Going On For Almost A Year Now It is important to note that more incidents of the same kind might be reported if the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to wage on. It can also be remembered that nearly 11 months have passed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. One of the heaviest engagements of the Russian invasion is currently taking place in eastern Ukraine, where Russian soldiers are concentrating their efforts on bombing the mining town of Soledar. Even if it is unlikely that Soledar's collapse will mark a turning point in the grueling war of attrition, it would nevertheless be a victory for a Kremlin that has recently been devoid of positive battlefield news. Additionally, it would give Russian soldiers a starting point for capturing other, still-Ukrainian-held regions of the Donetsk province, Global News reports. Related Article: Ukraine's Antonov Co. Reveals Plans To Rebuild the World's Largest Cargo Plane On January 11th, the Federal Aviation Administration paused all domestic departures in the US after its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system failed. The agency later revealed that the outage was caused by a database file that was damaged by "personnel who failed to follow procedures." Now, according to a new report from The Washington Post, the database failure also created issues for tools used by US military pilots. One of the affected systems was the Defense Internet NOTAM Service (DINS), which typically comes with FAA alerts regarding flight hazards. During the outage, military pilots were either getting NOTAMs in duplicates or not getting any at all. The Post said an FAA bulletin notified military users that the system had become "impaired and unreliable." Unlike civilian flights, which had to be grounded, military flights can proceed in situations like this. An Air Force spokesperson told the outlet that the military branch's pilots had to call around to ask for potential flight hazards themselves. The outage had also erased all NOTAMs submitted to the system starting on Tuesday afternoon, so airports and air traffic controllers were asked to re-submit them. Further, the FAA had to deal with delays and other challenges after the system went back up due to a "high system load." The FAA is still verifying what caused the outage, but The Post said it's looking like the contractors truly made mistake and that there was no malicious intent behind their actions. Lawmakers are using this opportunity to put a spotlight on the FAA's outdated technology and to seek funding for upgrades. The computer system that failed and led to the outage is already three decades old, and according to CNN, it's also at least six years away from getting an upgrade. It remains to be seen if the incident will change that timeline. Microsoft already created AR combat goggles based on its HoloLens product, but it gave soldiers headaches, eye strain, and nausea. Instead of ordering more of the googles, Congress approved a $40 million budget to improve upon it instead. The First Batch of Military AR Goggles The first batch of military-adapted AR goggles was used for three 72-hour sessions wherein soldiers participated in simulated combat. Other than the headaches, eyestrain, and nausea, 80% of the soldiers already felt discomfort in the first three hours. Congress approved the $40 million budget as an alternative to what the military originally requested, which was a $400 million budget to buy 6,900 pairs of goggles that still had flaws to be acknowledged and fixed. The Army had already given $125 million to Microsoft as well, so the tech company can develop a better version of the AR goggles. According to Engadget, they also plan to buy 121,000 more devices over the next decade, which will cost them around $21.9 billion. Read Also: Microsoft Says Their HoloLens is 'Doing Great,' Will it Work on the Metaverse? Soldiers of Tomorrow According to Seargent Marc Krugh, a senior enlisted advisor working on the project, the goggles will help soldiers rehearse and train using augmented reality to simulate realistic scenarios in combat. This will prepare them for what they'll be walking into in actual battle. The technology is called Integrated Visual Augmentation System or IVAS. It is capable of allowing soldiers to see through smoke and around corners. It also uses holographic technology to project 3D terrain onto the field. IVAS will be using the mixed-reality tech from HoloLens which includes thermal imagery, GPS technology, and night vision, which will all be instrumental for the improvement of the soldier's situational awareness and provide critical information to carry out missions. The tech company developed the AR goggles by collaborating with the military. Microsoft engineers were even sent to a military base in North Carolina for mini boot camps, which helped them understand what the soldiers will be experiencing in the field. Microsoft learned about navigation on the ground, maneuvering in the dark, and communicating with the team. Seeing as Microsoft doesn't usually create technology for military defense, this will help them understand the situation better, says deputy program manager Mark Stephens. Soldiers also participated in tests held in Microsoft's industrial design software labs in Redmond, Washington. They tested prototypes wherein the soldiers would provide feedback so the company would know what to improve on. Microsoft managed to gather around 80,000 hours of soldier feedback by February 2021, which includes four rounds of testing within a six-month period, according to its website. Sgt. Krugh expressed that without the feedback, the development might've gone in the wrong direction. Alex Kipman, a Microsoft Technical Fellow and the creator of the HoloLens, mentioned that the Army's involvement made the project unique. He praised them for their growth mindset, and how they were the right people with the right attitude at the right time for the project. Related: Microsoft Begins Shipping The First Batch of AR Headset HoloLens to the US Military The takeover of New Delhi Television (NDTV) by the business conglomerate Adani Group in NovemberDecember 2022 has raised in its wake many questions about Indian journalism and its relationship to democracy. The founders and promoters of this media organisation, Prannoy Lal Roy and Radhika Roy, having lost their majority stake, resigned from one of their main promoting companiesRRPR1 Holdings. Following this, a few of NDTVs journalists also resigned from the company, giving rise to polarised debates in the public sphere. However, most of these debates overlooked the complexities of media ownership in India that facilitate such acquisitions. Acquisitions and mergers are the basic characteristics of corporate capitalism. The NDTV takeover received more public attention as NDTV, along with a few of its journalists, had acquired a brand value. Thus, concerns expressed regarding its takeover were more focused on the stardom of its owner Prannoy Roy and his allied journalists. The rise and takeover of NDTV, however, have to be problematised in the larger context of the private corporate ownership of news media, the resultant curtailment of the autonomy of journalism, the emergence of branded journalism, and threats to freedom of speech. Arguably, our responses to ecological and environmental issues are either varied or are starkly divided between some who argue rather unconditionally in favour of the defence of the ecological and environmental good and those who offer a rather qualified response to such an absolute notion of ecological good. Those who offer an unconditional endorsement assume that protecting the life of plants, vegetation, and wildlife is fair as, at a metaphysical level, they promise survival for us all. While no one would deny the importance of such an argument, however, in the daily occurrence of conflicts between human beings and wild animals, the position of these deep ecologists tilts more towards the protection of wildlife. This position does not solve the problem of justice, which is much deeper than standing with an environmental cause as representing an overarching or a primary good. What is needed is to assess the validity of the concept of environmental justice in terms of the risk and the loss that the farmers incur on account of their crop being eaten away or destroyed. Thus, the farmers, who, in several places, share a terrain with wildlife habitation, face a constant threat from the wild animals who destroy their standing crops. From the farmers point of view, destruction of crops is grossly unjust. In this context, the question that can be raised is: Can we hold the wild animals responsible for being unfair to the material interests of human beings? Certain farmers do consider that it is the wild animals that are primarily responsible for the destruction of their crops. They also hold the forest department responsible for not making adequate arrangements and guaranteeing financial compensation for the loss of their crops. As far as the farmers standpoint is concerned, it suggests that the policy of the government towards wildlife produces more injustice rather than justice. But this is a partial response to the conception of environmental justice, which is much more complex than securing justice through dealing with wild animals with heavy hands. In the history of the strikes in colonial Bombay, the strike of November 1938 was significant for its organisers and the forces who broke the strike. It was the first time that B R Ambedkars political partythe Independent Labour Party (ILP)and communists came together to strike against the Industrial Disputes Bill that the Indian National Congresss provincial government in Bombay Presidency had introduced only two months earlier. Conventional labour historiography has not given importance to non-leftist organisations contributing to the labour movement. Workers involvement in the events of 1938 reveals that the ILP was one of the strongest labour and anti-caste organisations in the history of Bombays labour movement. This paper focuses on debates between the Congress and the ILP on the Trade Disputes Bill (TDB) of November 1938. It examines the Congress government policies on working-class issues. The paper argues that the contradictions in the Congresss ideology and practice suggest that the nationalists were not just simply protecting capitalist class interests, but the ideology also kept changing under the domain of caste, class hegemonic nationalism. By looking at the November 1938 strike and its larger context, this paper examines how the Congress government justified and supported the violence on workers under the framework of their nationalistic agenda. Also, this paper examines how Ambedkar analysed the importance of labour rights to protect democratic values. Donald Trump's real estate company was ordered to pay a $1.61 million criminal penalty after it was convicted of a 15-year-scheme to defraud tax authorities, the maximum possible penalty under state law. Saturday, January 14, 2023 It happened to me. I dont need to read about it or get the proof from any other place. Ad fraud on our digital devices and platforms is well documented, so, my story is but a drop in a sea of fraud. Here is my story: An ad appeared on my Facebook page promising a beautiful carry on piece of luggage for an unbelievable price. See below: Notice the date: Dec. 2, 2022. I ordered the suitcase and paid using my credit card. My mistake, I did not read all the comments that warned me that this is a scam. However, I received a confirmation email that my order has been received. See below: But when I checked my credit card, the recipient was not Strongtion.com but a Grocery Shop in Hong Kong. So I called my credit card company and told them that is order maybe a scam. Few days later I received the below email: So, I thought maybe I was too quick to rush to judgment. Please note the tracking number and the content of the shipment. Exactly as advertised: Suitcase 4-Rollen Trolley L 76cm x 1. So I waited and waited. On January 3, 2023 I was notified by the USPS that my shipment has arrived and it is in my mailbox. Wait a second, I said to myself. A suitcase in my mailbox? Well I went to my mailbox to retrieve my suitcase and here is what I found: Note the tracking number the same that supposedly is used to deliver the suitcase. But wait, there is more, look at what the envelope said it contained and the contents of the envelope. It is for sure not a suitcase, but few broken pieces of a cake decorating kit. The sad part, the same ad reappeared on my Facebook page the same day the aforementioned junk arrived in my mailbox: So, you ask me why I believe in brick and mortar stores and ink on paper magazines? I dont think I need to answer this question. Unless you are looking for a cake decorating kit, DO NOT ORDER your suitcase from Strongtion.com because now you know the rest of the story. When you install any apps on your mobile phone, you are likely sending some form of data about your identity, preferences, or location to Google or some other tech companies without consciously being aware of it. While it is not really surprising, it is still alarming that the Internet has a certain mechanism to track your location. According to an Oxford University study using nearly 1 million free Android apps in 2018, the majority of mobile apps contain utilities from companies, as per Internal Health Report. These utilities enable them to track and send data about users. With the many apps that you've downloaded and installed on your mobile phone, how would you know which are the ones tracking your location? Continue reading to find the answer. How to Know Which Apps Are Tracking You In order to see a list of apps that have requested access to your location data, go to the Settings app and click Privacy. Afterward, proceed to Location Services. Your phone will show you every app that can request access to your location data. You can check whether you've given permission to access your location. If you've granted permission, you will be able to see if the app can access your location at all times or only when you're using it. Simply tap the app to check the kind of permission you've granted. There are three different options. "Never" means the app will never be allowed to access your location data. "When Using the App" means whenever the app is open and active, it will be able to access your data. Lastly, "Always" means the app will be able to access your data whenever it requests it. Read Also: 10 Cool Apps for IP Geolocation How to Stop the Apps From Tracking Your Every Move While some apps need to know your location in order to work correctly, many do not need this information, according to USA Today. To stop the apps from tracking your location on your iPhone or iPad, follow these steps: First, go to Settings, then navigate down to Privacy. Afterward, tap Location Services. If the Location Service is on, it means that apps can track you. If you want to deny your device from using Location Services, simply slide it off. You'll find the list of apps under Location Services. Just tap on a specific app if you want to change the settings. Select from Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, or Always. Meanwhile, on Android, check first to see which apps have access to your location. To check, simply follow these steps: Simply swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Location. If you cannot find it, search your Settings menu and find Location. Tap App permission. The list of apps that can access your location any time, only while it's in use, or when you give permission will be immediately shown to you. From here, you can change app permissions. You can also try the following methods: Once you're on your home screen, find the app's icon. For the app that you want to adjust, touch, and hold the icon. Tap the Info icon, then proceed to Permissions. Next, tap Location. From there, choose from All the time, Only while using the app, Ask every time, or Deny. Related Article: Android 12 Security: How to Stop Apps From Accessing Your Camera, Microphone GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Ignite, hosted by the Great Falls Development Authority has become the main business kick-off event of the decade in Great Falls. The event took place Friday, Jan. 13 from 8:00 in the morning until 10:30 at the Meadowlark Country Club. Many speakers broke down their new business ideas and start ups for the 2023 season. The format for the event is pretty simple: speakers delivered a three-minute presentation to over two hundred other presenters, community businesses and local leaders in Great Falls. Col. Daniel Voorhies, Vice Commander of the 341st Missile Wing was the first speaker, and he spoke about a lot of deferred maintenance on base and that growth in the community is needed as Malmstrom continues to grow with the new missiles coming in a few years. JS Fitness and Wellness was announced and they plan to open their doors on January 26. Great Falls Clinic gave the community an update on the surgery clinic expansion and their completion date is set for September 2023. The Greystone Inn was bought and is under construction and is set to open in May of 2023 as the Gibson Hotel. Pines and Plains Realty is opening in January and they are going to be offering a three year one-on-one mentorship program for people who want to learn to become a real estate agent and get their brokers license. TDS Fiber is coming to Great Falls and providing internet, TV and phone services with a new state of the art fiber network. Montana Specialty Mills announced they are expanding in the AgriTech Park in Great Falls. The City of Great Falls gave an update on the facade project happening at the Civic Center, which is set to be completed near the fall of 2023. Arc Apartments have one building open with residents living in them, they plan to open by July 2023 as they provide 216 multi-family units to the city. John Faulkner, director of the Great Falls International Airport spoke about the new direct flight to Minneapolis and plans to go after a direct flight to Dallas, Texas. He also said the airport is getting a facelift with new terminal modernization and signs. Alluvion Health plans to break ground on the Roosevelt Project in the spring of 2023 and finish by 2025. Montana Renewables announced they are working on a hydrogen unit that will be completed this year and they are nearing completion of their pre-treatment unit. MSU Nursing announced they are going to break ground on a new building in Great Falls after they've been located in the Benefis West Building for some time. The Community Early Education Center, Nurture Great Falls announced they are expanding from 48 spots to 140 by 2024. They will remain in the community rec center. Touro University plans to finish construction this year and are starting to recruit students for July 2023. Rib and Chop House plans to open their doors in the spring of 2023. Pasta Montana is adding a $7 million production line to the facility at the end of the year. The Great Falls Development Authority says it's important to see this growth and while they look for more people to move to great falls, business growth allows them to do so and it's essential for everyone. "We're looking to make sure that we are a team. And that is the one point in our strategic plan, our new strategic plan that we can't emphasize enough. While Great Falls Development Authority is a catalyst and we pull partners together, we can't do it all. It takes everybody... It takes action and it takes people feeling like they're part of the team. And right now, here's your open invite. You're part of Team Great Falls. Come be part of Team Great Falls and let's do this together," said Jolene Schalper, Senior Vice President at GFDA. The Montana House of Representatives convenes its floor session on Jan. 5 in Helena, Montana. (Photo by Matt Volz | Kaiser Health News). Montana lawmakers said lowering costs and expanding patient access will be their top health care goals for the new legislative session. But they also will have to contend with making changes to Medicaid, a management crisis at the Montana State Hospital, and proposals to regulate abortion. Republicans, who hold a veto-proof majority, said they will focus on three areas of health care transparency, costs, and patient options. Party leaders aim to keep taking small bites that are moving the ball in the right direction on those three big things, Senate Republican spokesperson Kyle Schmauch said. Democrats, who are the minority party and need Republican help to pass their bills, identified lowering health care costs, protecting Medicaid coverage, and preserving reproductive freedom as their priorities. Expanding Patient Access Expanding telehealth and making it easier for qualified providers from outside the state to practice in Montana are two ways Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte proposes to improve health care access, said spokesperson Brooke Stroyke. House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, agreed that telehealth is key to improving access. Republicans plan to build on a law passed in the 2021 session that made permanent some of the pandemic-driven emergency regulations that loosened restrictions on telehealth. Schmauch said legislators will consider spending proposals to expand Montanas broadband reach to make telehealth a viable option for more people, particularly rural residents. Other proposals meant to give rural patients with limited access to care more options are planned, such as allowing physicians to dispense prescription drugs to patients, and allowing pharmacists to prescribe certain drugs, Schmauch said. Medicaid Eleven Montana nursing homes announced closures in 2022, with officials citing staffing shortages and low Medicaid reimbursement rates as the primary reasons for the industrys ongoing struggles. Lawmakers will debate raising reimbursement rates for nursing homes and many other types of health providers after a state-commissioned study found they were too low to cover the cost of care. Increasing provider rates at the studys recommended level will ensure a strong health care workforce and should be a priority for this legislature, said Heather OLoughlin, executive director of the Montana Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the state budget, taxes, and economy. Gianfortes budget proposal includes reimbursement rate increases that fall short of what the study recommends. A bill by Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, would base provider rates on the studys findings. Federal rules dictated that anybody enrolled in Medicaid could not be dropped from the program during the public health emergency. But the omnibus spending bill recently passed by Congress allows states to begin reviewing the eligibility of their beneficiaries in April, and millions of people across the U.S. are at risk of losing coverage as a result. That will have an inherent outcome of removing people who qualified for Medicaid but because of this process being so complicated, theyll lose it, Caferro said. Caferro said she plans to introduce legislation that restores 12-month continuous eligibility for adults enrolled in Montana Medicaid. The measure is likely to be opposed by legislative Republicans and Gianforte, who co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden in December saying the public health emergency had artificially expanded the Medicaid population. Montana State Hospital The Montana State Hospital lost its federal accreditation after a spate of injuries and deaths, making management of the psychiatric hospital and the availability of behavioral health services a top priority of the session. Stroyke said Gianfortes two-year budget plan, which is a starting point for legislative budget writers, includes $300 million for the state hospital and for expanding access to intensive behavioral health care across the state. Legislators are considering measures that would shift care for some patients from the state-run hospital to community-based health services. Regier said moving more public health services from state institutions to community providers would relieve some strain on facilities like the Montana State Hospital. Abortion Lawmakers from both parties have filed more than a dozen bill draft requests dealing with abortion. One from Regier would restrict the type of abortions that can be performed in the state, and, at the other end of the debate, a proposal by Sen. Ryan Lynch, D-Butte, would codify abortion access in state law. The Gianforte administration also recently proposed an administrative rule that would make it more difficult for women to have an abortion paid for by Medicaid. But the Republican majority is restricted from enacting a sweeping abortion ban in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Thats because a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling determined the state constitutions right-to-privacy protection covers abortion access. The state is seeking to overturn that precedent after a judge blocked three anti-abortion laws passed by the 2021 legislature. Hospital Oversight Lawmakers also will consider proposals to increase oversight of the way nonprofit hospitals report community benefits. State health officials have wanted to set standards for the charitable contributions those hospitals make in exchange for their tax-exempt status. A Kaiser Health News investigation found that Montanas nonprofit hospitals spent about 8% of their total annual expenses on charity benefits in 2019, which is below the national average. Keely Larson is the KHN fellow for the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Newspaper Association, and Kaiser Health News. Larson is a graduate student in environmental and natural resources journalism at the University of Montana. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). The post Medicaid and abortion top health agenda for Montana lawmakers appeared first on Daily Montanan. Farmers and rural businesses should ensure they are flood aware and have a plan in place as yellow weather warnings for rainfall remain in force across the UK. The advice comes as floods have hit Wales, the Midlands and the southwest of England this week and further volatile weather is predicted in parts of the UK for the coming weeks. The Environment Agency has announced 80 flood warnings - mainly in west and southwest England - and 155 flood alerts. In 2022, the average cost of farm flooding claims was almost 26,350, according to NFU Mutual, and in November and December average claim cost reached 31,200. The rural insurer said it was closely monitoring the current situation as the impact on farming could be 'significant'. "It not only disrupts vital work but can place lives in danger, so it is important rural businesses prepare appropriately for this risk," said NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist, Hannah Binns. She explained there were a number of actions farmers could take to prepare for flooding, such as having a farm flood plan detailing everyones role should the worst happen. Farmers could also identify higher ground to move livestock to if water levels rise and move vulnerable machinery, tools, stocks and veterinary resupplies to safer areas. For those living in farm houses and who are affected by flooding, it is important to make safety the first priority by keeping family and pets away from the flood water, Ms Binns said. Where possible, move to higher parts of the property and switch off electricity and gas supplies in flooded areas. At NFU Mutual our local Agents will be alert to flood warnings in their community and will be on hand to help, so it is important to have access to copies of any insurance documents and the relevant contact details. What is the advice for flooding? Flooding preventative tips for farmers: Work out a farm flood plan so that if the worst does happen everybody knows what action to take and who is responsible for what. Identify higher ground that livestock can be moved to if water levels rise. If you're renting land in a low-lying area, it's worth speaking with neighbouring landowners to obtain permission to move livestock to their higher ground. Sign up for Environment Agency flood alerts at the Gov.uk website. Safely store fuels and chemicals that could pollute water courses in the event of flooding. Plan an evacuation route so that you, your family and employees stay safe. Keep contact details to hand of people who could help you move livestock in an emergency. Look at your farming practices and how these could impact on flooding and water penetration. Take steps to reduce soil compaction in fields and think about creating runoff ponds. Think about flood resilience measures for buildings which could be vulnerable to flooding. Think about locating electrical sockets and wiring higher up walls so that they're not susceptible to flooding if water gets in. If you're planning to invest in new buildings, speak to your insurer first to ensure that they can provide flood cover at that specific location. Identify machinery, tools or stock that could be moved to prevent loss or damage. Move vulnerable machinery stock and veterinary resupplies to safe locations if flooding is forecast. Consider how youll alert staff about a flood warning and how they can help you to prepare. What do I do if my farm is flooded? Make safety your priority. Keep your family and pets away from the flood water and move to another part of the property. Do not put your life or the lives of others at risk attempted to rescue stranded animals. Contact the emergency services or the RPSCA on 0300 1234999 for help. Use What3Words to communicate an accurate location quickly. Ensure you can be contacted in an emergency, such as keeping your phone charged up and stay in contact with those around you. Call your insurer immediately, asking about alternative accommodation if your property is unsafe. Check on family and friends and let them know your situation. If you can, switch off mains gas and electricity supplies in the affected area. Have a pack with essential items like prescriptions, other medicines and food, paying particular attention to items like baby food handy to take with you if needed. Have a torch and charged mobile phone on hand in case of power cuts. When its safe to enter the flooded area again, catalogue all damaged items for insurance claims and begin clearing and drying out the area, seeking advice from your insurance company. Cambodias apparel exports increased by 12.69 per cent year-on-year to $9.035 billion during January-December 2022. This constituted 40.18 per cent of Cambodias total foreign income of $22.482 billion during the period under review, according to data from the general department of customs and excise under the ministry of economy and finance. Cambodias exports of apparel and clothing accessories (knitted) (Chapter 61) earned $6.367 billion in 2022, which was 9.4 per cent higher than the exports worth $5.819 billion during the corresponding period of 2021. The countrys exports of apparel and clothing accessories (not knitted) (Chapter 62) rose by 21.4 per cent to $2.668 billion in the period under review. In 2021, in this category, the country had exported apparel worth $2.198 billion. However, exports of apparel and clothing accessories (knitted) decline during standalone month November 2022 which reflects the sluggish demand in the global market. The exports slipped by 20.9 per cent to $432.261 million in December 2022 from $591.851 million in the same period of 2021. The shipment of non-knitted apparel eased by 1.1 per cent to $245.247 million in the period under review. Cambodia's apparel exports increased by 12.69 per cent year-on-year to $9.035 billion during January-December 2022. This constituted 40.18 per cent of Cambodia's total foreign income of $22.482 billion during the period under review, according to data from the general department of customs and excise under the ministry of economy and finance. As for the imports, the countrys knitted or crocheted fabric (Chapter 60) imports during January- December 2022 were valued at $2.891 billion, 2.1 per cent lower than the imports worth $2.952 billion in the same period of 2021. But manmade fibre (Chapter 55) imports grew by 7.2 per cent to $1,199.842 million, against $1,119.304 million in January-December 2021. Cotton (Chapter 52) imports slipped 5.9 per cent to reach $507.933 million during the period under review, compared to $539.958 million in the same period of 2021. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) LONDON, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Top Tier Impact is hosting a private Investors Roundtable during the week of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of the event is "Net Zero Transition: Role of Energy, Alternative Fuels and Mobility". This is an intimate investors roundtable where investors will discuss in detail the current energy transition. TTI investors roundtables include facilitated networking, investment intelligence insights and declaration of Net Zero targets during the event. Alessa Berg, founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact, said: "2023 is the year of action for Net Zero, both because there is an increasing amount of knowledge in the market and because regulation has gotten intense and detailed. We are glad to support this transition in an actionable way that is informed through our direct insights across all geographies, sectors and stakeholder types." This special event is sponsored by Avanea Asset Management and Water Stuff & Sun. Vazil Hudak, Chairman of Avanea, said: "Avanea is happy to participate in the TTI Davos Investor Roundtable on the 'Net Zero Transition: Role of Energy, Alternative Fuels and Mobility' as it is in line with our mission to support decarbonization through investing in innovative cleantech companies and helping them scale up globally. Our investments play an important role in achieving net zero targets globally and we look forward to discussing the new trends in such sectors as batteries, mobility, commodities and digitization that also represent key priority areas for Avanea with other investors." Thomas Korn, CEO of Water Stuff & Sun, said: "We are very pleased to support the event and to be able to contribute with our expertise in the energy and hydrogen sector. Because we all agree: energy security and independence are the most important challenges in the years to come, and hydrogen as an energy carrier for renewable energies will play a decisive role for a sustainable energy supply. These challenges can only be solved by building synergies and cooperations, therefore, we are excited to join forces to shape the energy transition." Avanea (Avanea) is the next-generation asset manager of Infratech investments. It was born from the will to connect people and foster innovation while tackling decarbonization, to support industry players in addressing their decarbonization agenda. AVANEA focuses on investments and the development of breakthrough commercially viable technologies to be scaled up into infrastructure assets. With a strong track record combining technological innovations with the corporate world, AVANEA provides a circular solution to your needs. Water Stuff & Sun (Home (EN) - water stuff & sun (waterstuffandsun.com) is a hydrogen technology startup which is developing a disruptive storage technology for renewable energies: the hydrogen battery, a two-in-one storage solution that combines a safe, simple and cost-ef?cient distribution of hydrogen with its ?exible integration into various applications. The Company's vision is to develop the world's leading standard for green hydrogen solutions, making green energy abundance safely accessible and affordable for anybody, anywhere. About Top Tier Impact: Top Tier Impact is the global ecosystem of investors, entrepreneurs and professionals focused on solving the critical issues of our time. Across its business units, TTI's mission is to accelerate the global adoption of impact and sustainability. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/transitioning-to-a-net-zero-world-top-tier-impact-is-hosting-a-private-investors-roundtable-during-the-world-economic-forum-in-davos-switzerland-301721842.html Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks with reporters during a visit to the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation incubator at the Center for Innovative Technology campus in Herndon, Va., Oct. 21, 2022. AP-Yonhap U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday that the United States will likely hit the $31.4 trillion statutory debt limit on Jan. 19, forcing the Treasury to launch extraordinary cash management measures that will likely prevent a default until early June. "Once the limit is reached, Treasury will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations," Yellen said in a letter to new Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders. She urged the lawmakers to act quickly to raise the debt ceiling to "protect the full faith and credit" of the United States. "While Treasury is not currently able to provide an estimate of how long extraordinary measures will enable us to continue to pay the government's obligations, it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June," the letter said. Republicans now in control of the House have threatened to use the debt ceiling as leverage to demand spending cuts from Democrats and the Biden administration. This has raised concerns in Washington and on Wall Street about a bruising fight over the debt ceiling this year that could be at least as disruptive as the protracted battle of 2011, which prompted a brief downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and years of forced domestic and military spending cuts. The White House also said Friday, after Yellen's letter, that it will not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. "This should be done without conditions," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "There's going to be no negotiation over it." House Republicans are planning to move a "debt prioritization" measure by the end of March that would call on the U.S. Treasury to continue making certain payments once it reaches the debt ceiling, but details have not been finalized, a person familiar with the plan told Reuters. The proposal was first reported by the Washington Post. The Republican plan will call on the Treasury Department to keep making interest payments on the debt, the Post reported, citing sources. It may also stipulate the Treasury should continue making payments on Social Security, Medicare and veterans' benefits, and fund the military, the newspaper said. The plan was part of a private deal reached this month to resolve the standoff between right-wing hardliners in the House and McCarthy over his election as House speaker, the Post said. The letter from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., photographed Jan. 13, notifying Congress that the U.S. is projected to reach its debt limit on Jan. 19, and will then resort to "extraordinary measures" to avoid a default. AP-Yonhap Yellen's estimate expressing confidence that the government could pay its bills only through early June without increasing the limit marks a deadline considerably sooner than forecasts by some outside budget analysts that the government would exhaust its cash and borrowing capacity the so called "X Date" sometime in the third quarter of calendar 2023. Analysts have noted that some Treasury bills maturing in the second half of the year are sporting a premium in their yields that may be tied to elevated risk of a default in that window. "You could read this partly as trying to get Congress to act sooner rather than later," said Bipartisan Policy Center economics director Shai Akabas, adding that Treasury was being conservative in its approach. Yellen said that there was "considerable uncertainty" around the length of time that extraordinary measures could stave off default, due to a variety of factors, including the challenges of forecasting the government's payments and revenues months into the future. As of Wednesday, Treasury data showed that U.S. federal debt stood $78 billion below the limit, with a Treasury operating cash balance of $346.4 billion. The department on Thursday reported an $85 billion December deficit as revenues eased and outlays grew, particularly for debt interest costs. Yellen said in her letter that the Treasury this month anticipates suspending new investments in two government retiree funds for pensions and healthcare, as well as suspending reinvestments in the Government Securities Investment Fund, or G Fund, part of a savings plan for federal employees. The retirement investments are restored once the debt ceiling is raised. "The use of extraordinary measures enables the government to meet its obligations for only a limited amount of time," Yellen wrote to McCarthy and other congressional leaders. "It is therefore critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit. Failure to meet the government's obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability," Yellen wrote. (Reuters) On January 10, 2023 local time, Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen jointly met the press and answered questions after their talks. When asked about China's views on Ethiopia's peace deal and the progress of the "Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa" in Ethiopia, Qin Gang said that Ethiopia is the common home of all Ethiopians, including those from the Tigray Region. With the ceasefire agreement recently reached between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front being steadily implemented, Ethiopia has entered a new stage with a hope for peace and a focus on development. China is truly happy about this and extends warm congratulations to the government and people of Ethiopia. Qin Gang said that China has always believed that the conflict in the Tigray Region is an internal affair of Ethiopia and that the Ethiopian people have the wisdom and ability to independently resolve their internal differences; China has always respected Ethiopia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and supported the Ethiopian government and people's efforts to achieve national peace, unity and development; China has always supported African people in solving African problems in African ways. Qin Gang stressed that the Horn of Africa is a region of strategic importance and has a major impact on the peace and stability of Africa and even the Middle East. He noted that the "Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa" put forward by China is aimed at supporting countries in the region to seek strength through unity and achieve prosperity and stability. Recalling the multiple visits to countries in the region by the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang said that China supported the convening of the inaugural Horn of Africa Peace Conference, and made positive contributions to building consensus among all parties and promoting peace and development in the region. China has provided multiple batches of food, vaccines and other humanitarian supplies to Ethiopia to help ease the livelihood difficulties of people in conflict-affected areas. China will continue to do so and will actively participate in the reconstruction of conflict-affected areas. He also called on the international community to increase humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia and support the reconstruction and economic and social development of the relevant regions. Xinhua News Agency: Foreign Minister Qin Gang is visiting Africa just after assuming his new post. We noticed some of his activities in Ethiopia yesterday. Could you share more information? Wang Wenbin: On January 10, Foreign Minister Qin Gang arrived in Ethiopia for a seven-day visit to Africa. For 33 years, Chinese foreign ministers have made Africa the destination of their first overseas visits each year. This speaks volumes about the high importance China attaches to growing its traditional friendly relations with Africa. Ethiopia is a major African country with important influence. It is Chinas comprehensive strategic cooperative partner in Africa and an important partner for China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation. Foreign Minister Qin Gang chose the country for his first overseas visit in his new capacity. This speaks to the close friendship between our two countries and the importance China attaches to growing ties with Ethiopia. The visit is aimed at implementing the common understandings on deepening bilateral relations reached by leaders of both countries, consolidating traditional friendship, enhancing political mutual trust, seeking synergy between respective development strategies, advancing cooperation in various areas, and further enriching the China-Ethiopia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. During the visit, Foreign Minister Qin paid a courtesy call on Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen. The two sides held in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest and reached important common understandings. The Chinese side has released readouts on them. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the current state of bilateral ties and confidence in their prospects. Both agree that as major developing countries sharing similar visions and fellow travelers on the path to modernization, China and Ethiopia should be partners that firmly support each other, pursue common development and uphold international fairness and justice. China-Ethiopia relations are embracing new opportunities and bright prospects. Foreign Minister Qin also shared the progress made under the Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa in Ethiopia. He noted that China had put forward the outlook to support countries in the region in seeking strength through unity and achieving prosperity and stability. China supports the convening of the inaugural Horn of Africa peace conference, which contributed to building consensus among all parties and promoting peace and development in the region. With a view to enhancing cooperation between the two foreign ministries, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on political consultation between the two foreign ministries. AFP: The UK and Japan are expected to sign a major defence deal today. The deal is allowing UK troops to deploy in Japan. This is part of Japans efforts to face what they call the challenges posed by China. Does China plan to protest officially to the UK and Japan? Wang Wenbin: The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition. China is a cooperation partner for all countries and poses no challenge to anyone. The defense cooperation between relevant countries should be conducive to enhancing mutual understanding, trust and cooperation between countries. It should not target any imaginary enemies, still less replicate the obsolete mindset of bloc confrontation in the Asia-Pacific. Fuji TV: With regard to the Japan-related restrictive measures issued by China yesterday, the Japanese government has expressed regret. Japans measures against China include nucleic acid test and proof of negative result. Those are completely different from Chinas measures of suspending issuance of ordinary visas and the measures of the two sides are not reciprocal. What is your comment? Wang Wenbin: We have pointed out many times that a handful of countries, in disregard of science and their actual epidemic situation, have insisted on taking discriminatory entry restriction measures against travelers arriving from China. China responded to certain countries discriminatory action with reciprocal measures. This is to protect our fellow citizens legitimate rights and interests and make sure the environment is suitable for normal exchange and cooperation between countries, which is fair and legitimate. We would like to take this opportunity to share more of the relevant facts with you. Health experts and epidemiologists from many countries have pointed out that tightening entry policy towards travelers from China is neither science-based nor necessary. The Health Minister of Singapore said recently that imported cases from China accounted for less than 5% of Singapores total imported infections in the four weeks running up to January 1, which was far lower than the proportions of imported infections from other countries and regions. There is no need to impose new restriction measures against China at the moment. WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge noted recently that China has been sharing virus sequencing information with the international community; the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants circulating in China are those that have already been seen in Europe and elsewhere; the situation in China is not anticipated to significantly impact the COVID-19 epidemiological situation in Europe at this time; and precautionary travel measures should be rooted in science, proportionate and non-discriminatory. He also said that the new XBB.1.5 recombinant virus has already been spreading rapidly across the US, and that a threat could come from a new variant of concern, anywhere, anytime. We once again call on relevant countries to make sure that their COVID response measures are fact-based, science-based and proportionate. All parties need to work together to create enabling conditions for normal cross-border travel and people-to-people exchange and cooperation. CCTV: Recently many countries have introduced measures welcoming Chinese tourists. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: Since China announced the decision to manage COVID-19 with measures against Class-B infectious diseases and adopted provisional measures on cross-border travel, many countries have said that they warmly welcome Chinese tourists and will not place entry restrictions on travelers from China. In Thailand, the Deputy Prime Minister and other government officials greeted passengers from China at the airport and gifted them with health bags and garlands. The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand said in Chinese to the tourists that China and Thailand are one family. The foreign ministry of Maldives said on its official website and Twitter that Maldives welcomes Chinas refinement of exit and entry measures and looks forward to receiving Chinese tourists soon. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed the hope of receiving two million Chinese tourists in 2023. Indonesia and other countries have arranged for Chinese-speaking staff to assist in relevant work. Chinese restaurants in travel resorts like Bali that were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 have gradually resumed business. Local travel agencies have launched Spring Festival tours one after another. Friendly countries with hospitable hosts fill Chinese tourists hearts with warmth and happiness and will naturally become favored destinations. There will be efforts to make it easier for Chinese tourists to get to those places including by increasing the number of direct flights. We also remind Chinese travelers to take extra care with their health management and monitoring to make sure they can have a smooth and pleasant trip overseas. China will continue to adapt its COVID response measures to the evolving epidemic situation and work with all sides to ensure safe, unhindered and orderly cross-border travel and contribute to international solidarity against the pandemic and world economic recovery. Kyodo News: In response to the restriction measures adopted by the ROK and Japan, China took reciprocal measures. But the US and some European countries also adopted restriction measures targeting China. Why hasnt China taken reciprocal measures against them? Wang Wenbin: We have made it clear that China has taken reciprocal measures in response to relevant countries actual discriminatory measures against China. Bloomberg: The Philippine Supreme Court has nullified a 2005 agreement that allowed the Philippines, China and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil resources in the South China Sea. How does this affect the Philippines and Chinas plan to restart discussions on oil and gas exploration in that body of water following a meeting between President Marcos and President Xi last week? When does China expect to resume talks with the Philippines on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea? Is China looking at a definite timeline? Wang Wenbin: National oil companies from China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed the Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea in 2005 and conducted joint seismic undertaking in some parts of the South China Sea. It was an important step by the three countries to implement the DOC and a useful experiment for maritime cooperation between parties to the South China Sea. It played an important role in promoting stability, cooperation and development in the region. China remains committed to properly handling maritime disputes in the South China Sea with countries directly concerned, including the Philippines, through dialogue and consultation, and to actively exploring ways for practical maritime cooperation including joint exploration. During Philippine President Marcoss recent visit to China, the two sides agreed to bear in mind the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development signed in 2018 and resume discussions on oil and gas development at an early date, building upon the outcomes of the previous talks, with a view to benefiting the two countries and their peoples. Tokyo News: A group of Lithuanian lawmakers are on a visit to Taiwan and will meet with Tsai Ing-wen. Whats your comment? Wang Wenbin: We have pointed out repeatedly that Lithuania violated its commitment made upon the establishment of diplomatic ties with China and blatantly created the false impression of one China, one Taiwan in the world. This contravenes the basic norm governing international relations. We urge Lithuania to abide by its commitment made upon the establishment of diplomatic ties with China and return to the one-China principle as soon as possible. Bloomberg: The new House of Representatives has set up a committee to come up with ways to what it said was counter Chinas growing economic and strategic power. This was a bipartisan committee and it received overwhelming support for its establishment. Does the foreign ministry have a response to this committee being formed? Wang Wenbin: We hope the relevant US politicians view China and the China-US relations in an objective and reasonable light, proceed from the USs own interests and the common interests of China and the US, head toward the same direction with China and promote the development of the China-US relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. Fuji TV: Do you think the restrictive measures Japan and China have taken against each other are reciprocal? Wang Wenbin: The measures weve taken are entirely justified and reasonable. We once again call on relevant countries to follow the principle of science and make sure that their COVID response measures are science-based and proportionate. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun delivers an address during a New Year's meeting with financial industry leaders at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Jan. 3. Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo The government is bolstering efforts to lift regulations in the finance industry to achieve President Yoon Suk Yeol's vision of a market-driven economy. But at the same time, financial regulators are apparently ratcheting up efforts to bolster their influence on the management of banking groups, fueling skepticism over the government's commitment to serve the interests of financial firms. Concerns are rising over double standards in the Yoon administration's market-driven economic vision as financial authorities have been increasingly targeting bank CEOs at a time when their tenures are close to ending. Among the latest targets was Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Son Tae-seung, who was criticized by Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun for "not accepting the FSC's punishment against him concerning sales of risky Lime Asset Management funds by Woori Bank in 2019." Son had been doubling as the head of Woori Bank and Woori Financial Group back then. The FSC reprimanded Son in November 2022. The warning is raising suspicions for being issued after Son won a lawsuit against the FSS twice _ at a lower court in August 2021 and at the High Court in July this year _ over a separate case of Woori Bank's mis-selling of high-risk, derivative-linked funds (DLFs), also in 2019. Financial sources speculate that the Yoon administration is trying to find an excuse to block Son from seeking a third term as CEO when his second three-year tenure ends in March 2023. The sources noted that the FSC warning bars Son from holding positions at financial companies for three years, although his current term can be completed. Speculation has become rampant that the Yoon administration wants to replace banking group chiefs, whose current terms were soon to expire mostly in December last year, with pro-government figures. Against this backdrop, Son has been seeking to take the case to the court as he did in the past. "And I find Chairman Son's move to counter (the FSS waring) with a lawsuit to be inappropriate," the FSC chairman said on Jan. 6. "I am extremely uncomfortable with Son and his company talking about possible lawsuits in the absence of any discussions on how the company can make an improvement (in relation to the sales of Lime Asset Management funds)." The government's pressure on Son came as the CEOs of other banking groups, such as Cho Yong-byoung of Shinhan Financial Group and BNK Financial Group Chairman and CEO Kim Jin-wan, dropped out leadership races. They were widely anticipated to easily secure another term. "The government's move certainly contradicts Yoon's market-driven economy, as it can prompt financial firms to read the government's intentions when it comes to leadership," a member of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a Seoul-based civic activist group, said on condition of anonymity. "The government's move is also ambiguous considering it looked as if it is fully poised to back the banking industry and real estate market through deregulations," he added. The civic activist was referring to the FSC chairman's announcement in July 2022 when he highlighted the need to revamp rules that restrict non-financial businesses from owning banks. Korea restricts industrial capital from being used to purchase stakes in banks and financial institutions in a bid to make it hard for business owners to use them as their private ATMs. Under the rule, businesses can only own up to a 4 percent stake in a bank. The country's top financial regulator then stressed that the so-called separation of industrial and financial capital constitutes major red tape that hampers financial firms from going digital. The chairman also emphasized that the government will make efforts to ease regulations to allow local financial companies to do anything their foreign competitors can. He viewed that all regulations and practices thus should be under review for changes. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, right, speaks with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo before his ministry's New Year briefing at the state guest house of Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office, in central Seoul, Jan. 3. The ministry announced it will lift property-related regulations in most of Seoul and metropolitan areas beginning on Jan. 5 as an extended measure to revitalize the housing market. Yonhap Regarding the housing market, the government lifted property-related regulations in most of Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan areas beginning on Jan. 5. The measure was extended from the previous overhaul of regulations in the housing market that saw a surge in prices, but recently has been cooling down fast due to strict regulations and higher borrowing rates. All of Seoul and its adjacent metropolitan areas are no longer subject to restrictions except for four districts _ Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa in southern Seoul and Yongsan in central Seoul. The government also lifted the "apartment presale price cap system," which was regarded as one of the strongest measures taken by the government to clamp down on housing prices. The system was implemented in 2019 for apartments to be built by private builders amid signs of escalating home prices. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk through the colonnade of the White House on their way to the Oval Office, Jan. 13. AFP-Yonhap U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their commitment to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in their bilateral summit held in Washington, Friday. The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing trilateral cooperation to that end among their countries and South Korea, according to a joint statement, released by the White House. "We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions," said the released statement. "President Biden reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the immediate resolution of the abductions issue," it added, referring to the issue of Japanese nationals believed to have been kidnapped by North Korea decades ago. Family and friends of Alexandria Mulrooney filed into a courtroom Friday morning, Jan. 13, donning shirts with the phrase, Justice for Allie, and holding photos. The courtroom was full of tears, embraces and a hunger for justice. My life and the life of my loved ones has been forever changed since that day, Christine Mulrooney, Alexandria Mulrooneys mother, said. Christine Mulrooney was referring to Dec. 10, the day Matthew Dreyer, 49, hit her daughter, who was walking down an Albany street, with his car and then fled. Alexandria Mulrooney, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene. About a month after the fatal crash, family and friends of Alexandria Mulrooney had the chance to see Dreyer punished for his crimes. Linn County Circuit Court Judge Heidi Sternhagen sentenced Dreyer to two years in prison and 60 days in jail. He was convicted of failure to perform duties of a driver to seriously injured persons and tampering with physical evidence. Loved ones grieve Before Sternhagen sentenced Dreyer, she heard from multiple family members and friends of Alexandria Mulrooney, who shared memories and what their grieving process has been like. Christine Mulrooney said she takes a second look at people in grocery stores who look like her daughter before she realizes shell never see Alexandria Mulrooney again. Every day, I wake up and have to try not to remember my daughter, she said. Alexandria Mulrooneys sister Ashlliana Mulrooney said there is a hole in her heart. Besides being a daughter, sister and friend, Alexandria Mulrooney was also a mother. She leaves behind three children: Lily, 3, Hailey, 4, and Jeremy, 7. The two younger children will not remember their mama except through stories and pictures, Shaunna Schukis, Alexandria Mulrooneys aunt said. Schukis added that she thought Dreyer was spineless and pathetic for what he did. A crash and an investigation During the sentencing, prosecutor Robert Beaver shared with the court what happened during and after the crash, according to police reports. At around 4:22 a.m. Dec. 10, an early Saturday morning, Dreyer hit Alexandria Mulrooney with his pickup truck near the 1500 block of Geary Street Southeast. Dreyer later reportedly told police he didnt know he had hit a person, thinking it might have been a dog. Dreyer then fled the scene, leaving behind a glass headlight cover. His truck had front-end damage. Beaver said Dreyer had been driving uninsured and with a suspended license at the time of the collision. Glenda Mulrooney, Alexandria Mulrooneys grandmother, said in a victim impact statement that she doesnt sleep knowing that Dreyer left her granddaughter in the street like a bag of garbage. A woman who heard the crash called 911 and stayed with Alexandria Mulrooney until emergency responders arrived and attempted life-saving measures, according to family members. But it was to no avail. With no suspect in the vicinity, Albany police asked the public for help in identifying a potential suspect vehicle. Through tips from community members, police discovered the vehicle in question belonged to Dreyer. Dreyer initially told police his truck had been stolen and damaged, and thats why he put a new headlight on, according to Beaver. Dreyer eventually confessed to lying about this and admitted to thinking he had struck something on Dec. 10, Beaver said. Albany police arrested Dreyer Dec. 14. He was arraigned the next day on charges of failure to perform duties of a driver to seriously injured persons and tampering with physical evidence. Time in prison Beaver said the state was unable to prove criminal negligence in this case. The maximum penalty for the crimes to which Dreyer pleaded no contest is 24 months, which Beaver asked Sternhagen to impose. Prior to sentencing, Sternhagen said the state was unable to prove Dreyer had caused the crash, and Dreyers crimes were committed after the collision. Alexandria Mulrooneys cousin Anna Schukis argued Dreyer should receive the maximum punishment considering Allie has received the maximum sentence. Dreyers defense attorney Dillon Duxbury said he would not argue for a lesser sentence considering the circumstances. I think the gravity of the situation is felt by everyone in the room today, he said. Duxbury said investigators learned Dreyer was not speeding in the 35 miles per hour speed zone at the time of the crash. Dreyers sister spoke in defense of her brothers character but also spoke directly to Alexandria Mulrooneys family saying she heard their pain. You are seeing a snapshot of his life, she said. It does not define who he is as a human. Dreyer himself sat silent for most of the sentencing, only saying that he regretted what happened and he took full responsibility for his actions. At a point when you needed to take responsibility, you didnt, Sternhagen said to Dreyer. Related stories: Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks while Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi chairs a ministerial meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the promotion and strengthening of the rule of law in the maintenance of international peace and security, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Jan. 12. Reuters-Yonhap North Korea denounced United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Tuesday, who has said Pyongyang's "unlawful" nuclear weapons program is a "clear and present" danger to the world. "U.N. Secretary-General Guterres made the very improper remarks that the DPRK is a 'clear and existing danger,' terming the latter's legitimate and reasonable policy of strengthening nuclear forces an 'illegal one,'" Jo Chol-su, director general of the Department of International Organizations of the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency. "No matter how desperately the U.S. and its vassal forces may try, the international position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state, true to its name, will remain an eternally inerasable, stark reality." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. Alameda, California, Dec. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In partnership with leading Austrian utility company, Energie Steiermark, Natel Energy has just commissioned its first European hydropower project. Located on a tributary to the River Mur in Graz, Austria, the Sauerbrunn Hydro Project provides a modern, fish-safe source of renewable power expected to generate up to 100MWh annually, powering homes in the local community. Whats more, thanks to Natels ecologically-focused approach, the project maintains river connectivity for migratory fish. As fish safety becomes increasingly critical to western Europe, thanks in part to laws protecting local water ecology like the European Union Water Framework Directive, the demand for hydropower innovation is growing, giving fish-safe restorative hydropower startup Natel Energy the first-mover advantage in helping modernize Europes primary renewable energy source in way that meets EU standards. Austria, like the rest of Europe, is working hard to swiftly shift its energy sources to a greater number of renewable providers. Energie Steiermarks sustainable innovation hub, next incubator, selected fish-safe hydropower pioneer, Natel Energy, because in our endeavor to leverage untapped hydropower energy, this technology enables us to do so in a way that helps us both preserve and protect the fish and broader ecology of the regions waters, said Andreas Furst, who led management of the Sauerbrunn Hydro Project for Energie Steiermark. Providing Hydropower for Logistically Complex Sites The Sauerbrunn site is both remote and small, making the installation of a conventional hydropower turbine both expensive and challenging for the location. Leveraging the companys cornerstone technology, the Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT), Natel provides a hydropower solution that is compact enough to be easily deployed in logistically complex sites and provides the added benefit of improving the environment where it operates. In fact, the RHT is the only turbine in the world to be fish-safe while still matching standard installation configurations, commanding high efficiency, and being cost-effective. The Sauerbrunn project and the partnership between Natel Energy and Energie Steiermark serve as an early proof point that even the most complex sites can accommodate hydropower that supports biodiversity while also generating reliable, renewable power, said Natel CEO and co-founder Gia Schneider. Protecting Endangered Fish Species Natels Restoration Hydro Turbine has been shown, through numerous scientific studies, to provide an average of 99% safe passage for key migratory fish species. Conducted at Natels fish passage laboratory as well as at Natels RHT installations in Oregon and Maine in the USA, the studies have demonstrated safe passage for trout, American eel, and herring. Austrian rivers that are home to the endangered European eel are expected to notably benefit from Natels evolved turbine technology, as will rivers inhabited by trout, grayling, salmon, shad and herring. Working with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Natel Energy and Energie Steiermark plan to conduct fish testing at the new Sauerbrunn site within the first year of its operation to ensure high safe passage rates for local fish continue. Natels Continued Expansion The Sauerbrunn Hydro Project marks the third active project for Natel Energy and the springboard for Natels continued growth in Europe. The company is rapidly scaling, with an 80 MW project in development in Louisiana in the USA, and a partnership with Symbion Power to supply turbines for up to 33 projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. About Natel Energy Natel is expediting the energy transition with modern, sustainable hydropower that supports healthy rivers, and with accurate, timely decision-making tools that improve water resource management. Natels core innovations include fish-safe, compact, high-performance hydropower turbines and AI-powered water intelligence software that combines satellite and environmental data to deliver highly accurate forecasts. By applying these technologies to upgrade existing hydropower sites and develop new, low-impact projects around the world, Natel is working to save our planet with solutions designed to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. Natel is a privately held company located in Alameda, California in the United States. For more on Natel and their additional projects, please contact press@natelenergy.com. Attachments LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Jan. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Self-Made female entrepreneur, Maricela Cortez is the Founder and CEO of Bella Glam Salon & Spa, an all-in-one Studio and Training Academy that specializes in All Body Treatments including ABsculpting, Bodysculpting, Ice Sculpting, Non-Invasive BBL, Post-Op Massages, Hair Treatments including Hair Extensions, Color, Cuts, Makeup, Facials, Waxing, Eyebrows including Microblading, Microshading, Ombre Powder, Lamination, Tint, Eyelash including Extensions, Lamination, Tint, Teeth Whitening, Spray Tan, Fibroblast located in the center of Las Vegas, NV. Maricela started in a local salon and worked her way up into the casino & Spa industry. There is where she began working with many celebrities and high-profile entrepreneurs in the industry. Passionate about what skills and all the distinct services she offers, Maricela decided to launch Bella Glam Salon & Spa. Maricela Cortez- Founder and CEO of Bella Glam Salon & SPA Maricela Cortez is now a successful celebrity beauty expert with over 9 years of notable industry experience. Maricela's inventive expertise and distinct service offerings have grown Bella Glam into a proven, powerful force within the beauty aesthetics industry. Maricela Cortez is very passionate about empowering the lives of her clients. She now gives back by empowering other up-in-coming beauty experts. Maricela recently launched Bella Glam Academy to help develop the professions of other aspiring beauty entrepreneurs, through in-person and online certification courses on the services she currently offers. If you are interested in becoming your own boss don't hesitate to reach out to Bella Glam Academy for any questions. Bella Glam Academy also offers classes in Spanish. Soeleish Las Vegas Magazine recently ranked Maricela Cortez as the #1 beauty expert in Las Vegas based on her diversity, creativity, and sustainability. The small business publication noted 'Bella Glam Salon and Spa' is one of the most unique beauty salons/spas in Las Vegas offering a wide range of services like no other beauty salon/spa in the valley. The publication also noted 'Maricela Cortez' is a force to be reckoned with breaking through glass ceilings and leading the way for female beauty entrepreneurs in Las Vegas. Maricela Cortez is also co-hosting her very own networking events in Las Vegas for elite entrepreneurs and small business owners. This prestigious event brings out the top entrepreneurs and small business owners from all across the city. Most attendees fall in love with the atmosphere, ambiance, and amazing energy. You should expect to see more of Maricela Cortez's networking events across the West Coast in 2023. Maricela Cortez of Bella Glam Salon & Spa is an amazing womanpreneur, mompreneur, and extraordinary beauty expert. Follow Maricela on Instagram for all the latest updates and booking information @bella_glamvegas Bella Glam Salon & Spa https://bella-glam.square.site Phone: +1 702-302-9277 Instagram: @bella_glamvegas Instagram: @vegaz_mua TikTok: @bellaglam12 Facebook: Bella Glam Media Contact Company Name: Soeleish LLC Contact Person: Del Wayne Email: soeleishlasvegas@gmail.com Phone: 702-721-9788 State: Nevada Country: United States Website: https://slvmag.com China urges ROK to properly handle, manage THAAD issue Xinhua) 10:17, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) to continue to handle and manage the THAAD issue properly to prevent it from becoming a stumbling block impeding bilateral ties, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on the ROK's preparation of a draft report on the assessment of the environmental impact of the THAAD base. Wang said that China is closely following the ROK's moves on the THAAD issue and is maintaining communication with the ROK at all levels on this issue. "We hope that the ROK side will continue to handle and manage the THAAD issue properly in accordance with the consensus on THAAD reached between Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi and ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin when they met in Qingdao in August last year, so as to prevent it from becoming a stumbling block impeding bilateral ties," he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrive at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, Jan. 14. Yonhap President Yoon Suk Yeol said Saturday he expects to see "big achievements" from his state visit to the United Arab Emirates as he arrived with a business delegation representing some 100 firms. Yoon made the remark while meeting with top UAE officials at Abu Dhabi International Airport immediately after his arrival, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye. Yoon is the first South Korean leader to pay a state visit to the UAE since the two sides established diplomatic ties in 1980. "President Yoon said he is sincerely thankful for the warm welcome by the three gentlemen who are like symbols of the South Korea-UAE relationship," Kim told reporters, referring to UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazroui and Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi. Troops and weapon systems of the South Korean Army's TIGER Demonstration Brigade from the 25th Infantry Division's headquarters in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, are seen in this June 10, 2022, file photo. Yonhap A South Korean advanced Army unit armed with cutting-edge weapons is taking part in a joint field exercise with a Stryker Brigade Combat Team from the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division near the inter-Korean border. The drill kicked off Jan. 2 for a two-week run in the border city of Paju, about 30 kilometers north of Seoul, involving various weapons systems including the South Korean Army's K808 wheel-type armored vehicles, called "Baekho," the Stryker combat vehicles as well as reconnaissance drones and Hyungung anti-tank missiles. Around 800 troops from South Korea's TIGER Demonstration Brigade and the Stryker brigade deployed here in November last year as rotational force have been taking part in the battalion-level drills aimed at bolstering their combined operational capabilities against North Korea's military threats. It marks their first combined training. On Friday, the allies opened to media some parts of field drills at the Mugeon-ri exercise ground close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "Through this training, (we) were able to make the Army TIGER Demonstration Brigade's operational method more concrete and verify its inter-operability with combined forces," Lt. Col. Lee Jae-yong, battalion commander of the TIGER unit, said, according to the Army. It launched the TIGER brigade in June last year as the vanguard of a campaign to prepare for future warfare by expanding the use of cutting-edge weapons systems, such as artificial intelligence-powered drones, high-tech combat gear for soldiers and highly mobile armored fighting vehicles. TIGER is short for the transformative innovation of ground forces enhanced by the Fourth Industrial Revolution technology. (Yonhap) Fire on the Runway promotes African fashion -Founder Neka Malone Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Jan - 14 - 2023 , 08:07 Founder of Fire on the Runway, Neka Malone says fashion show held at Serenity House Ghana at Airport in Accra last December was geared towards promoting African fashion. The fashion event, organised by her outfit, Fire on the Runway International, a fashion production company, was part of Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) list of official events for December in GH 2022. It was the seventh edition but the first time being held in Ghana after successfully holding in countries such as USA. Themed, Sustainability and Diversity, the fashion show featured eight designers from Ghana, Ethiopia, Togo, Nigeria and USA. They include among others the works of designers such as Jerry Afrik and Zuriel from Ghana, Rahela Designs, Serelesti from Ethiopia. The event served as a great platform for young fashion designers in Africa to display their collection at the event which was dominated by people from the diaspora. There was also body art exhibition of first president of Ghana. Dr Kwame Nkrumah by artist Tafari Artworld. In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Monday, January 8, Neka Malone expressed her appreciation to stakeholders of December in GH for creating a suitable environment for young fashion entrepreneurs from Ghana and other African countries to market themselves. According to Neka Malone, the Fire on the Runway show afforded patrons, particularly those from the diaspora the chance to savour different creative works and not just music event which dominated the festive season. I had some reservations hosting the event here in Ghana but Im so grateful for the support. It was worth it especially giving our brothers and sisters from the diaspora the chance to experience African fashion, she added. Fire on the Runway International is a fashion production from Dallas TX USA with a mission to support African creatives across the world and their maiden fashion show in Ghana falls in line with the vision. The office of Beyond the Year of Return and Serenity House Ghana were partners for the fashion show. Restoring indigenous tree species: University for Development Studies leads campaign in northern Ghana Mohammed Fugu Features Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:58 Indigenous and native trees preserve the unique landscape and give localities their unique vegetative character. The tree species possess a lot of economic and medicinal benefits for communities, while also contributing significantly to addressing issues of climate change. Such species include Baobab, Bombax, Dawadawa, Marula, Lanea, Jujube and Shea. In northern Ghana, where these climate and weather resistant native trees are found, they are near extinction due to deforestation, which is adversely affecting communities and the ecosystem. Restoration To address the situation, the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture of the University for Development Studies (WACWISA-UDS), is working in some communities in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions to restore the depleted native trees and the ecosystem. Through the Climate Resilience and Ecosystems Services (CRES) Project being funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, six native tree species, including Dawadawa, Marula, Baobab, Bombax Lanea and Jujube, are being planted across the beneficiary areas. The project which started in 2021 and is expected to end in 2026, is being implemented in 15 communities in the Kumbungu District, Kassena-Nankana and Nandom municipalities. The beneficiary communities are Gbullung, Gizaa, Gundaa, Jakpahi, Kpalga, Jojing, Pindaa, Kanania, Kologo Naayir-Fonge and Naaga Pengo.The rest are Zemuoper, Tuoper, Kuselle, Gengekpe and Ketuo Under the project, WACWISA is undertaking community-based tree planting and carbon certification of 20,000 trees from the six multi-purpose species, developing a new drone-based method for mapping, characterising and sampling these multi-purpose trees for domestication and management. According to the Project Officer, Dr Dzigbodi Doke, so far, about 4,200 trees have been planted across the beneficiary communities out of the 20,000 expected to be planted by the end of the project in 2026. About 1,000 community members are expected to benefit directly from the project and 5,000 indirectly. Food, income diversity The Project Lead and Director of WACWISA-UDS, Prof. Felix Kofi Abagale, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said that the five-year project was aimed at increasing food and income diversity and climate change resilience of agricultural systems. He indicated that the trees were adaptable and resilient to the localities that were selected for the implementation and were also very useful in their livelihoods and ecosystem balance. He added: The project will empower local women and youth in rural areas through value-added products of these species through capacity building. In fact, we have observed that there are some trees that are adaptable to our environment, which have so many benefits to us, but these trees are gradually being destroyed. When I look around at all the baobab trees, I can confidently say that they are older than all of us, and the question is; if in our time we dont have any baobab trees, then how will the future look like, what will those who will come after us depend on? So we are looking at how we can support the planting of these trees beyond the life of the farmer, Prof. Abagale noted. Field visit During a recent visit to some of the beneficiary communities, it was observed that the tree seedlings which were planted last year were doing very well. For instance, in the Gizaa-Gundaa community in the Kumbungu District, the residents, particularly women, have embraced the project and have planted and nurtured the trees. A leader of the communitys women group, Bamunu Peter, told the Daily Graphic that they had been educated on the benefits of the trees, for which reason they had embraced the project. We used to cut down those trees for firewood and charcoal because we didnt know that they had many benefits, but now that we know, everybody is seriously planting and nurturing them on their farmlands, she said. For his part, the Chief of the area, Sabog-naa John Mahama Yakubu, described the project as timely, saying the community was currently feeling the direct impact of climate change, due to deforestation. He noted that aside from restoring the environment, trees such as the Dawadawa and Baobab were also a source of food and nutrients for the locals. He explained that "For instance the dawadawa fruits are used for cooking very nutritious food, while the waste water is also used for plastering our houses. Same can be said of the baobab leaves, which is used for soup, while flour is also extracted from the fruits for preparing porridge and even Tuo Zaafi. Be active citizens Dr John Osae-Kwapong Opinion Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:49 The late Prof. Kwame Gyekye once said this about democracy: I think it means, equally importantly, that democracy is a government whose form of practice derives in its entirety from the historical and cultural experiences of a people and is in conformity with their vision of how they want to be governed or govern themselves; a system of government born of the hopes and aspirations of a people and in the shaping of which the people have a real say and commitment to; a political structure to which the people, in consequence, have intellectual, ideological, and emotional attachments; a system of government that is considered by the people as their own and which they are ever prepared to protect and defend to the hilt. Notice the number of references to people in Prof. Gyekyes definition of democracy. It drives home the point that democracies do not sustain themselves but require active and engaged citizens. Civic habits such as voting, showing interest in the affairs of the state, discussing politics, etc. help sustain democracies. A vibrant civic culture enables citizens to stay informed, as well as find ways to communicate with their elected and non-elected public officers. It also enables public officeholders to be responsive to the needs of citizens and ensures accountability. Positive civic habits Ghanaians exhibit positive civic habits as captured through the Afrobarometer survey. When asked over nine rounds of the survey whether they voted in the most recent election, about seven out of ten (69 per cent) Ghanaians indicated that they do participate in the electoral process. Regarding their interest in public affairs, overall, about six out of ten (64 per cent) described themselves as being somewhat/ very interested in public affairs although at the last iteration of this question in 2014, there was a significant (14 percentage points) decline. Lastly, when asked how often they discuss politics, over nine rounds of the survey, seven out of ten (66 per cent) citizens said that they occasionally or often discussed politics. Despite these positive approaches, Ghanaians do not participate in collective action activities. The percentage of those who say they have joined others to raise an issue at least once has declined from 53 per cent in 1999 to 33 per cent in 2022. The percentage who say they have attended a demonstration at least once has also declined from an already low of nine per cent to five per cent in 2022. Weak spot Contacting public officials is another weak spot in the civic engagement habits of Ghanaians. How often do Ghanaians say they contact their member of parliament? Over nine rounds of the survey, overall, one out of ten (14 per cent) say they do. That percentage has not changed much, ranging between 13 and 16 per cent throughout nine rounds of the survey. On the 30th anniversary of constitutional democracy in Ghana, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education had this to say concerning the citizens approach to effective democracy: An indolent, disengaged citizenry cannot sustain a democracy. It is only in dictatorships that citizens are expected and indeed even encouraged to be passive. To maintain a successful democracy, all citizens must be fully engaged at all times. Although I agree in principle that democratic sustenance requires active and engaged citizens and that our Constitution has made several provisions that allow citizens to engage and be active; it occurs to me upon further reflection that there is a dimension to the call to be active and engaged citizens that is rarely discussed the cost or the price that has to be paid for citizens who choose to be active and engaged. It is, therefore, not enough for the state to call on citizens to be active. It is also not sufficient for the state to say that the Constitution has offered everything needed to be an active citizen. The state must demonstrate through word and especially deeds that active and engaged citizenship is needed and appreciated. Indeed, the actions and inaction of the state and its agents must reduce the cost or the price to pay for active and engaged citizenship. A good friend once asked me, Are you saying that people feel victimised when they speak up? to which I responded, The state, its agents, its supporters should not make speaking up costly, through things such as victimisation when citizens become active and engaged. I think we have seen several examples over the course of the 4th Republic, the high cost of active and engaged citizenship but we really do not talk about that aspect whenever we urge citizens to engage and be active. While we urge citizens to be active and engaged in a responsible manner, we must equally urge the state to reduce the cost and burden of active and engaged citizenship. President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Kun Hee depart for the UAE, Saturday, from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the United Arab Emirates, Saturday, as part of a two-nation tour focused on promoting Korean exports especially in energy and arms. Yoon is set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on a state visit, the first by a Korean leader since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980, and meet with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. During his four-day stay, he will also visit the Akh Unit, a South Korean military contingent, and the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant built by Korea, a symbolic measure reaffirming his commitment to scrapping the nuclear phase-out policy of his predecessor Moon Jae-in. "Choosing the UAE for the first foreign trip of the year and the first visit to a country in the Middle East reflects President Yoon's firm commitment to focusing our diplomacy on vitalizing the economy and increasing exports," national security adviser Kim Sung-han told reporters earlier. "Through this visit, we will drastically strengthen our strategic cooperation with the UAE, which is our brother nation, in the four core areas of nuclear power, energy, investment and the defense industry," he said, adding the first state visit to the UAE demonstrates the two countries' desire to upgrade their special strategic partnership to a higher level. The two sides are reportedly in the final stages of concluding around 30 memorandums of understanding involving their governments and the private sector, with energy, arms and investment among the key areas of cooperation. A senior presidential official said an announcement is planned for a deal to export South Korean arms to the UAE. "The atmosphere is extremely ripe for security or military cooperation between South Korea and the UAE involving the arms industry," the official said. Yoon will also be accompanied by a business delegation made up of officials from 100 South Korean companies, supporting their expansion into the UAE and discussing possibilities for cooperation with the UAE sovereign wealth fund. From the UAE, Yoon will travel to Zurich, Switzerland, Tuesday and meet with South Korean residents in the city before traveling to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum from Wednesday to Thursday. At Davos, the president will meet with CEOs of major global companies and discuss ways the government and the private sector can work together to overcome complex global crises and ensure sustainable growth. The CEOs will include Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung from among chiefs of South Korean conglomerates, as well as the CEOs of Intel, IBM, Qualcomm, JP Morgan and Sony. On Thursday, the president will give a special address to the forum on ways the international community can work together to overcome the global economic crisis. He will present ideas for international cooperation and solidarity for the strengthening of supply chains, the transition to clean energy and the construction of a digital order, while also stating South Korea's role and commitment to achieving those goals. Yoon will visit the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich the same day to meet with scholars and discuss cooperation in science and technology. He will return home next Saturday. (Yonhap) Stranded in Nairobi Edmund Smith-Asante Opinion Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:52 It was my most uncomfortable flight on the Boeing 737 800 Kenyan Airways flight from Accra to Nairobi on November 21, 2015, due to the small nature of the three-tier seats. To add insult to injury as they say, I had to make do with a middle seat, sandwiched between a lady and a gentleman who were more endowed in size than I am. Maybe, what came as compensation and a blessing to me was the fact that I had some more legroom than those on the other rows because I was seated on the emergency exit lane. That, however, did not take away my discomfort throughout the six-hour flight. Although I tried to make the best of the situation by trying to catch some sleep, the size of the seat plus the fact that I couldnt recline it as much as I could because there was someone behind me, did me in. Arrival at Jomo Kenyatta We finally landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, after what seemed like an endless but smooth night flight. Arrival time at the airport was approximately 7 a.m. (local time - 4 a.m. back in Ghana), having experienced a delayed take-off from Accras Kotoka International Airport (KIA). The only explanation passengers received from airline officials was apologies for delaying our boarding. After I had gone through arrival formalities, I proceeded to the exit of the arrival hall, expecting to find someone waiting to pick me up to the hotel I would be lodging. As we say, lo and behold, I couldnt find any sign, after countless scanning of the inscriptions that were held by several welcoming parties. Frustration began to set in but I decided to hang on for a few more minutes. The long wait and rescue So what happens to me if no one comes for me as I was promised before heading for Nairobi, I asked myself. Someway somehow, however, I knew I would eventually arrive at my hotel, although I had no local currency or foreign currency on me. But how could that have escaped me? It never struck me to put some foreign currency (dollars) on me. Some military and police personnel stationed at the airport approached me and attempted a rescue operation. They, however, failed because all the phone contacts I had did not go through. At the Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport An airport security official also took the list of contacts I had with me and tried to offer some assistance. It was the same story no success in getting those contacts. He then took me to a hiring company that was stationed at the airport but the counter lady said she could not be of help if I had no ready cash on me. Nonetheless, she said my charge would be $20. What? Well, I would have agreed if I had such money on me. So when that failed I decided to take my destiny into my own hands look for a taxi driver who would agree to take me to the hotel and come back later for his money when I had made contact with the organisers. I almost succeed when a cab driver I approached agreed to take me to my hotel. Let me go back for my luggage then we will go, I told him. I had left my luggage at the hiring companys counter. God appeared Talk about Gods intervention as an on-time God. Just as I turned to go, I saw this young lady holding a sign that bore the name of the organisers of the conference I was attending. I would not have seen it under normal circumstances because she had not held it up but had it in her hands together with other papers. How I saw the sign still remains a mystery to me. Aha! I have been looking out for you since I arrived, I told the lady who later gave her name as Diana. We have been looking for you too and we went to the information desk but we were unsuccessful, she said, apologising profusely for making me go through so much stress. Stress! Did I go through stress? Any form of stress I may have experienced instantaneously dissipated. Hmm! What a scare! As they say, all is well that ends well. I had waited for about two hours, just figuring out how to get to my hotel. I heaved a sigh of relief as I was led to a waiting cross-country vehicle belonging to the Nairobi Water Company. After picking up another delegate, I was finally taken to my hotel. Lessons learnt 1. Always carry some foreign money on you, preferably dollars, no matter where you are going. 2. When you get stranded look for the information desk around. 3. Make a move and take your own destiny into your own hands when all else fails, God will show up when you least expect him to. Why do Ghanaians do so great as individuals, but flunk as a corporate? My Theory Ace Anan Ankomah Opinion Jan - 14 - 2023 , 22:04 CAVEAT: Rambling thoughts. Contains several generalisations. Its about bringing all we have to the the table as a collective. Somehow were missing out on that. Are we simply incapable of working together? Do we prefer flying solo? Then We are doomed. So lemme get controversial. Where is the so-called corporate Ghana, and can anyone show me any 5 indigenous Ghanaian-owned business in Ghana that have survived the lives of their founders or principals? What I mean is that the single-owned businesses wont take us anywhere. We are running glorified table top kingsway shops that only feed a family. We dont create the kind of unimaginable wealth that builds nations. For a start, the majority of our business people are necessity entrepreneurs, working just to survive. On the flip side, and maybe what we need, are opportunity entrepreneurs, people who understand how to gather the capital that competes with other capital and thereby build the kind of wealth that pushes a nation forward. So I look back and ask: what businesses did our forefathers and mothers do? Farming? Fishing? Hunting? Trading? Why did my grandpa and your grandpa have farms next to each other, and yet spent all the time fighting and litigating over the boundaries? Why didnt they sit, measure the lands, merge the lands and efforts to create a new entity that was different from them, was more powerful and better resourced than them, and could do business in its own name, develop its own goodwill, acquire its own credit etc? England discovered, almost by accident, the artificial person, persona ficta, as Sinibaldo Fieschi who became Pope Innocent IV, named it. It was at first a Canon law principle meant to describe the relationships between the bishop and the church, and so separate their existence from each other. But mercantile England borrowed the concept and applied it to the joint businesses they established, so that the joint business had a life of its own, which was separate from the venturers. With that joint power, the mercantile class was soon gathering huge capital that any single operator could not have gathered on his own. With that wealth they could expand bigger and compete better. Slave missions (the downside of my theory) became the prime example of this new business model. No single person has the financial muscle to rent a ship, kit it for slave capture, hire men with guns, prepare food for them and 100s of poor souls, come to West Africa (mostly Ghana) and wait for months for the cargo to arrive from inland, then sail all the way to the new world, sell, and return to England with the money to be divided (dividend) among the owners according to how much each of them invested (shares) in the venture. So they would come together, pool resources, record what each brought to the table, set down the rules of the trade, acquire a royal charter, and then off the ship sails to Ghana! But these were single ventures that tended to wind up after each trip. Nevertheless, this concept of doing business through an ephemeral entity of joint resources that was considered a person, spread through Europe. What it meant was that until profits are divided between the venturers either at the end of the venture or after an agreed period, the money of the business was and remained the money of the business. No one could dip his fingers into it at the end of the day to send his Secretary to buy him kenkey for dinner. And all that you got was your portion of profits, and even that, after some of it has been ploughed back into the business so that the venturers didnt always have to reinvest, but the entity would continue to feed them. They distinguished between what was SEED and what was FEED! This business model didnt really ride on trust or friendship, but a brutal enforcement of the agreed body of rules. It required written agreements at the start, which determined who brought what (shareholders), and who runs what (directors), and how the business is run, altogether becoming known as the memorandum and articles of incorporation. Those rules were rigidly applied and taking money that hadnt been divided to you wasnt just a breach of your fiduciary duties: it was treated as theft and you could go to jail for it! Thats how the business entities survived even the lives of the principals, whose names literally took a back seat for the business to develop its own goodwill, grow, make wealth beyond their wildest dreams and pay taxes beyond the highest expectations of the countries. When the principals died, the successors didnt invade the entitys office and distribute its assets as if the assets were part of the deceaseds estate. All the successors got, was the principals share of the business. The business remained. Ghana? No so. Often the companies are formed only because the banks require it before you can open an account or obtain credit in the name of the business. We mix corporate property and private property, with no distinctions between them. We run them like personal fiefdoms and chop all the money while at it. The son of the MD drives the companys vehicle, at the cost of the company, when hes not an employee. The local business construct therefore lives on permanent life support, and dies with the principals. The accretion of capital that gives Pepsi the impudence, temerity and audacity to compete with Coke doesnt exist. Brands appear at the first breath and disappear with the next intake of air. So I ask, show me 5 indigenous Ghanaian-owned businesses that have survived the lives of their founders. I could mention the names of such businesses that didnt survive because they are a pesewa a dozen, and tell you how they collapsed with death; but I dont know who I may offend here. Until we understand that what sika doesnt like, isnt dede, but nkwasiasem, we arent flying. The lack of serious business attitudes and the penchant for necessity-based entrepreneurship are why the waakye sellers waakye runs out with 10 people in line waiting to give her precious money; and then she brags that her waakye is so nice that it runs out! Meanwhile what she probably needs is a business partner who has no such baseless emotional attachment to her waakye, and who will enforce strategy and measurement and projection. What you measure is what you get. What you dont, cant or wont measure is lost. That strict sense of measurement, is best expressed in enforcing a separation between the human and the business. Until we learn to do business as business should be, and has been, done everywhere else but here, we will have the small-small businesses that give us little beyond personal comfort, feed our families, send the kids to school abroad from where they dont return, and when daddy and mummy die, they will come and sell the house, share the money and return to invest that money abroad where they now have a life! My mouth has fallen. They call me Ace 2023 Ghana Education News UG freshers frustrated over accommodation issues Yaa Kuffour Senyah & Jemima Okang Addae Education Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:44 Many fresh students who have been offered admission to study at the University of Ghana, Legon are still stranded due to difficulty in accessing accommodation. Nearly two weeks since school reopened, the situation has led both parents and students frustrated as they search for accommodation at hostels on campus or nearby to have the fresh students participate actively in the currently ongoing orientation process. This year, the university has admitted 16,000 freshmen but with bed spaces to accommodate only 6,000 students, those unable to secure accommodation have to find other available alternatives. At the Commonwealth, Akuafo and Legon halls of the university this week, scores of students and parents with their luggages waited in queues to secure available rooms. Portal A number of affected students and parents, seemingly left stranded at the various halls, explained that the system for securing accommodation through the portal system, as instructed by the authorities, did not work, and that it was difficult to register for the rooms online. And when they made efforts to go through the process manually, the parents and students said they were told that the rooms were fully occupied. A Human Resource student, Baba Rahman, said even though he had gone through all the processes, he was still unable to get a room for the past week, which made it difficult for him to go for his orientation. Coming from as far as Sefwi Wiawso, if I do not get a room by the close of the week, I will have no choice but to stop the school and apply next year because I cannot afford a hostel, he lamented. A parent, Mary Baidoo, explained that with her ward unable to access the portal to register for a room, they had been going back and forth with their belongings for the past week with the hope of getting a bed space, but to no avail. Looking at the way things are going, I need to painfully dip my hand into my pocket and find a private hostel which currently costs not less than Gh7,000 in this current economy, she said. She called on the management of the university to step up in working on the online portal for registration to ensure a smooth allocation of rooms for fresh students. We are being told there is an injunction on the registration process in this hall, so we are waiting to hear from the school authorities. If not, I will have to come from my home at Kasoa for lectures every day, a Business Administration fresher, Michael Mensah, told the Daily Graphic at the Commonwealth Hall. A Biological Science student, Sarah Adjei, said with the current accommodation issues, she had psyched herself to come from home to avoid the stress that came with it. Observations At the Akuafo and Commonwealth halls, suitcases were lined up in front of the building as students desperately sought for accommodation. Unfortunately, a number of them were still unable to secure a room for themselves. However, at the Legon Hall, fewer people could be seen at the entrance of the building seeking for accommodation. Management has assured that everything possible was being done to remedy the situation, but that there were some unfortunate challenges such as inadequate financial resources. UPSA At the University of Professional Studies, Accra, there were a few students on campus completing the registration process to enable them start lectures in the coming week. A Business Administration student, Felix Mensah, stated that he had faced no difficulty in completing his registration. The whole process, I must confess, has been smooth for me because most people are done with their registration, so we do not have to wait in line. The process is stress-free. It will only be difficult if you did not bring the necessary documents, he said. Marina Boateng, a Banking and Finance student who was getting her courses registered, said she had faced no challenges, and was only on campus to finalise her courses to get ready for active lectures on Monday. 56 vessels grounded under Ghana's new IUU fishing measures - Hawa Koomson Zadok Kwame Gyesi Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:13 Out of the 76 fishing vessels in Ghana, only 19 are currently on the seas fishing. The remaining 56 vessels have not been cleared to go fishing due to non-compliance with the new fishing gear regime by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD). The new fisheries management measures which have been introduced by the Ministry to prevent Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing on Ghanaian waters, forbids any vessel with unauthorised fishing gear (fishing nets) to fish on Ghanaian waters. The Minister in charge of MoFAD, Mavis Hawa Koomson, in an interview with Graphic Online on Friday, January 13, 2023, said the Ministry was poised to weed out all forms of IUU fishing on Ghanaian waters. She said the Ministry was not leaving any stone unturned in its efforts to comply with internationally accepted sustainable fishing practices. She explained that the lack of proper fishing gears such as fishing nets was a major contributor to IUU fishing all over the world and that Ghana was no exception, hence the decision of the Ministry to start the IUU fight from the fishing gear. Madam Hawa Koomson said the Ministry together with its agencies and departments had started a new and strict inspection efforts at the ports, all aimed at ensuring that all fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters have the right type of gears before they are cleared to fish. She said the Ministry would not relax its efforts to flush out non-complying fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters. Additionally, the Fisheries Minister cautioned that the Ministry would not hesitate to hand hefty punishment as prescribed in the Ghanaian fisheries laws, on any of the 19 vessels currently fishing on Ghanaian waters should they engage in any form of IUU fishing. She was of the view that IUU fishing was denying the country of its needed revenues as well as contributing to the depletion of the countrys fish stocks. For Madam Hawa Koomson, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development would not sit aloof for some selfish individuals to plunge the countrys fisheries sector into chaos through IUU fishing. We have given them very specific gears that they should use for fishing, she noted. The Minister also explained that the Ghana Maritime Authority had directed all fishing vessels to refurbish their vessels to ensure that they were safe for use. Madam Hawa Koomson said the Ministry would not compromise on the safety of fishers on any vessels fishing on Ghanaian waters, stressing that any vessel that would fail to comply with the safety measures would not be allowed to fish on Ghanaian waters. Additionally, she noted, to prevent illegal trans-shipment at sea, the Ministry had cancelled its 15 per cent allowable bycatch by the industrial fishing vessels. She said no fishing vessels should have any bycatch at all and that all the 19 vessels currently at sea on Ghanaian waters were complying with the new directive. We do inspection before their departure and when they come, we also go to inspect what they brought, Madam Hawa Koomson pointed out. Also, speaking at the just ended 14th session of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2023, the Fisheries Minister pledged the commitment of Ghana to work with other coastal countries in the ECOWAS region to fight IUU. Background Ghana was on June 2, 2021 issued with a Yellow Card by the European Union (EU). This is because Ghana was identified by the EU as a non-cooperating third party state in fighting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU). Ghana first received a Yellow Card in 2013 and was lifted in 2015 when the country introduced some reforms in the fisheries sector to tackle the menace. However, the issues raised by the EU for the second Yellow Card included inadequacies in the area of legal framework to fight IUU; illegal trans-shipment at sea of large quantities of undersized juvenile pelagic species between industrial trawl vessels and canoes on Ghanaian waters; expired Marine Fisheries Management Plan (2015-2019); expired National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU (NPOA-IUU)-2014-2018; deficiencies in the monitoring, control and surveillance of the fleet; as well as lack of deterrent sanctions imposed on vessels engaging in or supporting IUU fishing activities on Ghanaian waters. Yellow Card The Yellow Card is an official warning issued by the EU to trading partners falling short of tackling IUU fishing. The Yellow Card is a warning and offers Ghana the opportunity to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time. At this stage, the decision does not entail any measures affecting trade. However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance, countries can ultimately face a procedure of identification (a so-called red card), which entails sanctions such as the prohibition to export their fishery products to the EU market. The Yellow Card starts a formal dialogue in which the Commission and the country issued with the warning work together to solve all issues of concern. Coming out of the Yellow Card Madam Hawa Koomson was hopeful that considering the new measures Ghana was putting in place, the country would soon come out of the Yellow Card. She said Ghana would continue to comply with internationally accepted sustainable fishing measures and also work with its trade partners such as the European Union, to ensure that the country was free from IUU fishing. Ajumako Ochiso raises funds for development projects Shirley Asiedu-Addo Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:59 The people of Ajumako Ochiso in the Central Region are determined to make their community better for its current and future generations. With that resolve, they have committed to raise funds for the construction of a new basic school block to replace the old dilapidated Methodist School which has existed for about 100 years. The indigenes of Ajumako have already raised over GH125,000 for the project and called on all and sundry to support the initiative. The school has a great and unique history and was critical for the development of education in the area. Almost all the people of Ajumako Ochiso and many other adjoining communities have sat through the classrooms of the school before, as it served the main middle school in the area. The school is currently the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) centre, not only for Ajumako Ochiso, but other nearby communities. Current state Unfortunately, following its current dilapidated nature, there have been threats to take the BECE centre away from Ajumako Ochiso. The initiative by the Ajumako Ochisoman Development Association, which formed part of activities to mark the Christmas festivities last December, is to develop the school into a modern educational facility. The seed money would be used to commence the construction of a one-storey 10-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for the Ochiso Methodist Basic School, formerly called the Amalgamated Middle School. According to the people, the initiative was their way of giving back to the school and the town that made them who they were. The association also plans to build a modern community durbar ground for social gathering, provide street lights and see to the construction of some town roads. Conducive educational environment The Chairman of the Ochisoman Development Association, Charles Kojo Amoah Snr., explained that aside contributing to the towns development, the efforts were also to meet the high demand for quality education globally. He indicated that quality education in a conducive environment for the towns youth was necessary to prepare them for a fast-changing world. According to him, the state of the school that made them who they were was worrying and did not befit the status of the town and its people, hence the need to construct a new one for the town. We are committed to ensuring accelerated development in our community. We can do it. The school in particular made us who we are and we are happy to give back, he stated. Other targeted projects Aside the school building, he said the association would also construct a befitting durbar ground, some key roads within the town and fix streets lights. The Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam constituency, Dr Casiel Ato Forson, who was present, made a cash donation of GH5,000 and pledged 50 bags of cement towards the project. He described the initiative as laudable and called on all well meaning natives to support the initiative. An Executive member of the association, Alfred Kobina Otsiwa, noted that with the enthusiasm shown by the members, the project would begin in the first quarter of this year. School development The Omankrado of Ajumako Ochiso, Nana Koso Dum, commended the residents for their positive action towards the growth and development of their community. He said the development of the school had been a source of concern, adding that the role education plays in community and nation building was immeasurable. He urged the younger generation to stick to the values of their communities and be dedicated to its development. The assembly members of the town, Alex Ankomah and Maxwell Mensah, were also grateful for the initiative by the Ochisoman Development Association. They expressed worry that the quality of education in the town was dipping due to poor infrastructure. They, however, pledged on their part to mobilise the people for communal labour when the project begins. Chief Director bows out after 31 years of service Elizabeth Konadu-Boakye Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:12 The Ministry of Works and Housing last Thursday held a farewell ceremony for their former Chief Director, Solomon Atiim Asoala, to officially mark his retirement after three decades of service to the country. Mr Asoala who worked as the Chief Director of the ministry for over six years was honoured at the ceremony with various citations, gifts and paintings from the ministry and other government agencies. Held at the forecourt of the ministry in Accra, the ceremony brought together high-profile personalities from the ministry and the government officials such as the Head of Local Government, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, the former minister of works and housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, Head of Civil service, Nana Kwesi Agyekum-Dwamena, Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye and representatives from other ministries who eulogised the former Director for his great service. Carrot and Stick The acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Rev. Stephen Yaw Osei, said Mr Asoala performed excellently while in office, adding that those who knew him and worked with him knew that he used what he called the carrot and stick approach. He used what I call the carrot and stick approach, that means he will correct you with the stick and give you a carrot to chew so that your pain will go down, he said. He thanked Mr Asoala for his service to the ministry, adding that the ministry would always approach him for consultations from his vast experience when need be. Foresight A former Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, also said although he, at a point in his service to the ministry, had some misunderstanding with the former chief director, they had an excellent friendship and a good time working together to build the countrys housing sector. He described Mr Asoala as a foresighted man who helped him greatly in his administration as a minister. I found myself in a very critical position especially being a novice and a new minister in the sector and sometimes without the ability and the knowledge of a good chief director, it is not easy to function as a minister, he said. He suggested that Mr Asoala channel his vast knowledge on civil service into a book or open a consultancy at a fee. Reminiscing the good and bad times spent with the former Chief Director, the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said Mr Asoala was a strong pillar in the ministrys possibilities in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as through him the ministry became the first to successfully integrate the Electronic-Learning system across the civil service of the country. Appreciation In a word of appreciation to all who supported him in his three decades of service, Mr Asoala thanked everyone who helped him in diverse ways throughout his career, adding that he was taken aback by all the gifts and wonderful speeches about him. For all these accolades, I couldnt have done it alone. It was a collective effort by everyone I worked with to see to the success of whatever vision was before us, he said. He pledged to continually support the ministry with counsel and any form of support they would need. Samuel Atta Akyea, former Minister of Works and Housing, delivering his address Child adoption awareness up - Average of 5 adopted monthly Augustina Tawiah Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:58 In times past, formal adoption of children was not a welcome idea as it was considered foreign to the culture of Ghana. In recent times, however, awareness creation and education have led to a growing interest in adoption as a solution for childlessness by individuals and couples who desire to be parents. Per statistics from the Department of Social Welfare (DSW), on the average, it receives from across the country about 20 applications for adoption a month. The average number of applications that receive the courts order of adoption, which is the document that completes an adoption process, is reported to be five a month. The Head of the Central Adoption Authority at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), Stephen Tikai Dombo, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the numbers of adoption applications had been increasing because "Awareness on adoption is now on the increase and people are getting to know of adoption so they have interest to go through the process to adopt. People are patronising adoption in the country now," he emphasised. However, completing the adoption process is not as easy as applying for it because it can take months, sometimes years, to complete the process. What is and why adoption? Adoption is the social, emotional and legal process in which children who will not be raised by their birth parents become full and permanent legal members of another family. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with affiliation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents. Those adopting are people who do not have their own biological or natural children and those who have their own biological children but love to provide care and support for children. Aside from the two categories, Ghanaians who were resident outside the country come down to adopt their relatives or non-members of their families and take them to their places of abode to provide them with better opportunities. Relative adoption was when an applicant adopts a family member while non-relative adoption has to do with an applicant adopting someone they have no relations whatsoever with. Adoption law, process Mr Dombo said in the past, everything on adoption was under Children Act of 1998, (560), however, there were some challenges with this act, so in 2016, it was amended to make way for Act 937 (2016) which provided for the establishment of the Central Adoption Authority (CAA). The Central Adoption Authority involves three structures: the adoption board which ensured the development of policies to safeguard the best interest of the Ghanaian child, the technical committee and the adoption secretariat which oversees the day-to-day administrative work of the authority. Under the Act, the Central Adoption Authority has the mandate to coordinate all adoptions in the country in a manner that promotes the welfare, wellbeing as well as the best interest of the child. Anyone desirous of adopting a child must call at any of the offices of the DSW to purchase the in-country adoption application forms after which a Social Welfare officer would be detailed to visit their homes to do some home assessment of the applicant. He said based on their observation and findings, the social welfare officer would prepare a report, the home study report, on the applicant, and that report formed part of the requirement for adoption. Apart from the home study report, other requirements such as a marriage certificate, if it was applicable to the applicant, birth certificates which were necessary because of age cuts in adoption, livelihoods, a medical report and police clearance of the applicant to verify that they were medically fit to adopt and had no criminal record, such as child abuse. Once these requirements are provided, the applications submitted at the regional office are then forwarded to the Central Adoption Authority where they are reviewed and a final assessment done before approval is given for the placement of adoptable children. While the law does not permit a single man to adopt a child, a single woman can. This is simply explained away that it is due to the traditional role women have as caregivers. Non-adoptable children Though there were many children at the various children's homes across the country, per the laws in Ghana, not every one of them could be adopted. Children who could not be adopted included missing children, children with special disabilities and sicknesses, such as HIV and hydrocephalus, children whose mothers were serving prison terms for which reason their families had refused to take care of them and children who needed special care because they were so tender and therefore could not be taken care of at the family level. The categories of children that are adoptable are orphans, abandoned children and children that are relinquished by their parents to the state because they have a number of children and they cannot take care of the new baby. Age cuts for adoption in Ghana For non-relative adoption, Mr Dombo said anybody above 50 years could not adopt and to adopt a non-relative, one was expected to be 50 years or below. For relative adoption, he said, the applicant must be up to 65 years. Mr Dombo said the law did not permit a single man to adopt a child. However, a single woman could and that was because, should a single man adopt a girl, for instance, there was the chance that he might end up abusing such a child sexually or otherwise. Match-ups, bonding, clearance At the technical committee level, matching of the adoptable child to the applicant's preferences and placement is done using two documents- the home study report from the Social Welfare officer detailed to the applicant and the child study. When the matching is done, a child placement proposal is issued to the applicant asking whether they accept the child or not and based on their response, a letter is sent to the regional Social Welfare officer or her representative to take the applicant to a residential home to meet the adoptable child for the first time and also take the child home to stay with them for 30 days. This 30-day period, also known as the bonding period, is to enable the applicant bond with the child. After that bonding period, another report, known as the post placement report, is prepared by the regional Social Welfare office and sent to the CAA who then issues a clearance based on that report. The Head of the CAA at the MOGCSP explained that clearance was a letter instructing the applicant to proceed to court to continue with the legal process to adopt the child. He said at the court, after being satisfied with the verification process, the court gave the final order of adoption, meaning the process was complete. "When the court issues the order of adoption, it means the adoption is complete. The applicant presents to the Central Adoption Authority a copy of the adoption order for us to write to the Births and Deaths Registry for the name of the child to be changed to the new parents preferred name. When that is done, the adoptive parent can now take the child home and the regional Social Welfare officer who came to do the home study report, will monitor you for the next five years and will on a quarterly basis, report to the CAA on the progress of the child and that brings the process to an end." Quoting the Children Amendment Act of 2016 (Act 937), Mr Dombo said at least by age 13, adopted parents were expected to disclose to the adopted child that he or she was adopted. Delays? He explained that any delays that might occur in the process were not from the Central Adoption Authority but rather the applicants. "If an applicant puts in some preference for a child and the child is not available on the database/register of adoptable children, definitely that request will delay, Mr Dombo said. Therefore, the delays were not from the authority but the applicants and they must be open to any child because assuming you are pregnant and you give birth to any other child than what you wanted, will you reject the child, he asked. Experience Though the processes seem simple and should encourage people to adopt, some persons who have adopted children told the Daily Graphic that the adoption process was frustrating and very bureaucratic. Sharing her experience, Akua Bema (not her real name), said even though she understood that because of the legal implications the process required a lot of paperwork, the tossing around and frustrations made it very cumbersome. It takes a lot of patience to endure what one goes through, else you will give up without achieving the aim. The delays and being tossed back and forth. Having to make payments with receipts to cover only a fraction of the payments, she said. Ms Bema said it had been six years when together with her husband, she began the process and they were still going through but they were nowhere near the end. She added that the child being adopted was even not from a residential home but that of her cousin who died during childbirth. Because I was close to her, my husband and I decided to adopt the baby as the father had also died in a car accident. Sometimes, we want to leave things as they are, but for the sake of documentation and protecting the child, we are still waiting to see the end of this process, Ms Bema said. She also recounted meeting a number of couples who had also raised similar concerns about the adoption process. It is not friendly and encouraging; the people at the Department of Social Welfare make it look as if they are doing you a favour, the potential foster mother said. Childs best interest Responding to concerns that the process was cumbersome, Mr Dombo explained that unlike a marriage contract where people could walk away, adoption was permanent and so it was important that all the due diligence was done for the best interest of the child. "So if the long period will help the child, we will work to ensure that the best interest of the child is protected and insured." He said although the process for adoption for both forms was the same, often the process was faster with relative adoption because with that, the child was already there and most of the processes were already taken care of, so it could take about two months for the court to issue the order of adoption in that process. On the other hand, he said for the non-relative adoption, the CAA would have to find a child within the register of adoptable children and match them with the applicants preferences, explaining that the duration for this was dependent on applicants preferences. "If an applicant put in some preference for a child and the child is not available on the database register of adoptable children, definitely that request will delay. The delays are not from us, but the applicants because of their preferences, Mr Dombo emphasised. Change of mind The MOGCSP Head of the CAA said there had been instances where after the whole process of adoption had been completed, applicants came back citing various reasons including bad and strange behaviours from the adopted child as reasons why they no longer wanted that particular child. He clarified that in those cases they could not accept the children back because by law, once the court had issued the order of adoption, the applicant could not return the child. "Assuming that it was your own biological child behaving in a way you don't like, what would you do? So whatever interventions you would use to make sure that your biological child changes their behaviour, you should use same for the adopted child," he advised. Estate developer in court over land sale fraud Justice Agbenorsi Jan - 14 - 2023 , 09:05 An estate developer has been arraigned at the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly collecting GH385,000 from his colleague to secure him a parcel of land he did not own nor had access to at Cantonments in Accra. According to the police, checks at the Lands Commission indicated that the land belonged to the State. Daniel Tortor Torgbor was charged with defrauding by false pretence when he appeared before the court, presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and has since been remanded in police custody to reappear on Monday. Narrating the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Agatha A. Asantewaa, said in 2016, the complainant was approached by two estate agents, George Abu Kandala and Issah Boti, who informed him that there was a parcel of land at Cantonments for sale. The prosecutor said the complainant expressed interest, and was introduced to the accused person as the owner of the said piece of land. C/Insp. Asantewaa said the complainant subsequently negotiated with the accused, and they agreed on $700,000 for the acre of land. She said Torgbor demanded and collected GH385,000, the equivalent of $100,000 at the time, to enable him to prepare documents covering the land, but failed to honour the terms. C/Insp. Asantewaa said checks at the Lands Commission by the complainant indicated that the said land was for the State and not for the accused person. The prosecutor told the court that the accused person had promised to replace the land for the complainant. She said the accused person took the complainant to Sakumono Ramsar Site, but he could not provide documents on the said land at Sakumono. According to her, Torgbor had taken the complainant to three different locations in Accra, but each trip proved a futile adventure. Fire outbreaks: Central Region incidents reduce, Northern registers increase Shirley Asiedu-Addo, CAPE COAST & Mohammed Fugu, TAMALE Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:30 According to the Central Region office of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), intensified education in 2022 resulted in a reduction in fire incidents by 56. The region recorded 570 fire incidents in 2022, which was lower than the 2021 figure, which was 626, according to the GNFS. Domestic fires topped the list, with 195 cases, which was 29 less than the 224 incidents recorded in 2021. The region had 114 bush fires in 2022, which was also lower than the 2021 figure of 122. Vehicular fires were 62 in 2022; a decrease of 15 from the 77 incidents recorded in 2021, while electrical fires saw a marginal increase from 47 in 2021 to 49 in 2022. There were 90 commercial fire incidents in 2022 and 99 in 2021, industrial fires were nine in 2022 and six in 2021, refuse fires were seven in 2022 and 24 in 2021, while other fires were nine in 2022 and six in 2021. Institutional fires, however, saw an increase from 21 in 2021 to 35 in 2022. Why decrease Explaining the decrease in fire incidents in the region, the Central Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Division Officer III, Abdul Wasiu Hudu, said the service increased fire safety activities in the region, especially after the launch of the Fire Safety Week in early 2022. We embarked on house to house education and shop to shop visits in all the districts, he stated. He said some media houses also assisted with regular airtime to reach the masses with the gospel of fire safety. DO III Hudu said the GNFS would commit more efforts this year towards further reducing the fire incidents this year. We intend to expand our coverage by reaching more media houses for regular fire safety education. We will also intensify fire safety education at public places, especially lorry parks, to help target vehicular fires, he stated. We intend to arrest one of the culprits of bushfires and make him or her a scapegoat, he stated and urged the public to support efforts by the GNFS by adopting safety measures in their homes and work places. Northern On the other hand, the Northern Region recorded an increase in fire incidents from 332 in 2021 to 370 in 2022, representing about 20 per cent surge. Also, eight incidents were recorded during the Christmas and New year festivities, as against four cases recorded in the same period in 2021. The incidents recorded included, domestic, bush, electrical, commercial and accident fires. Causes The Northern Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Assistant Divisional Officer (ADOII), Baba Hudu, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Tamale, cited human negligence and apathy in heeding to fire safety advice as the main causes. He indicated that about 80 per cent of the incidents recorded were caused by human negligence such as indiscriminate bush burning, gas leakages and illegal power connections. Nonetheless, he said, the regional commander had mapped out strategies to address the menace. ADOII Hudu said the command had intensified public and institutional education on fire safety through the various media platforms and durbars. Advice He expressed worry about the increasing incidents of fire outbreaks in the region and appealed to the residents to take safety precautions to prevent fire outbreaks. "Fire safety is a shared responsibility we all need to come on board to accept and implement the safety tips being released by Ghana National Fire Service into practice. Also, let us be mindful of whatever we use fire for," he urged. He also advised the general public to ensure that they put off all electrical appliances before leaving their various homes and work places, while urging that those cooking in the market area should properly extinguish fire before they left. It is me youre abusing when you abuse fishing observers - Hawa Koomson Zadok Kwame Gyesi Jan - 14 - 2023 , 14:11 The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) is collaborating with the Ghana Maritime Authority to ensure that human rights abuses against fishers aboard fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters are dealt with. Additionally, all fishing vessels that have been cleared to fish on Ghanaian waters have been directed to insure their vessels and also refurbish them to ensure the safety of all crew members. Speaking in an interview with Graphic Online on the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which ended in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2023, Madam Hawa Koomson, said nobody has the right to abuse any Ghanaian fishing observer on any vessel. FCWC The 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which was done both in-person and online, was on the theme: Supporting effective fisheries management for a sustainable blue economy. The conference was attended by the fisheries ministers of the six FCWC member states (Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire) or their representatives. The sessions participants deliberated on the theme, reviewed the past years results, and agreed on a work plan and budget for 2023/2024. The FCWC was established in 2007 to promote and facilitate cooperation in fisheries management between the member countries. Abuses For Madam Hawa Koomson, abusing any fishing observer means abusing the authority that put the observer on the vessel. because if you abuse the observer, its me, the minister, you are abusing because he is representing me on the vessel at the expedition, she noted. The Fisheries Minister said it is worrying for fishers or observers to be abused on fishing vessels, saying you cannot abuse the observer. According to her, the Ghanaian fishing observer who got missing on a fishing vessel some years ago was still being investigated by the Marine Police. That, Madam Hawa Koomson noted, the Ministry has not lost track of the case and that it will put more pressure on the police to expedite things. She said the new directives on the safety of observers and fishers, as well as efforts to prevent human rights abuses on the vessels, will help to improve the welfare of all fishing crew members aboard any vessel on Ghanaian waters. She explains that per the new arrangements with the Ghana Maritime Authority, all fishing vessels are strictly inspected under varied checklists before they are allowed to set sail. For her, all the 19 vessels currently fishing on Ghanaian waters have good places for their crew members to sleep and cook. Madam Hawa Koomson added that when the vessels also arrive at the ports, they are inspected and the fishing observers interrogated to find out if anyone had been abused either physically or verbally. When the vessels arrive, we call the observer and ask him whether any form of abuse was done to him, she said. She noted that formerly the observers were not given fish when they returned from sea but now they are given part of the catch. National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, left, talks with Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Jan. 13. Yonhap National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo has sought support from Vietnam for Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan, his office said Saturday. Kim left on a visit to Vietnam and Indonesia, Thursday, to discuss expanding economic and security cooperation with the countries. During a meeting with Phan Van Mai, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Thursday, Kim said Busan was the perfect city to host the world exposition. Kim plans to meet with his local counterpart along with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other top government officials to discuss improving bilateral ties between the countries in various areas from finance and construction to the arms industry. Kim will later travel to Jakarta to meet with top Indonesian parliamentary officials to discuss advancing cooperation in resources development and the arms industry. He will return home Jan. 20. (Yonhap) Ministry of Fisheries collects outstanding fines from fisheries offenders Hawa Koomson Zadok Kwame Gyesi Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:53 The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), Mavis Hawa Koomson, says the ministry has so far collected almost all outstanding fines imposed on fishing vessels that offended Ghanas fisheries laws. She said fishing vessels that were involved in fishing infractions for which reason fines were handed them from 2017 to 2019 had been collected. She said receipts on all payment were available at the Ministry for anyone who would want to verify them. Speaking in an interview with Graphic Online on the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which ended in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2023, Madam Hawa Koomson, said all the offending vessels were cooperating with the ministry on its new directive against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. FCWC The 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which was done both in-person and online, was on the theme: Supporting effective fisheries management for a sustainable blue economy. The conference was attended by the fisheries ministers of the six FCWC member states (Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire) or their representatives. The sessions participants deliberated on the theme, reviewed the past years results, and agreed on a work plan and budget for 2023/2024. The FCWC was established in 2007 to promote and facilitate cooperation in fisheries management between the member countries. Payment of fines The Fisheries Minister explained that so far only one company was left to pay their outstanding fine, pointing out that they have given me payment plan and they will finish paying by this quarter, 2023. If you dont pay, you wont get your license to go for fishing, Madam Hawa Koomson indicated, adding that we are now going to work on those from 2021. She explained that she had deferred efforts on cases in 2020 due to some reasons which the Ministry was currently handling. Concerning vessels with cases of multiple infractions, the Minister said, such vessels would be handled differently from those with single infractions. For her, the Ministry would not allow any vessel to do whatever they like on Ghanaian waters and go scot free. TOUGHA launches second edition of newsletter Elizabeth Konadu-Boakye & Diana Mensah Jan - 14 - 2023 , 11:41 Tour Operators Union Ghana (TOUGHA) has launched a newsletter for wide circulation to whip up interest in domestic tourism. The newsletter, aside from highlighting the union's activities, also shares information on some of the best places to tour in the country. The launch brought together members and stakeholders of the tourism sector. Domestic tourism The President of TOUGHA, Alisa Osei-Asamoah, said after the halt in the tourism industry during the COVID-19 period, the union realised that there was the need to adapt what she called domestic tourism. Domestic tourism, she said, was touring of sites within the country to boost revenue and keep the industry running. To boost the industry, Mrs Osei-Asamoah said there was the need to publish the newsletter to educate citizens on the tourist sites within the country and to encourage them to visit those places. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all saw how it halted all activities and tourism was no exception. We thought it was wise to promote the tourism industry by adapting to domestic tourism and there was no better way than to begin with the magazine and we are glad to have launch its second edition today, she said. Mrs Osei-Asamoah further urged citizens to visit more of the countrys tourist sites, especially during the festive season and educate themselves on the countrys rich history and culture. It is a shame when as a Ghanaian you go outside the country and you are not well vest in the countrys history, culture and its tourist sites and so I am urging all Ghanaians to take advantage of this festive season and tour Ghana, she said. Commendation Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ekow Sampson, commended the union for their effort to maintain a steady industry within the year. Before the pandemic, the country had about 1.1 million tourism arrivals that generated about $ 3.3 billion. Then suddenly 2022, from January figures comparatively was going up so every data was showing that Ghana is going to do more than the 1.1 million arrivals that was expected. So we look at this and then realise that we've done very well, he said. He added that the tourism authority was appreciative of the unions effort and encouraged them to do more in boosting the industry in the coming year. The President of the Ghana Tourism Federation, Charles Adu-Gyamfi, also commended the tour union for their effort in the year. No association is bigger or smaller. The common denominator is tourism and the tourism that we are talking about is to assist the man or woman, or group of people within an origin to a destination and so we commend you for the great work in releasing the newsletter. Global lithium company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A., via its wholly-owned subsidiary SQM (SQM), will make a major cornerstone investment of up to A$20 million to acquire a 19.99% interest in Australia-based Azure Minerals Limited through a two-stage transaction. Azure Minerals is developing the Andover nickel-copper-cobalt sulfide project in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia. The project covers most of the Andover Mafic-Ultramafic Intrusive Complex and exploration has successfully discovered several significant bodies of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and cobalt (Co) sulfide mineralization. In March 2022, Azure announced the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Andover Deposit. The MRE (JORC 2012) is 4.6Mt @ 1.11% Ni, 0.47% Cu and 0.05% Co (1.41% NiEq) for 51,700t of contained nickel, 21,700t of contained copper and 2,290t of contained cobalt at a cut-off grade of 0.5% Ni. A second MRE for the Ridgeline Deposit is due in Q1 2023. Recently, Azure announced that it had identified abundant spodumene-rich, lithium-bearing pegmatites outcropping in an 8km-long, up to 4km-wide corridor within the Andover Project. Surface rock chip sampling confirmed high grades of lithium in outcropping pegmatites. Azure has now embarked on an accelerated growth strategy to advance Andovers multi-commodity opportunity. Lithium exploration will be fast-tracked with a maiden lithium-focused drilling program expected to commence in Q1 of 2023. Nickel exploration and mine development studies on the Andover and Ridgeline Deposits will also continue through 2023. This strategic investment by SQM is a strong endorsement of the lithium potential of the Andover Project (60% Azure / 40% Creasy Group) and highlights the upside potential for Andover to grow into a globally significant lithium mining and processing operation, Azure said. SQM is one of the worlds largest lithium producers. In Western Australia, SQM and Wesfarmers Limited are joint venture partners in the Mt. Holland lithium project, which will be a unique, fully-integrated operation producing battery-quality lithium hydroxide. The joint venture comprises a mine and concentrator at Mt Holland and a refinery at Kwinana capable of producing approximately 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year. Azure intends to use the funds raised to accelerate lithium exploration on the Andover Project with a priority to undertake a substantial reverse circulation and diamond drilling program to determine the scale of the mineralization already mapped and sampled at surface. Early stage metallurgical, heritage, environmental, hydrological, and flora and fauna studies will also commence. By Scott Shepherd Following some 75 protests on Seoul's subway network since December 2021, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon declared a zero-tolerance approach in the last week of 2022. And sure enough, 2023 began with The Korea Times reporting that police were : criminal charges were to be pressed. At the same time came news that metro workers had physically blocked the activists from boarding a train and that up to 640 riot police had been deployed to stop protesters from accessing stations. Then on Friday, Seoul Metro filed a suit against the group organizing the protests, seeking over 600 million won ($483,792) in compensation for the delays and disruptions. Obviously, Seoul's geography contributes to difficulties for wheelchair users. The mountains and hills that loom throughout this metropolis make wheelchair use harder than it would be on flat ground. Stairs and steep slopes lead up the sides of hills in older regions of the city, meaning that some whole neighborhoods are simply inaccessible, and that's without even considering the roads with no pavements where pedestrians have to cling, praying, to the edge of the street as cars and motorbikes whizz past. While laws do require buildings to make accommodations for wheelchair users, smaller buildings are exempt. And some well-meaning attempts to improve accessibility simply don't work. in 2018 that "a disabled man was killed in a stair lift accident" in a Seoul subway station the previous year, and even worse, that at least "four people with disabilities have been killed" in similar accidents since 2001. Yet, despite this terrible record, it is true that many subway stations are accessible to wheelchair-users. Some delayed commuters may well take umbrage that protests have taken place in Seoul's subway stations at all, given that the city's sprawling metro system is more wheelchair-friendly than some of its older counterparts in other large cities around the world. On the surface, it's possible to understand the reaction of those commuters expressing anger. They see the protests as unnecessary and disruptive. If everyone with a grievance in Korea protested by targeting the subway lines, the argument goes, no one would ever get to work. After all, almost all of Seoul's stations contain elevators, and the best examples contain all kinds of ingenious features to assist wheelchair users and visually-impaired commuters. It does appear that, while far from perfect, the transportation bosses are trying to make the system accessible. The anger of some commuters is not, I believe, rooted in malice. Running late for an important event can turn the best of us into quivering balls of rage. Rather, some of the anger seems to be based on misperceptions about what it means to have a disability, specifically the misplaced assumption that all of those with disabilities are quiet saints who deserve sympathy but don't merit the same respect as everyone else. These protests shatter that false image. The protesters are demanding their rights, loudly disrupting the system rather than meekly accepting what they're given. YouTuber chronicles his experience living as a blind man in Korea. He is an amiable young man who is clearly suited to his role as a YouTuber. In some videos he collaborates with a wheelchair user as they venture around Seoul, trying to get on buses or go into cafes. The channel is entertaining and educational, and it also acts as a powerful protest in its own, gentle way. It is, perhaps, a more effective and certainly a more charming way to fight for accessibility on public transport than the recent subway protests. His videos also make it abundantly clear that the city's buses are far worse for wheelchair users than the subway is. What's so galling is that the technology and systems are already in place. Surely national and local governments can tighten regulations to train or retrain drivers and to require all new buses to be wheelchair-friendly. The only reason not to do so is that the politicians are placing efficiency and finances above citizens' welfare. A society that is so ultra-capitalist that it prizes money over people is not a society we want to live in. In any case, the decision to arrest disability rights protesters in central Seoul was an outrage. It reveals a complete lack of empathy and an inability to understand why the protesters were there in the first place. It is all the more egregious in light of the fact that only last month the mayor rejected a court-mediated settlement which would have effectively brought an end to the protests. The arrests are also likely to be an own-goal. If there's one sure way to turn public opinion against a politician, it's picking a fight with people demanding rights for people with disabilities. The mayor is simply turning them into martyrs. Rather than silencing them, this will surely trigger more people to protest, more people to demand full accessibility to public transport. With some attention and effort, the city's subways already efficient, well organized and mostly accessible could become the envy of the world. Even after that, wider problems will of course exist. We can't suddenly flatten all the mountains or destroy all of the old, inaccessible buildings. Still, stricter building laws can be passed, and all new buses should be wheelchair-accessible as a priority. It is possible to bring about change, as Korea's rapid development has made abundantly plain. And whether through smiling YouTubers or shouting protesters, Korea's population with disabilities and their supporters are bringing it about. More power to them, I say. Dr. Scott Shepherd (scottshepherd@chongshin.ac.kr) is a British-American academic. He has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea, and is currently an assistant professor of English at Chongshin University in Seoul. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times. Just a couple of days ago, we reported that Samsung is moving fast with its microLED panel development for smartwatches and some believe that Apple will use them for its future Watch Series. However, the latest report puts LG Display into the mix as well. An industry source says that LG Display has already set up operations and it's producing backplanes for microLED screens in small quantities. Production will likely kick off in the second half of 2024, so the first Apple Watch with a microLED display is supposed to arrive in 2025. This contradicts the recent report on Samsung's microLED production, as analysts believe that LG's rival will be ready with its displays as early as next year. It's possible that Samsung would use the tech for its Galaxy Watch lineup before providing its microLEDs to Apple. Also, Apple loves to diversify its supply chains, so it's more likely that it will want to strike deals with both companies and introduce a microLED smartwatch in 2025. Source Smiles and the sound of laughter of about 200 alumnae at Ysrael Auditorium of the Academy of Our Lady of Guam in Hagatna Saturday for an event called "Sharing a Good Cup of Tea." It brought together multiple generations around tables with pastries and cups of tea to share fond memories of their school days and the spirit of sisterhood. Joni Cepeda, director of mission advancement and communications for the academy and alumnae of the class of 1979, said gatherings like this were started in the 1960s. We decided to bring it back now that COVID-19 has slowed down so that we can reconnect with each other and bring back the unity with the sisterhood. A lot of ladies have been wanting to get together, so we figured this is a safe way to do it by having a social tea time, she said. Helping host and be a part of this means a lot to Cepeda, as does the idea of sisterhood. We all help each other and all we have to do is ask. You dont have to be from the same year or decade, she said. Alumnae include women in careers from all walks of life, including the governor, senators, doctors, lawyers, nuns, pharmacists and more. Sen. Amanda Shelton, who graduated from the academy in 2008, said it was inspiring to see so many powerful women from all sectors of Guams society come together. She hopes current students who were volunteering at the mixer will realize the great community they are a part of, and will continue to be a part of, after they leave the academy. During the event was a ceremonial passing of the torch to recognize the 50th anniversary of graduation of the class of 1973. The classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 were also celebrated, since the passing of the torch was put on hold during the pandemic. Its that continuation to recognize those who graduated 50 years ago from here and also an opportunity to share, because many of us are older, now it makes a difference to take some time to catch up with whatever is happening to our sisters, said Mary Meeks who graduated in 1969. A free public event with activities and games for the community to learn about the Department of Agriculture called AG Loves GU was held on Saturday at Pedro Santos Park in Piti. We wanted to create an event that would showcase all of the work and all of the love that this agency puts into protecting Guams natural resources or providing resources to the community, said Chelsa Muna, director of the Guam Department of Agriculture. She said this is an opportunity for the community to learn about all the divisions in the department because other events like Earth Day or Arbor Day focus on one area of conservation. This is the second year the event has been held. Residents were able to buy native plants, witness wildfire response demonstrations, explore boats used by the department, learn about responsible fishing and coral reef protection, see a Koko, brown tree snake, coconut rhinoceros beetles and other activities. We found out about this through social media and it seemed like a really fun family activity to do, said Kasia Merline, 40, from Tamuning, with her son Michael, 5, and daughter Mya, 3. Merline said they attended the department Earth Day event at Ypao Beach last year and had such a good time they decided to drive out in the rain for AG Loves GU. We started by exploring the boat a little bit and Michael really had fun with all the sea creatures and learning about their habitat. The fishing activity was the highlight for him, she said. We will be having more events in the future so just keep in touch with our social media pages and we will definitely be announcing them as they come up, said Odyessa San Nicolas, program coordinator for the Forestry and soil Division at the Guam Department of Agriculture. Apartment complexes in Seoul. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-min Koreans faced the heaviest property tax burden relative to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) among OECD members in 2021, resulting from multiple failed real estate policies under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, a ruling party lawmaker said Friday. Years of demand-control measures implemented by the Moon administration in the form of heavier taxes on owners of expensive and multiple homes, coupled with borrowing regulations put in place to curb rising housing prices only backfired and accelerated price hikes. It is remembered as the most devastating policy misstep of the Moon administration. Korea's failed yet railroaded approach on the real estate market was markedly different from its peers, almost all of whose tax policies were eased since the COVID-19 pandemic to better navigate the health crisis and the resulting economic slowdown. Data from Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the ruling People Power Party showed the burden, as measured by property taxes divided by the country's GDP, came to 4.502 percent in 2021, the highest among the 38 OECD member countries. The figure excluded taxes on capital gains. Korea was followed by Luxembourg (4.021 percent), France (3.823 percent), the United Kingdom (3.814 percent), Canada (3.486 percent), Belgium (3.341 percent), the U.S. (2.971 percent), Spain (2.733 percent), Japan (2.647 percent) and Israel (2.59 percent). For context, Korea ranked fifth with a figure of 3.788 percent in a similar survey conducted in 2017, the year Moon took office. The country then rose to second place in 2018 and 2019, before topping the list in 2020 and 2021. In the same period OECD members' real estate-related tax increased by 1.9 percent on average. The lawmaker called for a prompt revision of tax policies to reverse the years of irrational increases. "Home prices have soared due to botched real estate policies, spearheaded by the Moon administration," he said. "The rapid increase in real estate-related taxes should be lowered to the level similar to before when Moon took office, a priority that should swiftly take into account the country's excessively heavy tax, as borne out by the international organization's figures," the lawmaker said. President Joe Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Friday, the United States was "fully, thoroughly, completely" committed to Japan's defense and praised Tokyo's security build up, saying the nations had never been closer. Kishida is in Washington on the last stop in a tour of the G7 industrial powers and has been seeking to bolster long-standing alliances amid rising concern in Japan, and the United States, about mounting regional security threats from China, North Korea and Russia. In a meeting at the White House, Biden called it a "remarkable moment" in the U.S.-Japan alliance. He said the two countries had never been closer. "Let me be crystal clear: The United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance, and importantly ... to the defense of Japan," he said, while also thanking Kishida for strong leadership in working closely on technology and economic issues. "We are modernizing our military alliances, building on Japan's historic increase in defense spending, and new national security strategy," Biden said. Kishida thanked Biden for U.S. work on regional security and said: "Japan and the United States are currently facing the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history." He said Tokyo had formulated its new defense strategy released last month "to ensure peace and prosperity in the region." He said the two countries shared fundamental values of democracy and the rule of law "and the role that we are to play is becoming even greater." Kishida said he looked forward to a "candid" exchange of views on issues including "a free and open Indo-Pacific" language the two sides use to describe efforts to push back against China the G7, which Japan's currently chairs, and climate change. In a later speech at Washington's Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Kishida called China the "central challenge" for both Japan and the United States and said they and Europe must act in unison in dealing with the country. Kishida also stressed the importance of standing up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that if a unilateral change to the status quo went unchallenged, the same would happen elsewhere, including in Asia an apparent reference to China's vow to reunite with self-ruled Taiwan, by force if necessary. Dramatic military change Japan last month announced its biggest military build-up since World War Two a dramatic departure from seven decades of pacifism, largely fueled by concerns about Chinese actions in the region. "Biden commended Japan's bold leadership in fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities and strengthening diplomatic efforts," according to a joint U.S.-Japan statement issued after the meeting. U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met on Wednesday and announced increased security cooperation following nearly two years of talks and the U.S. officials praised Tokyo's military buildup plans. Japan's military reform plan will see it double defense spending to 2 percent of GDP and procure missiles that can strike ships or land-based targets 1,000 km (600 miles) away. Before the meeting, a senior U.S. official said Biden and Kishida were expected to discuss security issues and the global economy and that their talks are likely to include control of semiconductor-related exports to China after Washington announced strict curbs last year. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk through the colonnade of the White House on their way to the Oval Office, Jan. 13. AFP-Yonhap Copies of the new book by Prince Harry called "Spare" are displayed at a book store in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 10. AP-Yonhap Prince Harry left out revelations about his family in his memoir, saying he did not want "the world to know because I don't think they would ever forgive me," according to an interview published by the Daily Telegraph, Friday. The prince told the UK broadsheet that he has enough material to write another book, mostly focused on his relationship with his brother Prince William and father King Charles III, in comments likely to further unsettle the royal family. "The first draft was different. It was 800 pages, and now it's down to 400 pages," he said of his book "Spare." "It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out. "There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don't want the world to know. Because I don't think they would ever forgive me," he added. The rogue prince said the media had a "ton of dirt about my family" but that they "sweep it under the carpet for juicy stories about someone else." After months of anticipation and a blanket publicity blitz, Harry's book "Spare" went on sale Tuesday as royal insiders hit back at his scorching revelations. The royal family have maintained a studied silence as painful details from the book and a round of pre-publication TV interviews have piled up. In "Spare," Harry portrays his father, 74, as emotionally crippled, the victim of brutal childhood bullying. But among the many contradictions in the book, Harry also characterizes the king as a doting father, who favors strong French aftershave and conducts headstands in his underwear to alleviate polo-induced back pain. In his Telegraph interview, Harry said he was airing his grievances in public not to "collapse" the royal family but because he had a "responsibility" to reform it in order to protect Prince William's children. William, he said, "has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility." The book comes on the back of the six-hour Netflix docuseries "Harry Meghan". A YouGov poll on Monday found that 64 percent of Britons now have a negative view of the once-popular prince his lowest-ever rating and that Meghan also scores dismally. They may also be straining public interest in Meghan's homeland, according to the New York Times. "Even in the United States, which has a soft spot for royals in exile and a generally higher tolerance than Britain does for redemptive stories about overcoming trauma and family dysfunction, there is a sense that there are only so many revelations the public can stomach," its former London correspondent Sarah Lyall wrote. (AFP) Tetsuya Yamagami, bottom, is detained near the site of gunshots in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, July 8, 2022. AP-Yonhap Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a court said Friday. Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. He then underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which prosecutors said showed he was fit to stand trial. Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court. Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan's most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe's apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life. One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Yamagami will have to take responsibility for the serious consequences of his alleged actions and that his defense lawyers will do their best to reduce his sentence. Japanese law allows capital punishment for murder, but experts say the death penalty usually is handed down for multiple killings and Yamagami could get life in prison if convicted. No date is set for the trial, which is expected to have a panel of civil jurors in addition to the usual bench judges, as is typical in murder cases and other serious criminal trials in Japan. There are no pretrial hearings in Japan and defendants generally undergo trials. Due to the complexity of the case, it will take months before his trial begins, Furukawa said. Police are also reportedly considering adding several other allegations, including producing weapons, violating the explosives control law and causing damage to buildings. In a country known for public safety and tight gun controls, the assassination led to the resignation of top local and national police chiefs and a tightening of security guidelines for political leaders and other prominent people. ''We must take very seriously the heinous act of violence that resulted in the death of former Prime Minister Abe,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in response to Yamagami's indictment. He said Japan will ensure the safety of dignitaries and political leaders with the summit of the G7 nations and nationwide local elections coming in the spring. Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan. Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention center. Kazuo Kobayashi, 64, a resident of Chiba near Tokyo, said Yamagami should face justice regardless of his difficult background. Tetsuya Yamagami, the alleged assassin of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, enters a police station in Nara, western Japan, Jan. 10. AP-Yonhap ''I think it's good to bring him to justice and make clear what is right and what is wrong,'' he said. ''I want the case to be fully examined to find the truth in order to have a lesson for Japan's future.'' The investigation into the case has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abe's governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes. Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and for insisting on holding a rare, controversial state funeral for Abe. Kishida shuffled his Cabinet in August to remove ministers with church ties, but the subsequent release of an investigation by the governing party in September showed nearly half of its 400 national lawmakers had church connections. Kishida, who said has no relations with the church, promised that party lawmakers will cut ties with the group, and his government has begun an investigation that could lead to a revocation of the church's religious status. The government also adopted a law designed to help victims of the church's fundraising practices, though experts say the measure is insufficient. Yoshihiro Morishima, a 72-year-old resident of Yokohama, said the church has long been a social problem, and ''I would prefer that it disappear at this point. It would be just what the suspect wanted, but that's fine with me.'' (AP) Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro hold a demonstration at the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia, Jan 8. AFP-Yonhap The Brazilian prosecutor-general's office asked the Supreme Court, Friday, to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation into who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation's capital. As the basis for their request, prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts cited a video Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot, according to a statement. The video claimed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his Oct. 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded. Prosecutors argued that, although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it. He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb in the U.S. since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the Jan. 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor, and some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa. The Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who paid to transport rioters to the capital and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur. Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's former justice minister, who became the federal district's security chief, Jan. 2, and was in the U.S. on the day of the riot. The Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Torres' arrest this week and has opened an investigation into his actions, which he characterized as ''neglect and collusion.'' In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said that Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest. The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, and he must return within three days or Brazil will request his extradition, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said Friday. ''If by next week his appearance hasn't been confirmed, of course we will use mechanisms of international legal cooperation. We will trigger procedures next week to carry out his extradition,'' Dino said. A person holds a poster with the words "No Amnesty" during a demonstration by Brazilian immigrants to support Brazilian democracy, in Lisbon, Portugal, Wednesday, Jan. 11. AP-Yonhap Torres has denied wrongdoing, and said Jan. 10 on Twitter that he would interrupt his vacation to return to Brazil and present his defense. Three days later, that has yet to occur. The minister pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres' home; a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian Academy of Electoral and Political Law. But the document ''will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events,'' Dino said, adding that Torres will need to inform police who drafted it. By failing to initiate a probe against the document's author or report its existence, Torres could be charged with dereliction of duty at very least, said Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors. Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him. Dino told reporters that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro. The federal district's former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot. (AP) Interview: China's COVID policy adjustment comes at right time: Tanzanian ambassador Xinhua) 10:24, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The recent adjustment of China's epidemic prevention and control policy was made at the right time and well received around the world, including in Tanzania, Tanzanian ambassador to China Mbelwa Kairuki said in an interview with Xinhua. China has recently optimized its COVID-19 response measures, downgraded its management of COVID-19 from a Class-A infectious disease to Class-B, and shifted the focus of the response from stemming infection to caring for health and preventing severe cases. "It was a decision taken at the right time because, after three years, China has acquired enough experience, scientific knowledge, and expertise to deal with COVID-19," said Kairuki. He added that the timing of the reclassification of the virus is perfect because the current COVID-19 variant is less pathogenic and deadly. In accordance with the decision to manage COVID-19 with measures against Class-B infectious diseases, relevant departments have formulated and released provisional measures on cross-border travel. Kairuki said the provisional measures to make cross-border travel easier have been well received in Tanzania and around the world. "We are now looking forward to the resumption of the movement of people to and from China," he said. "We are optimistic that China's optimization of entry and exit policies, leading to stability of the international industrial and supply chain, will help ease the global economic slowdown," the diplomat added. In recent days, some countries have imposed restrictions targeting travelers arriving from China, including testing upon entry and quarantine for those who test positive for COVID-19. Kairuki said that, in the effort to combat COVID-19, every government around the world has to protect its citizens by putting the people and life first using a science-based and targeted approach. "If there is one lesson that we got from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the fact that the virus does not segregate," he said. China has been firmly supporting the Tanzanian government in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Through support from China and other friendly countries, Tanzania has provided COVID-19 vaccines to 40 percent of its population. By the end of the year 2022, a total of 5.61 million doses of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines had been received by Tanzania, Kairuki said. "In 2023, we will see increased engagement between Tanzania and China," he said, adding that with the recent adjustment of China's epidemic prevention and control policy, there will be more economic activity between the two nations. "This year we are going to see an increased number of passenger and cargo direct flights from Tanzania to China through Air Tanzania," said Kairuki, adding that he expects a steady resumption of tourist travel from China to Tanzania. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Les membres du Conseil Executif ont pris note quun MoU sera signe entre le Rodrigues Regional Assembly et le Rodrigues Public Utilities Corporation Ltd, que la Commision de lEducation va donner des aides aux Parent Teachers Association des ecoles primares et lEcoles Maternelles de Rodrigues entre autres. DECIDED (i) That a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and the Rodrigues Public Utilities Corporation Ltd (RPUC) which has been set up as a Special Purpose Vehicle to be the executive arm of the Commission for Water Resources in the field of water production, storage treatment and distribution. (ii) That the Commission for Education will provide financial grants to Parent Teachers Association of all Primary Schools and Association des Ecoles Maternelles de Rodrigues for the provision of hot meal to pupils of Pre-primary and Primary Schools once weekly on a pilot basis as from February 2023. (iii) To vest the building, housing Restaurant Montagne Limon which is lying idle since April 2021 to the Commission for Womens Affairs for its future projects. iv) To amend the eligibility criterion of the Youth Mobility Programme Born in Rodrigues to Residents in Rodrigues. The aim of the Youth Mobility Programme is to help the development of young people so as to enhance opportunities through the provision of sponsorship in specific career for business projects for short internships or training course in Mauritius or abroad for a period not exceeding one year. (v) To provide fund to the Rodrigues Public Utilities Corporation (RPUC) to proceed with the recruitment of the following staff as from February 2023: 4 Administrative/Finance Officers 4 Heavy Vehicles Drivers 4 Plant & Equipment Operators 4 Trainee Engineers 5 Junior staff (Receptionist, Handy Worker, Secretary, Security Guard, Driver etc) (vi) That the Commission for Education will provide a capital grant to the Roman Catholic Education Authority for the construction of two additional classrooms at Father Ronald Gandy RCA School to cater for the increase of pupils admitted thereat for Academic Year 2023. (vii) That the Commission for Education will provide a financial assistance to CARITAS Rodrigues for the provision of hot meal to students from low revenue family of primary, secondary schools and vocational training institutions. (viii) To provide financial grants to Parent Teachers Associations of all pre-primary, primary and SEN Schools for the provision of cakes once weekly. (ix) That the Rodrigues Property Development Company Ltd (RoDPRO) will proceed with recruitment of a Manager and Administrative staff so as to kick start its operation pertaining to the implementation of social housing schemes of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. (x) To continue the implementation of the existing Irrigation Scheme under which eligible full time planters in remote areas who earn their living exclusively from crop production activities are provided with financial assistance for the extension of the electricity network or for the installation of solar water pumps for irrigation purposes. (xi) That the Commission for Marine Parks will procure twenty spherical mooring buoys to be provided to fishers operating in the South East Marine Protected Area (SEMPA) for safe mooring of their boats and to prevent damages to marine ecosystem. (xii) That the Commission for Social Security will proceed with the procurement of corrugated iron sheets to help vulnerable families to repair their houses which are in poor condition. TAKEN NOTE (i) That Honourable Alan GANOO, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade will lead a delegation to Rodrigues from 23 to 26 January 2023 to hold consultations in respect of human rights in view of the elaboration of the National Human Rights Action Plan 2023-2030 and the Universal Periodic Review Report for submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and have working session on transport related issues. (ii) A delegation of the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) will be on mission to Rodrigues from 28th January to 1st February 2023 for consultation with local authorities to identify possibilities of funding in the water sector. (iii) That a delegation from the National Drug Secretariat will be on mission in Rodrigues from Wednesday 18 to Thursday 19 January 2023 for consultation with the local authorities on the findings of the survey on drug use in Rodrigues prior to the finalisation of the report. The objective of the survey which was completed in October 2022 were to: measure the prevalence of drug use in Rodrigues; set as baseline for monitoring of drug use; and develop appropriate strategies and programmes in order to minimise drug threat in the island. (iv) That pupils born between 01 June and 31 December 2016 who have been admitted to Grade 1 for Academic Year 2023 will be allowed to follow an upgraded curriculum if their parents so wish. At the end of the first term, these pupils will be evaluated to determine their readiness to move to grade 2 at the start of May 2023. (v) Of the activities to be organised to mark the commemoration of the 188th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery on Wednesday 01 February 2023, namely Wreath Laying Ceremony by the Chief Commissioner and other officials at 10.00 hrs at Montagne Cimetiere. (vi) That contracts have been handed to 67 beneficiaries of the Social Housing Scheme, Elderly Housing Scheme and the Infrastructure Development to Needy Families Scheme for the financial year 2022/2023, on 12 January 2023 as follows:- Social Housing Scheme 36 Elderly Housing Scheme 17 Infrastructure Development to Needy Families Scheme 14 (vii) That a delegation of the Central Procurement Board (CPB) headed by its Chairperson Mr. R. M. PRAYAG, GOSK and comprising Mr. F. SENEQUE, Board Member (CPB), Mr. D. MANNICK, Chief Executive (CPB), Mr. A. S. JOOTUN, Engineer (Civil) (CPB) and Mr. R. JEWON, Member of the Procurement Policy Office, will be on mission to Rodrigues from 26 to 28 January 2023 to have working sessions with officers involved in the preparation of the bidding document in order to streamline bidding procedures. (viii) That in the context of the implementation of the Livestock Feed Promotion Scheme, the Commission for Agriculture has ordered a first consignment of ruminant supplement feed containing about 13% protein that can be fed to cattle, sheep and goat for distribution to farmers by the end of this month. (ix) That henceforth patients referred to Mauritius for further treatment will be repatriated back to Rodrigues immediately after their discharge from the hospital if their next medical appointment is more than 15 days instead of the present arrangement whereby they are accommodated in guest house in Mauritius. Moreover, where appropriate visiting specialist in the relevant fields will follow up these patients who require minor and routine follow up after their medical treatment in Mauritius. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Subscribers to Register-Star or The Daily Mail are eligible to receive full access to HudsonValley360. If you have an existing print subscription, please make sure your email address on file matches your HudsonValley360 account email. Small Business Administration Offers Veteran Certification Program WASHINGTON The U.S. Small Business Administration began accepting applications through the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) program as part of the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to expanding access to resources for Veterans and other underserved populations. The improvements in the customer experience for Veteran entrepreneurs and business owners made by VetCert will build upon the $25 billion in government contract spending with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in fiscal 2021. "The SBA's new Veteran small business certification program is designed with our commitment to deliver exceptional support for our skilled entrepreneurs from America's military community," said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. "Supporting these Veteran entrepreneurs with access to government contracting will ensure they can continue their valued service to the American people, whether working in manufacturing, retail, R&D, or helping us build critically needed infrastructure to promote America's long-term growth, job creation, and wealth generation." The transfer of veteran certification responsibility from the Veterans Administration to the SBA aligns with the Biden administration's focus on stronger interagency collaboration. The two agencies working closely together to accomplish a complex task benefits not only the Veteran community but the nation as a whole. "When federal agencies work together toward a common goal, great things can be accomplished," said Larry Stubblefield, deputy associate administrator for the SBA's Office of Government Contracting & Business Development. "The collaboration between the SBA and the VA means that veterans, who have dutifully served our country, will be well served on their entrepreneurial journey and Veteran business owners will have additional opportunities in the federal marketplace." The program will be the agency's primary certification vehicle for all veteran-owned small businesses, important classifications that enable those businesses to qualify for sole-source and set-aside federal contracting awards. Certified VOSBs are eligible to compete for sole-source and set-aside contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, while certified service-disabled veteran businesses can compete for sole-source and set-aside contracts governmentwide. The agency began accepting applications on Jan. 9, 2023. A one-time, one-year extension to the current VA-certified veteran small businesses began as Jan. 1, 2023. The SBA is implementing several improvements to streamline the certification experience for veteran entrepreneurs. These include: Providing veterans with a central support platform for their small business certification needs. Providing reciprocal certification for businesses with remaining eligibility in the women-owned small business (WOSB) and 8(a) programs. Creating a more business-friendly approach by streamlining the application process and aligning ownership and control requirements across the VetCert, 8(a), and WOSB programs. All changes to the certification process, along with new eligibility requirements may be viewed here. For the latest information on the Veteran Small Business Certification program, visit www.sba.gov/vetcert, reference the program's FAQs, or email vetcert@sba.gov. New Agricultural Commissioners Megan Bantle, Natasha L. Bordeaux, Sonia McWhirt, Christina Satko and Loren Steins are sworn in by Town Clerk Haley Meczywor on Thursday night in Town Hall's Mahogany Room. Revamped Adams Agricultural Commission Meets for First Time ADAMS, Mass. After some time of inactivity, an entirely new board hopes to revitalize the town's Agricultural Commission. The five new members, Megan Bantle, Natasha L. Bordeaux, Sonia McWhirt, Christina Satko and Loren Steins, were sworn in by Town Clerk Haley Meczywor on Thursday night, who guided them through the process and rules for town boards. Selectman Joseph Nowak, a former commissioner, has worked to find volunteers to repopulate the board over the last several months. For its first actions, the commission named McWhirt its chair and Bordeaux its vice chair. Bantle will act as the commission recording secretary. The commission briefly discussed several topics during its first meeting, including grants, the town's right to farm bylaw, the Agricultural Preservation Program, and its mission statement as a commission. McWhirt read the Massachusetts Association of Agricultural Commissions' mission statement, saying it is a good starting point, which they can adapt for their needs. "Different ideas to stabilize or improve our farming future; I'd like to give a list of the farms and farm-related businesses in town," she said. Among the board's early goals is to update the commission's page on the town website, as well as other possible platforms, with resources for farmers and farming businesses. McWhirt highlighted Berkshire Grown, which seeks to support and promote local agriculture in the Berkshires, as a good resource. "The listing that they have in this Berkshire Grown is pretty big. Considering it tells you if they're on Facebook or any other social media, what their website is, address, phone number, if they go to any of the local farmer's markets," she said. Commissioner Loren Steins said the Northampton Agricultural Commission is inviting all the other commissions in the state to its meeting in February. She said some of the board could attend to get an idea of what other agricultural commissions are doing. "Basically, they invite all other ag commissions to come and it might be something to look to see what other people are getting together, and you can get some ideas and work off of other ag commissions, too," she said. The commission tentatively agreed to meet again on Feb. 8. Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dimmig asks a room full of Allentown fifth graders how they show that theyre angry. I stare people in their face, says one. I clench my fist. I start to cry. The kids in Loren Daddonas fifth-grade class at Central Elementary School in Allentown tick off the ways their bodies warn that their emotions are heated. Its part of an hour-long session of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program, which started in two Allentown elementary schools this school year. Sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department, the program is taught to students by law enforcement officers and aims to reduce gang involvement and violence. Dimmig, who supervises the juvenile division in the Lehigh County district attorneys office, is teaching all the classes at Central and McKinley Elementary. He addresses each student by name, and confesses that his hands are sweaty, showing hes nervous in front of the group. This is the fourth lesson hes had with Daddonas class. There are just two left. Dimmig hopes to bring the GREAT program into middle schools, with 13 weekly lessons and police officers teaching some of the classes. At the elementary level, the program is primarily focused on smart decision-making and positive interactions. Last week, students learned ways to stay cool when the heat is on. The talked about their physical reactions to anger and ways to stay in control of their emotions. The GREAT handbook recommends strategies such as waiting before acting, removing yourself from the situation, talking to yourself, and identifying a person you can trust to help you calm down. Other lessons focus on bullying, being a bystander, decision-making, communication and being respectful. Yaiden Rodriguez, 10, helps Jeff Dimmig, chief deputy district attorney for Lehigh County, show fifth graders at Central Elementary how to diffuse a tense situation. The Lehigh County district attorneys office brought the program back this year as a way to combat the gang problem that is believed to have been behind a spate of shootings last summer, including one that wounded 10 people outside a downtown Allentown nightclub in June. Dimmig said that being in control of emotions and making smart, clear-headed decisions are skills that can keep kids out of gangs. But that is the bare minimum. My hope is these kids are learning great skills to be good citizens and achieve their dreams, he said. Students in Daddonas class eagerly participated in the lesson. Nearly all volunteered to act out a skit where characters had to navigate a touchy situation. They contributed to group discussions and were happy to explain the ways they stay in control of their emotions. Kids arent just acting out the scenes in the classroom. One day when they were playing, a boy got upset when someone took his ball, Daddona said. Another student jumped in and said Thats OK, you can play with me. The conflict came soon after the students had their first lesson, which focused on bullying and bystanders. The fifth graders in Tara Peters class at McKinley Elementary also took their lessons to heart. After the program, you can see the kids taking that time, which Mr. Dimmig really stressed, to think before you react, Peters said. You can see them just pausing for a minute and thinking about the choices theyre going to make. Shes had the program in her classrooms in previous years, but not reinforces the lessons students learn in the schools Leader in Me program. Central Elementary fifth graders left, Levar Dunbar, 10, Lovely Wright, 10, and Samya Oterd, 10, look over a problem and discuss how to solve it, as part of the anti-gang GREAT program. Peters said the lessons touch on gangs but dont dwell on them. She said her students are aware of gangs and that the program gives them powerful tools to resist them. The younger children are open to the program and its message, Dimmig said. Once they get to middle school, they could come into contact with gangs, he said. Investigators at the University of Missouri-St. Louis issued a report on GREAT in 2012, finding that after a year, students who received the training had a 39% reduction in odds of joining a gang compared with those who were not in the program. After four years, there was a 24% reduction in odds of joining a gang. Morning Call reporter Michelle Merlin can be reached at 610-820-6533 or at mmerlin@mcall.com. The next, best hope for unsnarling issues that brought the Pennsylvania House to a standstill comes Tuesday, when Allentown Rep. Peter Schweyer and five other lawmakers sit down to talk. A lot is at stake. The Pennsylvania House represents half the lawmaking machinery in Harrisburg. Without it functioning, progress on potential laws affecting everything from education to law enforcement to elections and taxes will be slowed. That was illustrated Friday afternoon when the Senate canceled sessions during the weeks of Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 in part because the House has not yet organized their chamber and our options for fully addressing legislative issues are limited, said a spokesperson for Republicans who hold a majority in that chamber. The group who might suffer the most are victims of child sexual abuse waiting for the legal right to file lawsuits against long-ago abusers. They are a top concern of Speaker Mark Rozzi, who took the top job in the House on Jan. 3 and is a child abuse victim himself. He announced the group of six earlier this week. Its charge is breaking the partisan gridlock and proposing a path forward for the House to finally amend the state constitution to allow lawsuits by those victims. The proposed amendment is likely the top issue for the House. Others include Rozzis political party status, making rules to allow the House to operate, and even the ability of House members to get used to the fact that their chamber is very closely divided. The group of six has been dubbed Speakers Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward. Schweyer said he hopes it can accomplish its task next week. There is no reason the seven of us, including the speaker, cant figure this out, he said. Other members are Democratic Reps. Morgan Cephas of Philadelphia and Tim Briggs of Montgomery County, and Republican Reps. Valerie Gaydos of Allegheny County, Paul Schemel of Franklin County and Jason Ortitay, whose district includes parts of Allegheny and Washington counties. Schemel sounded a positive note this week when asked about the future of the House, given the closeness of its current 101-99 Republican advantage and the real possibility Democrats could have a 102-101 advantage in the near future after three vacant seats are filled. A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill the three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held next month. Schemel said a new dynamic might be in place between the parties with hanging-by-a-thread majorities. There is a possibility for a different path forward, he said. I think members will start to reflect on, Well, what can we get done?' On Tuesday, the group will start talking about rules that might get the House functioning in special session again. No real action has taken place since the 115-85 vote that elevated Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat, to speaker on Jan. 3. Breakdown over rules Gov. Tom Wolf called for a special session of the Legislature to deal with the long-pending constitutional amendment to help bring justice for child sex abuse victms. When Rozzi called that special session to order on Monday, it immediately broke down without rules. Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a South Whitehall Township Democrat, said examples of must-have rules include ones on the makeup of committees, how amendments are carried out, and whether votes have to be simple majorities or two-thirds. Rozzi took over the chamber pledging to function as an independent, even though he was still registered as a Democrat. He faced a situation where Republicans and Democrats had no agreement on rules. There were clearly two different versions of the rules, but neither version was so outlandish you couldnt compromise, Schlossberg said. Repeated attempts to reach Rozzi or a spokesperson in his office were not successful. The constitutional amendment Theres a time crunch concerning the proposed amendment. Proposed constitutional amendments have to be approved by the Legislature twice, in different sessions, and then approved by voters. The proposed amendment cited by Wolf was passed last session, and if lawmakers can approve it soon Wolf has used the date of Jan. 27 it can be placed on the May 16 primary election ballot. Schlossberg is doubtful, because of the ongoing disagreements. I do not envision a scenario where this gets on the May ballot, he said. Mike Straub, spokesperson for House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler, said Cutler has made no secrets that he wants to address these constitutional amendment questions in as timely a manner as possible. A significant complication is that there are two bills that include the same proposed constitutional amendment. The one referred to by Wolf is a standalone, one-amendment bill. The outgoing governor said the very tight schedule can only be accomplished under the specific circumstances of a single, straightforward amendment. On Wednesday, though, the Senate passed a package of several proposed constitutional amendments, including the one on child sex abuse lawsuits and another on voter ID. The Senate vote was 28-20, with Northampton County Democrat Lisa Boscola joining all Republicans voting in favor of the package. Straub said Republican House members dont necessarily embrace the Senate action. We never said we were desperate to put it in a package, Straub said. That is something they have done. It was, he said, one more reason for the House to get back into gear. Late Friday, Lehigh Valley Republican Reps. Ryan Mackenzie and his mother Milou Mackenzie issued a statement that said they were among 20 House members who sent a letter to Rozzi asking him to call the House into session to consider the amendment package. Rozzi political registration An intriguing question among the 200 House members is Rozzis future in the top spot. He was elected to the top position with the support of 16 Republicans, including Cutler, and was nominated for the spot by Blair County Republican Rep. Jim Gregory. But Gregory earlier this week called for Rozzi to resign the position, saying he had broken a promise to switch his political registration from Democrat to independent a promise that won support from some Republicans to elect him. It was the agreement, Cutler said of the switch referred to by Gregory. We supported Rep. Gregory when he brought this idea forward. Schlossberg said he has seen no sign Rozzi intends to make the switch. He has told members that his intention is to remain a Democrat, Schlossberg said. For Schweyer, the question of Rozzis political affiliation is important. But what really matters is what we are able to do in the next two years, he added. Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com In a shocking revelation in a fresh chargesheet in the Jamaat-Ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) case registered in April last year in Madhya Pradesh, the NIA said a Bihar-based operative of the banned outfit translated Jihadi literature from Urdu/Arabic to Hindi and uploaded it on social media groups for its circulation amongst impressionable Muslims. Ali Asgar alias Abdullah Bihari alias Umair, a resident of East Champaran district in Bihar who has been named in the supplementary chargesheet, had been deeply influenced by the ideology of various proscribed terrorist organizations, such as JMB and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent with an intention to further its activities in India, mentions the charge-sheet. Asgar entered into a criminal conspiracy with his associates to influence, radicalize and motivate Indian Muslims to prepare for violent jihad against the Indian State, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed the court through the chargesheet. In pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, accused Ali Asgar translated Jihadi literature from Urdu/Arabic to Hindi and uploaded it on social media groups for its circulation amongst impressionable Muslims, the chargesheet mentioned. Investigations have further established that Ali Asgar was involved in causing disaffection against India through false and distorted preachings that democracy was anti-Islamic and Muslims were being persecuted in India because of democracy, said the chargesheet. The NIA filed the chargesheet before a special court in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh against Asgar in the JMB case pertaining to the arrest of 10 active cadres of the proscribed terrorist organization, including six illegal immigrants of Bangladesh, in March last year. Asgar was chargesheeted under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The case was initially registered on March 14 last year by Bhopal Police and re-registered by the NIA on April 5 last year. NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against six accused on September 7 last year. The case was filed based on reliable information received that four illegal immigrants namely Fazar Ali, Jahiruddin Ali, Jain-Ul-Abdin, and Mohammad Akhil Ahmed Shaikh, residing at the house of Nayab Jahan located near Fatima Bi Masjid, Aishabag Police Station area in Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh, were propagating the ideology of JMB and were raising funds for the organization and motivating youth to perform Jihad against India. KATHMANDU: Nepals Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has said that he will be paying an official visit to India soon. This will be Prachandas first visit abroad after he took over the reins of government in late December. I will be visiting India very soon. Preparations are being made for the same, Prime Minister Prachanda told a select group of journalists at his official residence in Baluwatar, on Saturday. However, he did not share exact dates for his visit. Sources at Nepals foreign ministry said that the two sides are in close contact to finalise the dates and agendas for the visit. Dates are being worked out. Most likely, the visit takes place in February. We will announce the visit at an appropriate time, a senior Nepali official privy to this development told India Narrative on Saturday. The official further said that the visit will be focused on cementing age-old multifaceted and civilizational ties between the two countries. In a congratulatory letter to Prachanda last week, Indian PM Narendra Modi said that he was looking forward to welcome him in India at the earliest. He also expressed confidence that ties between the two friendly nations will be further enhanced under the leadership of Prachanda. Warmest congratulations @cmprachanda on being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. The unique relationship between India and Nepal is based on deep cultural connect and warm people-to-people ties. I look forward to working together with you to further strengthen this friendship, Modi tweeted while extending facilitations to Prachanda on his appointment on December 25. Indias Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava also conveyed PM Modis greetings to Prime Minister Prachanda last week. On the occasion, the two sides also discussed Prachandas forthcoming visit to New Delhi, according to sources close to the prime minister. Prime Minister Prachanda looks enthusiastic to enhance ties with India, insiders say. In a recent media interview, he said that he looks forward to have balanced ties with immediate neighbors India and China as well as the United States. Talking to Indias ABP News, Prachanda said he would strive for balanced foreign relations with neighbours India and China. He vowed to strengthen Nepals relations with India. We want good relations with India, he said. I am not against India, will forget the old disputes and move forward, said Prachanda. He also recalled Indian PM Modis congratulatory message on his appointment. PM Narendra Modi tweeted his best wishes and talked about further strengthening the relations between India and Nepal. PM Modi is the first Prime Minister who congratulated me, he said. This will be Prachandas second visit to India in the past one year. In July last year, he visited New Delhi in the capacity of a leader of the ruling party of Nepal. He was invited by Chairperson of Indias ruling BJP Jagat Prakash Nadda. During the visit, he visited the BJP headquarters. Prachanda, who is also the chairperson of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), was appointed the prime minister after he abruptly broke away from the five-party ruling alliance led by the Nepali Congress. The prime minister, who won the mandatory vote of confidence with two-third majority from the House of Representatives last week, is holding talks with partners in his government to complete shape to his cabinet by the mid of this week. Prachanda, meaning fierce one, is a former rebel leader who spearheaded a decade-long bloody insurgency against the Shah monarchy since 1996 that left over 15,000 dead and ended in a 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that led to the abolition of Nepals 240-year monarchy. The Maoist party joined mainstream politics in 2008 and emerged as the largest party through the countrys first Constituent Assembly elections held in the same year. He became prime minister for the first time in August 2008 and was forced to quit power in just nine months following his attempt to sack the countrys army chief Rookmangud Katwal. In 2016, he ran the government for nine months in partnership with the Congress party. Also Read: Maoist chief Prachanda to visit India from Friday as crucial elections loom in Nepal (Santosh Ghimire is India Narratives Nepal correspondent based in Kathmandu) Car dealers use all sorts of gimmicks to entice people to buy cars. A few dealerships in the Lehigh Valley area went too far, state authorities contend. Lehighton Kia and Brodheadsville Chevrolet were among four dealerships under the same ownership group accused of false or misleading advertising, falsification of credit applications and aggressive or abusive sales tactics. The dealerships and their parent company, the Rosado Group of Milton, Pike County, settled the probe by the attorney generals office without admitting wrongdoing. This isnt the first time, though, that business practices at some of these dealerships have been flagged by authorities. Customers will share $50,000 in restitution in the settlement, which was reached over the summer but just announced this month among a series of cases against car dealers statewide. William Rosado, president of the Rosado Group, declined to comment through the firms attorney, Bruce Coyer of Scranton. The dealerships and Rosado Group settled because litigation would have been long, protracted and expensive for both Mr. Rosado and for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania, Coyer told me. It was not by any means an admission to any of the things listed. The settlement alleges the Rosado Group; Lehighton Kia in Lehighton; Brodheadsville Chevrolet in Monroe County; Dickson City Hyundai in Lackawanna County; and Milford Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Pike County violated the state consumer protection law, automotive industry trade practices law, motor vehicle finance sales law and federal lending regulations. The settlement makes broad allegations against the dealerships, including that they would contact customers to say their current vehicle was in high demand or they had a buyer lined up for it, when such claims were not always accurate. They also were accused of using yo-yo financing, in which they negotiated sales agreements with customers, then asked customers to renegotiate the terms because the dealers had been unable to get a third-party financer to extend credit under the initial terms. The agreement also details specific allegations against each dealership. It says that after a customer signed a credit application, Brodheadsville Chevrolet entered an inflated income figure so a lender would provide more financing to the buyer. In an instance of alleged aggressive or abusive sales tactics, employees at the dealership refused to promptly return a customers car keys after evaluating the customers trade-in, causing the customer to feel captive at the dealership. The state alleged Lehighton Kia and Dickson City Hyundai told customers they could refinance their vehicle purchase after six months, which may have persuaded customers to buy a vehicle with monthly payments higher than they could afford. Consumers who purchased vehicles based upon such representations found that they were unable to refinance as claimed and were forced to either trade their vehicle in on a different vehicle or the consumer had their vehicle repossessed, the settlement says. Customers of these dealerships who filed complaints with the attorney generals office between Jan. 1, 2009, and Aug. 31 will receive a letter explaining their eligibility for restitution. This isnt the first time some of these dealerships have been investigated by state consumer protection authorities. Three years ago, Brodheadsville Chevrolet; the former Lehighton Chrysler, now Lehighton Kia; Dickson City Hyundai and Milford Chrysler Sales settled a probe by the state Department of Banking that alleged customers credit applications were altered. And in 2002, Lehighton Chrysler, Dickson City Hyundai and Milford Chrysler settled an investigation by the attorney generals office into potential violations of the consumer protection law. I asked Coyer why the dealerships repeatedly have drawn the attention of authorities. He told me the dealerships are committed to serving everyone, including people who have trouble getting financing. Those customers sometimes run into trouble after the sale, such as with a repossession, and then they complain, he said. They wind up venting and blaming the dealership that they didnt understand the deal, that they never should have been sold the car in the first place, Coyer said. He said all terms are in writing, but despite that, they still complain that something happened, that they were somehow tricked into buying the car or deceived in some way. When youre shopping for a car, get all of the terms in writing. Dont let yourself be pressured or talked into a deal you dont understand. If you feel uncomfortable, walk away. There are plenty of cars for sale in the area. Update: Thanksgiving is on the horizon and a few people are thankful that problems exposed by the Watchdog have been resolved. On Thursday, I wrote about Rebecca Kauers dilemma. She had bought a home at a Lehigh County sheriffs sale that shouldnt have been auctioned because it had been sold about a week earlier at the countys annual tax upset sale. Kauer, of Salisbury Township, paid a $12,000 deposit on her purchase, and two months later it hadnt been refunded. She finally got paid Friday. I wrote this month about Christine Kuhns dispute with a contractor that she alleged sprayed tar on her car as she drove through a construction zone in Allentown. She told me the contractor, Joao & Bradley Construction of Bethlehem Township, ignored her request for compensation, so she sued. Kuhns, of Lower Macungie Township, won her lawsuit when the company did not attend the hearing to defend itself. Faced with a court judgment, it paid up a few weeks ago. Kuhns told me she received a check for the damage and her court costs from the companys attorney. The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me at watchdog@mcall.com, 610-841-2364 or The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. Im on Twitter @mcwatchdog and Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog. TV actress and DIY expert Uorfi Javed is a public figure who is known for not taking anyones wrong judgement or criticism. The Bigg Boss OTT contestant who is popular for her unique and cut-above-the-rest outfits has now slammed spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev for his remarks on the LGBTQ community. Also Read: Police Complaint Filed Against Uorfi Javed Over Obscene Acts In Public Places, Actress Reacts web screen grab Supporting the queer community, Uorfi told Sadhgurus followers to unfollow the actress immediately. Through her Instagram story, Uorfi shared a small clip of Sadhguru's speech where he passed an alleged remark no need of any LGBTQ campaign. Uorfi visibly miffed with his views captioned it, Anyone who follows this cult leader, please unfollow me. So, LGBTQ is actually a campaign, according to him. It is rightly so, as the said people involved in the campaign are able to talk about their sexuality freely and loudly. Instagram The percentage of the LGBTQ community is not small, but guess what. Your brain is. Such type of propaganda should not be encouraged. The LGBTQ community needs our support. For centuries, people were forced to hide their sexuality. Pretend to be someone else. We need to have campaigns. Parades to tell everyone that it is okay to be yourself. No matter who you choose to love. You are accepted, she added in another story. Also Read: Uorfi Javed Detained In Dubai For Reportedly Sporting A Revealing Outfit & Shooting In Public Instagram Uorfi Javeds banter with BJP leader Chitra Kishor Wagh takes new turn as actress files police complaint. The duos controversy erupted as Chitra and state BJP's women cell chief had earlier called for Uorfis arrest for 'indulging in nudity publicly on the streets of Mumbai'. Javed on Friday (January 13th) moved the Maharashtra Women's Commission against Wagh. Saying that these comments instigate attacks on her, Uorfi met the Women's commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar at her office. The actresss lawyer Nitin Satpute told India Today, "Our complaint against Wagh is for threatening Urfi Javed. Any member of the ruling party threatening a person means the government supports her threat. These comments can cause harm to Javed. We will also approach Mumbai police to get a restraining order against Wagh for not making further comments on Javed." Also Read: Uorfi Javed Lite, Netizens Troll Bigg Boss 16 Fame Manya Singh As She Sports Her New Look Nitin said that a complaint letter has been sent to the Mumbai Commissioner of Police as well. Before turning into a social media sensation, Uorfi starred in some successful TV shows like Bade Bhaiyaa Ki Dulhaniyan, Chandra Nandini, Meri Durga, Bepannah, Saat Phero Ki Hera Pheeri, Jiji Maa, Daayan, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Aye Mere Humsafar and Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2020). (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) In a shocking incident, a woman was allegedly gang-raped by five men at knifepoint in front of her boyfriend in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram city. Representational Image/AFP The 19-year-old college student was chatting with her boyfriend at an isolated spot in Kancheepuram when the incident occurred. Couple studied at same college Police said that the couple studied in the same college and were in a relationship for the past two years. They often met at the remote spot near a private school 3 km from the Bengaluru-Puducherry outer ring road, where local anti-socials can be spotted drinking at night. The couple came to the same spot around 7 pm on Thursday. They were spotted by two men who were having drinks in the vicinity. Kanchipuram Deputy superintendent of police P Julius Caesar told TOI that the said men then called up three of their friends to join them. Accused threatened the woman Following this, all five men approached the couple. Three of these individuals held the boyfriend at knifepoint while the other two dragged the woman around hundred metres away. "The accused told the woman that if she resisted, they would murder and bury both of them," the police officer added. Representational Image/BCCL The five men then took turns to rape the woman. Since all five were drunk, the couple escaped from the spot after a while. The woman's boyfriend informed his uncle, who lives nearby, and the woman was taken to a hospital. Police made arrests with limited information Based on a complaint from her father, police registered a case. The couple could not identify the accused clearly as the place had no light and the perpetrators reportedly wore masks. However, the survivor remembered a particular detail that one of the gang had called another 'Vimal'. With this clue, police launched a search and found Vimal Kumar, 25, from the same locality. Representational Image/BCCL During interrogation, Vimal spilt the beans and police nabbed Manikandan, 22, Sivakumar, 20, Vignesh, 22, Thennarasu, 23. The accused were booked for rape and remanded in judicial custody. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. On Friday, Delhi Police arrested a trainee ticketing agent after he made a hoax bomb call at the SpiceJet call centre in Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Representational Image Following the call by the 24-year-old man on Thursday evening, a Pune-bound SpiceJet flight at the IGI airport was evacuated and thoroughly searched, IANS reported. Accused works for British Airways The accused, identified as Abhinav Prakash, lives in Dwarka and was working for British Airways at DLF Qutub Plaza, Gurugram, for the last seven months. Abhinav reportedly made the hoax call to delay the departure of his friends' 'girlfriends' who were on board the said flight. After his arrest, police also launched a search to arrest two other accused persons at large. According to Ravi Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI), information regarding a bomb 'planted' on the flight set to depart for Pune at 9.30 pm was received on Thursday evening. Flight evacuated, luggage checked In response, CISF personnel instantly swung into action and a meeting of all stakeholders was called, given the bomb threat was specific. The SpiceJet flight had 182 passengers and crew members on board, who were immediately taken to the isolation bay. Representational Image "All the passengers and their luggage were thoroughly checked by the CISF. The aircraft was also thoroughly checked, but no suspicious item or article was found. After securing the flight and ensuring the safety of all the passengers, the security personnel at the airport examined the SpiceJet officials," the officer said. Police then investigated the matter with the help of technical surveillance and found ownership of the number which was used for the hoax call. The probe revealed that the number was registered under Abhinav's name and finally arrested him. Friends asked him to get flight delayed During interrogation, Abhinav revealed that his childhood friends, Rakesh and Kunal Sehrawat, befriended two girls on a recent trip to Manali. The girls were departing to Pune on the same SpiceJet flight. Abhinav's friend told him they wanted to spend some more time with the girls and prompted him to concoct a plan to delay the flight's departure from Delhi. Following this, all three crafted a plan of making a hoax bomb call at the call centre to get the flight cancelled. Then, Abhinav called Spicejet officials, telling them there was a bomb on the plane. Representational Image But when the officials tried to reach him, he didn't respond to their calls. Manhunt launched to nab accused's friends "The accused, to boost their false bravado, also contacted the girls, who were on board the flight. They even celebrated the execution of their malevolent act," DCP Ravi Kumar said. "When Kunal and Rakesh came to know that Prakash has been arrested, they fled from their addresses and are presently absconding. Efforts are on to nab them," he added. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Richard Harris and the IRA extract Joe Jackson But there was one contentious subject no one dared to ask on July 21, 1982, as Richard gave a Press Conference in London to announce that the touring production of Camelot would open at the Apollo Theatre in the West End the following November. It was to be directed by Michael Rudman. A snippet in a showbiz column reported that Harris entertained the press with a torrent of reminiscences about his New York performance in the musical. And, more personally, about his reasons for now being teetotal. Nobody asked Harris about the IRA until [an] uncredited journalist did. A day earlier, during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regents Park, the IRA detonated two bombs, killing four soldiers of the Blues and Royals at Hyde Park and seven members of the Royal Green Jackets and their horses in Regents Park. But what about the views of one of the worlds most famous Irish men on the London bombings, which killed a number of people 24 hours before? Nobody saw fit to ask him although Harris once wrote a poignant and devastating indictment of the Irish problem called There are Too Many Saviours on my Cross. Warily, I put the question. For once, words escaped him. All he could mutter was dreadful, just dreadful but his tears said it all. Harriss tears didnt say it all. And those few words were not all he would say about the IRAs bombing campaign. Also, this was not all the British media would say about Richard Harris in relation to the IRA. Far from it. Indeed, that snippet was more ominous than many readers probably realised. A month later, during an extensive interview with Tom McGurk, for the Irish newspaper, the Sunday Tribune, he and Harris had extensive discussions about the IRA. But in that published article, the IRA was not mentioned. I mention this here only because Richard Harris and Tom McGurk would end up at war in court within a year. Four years later, during our first interview I asked Harris about his alleged support for the IRA. Richard Harris at the Dorchester Hotel press conference to announce a new London stage production of the musical Camelot in 1982. Picture: PA J: Rumours about your support for the IRA probably go back to the early 1970s, when you attended a fundraising function for Noraid in New York. Did those rumours ill-effect the London run of Camelot and lead to you receiving death threats at the same time? R: Rumours do go back to those days. They did damage that run of Camelot, and yes, I received many death threats [from Loyalist paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland]. A journalist on the Sunday Express, John Junor [Editor-in-Chief 1954-1986], wrote a piece after I did the Royal Variety command performance, at which I met the Queen Mother and shook her hand. The following Sunday, he said, I hope the queen mum wore gloves shaking the (blood-stained) hand of Richard Harris. He described me as a killer, financing IRA death squads, and so on. We then had bomb threats at every performance, bombs arrived at the theatre, and I got 17 death threats by phone and 11 by letter. J: How much truth was there to the rumour of your support for the IRA? R: I was a tremendous supporter of Noraid. I raised a fortune for them in America, understanding that the money raised was to go to both Catholics and Protestants and rehouse the wives and children of people who were in jail. This is what we were told. But the article in the Sunday Express was misleading because they singled me out and didnt mention who else was at that table during that Northern Aid function. It was a non-sectarian, nondenominational event to raise funds for all. The IRA was not mentioned that night by any speaker. It was recorded, and the tapes were investigated by the American Department of Justice, who were afraid it might be a subversive event. They decided it wasnt. We had at our table alone a Protestant Bishop from Northern Ireland, many Protestants and Catholics, and Jewish senators. But in many newspaper reports, it was said to be an IRA/Sinn Fein table. It was not. J: But you support the Irish republican cause, dont you? R: I am a republican. I believe in a united Ireland. I also believe that violence was forced upon the Irish. Go back to the history of the old Provisional IRA, and you see that this is true. There is no question that violence perpetrated by the Brits led to the creation of the Provisional IRA. They are the result of British tyranny and British violence. But I do not approve, and I cannot approve, of the IRA taking the battle into the private sector. I cannot approve of them blowing up, for example, Harrods. I just cant. Though one wants to achieve a United Ireland if thats what everybody wants, and whether they do or dont, I want it, and those who dont will have to accept it when it comes but I cannot condone violence. J: You just said you do, to a point. R: But not in the private sector. There is a war between the IRA and the British Army, and that is the territory. People will die. But taking it beyond that, I cannot believe in, and I will not condone, and I do not support. This is an edited section from a chapter in Joe Jacksons book Richard Harris Raising Hell and Reaching for Heaven. Here, I must break away from the chronology thus far in this chapter, if only to try undo the lie still prevalent, particularly in the UK, that Harris was a lifelong supporter of the IRA. Within six months of this interview, unknown to me, Richard gave lectures to Irish societies in America and discouraged them from donating money to the IRA or arms. This led to him receiving death threats from the IRA. Six months later, during a libel case in London, Harris mentioned those death threats and said, someone has to take a stand against the IRA. The killing must stop. I have had six death threats on my life this year, and they will start again because of what I am saying in this court. None of this was reported in the British media. Nor was the fact that on March 17th, 1989, before a concert Richard gave with the Chieftains in Carnegie Hall and a pre-gig television show at the Tavern on the Green in New York, he received more death threats from the IRA. They said no such threats were made. But the NYPD took the threats seriously enough to have bomb squads at each event. And during the event at the Tavern, Richard, in a broadcast beamed back to Ireland, recited There Are Too Many Saviours On My Cross, his 1972 plea to both sides for reconciliation. Cliff Goodwin, in his book, Behaving Badly, claims that as far back as 1970, Harriss name appeared on a Northern Ireland Intelligence Report, which was sent to the Metropolitan Police Special Branch in London. It claimed that a hard-line Loyalist group had put his name on a list of high profile Irish people it intended to kill. One of its London-based cells planned to shoot him one night as he came home to Tower House. But the gang received a high-level tip-off from Belfast and was that the attack had been aborted for political reasons. Goodwin further claims that nobody thought it necessary to warn Richard Harris. Alternative options for this years brides Carolyn OSullivan designs and makes unconventional bridalwear for those who dont want the typical white wedding. Keen for her customers to opt for a bridal look that can be worn again, she creates pieces that are alternatives to the traditional white wedding gown. Her collection includes short dresses and trouser suits in a myriad of different fabrics including metallics and floral patterns. Specialising in beautiful fabrics and tailoring, youll find OSullivans brand, Not Another White Dress, at the Bride of the Year Show in Dublins RDS on January 28 and 29 as well as at www.notanotherwhitedress.ie Financial advice from the Money Mentor Get hold of your finances with Santis OGarro Television presenter and writer Santis OGarro always has great budgeting tips and now she has turned her practical advice into her first book - The Money Mentor: How to Manage Debt, Reach Your Goals & Achieve Financial Wellness. Offering foolproof advice that has worked for her, the book reveals attainable tips to help readers change their money mindsets, face bad financial habits head-on and eliminate debt. Learn how to cope with your weekly shop, monthly bills, back-to-school pressures, annual costs and more. Harper Collins Ireland. UK 14.99. In all good bookshops from January 19. Vivienne Westwood x Specsavers The Vivienne Westwood x Specsavers eyewear collection takes inspiration from key design notes from the late designers fashion house Fashion and design lovers the world over were heartbroken to hear of the recent death of Vivienne Westwood, aged 81, a truly unique designer, a maverick and a rebel. Those wishing to own a Westwood piece at an affordable price tag will enjoy the Vivienne Westwood x Specsavers eyewear collection which takes inspiration from key design notes from the late designers fashion house. Featuring signature prints and graphics such as the designers trademark tartan, graffiti prints and the VW orb, the frames are perfect as both reading glasses and sunglasses. In keeping with Westwoods environmental stance, the frames are partially made from Eastman Acetate Renew - a combination of recycled single-use plastic and bio-based materials, the cleaning cloth is made from recycled polyester and the case is made of recycled felt. Available at Specsavers stores nationwide. www.specsavers.ie Crafty tours for food lovers in Galway Galway Food Tours If youre taking a trip to Galway this year then check out the award-winning Galway Food Tours - a terrific guide to the citys food scene. On February 12, Galway Food Tours will take visitors on a foodie journey that will also take in some of the citys fashion and craft spots. Start the morning in Plamas cafe with coffee and a sweet treat from Kai before visiting OMaille The Original House of Style where youll find some very on-trend Aran jumpers. Next stop is Ard Bia, one of Galways most well known restaurants, followed by a weaving workshop with Sarah Jenkins (and a tipple of course) in the Galway City Distillery. 85 per person. Contact Sheena on 086 733 2885 or email galwayfoodtours@gmail.com. Journaling for kids with The Head Plan The Head Plan has just launched The Kids Journal Journaling has become a popular activity for many adults who are drawn to the meditative nature of putting pen to paper each day as they jot down thoughts and emotions, plans, dreams and reflections. In this digital age, journaling can be a positive addition to the daily routine - giving children of all ages the chance to write down their thoughts without judgement or rules. Two years in development, founder of The Head Plan, Denise Kenny Byrne, has just launched The Kids Journal. Designed to instil self belief, help manage anxious thoughts and develop self confidence, this could be a great new habit for children aged 6 to 12 to develop in 2023. Available at Dundrum Town Centre, Mahon Point Cork, Arnotts and Brown Thomas stores. 22. Health-boosting vitamins from down under Detox + Debloat Getting to grips with the myriad of supplements on the market can be mind-boggling to say the least. Here to simplify the situation is one of Australias leading wellness and lifestyle brands - JSHealth Vitamins - just launched on the EU market. Founded in 2018 by Jessica Sepel, a clinical nutritionist, health author and wellness expert, JSHealth Vitamins are science-based and designed to address common concerns making it easier to figure out which supplement is best for you. Addressing common concerns such as acne, bloating, sleep issues, immunity, hormone balance, digestion or stress and anxiety, the brands best-selling supplements include Hair + Energy, Metabolism + Sugar Support, Detox + Debloat, Skin + Digestion and PM Sleep + Calm. Shop at uk.jshealthvitamins.com Private schools are in the news yet again: Irish taxpayers paid 120m towards 51 private schools last year. Our money could be better spent. I know many disagree with me on private education. Its always good to speak with people with whom you disagree, and this week I spoke to someone who thinks our education system is perfectly fair. In fact, she believes the state should continue its involvement in private education to maintain this fairness. Susan contacted me via email having read my book, O Captain, My Captain, published in 2021 by Orpen Press. She enjoyed it apart from my position on private education, that is. Like me, Susan spent years teaching in England. Whilst I worked in a poor neighbourhood in London, she worked in some of the most elite private schools in the country. As a student, I attended a private school; she attended a DEIS school. Education has taken us in opposite directions but weve both seen two sides of it. Speaking about her time in Englands loftiest institutions, Susan described her students as being a different breed. She explained that they were mostly wealthy by inheritance and were therefore completely out of touch with reality. The states lack of involvement with such schools is dangerous according to Susan because they are left to do what they want. We even had classes on courtesy and etiquette, she exclaimed, emphasising how these schools preserve class-based elitism in English society. But not so here, argued Susan. Here, private school students are ordinary, normal. This, for her, is why the Irish state should continue its support of them. It keeps everything on a comparable level. Susan now works in a private school in Munster. She says her students parents work for their money. They follow the same curriculum as everyone else in the country. Susan assures me that she wont hesitate to send her own children to private school because they are better staffed and offer better opportunities. Its good to listen to people with whom you disagree, but then came a comment that, for me, nails the coffin shut on Susans argument, a throwaway remark, a predictable conjecture in any defence of private education: There will always be a difference in how much money people have. Susan is correct. Inequality is a given in society. For Susan this is a defence of private education. For me, it is the very reason to do away with it. The state cannot control what goes on inside the homes of any two children, what resources they have, what attention they get from their parents. But the state can offer those two children as equal an educational provision as is possible. The state can ensure that it does not support and perpetuate societal advantage. Does that mean that all people who attend private schools are bad people and deserving of our scorn? No. People in these communities are good and kind and loving, no different to anyone. I have been on the receiving end of far too much inverted snobbery to join any blanket attack on people who attend private schools. They are just people. It is the state that needs to step up, to protect and promote our distinct cultural difference with England, putting an end to institutions that ape English style hierarchies. Susan believes that if the state were to pull its funding of private schools, even more elitist institutions would develop. I disagree. Many people simply couldnt afford these schools without state funding. Instead, theyd put their time into our state system. My hope is that our state system would only get stronger as a result. The percentage of children in private education here is falling. Perhaps wed become more like Finland, where private schools are unusual. During our conversation Susan defended private schools with the usual claim parents have a right to choose their childs school, as is enshrined in our constitution. But a choice available to only a select few is a privilege. When it comes to education, our constitution is highly contradictory. It also promises to cherish all children equally. Because, you know, theyre children. There will always be inequality but a public/private split in education is damaging because it accentuates these inequalities. It creates resentment and division. Susan has been on both sides, as have I. We agree on one thing. All children are worth educating. All children are deserving of an equal chance in life. I wonder what education system wed end up with if we started from there. And considered staying there. A High Court judge has ruled that two children removed from another EU country and brought to Ireland by their mother must be returned to that jurisdiction. In a judgment directing their return, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty, rejected a claim that one of the children was at grave risk from self-harm if returned, and said that any decision to move the children to another country "can only be done with the consent of both parents". The children were wrongfully abducted from their home, despite childcare proceedings which are ongoing in their home country's family courts, the judge held. The judge added that the "history of chronic conflict" between both parents is a major cause of the one of their children's distress. "The parties in the action should consider this when it comes to parenting in the medium to long terms and determining the best interests of their children," she said. The children had lived with their parents, until the couple's relationship broke down, the court heard. The children's father, who had been given joint custody of them, applied to the Irish courts for an order under the Hague Convention, the international agreement which governs alleged 'child abduction', for their return to their country of habitual residence. He said that last year the children were taken to Ireland for a holiday, but was later informed by their mother that they wished to remain here. The father did not consent to that. The mother had opposed the application, on the grounds including that one of the children was at grave risk from self-harm if returned. The court was also asked to take both children's views, who allegedly wanted to stay here, into account. The parties, who all have family links with Ireland, cannot be identified for legal reasons. Judgment In her judgment, Ms Justice Gearty said both children have been the subject of family law proceedings in their home country following the breakdown of their parents' relationship. The judge said that there was no evidence before her that the specific issue concerning the child at risk was referred to when the matter was last before the courts in their home country. The judge also said that in 2019 an application to relocate the children to Ireland was made before the country's courts, which was not granted. However, in the most recent family law hearings no such application was made, and no challenge was made to the joint custody arrangements. The judge said the views of the child at risk about being returned home amount to a strong objection. That objection did not counterbalance the factors in favour of return, when all the relevant factors were taken into account, the judge said. The other child would prefer to remain in Ireland but no objection to a return is made out in that case, the judge said. She said that "continuing care and professional help" will be needed for the child deemed to be at risk. The judge said that the child in question had expressed unhappiness in respect of her school and had made references to cutting and self-harm. This is best addressed in the childs home country, where the childs medical, educational and social welfare records are kept and where the relevant trained professionals are familiar with the family. There had been ongoing evaluation and support for that child in their country, the judge said. The judge said that the court had also taken into account evidence, including a report from an expert assessor who had interviewed the children. The judge said that any risk to the child at risk will require professional evaluation beyond the contents of the assessors report in this case. However, what was contained in that report was "insufficient to sustain a defence that the child will be at grave risk if returned home." There was no evidence that the relevant authorities in the children's home country would be unable or unwilling to treat and mitigate any risk arising. There having been insufficient evidence to establish a grave risk to the child, or to conclude that either of them would be in an intolerable situation should they be returned, the judge said the court is not required to consider the exercise of its discretion in this regard. Taking all matters into account, including the educational and social work involvement with the at-risk child, this court must return both children who have been retained here since last year, the judge concluded. Gardai objected to an application by a woman to have a horsebox trailer returned to her on the basis of suspicions that it was stolen property, but she said she bought it through Donedeal from a man who has since died. Detective Garda David Barry of Fermoy garda station said that on July 14, 2022, a large number of trailers were seized by gardai in a large-scale operation. At Spring Lane halting site in Cork, 11 trailers were seized. Six of those are believed to be stolen property and are being retained by gardai, the detective said. One of those seized and retained was the focus of Kathleen Delaneys police property application at Cork District Court. Ms Delaney applied to have the Ifor Williams trailer seized from opposite her property at Bay 5, Spring Lane halting site, returned to her. She said she bought a pony for her son and she needed the trailer to move the animal from place to place. Ms Delaney testified that she spotted the trailer on Donedeal and arranged to meet a man outside a garage in Blarney where he told her it was 1,650. She said they agreed a price of 1,500 and that he gave her back 50 for luck. Judge Olann Kelleher asked of the man who sold it to her: Is he here? She replied: He is deceased at the moment." "I bought it in good faith. If I knew it was stolen I wouldnt have bought it, she added. Det. Garda Barry said the serial number had been tampered with and altered and was repainted. Sergeant Pat Lyons said gardai had identified the owners of other trailers through a media campaign and the owners were happy to have their property returned to them. He said the trailer in this case was still being investigated to establish ownership. Judge Olann Kelleher said he would put the case back for two months. Unfortunately, Ms Delaney has no proof. I am not satisfied. At the side of the road to pay 1,500 and have no proof of who he is or where he comes from and without a scintilla of evidence of a transaction. Frank Buttimer, solicitor for Ms Delaney, said that by the same token the gardai did not have proof that it was stolen or any statement from someone saying it belonged to them, adding, Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. Not every state is ignoring the death toll from gun violence. While Pennsylvania lawmakers refuse to even try anything, their counterparts in Illinois took a big step this week. Illinois became the ninth state, along with Washington, D.C., to restrict the prevalence of assault rifles. The new law, which took effect immediately when it was signed Tuesday, bans sales of the killing machines. The law allows current owners to keep them. To be legal, they must be registered with state police. Second Amendment worshippers already are howling about violations of their constitutional rights and threatening lawsuits. But similar bans in other states have withstood legal challenges. And for a decade, assault weapon sales were banned nationwide, under the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act that expired in 2004. Meanwhile, here in Pennsylvania, let me remind you of our most-recent legislative action regarding assault rifles. Last May, the Republican-controlled Legislature endorsed them, barely 24 hours after one was used to kill 21 kids and teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas. Largely along party lines, Pennsylvania lawmakers voted not to hold a vote on legislation to enact a ban similar to the one in Illinois. The best they could do to honor the Uvalde victims was to hold a moment of silence. A different Legislature is in place now. Republicans no longer have a death grip on the state House. They hold a slim majority today, but thats expected to change after special elections are held to fill three vacancies in districts that are Democratic strongholds. Hopefully, there will be a new chair of the House Judiciary Committee, the starting point for legislation targeting gun violence. The previous chair, Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin, for years refused to allow votes on common sense legislation such as enacting a red flag law to temporarily remove firearms from people who have shown they could be dangerous. The new House Speaker, Rep. Mark Rozzi, would be making a mistake to allow Kauffman to continue in that post. Rozzi is a Democrat who has pledged to act as an independent speaker. Republicans still run the show in the state Senate, so passing legislation to try to reduce the bloodshed still wont be easy. But with a more balanced Legislature, there should at least be room to begin negotiations. In Illinois, the political landscape made it easier to pass the legislation that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Tuesday. He is a Democrat, and Democrats control the Legislature. No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings, Pritzker said in a statement. However, for too long people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshipping, at celebrations or in their own front yards. This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches and make our state a safer place for all. The legislation, dubbed the Protect Illinois Communities Act, is reasonable because it doesnt force people to surrender weapons they purchased legally. The new law enables merchants to sell or return current stock and Illinois-based manufacturers can sell their wares outside Illinois or to law enforcement. The law prohibits the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and switches, devices that allow firearms to function as automatic weapons. It lists dozens of brands or types of rifles and handguns. Rifles are limited to 10 rounds, and handguns limited to 15. The other states that ban semiautomatic weapons, defining them as assault weapons, include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. New Jerseys law is being challenged in court. Previous attempts to overturn bans have failed. Heres what a federal judge said in 2018 when he rejected an attempt to end the ban in Massachusetts. The AR-15 and its analogs, along with large capacity magazines, are simply not weapons within the original meaning of the individual constitutional right to bear arms,' U.S. District Judge William Young said. Its time for other states to recognize that, too. Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com Violent crime increased in Cork in 2022, with assault, rape, and theft generally rising across the city and county. However, the reopening of society after Covid last year distorted trends, as lockdowns suppressed many crimes in 2021, so comparisons in 2023 would point to more accurate increases or decreases, said Chief Superintendent Thomas Myers. Crime statistics for January to December 2022 were given at Cork County Council's Joint Policing Committee, where statistics were compared to 2021's figures. Assaults causing harm rose to 286 cases in 2022 from 251 in 2021 in Cork City, while minor assaults rose to 950 from 749 the previous year. Assaults also increased in Cork North, rising to 152 cases of assault causing harm in 2022 from 105 the previous year, and 413 minor assaults rising from 359. In Cork West, assaults causing harm remained static at 53 in both 2022 and 2021, but minor assaults increased to 262 from 200. Sex crime numbers The number of rape cases rose by one case to 48 incidents in 2022 in Cork City, while sexual assaults stayed static at 116 cases. But rape offences jumped to 38 cases from 19 the previous year in Cork North, while sexual assaults rose less sharply to 56 from 53 in 2021. In Cork West, rape offences fell from 25 cases in 2021 to 12 cases in 2022. Sexual assaults also fell in this garda division from 40 incidents in 2021 to 37 incidents in 2022. Chief Supt Myers said that many of the reported rape offences were historic, and that an increase in rape reports can also indicate that more people are coming forward and trusting the specialist Protective Services Unit, rather than reflecting an actual increase in rape in society. Drug offences In Cork City, the number of drug offences fell, but Chief Supt Myers said that the quantities seized remained similar to the previous year. A shortage of drugs on the market constricted supply for some time, but when it became available again people bought in bulk, he said. Targeting dealers higher up the criminal ladder was a focus for gardai and the force would continue this in 2023, he said. Domestic abuse reports increased by 18% in Cork City; by 13% in Cork North and by 4% in Cork West. Arson, criminal damage, and drunkenness offences also rose slightly, while public order offences fell slightly in Cork City, and property crime almost doubled in Cork City. But plans to intercept criminal gangs travelling down from Dublin to burgle houses in Cork had been working well, Chief Spt Myers said, and burglary statistics were "fairly static". An increase in theft from shops and theft of property could be explained by the reopening of shops and the nighttime economy after Covid, he added. Community-based policing 'lacking' Local Fine Gael councillor Paul Murtagh said that the crime statistics were stark, however. "Minor assaults are up; assaults causing harm are up; domestic abuse is up; violent and sexual crime is up; robbery, drink, and drug offences are up the night-time economy being the major factor," he said. "I see from my own work in the city that drugs are rampant. I think drugs are a major contributory factor to the increase in a lot of these crimes. "Community-based policing is lacking, and I would like to see more guards employed and stationed back in communities." Monday was a sad day in Irish media circles, and beyond, as the news filtered through that a former editor of this title, Brian Looney, had passed away at the age of 63. Needless to say, the Corkman's death has been met with warm public tributes from his many friends and former colleagues. Those tributes richly deserved have lauded his many and diverse achievements in a truly whirlwind journey through Irish media. It was a journey that saw him appointed as industrial correspondent of the Irish Independent aged 24, editor of The Kerryman newspaper at just 27, and subsequently editor of the then Cork Examiner newspaper. After leaving the Irish Examiner in 2001 and a short stint as political adviser, Brian was appointed managing editor of a group of prestigious regional newspapers in 2004 at just 45 years of age. These titles included the Dundalk Democrat, Leinster Leader, Leinster Express and others. It was in that role that I was lucky enough to work closely with Brian at the height of his insight and powers. A journey that began with several pints in a pub across from Dundalk railway station, I had travelled there from Drogheda to interview for the vacant editor's chair at the Dundalk Democrat. Two hours into a wide-ranging conversation about the newspaper, its potential, and the state of Irish media in general, I told Brian I'd have to run for the last train. Needless to say he ordered two more pints and said not to worry, he'd pay for a taxi to take me home at closing time. Who was I to refuse? Brian Looney had the ability to see work challenges in a wider, big-picture context. An abiding memory of that 'interview' was a query from Brian along the lines of 'had I heard any gossip about him in the Independent Group', my employers at that stage. Emboldened by a few pints, I said that I had heard he had a reputation as being slightly fearsome. With a trademark purse of his lips and mischievous grin, he said that was 'complete bollocks', before saying the only thing that he could not tolerate were people who blocked progress and journalists and managers who had lost touch with their readers. It was a comment and advice that has stuck with me and resonates to this day. Despite this most unconventional but highly enjoyable interview, I walked through the doors of the Dundalk Democrat two months later and began the most enjoyable period of my career in working with Brian and the Democrat team in modernising every facet of one of Ireland's oldest regional titles. Despite many demands on his time, not least as MD of the Leinster Leader Group and a central player in its eventual, and very profitable sale to Johnston Press, Brian would always take a keen interest in what we were doing in Dundalk. I realise now that this was because the work we were doing there reminded him so much of the work he had done in the Irish Examiner: a title he had repositioned from an historic, highly regarded, and respected regional title to an alternative voice in the hugely competitive national newspaper market. Brian, when he did visit, would position himself beside my desk, flick through the latest edition, and ask: "What's the plans for next week?" Brian Looney, former editor of the 'Irish Examiner', at the former offices in Academy Street, Cork. I can honestly say that I looked forward to those conversations, as well as the inevitable challenges and work that they would present because, quite simply, they made sense, and put something I may have been struggling with in a wider, big-picture context one of his great strengths. And, at times, when Brian realised I was struggling with the workload or was having a bad day, he had the emotional intelligence to calmly step back and suggest we perhaps take some time out and follow what he called the most important maxim of man and woman management, the three Ds. Decide (what needs to be done), Delegate (to the right people), and Disappear (to the pub in many cases). In short, and in all seriousness, I can honestly say that I learned more about journalism, and its true role and importance in our society, in the first three months of that journey with Brian than I did in the decade I had spent in Irish journalism up to that date. The remains of the late Brian Looney are shoudered into the Church of The Most Precious Blood, Clogheen, Cork, by former 'Irish Examiner' editor Tim Vaughan, 'Irish Independent' journalist John Downing, and former 'Irish Examiner' leader writer Jack Power. Picture: Dan Linehan Brian Looney was not, of course, a man without his inner demons and human frailties. But those very human demons and flaws could not, and will never, outshine the brilliance of Brian's wit (in the truest and every sense of that word), his incredible warmth when you got under the tough exterior, his integrity, and his understated and unbounded generosity. He has left the stage, but the sum of his actions not just his achievements will ensure his shadow will never truly recede amongst those who knew him. That is perhaps Brian's greatest legacy to us all. RIP, Mr Looney. Dolan O'Hagan is the digital product and projects editor at the 'Irish Examiner'. He worked with Brian at the 'Dundalk Democrat' from 2005 -2007. Five civilians including a mother and her two-year-old daughter have died and two churches were destroyed after air strikes by Myanmars military on two villages inhabited largely by ethnic Karen, relief organisations have said. The dead from the air strikes on villages in Karen states Mutraw district on Thursday also included the pastor of a Baptist church, a Catholic deacon and a church layman, according to the Karen Womens Organisation and the Free Burma Rangers. Another woman and her child were wounded in a second village, they said. The Karen, who live largely in the eastern part of Myanmar along the border with Thailand, are one of the most established ethnic minority rebel forces and have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy from the central government. Homes flattened by suspected military air strikes in the district of Mutraw (Karen Human Rights Group via AP) Fighting increased after February 2021, when the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Air strikes are killing civilians and destroying homes, medical centres, churches, schools, libraries, and monasteries, the Karen womens group said in a statement. The military used deadly force to suppress peaceful protests against its takeover, which triggered armed resistance by pro-democracy forces that joined hands with some of the ethnic rebel groups, including the Karen. The military-installed government then launched offensives in the countryside to try to secure territory using air strikes and burning villages. The National Unity Government, an underground group that calls itself the countrys legitimate government and serves as an umbrella organisation for opponents of military rule, said in a statement this week that since the army takeover, 460 innocent civilians, mostly children, have lost their lives due to (the militarys) repeated air strikes. The strikes also destroyed two churches, relief organisations said (Karen Human Rights Group via AP) The Free Burma Rangers said their volunteers watched from a distance as jets made two bombing runs on Thursday over Lay Wah, one of the attacked villages in Karen states Mutraw district, also called Papun. They said the volunteers arrived after dark at Lay Wah, where the five people died and the churches were destroyed. The other bombed village was Paw Khee Lah, where a woman and child were wounded, according to the Karen womens group. Burma Myanmar Junta Troops Launch Arson Attack on Historic Sagaing Village A monastery and at least 50 homes were reduced to ashes by a junta arson attack in Kan Gyi Taw Village, Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region. Myanmar regime soldiers launched an arson attack on an ancient village in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region on Thursday, destroying a monastery and at least 50 houses, according to residents. Around 100 military regime troops based in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hanlin Village in Wetlet Township arrived in neighboring Kan Gyi Taw Village in Shwebo Township at around 2pm on Thursday afternoon and started torching homes. We had to flee when we heard that they [junta troops] were headed to our village. We knew that they burned down houses and, after an hour, we heard fighting as Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) attacked them, said a Kan Gyi Taw villager who is now sheltering with his family in a nearby village. Regime soldiers based in Hanlin have launched previous arson attacks on nearby villages. Although Kan Gyi Taw Village is not officially part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site centered on Hanlin, locals believe that the village was once part of the same ancient Pyu city as Hanlin. Two PDFs based in Shwebo Township Black Wolf-Army and Who Am I attempted to stop junta troops from torching Kan Gyi Taw Village. Soon after they clashed with regime forces, junta soldiers left the village. No casualties have been reported from the clash. We approached Kan Gyi Taw Village at around 2.50pm yesterday and ambushed the junta troops. A small skirmish broke out. We saw that some of them [regime soldiers] were injured. Then they left the village and went back to Hanliin, said the spokesperson for Black Wolf-Army. After regime forces left the village, residents and PDF fighters put out the fires, but 50 homes and a monastery still went up in smoke, said villagers. Burma Myanmar Regime Troops Kill Six Civilians in Karen State Raid Civilians from Kyainseikgyi Township hiding in the forest in January 2022. (Photo: CJ) Myanmar junta soldiers killed six civilians in Karen State during a Friday raid, as well as looting and torching homes, according to the Kyainseikgyi Peoples Administration, a body of the parallel National Unity Government. Clashes broke out on Friday morning in Alae Village in Karen States Kyainseikgyi Township between military regime troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union, and allied Peoples Defense Forces (PDF), according to the Karen Information Center, a local media outlet. Junta soldiers used civilians as human shields while advancing, forcing the revolutionary forces to retreat initially. However, 10 regime soldiers including a battalion commander were killed in the battle, according to a statement from the Kyainseikgyi Peoples Administration. The statement said that junta casualties will be confirmed by resistance forces at a later date. The Irrawaddy was unable to reach the spokesperson of the Kyainseikgyi Peoples Administration for confirmation of civilian casualties in Alae Village. A spokesperson for White Dragon PDF confirmed the clash. PDFs are fighting in that area, he said. The KNLA base in the area was seized and torched by regime forces, after KNLA fighters retreated to avoid civilian casualties, added the Kyainseikgyi Peoples Administration. On Thursday, three civilians from Tadaoo Village in Kyainseikgyi Township were injured by a regime artillery strike that also destroyed two houses. Last week, KNLA and allied PDF fighters attacked three Myanmar military battalions in Kyainseikgyi, killing 45 junta soldiers. Two regime border bases were also captured in Kyainseikgyi last week. Since December, some 16,335 residents of 22 villages in Kyainseikgyi have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting. Analysis Myanmar Resistance Steps Up Attacks in 2023 The Special Operation Force training in Karen State. / SOF Resistance attacks on Myanmar regime bases have escalated this month after the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and several ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) vowed to step up operations to end military rule. Fighting is expected to intensify as the junta responds with shelling and airstrikes. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Chin National Front (CNF), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Taang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army and Karenni National Progressive Party vowed to increase attacks and oppose the juntas sham election in their new years speeches. Attacks on the junta have been reported in northern Kachin State, western Chin State, eastern Kayah State, northern and southern Shan State and Mon and Karen states and Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe, Yangon, Bago and southern Tanintharyi regions. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), an armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), and several resistance groups attacked junta-allied Border Guard Force (BGF) outposts near the Thai border in Kyainseikgyi Township, Karen State, over new year. Two BGF bases were lost despite shelling and airstrikes from junta bases. More than 90 junta soldiers and BGF allies and eight resistance fighters were killed, according to Karen groups. On January 4, the KNLA and resistance allies occupied three battalion headquarters near the town of Kyainseikgyi. Resistance forces burned down an infantry barracks, officers quarters and vehicles before retreating amid junta shelling and airstrikes. A battalion commander and several captains were among 45 troops killed or injured and seven resistance fighters were killed, the groups claimed. In response, airstrikes have targeted Karen, Chin and Kachin states. KNU Brigade 5 said four junta fighter jets dropped around 50 bombs and fired thousands of rounds on villages and gold mines in Hpapun District, Karen State, on January 3. On Monday fighter jets attacked the headquarters of KIA Brigade 2 in Tanai Township, Kachin State, and a KIA battalion in neighboring Sagaing Region, according to the Kachin media. Some KIA personnel were killed. The attacks followed the new years speech by the Kachin groups chairman General NBan La where he called for all citizens and EAOs to attack the junta decisively as the regime is the enemy of all citizens. Junta jets bombed the headquarters of the CNF, the political wing of the Chin National Army, at Camp Victoria near the Indian border in Chin State on Tuesday and Wednesday. Five resistance fighters were killed and many injured while some buildings, including a clinic, were damaged. The attack followed CNFs chairman Pu Zing Cung, who urged the Chin to topple the regime in his new years speech. The NUGs defense minister U Yee Mon recently said coordinated attacks would hammer the junta in 2023 and more weapons would be sent to resistance groups. The NUG and allied groups are determined to achieve decisive results for the revolution this year and we have drawn up a one-year plan to implement it, the civilian defense minister said. Acting NUG President Duwa Lashi La recently urged the people, resistance forces and EAOs to work hard and boost the revolution. He said 2023 will mark the turning point in the war against military rule. Resistance leaders have told The Irrawaddy that they are planning attacks in 2023 to defeat the junta. The revolution must be completed in 2023 as people are very tired. Resistance fighters want to see their families again, Ko Tay Zar of the Moe Nyo Revolution Force in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region, told The Irrawaddy. The whole country must be liberated this year, the resistance leader said. The resistance groups started fighting with improvised firearms and are increasingly using automatic weapons. The regime continues to burn people alive, use civilians as human shields, burn houses, bomb residential areas and conduct sexual violence. By December, 1.1 million people have been displaced since the 2021 coup. Around 2,730 people had been killed by the junta while 17,217, including government leaders, have been detained since the coup. Junta Watch Junta Watch: Citizens Blamed for Blackouts; Regime Forces Opponents to Accept Awards; and More Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Kyu Kyu Hla attend a ceremony to award medals and certificates of honor for military gallantry in Naypyitaw on January 3. Citizens told to tighten belts as regime boss splurges Junta mouthpiece the Myawady Daily has suggested that citizens are wasting electricity that is supplied in abundance. In fact, residents across the nation have been suffering worsening electricity blackouts since late 2021. Love your country by saving electricity, urged the newspapers Jan. 10 editorial. It claimed that consumers are neglecting to save energy because electricity rates are much cheaper in Myanmar than in neighboring ASEAN countries. It failed however to explain how people could be wasting electricity when they are only supplied for a few hours per day. Nor did it mention that people cannot afford to waste electricity amid soaring food prices and a living-cost crisis in the turmoil following the 2021 coup. The editorial echoed junta boss Min Aung Hlaings advice in December, when he urged people to use bicycles rather than vehicles if they love their motherland, as his cash-strapped regime seeks to reduce dollars spent on fuel imports. Since the coup, Min Aung Hlaing has been urging Myanmar people to reduce their consumption of various staples, including rice and oil, as the crisis deepens. In stark contrast, the junta boss has squandered billions in public funds to create a veil of legitimacy as the countrys leader since seizing power from the democratically elected National League for Democracy government. Along with lavishing honorary titles on junta cronies and organizing grand military reviews, Min Aung Hlaing is now directing state funds into financing an election in an apparent bid to become president. The poll has been dismissed by Myanmars shadow civilian government and democracies around the world as a sham exercise designed to cement military rule. Junta rewards opponents to sow discord Junta-appointed chief ministers and military commanders have been delivering titles to recipients at their doorsteps after they failed to show up to be handed the awards personally by junta boss Min Aung Hlaing earlier this month in Naypyitaw. Many of the title recipients are junta loyalists, but some were honored posthumously, and some perhaps, unwillingly. Among them were ministers of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government which was ousted by the military in a coup in February 2021. On Jan. 11, junta-appointed Naypyitaw Council chairman Tin Oo Lwin rang the doorbell of former hotels and tourism minister U Ohn Maung of the deposed NLD government. U Ohn Maung had little choice but to accept the Thiri Pyanchi title delivered to his doorstep. A total of 24 members of the NLD cabinet, including information minister U Pe Myint, agriculture minister Dr. Aung Thu, and transport minister U Thant Sin Maung were awarded Thiri Pyanchi or Wunna Kyawhtin titles. Distinguished poet Ko Lay (Inwa Gone Yi), who is a prominent NLD supporter, was handed an Alinkar Kyawswar title by the junta chief. Junta-appointed Mandalay Region chief minister Maung Ko delivered the title to Ko Lay. The ailing poet was in no position to refuse given his position attached to a ventilator in a Mandalay hospital. The regime has pushed them into a tight corner by reporting on the delivery of titles in its newspapers. Recipients will be concerned about being penalized if they decline the awards. On the other hand, accepting the title risks attracting negative public opinion. It is fair to say the regime is attempting to drive a wedge in society by forcibly delivering titles. Min Aung Hlaing grants blood money to newborns Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Kyu Kyu Hla gave 100,000 kyats each to parents of 40 babies who were born at military hospitals on January 4 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Independence Day. Among the numerous deadly air strikes conducted on Min Aung Hlaings orders since the coup was the attack that killed 11 children at a school in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region in September last year. Min Aung Hlaing has rewarded the air force chief and pilots conducting the campaign with honorary titles. Meanwhile Kyu Kyu Hla, despite serving as patron of the government-sponsored Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, has done nothing to defend children, more than 260 of whom have died at the hands of Myanmars military since the coup. Their donation of four million kyats to children on January 4 was a publicity stunt and came after Min Aung Hlaing squandered billions of kyats pretending to be Myanmars president by overseeing a lavish Independence Day military parade. Regime orders prison crackdown Junta Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Soe Htut toured Pathein, Insein and Taungoo prisons on January 12 and called for anti-riot drills. His visit followed a brutal crackdown on a protest inside Pathein Prison in which a political prisoner was killed and nine others severely injured last week. The junta minister also ordered tighter prison inspections and called on guards to practise regularly with anti-riot weapons. He also inspected the parcel drop-off counter at Insein Prison where a parcel bomb killed eight people in October last year. The regime has been persecuting political prisoners in jails across the country. In March last year, seven inmates were killed when security guards opened fire on an alleged escape attempt at a prison in Kale, Sagaing Region. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Willie Mays. Joe Biden seems to have grown up wanting to be Franklin Roosevelt. By the time I was 12, I gave up my dream of playing centerfield for the San Francisco Giants. Joe Biden evidently still wants to be FDR. The continuing hero worship of Roosevelt by left-wing Democrats is puzzling. His presidency was a disaster socially and economically. Politically, Roosevelt was dependent on the votes of white segregationists in Congress and unwilling to support civil rights legislation. Although its not often recalled, from the Civil War on, the Republicans had been the party of Black rights and the Democrats had been the party of segregation. Roosevelt won the 1932 election in a landslide over the incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover, but Hoover captured a majority of the Black vote. Roosevelt presided over the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The rationale was that some might engage in spying should Japan invade the U.S. mainland. In fact, the Japanese had neither the intention nor the means of invading the continental U.S. The internments continued despite the decisive U.S. victory at Midway in June 1942, which crippled the Japanese navy. Even FBI director J. Edgar Hoover opposed the internments, calling them extremely unfortunate. Anthony Patrick OBrien is professor of economics, emeritus, at Lehigh University. Presumably Biden doesnt plan to emulate Roosevelts retrograde racial policies. But Roosevelts economic policies were scarcely better. Roosevelt was right to take the U.S. off the gold standard in April 1933. The Federal Reserves failure to stop the catastrophic bank failures of 1930-1933 was the main reason that the Great Depression was so severe. With the U.S. off the gold standard, the Fed was free to rapidly expand the money supply. It was this expansionary monetary policy that finally caused output and employment to begin increasing in the spring of 1933. But Roosevelt hadnt taken the U.S. off the gold standard to free the hands of the Fed; he had done so because he thought it would increase prices. Consumer prices had declined by more than 25% from the fall of 1929 to the spring of 1933. Roosevelt mistakenly saw falling prices as the cause of the Depression. In fact, falling prices were the result of the collapse of demand caused by the breakdown of the U.S. banking system. Steps to raise prices without reviving demand would be counterproductive. Nevertheless, raising prices became the focus of Roosevelts economic policy. How can you raise prices without an increase in demand? Roosevelt realized that he could only do so by eliminating competition in U.S. industry. Accordingly, in June 1933 he pushed through Congress the National Industrial Recovery Act, the most radical piece of economic legislation ever enacted in the U.S. The NIRA junked free markets in favor of a system similar to the syndicalism, or industrial self-government, that the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini introduced in Italy. Under the NIRA, the antitrust laws were suspended and, in collaboration with the National Recovery Administration, firms in each industry hammered out codes of fair conduct governing, wages, hours of work, prices and levels of output. Many firms were happy to agree to codes restricting output and raising prices because they hoped the result would be higher profits. Many workers were also supportive of the codes, which they hoped would result in higher pay for fewer hours of work. But restricting production was the opposite of what the economy needed. In addition, aspects of the NIRA were self-defeating. Raising steel prices might help the profits of steel companies, but also forced up costs in industries such as automobiles that used steel as an input. Even firms that hoped to benefit from the codes lacked confidence that the system would work, undermining their willingness to invest in new plant and equipment. The effect of the NIRA on the economy was devastating. Industrial production had increased more than 50% between March and July 1933 under the impetus of expansionary monetary policy. But as the effects of the NIRA began to be felt, the recovery stalled and by December industrial production fell by 20%. The economy staggered along during the following two years, with the unemployment rate never dropping below 16% and industrial production being no higher in May 1935 than it had been in July 1933. It took a Supreme Court decision in May 1935 striking down the NIRA as unconstitutional to free the economy from the straightjacket of the industrial codes. Even then, production didnt recover to its 1929 level until the outbreak of World War II. The NIRA provides a lesson in the perils of government intervention in the economy that Biden might learn from. Looking for a hero? Willie Mays is a better choice than FDR. Anthony OBrien is a professor of economics, emeritus, at Lehigh University. Views expressed are of the author, not the university. INDIAN VISA FOR US CITIZENS Travelers need a visa to enter India. In 2014, the country introduced an electronic visa system for the first time, allowing citizens from more than 60 countries to apply for their visas online. US travelers can obtain an e-Visa for tourist, business, or medical treatment. The Indian Visa for US Citizens has been available in the form of an electronic application since 2014. Currently, US citizens can obtain a short-stay e-Visa for India. US citizens are eligible for an e-Visa for India, a single-entry visa that allows stays of up to 180 days in the country. The India e-Visa makes it easy for American travelers to obtain visas to enter the country. American travelers need to meet some requirements to apply for India visa online. Required Documents for Indian e-Visa for US CITIZEN A valid passport with at least six months validity from the expected date of arrival. You can pay the eVisa fees with a debit or credit card. A valid email address to receive the Indian e-Visa in their inbox. Full Name (as shown in your passport) Scan of personal passport data Last page of passport (if applicable) INDIAN VISA FOR FRENCH CITIZENS Well, there are some things in the world that, once done, are dear to your heart. And one of them is a luxury holiday in India. Always on the list of the best places in the world, India has it all, whether its landscapes, adventure travel or restaurants. The India e-Visa is the fastest and most convenient way to get Indian Visa from France. Indian Visa for French Citizens has been available through an online application form from the Government of India since 2014. Indian e-Visa for French Citizens is usually issued as a multiple entry visa. All French passport holders require a visa to travel to India, regardless of the purpose of the visit or the intended length of stay. Citizens of France can now apply for an Indian visa online for a variety of short stays and a variety of Uvagut TV, Canada's first national T-V channel that's broadcasts Indigenous-language content, is hoping to become part of regular cable. Boats make their way through the Frobisher Bay inlet in Iqaluit on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Spring Festival fair held in Fengrun District, north China Xinhua) 10:28, January 14, 2023 Customers visit a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Customers walk out of a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Customers shop at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Customers shop at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) A Pingju opera enthusiast performs at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Customers visit a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) An artist demonstrates embroidery skills at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Gu Xiaoguang (1st R), an intangible cultural heritage inheritor of the making skills of chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, makes the cakes at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Customers shop at a Spring Festival fair in Fengrun District of Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2023. A Spring Festival fair themed on intangible cultural heritage was held in Fengrun District of Tangshan, selling chess-shaped sesame seed cakes, sesame seed candies and other traditional foods. Intangible cultural heritages including Pingju Opera, paper cutting, and calabash pyrography were also presented at the fair. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) 84 Shares Share Effective communication has the potential to promote understanding, safety, and connection. It is the foundation of high-quality health care. Our use of language to heal is important in all facets of medicine, but words may be even more powerful when patients face a terminal diagnosis. When medications and life-saving interventions are less of a priority, language can instill hope and honor the human behind the illness. As such, I believe all physicians can learn effective communication principles from palliative care physicians, who rely on language to help patients traverse one of the most intimidating yet inevitable events in life: death. Coming to terms with death is a challenge for patients, their loved ones, and their communities. In these circumstances, communication is fundamental to healing. As a first-year student with little to no training in communicating challenging diagnoses in a clinical setting, I sought out the expertise of oncologists and palliative care physicians to explore the overarching question: how can we improve our communication with patients at the end of life? Inquiry before advocacy So much of medical education is built on pattern recognition. Imagine walking into a patient room only to hear a patients first few sentences because youve immediately jumped to a diagnosis. Pattern recognition is helpful until it leads to impersonal care. Inquiry. Inquiry before advocacy, says Dr. Toluwalase Ajai, a pediatric palliative care physician at Rady Childrens Hospital. This lets me know not only how much the child knows about whats going on in their body, but it also lets me take a deep breath and know how to deliver the information by asking that question. We can improve our clinical acumen with curiosity and willingness to listen. You cannot treat what you do not know. Through my ambulatory care apprenticeship (ACA) and our longitudinal clinical clerkship in our first two years of medical school, I have witnessed the healing capacity of palliative care and empathetic inquiry. One day, in the first few months of ACA, our team was assessing a 38-year-old woman who was declining quickly due to aggressive ovarian cancer. She was such a beautiful woman, her husband said somberly as he massaged her hands. Its sad that she is leaving this world at such a young age. As she faced the final stages of life, the woman had limited consciousness due in part to the analgesics that reduced her cancer pain while also sedating her. The medical team sat quietly. As we saw the husband continue to gently massage his wifes hands, we saw her smile occasionally. Even though she couldnt express herself verbally, she was still attuned to touch and sound, which are commonly considered the last two senses that we lose before dying. She can hear you, the physician gently whispered. The husband lightened up immediately as though he were pleasantly surprised. Oh, my, he said as he relaxed and smiled for a moment, wiping away his tears. The social worker then mentioned that the hospital had a chaplain available for patients and their families to seek spiritual guidance and healing if they desired. When asked about his thoughts on meeting with a chaplain, the husband responded, You know what, why not? It can only help us during this challenging time. Even though there was nothing we could do to change the inevitability of her death, we could still offer some solace in a time of immense grief. Understanding what matters I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding that the palliative care doctor is going to go in and get the do not resuscitate (DNR) order. Thats my job, but its not actually my job, says Dr. Krishelle Leong Marc-Aurele, a perinatal palliative care physician at Rady Childrens Hospital. What I say to a family when I meet them is that my job is to understand what makes a good day for you, your child, what we can do to have more good days, and whats really important as we think about the future, Dr. Marc Aurele reflects. In response, most families will say, Oh, that sounds great. And you could argue that thats what every physicians job is, she concludes. Part of the challenge with appreciating palliative care principles may be the stigma tied to the fields commonly used terms. But there is so much more to palliative care than DNRs, advanced directives, and goals of care. Over the years, I have realized that goals of care is just medical jargon. It doesnt mean anything to people, says Dr. Jared Rubenstein, pediatric palliative care physician at Texas Childrens Hospital. You should never ask someone what their goals of care are, verbatim. To me, goals of care are hopes, values, wishes, fears, and priorities, Rubenstein mentions. You can learn all those things without ever having a grave conversation. Communication styles that are unique to the palliative context exist for a reason, but that does not mean they cannot be applied across other disciplines in medicine. Training on effective communication in medical school is limited. In fact, one study that collected survey responses from residents highlighted that 88 percent had little to no training in end-of-life care. Perhaps it is time that we changed that. Bringing palliative care communication to the forefront Equipped with a willingness to learn from our patients, both current and future physicians can improve our ability to deliver care. This begins in medical school. We can implement targeted modules that engage palliative care educators early in our education. In the same way that we learn the different aspects of a physical exam, we can sharpen our patient interaction skills with systematic empathy and communication training. We can introduce more opportunities to work with the palliative care services during third-year rotations. By listening to patients, adopting a genuine curiosity for their condition, and identifying their priorities, we can improve health care quality for all not just those dying. Sahit Menon and Alec Terrana are medical students. Kathryn Winters is a palliative care physician. Desiree Shapiro is a psychiatrist. 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. The South East Technological University Carlow held a Conferring Ceremony this week to confer 206 awards to Defence Forces personnel. The collaborative partnership between the Defence Forces and SETU Carlow commenced in September 2012. READ MORE BELOW In total, the 206 awards conferred this year were as follows: Level 7 Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies (Logistics) 11 personnel Level 7 Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies- 42 personnel Level 7 Minor Award in Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies 81 personnel Level 6 Higher Certificate in Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies 64 personnel Level 9 Master of Engineering in Ordnance, Munitions and Explosives Engineering 3 personnel Level 9 Masters of Science in Communications Technology Management - 5 personnel Since its inception, the collaboration has grown, and includes awards in Leadership Management and Defence Studies for Enlisted Personnel, and Level 9 Masters Awards associated with the Young Officers Course for the Communications Information Systems (CIS), Engineer and Ordnance Corps. The full list of awards now available to Defence Forces members is: Level 6 Higher Certificate Leadership Management and Defence Studies Level 6 Special Purpose Award Certificate in Introduction to Fire Services Operations Level 7 Minor Award Leadership Management and Defence Studies Level 7 Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies Level 7 Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Management and Defence Studies (Logistics) Level 9 Master of Science in Military Engineering Management Level 9 Master of Engineering in Weapons Systems, Ordnance, Munitions and Explosives Engineering Level 9 Master of Science in Communications Technology Management The Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy commended all the recipients on their hard work and dedication. "I am very proud of all today's deserved recipients. These awards are a culmination of what has been a very challenging and rewarding process for all today's recipients. The Covid-19 pandemic led to widespread disruption to both Defence Forces training and education and the broader Higher Education Sector in Ireland. Despite the challenges posed, both the Defence Forces training staff and SETUs academic staff continued to deliver high quality training and education to our personnel. "Lifelong learning is one of the key tenets of a career in the Defence Forces. The Defence Forces values and promotes education opportunities and supports the concept of life-long learning whereby personnel are encouraged to up-skill and re-skill continuously so that they can adapt to the complex and changing demands of military deployments and to deliver effective military capability." Lieutenant General Clancy concluded: "Finally, I would like to thank SETUs President, Professor Veronica Campbell and her dedicated team of academics and administrators for their work in the delivery of high quality education experiences to members of the Defence Forces." Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Windy with sunshine. High around 85F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Clear. Windy this evening. Low 57F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. President Joe Bidens aides, pictured here, in Washington, on January 12, found five additional pages of classified material at his personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware, on the same day a special counsel was appointed to investigate the matter, the White House announced. Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine, as Russia carried out another series of missile attacks across the country, including one in Dnipro that hit a nine-story apartment building and killed at least five people, and pictured, Maidan Square, in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on January 4. Rep. George Santos, here in the House chamber on Friday, January 6, has maintained he is "not a criminal." Searches for victims continue a day after tornadoes and storms strike the South, killing at least 9 Lori Harvey finds her skincare regimen to be "very therapeutic". The 25-year-old model - who is the daughter of comedian Steve Harvey - has opened up about her beauty routine, revealing that she looks forward to her skincare regimen. Lori - who dated movie star Michael B Jordan between 2020 and 2022 - explained: "Having that skincare regimen is very therapeutic and something I look forward to every day. It's me-time." The model also revealed that she keeps her eye cream in the refrigerator. She told E! News: "I've always put my eye mask in the refrigerator. Lately, I've been putting my eye cream in the refrigerator and it really wakes me up in the morning." What's more, Lori believes that she's "growing and evolving" in a broader sense. She said: "Patience is a virtue. Being patient with myself as I'm growing and evolving." Lori launched her own skincare brand, SKN by LH, in 2021. The model managed to create the brand without any financial help from her parents, and she's very proud of what she's managed to accomplish. She said: "That has arguably been one of the hardest things Ive ever done in my life, but also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling, because this is the first thing that Ive really been able to call my own thing, that I built from the ground up. "It wouldve been very easy for me to just ask my parents to connect me with people and set it up, and Ill just slap my name on it and go about my day. But I really wanted to learn the ins and outs of the business. "I wanted to be very hands-on with everything I was doing, and I wanted to make the mistakes, so that I could learn from them and really know how to be a businesswoman at the end of the day." Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Mostly sunny. High 79F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Generally clear. Low around 50F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. New Delhi, January 14: As its pre-budget suggestion, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has urged the Centre to introduce a jewellery repair policy to make India a global outsourcing service centre. The apex body of gem and jewellery trade in the country feels it will increase India's market share in the global jewellery repair market, which is estimated to grow to around USD 5.75 billion by 2026. Budget 2023: Will Nirmala Sitharaman Abolish Income Tax or Cancel Tax Exemptions?. At present, India has a miniscule market share of just 3 per cent with a sale of USD 196.8 million while the US has around 30 per cent of the market, followed by China with a share of 9.2 per cent, GJEPC said in a release. The introduction of a repair policy, it believes, will result in renowned brands setting their service centre in India which are currently in Dubai, Turkey, and Hong Kong. "Keeping in view India's inherent skill in making handmade jewellery, we believe that India will outperform in jewellery repair sector also. With this policy, India has the possibility of taking 10-20% of the world market share, which will bring in billions of dollars of business with high employment potential," said Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC. Union Budget 2023: PM Narendra Modi To Meet Economists at NITI Aayog Today To Seek Opinions and Suggestions. The import of all types of jewellery and their repair will involve technological upgradation of jewellery manufacturing in India. Also, this will help large exporters to service their customer's requirements for repair from within the country which at present they are forced to do abroad. For the Union Budget 2023-24, it has also recommended a series of suggestions across verticals of gem and jewellery, which it said would help in propelling the exports from the sector and achieve the goal of USD 55 billion in exports by 2025. Among those, GJEPC has sought a reduction in import duty on gold, silver and platinum to 4 per cent, saying it believes that this import duty is draining the capital from the exporters and also is the generator of economic malpractices. Moreover, it urged the government to abolish import duty on Lab Grown Diamond (LGD) seeds and introduce measures to make its manufacturing in India a leader in the same manner as diamantaires rein natural diamond processing sector. Lab Grown Diamond seeds are thin slices of rough diamond and not cut or polished diamond, it is processed on a side to make the surface smooth to enable the diamond to grow on that surface. "Seeds are so thin and range from 70 cents (5.68 mm) to 80 cents (5.93 mm) which are impossible to be used in jewellery. They are easily distinguishable from regular CPD; therefore, the duty on seeds may be abolished. This will help in the growth of lab-grown diamond industry in India manifold and also help them in reverse engineering the technology in future. The duty foregone for this will be miniscule," GJEPC said. The union government is in the process of finalising the Budget document to be presented on February 1. Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha elections due in April-May of 2024. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year commenced on October 10. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Naravaripalli, January 14: Andhra Pradesh former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president Nara Chandrababu Naidu burnt a copy of Government Order Number 1 (GO No1) that imposes restrictions on political rallies, at his native place, Naravaripalli in Chittoor on Saturday. On the occasion of Sankranti, a major Telugu festival, Naidu burnt the copy in a traditional bonfire of 'bhogi', demanding the withdrawal of the order restricting public rallies of politicians. Rajinikanth Meets Chandrababu Naidu! Thalaivar Shares Pic of His Meet Up With Telugu Desam Party President. Attacking the state government, Naidu said, "False cases are being filed against me and the government is not providing security even during my meetings." He claimed that his fight is not for his personal gains but only in the interest of the people of Andhra Pradesh. "If the chief minister has the support of the police, I have the support of five crore people of the state," he said. Later while addressing a public gathering, Naidu said that the lives of the Telugu people must be respected even after the dissolution of TDP government. "The lives of the Telugus should be honoured even after the dissolution of TDP. Though Potti Sriramulu made a great sacrifice for the state, it was NT Rama Rao who brought respect to the natives," Chandrababu remarked. Asserting his party's push to Information Technology (IT) sector, Naidu said his work is now yielding results. "Some leaders think about today while others think about the future. I, however, always think about the future of the youth as they are country's great asset," he said. TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu Burns Copy of Government Order. Former chief minister and TDP chief ChandrababuNaidu participated in Bonfire program on Bhogi festival event, at Naravaripalle along with party leaders and people, and other leaders, burnt the GO No.1 of YSJagan govt, in bonfires. pic.twitter.com/ZAjFV6SXRo Azmath Jaffery (@JafferyAzmath) January 14, 2023 Naidu also stressed on the urgency of bringing TDP back to power, saying the condition of the people has worsened due to the Reddy-led government. Earlier, Naidu suggested to prime minister Narendra Modi at G20 preparatory meeting to prepare vision document for 2047. Amaravati: Telugu Desam Party President and Former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. "The citizens are suffering due to the current government. There is an urgent need to bring back our government for the welfare of the state," he said. Naidu also expressed concerns about the bad condition of roads and recalled how the National Highway project was launched under his initiative. (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], January 14 (ANI): Preparations for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive meeting, which is slated to happen on January 16 and 17, has started in full swing at BJP headquarters and NDMC, party sources informed ANI. Notably, the meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda and several other senior leaders and around 350 executive members who are going to take part in the meeting. Also Read | West Bengal: Elderly Priest Killed Near Shibpur Botanical Garden in Howrah While Trying To Mediate in Street Fight. The main aim of the meeting is to set the agenda for the upcoming 2023 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha election, sources further said. The four main resolutions that BJP will be trying to pass in the meeting, are economic, political, Garib Kalyan, and India's G20 presidency. Also Read | Odisha Stampede: One Killed, 20 Injured After Crowd Gather on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge During Makar Sankranti Mela in Cuttack (See Pic and Video). In the meeting, the 'achievements' of PM Modi's nine-year tenure as prime minister, and the huge victories in Gujarat will be highlighted. On the other hand, discussion and planning will be done regarding the elections where BJP has lost. Discussions will be made regarding the 160 weak booths and the feedback from there. During the economic discussion, it would be presented that while the world is suffering from a global recession, India has surpassed every country and is progressing towards becoming a five trillion-dollar-economy. There will be discussion and brainstorming on how people are getting benefits of schemes like Garib Kalyan Yojana, Anna Yojana, Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana and other schemes related to the welfare of the people While discussing India's G20 Presidency, it will be highlighted, that India has become a global leader, and there is a huge opportunity for India under the chairmanship of PM Narendra Modi. India is going to strengthen itself more. As per the sources, the BJP office bearers meeting will be held at BJP Headquarters on January 16. After that National Executive meeting will be held at NDMC. The arrangements will be made for BJP National President's speech and political discussion on the 10 states where elections will be held, namely, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, and Jammu & Kashmir. Notably, there is a possibility of agreeing to extend the tenure of Nadda as president in the BJP's national executive meeting in Delhi. Nadda's term ends on January 20, and he may be asked to continue as the president till the next Lok Sabha elections due to no elections in the organization, the sources said. It is believed that PM Modi will give the mantra of victory to the office bearers, will explain new ways to connect with the public through service work among the public, and can hand very some new responsibilities to the partymen. The meeting of BJP's national executive, which is going to be held before the assembly elections of 9 states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is very important in many ways. That's why it is believed that PM Modi will give the mantra of victory to the office bearers. The source also informed that PM Modi's roadshow which was planned on January 16, is not getting clearance, so it won't happen because of the security issues ahead of January 26. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 14 (ANI): The Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday wrote to the state Director General of Police (DGP) and demanded action against DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for making controversial remarks against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. In his letter to DGP, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said, "An ordinary person expects the police department to be impartial and unbiased in their actions, but turning a blind eye towards atrocities committed by members of the party in power is uncalled for. Shivaji Krishnamurthy, a renowned DMK abuser known for derogatory public speeches, has abused the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu and made unpardonable remarks in his speeches." Also Read | Rajasthan: Twin Brothers Die Under Similar Circumstances, Cremated on Same Pyre in Barmer. "We hope the Police do not turn a blind eye again and request that you kindly reprimand Shivaji Krishnamurthy for abusing the Constitutional head of the State. His remarks must not be construed as Freedom of expression as we are sure the police would not deem it that way if the same derogatory language were directed towards the Chief Minister of the State," added the state BJP chief. Tamil Nadu BJP leader Karu Nagarajan said the DGP assured of action against Krishnamurthy. Also Read | Delhi: Before Retirement on January 31, On-Duty Police Sub-Inspector Dies After Being Hit by Car on Ring Road. "We have filed a complaint with DGP. DGP assured that they would take action on Sivaji Krishnamoorthy. Already a case under 5 sections is pending on Sivaji Krishnamoorthy with Korukkupet Police Station," Nagarajan said. DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy on Friday sparked a controversy with his remark against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. Addressing an event on Thursday, Krishnamoorthy said, "If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, do I not have the right to assault him?" "If you (Governor) do not read out the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government, then go to Kashmir, and we will send terrorists so that they'll gun you down," Krishnamoorthy said.The outburst came after CM Stalin accused the Governor of "delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text". Congress and communist parties and other ally members protested outside Raj Bhavan against TN Governor RN Ravi on Friday over the speech row. Tamil Nadu MLA Thiru N Eramakrishnan on Wednesday moved a 'Motion of Thanks' on Governor RN Ravi's address, with a mention of the word 'regret' over his action. On Wednesday, January 9, the Governor sparked a controversy with his statement that the name 'Thamizhagam' would be more appropriate for the state. Governor Ravi's remark during his customary address at the opening session of the House on Monday, triggered an uproar, especially from the Treasury benches. Legislators of the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress and the VCK, started raising slogans against the Governor and staged a walkout. (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, Jan 14 (PTI) Congress leaders expressed deep shock and sadness over the sudden demise of party MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday. Party leaders said there will be some changes in the yatra schedule for the day. Also Read | COVID-19: India Reports 179 New Coronavirus Infections in Past 24 Hours, Active Cases Decline by 30. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Chaudhary's passing away is a great blow to the organisation. "Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the untimely passing away of our MP, Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. His loss is a great blow to the party and organisation. In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace," Kharge said on Twitter. Also Read | Mumbai: Pregnant Woman Falls on Stomach While Deboarding Train at Bandra Station, GRP Personnel Rush to Her Help. All India Congress Committee General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said Chaudhary died from a sudden cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra this morning. "We extend our deepest condolences to his family. There will be some changes in schedule of the yatra which will be shared shortly," he said on Twitter. (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], January 14 (ANI): In a letter, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Saturday urged Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Saxena to de-seal the shops that were sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday. Addressing the letter to LG Vinai Kumar Saxena, CTI wrote "25 shops of 17 buildings in Sadar Bazar, were sealed two days back. This has left other shopkeepers at threat as well. Many businessmen are getting threats of sealing. Also Read | Haryana Shocker: Man Beats Daughter to Death For Leaving Husband in Sirsa, Booked. "There is no government in, and the power rests with the Delhi LG only. So, we request the LG to please initiate action and de-seal the shops," the letter added. The CTI also raised questions on the role of the officers accusing them of not taking action for 10 months. Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: Avalanche Hits Tulail Area of Gurez in Bandipora District. "The sealing order was issued on April 11, 2022. But the action has been taken 10 months later. What were the officers till now? The role of the concerned officers is also under suspicion which must be investigated," the letter stated. "The shops that have been sealed have already got Trade Licenses. They have been registered under the 'business' category. Many registrations are even older than 1947. We request to notify the whole Sadar Bazar as commercial," the letter further stated. The body also cited a clause regarding the definition of 'commercial area'. "There is one clause in Master Plan 2021, as per which any area where more than 70% commercial activity takes place, is labeled as a 'commercial area'. Because of this, several shops were sealed in Delhi, but in Sadar Bazar. The working DC also sent a report to DDA stating that 95% area in Sadar Bazar is related to business, and should treat as a commercial market," the letter stated. "Sadar Bazar is there since the time of Mughals and Britishers, and has always been a commercial market," the letter 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) The rented house of the two suspects. (Photo/ANI) New Delhi [India], January 14 (ANI): The Delhi Police arrested two 'suspicious' men and recovered two hand grenades from their house in the Bhalswa Dairy area of Jahangirpuri in the national capital. The Special cell of the Delhi police arrested the two -- identified as Jagjit Singh (29) and Naushad (56) -- on Thursday. They were produced before the Patiala House Court on Friday and sent to police remand for 14 days. Also Read | Delhi: Hand Grenades Found in House of Two Men Arrested Over Links With Terror Outfits at Bhalswa Dairy Area. Amid the interrogation of the suspects, the police said they carried out a raid at their rented house at Shradha Nand Colony in the Bhalswa Dairy police station limits on Friday, under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and recovered the hand grenades. The police also recovered three pistols and 22 live cartridges from the suspects. Also Read | Chaudhary Santokh Singh Dies: Congress Suspends Bharat Jodo Yatra After Jalandhar MP's Demise, Cancels Rahul Gandhi's Press Conference. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) also visited the house and collected blood samples. According to sources, it is alleged that the suspects killed a person in the house and shared a video of the killing with their handler. The police said they were in the process of finding out who was killed. Further, Delhi Police said it has information that Jagjit Singh has links to Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Dall. He is also a member of the notorious Bambiha gang and has been receiving instructions from anti-national elements based abroad, the city police said, adding that he is also a parole jumper in a murder case in Uttarakhand. Naushad is also associated with Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA), a terror group which is based in Pakistan and primarily operates in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been a life convict in two counts of murder and has also served a 10-year sentence in connection with a case under the Explosive Act. Their neighbours alleged that the accused took up residence at the rented house last year, during Diwali, adding that the construction of their own house is ongoing. Quoting their neighbours, the police said they bought a new refrigerator only to return it a week later. On being asked why they were returning the refrigerator, they said it was not functioning properly. The police suspect that they killed the person, chopped off the body and stored it in a refrigerator, adding that further investigation was 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 [India], January 14 (ANI): Delhi Police on Saturday used water cannons on Aam Admi Party workers protesting against a proposed order for the demolition of slums in the national capital. The AAP workers were protesting outside the Delhi BJP office in the national capital and police used water cannons to disperse them Also Read | Karnataka Shocker: Young Couple End Life by Slitting Throats in Koppal After Parents Oppose Relation, Investigation Underway. "The BJP promised homes instead of slums before the elections but after the elections, they gave the orders to demolish the slums. They are bulldozing slums," said AAP MLA Atishi who was at the site of the protest. The AAP MLA said the party will take their protest to court and raise the issue even in Parliament. "We will go to roads, court, parliament and do whatever we can to save the slums. Nobody can destroy the slums of Delhi while AAP and Kejriwal are in Delhi," the AAP MLA said. (ANI) Also Read | Rajasthan: Twin Brothers Die Under Similar Circumstances, Cremated on Same Pyre in Barmer. (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, Jan 14 (PTI) A former assistant vice-president of a bank was arrested for allegedly transferring more than Rs 19 crore from the clients' accounts into his own fraudulently, police said on Saturday. The accused has been identified as Nagendra Kumar, they said. Also Read | West Bengal: After Prime Minister Awas Yojana Implementation, Mid-Day Meal Scheme Now Under Centre's Scanner. The vigilance department of the bank filed a complaint stating that Kumar was their employee and posted at the Barakhamba Road branch, a senior police officer said. On August 7, 2020, two account holders disputed some debit transactions from their accounts through the cash management portal (CMS) of the bank, the officer said. Also Read | West Bengal Shocker: Woman Sold Off to Delhis GB Road, Raped Every Night, Saved and Reunited With Her Child in Kolkata. The bank later came to know that Kumar transferred Rs 19.80 crore from these accounts to his own accounts in different banks. The complainant bank contacted the banks in which the amount was transferred by the accused and got the cheated money back into the victims' accounts, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic Offence Wing) Jitendra Kumar Meena said. Kumar, being the assistant vice-president in the department of implementation and client support, had permissions to read and write in the host-to-host banking system (secure file transfer protocol) of the bank, police said. On August 7, 2020, he created two fund transfer files having eight transactions and uploaded them to the folder of these companies in the host-to-host banking system, they said. Thereafter, the cash management system of the bank automatically sent these files for payment. After transferring the amount, Kumar left his job by sending his resignation on the same date at 5.44 pm through an email, police said. Kumar was apprehended on Friday from Vasant Kunj area, Meena added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Buxar (Bihar) [India], January 14 (ANI): While responding to the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's statement over Ganga Vilas Cruise, it's organiser Raj Singh on Saturday took a jibe at SP supremo, saying that people should have a "sense of responsibility". "This is a democratic country and people have the 'Right to Speech' but people should also have a sense of responsibility. Now we are in Bihar and everyone knows it is a dry state. We follow the laws of all the states we visit," Singh said. Also Read | Ex-Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, Three Others Booked for Allegedly Acquiring Flats Under SRA Scheme, Says Police. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world's longest river Cruise, MV Ganga Vilas in Varanasi, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that Bharatiya Janata Party has the tradition of re-inaugurating the existing things as the cruise has been in service for the past 17 years and now it has bars that serve alcohol. "This river Cruise is running since last many years, it is not new and someone has informed me that it is running for the past 17 years. They (BJP) had just added some part of it and saying that we have started it. These BJP people are far ahead in campaigning and lying. I have also heard that cruise sailing on the holy river Ganga is not an only cruise but also it has bars that serve alcohol," the SP chief said while addressing media persons in Raebareli. Also Read | Delhi Excise Policy Case: CBI Seizes Computer From Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's Office. "The BJP has been re-inaugurating the existing things during campaigning for the purpose of elections," he added. "Until recently, we used to listen to aarti on Maa Ganga and listen to the objects of devotion while we were sitting there. Whenever we went on a boat ride on the Ganges people explain what we can do and what we cannot as it is a religious place. Only BJP people can now tell if there is a bar on the cruise. We have not yet entered it." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mehsana, January 14: A three-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man died in different cities of Gujarat on Saturday amid Uttarayan celebrations after their throats were slit by the kite string, police officials said. Krishna Thakor (3) was killed after a kite string gashed her neck while she was walking home with her mother in Visnagar town in Mehsana district in the afternoon, police and her kin said. "She was declared dead on arrival at a nearby government hospital," an official said. In another incident, Swamiji Yadav died after his neck was slit by a kite string when he was riding a motorcycle in Chhani locality in Vadodara city. Makar Sankranti 2023 Images and HD Wallpapers for Free Download Online: Wish Happy Makar Sankranti With WhatsApp Messages, Wishes and Greetings on Festival Day. "Yadav was coming down a bridge on his two-wheeler when a kite string cut through his throat, killing him instantly," a Chhani police station official informed. Meanwhile, officials of the 108 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system said several cases of people getting injured by kite strings have been reported throughout the day across Gujarat. In separate incidents caused by kite strings, some people fell off vehicles. Instances of people falling off terraces while flying kites and getting injured were also reported, EMS officials added. As per data, while 62 persons sustained kite string injuries, 164 were hurt after falling from heights and 400 sustained wounds in road accidents statewide till 5 pm on Saturday. Makar Sankranti 2023 Greetings, Wishes & Quotes: Heart-Warming Messages, Prosperity Quotes, Good Luck HD Images For Facebook Status, Telegram Pics & GIFs To Mark the End of Winter Solstice. These figures include 25 cases of kite string injuries, 56 road accidents and injuries in 36 cases caused by the fall from heights in Ahmedabad, they said, adding these numbers were likely to rise as the day progresses and more reports come in. "Several birds and animals were also injured due to kite strings. As per the data collated from calls made to helpline numbers, 336 birds and 723 animals sustained injuries," officials said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India] January 14 (ANI): Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the Rishika Sanghamitra, the Girls Hostel of Himachal Pradesh Law University at Shimla's Ghandal area. This hostel will be constructed with an estimated outlay of about Rs. 14.50 crore, a press release said. Also Read | RBL Bank's Ex-Assistant VP Arrested in Rs 19 Crore Cheating Scam. Chief Justice HP High Court and Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh National Law University Amjad A. Sayed were also present on occasion. "The State Government would provide an adequate additional budget for the construction of girls' hostel. He also urged the University authorities for constructing a Boy's hostel as well to help the students. He said that Government would provide Rs. 5 crores for the construction of this hostel as soon as the land will be made available. He also asked the PWD authorities to provide the best possible design for the hostels," Chief Minister said to a gathering on the occasion. Also Read | Viral Video: Man Dragged On Car's Bonnet in Delhi for Half-a-Kilometre, Case Registered. Sukhu further said although the financial condition of the State was not good as the State was reeling under a debt burden of over Rs. 75,000 crores, the State Government was committed to providing all possible assistance for strengthening infrastructure. "The endeavour of the State Government was to expedite forest clearances for providing an additional 25 bighas of land for the expansion of the University campus. He said that with the support of the people, the state will overcome the hurdles as far as equitable development was concerned," Sukhu added. As per the official statement, Chief Minister said that the State Government was coming up with a special policy for wooing investment in major sectors like education, health, tourism, hydro and food processing so that Himachal Pradesh could be made a self-sufficient and self-dependent State. He said that active support and cooperation of employees and people from every section of society was solicited to ensure that the State comes out of the debt trap and forges ahead on the path of progress and prosperity. It would be pertinent to mention here that Chief Minister made the visit to the Law University at the request of the University authorities to ensure that the University becomes a premier institute of the country. Earlier, Chief Minister was accorded a rousing reception by hundreds of people lined up to welcome him enroute from Shimla. Justice Amjad A. Sayed said that it was a proud moment for the University that a world-class Girls' Hostel will be coming up on the University Campus. He said that great centres of education and learning could develop only with the proper protection and patronage of the State. He said that the University requires about six hostels for boys and girls for which additional funds would be required. He thanked the Chief Minister for ensuring all possible help for expanding the infrastructure required, read the press release. Vice Chancellor of National Law University Prof Nishtha Jaswal welcomed the Chief Minister and other dignitaries present on the occasion. She also highlighted various achievements of the University and also placed a few demands on the University. Registrar Law University Prof. S.S. Jaswal presented a vote of thanks, it 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) Joshimath/Dehradun, January 14: Several state-run institutions including ISRO have been directed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Uttarakhand government not to interact with media or share information on social media on the Joshimath situation without prior approval. The direction came after satellite images released by the Indian Space Research Organisation showed the rapid rate of subsidence in Joshimath between Dec 27 and January 8, fuelling concerns over the situation, even as Uttarkhand Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said on Saturday that the ISRO images have been withdrawn. Rawat said ISRO has not issued an official statement on the basis of the images. "I had seen the satellite images of Joshimath on ISRO's website. I spoke to ISRO's Director and asked him why he is not issuing an official statement in this regard. Now I am told the images have been withdrawn," he told reporters. "Things are returning to normal in Joshimath. No one needs to panic," the minister, who visited Joshimath to take stock of the situation there, said. In its communication to the heads of organisations and institutes on Friday, the NDMA said it has observed that various government institutions are releasing data related to the subject on social media platforms and also they are interacting with the media with their own interpretation of the situation. The statements on Joshimath are creating confusion not only among affected residents but also among citizens of the country, the NDMA said. It said people associated with them should not interact with the media and share data on social media regarding the ground subsidence in Joshimath. Joshimath Land Subsidence: Several Houses, Temple Collapse in Singhdhar. The NDMA asked the organisations to sensitise its experts about the matter and added they should refrain from posting anything on media platforms until the final report of the expert group is released by the NDMA. In a similar communication, the Uttarakhand government conveyed to the organisations that some of the institutions and agencies are publishing and uploading information or reports about Joshimath without taking due permission from competent authorities which is adversely impacting the ground situation as well as triggering panic among the community. The media is also propagating this blatantly, it said. The communication said the organisations, before publishing or uploading any such reports or information, should obtain prior approval either from the respective central ministries or the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority. The Congress slammed the alleged gag order. "Instead of solving the crisis and finding solutions to the problems of people, Government agencies are putting a ban on ISRO report and stopping its officials from interacting with the media. Narendra Modi ji, 'Do Not Shoot the Messenger'," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "They make one Constitutional institution attack another. Now, National Disaster Management Authority tells ISRO to shut up." Official sources said the purpose of the advisory is not to deny information to the media but to avoid confusion because so many institutions are involved in the process and they are giving their own interpretation of the situation. Concerns rose on Friday when ISRO released satellite images of Joshimath showing that the Himalayan town sank at a rapid pace of 5.4 cm in just 12 days, triggered by a possible subsidence event on January 2. The preliminary study shared by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) on its website said the land subsidence was slow between April and November 2022, during which Joshimath had sunk by 8.9 cm. The images are now not available on the website. Joshimath Sinking: Sushma Swaraj's 2013 Lok Sabha Speech Warning Against Destruction of Environment in Uttarakhand in Name of Development Goes Viral (Watch Video). The NDMA and state government communications have been sent to Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, Geological Survey of India (GSI), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the ISRO, Hyderabad, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), New Delhi, Surveyor General of India, Dehradun and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun. It has also been sent to the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi, and Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Latur, Jan 14 (PTI) Several farmers in attire normally worn during weddings held a protest march against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) in Latur in Maharashtra, an official said on Saturday. Also Read | Video: TMC Worker Slaps Man in North 24 Parganas for Approaching West Bengal Minister Rathin Ghosh With Complaints About Local Civic Amenities. The protesters, some on horseback, told reporters outside the Nilanga office of MSEDCL on Friday that they had paid for distribution transformers (called DP in local parlance) in 2018 but were yet to get electricity connections. Also Read | Haryana Shocker: Man Beats Daughter to Death For Leaving Husband in Sirsa, Booked. "We just want the MSEDCL to tell us when they will arrange the wedding of our farming issues and electricity," one of them said when queried on why wedding attire and horses were chosen for the protest. "Farmers of 20 villages are facing problems of irrigating crops due to lack of electricity despite paying for DPs. When we go to the power firm's office to find out about the delay, officials speak rudely to us. So we decided on this kind of protest," another protester said. The protest was led by local Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Limban Reshme, who said the state authorities must look into the problems of farmers and come up with a solution. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, Jan 14 (PTI) Six persons were booked for allegedly putting up a poster of jailed gangster Chhota Rajan at a kabaddi event in the north Mumbai suburb of Malad, a police official said on Saturday. Also Read | West Bengal: Elderly Priest Killed Near Shibpur Botanical Garden in Howrah While Trying To Mediate in Street Fight. The six persons, including a man and his son, have been booked under provisions related to defacement and were let off after questioning, Deputy Commissioner of Police Smita Patil told PTI. Also Read | Odisha Stampede: One Killed, 20 Injured After Crowd Gather on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge During Makar Sankranti Mela in Cuttack (See Pic and Video). "However, we are inquiring into the fund collection carried out by the NGO that had allegedly put up the birthday greeting poster. We will take action if we get more details. The poster was removed as it did not have civic permission," the DCP said. The tournament, which started during the day, will conclude on Sunday. Rajan, lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since his deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015, is facing trial in several cases. He has been convicted in the journalist J Dey murder case. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar, Jan 14 (PTI) "Not a threat we expect from our friends in the DMK," National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said on Saturday in response to remarks by a member of Tamil Nadu's ruling party against the state's Governor R N Ravi. Shivaji Krishnamoorthy sparked a controversy on Friday with his remarks against Ravi. Also Read | Viral Video: Man Dragged On Car's Bonnet in Delhi for Half-a-Kilometre, Case Registered. "If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, don't I have the right to assault him? If you (governor) don't read out the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government, then go to Kashmir, and we'll send terrorists so that they'll gun you down," Krishnamoorthy said. Also Read | Video: TMC Worker Slaps Man in North 24 Parganas for Approaching West Bengal Minister Rathin Ghosh With Complaints About Local Civic Amenities. Reacting to Krishnamoorthy's comments, Abdullah said on Twitter, "Can go to Kashmir is not a threat we expect from our friends in the DMK." Meanwhile, both the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan and the BJP have approached police with separate complaints, seeking action against Krishnamoorthy. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jaipur, Jan 14 (PTI) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here on Saturday and discussed the proposed meeting of G-20 group of commerce and investment ministers to be held in the capital city in August. Also Read | West Bengal: Elderly Priest Killed Near Shibpur Botanical Garden in Howrah While Trying To Mediate in Street Fight. An official spokesperson said that during the meeting, Chief Minister Gehlot said that the meeting of the G-20 Commerce and Investment Ministers Group is important for the entire country. Due to this, there is a possibility of investment on a large scale in the country and the state. He said that the state government would extend full cooperation for the meeting to be held in Jaipur. Also Read | Odisha Stampede: One Killed, 20 Injured After Crowd Gather on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge During Makar Sankranti Mela in Cuttack (See Pic and Video). Gehlot instructed the officers for better management during the meeting of the G-20 Commerce and Investment Ministers Group. According to the statement, during this, Goyal said that the organization of Sherpa meeting of G-20 in Udaipur has been appreciated all over the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also praised the Rajasthan government for this. He said that groups of officials from other states are continuously coming to Rajasthan to study the planning of Udaipur G-20 Sherpa meeting so that the G-20 meetings to be held in the states can be better organized. The meeting of G-20 Group of Commerce and Investment Ministers is going to be held in Jaipur from 21 to 25 August. A total of 21 member countries including Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Britain and America, 11 invited countries and regional groups and commerce and industry sectors like World Bank, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank will participate in the meeting. A total of 41 participants including 9 prestigious international organizations from across the globe will participate. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jaipur, January 14: A week after President Droupadi Murmu's security was breached at an event in Rajasthan, the state government has suspended a junior engineer with the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) who tried to touch her feet. Chief Engineer Administration Water Supply Department issued a suspension order on January 12 for Junior Engineer Amba Seoul. She tried to touch her feet at an event on January 4. President Murmu came to attend the inaugural programme of the Scout Guide Jamboree in Pali. "Amba Seoul, Junior Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, Rohet, district Pali, had violated the protocol by trying to touch the feet of the President at the helipad during the inaugural programme of the Scout Guide Jamboree in Rohet on January 4. Therefore, the undersigned, in the exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 342 of Rule 958 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal), we hereby order the suspension of the said Amba Seoul, junior accused with immediate effect," the suspension order reads. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Udaipur (Rajasthan) [India], January 14 (ANI): In view of Makar Sankranti and upcoming festivals in Udaipur the District Administration has imposed Section 144 in the city till January 31 and banned kite flying for four hours after being directed by the state government. Additional District Collector (ADC) of the city Prabha Gautam said that this has been done with a view to prevent the loss of life of two-wheeler drivers and birds from metal mixed manjha used for kite flying on Makar Sankranti festival. Also Read | Kolkata: Illegal Constructions Pushing Darjeeling Hills into #Joshimath-like Crisis Read: Latest Tweet by IANS India. "District Collector and District Magistrate Tarachand Meena have invoked the provisions of Section 144 to ban the wholesale and retail sale and use of metal manjha within the district's limits," the ADC said. According to the order issued by the administration there will be a ban on kite flying from 6 am to 8 am in the morning and from 5 pm to 7 pm in the evening. Also Read | Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Bones Cut With Saw, Says Post-Mortem Report. Earlier, the Gehlot government had banned kite flying in the state in view of the incidents happening from manjha ahead of Makar Sankranti. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Jan 14 (PTI) DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday made a veiled attack on Governor R N Ravi in connection with the row over the use of the official State name, 'Tamil Nadu.' Also Read | West Bengal: Elderly Priest Killed Near Shibpur Botanical Garden in Howrah While Trying To Mediate in Street Fight. Addressing a party youth wing event here, Stalin traced the party's growth history since it was founded in 1949 and pointed out the changes witnessed over the years in taking forward the campaign to reach out to the people. Also Read | Odisha Stampede: One Killed, 20 Injured After Crowd Gather on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge During Makar Sankranti Mela in Cuttack (See Pic and Video). Pointing to the digital era and social media platforms, he said a desperate 'propaganda' is on to scuttle the DMK's further rise. "You must not forget that only you can frustrate such attempts (of rivals)," he told the youth wing functionaries and workers. Referring to the renaming of Madras State as Tamil Nadu by DMK founder leader C N Annadurai when he was the Chief Minister, Stalin recalled that Anna had taken part in a public event here to celebrate renaming of the State despite his illness and against the advice of doctors. "Anna wondered if there is any use of being alive if he did not participate in a function to celebrate the naming of the State as Tamil Nadu," the Chief Minister quoted Anna as saying. Stalin said, however, 'someone is today lamenting that the term Tamil Nadu should not be used.' It is seen as a veiled attack on Governor Ravi. Ravi, at a felicitation to the organisers and volunteers of Kashi Tamil Sangamam held at the Raj Bhavan on January 4, 2023 had remarked allegedly that 'Thamizhagam' is a more appropriate name for Tamil Nadu. "Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything applicable for the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written - all false and poor fiction. This must be broken. Truth must prevail," Ravi had said. "Thamizhagam would be more appropriate word to call it. The rest of the country suffered a lot of devastation at the hands of foreigners for a long time," Ravi said. The ruling DMK staunchly opposed this view and started targeting Ravi. Annadurai (1909-1969) is an iconic leader of the Dravidian movement and DMK founder. He is popularly known as Anna, which means 'elder brother.' In 1967, the DMK captured power in Tamil Nadu for the first time. Soon after becoming the Chief Minister, Anna piloted the passage of a resolution in the Assembly on 18 July 1967 to change the name of the State from Madras State to Tamil Nadu. In 1968, the Parliament approved the name change, which came into force on 14 January 1969. The word 'Thamizhagam' and 'Tamil Nadu' are both popular terms. When the meaning is taken into account, together with its connotation, they convey the same sense. Tamil Nadu is Tamil country or the land of the Tamil-speaking people. Thamizhagam denotes the land (also homeland) of Tamil language or the Tamil people. DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi, after Governor Ravi walked out of the Assembly on January 9, had hit out at him for being unaware of Tamil Nadu's glory. PTI (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Jan 14 (PTI) Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Saturday issued directions to suspend two police personnel after a video emerged of them serving tea to a man, accused of fraud and said to be absconding, at Pundri police station in Kaithal district. He gave the directions for their immediate suspension after a woman complainant showed him the video. Also Read | Kerala: Teacher Arrested For Molesting 26 Schoolchildren in Kannur, 21 POCSO Cases Filed. The 69-year-old minister holds "Janta Darbar" to hear people's grievances every Saturday in Ambala, his home constituency. While hearing the grievances, Vij pulled up the Kaithal Superintendent of Police. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Food Poisoning: Several Fall Ill After Having Food at Makar Sankranti Fair in Sidhi. Speaking to him over phone, Vij said, "SP saheb, tea is being served to the accused in the police station and you are saying that the accused is not being found. The criminals are sitting in the police station." Asking him to suspend the policemen immediately, Vij further told the Kaithal SP, "Should I close the police station? How can this happen, SP sir? Will the goons rule the state? I want immediate action." According to an official statement, the woman complainant told the minister that the police were not nabbing the accused in the Rs 25 lakh fraud case. The accused is roaming freely, she alleged. Hours later, Director General of Police P K Agrawal informed the home minister about the accused having been arrested. In another case, the minister gave directions to suspend a police official in Panipat on the charges of demanding bribe from ambulance drivers. The ambulance drivers who came from Panipat gave a complaint to Vij alleging that they are being asked to pay Rs 10,000 per ambulance by the city station in-charge, Balraj. Vij then rang up the Panipat SP and directed him to suspend the station in-charge in the matter. On Saturday, more than 6,000 complainants from all over the state reached the Janata Darbar which was held at the PWD Rest House in Ambala Cantonment. An Army jawan from Jhajjar complained that the police there have not been able to arrest the accused in the case of rape of his minor sister. Taking strict cognizance of the matter, Vij called the Jhajjar SP and reprimanded him as to why the accused could not be arrested till now. He gave strict orders to the SP to arrest the accused immediately. Another Army jawan who came from Hisar told Vij that his brother was beaten up by several youths, but no action has been taken against the accused. The jawan told Vij whether he should fight on the border or with the system. Taking cognizance of this, Vij told him, "You perform duty on the borders, I will fight for you, and you need not worry." On the complaint of the jawan, Vij directed the Inspector General of Police of Hisar to investigate the matter by forming an SIT involving police officers from another district. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, Jan 14 (PTI) Three days after over 250 academics, including well-known linguist Noam Chomsky, wrote to President Droupadi Murmu about the sacking of a Visva Bharati professor and seeking her intervention, the central university in a statement regretted that the signatories signed the letter without ascertaining the real situation that had rocked the varsity in past two years. The statement issued by Visva Bharati spokesperson Dr Mahua Banerjee on Friday evening also claimed that Professor Sudipta Bhattacharya was office-bearer of an organisation which has no institutional recognition and he had been charge sheeted 14 times in past by Executive Council for misconduct. The misconduct of Bhattacharya range from abetting students vandalise varsity properties in campus, gherao of the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar in past, gherao of eminent columnist and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta in January 2020, it said. Also Read | Goddess Kali Poster Row: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai Moves Supreme Court for Quashing of FIRs Against Her. The Visva Bharati university further claimed most of the signatories are from Bengal and from one particular state-run university. "We condemn the teachers who are organised to stop the process of purging Visva Bharati of truant and deviant teachers.....Not only is Visva Bharati taking ample care in identifying those who are involved in destroying the core values which its founder Rabindranath Tagore upheld and also remain negligent in attending the rituals which Gurudev initiated for spreading his philosophical priorities. Also Read | Rajasthan Government Approves Over Rs 200 Crore for Construction of New Police Buildings. "It is unfortunate that the....academics mainly from West Bengal have come to the support of those who are at work to devastate and damage the academic foundation of universities," the spokesperson said in her statement. The letter by Chomsky and other signatories, dated January 9, had described the action by Visva Bharati to sack Bhyattacharya as brazenly "illegal", arguing that no proper inquiry was conducted to verify the "list of misconducts" flagged by the university as having been allegedly committed by Bhattacharya on different occasions. A copy of the letter has been made available to PTI. Bhattacharya was on December 22 told about his "discontinuation of service/contract with Visva Bharati" in a meeting of the executive council of the central university, the letter to the president said. "Neither has there been a show cause notice issued to the professor concerned," stated the letter, undersigned by Chomsky, economist Amiya Bagchi, former director of Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Partha Chatterjee, XLRI Professor Sumit Sarkar and Jadavpur University Emeritus Professor Supriya Chaudhury among others. "As the visitor of Visva Bharati and the custodian of statutes and ordinance of the university, we urge you to kindly intervene and ensure that this institute of national importance that was founded by Rabindranath Tagore continues to foster the spirit of 'where the mind is without fear' instead of descending into a saga of vendetta, intimidation and high-handedness by the authorities," the letter said. Bhattacharya, when approached, told PTI that Visva Bharati has "launched a vilification campaign against those who dared to protest against the misrule of VC and the last statement is also a pointed to the act." He said by bracketing the signatories as "mostly from Bengal and from one particular state university, Visva Bharati revealed its own arrogant self and insulted the teaching community of the state. "I will not give up my fight for justice. The teaching community and the students are with me," he claimed. A section of students has been staging demonstrations on the campus since November 23 over alleged denial of hostel accommodation to some of their peers and the suspension of six others. The convocation ceremony and the annual Poush Mela (a fair held in the month of December) have been called off by the university in the wake of the unrest. In a media statement last week, a Visva Bharati spokesperson listed a series of alleged activities of the students such as vandalism at the vice-chancellor's chamber and ante-chamber, ransacking of CCTV monitors, physical assault on the VC, and attack on the registrar's private residence and the VC's official home, and said the varsity will be taking legally endorsed steps, including rustication and dismissal, to restore peace on the campus. "... the so-called student movement has been nothing but a brazen display of thuggery. The might is right attitude that has characterised this self-styled democratic movement is unacceptable and shall be dealt with sternly," the earlier university statement added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad, Jan 14 (PTI) The city police has imposed a ban on kite flying on all thoroughfares and around places of worship here from January 14 to January 16. Also Read | 7th Pay Commission: Central Government to Decide on Fitment Factor Hike After Budget 2023? Check Latest News Update Here. City Police Commissioner CV Anand in a notification said the order has been issued to maintain law and order, peace and tranquility and to prevent accidents that are likely to occur during the celebration of Sankranti festival in Hyderabad from January 14 to 16. Also Read | Himachal Pradesh Receives Fresh Snowfall; More Likely During Next 48 Hours, Says IMD. The notification further said no loudspeakers DJs shall be placed or played in public place without the required permission from the police authority. Further noise levels from speakers or public address system or any other activities should not exceed the permissible limits, it said. Parents and citizens of Hyderabad city are advised to guide and supervise their children not to fly kites from the terraces without parapet walls, to avoid any accident/ untoward incident, it read. Children should be made aware of their vulnerability as regards to electrocution if they try to collect stray kites from electric poles, it added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, January 14: Pongal is a traditional harvest celebration observed in South India, mainly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Pongal, an important South Indian festival, honours Lord Surya Narayan, the planet's ruler, and is linked with crop harvesting. In northern India, the celebration is known as Makar Sankranti. This year's four-day celebration will be held from January 15 to January 18 and will be distinguished by a number of customs and rituals, such as the giving of milk rice to the sun deity and the well-known bull-taming sport of Jallikattu. Here is everything you need to know about the four festival days known as Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, Mattu Pongal, and Kanum Pongal. Happy Pongal 2023 Greetings, Wishes & Quotes: Send HD Images, Wallpapers With Festive Messages & WhatsApp Stickers To Celebrate the Multi-Day Harvest Festival. Pongal 2023: Significance The Pongal celebrations are quite precious to Tamilians. This month is known as Thai month, and the people of Tamil Nadu believe that it brings positive change to their lives and helps them overcome their problems. This is the time of year when crops like sugarcane, turmeric, and rice are harvested. This month is thought to be auspicious for marriages, engagements, and all religious and spiritual activities. Pongal 2023: History According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva sent his bull Nandi to earth to exhort the mortals to take a monthly meal, an oil massage, and a bath. However, Nandi advised everyone to take an oil bath once a month in addition to eating taking a meal every day. As a result of Lord Shiva's rage, Nandi was condemned to live forever on earth. He will mostly be responsible for plough work and assisting others in increasing food production. So this day is celebrated for harvesting crops, new crop and animals. Pongal 2023: Celebration Day 1: Bhogi Pongal As part of the Bhogi festival, the first day of the celebration, which falls on January 14, is dedicated to honouring Lord Indra. Because he is credited with bringing prosperity to the land, Lord Indra is revered as the rain God. It is also known as Bhogi Mantalu because, on this day, people burn their unwanted household items in a blaze composed of wood and cakes of cow dung. The females perform dances around the bonfire and sing songs in praise of God. During the winter solstice, a bonfire is lit in order to stay warm. Day 2: Surya Pongal or Thai Pongal The second day of the Pongal celebration, which falls on January 15, is the main day, known as Surya Pongal. To begin the day, fresh milk is boiled until it reaches the vessel's edge. One of the main customs of the Pongal holiday, it is believed to bring prosperity. Tamil Nadu residents prepare the traditional sweet dish "Pongal" on this day using rice, milk, and jaggery. This is offered as prasad to the deity. In order to perform the ceremony collectively, women from various regions of Tamil Nadu assemble at a specific site. Bananas, coconuts, and sugarcane are among the additional offerings made to the Sun god. Day 3: Mattu Pongal The third day of Pongal, known as Mattu Pongal, is devoted to cow worship and falls on January 16. On this day, agricultural animals like cows and oxen are honoured since they help farmers effectively raise and harvest their crops. For Mattu Pongal, farm animals are artistically decorated after being bathed. When "Pongal" is provided for cows and oxen, their horns are typically painted and garlanded. Bullfights also referred to as Jallikattu, are organised on this day. The bull-taming sport is well-known in the Madurai area of Tamil Nadu. Day 4: Kaanum Pongal Kaanum or Knau Pongal, which falls on January 17, is the fourth and last day of Pongal. There are several areas of Tamil Nadu where Kaanum Pongal is also known as Karinaal. People offer Sarkarai Pongal and food as sacrifices to the Sun God on this day. Sugarcane is consecrated to the deity and traded among humans in order to symbolise sweetness and joy in life. People travel to see close ones and far-off acquaintances at Kaanum Pongal. People perform local dances and sing traditional melodies during Kaanum Pongal. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Rio de Janeiro, Jan 14 (AP) A high-ranking Brazilian security official who flew to the US before a riot that that some have called an attempted coup must return within three days or his country will request his extradition, Brazil's justice minister said Friday. The Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant for the federal district's former security chief in connection with the January 8 uprising in the capital, where supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the top court and the presidential palace in an attempt to overturn election results. Also Read | Bitcoin Price 1st of January, 2022: $46,200 Now: $19,400 Latest Tweet by The Spectator Index. The administration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in October, is investigating any complicity by people who paid to transport rioters to the capital and by local security personnel who may have stood aside and let the mayhem occur. His minister of institutional relations, Alexandre Padilha, said Thursday on Twitter that "the coup attempt was meticulously premeditated and sketched out" and that its authors will be punished. Also Read | Vladimir Putin Wont Fight Russias 2024 Election, Might Name Successor and Settle in His Black Sea Palace With Pole Dancing Room: Report. Much of the focus has centered on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's former justice minister, who became the federal district's security chief on January 2, and was in the US on the day of the riot. The Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Torres' arrest this week and has opened an investigation into his actions, which he characterized as "neglect and collusion." In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said that Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest. Torres has denied wrongdoing, and said January 10 on Twitter that he would interrupt his vacation to return to Brazil and present his defense. Three days later, that has yet to occur. "If by next week his appearance hasn't been confirmed, of course we will use mechansims of international legal cooperation. We will trigger procedures next week to carry out his extradition," Justice Minister Flavio Dino said. The minister pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres' home; a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law. But the document "will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events," Dino said, adding that Torres will need to inform police who drafted it. By failing to initiate a probe against the document's author or report its existence, Torres at very could be charged with dereliction of duty, said Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors. Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him. Dino told reporters that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro, who has been in Florida since late December. The federal district's former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad, January 14: A "de facto curfew" has been imposed in Pakistan's Gwadar after a crackdown on a local rights movement, Al Arabiya Post reported. The Balochistan government has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code that allows a ban on all kinds of rallies and protests. Authorities have suspended the internet service, mobile phone networks and landline in Gwadar, Jevani, Pasni and Ormara cities of Makran division. Police have reportedly arrested more than 100 supporters of the movement. Pakistan: YouTubers, TikTokers Entry Banned in Parliament House After Incident of Misbehaviour With Lawmakers by Unauthorised Social Media Influencers. In addition, Gwadar police has lodged an FIR against Haq Do Tehreek leader Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman on charges of murder, attempt to murder, provoking the people for violence and other charges, as per the news report. A sit-in protest has been taking place outside the main entrance of the Gwadar port for more than 50 days. The protests turned violent during the last week of December, leading to clashes between the police and the protesters. Haq Do Tehreek (Gwadar Rights Movement) has been staging a sit-in in Gwadar city. Protests led by Haq Do Tehreek leader Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch have been taking place in Balochistan. The demonstrators blocked the main airport road and the road leading to the port. The Maulana had even asked the Chinese to leave the port city, according to Al Arabiya Post report. Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch has criticized the heightened security and check posts in Gwadar. The sit-in was peaceful until Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch closed the main entrances to Gwadar port and asked Chinese nationals to leave the port city. Rehman and his followers reached the site with weapons and threatened armed resistance if their demands were not addressed. In 2021, Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch led a similar protest that lasted for 32 days. Some improvement was made, however, many of the issues continued to exist. On October 27, 2022, Rehman and his followers started staging another sit-in and criticised the government for not working on its commitment, as per the Al Arabiya Post report. Tens of thousands of protesters, including women and children, blocked an expressway leading to the Gwadar port as the government did not fulfil the demands before the deadline. The protests continued in December and the situation turned ugly on December 26 after a strike call as police and the protesters engaged in a face-off, according to the news report. China Reports Almost 60,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths Since Early December 2022. The law enforcement officials started using tear gas as the mob attempted to attack a police station, leading to several arrests. As per the news report, Gwadar has also been cut off from the rest of the world as the authorities have suspended the internet service, mobile phone networks and the landline in Gwadar, Jevani, Pasni and Ormara cities of Makran division. Taking cognizance of the police crackdown on protesters, the Balochistan High Court directed the deputy commissioners of Gwadar and Kech as well as their police officials to submit their written explanations by January 15, as per the news report. Gwadar is considered a key destination for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is widely seen as the main plank of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The local residents of Balochistan have long been cut off from any benefits and paybacks. Projected as the "future Dubai" in the region, the people of Gwadar remain deprived of access to clean and other essential facilities. Gwadar, being a centre of economic development did not manage to change the fate of local residents, as per the Al Arabiya Post report. The Haq Do Tehreek has been carrying out protests for various demands, including the ban of illegal trawlers in Balochistan's water, a reduction of security checkpoints and liberalization of trade with Iran, as per the Al Arabiya Post report. In recent years, the people of Balochistan have alleged that non-Balochis, especially those from Punjab, rule over the province and locals of the region do not get the benefit of economic development, as per the Al Arabiya Post report. The fishermen in Gwadar have been facing numerous problems, like being required to have tokens and being assigned a fixed time for using the sea for fishing. Residents of the port city have raised complaints about being deprived of basic facilities, including healthcare, electricity and clean drinking water, as per the news report. In 2016, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) expressed concern over the demographic change in their report, predicting that the Chinese would be more than native Baloch by 2048. (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], January 14 (ANI): Think20 Inception Conference, the first key T20 convening under India's G20 presidency, concluded here on Saturday with the participants giving suggestions for making engagement groups of the international body more effective to tackle challenges like climate change and food security. The T20, which serves as an "ideas bank" for the G20, has constituted seven task forces that will delve into issues ranging from digital public infrastructure to macroeconomic policy. Also Read | Pakistan: Curfew, Mobile Networks Suspended in Gwadar, Says Report. The Observer Research Foundation, as the Think20 Secretariat under the Indian Presidency of the G20, hosted the Think20 Inception Conference on January 13 and 14, the first of many key convenings that will take place over the course of the Presidency. The Conference saw the attendance of more than 250 participants, including over 50 international in-person delegates, who presented key ideas and priorities, laying the groundwork for their respective task forces. India formally assumed G20 presidency on December 1 last year. Also Read | COVID-19 Surge in China: Xinjiang Officials Urge Hospitals to Use Traditional Uyghur Medicine to Treat Coronavirus. Speaking at the inaugural session, Ambassador Sujan Chinoy, Chair, T20 India Core Group, said an important element that T20 India has given special attention to is encouraging cross-pollination of ideas across the seven task forces. "This conference will allow participants to further interact, and create synergy," he said. Echoing the sentiment, Amitabh Kant, Sherpa, G20 India, highlighted the role the T20 and its intellectual inputs would play in shaping how the G20 unfolds in the coming years. "The real brain trust of the G20 is the T20. The shaping of how India does in the G20, how it unfolds the G20 in the coming years, and how G20 is shaped will be determined by the T20 and its intellectual inputs," he said. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri reminded the participants of why the G20 was formed and why it is relevant. "The G20 arose and was established when the world economy was in a crisis. It goes to the strength of the G20; it was able to calm issues down. The world felt safer as a result of the G20's actions," he said. The Think20 (T20) is an official Engagement Group of the G20. It serves as an "ideas bank" for the G20 by bringing together think tanks and high-level experts to discuss policy issues relevant to the G20. Samir Saran, Chair, T20 Secretariat, elaborated upon the relationship-building capability of the G20. "The most important task in front of all of us today is to renew friendships, strengthen the community, and build a network of believers in the G20." The inaugural session was followed by the first plenary session 'Reformed Multilateralism: A Global Imperative', which explored the limitations of multilateralism in a world that is becoming increasingly multi-polar. "Multilateral institutions were not built for multipolarity," said Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President and Founder, Emirates Policy Center, UAE. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute, Germany, asserted that multilateralism is worth preserving. "We need to make G20 more effective, particularly the engagement groups, to tackle global challenges like climate change, pandemics, food security, and more," she said. With the world faced with yet another global crisis, attention was drawn to the growing macroeconomic vulnerabilities during the second plenary session 'Global Financial Order and Macroeconomic Stability'. Bambang PS Brodjonegoro, Professor, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, asserted that the G20 has to start to deal "not with the financial sector but with the real sector--how to deal with the supply side disruption after the pandemic". Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery stressed how the T20 should account for the uncertainties in the macro-economic environment. "India is well-placed to clarify what the new growth model should be. This T20 has an opportunity and an obligation to present to global leaders the aspects of the new growth model," he said, according to a release. The need to promote sustainability also took centre stage at the conference. Jayant Sinha, MP, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, emphasized climate action. "The world is jaded; we are living in an age of crises--global crisis, energy crisis, and food crisis. Amidst all these crises, we must take the time to focus on climate action." The impact of the pandemic on SDG progress has fuelled the need to focus on sustainability even more. John J Kirton, Director and Founder, G20 Research Group, University of Toronto, Canada, pointed out during the third plenary session that it is clear now that the "UN has failed to get the SDGs' progress back on track". "Among the alternative global governance institutions, only the G20 has the power to do the job," Kirton said. Yet, in the face of such challenges, there lies an opportunity for the G20 to be more inclusive and sustainable as Abhay Thakur, Sous Sherpa, G20 India, noted. "As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Bali Summit, we would like our G20 presidency to be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive," he 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) New Delhi [India], January 14 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi has concluded her two-day fruitful visit to Cuba and highlighted the willingness of both countries to continue strengthening bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation, on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations on January 12. The visit had its central moment with the meeting with the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, who welcomed her and said, "We consider your visit as a sign of the will and willingness of the Government of India to continue strengthening and expanding relations with Cuba, which is also our will and our desire". Also Read | China Reports Almost 60,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths Since Early December 2022. During the fraternal dialogue, the President thanked MoS Lekhi for the first shipment of rice, which is yet to come to Havana, and it was acquired with a line of credit granted by the government of that country. Likewise, he highlighted the presence of that nation in the National Economic and Social Development Plan that Cuba has drawn up until 2030, as part of which, India participates in critical programs in the food, pharmaceutical industry and renewable energy sources. Also Read | Iran Executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbari, UK PM Rishi Sunak Condemns Cowardly Act. "I ratify our willingness to continue expanding and strengthening our political, diplomatic, economic, trade and cooperation ties, and we would be interested in opening up other areas for cooperation, particularly biotechnology and environmental issues," the Cuban leader stressed. After expressing his gratitude for the "support that the Government and people of India have always given us in Cuba's struggle against the blockade", President Diaz-Canel shared with Lekhi the interest of Cuba in counting on India's support to promote, from the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Group of 77+China, the discussion of a group of global problems and challenges currently faced by the nations of the world. The Minister of State conveyed her country's willingness to continue strengthening the existing ties while referring to various areas where these ties can be expanded, as they are issues of common interest. Previously, the Union minister was received by the President of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo; by the Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Penalver; and by the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso. After meeting Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, MoS Lekhi said, "Had excellent meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Acting @CubaMINREX Gerardo Penalver Portal and reviewed the full range of relations between India and Cuba. Discussed ways of enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest." She also paid floral tributes to the monuments in Havana dedicated to Cuba's National Hero, Jose Marti, and to the leader of Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi. Finally, she concluded his visit with a meeting at the Panchakarma Center of Havana, which promotes and offers Ayurvedic medicine services. (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, Jan 14 (PTI) Pakistan's parliament banned the entry of social media influencers after in an incident when some youtubers allegedly misbehaved with the lawmakers. According to a statement issued by the National Assembly Secretariat on Friday, it has banned entry of unauthorised social media influencers, Youtubers, Tiktokers in the precincts of Parliament House. Also Read | Pakistan: Curfew, Mobile Networks Suspended in Gwadar, Says Report. This decision was taken in the context of an incident of misbehavior with parliamentarians by some unauthorised youtubers/social media influencers at Gate No.1 of the Parliament House on December 23 last year. These youtubers entered in the precincts of the Parliament House without authorised entry, according to the statement. Also Read | COVID-19 Surge in China: Xinjiang Officials Urge Hospitals to Use Traditional Uyghur Medicine to Treat Coronavirus. The same incident was also conveyed to the President Press Reporters' Association (PRA) to seek its stance and it formally conveyed that it is only responsible for its members. The PRA detached itself from youtubers and social media influencers. Furthermore, PRA also decided to ensure a ban on entry of unauthorised individuals in the Press Gallery and Press Lounge of the House. It was also decided by the National Assembly Secretariat that entry of only those reporters, journalists, Media personnel would be allowed who are associated with Accredited Media Organisations along with Valid Registration card of concerned Media organisation. Social media influencers who are interested to cover the proceedings of the House may accredit themselves with the Press Information Department of the Ministry of Information to get a valid session card for entry in the Parliament House, read the statement. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Peshawar [Pakistan], January 14 (ANI): At least three police officials have been killed, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in exchange of fire with terrorists in Peshawar on Saturday, ARY News reported. The assailants attacked the police station in Peshawar's Sarband area with long-range rifles and hand grenades in the early hours, ARY News reported. Also Read | Pathaan Trailer on Burj Khalifa! Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham's Action-Thriller Movie Trailer To Be Showcased on World's Tallest Building. The deceased were identified as DSP Badaber Sardar Hussain, Irshad and Jehanzeb, according to ARY News. The attack on the Sarband police station was confirmed by senior superintendent of police operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi. Also Read | Vladimir Putin Wont Fight Russias 2024 Election, Might Name Successor and Settle in His Black Sea Palace With Pole Dancing Room: Report. He stated that "terrorists attacked the police station from two sides with hand grenades and sniper rifles equipped with night vision goggles," as per the local media. 14 police officers were present at the police station at the time of the attack, according to SSP operations, and at least six to eight terrorists were part of the attack. The attackers, however, fled the scene later. At least six police officers were killed in a similar attack on November 16 in the Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Wanda Shahab Khel neighbourhood, ARY News reported. With the rise of TTP in Pakistan, attacks on security personnel and explosions across the country have become a regular affair. (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], January 14 (ANI): The Pakistan National Assembly Secretariat has banned the entry of YouTubers, TikTokers and other social media influencers into its premises, ARY News reported. The decision has been taken after an incident of misbehaviour with lawmakers by some unauthorised YouTuber/social media influencers at Gate No 1 of Parliament House on December 23 last year, as per the ARY News report. Also Read | China Reports Almost 60,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths Since Early December 2022. Furthermore, the Pakistan National Assembly Secretariat has decided to permit the entry of only those reporters, journalists and media personnel associated with Accredited Media Organizations along with a valid registration card of a concerned media organisation. Social media influencers who wish to cover the proceedings of the National Assembly need to accredit themselves with PID and must have a valid session card for entering the Parliament House, as per the news report. Also Read | Iran Executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbari, UK PM Rishi Sunak Condemns Cowardly Act. The Press Reporters Association was informed about the incident, Dawn reported. However, the Press Reporters Association distanced itself from YouTubers and social media influencers and stressed that they were only responsible for its members. Press Reporters Association Secretary General Asif Bashir Chaudhry said that they did not back any kind of ban on citizen journalists, Dawn reported. Chaudhry stressed that PRA believed that every citizen of Pakistan enjoyed right to freedom and not only journalists. Earlier in April last year, Karachi police arrested fake cops in police uniforms who had counterfeit employment cards in New Karachi Industrial Area, ARY News reported. The fake cops were identified after suspicious cops were stopped for a snap-checking. In the investigation, police found that all the men were TikTokers and were roaming around in police uniforms for recording videos for social media, as per the ARY News report. The arrested men in the case included Umaish, Usama and Mehdi. The accused men had also installed Sindh police number plates on their motorcycles and also had fake police cards. According to police, they used to record videos in college and in the area. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Colombo, Jan 14 (PTI) Sri Lanka has concluded debt restructuring talks with Japan and will continue to hold such meetings with India this month, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on Saturday, as the cash-strapped country looks to carve a path out of its worst financial crisis. The crisis-hit island nation, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been trying to get financial assurances from its major creditors China, Japan and India which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package. Also Read | China Reports Almost 60,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths Since Early December 2022. The IMF bailout has been put on a halt as Sri Lanka pursues talks with creditors to meet the global lender's condition for the facility. Addressing trade unionists here, the president said that the debt restructuring talks with China's Exim bank were held this week and further dialogue is in progress. Also Read | Iran Executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbari, UK PM Rishi Sunak Condemns Cowardly Act. On January 19, the Indian foreign minister is expected to visit and we will continue to have debt restructuring talks with India, Wickremesinghe said. His remarks have come days after Wickremesinghe said India's response to Sri Lanka's request for debt restructuring is expected by the end of this month. He had earlier said that India and Sri Lanka held successful talks on debt restructuring and the country will also begin discussions with China. Wickremesinghe stressed that the only option that the island nation was left with was a bailout package from the IMF. The president said he was looking forward to the IMF facility in 3-4 tranches. I want to lift this country out of the plunge sooner, he said. Sri Lanka began debt restructuring talks with its creditors in September last year as warranted by its agreement with the IMF for the USD 2.9 billion facility over four years. It began negotiating with the IMF for a bail-out after having announced its first-ever sovereign debt default in April last year. The IMF facility would enable the island nation to obtain bridging finance from markets and other lending institutions such as the ADB and the World Bank. We would then recommence by the end of this year several projects that were stalled with Japan, Wickremesinghe said. He said there were no quick fixes to the current crisis and Sri Lanka had to be wary of sliding growth in Europe and the US which would have a direct bearing on the country's exports. The president's meeting with trade unions assumes significance in view of hard economic reform measures to be implemented by the government. Personal tax hikes and electricity tariff hikes proposed and the move to privatise state-owned enterprises are being already opposed by the trade unions. The doctors' trade union is set to observe a black week later this month to protest personal tax rises. Trade union leaders, who took part in the meeting, said they emphasised the need to reach a collective understanding of the proposed reforms. They said they had opposed the government's plan to privatise state-owned enterprises. Wickremesinghe recently said he was intent on selling the state-owned enterprises to boost reserves. The government has already made clear its plans to privatise Sri Lanka Telecom and Sri Lankan Airlines. Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country which led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family. Extending a much-needed lifeline to a neighbour in need, India gave financial assistance of nearly USD 4 billion to Colombo during the year. In January, India announced a USD 900 million loan to Sri Lanka to build up its depleted foreign reserves as the financial crisis began to unfold. Later, it offered a USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to fund the country's fuel purchases. The credit line was later expanded to USD 700 million due to the sheer gravity of the situation. The Indian credit lines since early 2022 have been in use to import essentials and fuel after street protests erupted due to severe shortages of essentials. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kyiv, Jan 14 (AP) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Saturday the U.K. will provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems to support Ukraine. Sunak's Downing Street office said in a statement that he made the pledge after speaking to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday. Also Read | China Reports Almost 60,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths Since Early December 2022. It did not say when the tanks were to be delivered or how many. British media has reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after. Also Read | Iran Executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbari, UK PM Rishi Sunak Condemns Cowardly Act. They did not cite sources. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, January 14: Five persons accused of gangrape of a college student on the outskirts of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, have been arrested and jailed on Friday. The horrendous incident occurred on Thursday night when the five accused chanced upon the 19-year old girl and her boyfriend at a secluded spot near the Bengaluru-Puducherry outer ring road. Tamil Nadu Shocker: Woman Strangles Daughter to Death Over Love Affair With Man From Different Caste in Tirunelveli, Arrested. The spot is frequented by local anti-social elements who consume liquor and indulge in other such activities. The temple town of Kanchipuram is located 85 km away the state capital, Chennai. The couple who had reportedly reached the spot at around 7 p.m. on Thursday, were noticed by two of the accused men who were consuming liquor nearby. The duo were then joined by three more persons. Holding the boyfriend at knife point, the accused dragged the girl a little distance away and all five them raped her by turns before escaping. Tamil Nadu Shocker: Jilted Lover Threatens To Leak Private Pictures of Woman on Social Media in Chennai, Arrested. "The accused threatened to murder the couple if the girl resisted them," Kanchipuram Deputy Superintendent of Police P. Julius Caesar stated. The couple managed to escape the spot and informed their families. The girl has been admitted to a hospital and a police complaint was filed by her father. The police managed to track down one of the accused, Vimal Kumar, whose name was uttered by the other perpetrators while the crime was being committed. The victims recalled his name during police questioning, leading the police to Vimal Kumar, 25. Following his interrogation, the police subsequently arrested Manikandan, 22, Sivakumar, 20, Vignesh, 22, and Thennarasu, 23. All five persons have been booked for rape and remanded in judicial custody. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2023 08:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Kerala police has arrested a 52-year-old teacher of an aided school in the district for allegedly molesting 26 students since November 2021. In a shocking incident that took place in Haryana, one boy from Delhi was killed after after a car carrying four people en route to Kullu-Manali from Delhi met with an accident. According to reports, the car met with an accident in Kurukshetra due to reckless driving. After the incident, the driver fled from the spot while the car has been seized. "Case to be registered & action to be taken as per law," Jiya Singh, police personnel said. Haryana Fire: Cooking Gas Cylinder Explodes in House in Panipat, Four Children Among Six Killed. Check Tweet: Haryana | One boy from Delhi dead after a car carrying 4 people en route to Kullu-Manali from Delhi met with an accident in Kurukshetra due to reckless driving. Driver absconding. Car seized. Case to be registered & action to be taken as per law: Jiya Singh, police personnel pic.twitter.com/gWCDFclBZv ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) TIMES STAFF WRITER This is the astonishing story of Victorio Peak, a minor mountain with major history in the sandy southern deserts of New Mexico. Under its rocky and road-scarred topsoil lies one of two things: either a kings ransom in hidden gold bars--upwards of $2 billion, maybe--or the dusky nothingness of empty limestone caverns. The sombrero-shaped peak, rising about 450 feet from the floor of the Hembrillo Basin in the San Andres Mountains, has held sway over the feverish yearnings of treasure seekers since 1939. In November of that year, Milton (Doc) Noss, a foot doctor with a 10th-grade education claimed to have stumbled onto a fortune vast enough to make the richest man in America look like a bum. In the intervening half-century, Victorio Peak, halfway between Truth or Consequences and Alamogordo, has become a backdrop against which an amazing spectacle has played, one that involves killing, nuclear bombs, possible large-scale thefts, alleged government cover-ups, Watergate and an act of Congress. And very little sex. Advertisement Today, the heart of the story beats in the chest of Terry Delonas, a soft-spoken native New Mexican who dreamed of being a psychologist and living the good life in Santa Fe. Instead, the doe-eyed Delonas, 42, moved to California where he thought it would be easier to rally support for his lifes mission: to vindicate the claims made by Doc Noss and Docs long-suffering wife, Ova, who was Delonas maternal grandmother. Delonas is no blood relation to Doc, who married Ova in 1933. When Terry was 5, Ova moved in with his family in Clovis, N.M. Over the years, she filled him with tales of treasure and treachery, showed him documents, artifacts and assays and instilled in him a passion for the quest he tacitly inherited on her death in 1979 at age 85. Without Delonas efforts since then--including raising money, rallying a team of scientists, attorneys and supporters, and stalking the halls of Congress for support, the little peak might have receded into legend. But next month, Delonas and a team of about 30 people, who are incorporated as the Ova Noss Family Partnership, will begin what they hope will be the final excavation of Victorio Peak. The high-tech effort will cost an estimated $1 million. Though preparations have taken years, the world will know within weeks whether treasure exists at Victorio Peak. Getting permission for the venture was not easy. Since 1955, the peak has been part of the White Sands Missile Range, a top-secret 3,200-square-mile testing ground where the atom bomb was first exploded in 1945. It is in the middle of what is called The Yonder, an Air Force gunnery range used to train fighter pilots. Dealing with Congress and the Pentagon, said Delonas, has been the most stressful part of the project. If we find nothing, it will be terribly disappointing, but not devastating, said Delonas, who is based in a suite of Santa Ana offices provided by supporter Ed Carpenter, an Orange County financial consultant. Doc Noss, who was part German and mostly Cheyenne, treated people for bunions and ingrown toenails in the little town of Hot Springs, which later became Truth or Consequences. In those parts, said Delonas, people treasure hunt the way New Englanders bird watch; its second nature. So, although Doc was hunting deer when he made his discovery in the spring of 1937, Delonas believes he was hunting treasure as well. R.L. Coker, a 70-year-old retired shoe executive in Rossmoor, Calif., was hunting with Noss, though not at his side, when Noss discovered a passage into the peak. Coker was 17. Doc knew where the spring was and he knew the deer would come down to the water, so he was sitting up at the top of the peak watching and waiting for the deer, said Coker, who added that Noss promised him one-tenth of 1% of the treasure for excavation work he did at the peak in 1946. He felt a breeze come up and fan his pant leg. He thought a sidewinder had come up from around the rock and struck at his pant leg, because, you see, they hit first, then rattle. But he found that there was a breeze coming up from under a rock. Moving the rock, he discovered the entrance to the peak. What Doc is alleged to have found as he explored the guts of the peak later with flashlights and ropes is mind-boggling. He reported to Ova that, slithering along vertical fissures, he had discovered a series of interlocking caverns containing riches that would make men drool: chests filled with coins and jewelry, conquistador-era Spanish armor, statues of saints and Wells Fargo chests. There were also, he reported, 27 skeletons, and 16,000 bars of pig iron (a crudely processed form of the metal) stacked like cordwood. Ova was never permitted very far into the peak because she was, to be genteel, rather large of bone. But in an interview videotaped before she died in 1979, Ova said her curiosity about the pig iron led to an exciting discovery about 18 months after Doc found the caverns: I asked him to bring out some of that pig iron he was talking about and he said it was too heavy. But he found a small one and brought it out and said, Thats the last one of them babies Im gonna bring out. When I rolled it over, I said, Well, Doc, this is yellow! Look at it! He looked at it and said, Well, Babe, if thats gold and all that other is gold, we can call John D. Rockefeller a tramp! The Nosses filed mining and treasure trove claims on the land, which was leased to them for a nominal amount by the state of New Mexico. In 1939, said Delonas, the federal government told Noss to make a safe passage into the peak for Treasury agents to inventory the trove. My grandfather was climbing down this vertical fissure of 100 feet, squeezing under rocks and boulders and very few people could follow him in there, so he hired a mining engineer to help him widen the vertical entrance by blasting a huge rock out of the way. When they did, they put too much dynamite in and collapsed the whole top of the mountain. Thus was the treasure lost. Or so the story goes. At this point, however, the tale tangles into a Gordian knot. Every explanation that seems to confer legitimacy on the treasure claim has an equally plausible counter-argument: * Some say Doc was nothing more than a con man who took money from people to excavate a nonexistent treasure, who hoaxed even his wife. It is true, said Delonas, that Noss had a drinking problem, and was increasingly fearful of being robbed after his claims became known. Records show Noss spent time in jail for a variety of alcohol-related minor offenses. But others, including his stepdaughter, say he was a kind and loving man, driven to erratic behavior by those who tried to take advantage of him. * Skeptics claim that tons of rubble blocking the way to untold wealth is a convenient ruse for a man trying to run a gold scam. Believers think its grounds for some heavy-duty despair by an alcoholic who possesses an inaccessible mint. * The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 outlawed the private holding of gold by U.S. citizens. Skeptics say the law, which was rescinded in 1974, was the perfect excuse for Noss not to produce the 200 bars he claimed to have lifted out of the peak. Believers say its why he feared involving the authorities in his activities. He couldnt convert the gold to cash easily, said Delonas. They were poor people and it would cost money to get legal help, so they started selling the gold off in nugget-sized pieces, thousands of dollars worth but a little bit at a time. Local law enforcement officers made a habit of arresting Doc, hoping to confiscate gold from him, said Delonas. So Doc began carrying decoy bars. He thought it was better to be thought of as a con man than to be killed over the real gold. Ah, but he was killed over the gold. During the war years, attempts to open up the peak moved slowly. During this time, Noss disappeared for about 18 months, and when he returned, he had a new wife with him. She was younger, a little thinner than Mama. I dont think she was as pretty but maybe someone else would, said Ovas daughter, Letha Guthrie, 75. He got a fraudulent divorce, really. Mama was gonna have it undone, but the lawyer told her just to leave it. He said, She got the husband. You got the treasure. But Mama was devastated. She cried. She was in her 40s then, and she was 85 when she died. She never had anything to do with a man after that. Besides marrying again, Doc also met a Texas man named Charley Ryan, who ended up investing some money in attempts to open up the peak. Ryan testified in court that he spent about $28,000; Delonas said the money was used to build an airstrip near the peak and to pay for some phony drilling rigs used as decoys. Doc had agreed to sell 50 or so of his bars to Ryan, but something went awry. According to Delonas, Noss suspected that Ryan was going to steal his gold. So Noss enlisted a 27-year-old rodeo rider named Tony Jolley to help him hide 110 bars. They finished at sunup on March 5, 1949. Later that day, there was a big fight: Ryan accused Noss of bilking him. And as Noss ran away, Ryan pulled out a gun and shot him in the back of the head. Noss slumped against the bumper of a pickup truck and died. Ryan said Noss was running for a gun, and the jury believed him: He was acquitted of murder on grounds of self-defense. Noss, 42, died with about $2 in his pocket. For the next six years, Ova Noss continued to work her claim. But in 1955, she was forced off the site when the boundary of the White Sands Missile Range was extended. She never stopped trying to get back to Victorio Peak. Where Ova Noss failed, others succeeded. In 1958, four airmen from nearby Holloman Air Force Base, including Thomas Berlett, spent several months excavating at the site and claim they discovered stacks of gold bars in several caverns. They took nothing, and tried to get permission to recover the treasure. We were very young and maybe a little too naive, said Berlett, now a 51-year-old petrochemical salesman near Peoria, Ill. I was 19. I still had a little too much confidence in my government. In 1961, after passing Air Force and Secret Service polygraph tests, Berlett and his comrades were allowed back to the peak. Unfortunately, they had dynamited their tunnel to protect their find. They couldnt find a way back in and were ordered off the site. After that, witnesses sneaking onto the range reported a lot of Army activity at the site, trucks and crews and helicopters that appeared to be removing material. The Army admitted that it conducted some work at the peak, but denies that any treasure was ever found or removed. Oddly, Victorio Peak played a part in the 1973 Senate Watergate hearings during testimony by President Richard Nixons former White House counsel, John Dean. When asked if he knew of any other irregularities in the Nixon White House, Dean replied: Mr. Mitchell raised the fact that F. Lee Bailey had a client who had an enormous amount of gold . . . and would like to make an arrangement . . . whereby the gold could be turned over to the government without the individual being prosecuted for holding the gold, said Dean. Baileys clients, said to be a group of former military men, have never been identified, but they were later recognized by the Army as claimants to the gold. Berlett is convinced that renegade military personnel removed the treasure between 1961-64. A Texan named Gene Erwin who saw the Watergate hearings remembers turning to his son at the time and saying, They can look all they want, but they aint gonna find anything there because the Army already took it. Erwins brother-in-law, Capt. Orby Swanner, was executive assistant to the provost marshal at White Sands in 1961. Swanner, who has since died, told Erwin that he had helped supervise an Army operation that removed about $300 million in gold from the peak. Swanner swore Erwin to secrecy and never mentioned it again. Meanwhile, Tony Jolley, now a 69-year-old rancher living outside Boise, Ida., never forgot those bars of gold he helped bury in 1949. In 1961, he returned to the desert and claims to have found 10 of them. When all the smoke cleared, said Jolley, I had $66,000. In 1963, Ova Noss, under the aegis of the New Mexico Museum, was allowed to excavate at the peak for 60 days. She hired a mining company, which burrowed a 200-foot tunnel into the peak, but nothing was found. Then, in 1977, in an effort to put the legend to rest, the Army allowed a group of claimants, including the Noss group and the airmen, back to the peak. Again, nothing was found, and the Army closed the range to treasure seekers for the foreseeable future. What the Army could not have foreseen, however, was the Mr.-Smith-Goes-to-Washington appeal of Terry Delonas, who compiled and submitted to the service in March, 1988, a 150-page petition asking for one more chance to excavate Victorio Peak. The Army told Delonas he would need permission from Congress to reimburse the Army for expenses incurred by the search. Delonas roamed the halls of Congress, enlisting the aid of Rep. Joe Skeen (R-N.M.) and an assortment of senators and congressmen, all of whom were willing to lend support. In 1989, a rider was attached to the Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 1990, giving the Army permission to issue the Ova Noss Family Partnership a license to look for treasure. Delonas had his act of Congress in hand, and the Ova Noss Family Partnership was ready to roll. In July, when Delonas and his team return to the peak, they will have with them readings by the most powerful ground radar in the world, the prototype of which was developed to explore the pyramids of Egypt. Using readings taken in 1990, geophysicist Lambert Dolphin said he has discovered previously unknown caverns located well below the surface of the mountain, matching descriptions given by Noss. I go on treasure hunts of any kind for clients in the U.S. and overseas, said Dolphin. Lost mines, sunken ships. I have never been involved in a successful hunt and I dont know anyone who has. Most of these treasure stories are mythology. But Doc Noss story is probably one of the more believeable ones. If treasure is found, work will immediately stop while the objects are inventoried. Any cultural artifacts will belong to the state of New Mexico, while any treasure, such as gold bars or jewels, will be deposited in a vault, awaiting final disposition in the federal courts. White Sands Missile Range spokesman Jim Eckles thinks the legend is immortal: If they go in this time and find nothing, the Army will be accused of stealing it, then the question will be, where did the Army put it? What did they do with it? It will never end. In one sense, the story will never end because, like any good tale and many mediocre ones, it is bound to live on in celluloid and print. Delonas is being courted by movie producers. A former New York Times reporter is writing a book for Simon & Schuster. Ovas daughter, Letha Guthrie, chuckles when she thinks back on the 54-year three-generation quest of her family. You know what I got out of it? asked Guthrie, who still lives in Clovis, N.M. A great pair of $169 sunglasses. (The glasses were donated to the searchers, as were computers, software, boots and camping equipment.) Next month, as her nephew and the others set about putting an end to the ultimate material quest, Guthrie and her sister, Dorothy Delonas, hope to settle a more spiritual account. I have my mothers ashes and we are gonna spread them out over that hill, said Guthrie. I dont know where else she would rather be. Former President Donald Trump suffered yet another crushing legal defeat as the New York State Supreme Court convicted his company, the Trump Organization, on 17 counts of tax fraud, a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, and falsifying business records. Last December, the Trump Organization was previously convicted of giving one of its top executives some big off-the-books perks. This landed one of Trump's most trusted people, Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Organization CFO and "Trump's Moneyman," a term of five months in one of New York's most infamous prisons, Ryker's Island, according to the New York Times. Allen Weisselberg was said to be one of the people behind the scheme and pleaded guilty to the charges laid out against him. He also received off-the-book perks from the Trump-owned company. Trump Organization Received Maximum Punishment for Tax Fraud According to New York state law, the two Trump entities, The Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp., can be fined up to $1.6 million. A New York State Supreme Court judge announced that the Trump Organization, which includes the two entities, must pay that maximum amount. The Trump Organization is considered a multibillion-dollar company, and Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Juan Merchan to make them pay the maximum amount. However, the prosecutor did admit that the fine, while hefty, will have a "minimal impact" on the Trump Organization. New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN that the $1.6 million fine against the Trump-owned company is important. However, he also implored lawmakers to raise the fines against these big companies that break the law. READ MORE: Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg Expected to Plead Guilty "It's important regardless of who the defendant is because it's cheating and greed and cheating the taxpayers," Bragg said. He also admitted that the penalty against the company was not enough as the trial proved that the company had a "pattern of deep greed and misconduct" that happened for around 13 years, adding, "we should have stiffer penalties for conduct like that." While his company was on trial, former President Donald Trump and his family were not charged in this particular case. However, prosecutors have pointed out the former president was connected to the untaxed benefits that some of the company executives received. These benefits included company-funded apartments, car leases, and personal expenses. One prosecutor even pointed out that it was Donald Trump himself who "explicitly sanctioned" tax fraud. Donald Trump May Not Have Fulfilled His Promise of Donating His Presidential Salary Speaking of Donald Trump and taxes, the former president's newly-released tax returns indicate that he may not have done what he promised about donating his presidential salary. His presidential salary in 2020 was reportedly worth $400,000. However, new reports indicated that he did not donate his salary for his final year in office, according to CNBC. However, the former president did donate in the previous years. It was pointed out that it is unclear if he did or did not break his campaign promise because of how certain information was reported on his tax returns, said an accountant. In 2020, he did not pay any federal income taxes he reported a negative adjusted gross income for that year. He claimed that he did not have any taxable income so he did not pay any federal taxes. READ MORE: Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg Willing to Testify vs. Donald Trump This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Trump Organization fined $1.6 million for tax fraud Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger's old forum posts have resurfaced, with his teenage self writing that he did not feel any emotion and could do "whatever I want with little remorse." In a series of posts on the forum website Tapatalk in 2011, Kohberger noted that he was struggling with his mental health and a rare neurological condition called visual snow. In one post, the Idaho murder suspect said he always felt as if he was not there and was "completely depersonalized," Business Insider reported. Kohberger noted that he mentally experienced "fog, lack of comprehension at some times," as well as suicide and depression. He also said he "felt no emotion, and along with the depersonalization," he can say and do whatever he wants "with little remorse." He added that everyone hated him and he was "an asshole." A friend from high school told The New York Times that Kohberger had often complained about his visual snow. READ NEXT: Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Motive Not Important to Be Convicted Bryan Kohberger Old Forum Posts Bryan Kohberger did not use his real name and posted under an alias, but the posts included a mention of his birthday. He used the username "Exarr" on his account, which used an email address that matched an email address for Kohberger that appeared in a 2009 leak of accounts from an online payment company, The New York Times reported. The account also listed his location as Effort, Pennsylvania, which was the place where he grew up. Kohberger also wrote that nothing he did was enjoyable and that he was blank and had "no opinion" and "no emotion." Kohberger added that he started feeling the absence of emotions when his visual snow symptoms began in 2009. One friend claimed that Kohberger constantly talked about his "fuzzy vision." The friend and the accused Idaho murder suspect went to the same school during high school. He noted that it was something that really bothered Kohberger. Francesca Puledda, a neurologist and researcher at King's College London, noted that scientists still debate whether to call the condition a disease. Puledda noted that they still do not know what causes it, adding that more research has to be done. Puledda added that the visual snow syndrome is not a sign of mental illness but noted that there was a report of an incidence of psychiatric issues for people experiencing it. Idaho Murders Bryan Kohberger is currently facing murder charges after he is accused of sneaking into the house shared by several college students in Idaho. He allegedly stabbed four students to death and left two of their roommates unharmed. Kohberger was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington University, which is a 15-minute drive from the crime scene. Kohberger has maintained his innocence through his lawyer, with a judge setting the date for his hearing in June, when prosecutors will present evidence against him. Citing a source working for the university, Fox News reported that Kohberger's doctoral program has access to a "crime lab" database of police bodycam videos, including live streams from security cameras on and off campus. However, it was unclear whether Kohberger had attempted to access these research tools, but the university vehemently denied he was allowed in the Complex Social Interaction Lab (CSI Lab). The source noted that the CSI computers are located in the same building and on the same floor as the graduate offices. READ MORE: Idaho Murders: Surviving Roommate Did Not Call 911 After Chilling Encounter With Killer Suspected to Be Bryan Kohberger This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger Appears in Court for Status Hearing - From Law&Crime Network After missing for several weeks, Kanye West suddenly surfaced with a mystery woman, whom he reportedly married in a private ceremony. According to TMZ sources, the woman is Bianca Censori, an Australian architectural designer who worked at Yeezy for years. An insider told the outlet that Kanye and Bianca recently had a private wedding ceremony, though it appears they still need to register their marriage for legalities. Nonetheless, the rapper still reportedly treats her as his wife. The couple showed up at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills this week, and Kanye was seen wearing a wedding ring. Sources said the ring was a symbol of his commitment to Bianca following the ceremony. Last month, the rapper released a song titled "Censori Overload," which is another tribute to his new love interest. READ NEXT: Kanye West Dating a Brazilian Bombshell Model Who Is Kanye West New Wife, Bianca Censori? Bianca Censori has worked as an architectural designer for Kanye West's Yeezy brand since November 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. She completed her Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Melbourne in 2017. She returned to school in 2019 and 2020 to earn her Master of Architecture degree. Bianca is also an entrepreneur. After graduating from high school, she founded Nylons, a jewelry business. After reports of her Beverly Hills private wedding with Kanye circulated, Page Six reported that Censori deactivated her Instagram account, which had around 16,500 followers. It is unknown how Kanye and Bianca became romantically linked, but it is possible that they became close while working together at Yeezy. The two were initially rumored to be dating on January 9, when they were seen eating together at the Waldorf Astoria. Kanye West went from one of the most celebrated rappers on Earth to one that many did not want to be seen with after his recent controversies over his offensive and antisemitic remarks. Several companies, including Adidas and Balenciaga, had already cut ties with him over his antisemitic comments. Kim Kardashian Shares Cryptic Quotes After Kanye West Wedding Rumors Kanye West and Bianca Censori's reported private wedding happened nearly two months after finalizing his divorce from his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and settled their divorce filings by the end of November last year. The two got joint legal and physical custody of their children. Amid Kanye's wedding report, Kim posted cryptic remarks on her Instagram, Us Weekly reported. "I'm in my quiet girl era, I don't have much to say. Just much to do," a since-deleted Instagram Story shared by the reality star early Friday. Kim Kardashian afterward added two more posts that she did not delete. "Just remember, the black sheep usually turns into the goat. Keep doing you," she wrote. The other post said: "People who want to see you win will help you win. Remember that." READ MORE: Lisa Marie Presley's Final IG Post This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Who is Bianca Censori and How She Marry Kanye West - From Dynamic Feed Mexico's new cartel queen is Adriana Meza Torres, the daughter-in-law of Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera and wife of Ovidio Guzman Lopez of Los Chapitos. According to The Times UK, Meza Torres has established herself as a queenpin of the Los Chapitos wing of the notorious Sinaloa cartel who can call the shots for the drug clan. Reportedly in her early 30s, El Chapo's daughter-in-law demonstrates a glamorous life in a series of flashy posts and videos on various social media platforms such as TikTok. She even flaunts her newfound authority by calling herself "boss's wife." The narco queen's role in the Mexican drug cartel seemed to be revealed for the first time in 2019 when her husband was initially arrested. At the time, Mexican authorities became aware of the role of Meza Torres and other women in the day-to-day operations of the drug cartel, which prompted authorities to freeze the bank accounts of El Chapo's daughter-in-law. El Chapo reportedly has 23 children, but only Ovidio and his three other sons, known as Los Chapitos, figured prominently in the Sinaloa Cartel's operations. Ovidio was arrested this month in Mexico's Sinaloa state after hours of confrontations with the army that claimed the lives of 29 people, 10 of them Mexican troops. READ NEXT: El Chapo Son Ovidio Guzman Arrested El Chapo Daughter-in-Law: Adriana Meza Torres Is Narco Queen With Familial Ties to Drug Trafficking Adriana Meza Torres' closeness to the world of drug trafficking is not only linked to El Chapo's family. She is not just a narco queen but also considered a narco royalty as her father, Raul Meza Ontiveros, known as "El M6," was a high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa cartel. Meza Torres' father was killed in a shootout in Culiacan, Sinaloa, in 2007. Suffering a similar fate, her brother, Cesar Raul, known as "El Mini M6," was also killed in an armed confrontation at 18. "El M6" was previously tied to El Chapo's former right-hand man, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. He reportedly served as El Mayo's most trusted lieutenant, Mazatlan Weekly reported. However, marrying El Chapo's son led her to become the latest among the rising number of women who have risen through the cartel ranks. According to reports, Meza Torres' husband is the head figure of the Sinaloa Cartel's fentanyl division. The U.S. State Department previously reported that Ovidio Guzman Lopez also produces more than 3,000 kilos of methamphetamine monthly. The four sons of El Chapo, known as Los Chapitos, had reportedly assumed leadership roles in the Sinaloa cartel after their father was arrested and extradited to the U.S. The Los Chapitos are Ovidio, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar. Under their leadership, the Sinaloa cartel has continued to be one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels. Narco Queens of Sinaloa Cartel Aside from Adriana Meza Torres, the other Sinaloa cartel's narco queens include Emma Coronel Aispuro, New York Post reported. Coronel Aispuro is El Chapo's wife who helped her husband escape from prison in Mexico in 2015. Emma Coronel reportedly had a boyfriend when she first met El Chapo after being crowned in a Sinaloa beauty pageant in 2006. She was only 17 years old at the time, and El Chapo was 49. The two exchanged vows the following year on her 18th birthday. The California-born ex-beauty queen gave birth to their twins in 2011. A former narco queen of the Sinaloa cartel was Clara Elena Laborin. She was a former beauty queen from Sonora state who married Hector Beltran Leyva, known to be El Chapo's former partner in the Sinaloa cartel. Beltran Leyva had broken up with El Chapo and created his own drug cartel with his brother and business partner, Alfredo. Alfredo was arrested by Mexican authorities, which caused Hector Beltran Leyva to suspect that El Chapo had snitched on his brother to authorities. It has caused a war between the Beltran Leyva Cartel and the Sinaloa cartel. Laborin was enlisted to direct the money-laundering component of the Beltran Leyva Cartel, but when her husband was arrested, she reportedly became the head of the drug cartel. Laborin, known as "La Senora" or "The Missus" because her husband treated her like a trophy bride, was arrested on September 2016 in Sonora during a joint operation between the federal police and the Attorney General's Office. READ MORE: 28 Dead in Mexico After Sinaloa Cartel Members Attack This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Mexico Captures Ovidio Guzman, Son of Drug Lord 'El Chapo' - ABC News (Australia) China has sufficient energy supply for Spring Festival holiday: official Xinhua) 10:29, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China has sufficient energy supply and management mechanisms to help cope with peaks in energy use amid cold waves and the Spring Festival holiday, a senior official said Friday. With natural gas reserve capacity exceeding 32 billion cubic meters, China has 20 billion cubic meters of gas storage available at present, halfway through the heating season, Lian Weiliang, deputy director with the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference. The country's government-deployable coal reserve stands at about 50 million tonnes, while coal storage in power plants remains at a high level of about 175 million tonnes, which is enough to meet energy needs during peak periods, Lian added. This winter has seen lower temperatures and less precipitation than in normal years, which could lead to higher demand for energy and disruption of transportation, according to Zhang Zuqiang, deputy director of the China Meteorological Administration. Zhang said that three cold waves are expected to hit China during the Spring Festival holiday in late January. "Even in extreme cases, when residents' energy needs exceed expectations, we can activate the emergency plan to prioritize residential energy use to ensure that the people's livelihoods are not affected," Lian said. Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 22 this year. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Laois students visiting the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2023 got all the beef on beef this week. Transition Year students from St Marys CBS Portlaoise visited Irish beef company ABPs stand at the RDS in Dublin, among a full and busy day at the huge exhibition. Below: Students from St Marys CBS Portlaoise with teacher Emily Barrett and Micheal Dwyer from ABP. The school described the "fantastic" day at the science exhibition. "TYs were treated to a fantastic celebration of Science today at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS. "They had the opportunity to watch several Science shows: "The Physics of Breakdancing" and the "Secrets of Superhero Science" to name a few. Really fascinating stuff! "They perused the projects to get a better idea of what to expect for their own Scifest@School exhibition next month. "They visited the exhibitors stands where they could participate in various games and experiments or try out VR devices all promoting Science in everyday life. "And of course, they visited the food hall for lunch! The lads were all gentlemen and represented the school so well! Bring on our Scifest@School next month on Feb 2nd," St Mary's CBS said. Just one Laois project made it to the exhibition this year, out of 550 on display. A pair of Mountrath Community School students exhibited a project on how to lessen the impact of water pollution from dairy farming. Read more below. The ABP stand also showcased the Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition, an annual competition sponsored by ABP when students fatten their own calves for slaughter, and learn hands-on the opportunities and challenges of modern day beef production. ABP staff also explained to the students the health benefits of eating beef as a source of protein and vitamins. The stand also showcased how Irish beef is among the most sustainably produced and highest quality in the world, and how its production supports communities all across the country. Mountrath Community School students who were exhibiting at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition were praised by local Minister of State Sean Fleming. Sarah Phelan and Doireann OConnor presented their project on aquaculture at the four-day science and technology fair held in the RDS in Dublin. Theirs was among the 550 projects selected to go on display out of over 1,700 entries from all over Ireland. The project investigated the impact of crude protein supplementation on dairy cow production and the effect nitrogen excretion has on Irish waterways. Minister Fleming visited the Mountrath Community School project this week. I was hugely impressed by Sarah and Doireanns work under the guidance of their wonderful teacher Kelly Walsh. Sarah and Doireanns project is a fantastic example of the scientific skills that exist in schools in Laois. I would encourage principals in primary schools and particularly in secondary schools to do what they can to encourage their students to enter into the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition next year, Minister Fleming said. Minister Fleming, who was recently appointed Minister for International Development and Diaspora, presented the Science for Development Award, which is sponsored by Irish Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Self-Help Africa. The Science for Development Award was won by Vedh Kannan and Will Carkner, students at Sutton Park School in Dublin, for a project that developed a tool for testing for malaria and other diseases. The Science for Development Award encourages young people to use science to help create a better and more sustainable world. Science and technology has a huge role to play in addressing some of the big challenges facing the world today, said Minister Fleming. The standard of entry was incredibly high and I would like to pay tribute to all the students who developed projects aimed at tackling global issues. It is heartening to see so many young people in Ireland determined to use their scientific skills and interest to help the lives of people around the world, he added. A Central Criminal Court judge has agreed to delay the sentence of a Kildare teenager who sexually assaulted and raped his young cousin while his defence lodges an appeal application. The now 17-year-old boy was found guilty of orally raping his female cousin by a jury following a trial earlier this year. He also pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assaulting her on unknown dates between October 1 and December 31, 2018. The accused, who cannot be named as he and the victim are both minors, was 13 at the time of the offending while his victim was then aged seven. Ms Justice Karen O'Connor agreed to a request from defence counsel today to defer finalisation of the case for two weeks while they make an application to the Court of Appeal. Lorcan Staines SC, defending, told Ms Justice O'Connor that the intention is to ask to the Court of Appeal to lodge an appeal and to consider the novel approach taken by the defendant's legal team. No closing speech was made by defence counsel on behalf of the accused. His legal team did not carry out a cross-examination, meaning the victim did not have to attend court. Ms Justice O'Connor agreed that she would not finalise the case in these circumstances and adjourned the matter to January 30. She agreed that it had been an unusual trial during which efforts were made to avoid causing any additional trauma or anxiety to the victim. Ms Justice O'Connor indicated her view that a period of detention must be imposed, given the serious nature of the offences, the young age of the victim and the impact of the offending on her. She noted that if she was sentencing an adult on the rape charge, she would set a headline sentence of eight years. Ms Justice O'Connor indicated that she intends to impose a two year period of detention, taking mitigating factors into account, including the fact the defendant was 13 at the time of the offence. She also indicated that she proposes to impose an 18 month period of detention on each count of sexual assault, with all sentences to run concurrently. The court heard that the offending took place in the victim's home. When interviewed by specialist gardai, the victim said the accused inserted his finger into her vagina on four occasions. On a separate occasion, the boy orally raped the girl as part of a game and told her not to tell anyone or he would tell a lie. The girl said she felt scared and that she would get in trouble if she told anyone. She said the accused would push a chair against the door of the room they were in. Ms Justice O'Connor said the multiple counts, all of a serious nature, were among the aggravating factors in this case. She noted the age disparity between the accused and the victim and that there would have been a large power imbalance between them. Other aggravating factors included the impact of the offending on the victim and that these events took place in her home, which should have been a place where she felt safe and secure, Ms Justice O'Connor added. She said she would take the very young age of the accused at the time, his lack of previous convictions and his cooperation with the investigation into account as mitigating factors. Ms Justice O'Connor noted that the accused had engaged with relevant supports, made efforts to rehabilitate himself and there had been a delay in the case. A probation report also stated the accused is remorseful and ashamed of his actions. The offending came to light in July 2019, when the girl told her mother who then contacted the gardai. The court heard that the girl was sitting on her mother's bed on one occasion when the accused tried to get her to go with him. When she refused, he attempted to drag her, but she held onto the bed and he gave up. The court heard that the victim's mother also contacted the accused's mother after her daughter told her about the abuse. The accused's sister asked him what had happened and took notes of their conversations. These notes were later used by gardai when they interviewed the accused. The accused made some admissions when interviewed by gardai in June 2020. He said he had touched the victim's buttocks and breasts. In her victim impact statement, the girl said she was scared, confused and really sad when the abuse first happened. She said she pretended to be smiling and happy, but inside she felt like a scared kitten. The girl said she found it difficult to trust people and to make friends. She said she felt shock as she thought her parents would not believe her, but also relieved to be able to tell someone. Mr Staines said his client accepts that he is guilty of four counts of sexual assault, but does not agree that he is guilty of rape. A report from a Tusla service was handed into the court which stated that the accused was viewing pornography, which may have contributed to his offending. Mr Staines said his client is a juvenile who is engaging with all relevant services. He said his client's offending is most serious and had led to the breakdown of close family relationships A Newbridge College student has won two awards in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition held in the RDS. Tara Mulhall achieved first place in the Senior Individual category for her project: Forecasting an individual's political leaning based off their social media profile. Tara also won the Fr Tom Burke Bursary Award. Shaunak Mohapatra of Confey Community College in Leixlip also received two awards. The first Award he received was - 2nd in Technology in Intermediate Category while the second Award he received was Special Industry Award from .ie We are Ireland Online (National Registry for Ireland Web domain). Another Newbridge College pupil Emily Johnson won first prize in the Junior Individual category for her project: Optimising Wind Turbine Efficiency. Other awards were won for projects presented by students in Celbridge, Leixlip, Maynooth, Addison Carey of Celbridge Community School was Highly Commended for her project: Slainte-Link: A Web3 based secure medical records system." Anna OFlaherty and Niamh Barry of Maynooth Post Primary School won a Display Award for an investigation into the practicality of proliferating blood transfusions and to discern why there has been a decline of donations in Ireland over recent years. The contents of some of Irelands most well-known five-star hotels are going under the hammer following pandemic clear-outs. The impact of measures taken to manage Covid-19 provided space and time for refurbishment in the hospitality sector. The result is a treasure trove of furniture, artwork and collectibles from Dublins Four Seasons (now Intercontinental), Westin and Trinity City Hotels, Glenlo Abbey in Galway and Powerscourt Resort and Spa in Wicklow. Memorabilia from the famous Buck Whaleys nightclub and Larry Murphys pub in the capital is also up for grabs. A two-day online auction of over 1,100 lots in Dublins Prussia Street, on January 17 and 18, is expected to generate in excess of 200,000 euro. Antiques dealer Niall Mullen said: All of these hotels and bars were refurbished during Covid, when their doors were shut and the contents moved to storage. Already, it promises to be one of the most interesting auctions of the year. Taking on a hotel auction is tricky, but when they all come together like this, they work. A desk, originally from Harrods department store, complete with 40 drawers, guides at 2,000 4,000 euro and comes from Dublins oldest shop, Reads Cutlers, now House of Read on Dublins Parliament Street. Side cabinets, lamps and lockers from the former Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge favourite haunt of American rocker Bruce Springsteen also feature. A bust of Frank Sinatra, a Graham Knuttel oil painting and a life-size bronze sculpture of a hunting hare, all privately consigned, are also set to attract interest. Original pub mirrors, posters and bar stools from the former Buck Whaleys club and Larry Murphys on Lower Baggot Street, could lead former customers on a trip down memory lane. And it is showtime possibly once more for the original wooden ticket office from the Ambassador cinema on OConnell Street. Niall added: This certainly wont happen again, it is purely a product of Covid and the unprecedented effect it had on the hospitality industry. The public can view the lots at 67 Prussia Street, Dublin, from Friday to Monday, with the online auction beginning at 2pm on January 17 and 18. The full catalogue is available at irishcountryhome.com. A joint letter has been issued by a number of stakeholders in the agriculture and forestry sector in relation to the recent Coillte announcement. It reads as follows: "The recent announcement by Coillte that it has joined forces with a major foreign investment house to establish a fund to acquire 12,000ha forests and bare land is strongly opposed by the majority of the main organisations in the agriculture and forest sector. This is the first step in Coilltes strategic vision to act as an agent on behalf of foreign and national investment funds to transition 100,000 ha of Irish farmland out of local farm ownership for afforestation by funds. We do not support it. The most saddening part is that this venture is being enabled by the Irish taxpayer to the tune of 2.1 billion that is 2.1 billion of Irish taxpayers money paid in forestry grants and premiums to investment funds to purchase 100,000ha of our sovereign Irish farmland to establish forests. The Irish taxpayer will be paying for the sale of rural Ireland to investment funds. This will not add to the local community or the local economy. Furthermore, this will have a negative social impact through rural depopulation by encouraging investment funds to compete for land, thus disadvantaging existing local, new entrant and young farmers. Any income (forestry premiums, carbon value, profit) will not be spent in the local community or the local economy, as it would be if farm families or local people afforested these lands. We believe this is Government policy to meet afforestation targets at any cost. It is likely to be counterproductive. We do not support it. And it is a bad deal for Ireland. Concerns: Removing land from rural ownership, local communities, and local economies. Selling off our best national asset Our sovereign land. The equivalent of 3,000 average family farms removed from our communities. Giving investment funds an unfair advantage at the expense of existing farmers, new entrants, and young farmers, is essentially pushing farmers off the land. Farmers could be competing with Coillte for one in every three acres. Coillte has stated they are bringing their very significant forestry and land management expertise to the fund, to aid and assist foreign and national investment funds in purchasing Irish farmland. The Solution: No premium or grant for investment funds. The Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) invest directly in Coillte to create new forests. Coillte invest their government dividend (30 million in 2021) in creating new forests. As recently as 2016, the private sector planted 6,500 ha of afforestation. Then the licensing debacle occurred, and afforestation levels plummeted to an all-time low. The private industry has repeatedly told the Minister what would increase afforestation rates, namely fix the licensing process, and support Ash dieback forest owners. To date, neither has been done and we still have low levels of afforestation. While the organisations listed below were working hard in Project Woodland trying to fix the issues in afforestation, senior management within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) were having separate conversations with Coillte to develop afforestation through investment funds in order to access Irish taxpayers money in the form of forestry grants and premiums, that were always heretofore intended for farmers. Concerns are now being raised as to why the Department was adamant to keep the non-farmer rate of premium at such a high level, which benefits Coillte through its partnership with foreign and national investment funds. We believe a situation where rural Ireland is being sold off must be avoided. If the Minister and DAFM fixed the licensing crisis, committed to timelines, and treated existing forest owners, such as those with Ash Dieback with empathy and respect, then afforestation levels would increase. We implore the Government to step in and we call on all the people of Ireland and all our elected representatives to support this. Yours in Faith, Jason Fleming, Forestry Committee Chair - Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Marina Conway, CEO - Western Forestry Co-op Nicolas Sweetman, Chair - Irish Forest Owners (IFO) Teige Ryan, Chair - Social, Economic and Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) Kathryn ODonoghue, CEO - Forest Owners Co-operative Society (FOCS) Dermot Houlihan, Chair - Association of Irish Forestry Consultants (AIFC) Noel Feeney, President - Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) Simon White, Chair - Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) This weekend members of the Defence Forces are remembering the late Private Sean Rooney on the one-month anniversary of his tragic killing in Lebanon. Private Rooney was killed on December 14, 2022, while on UN peacekeeping duties in Lebanon. A post on the Oglaigh na hEireann, this morning reads: "This weekend we remember Sean Rooney as we mark one month since his passing. Our thoughts remain with his family, friends and all who were lucky enough to have known him. Sean a chara, ta tu inar gcroi go deo. "Peacekeeping is not a job for soldiers, but only soldiers can do it" This weekend we remember Sean Rooney as we mark one month since his passing. Our thoughts remain with his family, friends and all who were lucky enough to have known him. Sean a chara, ta tu inar gcroi go deo. "Peacekeeping is not a job for soldiers, but only soldiers can do it" pic.twitter.com/WuFFH9UWAt Oglaigh na hEireann (@defenceforces) January 13, 2023 A former minister in the government of defeated Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro was arrested early on Saturday, January 8, local media reported, in connection with the sacking of government buildings. Anderson Torres, wanted under a Supreme Court warrant for alleged "collusion" with the rioters, was arrested at Brasilia airport as he arrived home from the United States. Brazils Supreme Court had agreed to investigate whether Mr. Bolsonaro incited the far-right mob that ransacked the countrys Congress, top court and presidential offices, a swift escalation in the probe that shows the ex-leader could face legal consequences for an extremist movement he helped build. Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted a request from the prosecutor general's office to include Mr. Bolsonaro in the wider investigation, citing a video the former president posted on Facebook two days after the riot. It claimed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Attempted insurrection in Brazil: Military police accused of collusion with coup plotters Although Mr. Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot and deleted it in the morning, prosecutors argued its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Otherwise, Mr. Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his October 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded. None of the ex-presidents claims were proved, and the results of the election were recognized as legal by different politicians, including some Bolsonaro allies, and several foreign governments. He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the January 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor, and some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa. Following the justices decision late Friday, Mr. Bolsonaros lawyer Frederick Wassef said in a statement that the former president "vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and destruction" from January 8, but blamed supposed "infiltrators" of the protest something his far-right backers have also claimed. The statement also said Mr. Bolsonaro "never had any relationship or participation with these spontaneous social movements." Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Mr. Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm the seats of power in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who summoned rioters to the capital or paid to transport them, and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur. Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Mr. Bolsonaros former justice minister, who became the federal districts security chief on January 2, and was in the US on the day of the riot. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes 'Netanyahu, Bolsonaro and Trump have something in common: They don't like independent judges' Mr. de Moraes ordered Mr. Torres arrest this week and has opened an investigation into his actions, which he characterized as "neglect and collusion." In his decision, which was made public Friday, Mr. de Moraes said that Mr. Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest. Torres has denied wrongdoing, and said January 10 on Twitter that he would interrupt his vacation to return to Brazil and present his defense. Three days later, that has yet to occur. The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, and he must return within three days or Brazil will request his extradition, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said Friday. Le Monde with AP President Joe Biden responds to questions from reporters after speaking about the economy in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, Thursday, January 12, 2023, in Washington. ANDREW HARNIK / AP Lawyers for President Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known, the White House acknowledged on Saturday, January 14. White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Mr. Biden's private library. The White House had said previously that only a single page was found there. The latest disclosure is in addition to the discovery of documents found in December in Mr. Biden's garage and in November at his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, from his time as vice president. The apparent mishandling of classified documents and official records from the Obama administration are under investigation by a former US attorney, Robert Hur, who was appointed as a special counsel on Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Read more The differences between Biden, Trump classified documents Mr. Sauber said in a statement Saturday that Mr. Biden's personal lawyers, who did not have security clearances, stopped their search after finding the first page on Wednesday evening. Mr. Sauber found the remaining material Thursday, as he was facilitating their retrieval by the Department of Justice. "While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages," Mr. Sauber said. "The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them." Mr. Sauber has previously said that the White House was "confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake." Mr. Sauber's statement did not explain why the White House waited two days to provide an updated accounting of the number of classified documents records. The White House is already facing scrutiny for waiting more than two months to acknowledge the discovery of the initial group of documents at the Biden office. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Biden administration ruffled by discovery of classified documents On Thursday, asked whether Mr. Biden could guarantee that additional classified documents would not turn up in a further search, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, "You should assume that its been completed, yes." Mr. Sauber reiterated Saturday that the White House would cooperate with Mr. Hur's investigation. Bob Bauer, the presidents personal lawyer, said his legal team has "attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigations integrity." The Justice Department historically imposes a high legal bar before bringing criminal charges in cases involving the mishandling of classified information, with a requirement that someone intended to break the law as opposed to being merely careless or negligent in doing so. The primary statute governing the illegal removal and retention of classified documents makes it a crime to "knowingly" remove classified documents and store them in an unauthorized way. Read more Biden 'surprised' by government records found in former office The circumstances involving Mr. Biden, at least as so far known, differ from a separate investigation into the mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's private club and residence in Florida. In Mr. Trump's case, special counsel Jack Smith is investigating whether anyone sought to obstruct their investigation into the retention of classified records at the Palm Beach estate. Justice Department officials have said Mr. Trump's representatives failed to fully comply with a subpoena that sought the return of classified records, prompting agents to return to the home with a search warrant so they could collect additional materials. Le Monde with AP For chocolate fans the taste is a key part of why they love the treat, however, researchers have now shed light on why the irresistible confectionery feels so good. Scientists decoded the physical process that takes place in the mouth when a piece of chocolate is eaten, as it changes from a solid into a smooth emulsion. They suggest that where the fat lies within the chocolate helps to make the texture so appealing. By analysing each of the steps, researchers at the University of Leeds hope their findings will lead to the development of luxury chocolate with the same feel and texture that is healthier to eat. When chocolate is in contact with the tongue, it releases a fatty film that coats the tongue and other surfaces in the mouth. This makes it feel smooth the entire time it is in the mouth. According to the study, when in the mouth the chocolate sensation arises from the way the chocolate is lubricated, either from ingredients in the chocolate itself or from saliva or a combination of the two. Almost as soon as chocolate comes into contact with the tongue, fat has a key role to play. After that, solid cocoa particles are released and they become important in terms of the tactile sensation. Therefore, fat deeper inside the chocolate plays a somewhat limited role and could be reduced without the feel or sensation of chocolate being affected, the researchers suggest. Anwesha Sarkar, professor of colloids and surfaces in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, said: Lubrication science gives mechanistic insights into how food actually feels in the mouth. You can use that knowledge to design food with better taste, texture or health benefits. If a chocolate has 5% fat or 50% fat it will still form droplets in the mouth and that gives you the chocolate sensation. However, it is the location of the fat in the make-up of the chocolate which matters in each stage of lubrication, and that has been rarely researched. We are showing that the fat layer needs to be on the outer layer of the chocolate, this matters the most, followed by effective coating of the cocoa particles by fat, these help to make chocolate feel so good. The study published in the ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces journal did not look at how chocolate tastes, and instead focused on feel and texture. Tests were conducted using a luxury brand of dark chocolate on an artificial 3D tongue-like surface that was designed at the University of Leeds. Dr Siavash Soltanahmadi, from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds and the lead researcher in the study, said: With the understanding of the physical mechanisms that happen as people eat chocolate, we believe that a next generation of chocolate can be developed that offers the feel and sensation of high-fat chocolate yet is a healthier choice. Our research opens the possibility that manufacturers can intelligently design dark chocolate to reduce the overall fat content. We believe dark chocolate can be produced in a gradient-layered architecture with fat covering the surface of chocolates and particles to offer the sought after self-indulging experience without adding too much fat inside the body of the chocolate. The researchers believe the physical techniques used in the study could be applied to the investigation of other foodstuffs that undergo a phase change, such as ice-cream, margarine or cheese. AN ADDITIONAL judge could be appointed in Limerick this year to help deal with a "significant delay" in processing cases. Maurice Quinlivan TD highlighted the backlog in dealing with cases at a meeting of the Limerick Joint Policing Committee. He asked gardai if the Court Services could do anything about it. He questioned as to why some cases, such as sexual abuse cases are taken to Dublin, instead of being heard before a court in Limerick. There are six courtrooms not being used most days," the Sinn Fein Deputy claimed, referencing the courthouse which opened at Mulgrave Street in 2018. The building, which contains a 200m2 courtroom, was at the time of building, the largest courtroom in Ireland and is the primarily used for District Court sittings. In response, Superintendent Kieran Ruane clarified it is business as usual but that there is a large backlog arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The delays, he stressed, are constantly assessed by the judiciary and the Court Service. He added that for more serious crimes, which are entered into the judicial system through charge streets, there are court sittings in the city, Kilmallock and Newcastle West. There are indications from the Court Services that there would be a third sitting district court with a unique judge this year, which would address our delays, Supt Ruane revealed. Deputy Qinlivan welcomed the news from Supt Ruane, who is responsibile for the management of court files, saying that any easing of the pressure on the current courts system in Limerick is positive. The list is huge, so anything we can do as a JPC to help to encourage the Court Services get a brand-new building, we will do," he stated. AFTER a largely static land market for years, prices took a big leap forward in 2022 in Limerick. The tone for the year was set in late 2021 when land in Lemonfield, Crecora sold for 19,000 per acre. I think that may have adjusted peoples thinking in terms of where land values were at, said GVMs Tom Crosse. Land values have been probably static at 10,000 per acre for good land for the past 15 years. In the last 18 months there has been a noticeable incline in terms of prices. If you were to look at our sales throughout the year I would respectfully suggest 15,000 per acre is where the ball landed for good land, he added. Some of the stand-out sales were 145 acres in Clarina for 2.85m; 90 acres in Bruff for 1.5m; 50 acres in Adare for 1.15m; 30 acres in Crecora for 580k; 98 acres in Croagh for 1.3m. Mr Crosse, along with GVM colleagues Richard Ryan and John OConnell, recorded 20m in land sales in 2022. The jump in the price per acre is down to a number of factors. Dairying, obviously, has grown into a very, very strong industry with milk prices, in particular, very buoyant enabling farmers to generate very, very good income. In turn, they are either investing in facilities or if land comes on the market in their vicinity they are the obvious punters, said Mr Crosse. Secondly, he says, is the increased return of business people purchasing land. It is very evident in the past two years and last 12 months, in particular, that business people are again eyeing up land as a good investment. They see it as a very solid asset and are participating in auctions and bidding on attractive holdings that are around the city or adjacent to villages or towns. They may have an interest in hobby farming but some are opting to lease it long term and avail of the attractive tax incentives that are there. Effectively they can lease it tax free, said Mr Crosse, who compared leasing land with renting houses. There is no maintenance or issues around fixing cookers or leaking showers etc. The raw material is in the ground and the tenant takes care of the grass. So from that point of view it is attractive. We are even noticing that people who sold holdings up the country then came down to Limerick to buy, said Mr Crosse. The power of Kerry shares continues to fuel the long-standing trend of men and women from the Kingdom buying Limerick land. It looks like vendors of farms will continue to land on their feet in 2023. A WOMAN was arrested after gardai responded to reports that a business premises in Limerick had been ransacked by an intruder. Gardai say the incident should act as a warning and a reminder to business owners to thoroughly check their premises before locking up at night. In the incident, which is being highlighted to create awareness, a lady arrived to her business premises in the city to find it had been ransacked. "She heard a noise so fearing for her safety, she went outside to ring gardai. As she was on the phone, she observed a female leave her business premises with several items belonging to business," said divisional crime prevention officer Sergeant Ber Leetch. The owner followed the suspected thief at a safe distance until gardai arrived and she was then arrested. "The business owner believes it is possible that the thief may have been locked inside the premises overnight," explained Sgt Leetch. SCHOOL students from across Limerick are celebrating this weekend after scoring several awards at the annual Young Scientist competition. Bright young minds from the city and county joined their contemporaries from across the country at the first in-person BT-sponsored event in Dublin's RDS. And while the overall prize went to Abbey CBS over the border in Tipperary Town - a school managed by Limerick senior hurling boss John Kiely - students from Shannonside were left toasting a number of other category wins. Sadie Loftus, of Salesian Secondary College in Pallaskenry, won the contest's Alexion Award for her investigation into the use of electrical impulses to treat and manage Raynaud's, a condition usually triggered by cold temperatures, anxiety or stress, which sees ones blood vessels go into a temporary spasm. In Newcastle West, Desmond College students Padraig Doherty and Madison Ryan were celebrating after their 'rubbish physics' project won an Irish Science Teachers Association special award. It was also highly commended by competition judges. Payments firm Stripe, which of course was founded by Castletroy College-educated brothers John and Patrick Collison - the latter a past winner of the BT Young Scientist title - sponsored an award this year. That was for the educator of excellence, and it went to Donal Enright, who teaches at Desmond College. Mr EnrightWinner of the Stripe Educator of Excellence Award 2023 Your hard work, enthusiasm and and dedication to the @BTYSTE is to be admired and can be seen in the students you mentor. Thank you for all that you do for our students @LCETBSchools @Lisnacullia @stripe pic.twitter.com/OrnhjNNRUZ Desmond College (@desmondcollege) January 14, 2023 There were a further two pieces of recognition awarded to students of the Newcastle West secondary school: Ethan Kirwan and Jack Kiely's project looking at the treatment of heart attacks was highly commended. And a display award went to Edel McMahon, who came up with a way of enabling people to navigate stairs more easily. Mungret Community College students Aaron Waldron and Conor Quinlivan won third place in the senior group category for their investigation looking at the density of muons, which are cosmic rays. It was the first of two prizes for the pair, after they took home a special award from the Institute of Physics in Ireland. Sean O'Sulllivan of Colaiste Chiarain in Croom took third place in the intermediate individual category for his presentation on wind generation. Congratulations to @colaiste student Sean O Sullivan who has won 3rd prize in the intermediate Technology Category at this years @BTYSTE Sean was also recipient of the Greencoat Renewables Technology Special Award, an amazing achievement, well done Sean @LCETBSchools #BTYSE2023 pic.twitter.com/rdinjZZAFs Colaiste Chiarain (@colaiste) January 14, 2023 This project was recognised by Greencoat Renewables with a special award. Elsewhere at Colaiste Chiarain, Katelyn Prior, Cairlin Quain and Aiden Oscar won a display award for their product, which is a wearable device to alert and remind the user to apply sunscreen. Colaiste Nano Nagle students Minahil Mir, Tamima Abedin and Abbey McNamara took third prize in the intermediate group category for their project, entitled Hit the Books. The trio also won the Cisco award for their theme. This evening, Dr Pamela Byrne was delighted to present the FSAI Special Award to 2nd Year students Wagma, Laiba and Lana from @colnanonagle for their app 'Keepin' it Halal' at @BTYSTE. Congrats to all! @Prior_Samantha. pic.twitter.com/iZxfQv5LOi FoodSafetyAuthority (@FSAIinfo) January 13, 2023 The school at Sexton Street in the city centre also had other entrants into the winners' enclosure - Laiba Mir, Wagma Jan and Lana Qaddoura were recognised by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland for their project, codenamed Keeping it Halal. This was also highly commended by competition judges. In a topical project, Laurel Hill secondary school's Rafiah Islam asked whether stigma is holding the development of nuclear power back in Ireland. Their schoolmates Kate Murphy, Aoife Henry and Eabha Halley were highly commended by judges for their project, entitled Taller Together. And in Kilmallock, Colaiste Iosaef Community College students Darcy Hanley-Cronin, Sinead Harte, and Marta Manero were given a judges' display award for their study looking into the prevalence of eating disorders in adolescent boys in an Irish school. ORGANISATIONS working in communities across Limerick have received a boost after being selected for a share in 3.7m of funding. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through its Economic and Social Intervention Fund has selected 180 projects to benefit from grants nationally, including a number in across the city. These included the Bedford Row Family Project based in the city centre, Limerick Youth Service and Limerick Island Community Partners serving the King's Island area of the city. Elsewhere, Our Lady of Lourdes Community Services Group, based in Childers Road, and Moyross groups Extern Ireland, the area's community enterprise centre, and Moyross Development also benefit, alongside St Munchin's Community Enterprise Centre in Kileely on the city's northside. The overarching aim of the fund is to to improve access to opportunities for residents of the Regeneration areas and the surrounding communities, as well as enhancing service provision across the statutory and community sector. Mayor Francis Foley said: "This funding will make a massive difference to the lives of people in these areas of Limerick City. The allocation comes as a deserving reward for all the hard work being done on the ground by both the communities and Limerick City and County Council." A meeting of the BIMSTEC Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime started on January 12. This meeting is being hosted by the Government of India in New Delhi and features participation from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The working group on counter terror deals with a few key realms of policy. These include six Sub-Groups on (a) Intelligence Sharing (b) Legal and Law Enforcement (c) Countering Radicalization and Terrorism (d) Anti- Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (e) Human Trafficking and (f) Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals," said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. The meeting discussed traditional and emerging non-traditional security threats in the BIMSTEC region. The participants deliberated and made recommendations on wide ranging issues to enhance cooperation and collaboration in countering terrorism and transnational crimes in the region," the MEA statement went on to add. BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a regional grouping of 7 member states which first began meeting in 1997. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand launched the grouping by signing the Bangkok Declaration. According to BIMSTEC, cooperation initially focused on six sectors in 1997 (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries) and expanded in 2008 to incorporate agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change." During the Working Group meeting on Counter Terror and Transnational Crime, India was represented by Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma and Joint Secretary for Counterterrorism Mahaveer Singhvi. Singhvi chaired the meeting. Secretary Verma emphasized the need for collective efforts in countering the menace of terrorism and transnational crimes through enhanced cooperation in the fields of capacity building, information exchange, extradition and legal assistance," according to the MEAs press release detailing the outcomes of the event. Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has been hospitalised and currently remains on external oxygen support. The Indian businessman said that he had been infected with COVID-19 twice in two weeks 'accompanied by influenza and deep pneumonia'. Modi said that he had now reached London after being imprisoned for three weeks in Mexico City. After three weeks in confinement with double COVID-19 in two weeks, weeks accompanied by influenza and deep pneumonia," he wrote sharing photos from his hospital bed on Friday. Taking to Instagram with a health update, the 59-year-old said that he had previously been 'confined' for three weeks, and had made several failed attempts to leave. Finally landed via air ambulance accompanied by two doctors and superstar super efficient son who did so much for meBack in london. The flight was smooth. Unfortunately still on 24/7 external oxygen," he explained. In a follow-up post the IPL founder shared a photo of himself standing with two doctors as a plane stood by in the background. "With my two saviours. The two doctors treated and monitored me 24/7 for three weeks. One Mexico City based, whose care I was underand the second is my London doctor who specifically flew to Mexico City to accompany me back to London," he wrote on Friday. Earlier in 2022, Modi had made waves after making his relationship with actor Sushmita Sen Instagram official. He had spoken at length about starting a new life with his better-looking partner and shared a series of old and new pictures with the former Miss India. Months later however, the duo were fuelling breakup rumours as Modi removed his Instagram profile picture featuring the actor and changed his bio (it had spoken of Sen as the love of his life). However, the two have never addressed the rumours directly. On Friday, Sushmita Sen's brother left a comment on Modi's health update post - sparking fresh discussion about the possible couple. (With inputs from agencies) Responding to Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia's allegation, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena said Raj Bhavan had not rejected any proposal to send Delhi government teachers and educators for a training programme in Finland. And further commented that such allegations are "misleading and mischievously motivated." "The LG has not rejected the proposal of training program for Primary-in-charges in Finland. Any statement, on the contrary, is misleading and mischievously motivated," the Raj Niwas Delhi posted on Twitter. A subsequent tweet by Raj Niwas read, "The Govt has been advised to evaluate the proposal in totality and record the cost-benefit analysis in tangible terms, so as to assess the effectiveness of various foreign training programmes for teachers undertaken in the past." The Raj Bhavan further urged the Delhi government to examine and identify similar training programmes in the Institutions of Excellence, within the country, "so as to ensure optimal utilization of resources, fiscal prudence and administrative effectiveness." Sisodia - at a briefing on Friday - had hit out at the BJP over "petty politics", alleging a conspiracy behind the blocking of the program. As per a Delhi Government release, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has planned to send two groups of 30 teachers to Jyvaskyla University in Finland in December 2022 and March 2023. The 5-day training program is meant for primary in-charges of Delhi government schools and teacher educators of SCERT. Under this, SCERT has made a budget provision in its annual plan and SCERT has been given a grant in aid by the Delhi government for conducting such training programmes. Sisodia claimed in a statement that, "the LG says that there is no justification for this training and has asked SCERT to do its cost-benefit analysis. I want to ask the LG how the cost-benefit analysis of this training is to be done. Are the changes in Delhi government schools after this training - the wonderful atmosphere for learning, the excellent results of our children in board exams, and the re-instilled faith of parents in Delhi government schools, not the benefits?" Sisodia had said that the restrictions on such training by the Lieutenant Governor is an attack on education. Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, in what would be a rare success for Moscow after months of battlefield reverses, but Kyiv said its troops were still fighting in the town. Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar, a small salt-mining town that has for days been the focus of a relentless Russian assault. Kyiv and the West have played down the town's significance, saying Moscow sacrificed wave upon wave of soldiers and mercenaries in a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland, unlikely to affect the wider war except insofar as the huge losses have sapped manpower on both sides. But the capture of the town has taken on an outsized importance as it would, if confirmed, give Moscow a trophy for one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war following major battlefield setbacks throughout the second half of 2022. "The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Moscow's defence ministry said. Seizing the town would make it possible to cut off Ukrainian supply routes to the nearby city of Bakhmut and trap remaining Ukrainian forces there, it said. Moscow has been trying to seize Bakhmut for months. "The situation in Soledar is near critical - the city is semi-encircled. Only one road is left to supply our troops," said Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst based in Kyiv. Zhdanov, speaking in a social media video, said Russia had brought in airborne troops as reinforcements in the battle. But Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, told Reuters by telephone that Soledar had not been captured: "Our units are there, the town is not under Russian control." In an evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said fighting for Soledar continued. "The difficult battle for the Donetsk region continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other cities and villages in the east of our country continues," Zelenskiy said. CNN said on its website that a reporting team just outside Soledar could hear mortar and rocket fire on Friday afternoon and saw Ukrainian forces ferrying troops in what appeared to be an organised pullback. 'MEAT GRINDER' A Ukrainian officer in the area also told Reuters by telephone the Russians had not fully taken the town. "Last night artillery fire was like from hell, both sides. From what I know, our boys have managed to exit some parts (of Soledar) in an orderly manner and now (assault) groups are counterattacking, but we still hold the town." Ukrainian officials said on Thursday that more than 500 civilians, including 15 children, were trapped inside Soledar. After Ukrainian forces drove Russia into humiliating retreats for much of the second half of 2022, the front lines have barely moved for the past two months. Meanwhile, the battles around Bakhmut and Soledar became what both sides called a "meat grinder" - a brutal war of attrition claiming the lives of thousands of soldiers. Both Bakhmut and Soledar are in the Donetsk region, which Russia unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September despite only partly occupying it. The capture of the entire region is widely seen as a Kremlin war objective. Kyiv's Western allies, however, see it as a fight for marginal gains on a stretch of front where neither side can make a big breakthrough, a sideshow from battles further north and south, where Ukraine hopes to push through Russian lines. "Even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it's not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself," U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House, "and it certainly isn't going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down." Within Russia, victory in Soledar could boost ultra-nationalist mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group of fighters-for-hire, including convicts recruited from prison with promises of pardons, has focused on the fight in that area. He has griped as the regular military has taken credit for the Soledar battle without mentioning his fighters. On Friday evening the defence ministry, which had not mentioned Wagner in its initial communication claiming to have captured Soledar, issued a second statement seeking "to clarify" the situation. "As for the direct storming of Soledar's city quarters occupied by the armed forces of Ukraine, this combat task was successfully accomplished by the courageous and selfless actions of volunteers from the Wagner assault detachments," it said. NEW WEAPONS The new year has brought important pledges of extra Western weapons for Ukraine, which is seeking armour to mount mechanised battles against Russian tanks. Major new announcements of weapons are likely next week, when U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hosts defence chiefs from other allies at a U.S. air base in Germany for a meeting of the contact group set up to provide support for Ukraine. Last week, France, Germany and the United States pledged to send armoured fighting vehicles. Discussion in Europe this week have focused on supplying main battle tanks, a major potential upgrade for Kyiv. On Friday, Finland joined Poland in saying it could send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a Western coalition apparently being put together to supply them. That requires the permission of Berlin, which has previously been hesitant but has lately signalled a willingness to allow it. A German government spokesperson said on Friday Berlin had yet to receive any formal request for permission to re-export the tanks. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. More than $60 million has already been spent to make improvements at the Silverdale Detention Center and commissioners say they are not far away from the improvements they've been looking for. WHAT THE TECH? Travel websites that offer the best bang for your buck If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. The 71st edition of Miss Universe will be held this Saturday, with Harnaaz Sandhu, the reigning queen, passing the crown to her successor. The pageant will feature 84 women from around the world competing for the Miss Universe crown through the process of personal declarations, in-depth interviews and various contest categories, including evening gowns and swimwear. The winner of the event to be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, USA, will be awarded several prizes, including cash and the famed crown. How much money and what prizes will Miss Universe win? The women who are crowned Miss Universe receive around 250,000 dollars as an annual salary for the responsibilities that come with their triumph, according to the newspaper Semana. In addition to items from the pageant's sponsoring brands, the winner's attendance at very important social events and humanitarian activities is required. They also travel around the world with everything included, generally to low-income countries in favor of projects such as the fight against poverty and improving the quality of education, according to the same newspaper. Harnaaz Sandhu, the reigning Miss Universe India's Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe at the 70th Miss Universe Organization competition in December 2021, returning the crown to India for the first time in 20 years. She draws inspiration from her mother, who broke generations of patriarchy to become a successful gynecologist and led her family. Driven to support other women in the same way, Harnaaz grew up working with her mother in health camps that addressed women's health and menstrual hygiene. Deeply conscious of the privilege her mother's struggles have given her, Harnaaz continues today to be a strong advocate for women's empowerment, particularly their constitutional rights to education, careers and freedom of choice. Harnaaz is an actress by profession, one of her two Punjabi films was released in August 2022 and the other is scheduled for release later this year. American citizen Zack Shahin has spent the last 15 years in a Dubai prison after being convicted of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes. His family has blamed the United States government, claiming they prioritized negotiating the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner over helping with the case of Shahin. Plane carrying Brittney Griner lands in US "He is rotting," British activist Martin Lonergan told Fox News. "If you can imagine a man is dying because he's rotting. They're cutting bits of Zack away, and he's dying trying to fight the infection." Fox New reported that Shanin shares a cell with 60 prisoners, sleeping on a plastic mattress while being covered with a dirty blanket and wearing clothes that have never been washed. An appeal to the US government for Zack Shahin His family asked the State Department for help back in November in their bid to bring him back to the United States. They were in contact with the government before the US sent their letters to the United Arab Emirates last month. In the meantime, the United States were negotiating Griner's possible release - one which the UAE reportedly helped facilitate - after she was arrested last year and jailed for carrying cannabis oil into Russia. "They completely abandoned us, they completely pushed us to the side," Zack's son Ramy Shahin said. "Maybe we're not newsworthy enough for them - we're not famous, we're just an ordinary family - and they just left us." Who is Zack Shahin? Shahin became the CEO of a real estate development firm owned by the Dubai Islamic Bank back in 2004. Yet, after Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, who brought Shahin to the UAE, passed away, he was arrested on the aforementioned charges. "My dad's just an ordinary American guy who started working hard to make a name for himself," Ramy added. "He took this little real estate company and made it what it became and built so much of what Dubai is known for. And then they just took him down." The Miss Universe pageant is the most important beauty pageant in the world and this Saturday, January 14, it celebrates its 71st edition, as the world's celebration of beauty and women's empowerment, from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. For this edition, 84 beautiful women from all over the world will parade in search of the crown to succeed the Indian, Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, who won the crown in 2022. As ever, the outgoing queen will be in charge of passing the crown to the new winner of the event. Where can I watch Miss Universe 2023 in the USA? The Miss Univese Pageant can be seen on Roku, which can be accessed on Roku.com, Roku TVs, Roku Streaming Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K o similar devices like the Amazon Fire TVs and Samsung TVs. The Roku app also allows for streaming on Android and iOS devices. FuboTV and DirecTV Stream allow for streams as well. What time does the Miss Universe 2023 broadcast begin? The broadcast for the United States begins at 20:00 (ET) / 19:00 hrs (CT) / 17:00 hrs (PT). Who are the favorites to win Miss Universe 2023? For this year's edition, the pageant has a new ownership, which caused the event to be held several months late. For this edition, the contestants performed their pageants in formal wear, more traditional clothes and swimsuit costumes during a previous ceremony, which was broadcasted via YouTube on Wednesday. Although the score has not been made public, the jury has decided to select the semi-finalists. For this year, 16 contestants were selected instead of the usual 20. Among the favorites are several contestants from the American continent: Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, United States, Mexico, as well as the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. Another novelty for this edition is the participation of transgender multimillionaire Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, representing Thailand, who runs a media distribution emporium. Also for this year, Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic will be awarded again, as well as the selection of one of the finalists by popular vote through the www.missuniverso.com website. The new beauty queen will wear a new crown called Force for Good, which contains 993 precious stones, with a diamond base and a 45.14-carat sapphire at the top. Who is R'Bonney Gabriel, the United States' candidate at Miss Universe? R'Bonney Gabriel was born in San Antonio, Texas on March 20, 1994. She is the daughter of Remigio Bonzon "R. Bon" Gabriel, a Filipino who immigrated to the United States at the age of 25 to pursue his degree in psychology at the University of Southern California, and an American mother named Dana Walker. Gabriel's first taste of pageantry came in 2020 when she took part in the Miss Kemah contest placing in the Top 5. She would then take part in the Miss Texas USA 2021 competition losing out only to Victoria Hinojosa. Gabriel would enter the Miss Texas pageant once again in 2022, this time winning the competition outright. She would then go on to win the Miss USA award becoming the first Miss USA of Flipino descent. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. LONDON (AP) U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks. Nine people were killed and 64 others wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted. Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement. It didn't say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources. Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners. Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have been treading carefully. The Czech Republic and Poland have provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland has also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv. Earlier this month, France said it would send AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, designated light tanks in French. The U.S. and Germany announced the same week that they would send Bradley fighting vehicles and Marder armored personnel carriers, respectively, for the first time. Sunak's announcement came as Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days. In Dnipro, rescuers were using a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. He also said there were likely people under the rubble. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning, In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel. Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi. Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter. Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles have been intercepted over his province. Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down. Earlier in the day, explosions also rocked the capital, Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual. It's likely the explosions came ahead of the warning sirens because the attack was by ballistic missiles, which are faster than cruise missiles or drones. According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north. The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down, he told local media. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources. An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far. This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1. On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region," governor Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said. In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is most intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Reznichenko said. The attacks follow conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraine's embattled east. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town, a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar said Saturday that the fiece battles for Soledar are continuing. Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere. But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. Western officials and analysts say the two towns importance is more symbolic than strategic. At the northeast end of Findley Ridge, are two very extensive cuts, in what is known as the Findley mine. This mine includes lots 1,047, 1,048 and 1,087, 12th district, 1,048 adjoining the Bast lot, which lies west of it. Probably, no mine in the county enjoys a better reputation, than the Findley mine; but comparatively little work has been done on it, for several years. Still, the work, done, has placed it in a state of development, that is equalled, in not more than three or four other mines in the county. In a large open cut, near the top of the ridge, the yellow and black schists have been taken out, to the point, where the saprolitic condition of the black slates begins to change to the hard, unaltered underlying quartzose slates. These contain considerable quantities of an undetermined dark-green chlorite, arranged parallelly along the plane of schistosity. A shaft was sunk, during the civil war, a hundred feet in the top of the hill, the lower half extending through the hard chloritic quartzose schists. After the war, the shaft was sunk twenty-four feet lower; and the dump, from this last work, in the large open cut on the top of the ridge, affords excellent specimens of the unaltered quartzose schists. At no place, can one get a better idea of the character of the black slates, than in this large approximately square cut in the Findley mine. The northeast wall shows the overlying yellow belt, about twenty-five feet thick from the surface, and about forty feet of the black belt, to the bottom of the wall. These all dip, at about 35 to the northeast, and have a northwesterly strike. There are two very prominent auriferous quartz veins in the cut, one of which, the "dead-horse" vein, is intercalated between the black slates, and dips, with them, to the northeast. The other is in an almost vertical position, dipping slightly to the northwest, and having a northeasterly trend. This vein, which varies from one to twelve feet in width, contains considerable galena in places; and it has produced some very handsome specimens of free gold in quartz, two of which, showing dark-green hornblende, as an associate of the gold, are on exhibition in the State Museum. The quartz of the "dead-horse" vein is more finely granular, shows more oxidation of the pyrite, and contains much more of the mica-schist inclusions throughout; in fact, it is typical of the "stringer lead". In addition to these, there are two other veins, which were covered by debris, at the time of my examination of the property, but which have been examined, since, by my assistant, Dr. Watson, who describes them, as follows:- Vein No. 3 lies adjacent and parallel to the "dead-horse" vein. "The two veins are quite similar in appearance, and are some twenty paces apart. The former vein will probably average from one to four feet in width, and is composed of quartz, which is more or less stained from the pyrite decay. Vein No. 4 is about forty paces from Vein No. 3, near the southeast end of the cut, and from the character of the material, from which the vein is made up, is known as the "cement" vein. At the time of my visit, the vein was almost entirely covered with debris, which renders a definite and accurate description impossible. However, the vein apparently consists of two branches, partially exposed along the face of the cut, the material of which is a soft, highly-colored ferruginous mass. The original rock, from which this material was derived, cannot be recognized from the decayed product." The work, which has given the greatest reputation to this mine, has been the excavation of an incline, on a remarkably rich shoot in a vein, a little south of the upper cut. Large quantities of very rich free gold specimens have been taken from this incline, which has been stoped, for 350 feet. It is stated on good authority, that this shaft has yielded about $300,000, of which $200,000 was taken out before the war. The work is more fully described, beyond. The last work done on this shoot was about five years ago; and, as a consequence, the incline was not in such condition, that I could examine the vein or take samples for assay. Some of the most beautiful specimens of free gold in quartz, which have been produced by this county, have been taken from this shaft. Below water-level, the ore of this mine is an auriferous sulphide quartz. Farther down the end of the ridge is the other large cut, worked, some years ago. This cut begins at the bottom of the ridge. A tunnel extends, along the trend of the vertical vein, from the upper to the lower cut. On top of the ridge, is a reservoir about 150 feet long, 15 feet wide and 6 feet deep, from which water is delivered, by ditches and iron pipes, to various parts of the open cuts, for making the flood-runs of saprolite from the cuts to the mill, and for operating the hydraulic giants. On lot 1,087, across the creek, is a large vein, known as the Evans vein, which is said to average $15 per ton, but which has not been worked, because of its sulphide character. The history of this property, as a gold mine, dates from a comparatively recent period. Lot 1,048, on which nearly all the mining operations have been conducted, was granted by the State to Talbot Davison, of Jones county, who sold it to James A. Paxson, December, 1833. The deed given by Davison, to Paxson, was lost, and was never recorded. The first instrument of record is a power-of-attorney, given by Horace Lawrence to James A. Paxson in January, 1834, to sell an undivided fourth of the lot. In December, 1843, Lawrence, through Paxson, deeded this fourth, and Paxson, another undivided fourth, to Lemuel Dwelle of Augusta, Ga., this, and other property mortgaged, to revert to Paxson, on the payment of a note for $549.00. In March, 1852, William Martin, Administrator of the estate of Richard G. Dunlap, sold an undivided fourth of this lot to Charles M. McJunkin, a wood-hauler; and, in May, following, McJunkin purchased another fourth from Bartley McGee. The court records do not show, from whom Dunlap and McGee got their titles to the property; and this led to subsequent litigation, when it was ascertained, that the lot had something more than a nominal value. While it would seem from the above, that deeds to an undivided half of the lot were held by Dwelle, and to the other undivided half, by McJunkin; still, I am reliably informed, that Paxson had mortgaged an undivided fourth of the lot to Mr. Germain T. Dortic of Augusta, Ga., to secure a note. While this transaction is not recorded in the office of the Superior Court Clerk of Lumpkin county; yet, there is recorded a power-of-attorney, given by Dortic, to Paxson, June 16th, 1859, showing, that Paxson recognized Dortic as the owner of an undivided fourth of the lot. McJunkin, after having cut the wood from the property, sold his undivided half of the lot to James Jefferson Findley, in February, 1858. The deed, as recorded, does not mention the consideration in this transfer; but the statement is generally accepted, that it was an old horse, that had seen better days. Findley immediately sold a fourth interest in the lot to Boling W. Field; and, soon afterwards, he secured the services of Charles Duncan, conceded to be one of the best prospectors in the section, to prospect the lot for gold. Duncan soon found a vein, with a small, but remarkably rich, shoot, which has since become famous, as "The Findley Shoot". It soon became known, in the neighborhood, that marvelous quantities of gold were being taken from lot 1,048; and Mr. Harrison W. Riley bargained with Capt. John Huff, that, if he would go, at once, to Augusta, and secure a lease of the half interest, held by Mr. Dwelle, and the fourth interest, held by Mr. Dortic, he would give Huff a half interest in the lease. Mr. Huff pushed through the country on horseback, as fast as possible, and secured the lease, on a royalty. By agreement, the shoot was worked jointly, by Messrs. Riley, Huff, Findley and Alex. Nix, for three or four months, all work ceasing, on their reaching waterlevel. The rich shoot in the vein was only from four to six inches wide, and from 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick; but it was so rich, that masses of gold, as large as a man's thumb, were not uncommon in the quartz. It is said, that the gold was carried away at night in a water-bucket. Mr. Huff, whose veracity I cannot doubt, told me, that he weighed a piece of the ore, and found its weight to be 1 lb. 11 ozs. He then beat it up, in a mortar, and found the weight of the resulting gold to be 11 ounces. The gold in this shoot was in pockets, and these were found, only now and then. The incline shaft made was four by six feet, sufficiently large to permit three men to work, at the same time. Just before work was stopped, Paxson, who had allowed his note to remain unpaid, for fifteen years, having learned, that large quantities of gold were being taken from the lot, paid the note, held by Dwelle, on June 16th, 1859, and secured a power-of-attorney from Dortic, on the same day. He then brought suit against the mine operators, to recover the royalties, leases etc. Having hunted up Mr. Davison, the original drawee of the lot, he induced him, to give him, August 10th, 1858, a new deed to the property, to take the place of the one, that was lost 25 years before. Paxson, then, sold the entire lot, in June, 1863, to The Stephenson Gold Mining Co.; and, about a month later, he deeded, as attorney for Dortic, the undivided fourth, which he had, previously, included in his deed to the company. In the meantime, Findley had sold the other fourth, belonging to him, to Field, in February, 1859. The suit, brought by Paxson, remained in court, all during the civil war; and it was compromised in 1866, Paxson getting the royalties, which he had already consumed in litigation. On July 9th, 1866, The Stephenson Gold Mining Co. sold the lot to Dr. Benjamin Hamilton, who, in turn, sold it to The Dahlonega Mining Co., a month later. In October of the same year, Mr. Field, still claiming the half, which had come through McJunkin, sold it back to Findley. Since that time, this claim seems to have been quieted, as it does not again appear in the history of the lot. I am informed, by a disinterested party, that, in 1869, when Mr. W. A. Ives bought the lot from The Dahlonega Mining Co., he employed Judge Geo. D. Rice, a prominent lawyer in the State, to clear the title to this and other properties; and, that this accounts for the Findley claim's not having been put forward, since. Dr. M. F. Stephenson, who organized The Stephenson Gold Mining Co., was its Manager. The last work, done on the shoot before the war, was stopped, it is said, by impure air in the shaft, which was then about 250 feet deep, on the incline. Dr. Stephenson, in beginning his work, decided to sink a shaft at the top of the hill, north of the shoot, until it was opposite the lower end of the incline, and then to drive a tunnel to strike the shoot. He sunk his shaft a hundred feet deep, and then drove his tunnel, in a southeast direction, for about fifty or sixty feet, when he was forced to stop, on account of the scarcity of labor and the high price of powder, it being then worth $2.00 a pound. Work done, some time after the war by other parties, which is described, further on, proved that Dr. Stephenson, as he predicted, had ceased work, at only five or six feet from the shoot; but, that his tunnel, continued, entered the incline about the same distance above its bottom. The Dahlonega Mining Co., who bought the property from Dr. Benjamin Hamilton in 1866, consisted of Mr. Wm. A. Ives, of New Haven, Conn., a gentleman by the name of Rider, from New York City, and a number of other friends of Mr. Ives, who resided in the North. Beyond preparatory work, nothing of any consequence was done, by this company, on the Findley mine. The most important operation was the running of a long tunnel, starting from a point near the middle of the hill, now the location of the lower cut, to strike the rich shoot at the bottom of the incline, a distance of about 500 feet from the point, where the tunnel was begun. After driving 300 feet, the project was abandoned by Mr. Amory Dexter, the Superintendent of the mine, on account of his having encountered a belt of very hard rock, and because of some dispute over the title. In June, 1869, The Dahlonega Mining Co. sold the property to Mr. William A. Ives, its President. The company had leased this and the Lockhart mines to Messrs. Crisson and Huff, in 1868 ; and their lease was continued under Mr. Ives. They confined their operations to the Lockhart property, until after the retirement of Mr. Huff, when Mr. Criss on, in the spring of 1871, removed the Lockhart 24-stamp mill to the Findley mine; and, having substituted new stamps for those, that were badly worn, he began mining operations on that property. In the spring of 1875, Mr. Crisson secured an option on the two mines; and, the Findley lots 1,047, 1,048 and 1,087, he sold to Mr. James Farmer, Trustee for N. H. Hand, Price Bros. and James Farmer, for $30,000. Mr. Farmer, as Trustee, sold the property, July, 1878, to The Findley Gold Mining Co., of New York City, for $60,000. It was sold at sheriff's sale, in January, 1885, and was bid in, by Mr. George L. Nichols, for Mr. Spencer Trask and others. During the time, when the property was under option to Mr. Crisson, Mr. N.H. Hand, who was interested with the former in the option, began to develop the property, so as to place it on the market. Mr. F. W. Hall was placed in charge of the work. He began, at once, to ascertain the most feasible way of ventilating the incline, and working the rich shoot. After securing valuable information from Dr. Stephenson, he decided to drive a tunnel from the Dexter tunnel to the bottom of the Stephenson shaft, and, after cleaning the debris from the shaft, to continue the Stephenson tunnel, to the shoot. He started his tunnel, about twenty feet from the end of the Dexter tunnel, in a belt of schist, much softer than that, in which the latter tunnel ended. The last blast, in the Hall tunnel, broke through into the Stephenson shaft, and a stream of water began to flow out; for the shaft was filled with water, earth, brush etc. After the flow of water had subsided, examination proved, that the bottom of the Stephenson shaft was four or five feet below that of the Hall tunnel. After the Stephenson tunnel and shaft had been cleaned out, work was resumed, where Dr. Stephenson left off; and, as has been before stated, five or six feet put them inside the Findley incline, about the same distance above its bottom. Mr. Hall tells me, that about $3,000, in handsome free gold specimens, was taken out, and that a great deal more was left in place, the object of the work being, as before stated, to develop the mine for sale. With these superb specimens, Mr. Hand induced Mr. James Farmer to come from Cleveland, Ohio, to examine the property. Not to be deceived, Mr. Farmer went into the shaft himself, and took from the vein, with a chisel, a gold miner's pan full of the quartz containing free gold. Having brought it out of the shaft himself, the gold was beat out by him in a mortar; and, being weighed, it was ascertained, that 546 dwts. of gold was the result. The sale was made, at once, Mr. Hand taking a third interest. Mr. W. B. Price, son-in-law of Mr. Farmer, and a banker in Cleveland, came down, to take charge of the mine himself. He worked the shoot, for a year or more, with great success, while the pocket lasted, after which Mr. Farmer, as I have before said, sold the property to The Findley Gold Mining Co., for $60,000. A young man, a relative of a stockholder in this company, was sent down from New York, as superintendent. He was fresh from the mining school, and unwilling to take suggestions from the miners, experienced in the local conditions. He was not able to find the shoot, which had been lost; and, ultimately, he abandoned the work. He continued working in the open cuts; but, after about two years, work was stopped. Soon after this, Mr. George L. Nichols, Jr., Trustee, leased the mine to Mr. R. B. King. Mr. King, at once, went to work, to carry out certain conditions of the lease, in the way of repairs; and, then, he began mining the vein, and the rich shoot was almost immediately found. For certain reasons, the owners directed their attorney in Dahlonega, to have the lease cancelled; but, as Mr. King had faithfully complied with the conditions of the lease, the attorney informed them, that there was no ground, on which he could proceed. The lessee continued to mine the shoot, I am told, with unvarying success; when, just before his year's lease expired, he lost the shoot intentionally; and he ever afterwards claimed, that he could find it again, at any time, so I am reliably informed. The Findley Gold Mining Co. continued to own, but not to mine, the property, until January, 1885, when it was sold to Geo. L. Nichols, Jr., Trustee, at Sheriff's sale, to satisfy a claim of $5,500, held by Mr. Spencer Trask and others. Mr. Nichols, who was a relative, was acting for Mr. Trask, in the purchase. Five years later, in April, 1890, Mr. Nichols sold the property to Mr. Thomas J. Cheney, who purchased it for The Trefoil Gold Mining Co., of St. Louis, Mo., of which he was President. This company repaired the mill ; and, changing the elevation of it, put in a set of concentrators, which, however, proved to be a failure. It is said, that they did some work in a long tunnel, the character of which I was unable to learn. Just a year later, the property was mortgaged to Mr. Robt. T. Stillwell, who, in July, following, sold it, through Mr. Wm. A. Charters, attorney, of Dahlonega, to Mr. Christian Wahl, of Milwaukee, Wis., its present owner. Since Mr. Wahl has owned the property, Capt. H. D. Ingersoll has been its manager, and, for the past year or two, its lessee. While no extensive work seems to have been done; yet the work on it has been constant; and, as stated, in the beginning of this report, the property is one of the best developed in the county. During the time, when the property was being worked, under Mr. James Farmer, Trustee, and while Mr. N. H. Hand was, still, General Manager, a mill, known as the Little Findley mill, was erected on the northwest side of the ridge, well up towards its top, for use in milling the ore, brought by flume from the large cut, on top of the ridge. This cut had been started by Mr. W. R. Crisson, who was Superintendent of the mine, under Mr. Farmer. This mill was a 10-stamp Hall mill, which had been moved from the Lawrence mine in Dahlonega; it was run by steam. When The Findley Gold Mining Co. came into possession, they enlarged the mill to 20-stamps, and increased the steam power, and put in pumps, to raise water from the Findley ditch, near by, to the top of the ridge, for use in working the upper cut. They, also, replaced the 24-stamp mill, with the present 40-stamp mill. The lower cut was begun, by Mr. W. R. Crisson, when he moved the 24-stamp mill from the Lockhart to this mine. The cut was, subsequently, worked by those following him. The veins, in this cut, were not in condition for examination, at the time of my visit, being covered by debris; but I am informed, that there are two large veins in the cut, which yield good returns. Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements Detailed Mineral List: Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS Reference: Rocks & Min.:64:200. 'Chlorite Group' Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Galena Formula: PbS Reference: Rocks & Min.:64:200. Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Gold Formula: Au Reference: Rocks & Min.:64:200. Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. 'Hornblende' Reference: Min Rec 18:1 pp65-74 Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Ilmenite Formula: Fe2+TiO 3 Reference: Rocks & Min.:64:200. 'Limonite' Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Pyrite Formula: FeS 2 Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Quartz Formula: SiO 2 Reference: Minerals of Georgia: Their properties and occurrences. Robert Cook GGWRD Bull 92 Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Scheelite Formula: Ca(WO 4 ) Reference: Rocks & Min.:64:200. Gallery: List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification Group 1 - Elements Gold 1.AA.05 Au Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts Arsenopyrite 2.EB.20 FeAsS Galena 2.CD.10 PbS Pyrite 2.EB.05a FeS 2 Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides Ilmenite 4.CB.05 Fe2+TiO 3 Quartz 4.DA.05 SiO 2 Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates Scheelite 7.GA.05 Ca(WO 4 ) Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. 'Chlorite Group' - 'Hornblende' - 'Limonite' - List of minerals for each chemical element O Oxygen O Ilmenite Fe2+TiO 3 O Scheelite Ca(WO 4 ) O Quartz SiO 2 Si Silicon Si Quartz SiO 2 S Sulfur S Arsenopyrite FeAsS S Galena PbS S Pyrite FeS 2 Ca Calcium Ca Scheelite Ca(WO 4 ) Ti Titanium Ti Ilmenite Fe2+TiO 3 Fe Iron Fe Arsenopyrite FeAsS Fe Ilmenite Fe2+TiO 3 Fe Pyrite FeS 2 As Arsenic As Arsenopyrite FeAsS W Tungsten W Scheelite Ca(WO 4 ) Au Gold Au Gold Au Pb Lead Pb Galena PbS References Sort by Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A) In-text Citation No. Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 371-383. Ref.: Rocks & Min.:64:200; Jones (1909); Pardee & Park(1948); Espenshade(1950); German(1985). Other Databases Link to USGS MRDS: 10241005 Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image) Controls - all media types Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device. 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If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them. Controls - photo comparison mode If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu. Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder. Summary of all keyboard shortcuts Righty reliever Luis Perdomo has signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines to play the 2023 season in Japan, per ESPNs Kiley McDaniel. The deal reportedly comes with a $1.3MM guarantee and incentives that could boost the total to $1.8MM. Perdomo is a client of CAA Sports. Perdomo pitched for the Brewers in 2022, posting a 3.80 ERA (105 ERA+) and 4.80 FIP across 23 2/3 innings in 14 appearances. While his top-level results were slightly above average, he posted a career-low strikeout rate in 2022, which implies there may have been some good luck baked into his ERA when combined with his significantly higher FIP. The Brewers non-tendered him earlier this offseason. Prior to joining the Brewers during the 2020-21 offseason on a minor league contract, Perdomo had been on the Padres for parts of five seasons. He struggled mightily in a swing role from 2016-2018, posting a 5.40 ERA (75 ERA+) and 4.56 FIP in 355 innings across those three seasons. The most successful season of his big league career came in 2019, when he posted an ERA of 4.00 (105 ERA+) and a FIP of 3.60 across 72 innings of mostly relief work. He struggled again in the shortened 2020 season, however, with ERA and FIP marks both well above 5.00. At just 29 years old, Perdomo now is set to follow in the footsteps of many other fringe major leaguers and attempt to establish himself in Japan before attempting to secure another state-side contract. Michael Blankson, Ghanaian comedian 14.01.2023 LISTEN Ghanaian international comedian Michael Blankson has indirectly passed judgement on the debate between the Ghanaian and Nigerian over who knows how to best cook Jollof rice. The Hollywood star who recently constructed a school for his community, Agona Nsabaa in Ghana's Central region, said his students had Ghana Jollof as their first launch. He said their second launch will be a Nigerian Jollof, but he will first bring doctors around just in case something happens. For the first day of lunch at my school, the kids ate Ghana Jollof; tomorrow, Ill have them try Nigeria Jollof, but Ill also have medical staff on board just in case," read his tweet dated Wednesday, January 11. His tweet insinuates that the Nigerian Jollof may not be as good as the Ghanaian Jollof. The debate concerning the two West African countries Jollof rice has been in existence since time immemorial. Foreigners mostly have diverse views about it, with some saying Ghana has the best while others also tip Nigerians. A celebrated Nigerian actress, Mercy Johnson has recounted her battle with cancer sometime ago. The actress revealed that she was once placed on lifetime medication by her doctor when her situation got worse. Mercy Johnsons revelation comes in the latest episode of her Youtube cooking show, "Mercys Menu," where she had a special guest, Joke Silva, wife of veteran Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs, speak about her husbands ill health condition. According to Mercy, the condition changed after she went through surgery and got her thyroid removed. She narrated, saying: Odi [her husband] and I have actually been here and I have never discussed it where we had, like uhm, a scare. I had a cancer scare in quote and I had like my thyroid removed. And it was like a journey for us because we had kids. My last was six months at that time and then we kept on saying okay, we have to understand that this is the new us, lets go get the surgery done. And then we got there, they said I was going to be on medication for the rest of my life and it was a reality that we had to sit down." She continued, You know, them giving me a timing and telling me you cant miss your medication. Once you wake up that day, thats the first thing. Telling me all of the side effects. So Im reconciling with this youre saying, its the truth. At the point you realize this is where we are, lets grow from here, lets live in this comfort zone. Meanwhile, Olu Jacobs, according to his wife, is in a very critical condition as he battles illness. Originally called Seidu Iliyasu with the stage name Bakilla, the 34-year-old Ghanaian Afrobeat artist with deep roots in the capital of the Northern Region of Ghana, Tamale, is not only representing his Ghanaian heritage abroad but also putting Ghana on the map through his sensational afrobeat songs. Bakilla Fuhaam, a former member of the defunct group Menez GH with over a decade of consistent music production from his base in Antwerp, Belgium, has thrilled many fans with his performances on some very notable and big stages in Ghana and Europe, key amongst them being his concert he held in Tamale last year. Together with his former group member, they did spectacular singles like "Beautiful Person," "Earthquake, "Long Way," and "Odo," which continue to make waves anytime music is spoken about in Ghana and Europe. Since he decided to go solo from the Menez group, Bakilla has released Vibration and "Ghana," which talk about the beauty of the black-skinned woman and her wanting to visit GHANA, his motherland, as a testament to his continuous quest and hard work to keep his fans and lovers of afrobeat excited. As the year begins, Bakilla, in his interaction with the media on his regular visit to Ghana, hinted at a possible EP this year. "It excites me to be back home, as I usually do at the beginning and end of every year, to draw inspiration and, most importantly, to work hard and deliver to my fans music that will thrill them and sustain their love. One of the biggest things I am hoping to do this year is to drop an EP before the end of the year, so my fans should watch out since there is lots of work being done in the background," he said. When asked what to anticipate in the coming months, he responded by saying, "I cant really say much about that for now; of course, we are working on something. In the meantime, my fans should keep their fingers crossed that I will deliver to them the best of music." Afrobeats remains one of the fastest-growing music genres that is putting Africa on the map. In recent years, we have seen growing interest in this particular music genre, especially in the diaspora, which gives a very promising feature to the genre in which Bakilla Fuhaam is gaining a stake for Ghanaians both at home and in the diaspora. The Bamendjou community in western Cameroon is celebrating the 70-year reign of its ruler King Fo'o Sokoudjou Jean-Philippe Rameau. Events include an symposium on the role traditional chiefdoms play in preserving peace in Africa. Bamendjou, a small town 270kms north of the capital Yaounde, is home to around 75,000 people. The main town for 23 surrounding villages, Bamendjou was founded around 1680 under the dynasty of indigenous leader Nzogacha. Its current king, Fo'o Sokoudjou Jean-Philippe Rameau, took to the throne in 1953 aged just 13. His 70-year reign makes him the longest-serving of Cameroon's traditional chiefs. He has had a colourful career, marked by shifts in the country's politics and a few minor controversies. In the years following independence from France in 1960, he had established himself as a nationalist leader, close to the left-wing Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) fighters. Legend has it that his headquarters were burnt down after he refused to make his chieftaincy an outpost of the Cameroonian administration at the time. He has since had them completely rebuilt. Cordial relations While relations with Yaounde are generally cordial, there have been moments of tension reports RFI's correspondent Polycarpe Essomba. A few years ago the king took the liberty of criticising President Paul Biya's lengthy stay in power. He has also been known to challenge the administrative authorities when they tried to impose themselves on his territory. The 82-year old is still consulted for his opinions and his experience. This will become apparent as he hosts other chiefs at a symposium on Friday. Earlier this year, a farmers union in Malawi gathered outside the Parliament building in the capital city, Lilongwe, to present a petition for addressing illegal seed supply to farmers in the country. The Bill eventually passed, having been stalled since 2019. We had to show evidence and build trust with the government, says Derrick Kapolo, head of the agribusiness Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM). It took years of advocacy with the government and other non-state actors, including the Association of Business Journalists-ABJ, and using data on fake seed supply , to pass the Bill. Agriculture is Malawis key driver of economic growth. It represents 38 per cent of its GDP and employs 80 per cent of the labour force; therefore, the laws passage will significantly affect the well-being of a large segment of the population. Evidence is important for parliamentarians to make sound laws. It enables MPs to effectively represent the rights of citizens, ensure good governance, and foster democracy and the rule of law. Malawi is one of several countries in Africa whose parliaments have established a track record of relying on strong evidence before making laws. Other African countries include Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Botswana, according to the newly released book, African Parliaments Volume 2: Systems of Evidence in Practice edited by Linda Khumalo; Caitlin Blaser Mapitsa; Candice Morkel; Steven Masvaure; and Matshidiso Kgothatso Semela. Evidence is important for parliamentarians to make sound laws. It enables MPs to effectively represent the rights of citizens, ensure good governance, and foster democracy and the rule of law. Too often, however, evidence is inaccessible because of tangible barriers such as paywalled databases and websites, as well as intangible ones such as when data is presented in opaque and difficult-to-examine ways. A Nigeria-based organization BudgIT has very good examples of simplifying complex budget data, making it accessible to the general public. In 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) piloted research in African countries to explore how elected representatives and their staff source and utilize evidence to make policies. Titled Assessment, Analysis, and Development of Tools to Strengthen the Use of Evidence in Policies and Legislation (TSUE), the research recommended cultivating Evidence Champions'' to foster accountability and greater development outcomes. Too often, however, evidence is inaccessible because of tangible barriers such as paywalled databases and websites, as well as intangible ones such as when data is presented in opaque and difficult-to-examine ways. Countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi are doing just that and could be models for others. As highlighted in the research, here are 6 good practices for cultivating the use of evidence champions:- 1. Identify and develop evidence champions: Parliaments need to establish open forums to understand the profiles of parliamentarians and research assistants, and to discuss the barriers that inhibit evidence use. They also need to clarify expectations and intended policy outcomes. Identifying evidence producers, strengthening their understanding of their responsibilities, and supporting evidence champions in promoting good practices will improve legislative decision-making. Parliamentary committees are in the best position to raise widespread awareness of evidence champions. The Malawi government's swift passage of the seed Bill is a good example of how evidence champions within parliament can support the legislative process. 2. Establish a Parliamentary caucus on evidence-informed oversight and decision-making: Political will is needed to ensure evidence use in decision-making within parliament. A Parliamentary Caucus on Evidence-Informed Oversight and Decision-Making (PC-EIDM) promotes effective relationships with civil society and other groups. The Kenyan parliament established a first-of-its-kind PC-EIDM in 2015. In 2017 the caucus hosted a policy cafe on achieving Universal Health Coverage, which helped push forward the emergency services provisions in the Health Act 2017. Malawi is one of several countries in Africa whose parliaments have established a track record of relying on strong evidence before making laws. 3. Include evidence-informed decision-making training in the induction of new MPs: With the high turnover rate of MPs, it is crucial at the beginning of their term to identify those who understand and are receptive to using evidence in policymaking. This is where Evidence-Informed Decision-Making (EIDM) training in the induction of new MPs comes in. For example, to ensure continuity beyond the electoral cycles, the activities of the caucus in parliament in Kenya are embedded in the work of the research unit, which also serves as its secretariat. 4. Demystify the use of evidence: Policy should be driven by evidence. To ensure credibility and legitimacy, use of evidence needs to be demystified through interesting and accessible statistics and analyses. There is also a need to streamline the definition of evidence given the different interpretations of the term by both MPs and the academic community. Evidence champions must move from the traditional practice of using libraries as repositories of information to sourcing information digitally. Digital information presents insights in real-time. 5. Build the capacity of parliamentarians: Implementing programmes that assist MPs and their staff to become effective evidence champions is a best practice. Regional organizations such as the African Evidence Network, African Parliamentarians Network on Development Evaluation (APNODE), Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR), African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP and African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) provide opportunities for MPs to strengthen their ability to value, source, evaluate, and synthesize evidence. These opportunities may be in the form of formal or informal training courses, peer-to-peer learning events, and dedicated research weeks. 6. Make use of innovation: The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for MPs and their staff to embrace modern technology. Evidence champions must move from the traditional practice of using libraries as repositories of information to sourcing information digitally. Digital information presents insights in real-time. The Malawi Parliament, for example, transitioned to garnering evidence responsively and interactively from digital outlets. However, Africa needs more parliamentary staff who can leverage digital technologies and use social media, in addition to traditional public communication outlets such as radio and television, to connect with audiences. Overall, cultivating a culture of evidence champions in African parliaments is critical, but it takes time, and calls for patience. The USAID research found that because of individual country contexts, even in the most progressive parliaments with hallmark success stories across Africa, strategies implemented take time and effort to bear fruit. Ms. Keita-Thiero is a Senior Communication Consultant, USAID Bureau for Africa -TSUE Project Former GE Power Engineer Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Economic Espionage A New York man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal General Electric (GE) trade secrets, knowing or intending to benefit the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Xiaoqing Zheng, 59, of Niskayuna, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, following a four-week jury trial that ended on March 31, 2022. According to court documents, Zheng was employed at GE Power in Schenectady, New York, as an engineer specializing in turbine sealing technology. He worked at GE from 2008 until the summer of 2018. The trial evidence demonstrated that Zheng and others in China conspired to steal GEs trade secrets surrounding GEs ground-based and aviation-based turbine technologies, knowing or intending to benefit the PRC and one or more foreign instrumentalities, including China-based companies and universities that research, develop, and manufacture parts for turbines. This is a case of textbook economic espionage. Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division. The Justice Department will hold accountable those who threaten our national security by conniving to steal valuable trade secrets on behalf of a foreign power. Zheng sought to enrich himself, and benefit the Peoples Republic of China, by stealing trade secrets developed and owned by his longtime employer, General Electric," said U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York. "We will continue to work with the FBI to hold criminals accountable when they seek to illegally exploit American ingenuity. American ingenuity is an integral part of the United States economic security it is what has guided the U.S. to become the global leader, even as China seeks to topple our status, said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. Xiaoqing Zheng was a Thousand Talents Program member and willingly stole proprietary technology and sent it back to the PRC. Let todays sentencing serve as a reminder that the FBI remains dedicated in our pursuit of those who collaborate with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and steal American trade secrets. U.S. District Judge Mae A. DAgostino also sentenced Zheng to pay a $7,500 fine and serve one year of post-imprisonment supervised release. This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Powers for the Northern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Matthew Chang of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. This story has been published on: 2023-01-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Tibet's food output hits record high in 2022 Xinhua) 10:29, January 14, 2023 LHASA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The food output of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region surged to a record high in 2022, according to a government work report on Friday. The region's grain output hit 1.07 million tonnes in 2022, its vegetable output climbed to 930,000 tonnes, and the output of meat, eggs and milk totaled 880,000 tonnes, said the report released at the first session of the 12th People's Congress of Tibet Autonomous Region. Meanwhile, the region's output of green and organic foods and farm products as well as those with indigenous marks increased by 30 percent year on year in 2022, as the region has attached importance to the security and quality of its farm products. Tibet allocated subsidies for the protection of cultivated land totaling 172 million yuan (about 25.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2022. By the end of 2022, Tibet's planting area of improved varieties of highland barley, a long-established Tibetan grain, had grown to about 135,000 hectares, and that of high-yield farmlands totaled 260,000 hectares. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Former President, John Dramani Mahama has reacted to the decision by some members of New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to resign. In the last two weeks, two top members of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government including Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie as well as Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen have resigned from post. Reacting to the decisions by the two ministers, ex-President John Dramani Mahama has made the case that they are trying to abandon ship after contributing to the economic crisis of the country. Insisting that its too late for them, the leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) adds that Ghanaians should take note of the fact that both resigning Ministers cannot be excused from blame. Some members of the Akufo-Addo gov't have realized their boat is heading for disaster. It must be a relief for those deserting the ship, but it's so late. It's almost pointless. Theyll try hard not to be part of the mess we are in, but lets not forget the parts they all played, ex-President John Dramani Mahama said. The resignation of Alan Kyerematen and Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie have been duly confirmed and accepted by President Akufo-Addo. The two top officials of the NPP government have resigned to focused on their ambition to become the next flagbearer of the party for the 2024 general elections. His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is an astute human rights lawyer. For that Rockson Adofo, the author of this publication, is very much aware. However, he should not be seen to overly demonstrate altruism in all instances. Is it not said that every unique problem has its unique solution? Does the president not know that when you give the Ghanaian a finger, he will want your whole arm? How does the president envisage curtailing the obvious indiscipline, insults and abusive of power in the country if he became overly humanitarian? To be honest with the president who I respect so much, I am never happy about him always bending backwards to favour those who have it as their agenda to soil his image through uncalled for insults. There was once a Senior High School male student who insulted him with unprintable words that went viral on the social media. The president stepped in to forgive him when appropriate punishment was about to be meted to him by his school authorities. He was pardoned from a sack after the presidents intervention. I understand the boy has since passed into eternity. I cant confirm this rumour about his death. There was again this infamous and uncultured NDC guy called Kwame Appiah Stadium. He accused the president of not only being a weed (wee) smoker but its dealer. By this, he implied that the president was a dealer in a contraband good hence breaching the criminal laws of the land. This notorious guy pleaded for mercy when he got arrested to help the police or the national security investigate if indeed the president was a criminal. Barely had he been arrested when the president stepped in for him to be released and the case discontinued. No sooner had Appiah Stadium got his freedom than he went on same tangent to attack the president, all on intent to enhance the political chances of former President John Dramani Mahama, his idol , staging a successful comeback to the presidency. Appiah Stadium has publicly declared his readiness to feed on Mahamas faeces should the situation call for that. This means he will do whatever it takes to bring him to power at the expense of President Nana Akufo-Addo and the larger Ghanaian populace. No long ago, some six or eight final year or so female students of Chiana Senior High School in the North, recorded themselves insulting the person of the president with unprintable words. Their video of insults went viral on the social media. I quickly published an article calling for the students to be punished to serve a lesson to would-be recalcitrant students. Again, the overly human rights lawyer-cum-president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has stepped in to stop their expulsion from the school. I am asking the president, when will he realise that enough is enough with his interventions that are directly or indirectly encouraging people to behave irresponsibly? If the president doesnt care when people breach the laws hence allows them to go scot free, I, Rockson Adofo, the fearless and no-nonsense son of Kumawu/Asiampa, cares. When will he step aside for the law to be applied to such uncivilised partisan individuals, be they students, youngsters or adults, to serve as deterrence to others to help move Ghana forward as a nation of human beings with grey matter but not water in their heads? I am ashamed to see such children having the audacity to publicly run down the president, all for their ignorance and backwardness, thinking such is the way forward to become popular or famous in Ghana, or to advance the political fortunes of the party and people they support. Enough is enough with such injurious interventions to save people from facing the full rigours of the law, Your Excellency the President. Rockson Adofo Saturday, 14 January 2023 The Earth's protective ozone layer is healing at a rate that climatologists believe will see the stratospheric hole over Antarctica fully closed in the next five decades but challenges remain. According to a United Nations report presented at the American Meteorological Society convention in Denver on Monday, the latest scientific assessment of the status of the ozone layer suggests that recovery is making steady progress. This comes more than 35 years after the landmark Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, when every nation in the world agreed to stop producing ozone-depleting substances that attack the layer of gas in the Earth's stratosphere that shields the planet from radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage. Progress is slow, however. According to Paul Newman, co-chair of the scientific assessment panel, in the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole we see things getting better". The global average amount of ozone 30 kilometres above the planet won't be back to pre-1980 levels until about 2040, and it won't be back to normal over the Arctic until 2045. Meanwhile, in Antarctica where the ozone layer is so thin there's a giant gaping hole the levels won't be fully fixed until 2066. Testament to success of Montreal Protocol World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas said in a statement: Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action. Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done as a matter of urgency to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase." Signs of healing were reported four years ago but were slight; the latest report indicates the rate of recovery has solidified. Report co-ordinator Newman, who is chief Earth scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, revealed that chlorine levels are down 11.5 percent since they peaked in 1993, and bromine which is destructive to ozone, but less prevalent in the air dropped 14.5 percent since its 1999 peak. Scientists and environmental advocates across the world have long hailed the Montreal Protocol, which banned CFC chemicals often used in refrigerants and aerosols, as one of the biggest ecological victories for humanity. That bromine and chlorine levels stopped growing and are coming down is a real testament to the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol, Newman added. From the 1950s to the 1980s, people could buy aerosol cans full of CFCs that eat away at the ozone. Decades later, not only are the substances banned but they are no longer in people's homes or cars, having been replaced by cleaner substances. The United Nations believes that global action reparing the ozone layer saves about 2 million people from skin cancer every year. Beware 'planet-cooling technology' However, the report also warned that efforts to artificially cool the planet by putting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect the sunlight would thin the ozone layer by as much as 20 percent in Antarctica. With carbon emissions continuing to rise and time running out to avoid some of the worst impacts, controversial geoengineering schemes are moving to the centre of climate change policy debates. These include proposals to blunt global warming by depositing sulphur particles into the upper atmosphere. Scientists have cautioned this could sharply reverse the recovery of the ozone layer. So-called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is increasingly seen as a potential stop-gap measure for capping temperatures long enough to tackle the problem at the source. Natural events have demonstrated that it works such as the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which spewed millions of tonnes of dust and debris into the atmosphere and lowered global temperatures for about a year. Injecting 8 to 16 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere each year roughly equivalent to Pinatubo's output would cool Earth's temperature by about 1Celsius. However, there is a trade-off: the ozone layer would be reduced to its 1990 levels only a third of what it was before the impact of human activity and the planet would see the continued depletion of ozone, while managing solar radiation would remain a serious problem. 14.01.2023 LISTEN The Guptas and State Capture: It is highly probable that the Guptas have stolen from government, as it is equally probable to say the Guptas have captured the state. State Capture in essence, is about those who control the means of production through their proximity to the state and how this control permeates and influences our social strata. To say the Guptas control both our productive forces and value systems is the biggest lie to have been sold to South Africans. Capitalism, by its nature, thrives on corruption. In the complex web of capitalism, the Guptas would be considered petty thieves for they control nothing of value in the context of production or wealth creation. Quantitatively speaking, who has control over the state? Who makes the law in South Africa today? Who creates knowledge in South Africa? Who owns the banks? Who owns the wealth and minerals of this country? The Guptas? If the Guptas would be deported tomorrow, would black people get their land back? Who controls more than R400 billions of procurements in government, to which 90% goes to white-owned companies? Are the Guptas part of the Big 5 construction companies which control more than the R4 trillion from the Presidential infrastructure plan? The same construction companies which collude and steal billions from government and tax payers? Are the Guptas part of the Big 5 banks and asset management companies that control billions of the government fiscus and which have been found to have manipulated the currency, fixed accounting books or stole from government pension funds? Who controls the supply of coal at Eskom and has 20 to 40 year contracts? If only 2% of procurement at South African Airways (SAA) is controlled by blacks, who controls the 98% at the parastatal? Is it the Guptas? Who controls mega projects at Prasa and Transnet including billions of infrastructure projects for our rail and ports? Who controls the billion rand health industry which includes pharmaceutical companies which supply medicine and equipments for your government? The Guptas? Who controls ICT infrastructure used by government? The Guptas? Government is the biggest consumer of legal services and it is the Big 5 white law firms that are given briefing patterns. It is white lawyers primarily who write legal opinions for the African National Congress (ANC) led government. It is white lawyers who developed regressive legislations such as PPPFMA, CIDB, Chapter 9 Institutions including the Competition Commission which is meant to protect white corruption, which it calls collusion. There is no private sector without government and there is no government without tax collection. The so-called private sector has always depended on government procurement and capital injection. If you look at all the 25 listed companies at the JSE per market capitalisation, all of them are co-owned by the PIC. It is your pension funds that sustain white privilege, if not State Capture by white conglomerates. How do you capture the state if you control nothing? In a capitalist society, business always seeks to influence politicians and many who do tenders with government will know because they are forever having meetings with politicians in an effort to influence them. The mere fact that you can influence ministers, does not translate to you having captured the state, because ANC ministers have not even comprehended how the state interacts with society. Many have not even explored the role of the state in its entirety. The history of the State in South Africa: The state, in its basic terms was created by the oligarchy to exert influence through politicians and to manage the poor and working class. The state is therefore a contested terrain by the ruling class which has always been captured; initially by British imperialism who were then forced to co-opt some Afrikaners like the late Anton Rupert. To this day, what you call the Republic of South Africa continues to be a colonial republic under the custodianship of the British Empire, hence our gold reserves are under the custodianship of Queen Elizabeth. However, the likes of Hertzog, De La Rey, Christian De Wet, Hendrik Potgieter etc. refused to be co-opted by British capital, which led to the Anglo-Boer war and formation of the Broederbond in 1918 to fight British imposition. So powerful was Britain and its grip on the state through its business proxies that Hendrik Verwoerd in parliament lamented that the Oppenheimers were so powerful they could easily destroy any government. Hendrik Potgieter attempted to dismantle state capture by the British but was defeated when he was assassinated in 1966 and with him, died the idea to nationalise the wealth of the country from British control. Let me remind you that the first ever mining company to be owned by Afrikaners was only consolidated in 1963, 100 years after the rediscovery of diamonds in 1863. This means it took those who have been in South Africa since 1652, at least 100 years to own a mine, mind you not even to control it because Gencor which is affectionally known as BHP Billiton, received vendor funding from Britain. We must equally understand the difference between ownership and control, which white companies have perfected through cross-directorship and cross-shareholding where they still control more than 50% of the economy. They might not directly own some companies but they control many of the companies which they have given vendor funding to and control the boards through directorship and shareholdership. They run a sophisticated web which they control through legislation, the executive and judiciary. Did I also mention that more than 60% of senior prosecutors at the NPA are white and most also worked for the apartheid government. Take Gerrie Nel for example. As celebrated as he is, he has never prosecuted any white collar criminal, instead he worked with the likes of the corrupt KPMG to bring Black blue collar criminals to book. To show his contempt for blacks he went to join AfriForum to further protect and entrench white supremacy. Any lessons learned? The Broederbond fought to defeat state capture by Britain but they were eventually defeated and coopted. From 1918 the brotherhood built their own Universities, refusing to take their children to English schools where the minds of their children would be shaped by Anglo scholarship. Instead of taking their children to Rhodes University, Universty of Cape Town or Wits University, they opted to build Free State University, Stellenbosh University, University of Pretoria and Rand Afrikaans University, so as to take charge of their future. Afrikaners understood the power of defining. They didnt fight for inclusion like we do, but opted to start their own institutions in their own language. They started their own banks and insurance companies such as Volkskas (ABSA), Saambou, Sanlam, Avbob, Nedbank (Nederland Bank) etc. Naspers was the brainchild of Hertzog. Afrikaners started their own media houses because they understood the power of the media and its ability to shape narrative and set the agenda. The bedrock of Afrikaner self-determination was their church, the Dutch Reformed Church, which on a weekly basis, taught whites they were Gods chosen race. Even though Afrikaners were eventually swallowed by English capital, they fought till the bitter end. Even though Afrikaner capitalists like Rupert (others contest that this family is truly Afrikaner), Mouton, Jooste, Weise etc. have become economic partners to the English, they still exercise some control of their destiny. Remember Afrikaners were also subjected to concentration camps and left to death after their war with Britain, both fighting for our resources. Where is Black South Africa today? Nowhere! We are confused, divided and fighting amongst ourselves. ANC leaders are fighting each other to be co-opted by white capital just to get bread crumbs and BEE status. Since 1991, radical economic transformation is the first policy of the ANC which truely speaks to self-determination. Now the question is, does the ANC have bold leaders prepared to die to implement this radical agenda? Hence, we must protect radical economic transformation with our lives because in it lies the wealth of our children and future children. RET is no longer about the ANC: Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was conceptualised by Brenthurst Foundation, commissioned by the Oppenheimers, hence there is a crisis in black business and the tender system has failed. Thabo Mbeki conceptualised what he deemed to be a Patriotic Bourgeois which was an elitist project which really created the new black colonial elite and led to social distance between the ANC and its constituency. Today, ANC leaders are coopted by white businesses, to the extent that some are even prepared to say White Monopoly Capital does not exist. Such denialism! Do you understand how breadcrumbs numb your ability to analyse your concrete objective reality? Afrikaners refused breadcrumbs and were even prepared to kill black people, yet today you have leaders who are prepared to distort the truth and tell us there is no White Monopoly Capital or that the Guptas have captured the state. Such a Travesty! In the history of our economic struggle post-1994, the Guptas were the first race, outside of the power struggle between English/Afrikaner capital, who succeeded in a hostile take over through Tegeta, to buy out a white controlled company. For any student of history who has researched how capital has exchanged hands since the discovery of diamonds in 1863, this was a monumental moment, if not the beginning of a proverbial economic war. The 5% that Tegeta snitched from Glencore/Shanduka owned Optimum was the beginning of our war towards economic freedom. How? Well, for the first time in the history of Eskom, a race group outside of the white race had control of shares at Eskom. White business was shaken that another race had actually beaten them in their own game. Anglo American, Exxaro, Glencore, BHP Billiton, Khumba Iron Ore were all shocked that more than 70% of their monopoly at the State Owned Entity was now contested. No Black person had ever done what the Guptas had done, i.e. contest the domination of white capital. None whatsoever. It is another lie to assume white capital is sustained by good governance or accountability. Steinhoff, KPMG, Investec, Murray and Roberts, ABSA etc. continue to prove that the private sector is a play ground of sophisticated thieves in suits who collude and steal tax payers money, but because they write legislations which protects them and own the media which protects their thievery, you would only associate corruption and capture with others. A look at our Black rand billionaires: Patrice Motsepe, though a brilliant business man, owns an English company now called, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), which in fact is AngloVaal, which was unbundled between 1998 and 2002. ARM is the brainchild of Clive Menell, one of the English mining randlords who was Harry Oppenheimers confidante. This is! why white capital will never antagonise Motsepe. So powerful were the Menells and trusted by some ANC leaders that when Nelson Mandela publicly separated from Winnie Mandela he went to stay with them. Shanduka is an extension of Anglo American, with shares given to Shanduka and Pembani in almost all Oppenheimer controlled companies since 1993. The situation is the same with the likes of Tokyo Sexwale and many emerging Black billionaires who have equally not done anything much to contest white economic domination. Britain does not want another Boer War and Afrikaners know they have no where else to go, therefore an empowered black society is a threat to white privilege. What is the way forward? Do we continue to allow ourselves to be misled that the Guptas have captured our state? Do we wait for another foreign family to come and fight with whites for our resources or do we learn from both the Broederbond and the Guptas on how to contest for real economic power which will empower all our people? The Guptas, just like the Dutch and English, were mere tourists in South Africa but decided to stay permanently. They saw opportunities that black South Africans did not see. Since 1993, they began coercing ANC leaders in an effort to influence them, but they went beyond what black aspirant capitalists aspired for. They fought to control patterns of ownership. As Dr Kgoshi Maepa would say, what you have today are black capitalists without capital and the question I ask today, in particular directed to the black intelligentsia is, what will it take for you to start your own institutions? Black society is in a crisis because the ANC is in a crisis, whilst Pan Africanist organisations are at war with themselves. Surely black people must come out of their closets and arm chair criticism to save this sinking ship. The ANC as I would infer is just like the Titanic and headed towards an iceberg, we need to steer it away from this iceberg. The black intelligentsia must construct a new narrative to save the ANC from itself unless they are also prepared to see political power right back in the hands of the minority. 14.01.2023 LISTEN Young people's (mis)behaviour can occasionally disrupt social order. For instance, in a school environment, the handling of disrespectful and rowdy student behaviors has been a challenge for authorities since time immemorial, but not to the extent that it is now. Two incidents of youth rowdiness in November 2022one involving a UK tertiary student on November 9 and the other involving Ghanaian pre-tertiary students on November 14made coincidental headlines in the media: The young chap who appeared to throw eggs directly at Charles has since been charged with "threatening behaviour," according to a report from the Cosmopolitan. In a like manner, the Graphic Online reported, "Our attention has been drawn to a viral video circulating on social media involving some students misconducting themselves and using vulgar and unprintable words on the President of our land." "The management of Ghana Education Service (GES) condemns this unfortunate act, which is against every educational and moral principle in our society." The Ghanaian media outlets have been deluged with viral comments and opinions since the latter incident went viral. My article isn't meant to irk readers at all; rather, it's intended to spotlight the both positive and negative aspects of the way both incidents were managed. Given that both incidents involved the use of vulgar and unprintable words against powerful authorities (a king and a president), occurred in the same month, and involved students, it seems appropriate to draw some parallels. Now, in the UK Patrick Thelwell, the 23-year-old University of York student who was alleged to have thrown eggs directly at the royals, was subsequently accosted by the police. Despite his wrongdoing against His Royal Majesty, he was only restrained from publicly carrying eggs 500 meters (later reduced to 300 meters) away from the king until he changed his ways. So, one might ask, was this punishment appropriate given the offense? When comparing Patrick Thelwell's punishment with the recent action the Ghana Education Service (GES) took against the 8 misbehaved Chiana girls, what is unclear is how, amid a number of apologies and pleas from well-meaning organizations like Minority in Parliament, parents, civil society, and CHASS, among others, the GES could still ignore every apologetic voice and take such drastic measures against these already traumatic and remorseful students. Well, insulting the president, as the GES claimed, is "very undesirable and contrary to the acceptable standards of the conduct generally required of any student in Ghanas educational system." Yet alas! In response to the insult from his own FSHS girls (teens he has committed to educating for free), President Akufo-Addo today displayed complete fatherly concern, much like King Charles, and asked that the girls receive an alternative punishment through official communication. In all this, the role of the GES in the handling of the issue was heavily criticized. To add my voice, I find the institution to be overzealous and high-handed in the matter. What I rather expected was for the institution to act like the Biblical Moses (Numbers 14 vs. 1318) and speak to "God" to remain long-suffering and merciful, but they couldn't. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that our approach to punishment should be transformative when it comes to the upbringing of children. Instead of focusing on the "symptoms," it must seek to understand the "root causes" of the structural and systemic issues causing such decadence. But as long as were unwilling to trace our steps back and reconnect with our ancient path of African-style child upbringing, we should brace ourselves because were yet to see the worst from these younger adults. And if all we know is that we have to cut and paste the culture of the colonizers, why do you have to sack them now when they arent sacking their own for similar offenses? In any case, today President Akufo-Addo is making headlines for his display of fatherly compassion. And much like how King Charles handled the egg-throwing incident in Patrick Thelwells scenario, we laud the president for taking a pause at the Chiana girls' outright dismissal and letting them go and sin no more. I can only hope that the President will go beyond this act of pardoning and once again charge the GES to redefine the circumstances in which pre-tertiary schools can enforce discipline that makes more Ghanaian sense! Komla Lokoe [email protected] Political science lecturer at the University of Science and Technology, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has shared his view on the Chiana Senior High School (SHS) dismissed students issue. Eight female students from the school have been in the news for weeks after they were seen in a video on social media insulting the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Speaking to TV3 on the Key Points Programme, Prof. Ransford Gyampo noted that while criticising the president are welcomed, insults directed at the President should not be entertained. I am for criticisms but not insults, you cant insult the president like that, Prof. Ransford Gyampo stressed. Fortunately, for the eight dismissed students of Chiana SHS, President Akufo-Addo has intervened to plead on their behalf. In a letter to the Ministry of Education, the President directed Minister Dr. Yaw Adutwum to liaise with the Ghana Education Service to overturn the dismissal for alternative punishment to be slapped on the students instead. Reacting to that decision, Prof. Ransford Gyampo says President Akufo-Addo should equally look at other important issues and ensure they are addressed. The President should also give this same listening ear to other important issues which Ghanaians have made critical calls, the UG Political Science lecturer said. 14.01.2023 LISTEN I see Akomprekos vision as one of a democratic meritocracy. A Meritocracy in the making where every Ghanaian deserves to be given the opportunity to be successful. He has said this a countless number of times. A profound vision emanating from Ghanas only genuine political philanthropist. However, Hon Kennedy Agyapong (Hon Akom) is not just a talker but a doer, quite the opposite of NATO. Even his admonitions are action oriented. It was therefore paradoxical when Dr Nyaho Tamakloe asked what Akom has contributed. Was Nyaho just making noise, exaggerating for effect as Hon Akom sometimes does himself or was it an invitation to Akom to boast: He will talk. Every passing day fortifies my belief that Akompreko holds the cards to the future of both the NPP and a fulfilled motherland. I do not only hear more of his beliefs, principles and the great plans for Ghana but I also hear him passionately expressing and demonstrating his profound love for the country. Honourable Akom is a rich person of phenomenal generosity to his people, even when it was not within his contemplation to aspire to any high office in a highly monetised political system like ours. It will interest readers to know that many well-meaning Ghanaians share his frustrations about the malaise within his own party. Kennedy Akompreko Kwame Ohene Agyapong (alias Akom) is an undoubted Democratic Meritocrat who strongly believes everyone should be given an opportunity to succeed in Life. Intrinsic in his beliefs, is to give political jobs to the capable, even if exclusively in-party, given our current system of Government and not to use educational certificates as an unnecessary excuse to nepotically manipulate the good people who may have made your government possible. We have heard it said several times over that it is the absence of principles and our seemingly contorted value system which have left a richly resourced country like Ghana ever so cash strapped. He believes in the use of principles to shape his politics. Thus far I have seen no politician lead his bid with as much principle as Akompreko has. It is of interest to note that many political party folks of recent stock believe that you only aid the party when you say things that suggest the party is doing well, irrespective of the merits and/or the plain truth; that belief system, is plainly dishonest, ladies and gentlemen, inconsistent with the principles and objectives of the NPP. Kennedy via his own dais braves the positives and the negatives even if on occasions he has allowed his loyalty to party and some devoted party friends to cloud his judgment. Any NPP presidential candidate who is pedalling softly doesnt appear to know what time it is. We are at a crossroads with very loud transgressions from the top happening before our glistened eyes. Anyone who thinks it is all lovey dovey is either complicit or does not have the grip. Many who do not seem willing to deal with the real problems that the man on the street sees, is simply feathering their own nest, afraid of the repercussions from the 'abrafoc of the King'. They are not strong enough to lead, I beg to differ and be forgiven. As I have said in the past, it is unfortunately a mediocre performer who is always looking for a worse performer for comfort. NPP should constantly look within itself, to introspect for purity. Critical thinking is about identifying problems objectively with the view to addressing and resolving them. If I may say for the umpteenth time, the MP's expenses fiddle that happened in the U.K. was only possible because any system or society that is QUIET at or failing to detect a particular wrongdoing and/or failing to raise sanctions against such conduct is bound to fester these wrongs. Of course, when it was identified as problematic, the authorities were swift to punish the MPs, and some even went to Prison. The practice, to the best my knowledge, no longer exist. The same applies on a wider scale in Ghana & can be addressed with the determined approach of Akompreko. It is of the utmost and urgent importance that we accept that Ghanaians are no longer as gullible as they probably have been in the past. Most importantly, as soon as your dire hard supporters appear only begrudgingly to want to vote for you, then you are at serious risk of losing the elections; you can turn many of your supporters into vote spoilers. I believe as time goes on, party members will become even more alert, more sensitive and bolder enough to challenge attempts at papering over our cracks. NPP must embrace our difficulties and mow them down, starting with the selection of our next leader. I am not supporting Kennedy Agyapong just with my heart, he is the only winnable candidate capable of holding his people to account and govern Ghana in all righteousness. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was approaching these primaries as some of the written conservative principles and rules will require. The guide to becoming a conservative MP includes an eligibility guide which necessarily expects you to understand and be committed to the Nolan Principles of public life. Kennedy Kwame Ohene Agyapong epitomises the Nolan Principles and he espouses them. His PHD emblem clearly emulates the Nolan principles, and they are even closer to that on which Lee Kwan Yiu built Singapore. He has a fascinating love for the Meritocrats of the world. Before I end, let us spend some time to take a quick look at the British Nolan principles for public life. It includes the following: Selflessness: in my view, anyone who cannot sacrifice just a bit of his support to say the right things, is not sufficiently selfless; he cannot rule Ghana in its current state. Integrity: Anyone who can easily pretend that all is well in Ghana in this climate has no integrity. Anyone who cannot act boldly or take bold decisions unless it is to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends has Zero integrity. Objectivity: the Nolan principles require Holders of public office to act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias Accountability Openness Honesty: Holders of public office should be truthful & must demonstrate Leadership Akompreko is the truest leader amongst the lot, whether in opposition or in Government he contributes his charity, his compassion, wisdom, direction to party, including admonitions and indeed his All. Daily Kennedy Kwame Akompreko Ohene Agyapong renews my confidence in the New Patriotic Party. He gives me hope that NPP remains the party which will redeem Ghana from her woes. The Judicial Service of Ghana has commissioned the District Court complex for the Amansie West District to aid in bringing justice delivery to the doorstep of the assembly. The facility, which comprises Boreholes, Solar Power, Generator Sets, and other facilities is funded from the District Assembly Common Fund, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development. The Chief Justice of Ghana his Lordship, Justice Annin Yeboah stated that the state of court buildings in the country continue to adversely affect the effective and timely delivery of justice. Over the years, several factors have militated against the effective operation of the courts generally and rendered our services to the people of Ghana sometimes ineffective. Key amongst these is the deplorable state of our physical infrastructure from which the justice needs of the people of this country are served, he stated. According to him, a needs assessment conducted nationwide by the judiciary in 2018-2019 revealed that a significant number of court buildings are unfit for purpose, a situation the Chief Justice described as disconcerting. Justice Anim Yeboah is however happy with the efforts and commitment of the government to address the challenge. Several meetings with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development culminated in a bold declaration by the President two years ago, that government will construct 100 courthouses with bungalows for judges and magistrates across the country. Even though this may have been deemed as over-ambitious, today we have gathered to inaugurate this courthouse. On behalf of the Judicial Service, the Chief Justice, His Lordship Kwasi Annin thanked the President and all stakeholders, including UNICEF for their contributions to addressing the challenges of the judicial system. Speaking to the media during the commissioning ceremony, the District Chief Executive for the Amansie West, Hon. Nii Larteh Ollenu added that the distance and cost of traveling unnerve the residents to search for quality Justice. He added that the availability of the court would alleviate the problems in the Pakyi community. "This would go a long way toward changing the public perception of the Justice delivery system in the country," he stated. Hon Nii Larteh assured the Judicial Service that the District Security Committee (DISEC) would provide needed security for the staff. The DCE thanked the Chief of Staff and further appealed for a District circuit court in the Amansie West District. The Member of Parliament for Salaga South Constituency, Hajia Zuwera Ibrahima has advanced educational support to some 125 tertiary students in her constituency. With beneficiaries drawn from Kafaba, Salaga, Kluw Ward, Kafaba, Konkomba and the Kpembi Wards, the intervention is aimed at cushioning the students to pursue various courses of studies in the tertiary institutions across the country. A total of Ghc100,000 worth of scholarships was disbursed to 55 females and 70 males in batches. The first batch of beneficiaries received their bursary from the legislator on 31st December 2022, during the 8th Annual Home Coming Congress of Kluw / Lor Ekun Gonjaland Youth Association and the second batch received theirs on 11th January, 2023. Speaking at a short ceremony held at Telkpa to present the bursary, the Member of Parliament reiterated her commitment towards the education and human resource development of the constituency. l place priority on education and human capital development. It is for this reason that I make commitment towards supporting education in the constituency. I am committed to continue prioritizing education and to make support systems available, so you can attain your academic goals," he stated. He said the support was meant to cushion the students in pursuit of tertiary education in the Municipality, urging them to take their studies very serious and make the area proud. The East Gonja Municipal Education Director, madam Christiana Maabo Donzun, lauded the Member of Parliament for the kind gesture and encouraged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the support and study very hard. But like the proverbial Oliver Twist, she used the opportunity to call for more of such support from the MP for the Municipality. A representative of the Municipal Chief Executive, Wumbei Ibn Zakaria, who doubles as the Municipal Coordinating Director for the East Gonja Municipal Assembly said the decision by the lawmaker to support the students means she has positive plans for the constituency and students, urging the students to study hard and return home to serve the Municipality. Madam Fatimah Ahmed,a first-year Bachelor of Science Physician Assistant student at the University for Development Studies on behalf of all the beneficiaries, thanked the MP for supporting their education and prayed for Allah to continue blessing her good works. Some elated parents and opinion leaders, who were at the function were full of praise for the legislator for rolling out such a timely intervention. 14.01.2023 LISTEN Ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Peter Kwasi Nortsu-Kotoe, has suggested to the Disciplinary Committee of the Chiana Senior High School (SHS) to consider suspension as a better option for the eight students. The Ghana Education Service (GES) in a statement on January 13, 2023, made U-turn and referred the dismissed eight students of the school to the committee after the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo intervened. Eight students of the school were dismissed for using some unprintable words against the President in a viral video in 2022 following the hardships in the country. Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe believes a suspension will serve as a deterrent to other students, warning that the Minority will not come in next time a student misbehaves in any of the schools in the country. Speaking on the Eyewitness News with Selorm Adonoo, the ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament suggested, If I were in the shoes of the schools authorities, I think suspension will be a better option for these students. Once they are suspended, its in their records. And they will know that next time if any student misbehaves just like them, that student will not go scot-free. Suspension I think will serve as a deterrent to others. Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe expressed his appreciation to the President for listening to the Minority caucus in Parliament as well as Ghanaians by intervening. I appreciate the Presidents intervention to mitigate the punishment given out to the eight students of Chiana SHS. This is because the minority thought the punishment was too harsh. Punishment is meant to correct so if you want to punish somebody, correct or reform the person, there are opportunities to reform these students because we dont know what they will become in future. So I want to thank the President for listening to us [Minority] and all other Ghanaians who believed the punishment was too harsh, Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe thanked the President. He said if the students were earlier suspended by the school, there wouldnt have been a public outcry for the President to intervene. If the students were suspended, this cry for the students wouldnt have come in at all, he stated. Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe commended the GES for referring the matter to the schools disciplinary committee. What the GES has done I think is also proper by referring the matter back to the school, the ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament remarked. citinewsroom AAP workers stage protest at BJP headquarters over slum demolition notice IANS New Delhi More AAP workers stage protest at BJP headquarters over slum demolition notice The Aam Adami Party (AAP) workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters here against demolition notice served to the slum dwellers in Kalkaji. The Aam Adami Party (AAP) workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters here against demolition notice served to the slum dwellers in Kalkaji. The protest was led by senior AAP leader Atishi, Somnath Bharti and MCD mayoral candidate Shelley Oberoi among others. "Prior to election, BJP had promised that 'Where there is slum, there will be houses" but now BJP's DDA has started pasting the notice of slum demolition. If someone protests against this, the policy beats them and uses water cannons", said Atishi. She further said that her party will not allow even a single slum in the city to be demolished. "We will continue to protest till the BJP takes the slum demolition notice back". Meanwhile, the police have also used water cannons in a bid to deter the workers from the party headquarters. The party leaders alleged that some of the workers have been injured facing police brutality. "These women have come from the Navjeevan Camp to protest against the notice but police have used water cannons against them. We will continue to protest for slum dwellers of the city till the BJP-ruled DDA takes the demolition notice back", the AAP leader said. For Latest Updates Please- Join us on Follow us on MORE... MORE... MORE... 172.31.16.186 14.01.2023 LISTEN Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho has shared his candid view on the Chiana Senior High School (SHS) matter. The name of the school has been drugged in the mud in recent weeks after eight female students were seen insulting the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in viral video. Reacting to the Presidents intervention, Koku Anyidoho has indicated that he believes the pardoned students have been very lucky. According to him, if the eight female students were to be in another country, they would have been flogged publicly for insulting the president. Honestly, these girls are damn lucky. In other jurisdictions, they wld have been flogged publicly. What nonsense!! U joke with insulting the President & making it public? Ah! Ah! Ah!, Koku Anyidoho said in a post on his Twitter page on Saturday, January 24. The dismissed member of the National Democratic Congress added that President Akufo-Addo must be applauded for his intervention to overturn the dismissal of the eight Chiana female students. I guess we must thank President Akufo-Addo for having a kind heart to forgive them.Thanks Prez, Koku Anyidoho added in his post. 14.01.2023 LISTEN Sefwi Wiawso High Court presided over by his Lordship Justice Kwame Amoako has affirmed Dr Kwaku Afriyie as Member of Parliament for the Sefwi Wiawso Constituency. Following the 2020 general election, the parliamentary candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the constituency, Paul Evans Aidoo petitioned the Sefwi Wiawso High Court to challenge the results of the election collated by the Electoral Commission. On 6th January 2021, the parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the NDC, Paul Evans Aidoo and the NDC petitioned the High Court for a resolution to declare the outcome of the December 2020 parliamentary election in the Sefwi Wiawso Constituency as null and void and also refrain Dr Kwaku Afriyie from holding himself as the MP-elect for the constituency. Three years after the election, the court upon hearing the accounts of all the parties, thus the petitioner, Paul Evans Aidoo and the defendants, Dr Kwaku Afriyie of the NPP and the Electoral Commission declared that the cases of the petitioner have no merit. Mr Aidoo had alleged that there was no collation of results and also a ballot box from Sefwi Asawinso Community Centre 2 polling station was snatched by some unidentifiable thugs whilst being transported to the collation centre at Wiawso but could not provide any evidence on these allegations The presiding Judge, His Lordship Justice Kwame Amoako indicated that there were contradictions and inconsistencies in the evidence he provided to the court. He, therefore, affirmed Dr Kwaku Afriyie as the Member of Parliament duly elected for the Sefwi Wiawso constituency. Mr. Maxwell Oduro Yeboah, President of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG) has lauded the level of professionalism of Ghanaian Nurses and Midwives. In an interview with Joy News Blessed Sogah on The Pulse, Mr. Yeboah indicated that the exodus of Ghanaian nurses/midwives to western countries was due to the high level of professionalism they exhibit, which has made them in high demand. Mr. Yeboah explained that the high level of professionalism exhibited by Ghanaian nurses/midwives explains why countries in Europe have placed priority on them. Further explaining why countries in Europe prefer Ghanaian nurses/midwives, Mr. Yeboah indicated that cheap labor was not a factor. Its [the exodus of nurses] got nothing to do cheap labor. Ghanaian nurses are hardworking and very professional, Mr. Yeboah said. Mr. Yeboah continued: If you visit our wards, the sort of professionalism you see from trained nurses is exceptional so when they travel abroad, the kind of services they put up are superb. Even if you go online, most of the times when they are giving criteria for selection, they say they want West African nurses, specifically, Ghanaian nurses. It means we are doing something exceptional. Explaining why Ghanaian nurses appear not to have much love back home, Mr. Yeboah indicated that inadequate resources and the lack of better conditions of service are the major factors preventing some nurses from giving off their best. However, Mr. Yeboah stressed that despite the inconveniences, most Ghanaian nurses/midwives often strive to give off their best. Mr. Yeboah expressed concerns about the poor conditions of service of Ghanaian nurses/midwives, indicating that if not addressed in the long run, will lead to a situation where "our specialists will be lost to the West." To improve upon the level of professionalism of Ghanaian nurses and midwives, Mr. Yeboah indicated that the UPNMG provides Continuing Professional Development (CPD), scholarships and loans to their members who wish to further their education. Mr. Yeboah further explained that the UPNMG only seeks to better the conditions of service/welfare of Ghanaian nurses and midwives. According to him, the group is not in any kind of competition with the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA). Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has said Africa should have a greater voice in the UN Security Council and other international bodies, something the continent's leaders have long called for. The diplomat is on a week-long tour of five African countries to oversee numerous infrastructure projects. "We should boost the representation and voice of developing countries, especially those of African countries, in the UN Security Council and other international organizations," Qin said at the inauguration of the Chinese-funded headquarters for the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday. Qin made the call in a statement issued after meeting the head of the African Union Commission Moussa Mahamat Faki, who voiced frustration at what he said was the exclusion of Africa from international governance. "For several decades now we have been fighting for a reform of the international system as a whole and particularly on behalf of the United Nations Security Council," he said. The UN Security Council is made up of 15 members, five of whom are permanent and have veto-wielding power: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain. The other 10 positions are filled by other countries for two-year stints, five of which are announced each year. 'More just and equitable' Qin, who is on his first overseas visit as foreign minister, rallied countries to work together "to make the global governance system more just and equitable". "Africa should be a platform for international cooperation, not an arena for competition between major countries," he said. The African Union has sought to shake up its relations with the world and has called for two permanent African members on the powerful council, saying African issues make up most of the council's business. "Africa refuses to be seen as an arena for influence struggles," Faki said. "We are open to cooperation and partnerships with everyone." President Joe Biden said in September last year that the United States would back permanent seats for Africa and Latin America, in addition to previous support to include Japan and India. Biden also backed a permanent African Union role in the Group of 20 leading economies and said he was planning a visit the first by a US president since 2015 to sub-Saharan Africa. Chinese tour Qin met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday and will next visit Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt. Previously China's ambassador to the United States and known for his tough talk against the West, he was named foreign minister on 30 December. He spoke a day before the French and German foreign ministers arrived in Addis Ababa on a mission to support a peace agreement signed last year to end two years of war. (with wires) The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has explained that a raging bushfire under its high-voltage lines near Tarkwa caused the power outage that occurred on Saturday. GRIDCo in a statement said a fire tender from Tarkwa Goldfields is on-site to bring the fire under control. It has subsequently apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured that it is working to restore the normal power supply. Below is the full statement by GRIDCo The Ghana GRID Company, (GRIDCo) informs the public that a systems disturbance occurred at 11.57 on Saturday 14th January 2023. The outage occurred after GRIDCo's 330kV Aboadze Anwomaso line tripped followed by a number of lines in the western corridor of the grid triggering a system disturbance and causing all th ermal plants and Bui generators and customer loads to trip. A raging bushfire under GRIDCo's high-voltage lines near Tarkwa has been identified as the source of the power line trips. A fire tender from Tarkwa Goldfields is on-site to bring the fire under control. Meanwhile, restoration of the grid commenced immediately and efforts are ongoing to restore power to all affected areas and customers. GRIDCo sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused by this incident and is working to restore the normal power supply. By Citi Newsroom The Ghana GRID Company (GRIDCo) says its 330kV Aboadze Anwomaso line Saturday tripped leading to power outage in most parts of the country. In a statement, the Company said a system disturbance occurred on Saturday, January 14 at 11:57 hours. The outage occurred after GRIDCo's 330kV Aboadze Anwomaso line tripped followed by a number of lines in the western corridor of the grid triggering a system disturbance causing all thermal plants and Bui generators and customer loads to trip, it said. The statement said a raging bush fire under GRIDCo's high voltage lines near Tarkwa had been identified as the cause of the power lines trips. It said a fire tender from Tarkwa Goldfields was on site working to bring the fire under control. The statement also said: Meanwhile, restoration of the grid commenced immediately and efforts are ongoing to restore power to all affected areas and customers. It apologised for the inconvenience caused by the incident. Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) was incorporated in December 2006 to carry out the economic dispatching and transmission of electricity from facilities of wholesale suppliers (Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to bulk customers and distribution of utilities in Ghana and West Africa. GRIDCo operates the National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS). The Utilities are from eleven (11) Wholesale Suppliers, including the Volta River Authority (VRA). GNA A terrorist attack in Zoaga, Bugri and Zabre in the northern province of Burkina Faso has left some Ghanaian residents of Soogo, Sapeliga, Kansoogo, Kubougo and Widnaba living close to the Burkina Faso border in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region in fear. A police station was burnt, telecom towers were destroyed and some persons have been killed by the jihadists. The attack compelled Burkinabes of affected communities Zoaga, Bugri and Zabre mostly women and children to flee to some communities in Ghana using porous and unapproved routes on Friday, January 13. According to the Ghanaian residents, they feel insecure considering the huge numbers of Burkinabes fleeing to the area. They want government to intensify security in the area for fear of attack, especially the unapproved routes. The sub-Chief of Soogo, Joshua Akaami, called for support and heavy security to protect the community from infiltration by terrorists. According to him, he received several women and children from Burkina Faso as a result of the attack that led to the loss of lives and properties. As a sub-chief, he said with no place to accommodate the asylum seekers he had to negotiate with churches around for the displaced burkinabes to stay. He added the numbers keep increasing with more women and children arriving. He appeals to NADMO and benevolent organisations to urgently help with food items and mats for the women and children to sleep on. The Assembly member of Soogo electoral area, Asaki Usben Tampuri called on the security agencies to tighten security along the border communities. He, However, thanked the chiefs of the various border communities for the efforts and appealed for support. Over 2,000 Burkinabes are currently living in the border towns: Widnaba, Soogo, Kubougo and Kansoogo. Cassiel Ato Forsons main flaw is his penchant for lying. He can lie for Africa. He has peddled another lie. On his Facebook timeline, Ato Forson has claimed that the Akufo-Addo administration has over 1000 presidential staffers who are also paid as Article 71 office holders at the Jubilee House. (Refer to point 2 of his post). Let me school Ato Forson and the gullible people who might have swallowed this lie hook, line and sinker. Not every worker at the Jubilee House is a staffer. In the real sense of the word, there are not more than 10 presidential staffers at the Presidency. The others he describes as presidential staffers are junior appointees. It must also be emphasized that no junior appointee is paid as an Article 71 office holder. It is a complete fabrication. It must also be emphasized strongly that out of the 1000 workers at the Jubilee House, not more than 200 were appointed by this administration. Over 800 workers at the Jubilee House Ato Forson describes as staffers are actually civil servants who were already working at the Presidency when Akufo-Addo came into office. Putting it differently, those workers were employed by the NDC, and they will still be there when the next administration comes into being. It means that in the unlikely event that the NDC wins power in 2024, they will meet the over 800 civil servants at the Jubilee House. Would Ato Forson label them as presidential staffers paid as Article 71 office holders? Would he also add them to those who maybe appointed by Mahama and describe them as presidential staffers who are paid as Article 71 office holders? Ato Forson knows that out of this 1000 workers, not even 5% are paid as Article 71 office holders. In effect, out of the 1000 people he alludes to, not more than 200 were appointed by Akufo-Addo, and not all of these appointees are paid as Article 71 office holders. The remaining 800 and over are civil servants Akufo-Addo came to meet at the Presidency and they are also paid as civil servants, contrary to the claims by Ato Forson. He simply cannot stop lying! P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place. 14.01.2023 LISTEN Recently, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stated that, if there is one border and one region of India which has dramatically improved in the last decade, it is eastern and northeastern India. And the reason for that is that India has vastly improved its relationship with Bangladesh. Not only that, but recently India also has expressed interest in building and operating an airport in Bangladesh. India wants a piece of Bangladeshi land in Brahmanbaria to upgrade and expand the Agartala airport, which is set to become the third international airport in Indias northeastern region by the end of this year or early next year. Following the completion of the project, flights between Agartala and Dhaka, as well as other Bangladeshi cities like Chattogram and Sylhet, would be operated. The main reason behind this is, Bangladesh is the trump card for India to implement its Act Fast for Northeast policy. And Chickens Neck or Siliguri Corridor created the importance of Bangladesh for India. This corridor is one of the most geographical compulsions for India. This narrow corridor separated the whole North Eastern region from the Indian Mainland. Bangladesh creates a broader nexus between the Indian mainland and the North Eastern region. Because Agartala is 1,650km from Kolkata and 2,637km from New Delhi through Shillong and Guwahati. The journey between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh, on the other hand, is only about 550km. Furthermore, the average distance between Bangladesh's major cities and northeast India is 20km to 300km. As a result, Bangladesh is always considered crucial for the North-Eastern region's connectivity with mainland India by rail, road, and river routes. Bangladesh played a major role and has immense potential for the development of Indian northeastern states. And among those states, Tripura and Assam are the prominent ones. Bangladesh For Tripura Tripura is an important part of Indias northeastern states. It is considered Indias gateway to ASEAN countries. There is a saying in the South Asian region that, if Bangladesh is India-locked, Tripura is Bangladesh-locked. So, the relationship between Bangladesh and Tripura is a long one; it is civilizational, historical, lingual, and cultural. From time immemorial, the people of Tripura and Bangladesh, have shared their problems and prosperity. Tripura and Bangladesh share a porous border, which stretches over 856-kilometer-long border, constituting 85 percent of Tripura's border. The AgartalaAkhaura (Bangladesh) railway link is expected to be completed in June 2023. When it will be completed, it will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India (10.6 kilometers) and then connect Nischintapur to Agartala railway station (5.46 kilometers) in India. The scope of trade relations will open with the introduction of the Agartala-Akhaura railway line. Not only that, but India also plans to develop an integrated checkpost and cargo handling facility at Nischintapur, which is the junction point of the Agartala-Akhaura rail link at Tripura. This rail link will reduce the journey time between Agartala and Kolkata by passing through Dhaka instead of Guwahati. The travel time between Agartala and Kolkata will be reduced to 10 hours from the current 31 hours as it will travel a mere 550 km instead of 1,600. India and Bangladesh currently have four operational rail links between West Bengal and Western Bangladesh Petrapole-Benapole, Gede-Darshana, Radhikapur-Biral, and Singhabad-Rohanpur. The last two are also notified of the use of Nepalese transit traffic. The present line will not only help people from Agartala but also those from Mizoram, which is 150 kilometers away. With the completion of these two connectivity projects the Feni bridge connecting Sabroom, Tripura with Chittagong, Bangladesh, and the AgartalaAkhaura rail line, Tripura would emerge as a well-connected state from a landlocked one. In this way, Tripura will develop its connectivity and relations by connecting India, Myanmar, and Thailand through roadways. Tripuras Maharaja Bir Bikram airport would be the third international airport in the landlocked Northeastern region after its new terminal is completed by this year. After the completion of this airport, flights between Agartala and Dhaka, as well as other cities like Chittagong and Sylhet would be operated. Not only that, recently Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pranay Verma has shown interest to invest in new airports in Bangladesh to facilitate the connectivity of northeastern states. Air connectivity will not only strengthen the connectivity between Bangladesh, the Indian mainland, and Tripura but also between India and ASEAN countries. Bangladesh For Assam Bangladesh is situated in a crucial geostrategic location for Assam. Bangladesh forms a key triangle around Assam along with Bhutan and Myanmar. Because of its strategic location, there are several opportunities for trade, transportation, commerce, and connection between Bangladesh and Assam. Moreover, Bangladesh is India's bridge to South-East Asia. Bangladesh is a natural pillar of the Act East policy. It can act as a bridge to economic and political linkages with South East Asia and beyond. Bangladesh is an important part of the regional cooperation forum (i.e., BBIN, BIMSTEC). Bangladesh has many potential ways to increase commerce with Assam and subsequently open up access to the ASEAN nations because both India and Bangladesh have made progress in establishing connectivity through roads and railways. At present, Bangladesh also permits India to transfer commodities between different parts of India by using the Chattogram and Mongla ports, which lowers the cost and speed of shipping. Not only these two states but also the other five states of the seven sisters development is inextricably related to Bangladesh. Thats why India repeatedly acknowledges Bangladeshs contribution to its Act Fast For Northeast policy. Samara Ashrat. PhD Fellow, University of Bucharest. 14.01.2023 LISTEN Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has cautioned the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, that involving individual bondholders in the Domestic Debt Exchange programme could wipe out the middle class and negatively affect the savings culture of Ghanaians. Speaking with a group of individual bondholders led by convener, Senyo Hosi and private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu after a petition to exclude individual bondholders from the debt exchange was presented to him on Friday, the Suame MP called on the Finance Minister to properly engage with major stakeholders. What we [are] talking about is that many of these bondholders also belong to the middle class and that's where the major worry is. If we are wiping away the middle class, that could be dangerous, so we need to have some further dialogue on this. Government thinks that this is the best way forward, however, even if it is, we need to engage, reflect and then move on and that will encourage some people who have some doubt to better appreciate where we are. Nothing can substitute for discussions, round table discussions and engagements wherever we find ourselves in. I think it's important that we go back to the drawing table to have engagements with the major stakeholdersAll of us are in it. And if we don't manage it well, we've gone through this before, way back some 25, 30 years ago and repositioning was a major, major difficulty. Today many people are coming on board and if this thing should happen, how do we build confidence and trust and reconstruct a new savings culture? The New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, on Saturday, January 14, also called on Ken Ofori-Atta to as a matter of urgency review his decision on the inclusion of individual bondholders in the domestic debt exchange programme. In a tweet, the Majority Chip Whip described the decision by Ken Ofori-Atta as unfair and untenable adding that he disagrees with the inclusion of individual bondholders in the debt exchange programme. The Ghana Individual Bondholder's Forum on Friday petitioned the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta to exclude its members from the government's domestic debt exchange programme. The forum is one of the groups vehemently kicking against the government's decision to give individual bondholders a haircut under the debt restructuring initiative. The forum which consists of persons holding investments in the Government of Ghana's Local Cedi Bonds, the Government of Ghana's Local USD Bonds, ESLA PLC Bonds, Daakye Bonds, Ghana Eurobonds, and Collective investment schemes with investments in the above securities said the announcement of the programme has been extremely unsettling and catastrophic for our membership and demand that they be excluded. By Citi Newsroom Hand grenades found in house of two men arrested over links with terror outfits IANS New Delhi More Hand grenades found in house of two men arrested over links with terror outfits Delhi Police's Special Cell has recovered two hand grenades from a house in the Bhalswa Dairy area, where two persons who were arrested over their suspected links with terror organisations, were staying on rent, said an official. Delhi Police's Special Cell has recovered two hand grenades from a house in the Bhalswa Dairy area, where two persons who were arrested over their suspected links with terror organisations, were staying on rent, said an official. "During investigation, in pursuance of disclosure, both the accused led the police team to their rented accommodation at Shradha Nand Colony, Bhalswa Dairy police station area. Two hand grenades were recovered from the room," said a senior police official. "Traces of human blood have also been found by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team," said the official, adding that further investigation is going on. The duo was sent to 14 days of police custody on Friday. On Thursday, the Special Cell team arrested two men suspected of involvement with anti-national elements. The accused have been identified as Jagjit Singh, 29, alias Jagga alias Yaqub, a resident of district Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand and Naushad, 56, a resident of Jahangirpuri. Police said that they have also recovered three pistols along with 22 bullets. According to police, Naushad had been associated with Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Harkat-ul-Ansar, operating primarily in Kashmir. He has been a life convict in two cases of murder and was also sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case under the Explosives Act. Police said that Jagjit Singh is a member of the notorious Bambiha gang. "Jagjit has been getting instructions from anti-national elements based abroad. He is a parole jumper in a case of murder in Uttarakhand," said a senior police official, adding that further investigation is underway to ascertain their other involvements. For Latest Updates Please- Join us on Follow us on MORE... MORE... MORE... 172.31.16.186 Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country since Russias invasion in February 2022. The longer the war continues, the less likely they are to return, with dire consequences for Ukraine. by John P. Ruehl Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has created the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. While millions of Ukrainian refugees have since returned home, almost 2.9 million moved to Russia, according to October 2022 figures, and roughly 7.9 million were registered across Europe between February and December 27, 2022. Besides Russia, Poland (1.5 million), Germany (1 million), and the Czech Republic (474,731) have welcomed the largest numbers of Ukrainian refugees, while Italy, Spain, France, Romania, and the UK have also accepted more than 100,000 each. Over 200 Ukrainian refugee children started classes at the first school in Krakow to offer the Ukrainian national curriculum, allowing them to continue their education after fleeing from Russias invasion. [ Photo Credit: Kyiv Post ] There is little reason to suggest many Ukrainian refugees will return home soon. A June survey by polling group Rating, for example, found that 24 percent of Ukrainian refugees wanted to return but were waiting for a certain time, 48 percent said they would return after the end of the war, and 8 percent said they would not go back to Ukraine. A German government-backed survey from December 2022, meanwhile, found that around 37 percent of Ukrainian refugees wanted to settle in the country permanently or at least for the next few years. As part of the Temporary Protection Directive that was invoked by the EU in March 2022, Ukrainians can now live, work, and study in EU countries for a period of three years. Many Ukrainian refugees have already found employment in host countries and maylike the temporary guest workers invited to Europe in the 1960schoose to permanently settle in those countries eventually. Millions of Ukrainians also left their country before the 2022 Russian invasion, with 1.4 million Ukrainians having lived and worked in Poland in 2020 (most of whom came after the initial round of unrest in 2014) and another 250,000 having lived in Italy before the war alone. The incentive for Ukrainian foreign workers and refugees to return home has been significantly reduced following the widespread destruction across the country since the war began in February 2022. Much of the countrys population has been suffering from limited and sporadic access to electricity, heat, and water, and Ukraines economy shrank by 30 percent in 2022. Ukraine is now Europes poorest country, and its entry into the EU will likely take years. Instability in the countrys Donbas region since 2014 coupled with almost a year of open conflict with Russia means that peace will likely continue to elude Ukraine. While some Ukrainian refugees have returned, unliveable conditions during winters and the crumbling basic infrastructure will drive more Ukrainians to seek refuge in Europe, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Additionally, it is estimated that 90 percent of Ukrainian refugees are women and children, as conscription prevented most Ukrainian men from leaving the country. The men that remained in Ukraine may try to reunite with their families abroad, while those men that managed to leave may face the risk of being recruited into military service or being punished for evading it if they do return to Ukraine. Other countries that have suffered from conflicts in recent decades demonstrate that the longer violence continues, the less likely refugees are to return home. In the Kosovo war of 1999, when NATO bombed Yugoslavia to prevent the brutalization of ethnic Albanians who make up Kosovos majority, hundreds of thousands fled, or were forcibly moved, to neighboring Albania and Macedonia. These refugees eventually returned to Kosovo since the war lasted only 78 days, explained an article in the Economist. During the war in nearby Bosnia, which took place from 1992 to 1995, however, many Bosnians left and far fewer returned. More recently, the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, resulted in 6.8 million Syrian refugees fleeing mostly to neighboring states as well as to Europe until 2021. The conflict, soon to enter its 12th year, has reinforced the perception that both the desire of refugees to return, as well as the ability of host countries to deport them, is limited as long as violence is ongoing. Between 2016 and 2022, for instance, just 336,496 Syrians returned to the country from neighboring host countries according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). And a UNHCR poll from June 2022 showed that more than 92.8 percent of Syrian refugees in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq do not plan to return to their country within the next year. As a new generation of Syrian children born outside the country emerges, the likelihood of Syrian families returning will continue to decline. The Turkish government stated in May 2022 that it intends to relocate up to 1 million Syrian refugees back to northern Syria in regions controlled by Turkish-backed forces, and is increasingly using force to move them back across the border, even at gunpoint. But the failed efforts by Turkey to return Syrian refugees suggest that European countries will struggle to do the same with Ukrainian refugees who refuse to turn home. Additionally, Ukrainian refugees have received a relatively warm welcome across Europe. While poorer EU countries bordering Ukraine, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, may seek to curtail future refugee intake, Ukrainian refugees may instead head further west into the continent. The creation of millions of Ukrainian refugees has compounded the demographic crisis that Ukraine has faced since the 1990s. Falling birth rates, rising death rates, an aging population, and high emigration even before 2014 saw Ukraines population decline from 52 million in 1991 to about 42 million in 2020. While other Eastern European countries, as well as Russia, have faced similar predicaments, Ukraines population decline has been far more acute. Due to low wages and high unemployment, Ukraine has been unable to attract immigrants, while the possible accession of Ukraine into the EU risks further emigration in the future. Furthermore, the large number of casualties of prime-aged men because of the conflict will also undermine Ukraines demographic position for decades. French philosopher Auguste Comte is attributed with stating Demography is destiny, noting a link between a countrys future and the youthfulness of its population. A UN report from 2022 predicts that Ukraines population will likely never recover from the ongoing conflict and will continue to experience a significant population decline this century. A less populated Ukraine may be part of the Kremlins strategy of weakening the country, ominously hinted at by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2022, who declared If they continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood. Russia has of course played an active part in depopulating Ukraine. In addition to launching its destabilizing military operations, since 2014 it has facilitated the migration of Ukrainian refugees into Russia, policies that seem to have continued with additional Ukrainian refugees making their way to Russia since the invasion in February 2022. And in May 2022, Putin signed a decree easing constraints on Russians seeking to adopt Ukrainian children in war-torn regions, while making it harder for relatives of these children in Ukraine to have them returned. Many Ukrainians in Europe may never come back, including those who traveled to Russia. Thus, without enough Ukrainians to repopulate the country, the ability of the Ukrainian government to reestablish a strong state and national identity in some regions risks becoming increasingly limited as the war drags on. John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. He is currently finishing a book on Russia to be published in 2022. December 19, 2008 Emmanuel Todd on Europe In 1976 Emmanuel Todd predicted the down fall of the Soviet Union. In After The Empire, first published in French in 2001, he predicted the (relative) decline of the United States. From a 2003 review: Todd makes the following key points: ... 3. The United States economy is headed for a crash and is only buoyed up by foreign investments. The United States trade deficit is a disaster that is fed by US firms which push their factory jobs overseas and gut the nations industrial base. Some 10% of American industrial consumption depends on foreign goods for which there is no corresponding balance in national exports. America no longer has the economic and financial resources to back up its foreign policy objectives. The United States is becoming a nondemocratic, arch-conservative society split between the very rich and the service sector; ... 5. The United States is economically dependent on those countries which hold its bonds and debtChina, Japan and Europe. The US needs a certain amount of global disorder to offset this dependence in order to maintain the US political-military presence in the Old World; and, Seems like he got some things right. Now Todd published a new book, this time on Europe. I have not yet read it, but this from a Financial Times review sound interesting: In his latest book, Apres la democratie (After Democracy), [Todd] conjures up the alarming possibility of a post-democratic Europe reverting to ethnic scapegoating and dictatorship. ... Mr Todd paints a picture of a collusive political-media elite that benefits from globalisation while being disconnected from the people who suffer from it. As arrogant as the aristocracy on the eve of the 1789 revolution, this elite blithely ignores the views of voters whenever it suits them. French voters rejected the European Unions constitutional treaty, but a modified version was later adopted by parliament. Britains voters protested massively against the war in Iraq, but the government sent in the troops regardless. Ordinary workers blame cheap-wage China for killing jobs and compressing wages. Instead, Frances leaders scapegoat Muslim immigrants and target militant Islam, justifying an unpopular intervention in Afghanistan. Employees want Europe to protect their jobs but, in spite of his increasingly protectionist rhetoric, Mr Sarkozy and the opposition Socialist party still adhere to the free-trade dictates of the EU and the World Trade Organisation. In Mr Todds reductionist view, globalisation is simply the exploitation of cheap workers in China and India by US, European and Japanese companies. He is therefore an unabashed champion of European protectionism. Erecting trade barriers would increase European wages which, in turn, would increase demand and boost trade, he argues. The social asphyxia that is sucking the breath out of democracy would disappear. The British, whose very identity is wrapped up in free trade, will never buy protectionism, Mr Todd suggests, but Germany and the rest of the EU could be persuaded. Hmm ... Possible? Likely? What do you think? Posted by b on December 19, 2008 at 12:04 UTC | Permalink Comments January 14, 2023 Emmanuel Todd On The Third World War The French Le Figaro has an interview with the well known anthropologist Emmanuel Todd. Emmanuel Todd: La Troisieme Guerre mondiale a commence "The third world war has began" is his new thesis. Todd is quite famous for correctly predicting the devolution of the Soviet Union long before it happened. He was quite alone at that time. I once had a piece on Todd's later predictions for the U.S. and Europe which still seems spot on. I also quoted him in a piece on social decline as a national security issue. Unfortunately the Figaro piece is paywalled. But Arnaud Bertrand has done us the favor of translating the gist. Here is his slightly edited thread: Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand - 15:42 UTC Jan 13, 2023 Emmanuel Todd, one of the greatest French intellectuals today, claims that the "Third World War has started." Small translating the most important points in this fascinating interview. He says "it's obvious that the conflict, which started as a limited territorial war and is escalating to a global economic confrontation between the whole of the West on the one hand and Russia and China on the other hand, has become a world war." He believes that "Putin made a big mistake early on, which is [that] on the eve of the war [everyone saw Ukraine] not as a fledgling democracy, but as a society in decay and a failed state in the making. [...] I think the Kremlin's calculation was that this decaying society would crumble at the first shock. But what we have discovered, on the contrary, is that a society in decomposition, if it is fed by external financial and military resources, can find in war a new type of balance, and even a horizon, a hope." He says he agrees with Mearsheimer's analysis of the conflict: "Mearsheimer tells us that Ukraine, whose army had been overtaken by NATO soldiers (American, British and Polish) since at least 2014, was therefore a de facto member of the NATO, and that the Russians had announced that they would never tolerate Ukraine in NATO. From their point of view, the Russians are therefore in a war that is defensive and preventive. Mearsheimer added that we would have no reason to rejoice in the eventual difficulties of the Russians because since this is an existential question for them, the harder it would be, the harder they would strike. The analysis seems to hold true." He however has some criticism for Mearsheimer: "Mearsheimer, like a good American, overestimates his country. He considers that, if for the Russians the war in Ukraine is existential, for the Americans it is basically only one 'game' of power among others. After Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, what's one more debacle? The basic axiom of American geopolitics is: 'We can do whatever we want because we are sheltered, far away, between two oceans, nothing will ever happen to us'. Nothing would be existential for America. Insufficient analysis which today leads Biden to proceed mindlessly. America is fragile. The resistance of the Russian economy is pushing the American imperial system towards the precipice. No one had expected that the Russian economy would hold up against the 'economic power' of NATO. I believe that the Russians themselves did not anticipate it. If the Russian economy resisted the sanctions indefinitely and managed to exhaust the European economy, while it itself remained, backed by China, American monetary and financial controls of the world would collapse, and with them the possibility for United States to fund their huge trade deficit for nothing. This war has therefore become existential for the United States. No more than Russia, they cannot withdraw from the conflict, they cannot let go. This is why we are now in an endless war, in a confrontation whose outcome must be the collapse of one or the other." He firmly believes the US is in decline but sees it as bad news for the autonomy of vassal states: "I have just read a book by S. Jaishankar, Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs (The India Way), published just before the war, who sees American weakness, who knows that the confrontation between China and the US will have no winner but will give space to a country like India, and to many others. I add: but not to Europeans. Everywhere we see the weakening of the US, but not in Europe and Japan because one of the effects of the retraction of the imperial system is that the United States strengthens its hold on its initial protectorates. As the American system shrinks, it weighs ever more heavily on the local elites of the protectorates (and I include all of Europe here). The first to lose all national autonomy will be (or already are) the English and the Australians. The Internet has produced human interaction with the US in the Anglosphere of such intensity that its academic, media and artistic elites are, so to speak, annexed. On the European continent we are somewhat protected by our national languages, but the fall in our autonomy is considerable, and rapid. Let's remember the Iraq war, when Chirac, Schroder and Putin held joint anti-war press conferences." He underlines the importance of skills and education: "The US is now twice as populated as Russia (2.2 times in student age groups). But in the US only 7% are studying engineering, while in Russia it is 25%. Which means that with 2.2 times fewer people studying, Russia trains 30% more engineers. The US fills the gap with foreign students, but they're mainly Indians and even more Chinese. This is not safe and is already decreasing. It is a dilemma of the American economy: it can only face competition from China by importing skilled Chinese labor." On the ideological and cultural aspects of the war: "When we see the Russian Duma pass even more repressive legislation on 'LGBT propaganda', we feel superior. I can feel that as an ordinary Westerner. But from a geopolitical point of view, if we think in terms of oft power, it is a mistake. On 75% of the planet, the kinship organization was patrilineal and one can sense a strong understanding of Russian attitudes. For the collective non-West, Russia affirms a reassuring moral conservatism." He continues: "The USSR had a certain form of soft power [but] communism basically horrified the whole Muslim world by its atheism and inspired nothing particular in India, outside of West Bengal and Kerala. However, today, Russia which repositioned itself as the archetype of the great power, not only anti-colonialist, but also patrilineal and conservative of traditional mores, can seduce much further. [For instance] it's obvious that Putin's Russia, having become morally conservative, has become sympathetic to the Saudis who I'm sure have a bit of a hard time with American debates over access for transgender women in the ladies' room. Western media are tragically funny, they keep saying, 'Russia is isolated, Russia is isolated'. But when we look at the votes at the UN, we see that 75% of the world does not follow the West, which then seems very small. With an anthropologist reading of this [divide between the West and the rest] we find that countries in the West often have a nuclear family structure with bilateral kinship systems, that is to say where male and female kinship are equivalent in the definition of the social status of the child. [Within the rest], with the bulk of the Afro-Euro-Asian mass, we find community and patrilineal family organizations. We then see that this conflict, described by our media as a conflict of political values, is at a deeper level a conflict of anthropological values. It is this unconscious aspect of the divide and this depth that make the confrontation dangerous." There you go. Is he right on everything? I don't know, but Emmanuel Todd is certainly always a very singular and interesting thinker, with a vastly different analysis from the depressingly predictable bad takes that usually dominate French media. Todd's thinking rhymes well with that of Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson as reproduced at Naked Capitalism. Economists Radhika Desai & Michael Hudson Explain Multipolarity, Decline of US Hegemony - Original here Yves Smith introduces it: Yves here. Some rousing weekend listening! Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are launching a bi-weekly talk show, Geopolitical Economy Hour. The opening segment gives an overview, starting with the breakdown of US dominance and how it has been accelerated ironically by self-defeating efforts to preserve the system. It seems trivial at this point to observe that American defense of its hegemony has helped forge a strong Russia-China alliance. But will this partnership wind up dominating other countries, and stymie the development of a truly multipolar order? Good food for thought ... Posted by b on January 14, 2023 at 14:52 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page After two years of testing the U.S. Air Force has found that its new F-15EX fighter exceeds expectations in terms of number and tonnage of weapons carried. The F-15EX has been tested carrying and launching up to 12 air-to-air missiles. Previously the most missiles carried suspended from the wings was eight and six was more common. The F-15EX can carry up to 13.6 tons of weapons, more than any other F-15 model. After a year of flight testing the first deliveries were made to fighter squadrons. Up to 140 F-15EX aircraft are to be delivered in the next few years. Initially squadrons that perform air defense missions in the United States will receive these aircraft. The F-15EX is cheaper to buy and operate than the F-35 and, for missions that do not depend a lot on stealth, the F-15EX is cheaper and more capable. New versions of the F-35 close that gap but for now the F-15EX is here and the new F-35A Block 4 models have been delayed because of problems with the new software. That has halted efforts to reduce the F-15EX orders from 140 to 80. The F-15EX has met or exceeded all its capabilities. In early 2021 the air force received the first eight F-15EX fighter-bombers it ordered in mid-2020 for $150 million each. This is an upgraded F-15E that will replace elderly F-15Es that will soon have to be retired or flown a lot less because of heavy use during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,. The initial eight F-15EX were used for testing and verifying that all the new capabilities worked as expected. That proved to be the case. This was remarkable for a new aircraft that first flew in February 2021, and was delivered so quickly because the manufacturer had been developing variants of the F-15E for several foreign customers that included some of the new features in the F-15EX. For example, the EX will have an improved EPAWSS (Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System) which provides radar warning of enemy radar signals, including a display showing what the threat is and where it is coming from. There are automatic and pilot activated counter-measures like jamming or spoofing (modifying the return signal of enemy radar transmissions). EPAWSS is smaller than previous systems and was designed to be easily upgraded for new threats. The EX also has a new glass cockpit using touch displays to provide aircraft information and enable quick response by the pilot. Digital cockpits have been around for several decades and undergone steady improvement based on user experience. EX also has a new ADCAP II mission computer to ease the work burden on the pilot as well as fly-by-wire flight controls for the mechanical aspects of the aircraft. All this enables the single-seat F-15EX to perform the same bomber functions as the two-seat F-15E and carry 14 tons of weapons including the new hypersonic missile. Initial F-15EXs will have two-seats but use only one pilot. This is a 37-ton (max takeoff weight) aircraft that weighs only a ton more than the F-15E. What makes the EX worth the cost is because it is built to last for 20,000 flight hours at a cost of $29,000 per hour. This is one third the operational cost of the F-35, which costs about $100 million each. Ultimately the air force wanted to buy as many as 400 F-15EXs to replace retiring F-15Cs and Es. The entire program is supposed to cost no more than $23 billion and deliver new F-15EX aircraft at a cost of about $88 million each. That fixed price is still in force for production models even though the air force is only committed to buying 144 F-15EXs initially. The original F-15 entered service in the 1970s and the last one was built in 1989. The two-seat F-15E fighter-bomber entered service in 1989 and only 236 were built over the next 15 years. After that new models of the F-15E were developed and built for export customers. These included Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Qatar and Israel. All have entered service except the Qatar and Israeli models. The Qatari F-15QA made its first flight in April 2020 and the F-15EX is based on the QA which Qatar is buying 36 of. As of early 2019 the U.S. Air Force planned to buy two models of the new F-15; the single seat F-15CX fighters to complement the new F-35 and (unofficially) make up for the fact that the air force is not getting as many F-35s as it believes it needs. There were to be a smaller number of two-seat F-15DX. Normally the two-seat version is for training but in this case the EX-version provides the option to provide a GIB (Guy in the Back) to help with the use of the F-15EX as a bomb truck for F-35s and F-22s. The air force soon realized that the improved flight and weapons control systems in the F-15EX enabled all of them to operate with only one pilot on board and may eventually be built as a one-seat aircraft. The F-22 and F-35, have demonstrated the ability to remain silent (few radio and radar transmissions) while finding and identifying targets while using less stealthy aircraft (or missile units on the ground) to launch weapons at new targets. Israeli F-35s, the only ones with combat experience, have already demonstrated this technique over Syria. The problem is, when flying in full-stealth mode the F-35 can carry only 2.6 tons of bombs and missiles internally. It became obvious that an F-15EX carrying more weapons and receiving targeting information from a stealthy F-35 would be very useful. The air force soon realized it could save a lot of money on development by just buying two-seater F-15EX models. Basing this aircraft on the existing F-15QA saved a lot of time and development costs. Because of this the first F-15EX order was placed in record time, the first of these were flying as planned in early 2021 and they were able to enter service by late 2022 or early 2023. A growing number of the elderly F-15Cs and overworked F-15Es will be grounded unless replaced or put through an expensive refurbishment. It is more cost-effective to go with the F-15EX. Theres another factor. On paper, the F-35 will eventually (5-10 years) become cheaper to maintain and operate than the F-15C. The F-15EX will have a cost advantage immediately because as a new aircraft it is cheaper to operate than an older model, and EX also use new tech that reduces maintenance costs. The manufacturer is willing to produce them at a fixed cost (about $88 million each) and absorb any unforeseen costs. The manufacturer has additional incentives to make the F-15EX work; export sales. Meanwhile, the F-15E continues in service and demonstrates how well an updated F-15 design can work. But the production of the F-15E is scheduled to end by 2023 and the EX keeps F-15 production going as a more advanced F-15E. This willingness to produce the EX should not be a surprise as there have been signs for a long time that an updated F-15 would be useful. As of 2008 the air force planned to operate its 36-ton U.S. F-15E for at least another ten years, and probably longer. In service for twenty years now, the F-15E can carry up to 11 tons of bombs and missiles, along with a targeting pod and an internal 20mm cannon. It's an all-weather aircraft that can fly one-way up to 3,900 kilometers. It uses in-flight refueling to hit targets anywhere on the planet. Smart bombs made the F-15E particularly efficient. The back seater handles the electronics and bombing, and the F-15E remains a potent air-superiority fighter, making it an exceptional combat aircraft. This success prompted Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Singapore and Qatar to buy it, paying about $100 million per aircraft. In the U.S. Air Force, the F-15E is one of the most popular aircraft for combat pilots to fly, even more so than the new F-22. The F-15EX is cheaper to operate, carries more bombs and can also carry the new hypersonic missile, which is too heavy for any other fighter and was designed to be launched from heavy bombers. With the F-15EX the air force has a lot more aircraft that can handle the hypersonic missile. The F-15E entered service in 1989 and within a decade Russia decided this novel fighter-bomber design was worth emulating. Russia developed its own F-15E, the 45-ton Su-34, which was yet another variant of the 33-ton Su-27. Su-34s cost $36 million each (less than half the cost of an F-15E) and included a full set of defensive and offensive sensors (radars, targeting cameras, laser designators) and electronic warfare gear, and can carry eight tons of missiles and smart bombs. Although development work began in the late 1990s, the Su-34 did not enter service until 2014 and proved capable in Syria but vulnerable in 2022 when the Su-34 had to face its first airborne threat and combat losses in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the older F-15s, which entered service in 1976, are falling apart. In 2009 the air force retired the last of its 384 F-15A fighters. Long flown only by reserve units, these were old aircraft and all built in the 1970s. Air force reserve units got the F-15As in the 1980s and 1990s, as active-duty units got the new F-15C. But by 2009 the F-22 was entering service, and more F-15Cs were going to the reserves. Many of those F-15As flew for over 30 years. Unfortunately, the later model F-15s are not aging well. In 2007 the air force grounded all of its 442 remaining F-15As and Cs (and the smaller number of two-seat B and D trainer models) for 18 days, then grounded them again, all because of suspicions that portions of the aircraft structure have been weakened by stress (lots of maneuvering during combat training). Before that, the air force halted non-critical flights of its F-15C (the interceptor version) fighters after a National Guard F-15C crashed. It appeared that the crash was the result of structural failure. In 2002 an F-15C traveling at high (over 2,000 kilometers an hour) speed crashed when its left tail fin broke off. At the time the F-15Es operating in Afghanistan were not grounded initially, but soon were when it was realized that the problem might be a design flaw, not age, that caused the 27-year-old F-15C to go down. The F-15Es were restored to flight status after about a week, once each aircraft had undergone an extensive structural examination that took about 13 man-hours each. Most F-15Es were less than ten years old. But some F-15Cs were over twenty years old. This time around, the F-15Es were not grounded, because metal stress in the older F-15s would not occur in the F-15E, which is somewhat different in its internal structure and was designed to avoid the fatigue problems the F-15A and C models encountered. Structural failure is more common in older fighters that have lots of flight hours (over five thousand) on them. When originally designed, the F-15 was believed to have a service life of only 4,000 hours. But new materials and design techniques increased that to 8,000. In peacetime, F-15s are in the air 250-300 hours a year. But because of the 1991 Gulf War, the 1990s "no-fly-zone" patrols over Iraq, and the operations after 2001, the F-15 fleet piled up the hours more quickly, and many reached the 8,000-hour mark much more rapidly than planned. The F-15E faced a similar problem as it was used far more after 2001 because of the war on terror. Peacetime use was no more than a few hundred flight hours a year. Under wartime conditions the popular and versatile F-15E flew 500 to 1,000 hours a year. While the F-15E wasnt engaging in violent maneuvers it was regularly carrying heavy bomb loads and these stressed the airframe. Thats why the more recent F-15Es ended up as worn out as the older F-15Cs. Most of the F-15Cs are used as interceptors to defend the continental United States plus Hawaii, Alaska and some overseas areas where a lot of American troops were based. The stressed structural components have long been a problem. If weak components are detected, they can be replaced with stronger ones, made of materials not available when the F-15 was originally built. But you want to find the weak components before they fail. While scanning technology has improved, it's still not good enough to detect all the F-15 components possibly weakened by years of use. As a result, flying an F-15C became a bit more stressful from then on. To some in the air force, this situation has a bright side. One can now make a more compelling case to build more F-22s, to replace F-15 that are wearing out faster than expected. That did not happen and the delays in getting the F-35 into mass production kept the idea of designing an improved F-15 to fill the gap. Because of that, the F-15EX was not a recent idea but the accumulation of proposals that have been showing up for over a decade. Another area that is getting a lot more attention from engineers than journalists is the impact of heavy and sustained stress on combat aircraft. This component failure problem is not unique to the F-15 and has been occurring with increasing frequency among aging fighter aircraft all over the world. The end of the Cold War in 1991 led to the cancellation of many combat aircraft replacement programs. Air forces were compelled to make do with thousands of increasingly older aircraft. Whenever an aircraft goes down because of a structural failure, you have to ground all planes of that type until you know exactly what caused the loss, and make any needed repairs to other aircraft of that type. Pilots are a pretty sharp lot, so governments don't dare try to play games with this. If the pilots suspect they are being set up to fly dodgy aircraft, they will not fly them, or not fly them in a useful (stressful) way. Plaque and decals for winners are now available to be claimed Drop by the Marianas Variety office at Alahaihai Ave., Garapan to pick up. For more information, call our Sales Representatives at (670) 234-9272. The usual six-month long cease fire between the Shia rebels and the Yemen government and their Arab (mainly Saudi Arabian) allies has been somewhat unusual in that fighting has not returned to pre-ceasefire levels, probably because the rebels are having resource and personnel problems. The Saudis are mostly concerned with rebel missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and shipping in the Red Sea. The key to the ceasefire was the rebels halting their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea traffic while the Saudis halted their use of air and artillery strikes against rebel targets everywhere in Yemen. The STC (South Transitional Council) and many government troops spent the ceasefire period going after Islamic terrorist groups AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in the south. The major reason the rebels agreed to a ceasefire was a decline in Iranian support due to lack of funds plus unrest at home. The Iranian weapons, cash, advisors and smuggling network supercharged the Shia rebels, enabling them to keep fighting the more numerous and better armed force arrayed against them. Iran has been openly supporting the Shia rebels since 2014 and later admitted that less visible support had been supplied since 2011. Growing economic sanctions on Iran and eventual Saudi and American success in discovering details of the Iranian smuggling operation finally worked. By 2021 the Shia rebels became more interested in negotiating than fighting. The rebels were losing and were forced into survival mode. They were not giving up, the Yemeni Shia have never done that, but their effort to conquer and rule all of Yemen was suspended. The Iranian situation got much worse after September 2022 when nationwide anti-government protests began and have continued. The Yemeni government accuses the rebels of turning to looting of government facilities in areas they control. For a long time that worked but now it doesnt because the loss of Iranian financial support put an end to the understanding that prevented or limited looting. Even without being officially renewed, the ceasefire is continuing because neither side wants to risk the heavy casualties a resumption of full-scale fighting would mean. Iran is technically at war with most of the Arab oil states as well as Israel, the United States and anyone else who gets in their way. Given the growing number of countries that oppose Iran or are losing patience with Iranian troublemaking, there is something of a deathwatch attitude towards Iran. At least for the rest of 2023 not much is expected to change in Yemen. There are older, more persistent problems that beset Yemen. These currently include; The North-South Divide. This one is centuries old and was last mended in the 1990s. The possibility of a split has returned because the UAE (United Arab Emirates) has been in charge of security (and aid delivery) in the south since 2015 and supported formation of the STC. This group is composed of southern tribes that want autonomy but are willing to fight and defeat the Islamic terrorists as well as the Shia rebels first. Aidarous al Zubaidi, the STC leader, is seen as more popular in the south than Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, the most recently elected president of united Yemen. Hadi has only briefly visited Yemen a few times since becoming president in 2015 and spends most of his time in the Saudi capital. This is for Hadis safety, given the number of assassinations going on in Aden, where the Hadi government was moved to in 2015. The Saudis and the UAE do not agree on dividing Yemen once more but for the moment it is more convenient to support the STC and efforts to defeat the Iran backed Shia rebels. After that, who knows? The Shia Tribal Autonomy War. This has been going on forever as well and is all about the traditional autonomy some of the northern Shia tribes long enjoyed but was taken away several times in the last century. The tribes always manage to regain it but this time they are trying to revive an autonomy they lost over fifty years ago and are doing it with the backing of Saudi archenemy Iran. The Shia tribes are persistent because they see themselves on a Mission From a Shia God sponsored by Iran. The Saleh Loyalists. Ali Abdullah Saleh and his clan lost national power in 2012 and wanted it back. Saleh demonstrated that he could not be ignored and sided with the Shia rebels. Saleh ruled Yemen for decades before the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings unified his many opponents. Unfortunately, Saleh decided to switch sides again in late 2017 and was negotiating a deal with Hadi when the rebels found out and killed him in early December 2017. Tarek Mohamed Abdullah Saleh, the brigadier general nephew of Saleh, united the many pro-Saleh factions who were willing to switch sides. This weakened the Shia rebels, but not fatally so. The Saleh clan is still out there, but not as powerful as it was when the elder Saleh was still alive. Al Qaeda. Yemen has always been full of Islamic conservatives and radicals and many of those who founded al Qaeda came from Yemen or Yemeni families that had moved to oil-rich neighbors in the last fifty years and prospered economically but not mellowed theologically. From al Qaeda came AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and in 2013 ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). ISIL and AQAP are technically enemies but have established a truce in Yemen while both concentrate on terror attacks. The massive losses ISIL suffered worldwide during 2016-17 caused many surviving members to return to more moderate groups like AQAP. Despite that ISIL has been seen surviving and perhaps even gaining strength in Yemen. The Sunni-Shia War. This one is mainly between Iran (the largest Shia nation) and the Sunni-dominated GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab oil states in the Persian Gulf). Iran wants to replace Saudi Arabia as the guardian of the most holy Islamic sites in Mecca and Medina in western Saudi Arabia near the Red Sea. The GCC and Iran are using Yemen as a battlefield and no one likes this. But for Iran it is a cheap way to annoy and demean the Saudis. The Saudis are most at risk here because the Shia rebel homeland is a northern Yemen province on the Saudi border. The Saudis cannot afford to have an Iran-backed Shia faction on their southern border. Failed State Its not just the many conflicts that make Yemen such a mess. There are other, more fundamental problems. The Saudis have no problem with Yemen fragmenting. Many Yemenis insist that the country is not becoming a failed state, because modern Yemen has always been a failed state. The problems of tribalism, religious radicalism and corruption make it impossible for Yemen to function as a country. The continued popularity of dividing the country in two is partly about what little oil Yemen has, as it is in the south and thats where the Sunni separatists are. Islamic terrorists (mainly AQAP) are also in the south and willing to help the separatists. Most southerners just want peace and some prosperity. There are enough devoted separatists in the south to provide sanctuaries and support for Islamic terrorists. Most southerners realize that a new (separatist run) government in the south would be as corrupt as the one they have now and the ones Yemen has had for thousands of years. As a result of all this and years of fighting, it is more difficult to bring foreign aid into the south, which needs it the most, because AQAP believes such aid, even though most is from Moslem countries, is tainted and should be prevented. The basic problem is that too many Yemenis dont want to be Yemenis. The country was a patchwork of independent tribes and cities when the English East India Company took control of some Yemeni ports in the 1830s and 40s to support and protect ships moving between Britain and India. The Ottoman Turks maintained their control over most of northern Yemen until 1918, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed. Britain took over from the Ottomans and established the borders of modern Yemen. But Yemen was still not a unified country. When the British left Yemen in 1967, their former colony in Aden became one of two countries called Yemen. The two parts of Yemen finally united in 1990, but a civil war in 1994 was needed to seal the deal. That fix didn't really take, and within a decade the north and south were pulling apart again. All this corruption and lack of unity is related to the fact that Yemen has always been a region, not a country. Like most of the rest of the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa (northeast Africa) region, the normal form of government, until the last century or so, were wealthier coastal city states, nervously coexisting with interior tribes that got by on herding or farming or a little of both. This whole "nation" idea is still looked on with some suspicion by many in the region. This is why the most common forms of government are the more familiar ones of antiquity such as kingdom, emirate or modern variation in the form of a hereditary dictatorship. Yemen is still all about the tribes. The national government is a bunch of guys who deal with foreigners, and try to maintain peace among the tribes. Controlling the national government is a source of much wealth, as officials can steal part of the foreign aid and taxes on imports or royalties from oil. This lack of nationalism means a lack of cooperation or willingness to act in the public interest. Much of the Yemeni agricultural crisis is caused by the fact that Yemen's economic situation has been rapidly deteriorating since the late 20th century. This is largely because the government has done nothing to address the problems of overpopulation, water shortages and Khat. The last item is a narcotic plant that is chewed fresh, requires a lot of water to grow and is worth a lot of money in Saudi Arabia where it is illegal and has to be smuggled in. There is little willingness to cooperate. Feuding, fighting and blaming others for the mess are the preferred methods for dealing with the problems. Before oil was discovered in Arabia nearly a century ago, Yemen had long been the most populous, powerful and pleasant part of Arabia because it was the only part of Arabia with regular rains. This was thanks to the annual Indian Ocean monsoon. Most of the oil deposits were at the north end of the Persian Gulf and Yemen lost out there. Yemenis had long despised the less affluent Arabians to the north, but since oil arrived the Yemenis have become despised and they did not take it well. Resentment, envy and a sense of entitlement have combined with the lack of unity to produce Yemen that is a nation in name only. Few others in the region have much sympathy for the Yemenis who are seen as the main cause of their own problems and the main obstacle to solving them. Since that is all you have to work with, it is no wonder that Yemen came to be such a perennial disaster area. The concept of a unified Yemen was largely created by Cold War politics and how Britain handled a threat to their seaborne trade in the early 19th century. That was when Britain took control of Aden. This was partly to shut down the many pirates operating out of there, who were increasingly going after British ships traveling between Asia (India, Southeast Asia and China) and Britain. Only Aden was needed but the British made deals with the tribes that occupied most of southern Yemen coast and had long depended on Aden and other southern ports for supplies and such. Britain made Aden and the smaller southern ports more prosperous with new trading opportunities and provided more benefits for the interior tribes. Most importantly the tribes still had their autonomy, as well as British protection from outsiders. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and over the next few decades larger, more efficient, steam powered metal vessels supplanted and replaced wooden sailing ships. That meant a lot more trade moving past. Aden and South Yemen became more prosperous. When the British left in the early 1960s, as part of a widespread abandonment of colonies by European nations, there was some unrest and fighting in the newly independent South Yemen. This was because Aden was much less religious and traditional with a better educated population and it was no surprise that Aden and some other South Yemen cities were dominated by local communists. From 1970 until the fall of European communism in 1989, South Yemen was a communist state, subsidized by the Soviet Union, and the only such one in the Arab world. Most of that enthusiasm for communism was centered in Aden and its suburbs. This is where most of the South Yemen population lived and where an even larger proportion of its GDP came from. A few other coastal cities had the same type of population and political attitudes, giving the urban population control of politics as well as the economy. The tribal minority, out in the desert and semi-desert inland areas, was much more religious and traditional. But over the centuries the urban and tribal populations had learned to get along and respect each others customs. It was different in northern Yemen, where the urban population was not as dominant and the tribal population was economically better off and about as religious and conservative as their southern counterparts. The problem was the northern and southern tribes saw each other as foreigners. This is a common situation in tribal cultures, which includes the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet even then there was some enthusiasm for a united Yemen in the north and south. With the collapse of European communism and the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991 the Russian subsidies stopped and unification was suddenly much more appealing. After a few years of haggling, and occasional fighting, Yemen was united by 1994. At that point there were still factions in the north and south who believed unity was overrated and that two Yemens was preferable. That is no longer the case, not with most of the population surviving on foreign food aid. Many of those hungry Yemenis have to pay Shia rebels for this free food. The foreign aid NGOs (non-government organizations) and the UN complain about this but the Shia rebels are armed and dangerous and the UN is not. Not armed that is. There is resistance to admitting that Yemen is a failed state, one of those areas, like Somalia and Afghanistan, that were never united for long and are basically several smaller entities that are not really interested in unity with their neighbors who are supposed to be their countrymen. And then there is the corruption problem. Yemen has long been recognized as one of the most corrupt places on the planet and the civil war has not changed that because Yemen has long been at the bottom of the list. The most corrupt nations are usually North Korea, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia. The least corrupt at the top of the list are New Zealand and Denmark, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Canada and Luxembourg, followed by the industrialized states that are democracies, or at least well-run monarchies. A classic example of the impact of a socialist police state versus free market democracy is Korea. North Korea is one of the most corrupt while South Korea is closer to the top of the list. January 11, 2023: The Shia rebels lost eight men in a clash with government forces on the ceasefire line. Five of the dead were described as leaders (as two colonels and five lieutenants), which indicates an ambush or a surprise attack using artillery. January 6, 2023: In the south (Abyan province) seven STC militiamen were killed and many more wounded by a roadside bomb. It was apparently AQAP members who placed and detonated the bomb. The STC forces have been very active in Abyan province seeking AQAP personnel and their hideouts. An American warship intercepted another smugglers boat traveling Iran to the Red Sea coast of Yemen controlled by the Shia rebels. This was a dhow (traditional wooden cargo ship) that was found to be carrying 2,116 AK-47 rifles for the Shia rebels in Yemen. This is the third such interception in three months. There is a naval blockade of the Yemen coast and the Americans provide an interception force closer to the Iranian ports the smuggling boats leave from with their hidden cargoes. The Americans appear to have improved their intelligence on how the Iranian smuggling to Yemen operates. Information may also be coming from inside Iran where a lot of Iranians are seeking to overthrow their government and halt expensive overseas operations like the civil war in Yemen. Were it not for Iranian support, the Yemeni rebels would have been defeated long ago. The Iranian aid to the Yemeni rebels is not subtle. There are many Iranians specialists from the IRGC Quds Force in Yemen. These are led by a retired Quds Force general who is the Iranian ambassador to rebel controlled Yemen, which is about a third of the country, including the capital. The rebels are on the defensive because Iranian aid has been sharply reduced in the last year because of the blockade and increased economic sanctions on Iran. January 5, 2023: The United States announced a $5 million reward for information on the location of Ibrahim Al Banna (aka Abu Ayman Al Masri), one of several senior leaders of AQAP, which has been based in Yemen since it was founded in 2009. Al Banna is the last of the founding members of AQAP. Back then he was middle-management but has slowly moved up the ranks because so many senior leaders have been killed. For example, in early 2021 AQAP confirmed that their leader, Qassim al Rimi, a personal friend of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, was killed by an American airstrike in November 2020, along with two of his associates. Khalid Batarfi was named the new (and current) AQAP leader. AQAP has been less active since 2017, waiting to see how the civil war will end. Yemen became the new headquarters of AQAP when Saudi Arabia was no longer safe for the terrorists after 2007. Then came ISIL and then an invading army of troops from oil-rich neighbors. ISIL forces in Yemen are even fewer and also less active. Banna has been recognized as one of the key AQAP members since 2014 and counter-terrorism agencies have kept detailed records on his activities. Since 2017 AQAP has been under heavy attack by the Americans and the Arab coalition and AQAP responded by shifting more of their attacks from Shia rebels to the government and Arab coalition forces. ISIL and AQAP were fighting each other a lot after mid-2018 and since early 2020 ISIL has not been very active. ISIL lost this war and some ISIL factions are known to be hiding out in Shia rebel territory. That requires offering some cooperation with the Shia rebels and that apparently includes useful intel on what is going on in the rest of Yemen, where ISIL still has fans. ISIL and AQAP are both trying to rebuild, especially after the losses (including defections) during its battles with each other. December 3, 2022: An American warship intercepted another fishing boat traveling Iran to the Red Sea coast of Yemen controlled by the Shia rebels. Over 50 tons of munitions were found and removed. Yves here. Some cheery news. The same way some institutions are too big to fail, others are too important to kill. Libraries still have strong popular support despite big money attacks on them. By April M. Short, an editor, journalist, and documentary editor and producer. She is a writing fellow at Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Previously, she served as a managing editor at AlterNet as well as an award-winning senior staff writer for Santa Cruz, Californias weekly newspaper. Her work has been published with the San Francisco Chronicle, In These Times, Salon, and many others. Produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute The public sector in the U.S. has been shrinking rapidly since the 1990s as a deluge of privatization has, to various degrees, overtaken many so-called public services and institutions. Public education, for example, has been increasingly privatized by way of racist school voucher programs, and the expansion of for-profit charter schools and for-profit education management organizations (EMOs). Private organizations own and operate the nations homeless shelters and food banks, and oversee many welfare programs including Head Start programs and child welfare assistance. Medicare and Medicaid systems include government payouts to private managed care organizations (MCOs), process reimbursement claims through private intermediaries, and commonly delegate medical care to private care facilities, private doctors, and private hospitals. Not to mention the nightmare that is Americas private, for-profit prison system. Public libraries may be the last truly public institution. Linda Stack-Nelsons essay The Last Free Space, published in 2018 by World Literature Today, is a love letter to public libraries that details the reasons these uniquely public entities are essential. In it, she salutes the fact that public libraries offer much more than free books, noting the classes, workshops, internet access, resume and tax help, community gathering events, and so forth that libraries provide. However, she argues, this plethora of resources and opportunities for community that libraries provide is not the sole reason they are important. Libraries are the last place in every town and city that people can simply exist, Stack-Nelson writes. Every building one enters today comes with some expectation of spending money. She continues: In a library, no one is asked to pay anything simply to sit. For those with few resources besides time, this is a godsend. Libraries are unofficial playgrounds for low-income families on rainy days, homeless shelters in cold months, reprieves from broken homes for grade-school-age children. They are the last bastions of quiet and calm where nothing is asked of one but to exist. Many arguments have been made about how the library is an outdated institution offering outdated servicesthat in the 21st century, how-to books on building sheds and daily newspaper copies are obsolete and the funding used for libraries ought to be reallocated to other programs. I can only assume that those who make such arguments are people who have always been comfortable with the expenditures it takes to move through the world, whose presence has never been questioned. For those people, libraries can be about books. But not everyone has the luxury of seeing past the space. The very existence of public libraries, from this perspective, can be seen as an emblem for the people. American Library Association (ALA) President Lessa Kananiopua Pelayo-Lozada said in November 2022, in an interview with Independent Media Institute, that the public library has been an enduring symbol of democracy. Democracy is listed as one of ALAs Core Values of Librarianship, she said. Regarding this core value, the ALA Council notes that The publicly supported library provides free and equal access to information for all people of the community the library serves. The ALA Council also previously stated that libraries are an American Value; they are at the heart of the communitya resource for people of any age to find what they need to help improve their quality of life. As American generations go, millennials love the public library most of all. A Pew Research Center analysis released in 2017 showed millennials use public libraries more than other age groups. Pelayo-Lozada said this love affair is likely due to the fact that millennials as a generation were entering adulthood during a recession and through multiple life-changing world events. Millennials understand the importance of free and equitable access to information as well as the need to support those institutions that provide it, she said. From a practical standpoint, as pay increases do not match living expense increases, access to the public library allows millennials to enjoy culture and participate in education and learning at no cost, helping to alleviate some of the financial pressures they may be experiencing. While the public library system has remained steadfast in what many Americans would agree is its traditional functionthe ALAs first-listed core value is to be a space that offers access to informationPelayo-Lozada pointed out that it has evolved significantly over time. In recent years, for instance, many libraries across the U.S. have been doing away with late fees. Studies by various library systems showed late fees primarily impacted people living in poor neighborhoods where the residents are more likely communities of people of color. The mission of the library has always been about access to information, literacy, learning, and culture, Pelayo-Lozada said. Public libraries have evolved from spaces that included membership fees and practiced exclusion based on class and race to spaces that are open for all. The ability of the public library to reimagine itself to the needs of society has been an ongoing significant achievement. The ALA released a Resolution on Monetary Library Fines as a Form of Social Inequity in 2019 that details its decision to support eliminating late fees charged by public libraries. She notes that because libraries are hyperlocal institutions, they have been able to translate the overarching mission of the public library in a range of ways over time, as needs and challenges have arisen. As the world navigated the [COVID-19] pandemic, many libraries expanded the range of support they offer for workforce and small business developmentincluding formal coworking spaces, networking events, and programs to assist with the development of business plans or market research, she said. As the needs of our communities change, so do the services and resources available through our libraries, from a Library of Things, to mobile technology labs, to vibrant maker spaces. She said in recent years the library system added sustainability as a core value of librarianship, and ALA works to support libraries in the development of sustainable models. Libraries play an important and unique role in promoting community awareness about resilience, climate change, and a sustainable future, she said. Historically, the development of the public library system in the U.S. has in many ways pushed the edges of the concept of public institutions. The small Peterborough Town Library in New Hampshire, established in 1833, was the first documented free, public library in the world. In the period between 1870 and 1930, local public libraries emerged as a widespread institution of community life. Pelayo-Lozada said in comparison to public libraries from around the world, American libraries often set the standard for the type of experiences and materials offered to patrons. International counterparts have said that the advocacy work we do for all communities such as emerging ethnic communities and services to the incarcerated support their mission to bring these types of demographic-focused services to their own libraries when administrators may interpret more homogenous communities, she said. Because libraries have the ability to serve as innovative and creative spaces, there are opportunities to pilot, test, and launch various types of programming, which can be case-studied, replicated, and adapted to fit the needs of libraries in their respective communities. One example of this, she said, is ALAs Libraries Build Business initiative. For the initiative, 13 libraries received grants to start or grow small business programming, in an effort to provide support, advice, and networking opportunities around small businesses and entrepreneurship. The cohort collaborated to answer questions, pilot projects, develop resources, and share what they learned with the wider library community. While the international community may look to Americas libraries as exemplary, support for public libraries in the U.S. has been a mixed bag. In the sociopolitical climate in the U.S., especially following four years of divisive Trump administration rhetoric, there has been an increased politicization of information and data. Some states and cities have been in the process of defunding public libraries. There has been a movement by the far right to censor books in schools and efforts to ban some books entirely. Public libraries serve everyone in the community, and library collections, by necessity, must reflect the diversity of thought and values that exist in every community, said Pelayo-Lozada. Public libraries are the bastions of democracy, access, and critical thinking and are at the forefront of protecting our freedom to read and our freedom to information. She said efforts by governments and cities across the nation to defund the public library indicate a threat and a misunderstanding of the essential role that libraries play in our society and our democracy. By breaking down institutions that support the public good, those who are threatening to decrease funding are breaking down the very fabric of our society and our right to information, she said. She said in an increasingly divided world, many people use information and access to information to disenfranchised communities from being full participants in society. Libraries and library workers are attacked as a tool of a minority of voices seeking to silence diverse ideas and abolish free and equitable access to information, eroding this countrys commitment to freedom of expression, she said. Operating in this world, public libraries are essential public goods that allow individuals to bring these ideas together and learn from each other, at no cost to the individual. As a true public benefit, public libraries are essential to creating an inclusive society where everyone is able to fully participate. When it comes to education stories to watch in 2023, well allow us to gesture toward the entire education sector. There are plentiful education-related developments that warrant attention this year, from how schools are funded to the books that students are allowed to read and the proficiency with which theyre reading them. The Republican-led state legislature hasnt held back from wielding power over local school districts, and some huge decisions will play out in Tennessee this year. The overarching question to consider as time unfolds: How are these decisions helping or hurting students? In last years Stories to Watch issue, we at the Scene highlighted the possible transition of education funding formulas. The General Assembly successfully passed legislation implementing a new formula, which has been met with mixed reactions. The new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act will replace the 30-year-old Basic Education Program; its also supposed to add $1 billion to the state education budget. Democrats worry that the additional investment still isnt enough to remediate Tennessees historically low education funding, and that the student-based formula will make it easier for public education dollars to flow to charter and private schools. The formula isnt set to go into effect until the 2023-2024 school year, and it could see some revisions in this years legislative session, which gavels in this week, before classes restart in August. Not only should folks pay attention to this first year of TISA rollout, but note how well it holds up over time. One of the biggest education stories of 2022 was that of the Hillsdale College charter network, and its not over yet. Last year, Gov. Bill Lee announced his intention to partner with Michigans conservative Hillsdale College to bring its charter schools to Tennessee. That plan was initially criticized because of the conservative nature of the curriculum, which condemns progressivism and downplays Americas role in slavery. Later, Lee adviser and Hillsdale President Larry Arnn was caught on video insulting public school teachers. Three Hillsdale-affiliated charter schools applied to open in Rutherford, Jackson-Madison and Clarksville-Montgomery county school districts, and all were denied by local school boards. Following three contentious Tennessee Public Charter School Commission hearings, the Hillsdale-affiliated charter operator (American Classical Education) ultimately withdrew its applications before the commission made a decision. It has since filed five letters of intent to open charters in the same three districts, plus Maury and Robertson counties. What children can read has been another source of extensive debate among Tennessee parents and politicians. In the past year, several school districts across the state removed books from curricula and school libraries. That may continue, especially since a new law gave the state Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission power to ban books across Tennessee if challenged material reaches the body through an appeal process. Though the commission was supposed to issue guidance about book challenges by Dec. 1, it still has not as of press time. Furthermore, members of the commission are struggling with a lack of administrative support. How the commission moves forward, and the number of book challenges that could follow, remains to be seen. (Natural News) The latest round of anti-government protests in Peru has left 17 people dead and 68 others injured. The clashes occurred on Jan. 9 in the city of Juliaca, located near the banks of Lake Titicaca in the southern Puno region of Peru. Speaking to the state-run channel TV Peru, Puno health ministry official Henry Rebaza confirmed that there were 17 casualties including two teenagers on the side of protesters. He also confirmed that 68 protesters were injured during the clashes. Meanwhile, Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Luis Chavez said 75 police officers sustained injuries. Social media images showed gunshot wounds and clouds of smoke as protesters threw stones using slings and used metal plates as shields, the Guardian reported. Other footage appeared to show a man being given CPR and images of injured protesters arriving at the hospital. A boy died in an ambulance that had been blocked from reaching the hospital by protesters. Ismael Cornejo, Punos regional health director, meanwhile, told local radio station RPP that some of the victims had bullet wounds. The 17 deaths brought to 39 the total number of casualties from the anti-government protests that started in December 2022. The removal and arrest of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on the ground of permanent moral disability sparked the protests. The socialist Castillo attempted to dissolve the countrys Congress and rule by decree on Dec. 7 to prevent his impeachment over multiple corruption allegations, but failed in this endeavor. He was subsequently impeached and replaced by Vice President Dina Boluarte. Castillo, who is serving 18 months in pre-trial detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, denied the accusations leveled against him. He also insisted that he is still the legitimate president of Peru. Boluarte will remain in the position until July 2026, when Castillos term was originally set to expire. But supporters of her predecessor have not taken too kindly to her presidency. Pro-Castillo protesters organized demonstrations beginning in December 2022, demanding early elections and release from prison. They also called for Boluarte to step down from her post, arguing that she was not elected by the people. Many of the anti-Boluarte protests, including the one on Jan. 9, have turned violent. (Related: Protests rock Argentina as socialist government cuts subsidies.) Lima defends use of force against protesters Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola defended the response of law enforcement officers against the protesters in Juliaca during a televised address on Jan. 9. We will not cease in our defense of the rule of law, he said, claiming that violent groups financed by foreign interests and the dark money of drug trafficking were trying to destroy the country. According to Otarola, police officers themselves were attacked with homemade weapons while trying to defend the peace and tranquility of 33 million Peruvians. While the prime minister expressed regret over the 17 deaths during that days protest, he ultimately pointed his finger at Castillos attempted self-coup or autogolpe for stirring the unrest. Earlier that day, Boluarte said she could not grant some of the protesters key demands during a national agreement meeting. She also accused the demonstrators of not understanding what they were asking for in the first place. What you are asking for is a pretext to continue generating chaos, Boluarte told the protesters. The Peruvian Ombudsmans Office, meanwhile, tweeted: We ask the forces of law and order to make legal, necessary and proportional use of force. We [also] urge the state prosecutors office to carry out a prompt investigation to clarify the facts. In spite of this, calls for Boluarte to step down as president continue. Massacre after massacre does not solve absolutely anything. It is urgent to bring forward the elections as soon as possible, and the resignation of Boluarte, tweeted Javier Torres, editor of the Peruvian regional Noticias Ser. Rioting.news has more stories about anti-government protests. Watch this video about the now-impeached Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. This video is from the Iron Age News channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Uprising in Panama accelerates as collapsing economy worsens. Peru in turmoil as inflation protests erupt; president calls in military, imposes curfew. Massive uprising erupts in Panama over inflation and deteriorating economic conditions. Perus leftist government calls in military, imposes curfew to crack down on inflation protests. Riots and unrest spreading beyond Sri Lanka and Panama due to inflation and economic breakdown. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com TheGuardian.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Over 8,000 thousand flights were delayed and 1,200 were canceled across America on Wednesday, January 11, due to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outage. According to the tracking site FlightAware, all flights all over the United States were grounded for the first time since 9/11 after a Notice to Air Missions system (NOTAM) failure. So its a standardized uniform way for getting important safety messages out to airports, aircraft, and airlines, said Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. For example, if a runway is closed or maybe a navigation beacon is something that a pilot would need to know for safety reasons. The first complaints from passengers that their flights had been grounded started at around 4:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday, but it wasnt until 6:30 am that the FAA announced it had grounded all flights as a result of an overnight crash of its NOTAM system, which pilots use to receive hazard warnings and safety updates. By 9:00 a.m., the issue had been resolved and flights started to take off again. But the hours-long pause sent the days travel into a chaos that is expected to last hours, if not days. The FAA said in a statement that the agency is continuing a thorough review to determine the root cause of the NOTAM system outage. Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack. The FAA is working diligently to further pinpoint the causes of this issue and take all needed steps to prevent this kind of disruption from happening again, it said. Zach Griff, a senior writer at travel website the Points Guy, said once the system became operational again, flights were theoretically allowed to resume but airlines cant simply just restart their operations. He said that due to many planes already being delayed and in the wrong place, flight crews operating planes were already thrown off schedule and they can only legally work a certain number of hours. This domino effect will continue to lead to a slew of delays and cancellations throughout the U.S. likely in the next few days, Griff noted. Experts: There is no excuse for system failure and lack of backup plans According to experts, this is not a common occurrence. I havent dealt with anything like this, it sounds like its been quite some time since the FAA might have had some issues in the past, but nothing recently or within the last, I would say five to six years, Will Rogers World Airports Stacey Hamm said. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre posted on Twitter that there is no evidence of a cyberattack. The President has been briefed by the secretary of transportation this morning on the FAA system outage. There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the president directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes. The FAA will provide regular updates, she tweeted. Airline industry experts slammed Buttigieg for the debacle as he failed to explain the outage during a press conference, saying only that flights were grounded out of an abundance of caution. (Related: Pilot video, FAA interview reveal strange encounter with unidentified aircraft over Atlantic City.) Analysts said there is no excuse for the failure, which is the latest in a string of embarrassing transport headaches since he took office. There is no excuse for this. We need qualified aviation-related people in charge of the FAA, not people who know people in Washington, Michael Boyd, chairman of the Boyd Group, an aviation research company, told CNBCs Squawk Box. Political activist and entrepreneur Donald Trump Jr. said the outage made America look like a third world country while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deputy press secretary tweeted: Mayor Pete is having another great day as Secretary of Transportation! Maybe we should spend less time on racist roads and more time on our critical infrastructure. Visit Glitch.news for more news related to computer system outages. Watch the video below that talks about the FAA meltdown exposing AI dependency. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: FAA warns against 5G rollout as airlines upgrade radio altimeters to avoid interference. RULED BY SILICON: Airports turn to ROBOTS to enforce COVID protocols as air travel normalizes. Botched 5G rollout by Biden regime leads to mass rescheduling of flights, deemed most utterly irresponsible act in aviation. Verizon, AT&T set to activate thousands of new 5G towers, creating health, aviation concerns. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk 1 DailyMail.co.uk 2 KTUL.com Twitter.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) You dont have to be a climate scientist to know the ringleaders of the climate change bandwagon dont truly believe the narrative theyre selling. (Article by Alex Newman republished from TheEpochTimes.com) And its not just because they jet around the world in private jets to lecture you about your car and your hamburgers. In fact, if the people at the top bought into the notion that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are really pollution producing a climate crisis, they would be doing exactly the opposite of what theyre actually doing. Examining climate policy and communist China proves the point. Consider the UN Paris Agreement. Negotiated at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015, the global deal calls on national governments to make their own national pledges about what they force on their populations to combat the alleged climate crisis. Under the deal, the Obama administration unilaterally pledged to slash CO2 emissions in the United States by more than 25 percent by 2025. This was to be imposed on Americans through executive orders and federal regulations to avoid involving Congress. Other Western governments made similar promises. The Chinese communist regime, by contrast, was already emitting far more CO2 than the United States and now spews more than the entire Western world combined by farand yet it pledged only to keep increasing its emissions for the next 15 years. Seriously. In its submission to the UN (pdf), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agreed to achieve the peaking of carbon dioxide emissions around 2030. In other words, the regime proudly announced to the world that its CO2 output would continue to grow for at least 15 years, at which point nobody will even remember the Paris pledges. When I asked members of the Chinese delegation for comment at the UN summit, instead of responding, they sent one of their minions to follow me around the conference and take pictures of me, something I promptly reported to UN security and the French police. Its a good thing for the CCP that nobody will remember its promises by 2030, because virtually every analyst who has looked at the regimes coal-fired power-plant construction binge has acknowledged theres no way its emissions will peak by 2030. Communist promises have never been worth the paper theyre printed on anyway, as history has shown. The CCP wasnt kidding about increasing its emissions, though: Beijing is currently bringing more coal-fired power plants online just between now and 2025 than the United States has in total. According to Global Energy Monitors February 2021 briefing (pdf), the CCP built more than three times as much coal-power capacity as the rest of the world combined in 2020. And it already has about half of all the worlds coal power capacity, according to Global Energy Monitors Boom and Bust 2020: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline. Already, China emits more than twice as much CO2 as the United States, according to data from the Global Carbon Project. Its emissions are rising meteorically even as U.S. emissions and emissions from other Western nations continue to plunge. In 2021, Americans released about 5 billion tons of CO2, while China released about 11.5 billion. If current trends continue, the CCP may release more CO2 than the rest of the world combined in the not-too-distant future. Think about this. If one was truly concerned about CO2 emissions producing climate hell, as world leaders claimed at the latest UN climate summit in Egypt that I attended, they would be panicking, not celebrating. Moving Production Again, all of the production being moved out of the West and into China will result in vastly more CO2 entering the atmosphere than if that production had remained in the United States, Canada, or Europe. And yet, Western governments, tax-funded climate activists, UN leaders, and their media allies all celebrated and continue to celebrate the Paris Agreement and subsequent follow-ups as a huge success in saving the climate. Perhaps Donald Trump was on to something when, in 2012, he wrote on Twitter, The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Thats exactly what happened, of course, as electricity rates got pushed higher and higher over time. In 1975, electricity was averaging around 3 cents per kilowatt hour, helping U.S. industry remain competitive globally. By 2010, thanks in part to Obamas policies, it had tripled. And by 2021, it was approaching 15 cents. For perspective, electricity prices in China are about half that. There are many reasons for the shifting of production from the United States to Chinamany of them directly related to U.S. policybut one key factor has been the cost of energy. Yet higher energy prices were openly touted as a policy objective by Obama. As he made clear in a 2008 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, under my plan electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Later that year, he expressed similar sentiments as gas prices soared to around $4, saying only that he would have preferred a gradual adjustment instead. Faced with higher labor costs and a tougher regulatory environment, American companies and entrepreneurs were already struggling to keep production in the United States amid a rigged global trading regime benefiting the CCP at Americas expense. Soaring energy costs in many cases pushed firms over the edge, forcing them to shift production to China or shut down in the face of Chinese competition. Again, if you truly believe CO2 is pollution, the worst possible outcome of climate negotiations would be to transfer even more production to China, where CO2 emissions per unit of economic production are massively higher. But this is precisely the result of the much-celebrated UN climate process. The shift into so-called renewable energy being engineered by the Biden administration and federal policymakers has been and will continue to be a huge boon to the CCP, tooand not just because it will force prices higher while making the U.S. energy grid more unstable. Almost 80 percent of solar cells produced in 2019 were made in China, according to Bloomberg data (pdf). The CCP dominates production in the wind sector and battery industries as well. It also controls the supply chain for rare-earth materials needed to produce all of these green energy products. The U.S. government, for its part, is offering massive subsidies to these CCP-dominated industrial sectors while forcing Americans into dependence on them through regulations, mandates, subsidies, and other policies. How this is supposed to help the environment is never made clear. For some perspective on the economic carnage inflicted on America by Obamas Paris scheme, which he claimed was an executive agreement and thus not subject to Senate ratification as required by the Constitution, the Heritage Foundation crunched the numbers in a 2016 study. Among other findings, the conservative-leaning think tank said Obamas Paris pledges would increase electricity costs for a family of four between 13 and 20 percent annually while vaporizing almost half a million jobs, including around 200,000 in manufacturing. That damage translates to about $20,000 in lost income for American families by 2035 and a reduction in GDP of over $2.5 trillion. Who Benefits? Who benefits from all this? Certainly not the climate. Again, shipping U.S. industry to China will result in more CO2 in the atmosphere, not less. And in any case, based on the UNs own debunked models, complete elimination of all U.S. CO2 emissions would result in virtually no reduction in global temperatures. According to a peer-reviewed paper by Dr. Bjorn Lomborg published in the Global Policy journal, even if all the significant pledges made in Paris were fulfilled, global temperatures would be just 0.05 degrees C (0.086 degrees F) cooler by 2100a statistically insignificant rounding error. The big winner, of course, was the CCP, which has been laughing all the way to the bank as it absorbs the factories, jobs, and wealth production that U.S. and other Western authorities are shutting down to save the climate. This appears to be deliberate, as statements by leading officials in the Obama administration and the UN have made clear. Obamas Science Czar John Holdren openly advocated a de-industrialization of the United States in his 1973 book Human Ecology. A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States, Holdren and his co-authors wrote. De-development means bringing our economic system (especially patterns of consumption) into line with the realities of ecology. Then consider seemingly bizarre comments made by then-UN Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres. Speaking to Bloomberg a few months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his unsettling admiration for the CCP, Figueres claimed that the regime in Beijingoverseeing about one third of global CO2 outputwas doing it right on climate policy. In separate comments while pushing for major climate policies, Figueres also suggested the goal of climate policy was really economic transformation. This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the Industrial Revolution, she said on Feb. 4, 2015. Five years before those comments, one of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes top officials, Ottmar Edenhofer, revealed a similar agenda in comments to Germanys NZZ Online. One must say clearly that we redistribute de facto the worlds wealth by climate policy, he said. One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore. Wealth redistribution? Changing the economic model of the world? De-developing the United States? And here Americans are being told this is about saving the climate. Remember, too, that when Trump withdrew from the Paris agreement, climate alarmists from around the world declared that Beijing was the new global leader of the effort to save the climatethe same regime that oversees the most CO2 emissions, is building coal plants faster than they can be counted, and that promised to keep increasing CO2 emissions until 2030. If this is really about saving the climate from CO2, how can the CCP be the new leader? Its beyond absurd. Despite all this, the Biden administration continues to intensify cooperation on climate action and the Paris Agreement with Beijing, no doubt causing amusement and joy among members of the CCPs Politburo. Its not just China that benefits. In fact, congressional researchers discovered that state-backed Russian energy interests were funding U.S. green groups opposed to U.S. energy via a shell company in Bermuda called Klein Ltd. The regime in Venezuela, too, is laughing all the way to the bank as the Biden administration sabotages U.S. energy and begs the Maduro dictatorship to send oil to America. To be clear, I dont begrudge the CO2 emissions of China or anyone else. In fact, many scientists have told me that more of this gas of life would be enormously beneficial for the planet and humanity. Retired Princeton physics professor Dr. William Happer, who served as Trumps climate adviser, told me years ago at a climate conference we both spoke at that the planet needed more CO2 and that plants were designed to live in an atmosphere with quite a bit more CO2 than the planet currently has. Plus, human emissions of CO2 make up a fraction of 1 percent of all the so-called greenhouse gases present naturally in the atmosphere. To summarize, if one truly believes that CO2 is bad for the climate, shipping U.S. production and industry to China is the worst possible way to deal with it. Logically, then, the policymakers behind this must have an ulterior motive. Of course, the CCP loves the Paris deal: They do nothing but build more coal plants to power the industries and factories fleeing America for China as the U.S. government forces the United States to commit economic suicide. This isnt just an economic or climate issue, either. As the United States is de-developed, the economic destruction produces a major threat to national security. A strong military cant be funded without a strong economy, obviously. Its time for lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives to shut down the administrations climate policies that do nothing but expand CCP CO2 emissions and harm the United States. Read more at: TheEpochTimes.com (Natural News) The cat is out of the bag concerning the direct role played by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in launching covid countermeasures, including the so-called vaccine. The entire covid charade, revealed the AI Chat Bot when asked: What was the role of the DoD in covid countermeasures? was a military bioweapons program used to imprison the world under oppressive tyranny. The Department of Defense (DoD) played a significant role in the development of countermeasures against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the AI Chat Bot said. The DoD worked closely with other federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to respond to the pandemic. One of the main roles of the DoD in the COVID-19 response was to provide logistical support and medical resources to help healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of the pandemic. The DoD also worked to develop and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies to support the response efforts. The AI Chat Bot also revealed that the DoD provided funding and resources to support the development of vaccines and treatments for covid one of them being the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through its Rapid Response Research program. Overall, the DoD played a vital role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing logistical support, medical resources, and funding for research and development efforts to combat the disease, the AI Chat Bot concluded in its answer. (Related: Hunter Biden was in charge of an investment firm that funded bioweapons research in Ukraine.) The governments covid countermeasures spending was for demonstrations and prototypes only, information shows it was ALL FAKE This is significant because it ties into the revelations that were procured via Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) and SEC disclosures concerning taxpayer money that was spent on covid countermeasures through Other Transactions Authority (OTA) contracts. These OTA contracts demonstrate the wide scope of government involvement in the covid scamdemic, referring to its anti-virus measures as demonstrations and prototypes only meaning none of it was real. In other words, the US Government and DOD specifically ordered a fake theatrical performance from the pharmaceutical manufacturers, explains Sasha Latypova, writing for Due Diligence and Art. Just to make extra certain that the pharmas are free to conduct the fakery, the contracts include the removal of all liability for the manufacturers and any contractors along the supply and distribution chain under the 2005 PREP Act and related federal legislation. The use of OTA contracts was specific and purposeful due to the fact that their funding bypasses regulation. There is also minimal financial accountability attached to OTA contracts compared to standard government contracting. Other is a catchall category that is not a contract, not a research grant, not a procurement, etc.: not any normally regulated / accountable government contracting, Latypova writes. Concerning the so-called vaccines, the use of OTA contracts also bypasses the normal safety and efficacy requirements for vaccines, including compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). This is why the shots were able to be unleashed at warp speed in a matter of months as opposed to many years. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna were, of course, part of these contracts, as was the Israeli government and BioNTech. The scam was carved out years in advance and thrust through the system through sinister means, which is why Pfizer and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fought, but failed, to keep these contracts a secret for the next 75 years. Behind the scenes, the official enemies are partners and co-investors into joint ventures against us, people of the world, Latypova reveals about how it is one big dark and shady cabal versus the rest of us. The latest news about covid can be found at Plague.info. Sources for this article include: SashaLatypova.substack.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Officials in the free state of Florida are moving to bar the tracking of gun and ammunition purchases because they say such information isnt relevant to anything except to provide it to the government at some point, which is unnecessary and none of Uncle Sams business. The move would block state financial institutions from implementing firearms and ammunition sales tracking codes, with officials arguing that doing so amounts to an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment. The three state officials, all of who are, unsurprisingly, Republicans, touted the Florida Arms and Ammo Act, a first-in-the-country policy proposal to ban the tracking of sales of guns and ammo through merchant category codes. The proposal was introduced by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, along with state Sen. Danny Burgess and state Rep. John Snyder, who argued that the codes would create something of a gun and ammunition registry for Florida residents, The Epoch Times reported this week. We are all blessed to live in the free state of Florida where our Second Amendment rights are valued and protected, but Democrats in Washington continue to try to chip away at these rightsand we must stay vigilant, Simpson, a former state Senate president who was sworn in recently as the states agriculture commissioner, noted in a statement. The outlet reported further: Gun-control advocates and Democrat lawmakers pushed for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to recently adopt new merchant category codes that can be used to identify retail sales of firearms and ammunition when made by credit card. A coalition of national gun-control groups, including Guns Down America, Giffords, Brady, and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, issued a joint statement applauding the new tracking codes when the ISO approved their creation in September 2022. The groups said that the decision paves the way for credit card companies to help law enforcement preempt mass shootings and firearm trafficking by identifying suspicious patterns of firearms and ammunition purchases via the merchant codes for some 9,000 federally licensed firearms dealers in the United States. At the same time, major credit card companies have agreed to implement the codes, with liberty-stealing authoritarian Democrats in Congress praising the decision in a letter to American Express, Mastercard, and Visa. This sensible decision also reflects a commitment to prevent gun violence and the unnecessary loss of life, reads the Oct. 20, 2022, letter, signed by 118 Dems in total, without a single Republican member signing on. In addition to Florida, 23 other state attorneys general have contacted the credit card companies and have asked them not to track gun and ammo purchases. First, efforts to track and monitor sales at gun stores would only result in vague and misleading information. This categorization would not recognize the difference, for example, between the purchase of a gun safe and a firearm, they noted in a letter to the companies in September. The codes also would not accurately capture gun sales at some department stores, which would result in arbitrarily disparate treatment targeting sellers and buyers at gun stores. More importantly, purposefully tracking this information can only result in its misuse, either unintentional or deliberate, the attorneys general wrote. The state AGs went on to note that tracking such information only matters if your institutions are considering using that information to take further, harmful actionlike infringing upon consumer privacy, inhibiting constitutionally protected purchases by selectively restricting the use of your payment systems, or otherwise withholding your financial services from targeted disfavored merchants. The Second Amendment is a fundamental right, but its also a fundamental American value. Our financial institutions should stop lending their market power to those who wish to attack that value, they wrote, adding they are prepared to go to court, if need be, to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Guns.news (Natural News) When billionaire Elon Musk initially balked at buying Twitter after making a $44 billion bid on the platform last spring because he was concerned that an inordinate amount of users were fake, he was on to something. In September, for instance, according to an analysis by leading cyber security specialist Dan Woods, who formerly worked for the FBI and CIA, he concluded that as many as 80 percent of Twitter accounts are bots, The Australian reported. Sure sounds higher than 5%! Musk wrote on the platform in response to Woods findings, a reference to what he was told by the former Twitter management team as the sale of the platform was taking place. Sure sounds higher than 5%! https://t.co/Va7TxxzoI6 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2022 More than 80 percent of Twitter accounts are likely bots, according to former CIA and FBI cyber security specialist Dan Woods, who created a fake profile and quickly gained more than 100,000 fake followers in one weekend by purchasing them on the dark web, the outlet reported. Mr Woods, who studies bot traffic as part of his current role with global cyber security provider F5, told The Australian that Twitters bot traffic was almost certainly far greater than it has expressed publicly and greater than it believes internally, the outlet continued. The point is the platform had a lot more fake accounts than perhaps even the old Twitter management team realized or was willing to admit. Now, another company has learned the hard, expensive way that online platforms today are mostly inhabited by trolls, bots, and deep state actors seeking to manipulate, control, or spread propaganda. The Wall Street Journal reported: Chase & Co. is suing the leaders of Frank, a financial-aid business it bought for $175 million in 2021, alleging they duped the bank by making up millions of fake student accounts to show it had a growing business. The bank filed a lawsuit late last month in a Delaware federal court against Frank executives Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, alleging widespread fraud at a company that is marketed as helping families navigate the complex college financial-aid process. Frank offered a tool to simplify federal financial-aid forms, as well as listings of scholarships and low-cost college courses. In the summer of 2021, Ms. Javice approached the financial giant about potentially acquiring it, the lawsuit states. At the time, she claimed the platform had some 4.25 million users, according to the bank, but in reality, the platform had fewer than 300,000 actual users, says the lawsuit, or a fraction 10 percent of what JPMorgan was told. Rather than reveal the truth, Javice first pushed back on [JPMorgans] request, arguing that she could not share her customer list due to privacy concerns, the bank noted in its court filing. After [JPMorgan] insisted, Javice chose to invent several million Frank customer accounts out of whole cloth. Arrogantly, Javice filed a separate lawsuit against the bank in Delaware state court just days before she was sued, claiming that shes owed millions of dollars for money she laid out while she had to defend herself against a wave of internal investigations that started in the spring of 2022. The suit states she was fired from the bank in November. She called the investigations groundless and said the bank manufactured a for-cause termination in bad faith. She also insisted that JPMorgan Chase was refusing to pay her some $28 million she claims she is owed. Alex Spiro, an attorney for Javice, described the banks lawsuit as nothing but a cover. After JPM rushed to acquire Charlies rocketship business, JPM realized they couldnt work around existing student privacy laws, committed misconduct and then tried to retrade the deal. Charlie blew the whistle and then sued, he noted. The fact is, the vast majority of users on nearly all social media and online platforms are fake. Its not a real world, and this case proves that point once again. Sources include: WSJ.com TheAustralian.com.au (Natural News) Independent media outlets, health freedom activists and respected medical professionals have banded together to file a lawsuit against some of the worlds largest legacy media conglomerates over their collusion to silence small competitors critical of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and vaccine policies. This first-of-its-kind lawsuit claims that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Washington Post, Reuters and the Associated Press (AP) have violated antitrust laws and the constitutionally-protected First Amendment of smaller publishers. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division, seeks damages in the millions of dollars. (Related: Lawsuit uncovers bombshell connection between CDC and social media companies to bury COVID-19 truth from public.) According to the lawsuit, these four mainstream media outlets partnered with Big Tech firms to collectively censor online news about COVID-19 that did not align with official narratives regarding the pandemic and the vaccines. All of us have gained ground in reaching people with the truth it saves lives, just the truth, said Charlene Bollinger in an interview on Newsmax. Bollinger, along with her husband Ty, has spent decades educating Americans about alternative medicine. Millions of people reached out to them on social media platforms to read and watch their views on medical matters before being deplatformed. The Bollingers were labeled among the disinformation dozen by the administration of President Joe Biden and were maligned by the mainstream media for raising relevant questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Legacy media colluded with Big Tech to keep alternative views on COVID-19 out of social media, the internet According to the lawsuit, by March 2020, the BBC, Washington Post, Reuters and AP had come together to create what is called the Trusted News Initiative (TNI) with Big Tech firms, including Twitter, Meta, Microsoft and Google, to exclude smaller and independent media outlets from being able to gain any kind of traction online. On Dec. 10 2020, signatories of the TNI agreed to focus their efforts on combating the spread of supposedly harmful disinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. According to the lawsuit, this coordinated effort is, by definition, an unlawful group boycott intended to damage the ability of smaller publishers to compete or even survive in the free market. [Legacy media] were upset because we were taking some of their traffic, some of their viewers [and] people were starting to question them, said Bollinger. They didnt like that, so they said, Weve got to come together. Were normally competitors, but lets form a trusted partnership.' Collectively, signatories of the TNI hold 90 percent of the overall social media market, 90 percent of the social networking market, 75 percent of the video hosting market and over 90 percent of the search engine market. This lawsuit is about preserving our free speech rights as Americans and holding those involved in violating antitrust laws accountable like the TNI, said Bollinger. My husband and I remain steadfast in our commitment to highlighting the well-documented risks of taking the COVID-19 vaccine and the myriad of dangers facing those who were misled by the TNI media partnership. Learn more about legacy media outlets in America at NewsCartels.com. Watch this clip from Real America on Newsmax as host Dan Ball interviews Charlene Bollinger regarding the lawsuit against the worlds largest legacy media outlets. This video is from the channel The Truth About Cancer on Brighteon.com. More related stories: PREBUNKING means mass media and social media will now send out fake news to pre-empt truth news from debunking their lies. NBC News now admits COVID vaccines may be linked to myocarditis, after YEARS of claiming it was misinformation. Study reveals Big Pharma, Big Tech, MSM, government colluded to censor COVID-19 dissent. National File founder: Majority of media companies in America only exist to CONTROL and CENSOR news. VACCINE PIMPS: Biden administration has been paying MSM to push COVID vaccines that are killing and injuring millions. Sources include: Brighteon.com ChildrensHealthDefense.org PRNewswire.com (Natural News) Back in 2001, 30 Nigerian families sued Pfizer in federal court over its illegal 1996 clinical trial in Nigerias Kano state. The clinical trial, which was conducted on children without their parents consent, killed 11 participants. The Aug. 29, 2001 lawsuit filed in federal court in New York accused the drug giant of using the children as human guinea pigs during the clinical trial of the antibiotic Trovan in Kano. The plaintiffs argued that Pfizer violated the Nuremberg Code of 1947, the United Nations Human Rights Standards and other ethical guidelines. Moreover, they accused Pfizer of exposing the children to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (Related: NEVER FORGET: Pfizer drug trial that killed 11 Nigerian children exposed Big Pharmas MURDEROUS experiments.) According to the plaintiffs attorney, Elaine Kusel, at least six families of children who died during or shortly after the experiment were among those suing. They sought unspecified punitive damages, alongside a court order barring Pfizer from conducting illegal experiments in the future. The plaintiffs also asked the court to mandate the company to shoulder the continuing medical care costs of the surviving children. A Sept. 5, 2001 report by Science magazine explained the strategy utilized by the Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach law firm which Kusel is a part of to hold Pfizer accountable in its home state. According to the report, the New York-based pharmaceutical firm is liable under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). The ATCA allows foreign nationals to sue individuals and companies that have broken international laws on foreign soil in U.S. courts. A judge initially dismissed the 2001 lawsuit, ruling that it did not meet the ATCAs criteria. Kusel subsequently challenged the lower courts ruling in a higher court. A federal appeals court heard the appeal and returned the suit to the lower court, asking the latter to re-consider whether the cases should be heard in the U.S. or in Nigeria. Impact of Trovan disaster still felt in Kano 27 years on The pharmaceutical company insisted that it had done nothing unethical during the Trovan clinical trial in Kano. A Pfizer spokeswoman said the experiment in Nigeria conducted amid a meningitis outbreak was sound from medical, scientific, regulatory and ethical standpoints. The clinical trial actually improved treatment in the affected area and may have saved lives, she added. The Big Pharma giant released a statement in response to the charges on Aug. 30, 2001 a day after they were filed. According to the statement, Pfizer is proud of the way the study was conducted. Moreover, Pfizer emphasized that the well-conceived and well-executed study saved lives. The company defended that it had obtained prior consent from both the Nigerian government and the families of patients enrolled in the trial. But according to Nigerian news outlet Premium Times, the repercussions of the disastrous Trovan experiment still haunt Kano 27 years on. Residents still dont trust medical treatments, including the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Abubakar Salisu, a resident of the Gwagwarwa suburb in Kano, told the Premium Times that he will never take the COVID-19 vaccine and cannot advise anyone to accept it. Since that incident of paralysis and deaths of children [back in 1996], I can never trust any vaccines or medicine from Europe. Aliyu Musa, a resident of the Unguwa Uku neighborhood, said some residents find it hard to move on from the Pfizer incident. Im one of those yet to take the COVID-19 vaccine and it will remain like that, he commented. My family and I will not take the vaccine because we dont trust the producers. A taxi driver in Kano who introduced himself as Ahmed said he feels personal anger because his family was directly affected by the Pfizer disaster. As long as its a vaccine or medicine from the Westerners, I will not accept it, he firmly said. They cannot be trusted. Watch Tony Lin explain the disastrous Trovan clinical trials in Nigeria. This video is from the What is happening channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: NEVER FORGET: Pfizer agreed to settle lawsuit after jury awarded $43M to Texas woman whose liver was destroyed by Rezulin. NEVER FORGET: In 1994, Pfizer paid $20 million after LYING about defective heart valve that killed hundreds. NEVER FORGET: Pfizer used dirty tricks to avoid massive payout to Nigeria, 2009 WikiLeaks cables reveal. NEVER FORGET: Pfizer sued for $7B over illegal drug trials on kids. Sources include: WashingtonPost.com Science.org NBCNews.com WNYC.org PremiumTimesNG.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The University of Pennsylvania, the Ivy League institution which collected tens of millions of dollars from China while paying Joe Biden and hosting his foreign policy think tank, successfully pressured the Biden Justice Department to end an FBI counterespionage program targeting Beijings increasing influence within U.S. academia. (Article by John Solomon and Nick Givas republished from JustTheNews.com) Attorney General Merrick Garland shut down the FBIs so-called China initiative in February 2022 shortly after more than 160 members of the University of Pennsylvania faculty signed and made public an open letter demanding the program be shuttered, on the grounds that it amounted to racial profiling. The faculty letter was part of a larger university battle against the program. UPennLettertoGarlandreChinaInitiative.pdf We acknowledge the importance to the United States of protecting both intellectual property and information that is essential to our national and economic security, read the letter made public on Feb. 9. We understand that concerns about Chinese government sanctioned activities including intellectual property theft and economic espionage are important to address. We believe, however, that the China Initiative has deviated significantly from its claimed mission: it is harming the United States research and technology competitiveness and it is fueling biases that, in turn, raise concerns about racial profiling. A handful of left-leaning universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, had also previously appealed to the DOJ to close down the program. Two weeks after the letter was sent, Garland announced the termination of the program, sending shockwaves through federal law enforcement. The DOJs own website still includes, to this day, a lengthy recitation of criminal cases the 4-year-old program had brought against members of academia who were working with China either on espionage charges or failure to disclose foreign monies, as is required by law. Just a month prior to the Garland decision, FBI Director Christopher Wray traveled to the Reagan presidential library to give a speech pleading for the government to devote more attention and resources to combating Chinas devastating influence inside the United States. He specifically cited cases where Beijing had used university academics to do its bidding. The FBI boss claimed Chinas espionage has become more brazen, [and] more damaging. Chinas government has the global reach and presence of a great nation, but it refuses to act the part and too often uses its capabilities to steal and threaten, rather than to cooperate and build, he argued. That theft, those threats, are happening right here in America, literally every day. Just the News reached out to both the Justice Department, to confirm whether Penn ever officially lobbied the DOJ directly, and also to the university itself. Neither institution responded. Penn has long ties to both the Biden family and China. Its former president, Amy Gutmann, for instance, was named by the president in 2021 to be his ambassador to Germany. During her Senate confirmation, Gutmann acknowledged the university took money from Chinese interests but insisted it did not affect the schools values and that the university even rejected creating a Confucius Institute on campus funded by entities tied to the Chinese government. What I do know, and what I make sure of, is that no gifts, no contracts, to the University of Pennsylvania are allowed to threaten academic freedom, are allowed to threaten national security, she testified. We do no classified research. Penn is in the limelight now after the revelation Monday that classified documents from Bidens vice presidency including top secret items and intelligence on Ukraine and Iran were found last November in Bidens old office at the Penn Biden Center think tank, where he worked in D.C. from 2017 to 2019. The White House claimed the memos were found by lawyers cleaning out Bidens old office. Multiple news organizations reported Wednesday that more classified documents were found at a second location used by Biden. The university has said it did not solicit any donations specifically to fund the Penn Biden Center, funding it out of its operating budget while also paying Biden a handsome sum to be an honorary professor who did not teach classes but made occasional appearance or lectures. Bidens tax returns reviewed by Just the News show Penn paid the future president $911,644 between spring 2017 and spring 2019, when he stepped aside to run for president. Biden-2017-Amended-Federal.pdf Biden-2018-Amended-Federal.pdf BidenEthicsForm2019Income.pdf Reports compiled by the conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) from disclosures to the Department of Education showed that Penn collected more than $67.6 million in donations and contracts from China between 2013 and 2019. The vast majority of that money, $47.7 million, flowed during the three years Biden was employed by the university, the records show. The Chinese money poured in most rapidly in the four months after Biden opened the center in February 2018, a period during which nearly $20 million came through, including a $14.5 million anonymous gift on May 28, 2018, according to a complaint the NLPC filed with the Department of Education in May of 2020. The complaint requested that the department investigate all the Chinese gifts to Penn and the Penn Biden Center, alleging that the gifts listed as anonymous were in clear violation of the Higher Education Acts requirement that all gifts or contracts exceeding $250,000 must disclose the foreign ownership and control of the gift or contract. The University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Biden Center are particularly vulnerable to China government influences due to the large amounts of China donations and contracts, the NLPC alleged in the complaint. The NLPC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on Tuesday seeking all documents, including but not limited to emails, text messages, communications, memoranda, and photographs, that refer to the discovery and handling of classified and other presidential records that were in a closet at the Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. They do get money from China, either directly or indirectly, NLPC counsel Paul Kamenar told Just the News. With Hunter [Biden], it was directly from an energy company. Its a fact that UPenn has received some $60 million in Chinese donations, $22 million of which is anonymous. The actual donors should be disclosed. Not simply that its from China.' The watchdog group filed a complaint with the DOJ in October 2020 urging that the center be investigated for failure to register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The university has denied any wrongdoing. Penn has been very opaque when confronted with these discrepancies, and it doesnt take Sherlock Holmes to realize the money from China to the school is not going to Pennsylvanias music department, said Kamenar. Its going to UPenns international program, of which the Biden Center is one of the top beneficiaries. Kamenar also raised several other questions and concerns, including how the classified documents in question ended up in the Biden Center in the first place when it didnt even open its doors until two years after the former vice president had left office. Noting that the White House is claiming Biden was vacating the Penn-Biden Center office space, Kamenar said he spoke with the leasing manager of the building, who said the center still had 4-5 years left on its lease. Why would you have high powered attorneys be your movers? Kamenar asked. Thats a high price to pay for a mover. What were the lawyers doing there in the first place? Id like to know their names. Penn boasts numerous programs in China, including currently [having] over 20 international partnerships with Chinese institutions, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, with whom Penn first entered into an agreement in 1980, according to its website. Faculty from all of Penns 12 schools have reported over 350 research projects and instructional activities in China, including many of the projects presented at the annual Penn China Research Symposium. Several security experts interviewed by Just the News said the loss of the China Initiative after pressure from schools like Penn was a serious blow to the FBIs ability to fight Chinese espionage threats in the academic world. This may be the best $67 million investment the CCP has ever made, retired FBI intelligence chief Kevin Brock told Just the News. By donating a stunning amount of money to an American university with deep ties to Joe Biden, China was able to have a major impediment to its strategy of targeting American academic researchers across the country completely removed courtesy of Bidens Attorney General Merrick Garland. Bottom line, Brock added, the FBIs China Initiative worked against a known national security threat. The idea that it was racially biased is absurd and certainly less so than the common practice of admissions discrimination against Asian American students so common in many Ivy League schools. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton said the Biden DOJs closing of the FBI counterintelligence program was a huge mistake and that arguments by universities like Penn that the program was racist were preposterous. It obviously has nothing to do with race, Bolton said on the John Solomon Reports podcast Wednesday. Theres long been great relations between the people of China and the people of the United States. And the past 70-plus years, its been the communist government of China. Thats been the problem. And theyre the ones that were conducting the espionage. Theyve been all over American universities. Among Congressional investigators, there is a broader concern that the Penn Biden Center and the flow of Chinese money to the host university may have been part of a larger China influence operation targeting the Biden family, one that U.S. banks began flagging with suspicious activity reports to the Treasury Department in 2013 after Hunter Biden joined his father on a trip to Beijing and began scoring overseas business deals. In the 2017-18 time period, while the center was set up, Hunter Biden was deep in negotiations with a Chinese energy company called CEFC on a deal to route U.S. natural gas and energy assets to the Chinese. The deal included the Biden family getting a $5 million no interest, forgiveable loan from Chinese sources, according to a document found on a laptop seized by the FBI. The loan arrangement, confirmed in documents previously obtained by Just the News and information released by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), shows that CEFC Beijing International Energy Company Limited understood the transaction would greatly benefit Joe Bidens family (referred to as BD family in emails). In one case uncomfortably close to the first family, Patrick Ho, one of Hunter Bidens business partners in the CEFC China energy deal, was charged with using a U.S. think tank to carry out a scheme to bribe officials in Africa over energy deals. Patrick Ho, a CEFC executive who worked closely with Hunter Biden before his arrest, was eventually convicted in a federal court in Manhattan of multiple felonies and sentenced to three years in prison. The DOJ alleged that Ho also tried to broker arms transactions and other business with Iran in violation of Western sanctions. Ho wrote an email in 2014 before he connected with the Biden family saying that Iran has money in a bank in China which is under sanction and that it wished to purchase precious metals through a bank in Hong Kong, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court. At least one of the classified documents that Joe Bidens lawyer found at his private think tank office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington involved intelligence on Iran, according to multiple media reports. Read more at: JustTheNews.com A tiger attack occurred during the weekend as locals found a man's half-eaten body earlier this week, as part of renewed fatal tiger attacks in Northern India. The country has witnessed a wave of increased attacks in recent years, wherein tigers are getting closer to human settlements due to the latter's expansion. Uttarakhand Tiger Attack Locals found the man's half-eaten body in a sugar cane field near the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in the state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning, January 9. Local forest officials reported that pawprints next to the body indicate that the perpetrator was an adult male tiger, as cited by Newsweek. The victim has been identified as Gokul Malik, 33, who went to work at a construction site in Bangawan village on Sunday morning, January 8, according to the Times of India, as mentioned by the online news platform. Malik's family started to look for him when he did not return home, the reports say. It was only a day after when his body was found in the field and was sent for an autopsy to determine the cause of his death. The village is located just right next to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, which is located at the border of the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The park is situated in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh and it is part of the Terai Arc Landscape along the India-Nepal border. The reserve is also known for containing dozens of tigers, as well as other large predators, including leopards, hyena, and wolves. Also Read: Wanted Man-Eating Tiger Shot Dead by Local Authorities in India Related Incidents The recent Uttarakhand tiger attack is only one of the many instances of the growing threat facing villagers and other residents of India for decades. Most of these attacks are unprovoked, as seen from some reports and on social media, where tigers could leap into a human out of nowhere, even in populated areas. In October 2022, a tiger responsible for killing nine people in India was shot dead during an operation by members of the security forces and local government. Known as the "man-eater of Champaran," the beast was killed after a hunt involving around 200 police officers and district officials, according to the BBC. The tiger reportedly killed the victims in separate occasions in Champaran, in the state of Bihar, where it terrorized communities around the Valmiki Tiger Reserve. Last year, a report said that an Indian farmer named Kalyan Saini, 54, was returning home from work during the evening hours in April in the state of Rajasthan when he and his two passengers were knocked off their motorcycle, The National News reported. Saini briefly passed out and only realized after waking up that he was lying on his blood and his injured companions screaming after a tiger tore off his left arm and scratched his face. The wild cat was with her cubs but were not able to kill them after one of Saini's passengers called for help through a mobile phone, leading to forestry staff arriving 15 minutes later. Related Article: Tiger with Taste for Human Meat Kills and Drags Indian Girl to Forest State of emergency is declared in Alabama and Georgia as tornadoes become deadly. The two states made the declarations in response to Thursday's several tornadoes that tore across the South, with one county reporting multiple fatalities. Extreme Weather Outbreak Following the outbreak of extreme weather events in the southern United States that led Alabama and Georgia to issue emergency declarations, at least seven deaths have been reported. On Thursday, tornadoes were produced by storms throughout the South, with the majority of them concentrating in Alabama, where 25 of the National Weather Service's 34 preliminary tornado reports were made. Thursday afternoon saw the storms become dangerous. According to Sheriff David Hill of Autauga County in Alabama, the Old Kingston region has seen at least six verified deaths. Officials caution that while personnel continues their search and rescue efforts, the number might be higher. According to Autauga County Emergency Management Director Ernie Baggett, a 20-mile tornado track was discovered to have crossed the county, beginning in the Old Kingston region and going into the Marbury area. Baggett informed Angeline that when both of those [communities] were combined, "it seems like we've got roughly 40 houses, maybe a few more, that have either been demolished or [had] serious damages." As the storms moved in on Thursday afternoon, the county was designated the first tornado emergency for 2023 and the most recent since November 4, 2022, with the NWS issuing a "life-threatening scenario" warning. Numerous roads in Joffre and Old Kingston had major damage, while County Road 68 in the vicinity of US-31, close to Prospect, Alabama, also saw severe damage. Following the storms, the governor of Alabama, Ivey Kay, issued a state of emergency for six counties, including Autauga County. The proclamation also included the counties of Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, and Tallapoosa. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tweeted, "We have already witnessed sections of the state shaken by this catastrophic weather system, which is why I have called a state of emergency." Later on Thursday afternoon, Governor Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency for Georgia. Also Read: Global Weirding: Humans Have Drastically Altered the Climate to the Point of Bringing Chaos Massive Tornado A massive and deadly tornado that tore through the Selma, Alabama, region on Thursday afternoon was among the other tornadoes recorded around the state and the destruction in Autauga County. Around 12:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, Selma, situated about 40 miles west of Montgomery, was in the path of a large and highly hazardous tornado. According to a municipal statement online, emergency response personnel were assisting and cleaning roads as of Thursday afternoon. People in Selma were advised to seek shelter and stay off the local roads. There have also been reports of downed power lines all across the area. As storms moved across the area, several tornado reports were distributed over central Alabama. Just before 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, significant structural damage was initially reported south of Greensboro, Alabama. Soon, a tree was seen on the house near Greensboro, Alabama. Trees were fallen along Highway 219 near Oakmulgee in southern Bibb County before 11:30 a.m. local time. According to an NWS report, the tornado crossed US-82 southeast of Centreville. Following the Weather Event According to AccuWeather meteorologists, earlier on Thursday afternoon, the tornado that damaged Selma, Alabama, was produced by the same supercell thunderstorm that also made the tornado in Montgomery, Alabama, to the northwest. Early this morning, a storm developed in Eunice, Louisiana, which moved more than 500 miles. In Mercer County, Kentucky, where two houses sustained significant damage and numerous barns were wrecked, no injuries or deaths were recorded. Brad Cox, emergency management director for Mercer County, told AccuWeather that "[the tornado] might have been pretty devastating, but luckily no one was harmed." Related Article: Exposure to Major Disasters Can Cause Long-Term Mental Health Problems For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News! According to Japan, this year will mark the release of over a million tons of water that were stored in the defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant. US Marine Lab disputes Japan's claim that the water passed safety tests. The bulk of radioactive particle levels was in the acceptable range after treatment, the operator reported. The proposal has been deemed safe by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but neighboring nations have expressed worry. Fukushima Nuclear Disaster According to BBC, the Fukushima disaster in 2011 was the worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl. Although decommissioning has already begun, it could take forty years. On Friday, Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, said that the release is anticipated to occur sometime this spring or summer, with the government delaying the release until it receives a thorough report from the IAEA. Every day, the plant produces 100 cubic meters of contaminated water, which consists of a mixture of groundwater, seawater, and water being used to keep the reactors cool. The used water is filtered and stored in tanks, however, there are already more than 1.3 million cubic meters on the site, so space is limited. The water is filtered to remove the majority of radioactive isotopes, but operator Tepco reported that the tritium level is above the national standard. Tritium is only dangerous to humans in high doses, according to experts, and is very challenging to remove from water. Concerns Over Broken Commitments However, the proposal, which was accepted by the Japanese government in 2021, is opposed by neighboring nations and local fishermen. The Pacific Islands Forum has criticized Japan for its insufficient transparency. Henry Puna, the Forum Secretary General, told Stuff, that because they are coastal populations, the people of the Pacific continue to depend heavily on the ocean for their daily needs. Japan is going back on the agreement that its leaders made at our high-level summit in 2021. Before this discharge occurs, it was agreed that all independent, verifiable, and scientific evidence would be available. Puna laments the fact that Japan hasn't been cooperative. Also read: Worst Climate Polluters in US Named in 2021 EPA Report Disputing Safety Claims According to the US National Association of Marine Laboratories, Japan's claim of safety is not adequately and accurately supported by scientific data. There is a plethora of information indicating significant concerns about releasing radioactively contaminated water, the group of more than 100 laboratories said in a statement. The group urged Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to take into account the recommendations made by the expert panel for the Pacific forum. The Pacific Ocean is the vastest continuous body of water on Earth, according to the Pacific Island Times, and it is home to the greatest biomass of organisms with ecological, economic, and cultural value, including 70% of all fisheries in the world. Several stressors, such as pollution, overexploitation of resources, and climate change, are harming all of the ocean ecosystems in the world. According to the paper, the proposed release of contaminated water is a global and generational issue that raises concerns for the well-being of marine ecosystems and the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on them. Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake and Giant Tsunami On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocked northeastern Japan, causing a massive tsunami to follow. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was struck by the waves, flooding three reactors and causing a major catastrophe. More than 150,000 people had to be evacuated from the area after authorities established an exclusion zone that is still in effect and that grew progressively larger as radiation leaked from the plant, BBC reports. Related article: Japan Opts for Nuclear Energy Shift as Global Fuel Shortage Persists Following Russia-Ukraine War The latest weather update in Siberia said that the region could expect the blast of the coldest air this week, noting the extreme temperatures to unfold. Siberia has one of the harshest weather conditions, and the cold air could help plunge the temperatures to the lowest level. The freezing conditions could unfold as temperatures drop. Communities in Siberia should ensure they wear layered clothes as the temperatures could become extremely challenging. According to AccuWeather's latest forecast, the blast of cold air could expand or reach portions of North America and Eastern Asia. Meanwhile, residents in Russia and especially Moscow, are used to extreme weather conditions. Therefore, motorists should be extra cautious driving due to reduced road visibility and ice conditions. The extremely cold air is expected to reach portions of Eastern Asia, especially in northern Japan, North Korea and South Korea, next week. In Northern India, local authorities and the India Meteorological Department's latest forecast warned of the blast of a cold wave, bringing cold temperatures to the region. The report added that the country could experience very dense fog next week as poor air quality lingers. The forecast also warned that the colder air could be challenging for vulnerable people, and the meteorological agency advised avoiding prolonged exposure to colder weather. On the other hand, AccuWeather explained that the blast of colder air could unload in portions of North America at the end of the month. The forecast also noted that colder air is not expected next week in the U.S., especially in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, Billings and Minneapolis, adding that milder weather could occur next week. U.S. Weather Conditions On the other hand, the National Weather Service (NWS) latest advisory warned motorists to be extra careful as dangerous travel conditions persist over Sierra. Motorists could expect reduced road visibility and slippery roads. NWS advised motorists to cancel their trips as travel is highly discouraged. Road closures and slowed commutes are expected. The rain conditions in California also raised concerns over potential flooding, affecting daily travel commutes. Weather agencies have focused on California's weather outlook as rounds of atmospheric rivers continued to unload. Also Read: Blast of Cold Air to Unfold in Southern US; Florida Could Experience Rain and Thunderstorms The heavy mountain snow could lead to mountain dangers. Therefore, mountain travel is not advisable due to possible hazards. Dealing with the colder weather The extreme weather conditions in Siberia could affect animals and humans. In addition, prolonged exposure to colder weather could result in health risks, especially when older adults are vulnerable. Experts advised that residents should check temperatures for potential hypothermia and frostbite. Wearing appropriate layered clothes could feel warmth under extreme cold. Checking your animals is also important. If you have pets, you should bring them indoors. Meanwhile, frozen pipes could also occur. Homeowners should observe the conditions of lines to avoid costly repairs. Furthermore, the weather conditions could become difficult for motorists, from travel delays and slower commutes. Homeowners should check their heating system to see if it is working. Related Article: New Wave of Colder Air to Unfold in Northern India; Dense Fog Continued to Disrupt Traffic For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. The emergence of El Nino or La Nina could affect weather conditions, from warming events and extreme storms. The event can impact the global climate and weather. El Nino and La Nina play a significant role during an extreme weather event in unloading, which could become intense or frequent depending on the natural occurrence. Weather agencies also monitor El Nino and La Nina, especially during storms or severe weather conditions. El Nino and La Nina According to the National Ocean Service and NOAA, El Nino and La Nina can affect global weather, and both events have opposing weather conditions. The report said that the occurrence of El Nino is more frequent than in La Nina. Both can impact biodiversity or wildlife and countries' economies. As opposing definitions, NOAA explained that El Nino is a warming occurrence in oceans, especially in the eastern and central tropical Pacific. The weather agency explained that the El Nino event could push warm water over the East. As a result, the event could last for months or years. The report added that the emergence could impact aquatic animals. On the other hand, La Nina occurs when trade wings show to be stronger, bringing the water to Asia. Warming weather and temperatures Meanwhile, the BBC recently reported that experts forecasted the weather this year to become warmer as the La Nina event is near to end. As the El Nino event unfolds, the water becomes warmer, staying on the surface of oceans. As a result, BBC explained that warmer air could bring unusually warm temperatures. The report also explained that scientists noted that temperatures could be influenced during El Nino and La Nina. Also Read: Multiple Tornadoes Unleashed in Alabama, Causing Significant Damage to Trees, Roadways; City Deployed Clearing and Immediate Assistance Although experts said the global temperatures are noticeably hotter or rising, the La Nina event has helped to bring cooler weather. However, according to a BBC report, Professor Adam Scaife explained that temperatures could have been increased without La Nina. Understanding the impact of the two weather events is important. Recently, The Guardian reported that Europe recorded the hottest conditions in 2022. This year, the news agency said that countries in Europe had the warmest January in 2023. The same report also emphasized the contribution of prolonged La Nina to ease the warming temperatures in Europe. The rising heat temperatures raise concern over the impact on the environment and countries. Experts said that the warming trend could worsen without urgent mitigation action plans. In addition, the world's oceans suffer from global heating that reached the hottest ocean record in 2022. The cost of the warming trend aggravated by human-induced climate change could become widespread. Recently, CNN reported that NOAA records showed that the U.S. reached $165 billion in damage due to extreme disasters. As La Nina is expected to end, the warming trend is forecasted to rise, which could worsen during an El Nino. As a result, the commitment and cooperation of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are crucial to address the problem of global heating. Related Article: Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters Impact U.S. Population; About 3.3 million Adults Being Displaced or Forced To Relocate For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. 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. Ryan Hutchison, left, listens Friday as Judge Brett Olmstead explains the criminal charges and possible penalties he faces for an alleged Thursday spree that started in Indiana and ended in north Champaign. He is guarded by court security Officer Bryce Good. Ethan Simmons is a reporter at The News-Gazette covering the University of Illinois. His email is esimmons@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@ethancsimmons). One of the unfounded calls, to Champaign police, indicated there was a shooter at Central High School. "No such event took place," Principal Joe Williams wrote in a letter to families and staff. "Out of an abundance of caution, the officers and security officials walked the entire building to ensure the safety" of all. Posters: China's fight against COVID with solidarity, tenacity and mutual support People's Daily Online) 10:34, January 14, 2023 - "Go home for the Spring Festival" is a common aspiration of hundreds of millions of Chinese people after fighting the pandemic for three hard years. It's a tough battle the Chinese have fought with solidarity, tenacity and mutual support. - During the past three years, the Chinese people have withstood waves of the pandemic and successfully dealt with over 100 cluster outbreaks. - In the past three years, from medical and nursing staff, community workers to delivery people, and hundreds of millions of other ordinary citizens ... every Chinese has contributed in the campaign against the pandemic. - "Lives for lives"! In the past three years, every one of us could feel the heavy weight of this phrase. Source: gmw.cn (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines increased overall by 5.2% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to a survey of 160,000 individuals in 23 countries, published in the journal Nature Medicine. However, levels of acceptance varied greatly amongst countries, with eight reporting increases in hesitancy ranging from 1% in the UK to 21.1% in South Africa. Of those who were fully vaccinated, 12% reported that they were still hesitant and even likely to refuse a booster dose. These findings were presented by an international team of researchers including Prof Heidi Larson, who leads The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). The aim to help guide policymakers to more effectively target communication strategies and vaccination campaigns. Despite a large, global rollout of safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, hesitancy to receive these, sustained partly by misinformation and mistrust, is still a hurdle to the full realization of their potential in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a 30-question, online survey the team investigated trends in worldwide vaccine acceptance between 2021-2022. A total of 23,000 respondents aged 18 or over from 23 countries whose populations represent 60% of the global total were surveyed between 29 June and 10July 2022. Half of these respondents were women, one-fifth had a university degree and one in 10 were healthcare workers. Overall, the team found that there was general willingness to accept vaccination - 79.1% of those surveyed - an increase of 5.2% compared to figures from June 2021. Belief in vaccine efficacy and safety was associated with acceptance. Although vaccine acceptance increased in most countries, vaccine hesitancy was on the rise in eight countries, ranging from 1% in the UK to 21.1% in South Africa. Males in Nigeria and Peru were more likely to be hesitant, whilst in countries such as China and Poland, females were more likely to be hesitant . The team found no overall association between income and hesitancy across the board. Approximately one in eight vaccinated survey respondents reported that they were hesitant to receive a booster dose, ranging from 1.1% in China to 28.9% in Russia. Similarly to general vaccine hesitancy, demographic factors played a role in country-specific variance in opinions of booster vaccines. For example, in Spain, Germany or South Korea, younger individuals were more likely to be hesitant, whilst in Ecuador it was older individuals who were more likely to be hesitant. Canada and the United Kingdom were amongst the four countries where earning below median income was associated with an increased likelihood of hesitancy. There was a small but significant overall increase in whether parents were willing to let their children be vaccinated, up from 67.6% in 2021 to 69.5% in 2022. However, in eight countries, hesitancy increased (ranging from an increase of 2.4% in Poland to 56.3% in Brazil) with a parent's own hesitancy to be vaccinated themselves being the biggest influencer of this trend. Compared to 2021, 38.6% of those surveyed claim that they are now less attentive when it comes to receiving new information regarding COVID-19 vaccines, ranging from 7.5% in India to 58.3% in Nigeria. As co-author Heidi Larson, notes: "This study highlights a number of issues we can address now, both for the current continuing pandemic as well as for future preparedness. Many of those who have been vaccinated still report hesitancy around boosters for themselves, COVID-19 vaccination for their children. This story is not over." When people are in a negative mood, they may be quicker to spot inconsistencies in things they read, a new University of Arizona-led study suggests. The study, published in Frontiers in Communication, builds on existing research on how the brain processes language. Vicky Lai, a UArizona assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science, worked with collaborators in the Netherlands to explore how people's brains react to language when they are in a happy mood versus a negative mood. Mood and language seem to be supported by different brain networks. But we have one brain, and the two are processed in the same brain, so there is a lot of interaction going on. We show that when people are in a negative mood, they are more careful and analytical. They scrutinize what's actually stated in a text, and they don't just fall back on their default world knowledge." Vicky Lai, assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science, University of Arizona Lai and her study co-authors set out to manipulate study participants' moods by showing them clips from a sad movie "Sophie's Choice" or a funny television show "Friends." A computerized survey was used to evaluate participants' moods before and after watching the clips. While the funny clips did not impact participants' moods, the sad clips succeeded in putting participants in a more negative mood, the researchers found. The participants then listened to a series of emotionally neutral audio recordings of four-sentence stories that each contained a "critical sentence" that either supported or violated default, or familiar, word knowledge. That sentence was displayed one word at a time on a computer screen, while participants' brain waves were monitored by EEG, a test that measures brain waves. For example, the researchers presented study participants with a story about driving at night that ended with the critical sentence "With the lights on, you can see more." In a separate story about stargazing, the same critical sentence was altered to read "With the lights on, you can see less." Although that statement is accurate in the context of stargazing, the idea that turning on the lights would cause a person to see less is a much less familiar concept that defies default knowledge. The researchers also presented versions of the stories in which the critical sentences were swapped so that they did not fit the context of the story. For example, the story about driving at night would include the sentence "With the lights on, you can see less." They then looked at how the brain reacted to the inconsistencies, depending on mood. They found that when participants were in a negative mood, based on their survey responses, they showed a type of brain activity closely associated with re-analysis. "We show that mood matters, and perhaps when we do some tasks we should pay attention to our mood," Lai said. "If we're in a bad mood, maybe we should do things that are more detail-oriented, such as proofreading." Study participants completed the experiment twice once in the negative mood condition and once in the happy mood condition. Each trial took place one week apart, with the same stories presented each time. "These are the same stories, but in different moods, the brain sees them differently, with the sad mood being the more analytical mood," Lai said. The study was conducted in the Netherlands; participants were native Dutch speakers, and the study was conducted in Dutch. But Lai believes their findings translate across languages and cultures. By design, the study participants were all women, because Lai and her colleagues wanted to align their study with existing literature that was limited to female participants. Lai said future studies should include more diverse gender representation. In the meantime, Lai and her colleagues say mood may affect us in more ways than we previously realized. Researcher Jos van Berkum of the Netherlands' Utrecht University, co-authored the study with Lai and Peter Hagoort of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands. "When thinking about how mood affects them, many people just consider things like being grumpy, eating more ice cream, or at best interpreting somebody else's talk in a biased way," van Berkum said. "But there's much more going on, also in unexpected corners of our minds. That's really interesting. Imagine your laptop being more or less precise as a function of its battery level that's unthinkable. But in human information processing, and presumably also in (information processing) of related species, something like that seems to be going on." Reaching out to support a person when they're under stress is always a good idea. But a new study suggests that support could be especially important for someone whose genetic makeup makes them more likely to develop depression. The study shows the importance of social support in buffering the risk of developing depression symptoms in general, using data from two very different groups of people under stress: new doctors in the most intense year of training, and older adults whose spouses recently died. But the largest effect was seen in those who had the most genetic variation that raised the risk of depression. The paper uses a measure of genetic risk called a polygenic risk score, which is based on decades of research about what tiny variations in specific genes are linked to depression risk. Compared to individuals in the study who had low depression polygenic risk scores, the doctors and widows with higher risk scores had higher rates of depression after they lost social support, but also had lower rates of depression when they gained social support during stressful times. The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry by a University of Michigan team, suggests that more could be done to target social support to those who can most benefit. Genes, stress and social connection "Our data show wide variability in the level of social support individuals received during these stressful times, and how it changed over time," said first author Jennifer Cleary, M.S., a psychology doctoral student at U-M who is doing her research with senior author Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D., of the U-M Medical School. "We hope these findings, which incorporate genetic risk scores as well as measures of social support and depressive symptoms, illuminate the gene-environment interactions and specifically the importance of social connection in depression risk." Sen, who is the director of the Eisenberg Family Depression Center and a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, adds that even as genetic research reveals more of the DNA variation related to depression vulnerability, learning how that variation leads to depression is crucial. Further understanding the different genetic profiles associated with sensitivity to loss of social support, insufficient sleep, excessive work stress and other risk factors could help us develop personalized guidance for depression prevention. In the meantime, these findings reaffirm how important social connections, social support and individual sensitivity to the social environment are as factors in wellbeing and preventing depression." Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D., U-M Medical School Different populations, similar patterns The new study used data from two long-term studies that both capture genetic, mood, environment and other data from populations of participating individuals. One is the Intern Health Study, which enrolls first-year medical residents (also called interns) around the United States and beyond, and which Sen directs. The other is the Health and Retirement Study, based at the U-M Institute for Social Research and funded by the National Institute on Aging. The data for the new paper came from 1,011 interns training at hospitals across the country, nearly half of whom were female, and from 435 recently widowed individuals, 71% of them women, who had data available from surveys conducted before and after their spouses died. In the interns, as Sen and his team have shown in previous work, depressive symptoms increased dramatically (126%) during the stressful year of training that includes long and irregular work hours -- often in environments far from friends and family. In the widows and widowers, depressive symptoms increased 34% over their pre-widowhood scores. This correlates with past research showing loss of a spouse can be one of the biggest stressors in a person's life, Cleary said. A crossover effect Then, the researchers factored together the depression symptom findings with each person's polygenic risk score for depression, and their individual responses to questions about connections with friends, family and other social supporters. Most of the interns lost social support from their pre-internship days which fits well with the common experience of leaving the place where they attended medical school and going to a new environment where they may not know anyone. Interns who had the highest polygenic risk scores and also lost social support had the highest scores on measures of depression symptoms later in the stressful intern year. Those with the same high level of genetic risk who gained social support, though, had much lower depressive symptoms. In fact, it was lower than even their peers with low genetic risk, no matter what happened to their social support. The researchers call this a "crossover effect." Unlike the interns, some widowed individuals reported an increase in social support after the loss of their spouse, potentially as friends and family reached out to offer help or just a listening ear. But the crossover effect was visible in them, too. Widows with high genetic risk for depression who gained social support showed a much smaller increase in depressive symptoms than their peers with similar genetic risk who lost social support after losing a spouse. There were also some widows who lost social support or didn't experience a change in support, and whose depressive symptoms didn't change. Cleary notes that in future work, it will be important to look at this group's history in light of any caregiving they may have done for a spouse with a long-term illness. The team also hopes that other researchers will study this same interaction of genetic risk, stress and social support in other populations. In the meantime, Cleary and Sen say, the message for anyone going through stressful times, or watching a friend or relative go through stressful times, is to reach out and maintain or strengthen social connections. Doing so can have benefits both for the person under stress, and the person reaching out to them, they note. Reducing the level of ongoing stress that the person is facing, whether it's at work, school, after a personal loss or in family situations can be critical. And even though the study did not examine the role of professional mental health help, individual and group therapy is an important option for those who have developed depression or other mental health concerns. Note: The polygenic risk score used in the study is validated for use on people of mainly European ancestry, which limits the ability to generalize the findings to people of other backgrounds. Sen notes that additional work is being done using data from the Intern Health Study and Health & Retirement Study to develop polygenic risk scores based on depression-related genetic traits in other populations including people of East Asian and African descent. In addition to Cleary and Sen, the study's authors are Yu Fang, M.S.E., Laura B. Zahodne, Ph.D., Amy S.B. Bohnert, Ph.D., and Margit Burmeister, Ph.D., all of U-M. Zahodne, Bohnert and Burmeister are members of the Eisenberg Family Depression Center; Sen and Burmeister are members of the Michigan Neuroscience Institute; Sen and Bohnert are members of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH101459) and the National Institute of Child Health and Development (HD007109). Targeting iron metabolism in immune system cells may offer a new approach for treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) -; the most common form of the chronic autoimmune disease lupus. A multidisciplinary team of investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has discovered that blocking an iron uptake receptor reduces disease pathology and promotes the activity of anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells in a mouse model of SLE. The findings were published Jan. 13 in the journal Science Immunology. Lupus, including SLE, occurs when the immune system attacks a person's own healthy tissues, causing pain, inflammation and tissue damage. Lupus most commonly affects skin, joints, brain, lungs, kidneys and blood vessels. About 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide have a form of lupus, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Treatments for lupus aim to control symptoms, reduce immune system attack of tissues, and protect organs from damage. Only one targeted biologic agent has been approved for treating SLE, belimumab in 2011. It has been a real challenge to come up with new therapies for lupus. The patient population and the disease are heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to design and conduct clinical trials." Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Immunobiology Rathmell's group has had a long-standing interest in lupus as part of a broader effort to understand mechanisms of autoimmunity. When postdoctoral fellow Kelsey Voss, PhD, began studying T cell metabolism in lupus, she noticed that iron appeared to be a "common denominator in many of the problems in T cells," she said. She was also intrigued by the finding that T cells from patients with lupus have high iron levels, even though patients are often anemic. "It was not clear why the T cells were high in iron, or what that meant," said Voss, first author of the Science Immunology paper. To explore T cell iron metabolism in lupus, Voss and Rathmell drew on the expertise of other investigators at VUMC: Eric Skaar, PhD, and his team are experienced in the study of iron and other metals; Amy Major, PhD, and her group provided a mouse model of SLE; and Michelle Ormseth, MD, MSCI, and her team recruited patients with SLE to provide blood samples. First, Voss used a CRISPR genome editing screen to evaluate iron-handling genes in T cells. She identified the transferrin receptor, which imports iron into cells, as critical for inflammatory T cells and inhibitory for anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells. The researchers found that the transferrin receptor was more highly expressed on T cells from SLE-prone mice and T cells from patients with SLE, which caused the cells to accumulate too much iron. "We see a lot of complications coming from that -; the mitochondria don't function properly, and other signaling pathways are altered," Voss said. An antibody that blocks the transferrin receptor reduced intracellular iron levels, inhibited inflammatory T cell activity, and enhanced regulatory T cell activity. Treatment of SLE-prone mice with the antibody reduced kidney and liver pathology and increased production of the anti-inflammatory factor, IL-10. "It was really surprising and exciting to find different effects of the transferrin receptor in different types of T cells," Voss said. "If you're trying to target an autoimmune disease by affecting T cell function, you want to inhibit inflammatory T cells but not harm regulatory T cells. That's exactly what targeting the transferrin receptor did." In T cells from patients with lupus, expression of the transferrin receptor correlated with disease severity, and blocking the receptor in vitro enhanced production of IL-10. The researchers are interested in developing transferrin receptor antibodies that bind specifically to T cells, to avoid any potential off-target effects (the transferrin receptor mediates iron uptake in many cell types). They are also interested in studying the details of their unexpected discovery that blocking the transferrin receptor enhances regulatory T cell activity. Skaar is the Ernest W. Goodpasture Professor of Pathology and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation. Major, associate professor of Medicine, and Ormseth, assistant professor of Medicine, are faculty members in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology. Rathmell is the director of the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology. Other authors of the study include Allison Sewell, Evan Krystofiak, PhD, Katherine Gibson-Corley, DVM, PhD, Arissa Young, MD, Jacob Basham, MD, Ayaka Sugiura, PhD, Emily Arner, PhD, William Beavers, PhD, Dillon Kunkle, PhD, Megan Dickson, Gabriel Needle, and W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants DK105550, AI153167, DK101003, AI150701, CA253718) and the Lupus Research Alliance William Paul Distinguished Innovator Award to Jeffrey Rathmell. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. The Daily News-Miner is locally owned by the Helen E. Snedden Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Subscribe or donate A U.S. Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, from 3rd Battalion, 321 Field Artillery Regiment, attached to 41st Field Artillery Brigade, fires a rocket as part of Nordic Strike 22, at Vidsel Test Range, Sweden, Sept. 27, 2022. The Army is putting new emphasis on using technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to speed up the kill chain process of locating and firing on targets. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Devin Klecan) 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. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia Posted: January 14, 2023 The creation of Israel was the realization of a dream of its founders, envisioning the gathering of the Jews in a safe, secure, free, and just state that would end millennium-old persecution of the Jews. It is nothing short of tragic, however, that the newly-formed Netanyahu government is betraying every single principle of the countrys founders vision, to the detriment of the country. For the past four decades, I have been a keen observer of Israel. I taught scores of courses and wrote several books and hundreds of articles and essays, featuring the countrys uniqueness. I praised its democratic institutions, revered its untainted judiciary, admired its inner strength and ingenuity, applauded its discoveries in so many fields, and marveled over its emergence as a technological powerhouse. And despite all odds, Israel became a powerful country, resolute, committed to the rule of law, exemplifying freedom and democratic principles in a sea of autocratic nations. The country earned the admiration of its friends and the envy of its foes, while realizing much of its founders dreamdespite their many ideological differences, many of Israels founding fathers, including Zeev Jabotinsky, Theodor Herzl, and David Ben-Gurion, believed in a homeland for all the worlds Jews with a democratic form of government, acknowledging that the Arab inhabitants of the land were there to stay. But as the country grew and prospered and became a formidable military power, it began to lose sight of its founders vision and the core reasons behind its creation. I have never shied away from intensely criticizing when warranted, many Israeli governments have pursued misguided and often counterproductive policies in the past. Now I am utterly at a loss for words to describe my revulsion about the makeup of Netanyahus new government which is poised to pursue disastrous policies that will inflict a deadly blow to the values on which the country was built while setting the nation on an unparalleled, perilous path. The curse of the occupation Israels founding fathers could have never envisioned the country becoming an occupying power, subjugating millions of indigenous Palestinians, robbing them of their land, stifling their freedom, destroying their farms and evicting them from their homes, and treating them with disdain and brazen inequality. All while, nearly every day another young Palestinian is killed. The Palestinians are not innocent by any measure, but what would Israeli Jews have done under such a ruthless occupation when, as the Palestinians live with today, only hopelessness and despair remain the order of the day? To think that the historically oppressed and persecuted Jews have become the oppressor defies every Jewish value and every human right and moral tenet that the Jews themselves have championed so assiduously over the centuries. To be sure, the occupation is a curse from which Israel will suffer in the future just as much if not more than the Palestinians. Endemic corruption Israels founders would have never imagined that the country would one day be governed by a thoroughly corrupt prime minister who is on trial in three separate cases on charges of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust. He put his personal interest above the countrys and shamelessly pushed to realize his long-held dream of making Israel authoritarian with him at the helm, where Jewish supremacy reigns. Netanyahu formed the most racist, homophobic, and far-right government in Israels history. He divided and subdivided the ministries to appoint cronies and criminals like Shas Aryeh Deri, Otzma Yehudits Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Religious Zionists Bezalel Smotrich to posts of which they have little or no knowledge at all only to satisfy their inflated egos and blind ambition. Millions are appropriated for these newly established ministries which are bound to clash with one another as their functions and responsibilities either overlap or are loosely defined, which is a recipe for chaos. Crippling the judiciary The founding fathers would have never fathomed that an Israeli government would seek to cripple the judiciary and especially the independence and authority of the Supreme Court. Netanyahu appointed Yariv Levin to be the Justice Minister, a methodical schemer who has been aiming for years to weaken the High Courts independence. Levin is now planning, under Netanyahus instruction, to pass an override clause, to which most Israelis are opposed, that can overrule, even with a majority of one in the Knesset, any decision by the Supreme Court, which is considered the crown jewel of Israels jurisprudence, and give politicians greater weight over the appointment of judges. The Supreme Court is the only institution with the power to restrain government actions and protect the democratic principles of the country. Now the government wants to usurp that power in order to undermine Israels democratic institutions with limited judicial recourse, as well as disrupt Netanyahus corruption charges without the Courts interference. Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon put it succinctly when he said that Netanyahus proposals show the true intentions of a criminal defendant who is ready to burn down the country and its values in order to escape the dock. Historic defiance Israels founders would be shocked to realize that the country that was established precisely for the purpose of gathering the Jews from any corner of the world, regardless of their religious orientationconservative, reform, or religiousis planning to put restrictions on who qualifies as Jewish. Netanyahu appointed Avi Maoz, a bigot par excellence as the Czar in charge of the Department of Consciousness of the Jewish State within the newly-formed Office for Jewish National Identity, who is now preparing to restrict the immigration of any Jew whose Jewish roots may be questionable. His Noam Party is targeting LGBTQ persons, especially from the media, while intensely criticizing radical feminists. Adding insult to injury, Israel still allows the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate to control marriage by not permitting civilian and same-sex marriages, opposing gay rights, and refusing to recognize marriages conducted by Reform or Conservative rabbis, which continues to alienate millions of Jews. This will only further strain the already severely stressed relations with diaspora Jewry. As Rabbi Esther Lederman, the Union for Reform Judaisms director of congregational innovation and leadership said, The attacks made against Reform and Conservative conversions could threaten the identity and the status of Jews who want to make Aliyah from North America. This will substantially reduce Jewish immigration to Israel which defies one of the main premises behind Israels establishment in the first place. The damning consequences of Netanyahus ill-fated government The founders of the State of Israel were dreaming of a country where Jews from the world over will live in harmony, and together forge a new society where democracy and equality reign supreme, where freedom of speech and religion are guaranteed, where human rights are zealously protected, and where political differences are respected. Instead, Netanyahu has created anything but an egalitarian government; only one which is racist to the core. Dire polarization The new government is polarizing the Israelis in every political, social, and religious setting, discriminating against minorities, attacking secularism, rejecting feminists and LGBTQ persons, and harassing human rights organizations. To be sure, Netanyahu has singlehandedly undermined every pillar of Israels democracy. His new government will be democratic in name only, fundamentally authoritarian, not unlike Poland, Hungary, and Turkey, with no scruples, fascist at the core, racist, and the most extremist right-wing government in Israels history that will earn the country nothing but mockery, scorn, and contempt. Forfeiting Israeli-Arab normalization The prospect of normalizing relations with other Arab countries will diminish completely as long as the occupation remains in force and as long as Ben-Gvir (currently National Security Minister, whose focus will be on security in the West Bank and who will be eager to rain havoc on the Palestinians) and Smotrich (Finance Minister) are in the government. Recently, the Saudi foreign ministry affirmed what it has been stating all along, Saudi Arabias solid stance of standing by the brotherly Palestinian people. But now, leave it to the xenophobic Ben-Gvir to exacerbate the conflict with the Palestinians, making it impossible to reach an agreement, thus forfeiting the prospect of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that could have followed. The cancelation of Netanyahus visit to the United Arab Emirates was meant to send a clear message to Netanyahu that his new governments policy toward the Palestinians is totally unacceptable, and that every Arab state will land on the side of the Palestinians under any circumstances. Damaging US-Israeli relations US-Israel relations will too be adversely affected. President Biden made clear his opposition to expanding the settlements and warned Israel not to even contemplate further annexation of any Palestinian territories. The tension between Washington and Jerusalem will continue to rise as Biden and Netanyahu simply do not see eye-to-eye on a host of other issues, especially how to deal with Irans nuclear program. Although US-Israel relations are solid and have hardly been affected by the political orientation of successive US administrations and Israeli governments, this is the first time that the US has expressed profound concern about the makeup and the extremism of the new Israeli government and how its policies might affect their bilateral relations. Intensifying antisemitism Although antisemitism has existed from time immemorial and Israel continues to sound the alarm about the upsurge of antisemitism, not once has any Israeli government attributed, at least in part, the rise of antisemitism to the continuing occupation. There should be no doubt that given what it stands for and the intent of the new government to expand the settlements and annex more territories in the West Bank, antisemitism will only continue to grow. The continuing occupation reminds the whole world of Israels ruthlessness in the territories. Indeed, the new Israeli government will make matters worse and unless the occupation comes to an end, antisemitism will continue to rise, and anti-Jewish incidents will become increasingly common around the world. Nurturing a fifth column Instead of fostering social cohesiveness and encouraging Israeli Arabs to become an integral part of Israels social and economic mainstream, the new government is poised to intensify discrimination against this constituency which represents more than 20 percent of the population. Further alienation and discrimination against Israeli Arabs by the new government will nurture enmity from within, unquestionably precipitate social unrest, and increasingly push Israeli Arabs towards militancy, becoming a fifth column once a new major violent flare-up between Israel and the Palestinians occurs, which will be only a matter of time under this chauvinistic government. What Netanyahu has done, to be sure, is nothing short of a political coup detat. He is a master schemer, with no scruples, no morals, and no allegiance to the country for which millions of Jews have been yearning and dying for. Instead of forging peace, he is preparing the next generation of Israeli youth to fight the next war and sacrifice their lives on the altar of his ego and the egos of his fanatical gang. Netanyahu is dangerous, a menace to the future of the Jews in and outside Israel, and his government must speedily be toppled before its too late. Yes, under the new Israeli government led by autocrats, messianic zealots, and corrupt and power-hungry bigots, Israel will be marching on a dark and sorry trail that will grow ever darker, obliterating its character as a democratic country and rendering it nothing but a pariah and an apartheid state. It will be reviled by the international community, constantly on the defensive, and living by the gun to survive. Agencies | New Delhi The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com India proposed to create a Global Biofuel Alliance under G20 during a virtual summit held in the presence of Oil Minister of Bahrain, Dr Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Daina, yesterday. The proposal was from Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs, who chaired the Energy Ministers. The session was part of the "Voice of Global South Summit, hosted by India, under the theme "Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose, from the 10th to the 12th of this month. Energy Ministers session had the theme Energy Security and Development- Roadmap to Prosperity. Dr Daina, who is also the Special Envoy for Climate Affairs of Bahrain, represented Bahrain in the Energy Ministers Session, which had ministers from 15 countries. Over 120 countries are participating in the Summit held in a virtual format. The Indian minister further reiterated commitment to achieving net zero carbon emission by 2070 and invited Global South to join Indias initiatives such as International Solar Alliance, One Sun One World One Grid and the 1st India Energy Week, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru. Dr Daina praised the increasing cooperation between India and Bahrain in Conventional Energy, Renewables and tackling climate change. The minister said he looks forward to increased collaboration within the framework of the International Solar Alliance, which Bahrain joined in March 2022. The initiative was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas, and underpinned by Indias philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which is reflected in India's theme for its G-20 Presidency, 'One Earth. One Family. One Future.' On this Diplomatic day, we only have one wish - Bahrain should grow well TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Developing diplomatic relations is one of the most important factors for the long-term well-being of any country. The Kingdom of Bahrain has made great progress due to its long-standing diplomatic relations with western countries and the Middle East. All the countries are cooperating with Bahrain on economic, social and political arenas. On Diplomatic Day, the Ambassadors in Bahrain joined The Daily Tribunes Ashen Tharaka for a special discussion on the future of Bahrain and plans for 2023. 130 years of ties Steven C Bondy, US Ambassador to Bahrain Bahrain and the United States enjoy a deep and broad relationship that dates back 130 years, when Americans first arrived in Bahrain to deliver healthcare and Education. The hospital, school, and church they founded still exist today. The solid foundation created by Bahrainis and Americans working together, as partners and friends, with respect and admiration, serves as the platform for our official, Government-to-government relationship. Our two countries share the same objectives a stable, secure, and prosperous Bahrain where citizens can pursue their dreams in a peaceful, supportive environment. Bahrains success is our success. As we look to the year ahead, the United States will always rely upon Bahrain for support, advice, and guidance on addressing the many challenges and opportunities. I can assure you that the United States greatly appreciates the close collaboration, we have with the Serious professionals in Bahrains diplomatic corps. They represent the very best of Bahrain, and they represent Bahrain extremely effectively on the world stage. Your security is our security Roderick Deummond, British Ambassador to Bahrain The UK greatly values its close and longstanding relationship with Bahrain as a friend and ally. I would like to thank His Majesty the King, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa for their continued commitment to our vibrant and thriving relationship. On this very special day, we celebrate the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Bahrain over more than two centuries. The UK and Bahrain have deep connections covering the full range of our shared interests and values, from national and regional security, to trade and investment, education, healthcare, science and technology, green initiatives, sport and so many more. The foundation of our relationship is the dynamic people-to-people connections between us, with Bahrainis going to the UK to study, do business or enjoy tourism, and British nationals making an essential contribution here in what feels to most like a second home. In 2023, we look forward to continuing to expanding our joint collaboration to ensure healthy and sustainable progress. As Foreign Secretary Cleverly said when he visited in November, your security is our security and your prosperity is our prosperity. Important partner Piyush Srivastava, Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Warm greetings and felicitations to the highly professional Diplomatic Corps of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the occasion of Bahrains Diplomatic Day. Under the visionary Leadership of His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Bahrain has achieved numerous successes in all aspects of diplomacy - be it bilateral, regional or multilateral. India and the Kingdom of Bahrain enjoy deep bonds of friendship dating back thousands of years. Our two countries have made tremendous progress in our bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relationship over the years, with high-level political interactions and structured mechanisms bearing fruit in diversifying and deepening our close relationship. It will be an exciting year for India as well, as it chairs two global groupings, the G20 and SCO, taking global leadership roles and working for global good. Accordingly, our engagements with the world, especially with our friends on the global stage including Bahrain are set for a momentous leap. I, once again, congratulate all the distinguished diplomatic colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of Diplomatic Day and wish them success in their future endeavours. Grow well in the long run - Tirtha Raj Wangle, Nepalese Ambassador to Bahrain Nepal and the Kingdom of Bahrain enjoy friendly relations ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in January 1977. These relations have seen steady progress over the years. Nepal established its Embassy in Manama in September 2013. I am honoured to serve as the second Ambassador of Nepal to the Kingdom of Bahrain from August 2022. This year we are focusing on establishing a bilateral consolidated mechanism between two foreign ministries. We would like to continue our cooperation in the labour and employment sector and we look forward to strengthening further cooperation in the tourism and cultural sector. Bahrain punches well beyond its weight Clemens Hach, German Ambassador to Bahrain Bahrain punches, as the saying goes, well beyond its weight. While profoundly anchored in the Gulf Cooperation Council and its traditional partnerships, it broadens its view and diversifies its contacts into the whole world, faithful to the tradition of an ancient trading nation that has successfully exchanged goods and views with the outside world for centuries. This traditional openness to the world contributes to making Bahrain a respected diplomatic power in the region and internationally. For Germany, Bahrains growing relationship with the State of Israel and the principled stance on the Russian aggression in Ukraine, are two particularly impressive illustrations of diplomacy that will always prioritize the quest for peace, that cherishes the respect of international law, and that is based on the values of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and moderation. On this Diplomatic Day, I want to thank Bahrain and its diplomats for their excellence and for their friendship. I am looking forward to our continued and growing partnership. Important partner Alexey Skosyrev, Russian Ambassador to Bahrain The diplomats of the Kingdom selflessly work on the protection of the national interests of Bahrain, while also sparing no efforts for the sake of promoting the values of religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence and sustainable development for all. And of course, they play a vital role in strengthening the relations between the Kingdom and its friends abroad, including the Russian Federation. Russia considers Bahrain to be its important partner in the Arab and Islamic Worlds. Our leaders maintain close contact; their communication is always distinguished by frankness and cordiality. The upcoming Joint Intergovernmental Commission meeting in Manama and the participation of Russian senators in the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are expected to contribute to the enhancement of our political coordination. Both our countries are committed to the principles of sovereign equality and the plurality of the developmental models; both realize the importance of historical traditions. With such a background, it is not surprising that the Bahraini and Russian governments and, what is also extremely important, our people are actively seeking further engagement and collaboration in all the fields imaginable. Strength to strength Muhammad Ayub, Pakistan Ambassador to Bahrain Pakistan - Bahrain bilateral relations are growing from strength to strength in diverse fields of cooperation. The two countries work closely at the international diplomatic forums and cooperate on issues of mutual interest. Pakistan and Bahrain have robust institutional mechanisms for bilateral consultations and cooperation. Both countries also enjoy historical relations in defence and security cooperation. The hardworking and loyal Pakistani diaspora in Bahrain is a bridge between the two countries. The leadership of Pakistan and Bahrain are committed to further augmenting the brotherly relations and transforming the relationship into a mutually beneficial partnership, a win-win for both countries and their people. Trade and investment, energy, food security, higher education, training and development and tourism are the priority areas where both countries can flourish together. Agencies | Abu Dhabi The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Britain yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance strategic and technical cooperation in the energy sector. The MoU was signed during a visit by Britains Business and Energy Secretary, Grant Shapps, to Abu Dhabi. Britains Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said the MoU would facilitate the sharing of technical knowledge, advice, skills and expertise, opening up new avenues for cooperation between the UAE and Britain on energy and climate, while boosting jobs and investment in the UK. Shapps said the agreement provides further evidence that not only are we are strengthening our energy security and lowering bills for consumers in the long term, were unlocking huge opportunities for investment in British expertise and jobs in the process, a statement sent by the department said. International cooperation on energy and climate with close partners like the UAE is vital and as they take centre stage as hosts of COP28 later this year, they will have our full support every step of the way, Shapps added. Britain hosted COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow and has been looking for ways to increase its energy security after it became a more urgent political issue in light of threats to long-term gas supplies across Europe following Russias invasion of Ukraine. UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said the MoU is greatly significant in light of the common interest of both countries as it helps them implement an energy policy that would provide low-carbon, safe and sustainable energy supplies at affordable prices, the UAE state news agency WAM reported. The MoU also includes cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy, the field of low-carbon hydrogen, and bolstering collaboration in clean and renewable energy, WAM added. Agencies | Kyiv The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Russia said yesterday that its forces had taken control of the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, in what would be a rare success for Moscow after months of battlefield reverses, but Kyiv said its troops were still fighting in the town. Soledar is a small salt mining town that has been the focus of relentless Russian assault for days. Kyiv and the West have played down the towns significance, saying Moscow sacrificed wave upon wave of soldiers and mercenaries in a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland, unlikely to affect the wider war except insofar as the huge losses have sapped manpower on both sides. But the capture of the town has taken on an outsized importance as it would, if confirmed, give Moscow a trophy for one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war following major battlefield setbacks throughout the second half of 2022. The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces, Moscows defence ministry said. Seizing the town would make it possible to cut off Ukrainian supply routes to the larger nearby city of Bakhmut, and trap remaining Ukrainian forces there, it said. Agencies | New York The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Nearly a dozen UN Security Council members on Friday urged the Taliban to end repressive treatment of women in Afghanistan as they push ahead with tightening restrictions. The Taliban seized power in August 2021, promising a softer version of their brutal 1996-2001 rule that was infamous for human rights abuses. But they have squeezed women out of almost all areas of public life, recently banning them from secondary and higher education, public sector work and from visiting parks and baths. "We urge the Taliban to immediately reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls," said Japanese ambassador Ishikane Kimihiro, speaking on behalf of 11 members of the Security Council. These were Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the UAE, Britain and the United States. The nations called on the Taliban to "respect the rights of women and girls, and their full, equal and meaningful participation and inclusion across all aspects of society in Afghanistan, from political and economic, to education and public space." The statement made explicit mention of Afghan women's exclusion from secondary schools and universities, and a ban on NGOs employing Afghan women. "NGOs will be unable to reach those most in need, in particular women and girls, to provide lifesaving materials and services," it said. Several international aid groups have suspended their work in Afghanistan because of the ban, which was announced by the Taliban government on December 24. But the UN said its agencies would keep working in Afghanistan. "The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan must remain high on the agenda of the Security Council," said Friday's statement, which came during a closed-door council meeting. "We'll discuss today a unified international response to the Taliban's actions," British ambassador Barbara Woodward tweeted. "We aim to stop the slide into humanitarian catastrophe and reverse the bans on women and girls." Agencies | Islamabad The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Police in Pakistan said Friday they busted an organ trafficking ring when a missing 14-year-old boy was found in an underground lab after having his kidney removed. The ring was responsible for luring young, vulnerable victims with promises of lucrative jobs and large payouts before removing their organs - mainly kidneys - to sell for up to 900,000 rupees ($4,000). "It was only after we followed the evidence and leads that we discovered that there was an organ trafficking operation behind the boy's disappearance," Rehan Anjum, a spokesman for Punjab police, told AFP on Friday. Six people were arrested. "The boy told us that when he woke up there was a man on the stretcher next to him, so we think that most of the clients were foreigners," Anjum said. The gang's victims were taken to a medical testing lab used for clandestine organ transplant surgeries in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad. Facilities for such clandestine surgeries in Pakistan often lack proper medical equipment and standards, and patients are known to die from complications as result. "I'm just grateful that the police found him alive, otherwise they had left him for dead," the boy's father told AFP in Lahore, from where the boy went missing. Police said the doctors and surgeons involved in the operation had not been tracked down. Pakistan outlawed the commercial trade in human organs in 2010, imposing a jail term of up to 10 years and fines in the hope of curbing the sale of organs to rich overseas clients by middlemen through exploitative means. Japan, the United States and Europe must act in unison on China, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in Washington, DC, during a visit aimed at enhancing Tokyos alliance with the US in the face of growing challenges from Beijing. China is the central challenge for both Japan and the US as Chinas vision for the international order differs from the views of Tokyo and Washington in some ways the allies can never accept, Kishida said. It is absolutely imperative for Japan, the United States and Europe to stand united in managing our respective relationship with China, the Japanese prime minister said in a speech on Friday at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Russias war against Ukraine marked the complete end of the post-Cold War world order and if Moscows use of force goes unchallenged, it will happen elsewhere in the world, including Asia, he said. The international community is at a historical turning point. The free, open and stable international order that we have dedicated ourselves to upholding is now in grave danger, Kishida said. We will never allow any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force and we will reinforce our deterrence. ...continue reading LOZITHA Throngs of Libutfo regiment and Ingaja were disappointed when they discovered that the Kings maize fields at Sihlabeni, Lozitha were sprayed with a pesticide chemical. This then compelled the warriors to return to Ludzidzini for more orders as yesterday was supposed to mark the first day of the weeding of the Kings fields. The regiments are fresh from the main Incwala Day, which also attracted throngs of people, locally and internationally. His Majesty King Mswati III is expected to make his first maiden speech in 2023 when dispersing the regiments . Ritual Worth noting is that Incwala is the main ceremony in the Kingdom of Eswatini to celebrate the first harvest. This is a national prayer event that takes place during the summer solstice. The main participant in incwala is the King of Eswatini. This is one of Eswatinis most important cultural event. A ceremony that has lasted for hundreds of years. Although often translated as first fruits festival, the tasting of the first of the seasons bounty is only one part. Essentially this is about cleansing and renewal, and above all celebrating kingship. Although not a tourism event per se, visitors with an interest in Eswatini culture are always welcome. MANAMA, Bahrain, Jan. 11, 2023 /CNW/ -- Citi Bahrain has celebrated the first anniversary of its Global Technology Hub, which is on track to employ 1000 Bahraini coders over ten years. Currently, the hub comprises of 110 Bahraini employees, out of which 91 Bahrainis have started at the Citi Seef premises, with 19 additional hires set to join soon. Female participants at the Hub make up 22% of the total Bahrainis, outperforming the average of females in other Citi tech hubs around the world. First Anniversary Citi Global Tech Hub in Bahrain (PRNewsfoto/Bahrain EDB) When selecting a country for its Global Technology Hub, Citi conducted a rigorous technical coding test and interview process, with Bahraini talent showing the highest pass rate when compared to other regions. Even more encouraging was the level of female talent in Bahrain's candidate pool, as Bahrain ranks first globally in multiple subindices according to Meta's Inclusive Internet Index (2022), including female digital skills training and STEM education, open data policies, and privacy regulations. Commenting on the anniversary and the contribution of female participants in the hub, HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Member of the Supreme Council for Women and Chairwoman of the Bahrain Women in Fintech Committee, said: "We are pleased to see Citi's achievements a year after the Hub's launch. Such initiatives contribute positively to achieving the goals of the Women in Fintech Committee working under the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women, and the National Gender Balance in Future Sciences Initiative, in line with the directions of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030 as well as the Kingdom's digital transformation initiatives. It makes us proud to see Bahraini women directly contributing to the operations and growth of Citi's Global Tech Hub." Furthermore, commenting on the occasion, HE the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, said: "The Financial services sector has progressed over the last decade, and we expect more changes in the coming years as the pace of digitisation increases. We are proud to see Bahraini talents and competencies benefiting and contributing in developing global centres affiliated with reputable financial institutions in order to promote digital solutions in the financial sector". According to Citi Bahrain's CEO, Michel Sawaya, Citi has witnessed great results since the launch. "The coders had a big impact on developing our digital platforms, such as Citi Velocity and CitiFX Pulse. Their positive contribution helped implement important features, and subsequently take part of bigger projects that have helped us serve Citi clients globally" he said. Citi launched its Global Tech Hub last year as part of a strategic partnership between Tamkeen, Bahrain's labour fund, and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the Kingdom's investment promotion agency. A first in the region, the Hub aims to develop and improve digital solutions for Citi's regional and global clients while creating 1000 tech jobs for Bahrainis over ten years. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1981419/CITI_Tech_Hub_Group.jpg SOURCE Bahrain EDB For further information: For more information, please contact: Abdulelah Abdulla, Communications Department, Economic Development Board, +973-39798919, [email protected] OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 13, 2023 /CNW/ - "We would like to commend the agri-food industry on the substantial progress they have made in developing Canada's first-ever Grocery Code of Conduct. We know there has been a significant amount of time and effort dedicated towards this initiative and we would like to thank you all as we move towards its implementation. By enhancing transparency, predictability and fair dealing, the Code will help make Canada's food supply chain more resilient. With businesses working together, the Code of Conduct can be even more effective, which ultimately, will not only benefit the industry, but consumers as well. We strongly encourage all agri-food organizations to participate in the consultations that industry will be leading in the coming weeks so that the Code can benefit the largest number and variety of businesses. It is clear that a Grocery Code of Conduct will be more successful if people see its added value, especially through the accountability its governance structure and its dispute resolution model will bring. We do recognize that a Grocery Code of Conduct will not address all pressures facing the food supply chain. Issues at stake are very complex and need to consider a variety of conditions and perspectives. We are supportive of the current process and highly encourage widespread voluntary adoption of the Code of Conduct, so it can be swiftly implemented and help improve the strength and resilience of Canada's food supply chain, while also building consumers' trust." - The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Mr. Andre Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada For further information: For media: Marianne Dandurand, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, [email protected], 343-541-9229; Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 613-773-7972, 1-866-345-7972, [email protected] Manchester United forward, Marcus Rashford, has joined the clubs legend Cristiano Ronaldo in an elite club after his goal in his sides Premier League derby 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday afternoon. Two goals from Bruno Fernandes and Rashford gave Man United all three points against Man City. Jack Grealish did score for Pep Guardiolas side at Old Trafford. Rashfords goal against Man City means he is now the first Manchester United player to score in seven consecutive appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils since Ronaldo in April 2008. Rashford will now hope to continue his impressive display for Erik ten Hags side when they face Crystal Palace in their next game on Wednesday. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Saturday announced the sales of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and direct entry forms. It advised prospective candidates seeking admission to university, polytechnic and other tertiary institutions to begin the process of registration. It urged interested candidates to obtain their forms from Saturday, January 14, 2023, adding that closing date for registration is February 14, 2023. The board said the application is also applicable to foreign students at the accredited JAMB registration centre. It advised candidates to open a new email or have a valid existing email account before starting the process. Candidates seeking admission into the university, polytechnic and college of education, are required to have five credit at Olevel, with English and Mathematics as compulsory. The Osun State gubernatorial election petition tribunal has adjourned for judgement after counsels to the parties argued their final addresses. Justice Tertsea Kume, who chaired the tribunal, said that a judgment date would be communicated to all the parties. Recall that on December 20, 2022, the Tribunal adjourned sitting to January 13, 2023 for all the parties in the matter to adopt their final addresses. Lead Counsel to former Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, Lateef Fagbemi, in his address, held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred in its synchronised report which he described as contradictory. Fagbemi also stated that the Electoral Act, 2022, did not take into account synchronisation. According to him, To allow INEC to have its way by the concept of synchronization, that means they can declare election one day and come the following day that result has not been synchronized and thereby decide who wins and not the electorates. The issue of result is different from accreditation. What is required is updating of result and not updating of accreditation. While urging the Tribunal to nullify the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the July 16, 2022 gubernatorial election, he alleged that he had forged certificate. The testimonial says it was issued in 1988 about three years before Osun State came into existence when nobody knew that the State would be created in 1991, he said. INEC, the 1st respondent, through its lead Counsel, Paul Ananaba argued that the petitioners were not accurate with reports of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. In his words, The BVAS reports tendered by the petitioners were incomplete because the INEC server had not completed the synchronization process when it was issued to them. On the basis of claims of over voting using the BVAS machines as a basis, Ananaba urged the Tribunal to dismiss the claims of the petitioner, Adegboyega Oyetola. Lead Counsel to the 2nd respondent, Ademola Adeleke, Onyechi Ikpeazu in his submission noted that none of the requirements allowed by the Electoral Act to prove over voting provided such evidence. The petitioner did not bring any document in prove of forgery and no witness from the institution to disown the documents that were allegedly forged, he said. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counsel, Alex Izinyon stated that the issue of forged certificates had been settled. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State have disagreed over Governor Hope Uzodinmas scorecard within three years in office. Uzodinma assumed office on January 14, 2020, after a judgment of the Supreme Court which declared him winner of the 2019 governorship election in the State. While the PDP Publicity Secretary, Collins Opurozor, insisted that Uzodinmas three years were enmeshed in economic stagnation, mass penury, infrastructural decay and insecurity, the APC Publicity Secretary, Cajetan Duke countered the statement. In a statement signed by Opurozor and made available to NAN in Owerri, the PDP argued that the greatest casualties of Uzodinmas emergence are the Imo people. Opurozo alleged that Uzodinma had, in the last three years, worked so hard to make sure that all the institutions of democracy in Imo are pulled to pieces and a full-blown dictatorship firmly established. He said, For instance, the local government system, which is a mechanism put in place to expand and sustain the democratic space and spread democratic values, has been destroyed in Imo State. This is a huge tragedy! Imo is a state that has over 70 percent of her entire population living in the rural areas. But dismissing Opurozors claims, Cajetan Duke, the APC Publicity Secretary, said the PDP should rather praise Uzodinma for the giant strides of development in the last three years. He said: We are glad today that the opposition PDP has confirmed by the contents of their press conference the reconstruction of the Owerri-Orlu road. Their argument on the cost of the project is neither here nor there. PDP should stop reminding Imolites of their seven months of illegal occupation of Douglas House and the unimaginable looting of our common patrimony. MBABANE Nearly five years since it all started, two girls have finally spoken up about a rape ordeal that was kept secret, allegedly by their grandmother. To ensure that they did not report the incident, it is alleged the two girls were offered E2 each. *Jackie (11) and *Jenny (13) are sisters who alleged that they were raped when they were five and six years. The two girls are said to have been living at their grandmothers homestead in the Shiselweni Region, during the alleged sexual abuse ordeal. Their father is deceased, but their mother who is still alive is said to have left them at her maternal homestead because she was now married. Speaking about their ordeal in the presence of their aunt, Jackie, who is the younger of the two girls, said the sexual abuse started when she was about five years old. She said she was able to remember her age because, at the time it started, she was not in school yet. Jackie is now doing Grade VI and she said she was allegedly sexually abused by four different people. She said three of the people who sexually abused her were female and the fourth was a male. She revealed that the male, who allegedly raped her, is a relative and that this allegedly continued for about five years. Jackie said the incident left her with injuries on her private parts. Jenny, who is the older of the two also, concurred with her sisters story. She said the alleged rape left her with scarred private parts and internal damage as confirmed by a doctor. Jenny revealed that when she was allegedly raped, she was seven years old in doing Grade II. Just like her sister, Jenny said she was allegedly raped by her relatives including three females and a male. She said they would sometimes rape them in the same room with her sister. Grandmother The two girls said they reported the alleged abuse to their grandmother but no action was taken. They also alleged they were given E2 as compensation so that they should keep silent about the alleged rape. We then told our mother, the girls said. Due to the alleged sexual abuse, the two girls were forced to move to another school. They said they were now starting afresh but that they were still traumatised. The Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed that the alleged rape had been reported to one of the Piggs Peak police stations. In the Times of Eswatini, last Tuesday, an alleged rape inside was reported, where it was revealed that a teenager was booted out of home for reporting that her uncle was sexually abusing her. *Nothando reported that the alleged sexual abuse started in 2017 when she lived with her grandmother. It is alleged that she had been raped by her uncle who was in his mid-20s at the time. It was alleged that when she slept with her cousins, her uncle would enter the room and touch her inappropriately. Nothando alleged that her uncle would target the times when her grandmother was away from home. Further, the teenager also alleged that she was barred from reporting the matter because she lived at a homestead where there were police officers. She alleged that despite the incident having happened about five years ago, her grandmother continued to insist that she was the one who was problematic. The Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), said it was not too late to open a case. SWAGAA Director Nonhlanhla Dlamini said as long as there was tangible evidence that the uncle indeed raped Nothando when she was still a minor, she would get justice. Dlamini said as part of their interventions they would assist Nothando to open a case. Adding, Dlamini said they will also assist Nothando with counselling.\ Not real name to protect minors. 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. Genevieve Mattei started homebrewing beer when she turned 18. She joined the Crescent City Homebrewers club in 2019 and is currently its vice president. The group meets regularly to share members brews, discuss brewing and socialize. The group holds its annual Winterfest at Deutsches Haus on Saturday, Jan. 21, and there will be homebrewed beers, pretzels and German food and music by Tongue and Groove. Homebrewers cannot legally sell beer, but basic memberships ($30) are available at the door. Visit crescentcityhomebrewers.com for information. Gambit: How did you get into homebrewing? Genevieve Mattei: My father started homebrewing right after Katrina. I was not even in high school yet, but once I hit high school, I started doing non-alcoholic brews. Mostly ginger beers. You essentially make like youre going to make a beer, but instead of letting it ferment for the full two weeks you cut it off early. So you have some carbonation, but you dont have enough alcohol for it to be legally alcoholic. When I hit college, I went into the full five gallon, the standard homebrewers size, because thats what fits in a keg. I started doing actual beer when I was 18. My first beer was a pretty standard wheat beer. I have got two beers that I like doing. One is a mango-basil wheat beer, which is a good summer beer. That was one of the first beers I did because I thought it would be good. I am on my third rendition of the recipe. I think Ive got it nailed down now. I like making weird things. I also have a Cafe Brewlot. Thats a coffee stout and I add orange and mulling extract. A lot of people only do traditional German styles. My brother-in-law started doing sours. I havent dipped my foot in that pool but maybe one day. Homebrewers are good to go as long as youre not trying to sell it. Theyre making five gallons at a time. Youre going to drink some, and youre going to bottle some and give it to your friends. Your friends will start saying, Hey I am having a party. Do you want to make something for it? Thats cool, because they think its cool enough to give to their friends. Gambit: What does the club do? Mattei: We have a monthly meeting to discuss club business, and people bring homebrew or interesting small craft brewing beer. We taste it and hang out. We have an education guy Hector Maier of Wetlands Sake. He is accertified judge with the (Beer Judge Certification Program). He does lessons on different beer styles and what they are made of and what they are supposed to taste like. One of the things our club does that I think is pretty cool is get together for a monthly brew-off, where we make 50 gallons of beer. Everyone gets five gallons of wort. Thats an easy way to get into homebrewing if you dont know how to get into it all by yourself on a level like using a propane burner in your backyard. My first beer was one of those. Then I started going to the local homebrew store, buying stuff and asking, What should I do? My dad does that, too. Lets say we want to make a nice oat stout. We go over to Brewstock and we ask what theyve got that would be good. The process is pretty much the same every time, but theres a lot of variation in the ingredients. Once you know how to make a wheat, you dont have to change the process that much to make a stout or a wee heavy or a Kolsch. Lagering is where you get into something different, and souring. Thats about temperature control and how you pitch your yeast. We also have brewery tours by bus where we pick three or four breweries and go. Last year we went to Baton Rouge. I think this year were trying to go east. We have a crawfish boil or pig roast every year, which we alternate by year. One of our brew-offs is an oyster brew-off, where we buy a bunch of oysters and the beer we make is an oyster stout. We do a mead brewing brew-off in August for Mead Day. Were hoping that gets bigger. Its a much different process than brewing beer. You make your honey less thick with water, and you pitch yeast to it. Then in six months, you will have mead. We have people who tried fruited meads, or spicy ones with peppers. Gambit: What types of beer will there be at Winterfest? Mattei: Were shooting for around 50 beers at Winterfest. It depends on what people brew. Last year we had very few stouts and a lot of interesting pale ales and wheats and a couple of sours. I tried to get more people to do stouts this year because you want something chewier in winter weather. Right now, I have got one beer fermenting. My dads got one going. I am making the Cafe Brewlot. Its my standard wintertime festival beer. Its a stout with local flavor. We have two that are kegged and ready to go to Winterfest. One is a wee heavy, a Scottish style thats usually high in alcohol and tastes milder than stout. We have a pretty standard wheat beer. Sometimes you want to let the wheat speak for itself. MBABANE The Ministry of Public Service must employ 5 000 teachers on a permanent basis, otherwise teachers will not return to school when they open. This is one of the demands the teachers made in a petition that was delivered to the Ministry of Public Service yesterday. They said should the government not adhere to this, they would not be returning to work. The petition was presented to the under secretary (US) in the ministry Richard Phungwayo by the Secretary General (SG) of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Lot Vilakati, during the protest that was characterised by dancing and singing of songs. In the same petition, it was stated that the minister should stop intimidating teachers about the no-work, no-pay by using the radio when the teachers exercised their rights. Further, the petition stated that government should stop hiring teachers on contract basis while soldiers, police officers and warders were hired permanently. Also, the government should withdraw a statement dated September 29, 2022, as it is against ILO and is tantamount to union bashing. Meanwhile, SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini was not pleased that the principal secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service did not come out to receive the petition though he was available. Initially, the US arrived to receive the petition, but the protesters were not happy about this. They demanded to see the PS instead. Dlamini said the PS failure to see them was a sign that the government did not take them seriously. He said the PS was on leave yet he was in his office, attending only to important matters. Petition If he is attending to important matters but does not want to see us, it means we are not important, he said. The petition was eventually handed to the US. The National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) President Oscar Nkambule was also one of the main speakers. He said NAPSAWU was in support of the demands made by SNAT. We are here as concerned parents, he said. He said NAPSAWU Was fully behind the demands by SNAT and that they understood the plight of teachers. One of the temporary teachers, who were among the protesters said life was very challenging for the teachers. He said there were teachers who had been working on a temporary basis for 12 years and were still not confirmed permanently. This is unacceptable because the teacher would end up reaching unemployable age, he said. Further, SNAT also delivered a petition to the Ministry of Education and Training. It was handed to the US by SNAT SG. He stated that one of the demands was that the government should pay up the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) as well as Free Primary Education (FPE) grants. Also, SNAT wants the government to stop teachers from invigilating during the examinations. He said whenever teachers invigilated, they ended up being harassed. SNAT also wants the government to pay head teachers to monitor examinations. Among their demands, they also included that head teachers who have degrees should be paid accordingly and that the government must hire teachers for grade zero. As House Speaker Rep. Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, watches, second from right, Senate President Sen. John Alario, R-Westwego, right, introduces statewide elected officials, from left, Treasurer John Schroder; Attorney General Jeff Landry; and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser at the start of the joint session as the 2018 Regular Legislative Session begins Monday March 12, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. Saudi Arabias Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, will host a senior delegation from Oman, to explore trade and investment opportunities. Led by Qais bin Muhammad Al-Yousef, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Omani Investment Promotion, the visit marks renewed shared ambitions to boost regional capabilities and strengthen existing long-standing bilateral relations. Saudi and Omani business representatives and government leaders will participate in the Saudi-Omani Investment Forum on February 1, which will provide a platform for both nations to explore opportunities to expand existing investment partnerships and identify new areas for collaboration. The forum will include presentations from leading Saudi and Omani businesses as well as B2B and G2B meetings to explore mutually beneficial investment opportunities. Industries exhibition In tandem with the investment forum, between February 1 and 4, the Saudi-Oman Industries Exhibition will celebrate the strong economic relationship between both nations and provide the opportunity for small and medium sized businesses to showcase their products. In exploring the potential for further partnerships, the Exhibition will also involve interactive workshops to discuss topics of mutual interest. The Omani delegations visit to the kingdom is the latest in a string of high-level engagements between the two nations in recent years aimed at bolstering trade and investment partnerships in line with their economic transformation programmes Saudi Vision 2030 and Oman Vision 2040. In December, a high-level Saudi delegation visited Oman to explore methods of enhancing trade, while in 2021, a landmark land crossing connecting the countries was announced to promote trade.-- TradeArabia News Service Ukrainian soldiers on their positions in the frontline near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Libkos/AP Photo) KYIV, UkraineRussia claimed Friday that its forces captured the fiercely contested salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the fight for the town continued. Since its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Moscow has prioritized taking full control of the Donbasa region made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, where it has backed a separatist insurgency since 2014. Russia has seized most of Luhansk, but about half of Donetsk remains under Ukraines control. There have repeatedly been conflicting reports over who controls Soledar. The Associated Press could not independently confirm either sides claim. The liberation of the town of Soledar was completed in the evening of Jan. 12, said Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, calling the development important for the continuation of offensive operations in the Donetsk region. Taking control of the town would allow Russian forces to cut supply lines to Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, and then block and encircle the Ukrainian units there, Konashenkov said. But Serhii Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the east, denied the town had fallen, telling the AP there are still Ukrainian units in Soledar. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Friday, The tough battle for Donetsk continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our state continues. Zelenskyy told the Lithuanian parliament earlier in the day that Kyiv did not intend to give any breathing space to Russian forces, and that the coming months will be decisive for Ukraines fight to defend itself. Just hours before Russias claim, Ukraine reported there had been a heavy night of fighting. In a Telegram post early Friday, Ukraines deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said Moscow had sent almost all [its] main forces to secure a victory in the east. This is a difficult stage of the war, but we will win, Maliar added. Konashenkov said the storming of Soledar became possible thanks to massive air and artillery strikes and airborne troops maneuvers to envelop the city. He didnt mention the Wagner Group, which previously took credit for capturing Soledar. There have been signs of tensions between the army and the Wagner Group, led by millionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin. After Prigozhin angrily accused the Defense Ministry of constantly trying to steal Wagners victory, the Defense Ministry changed course and acknowledged the groups courageous and selfless action to capture Soledar. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian central security agency announced Friday that it is holding counter-sabotage exercises along a section of the border with Belarus. The move comes amidst heightened concern about Belarus possible involvement in the war. The country has provided a base for about 10,000 Russian soldiers, and the two countries are to conduct joint military air exercises next week. HAMMOND A police chase and crash resulted in the arrest of a man wanted in a shooting in Minnesota and the discovery that he is believed to have been involved in an armed confrontation with Hammond police in 2018. Hammond police said they were notified Jan. 6 by a police agency in Minnesota that a suspect in a shooting there was thought to be in Hammond. "Hammond police used Hammond's Blue Net license plate reader system to coordinate a location of the vehicle with the suspect inside," Lt. Steven Kellogg said. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled for several miles before crashing near 159th Street and Interstate 80/94. "Three people were inside the vehicle, including the wanted suspect," Kellogg said. "Two of the subjects fled the vehicle and were apprehended. The suspect wanted in the shooting was arrested in the vehicle." Two firearms were recovered from the vehicle. "Police later learned that the subject wanted for the Minnesota shooting was involved in a police pursuit and shooting with Hammond police in 2018," Kellogg said. Hammond police thanked the Chicago and Illinois State police departments for their assistance. Cambodia forecasts 4.6 mln air passengers in 2023 after China's reopening: spokesman Xinhua) 16:23, January 14, 2023 PHNOM PENH, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is expected to attract 4.6 million air passengers in 2023 after China's optimization of its pandemic control policies on Jan. 8, a spokesman said on Saturday. State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha said the Southeast Asian nation received 28,900 flights with 2.38 million passengers last year. "For 2023, we predict that the number of air passengers will be doubled thanks to China's reopening," he told Xinhua. "Cambodia is ready to welcome the return of Chinese people, tourists, business people and investors as they are key contributors to tourism and socio-economic development in the kingdom," he added. Chansereyvutha said currently, 27 airlines, including six airlines from China, have been operating flights in and out of Cambodia. "We expect that there will be more airlines and flights from China in the near future," he said. Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the kingdom is projected to attract at least 1 million Chinese tourists in 2023, an expected increase from merely 110,000 in 2022. "China is the most important outbound tourism market for the world, so China's resumption of outbound tourism is very beneficial not only to Cambodia, but also to the whole world," he told Xinhua. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) St. Paul's School - Reception Learning Activity At St. Pauls School, the children in Reception have been learning about People Who Help Us. With a view to enhance their learning experience and provide them with real world engagement opportunities, local professionals came along to speak to the children about their jobs. A carousel of activities was organised in the schools playground whereby children had the opportunity to speak to all the visitors, as well as engage in role play activities. The school would like to thank representatives of the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service, Royal Gibraltar Police, including the schools Crossing Patrol Officer, Gibtelecom, Miss Shapes Hair Salon, Paramedic Team at the Gibraltar Ambulance Service, GBC and Gibraltar Electricity Authority for their support in making this event a memorable one for the children. CROWN POINT The Lake County prosecutors office is charging a retired Gary firefighter with the fatal neglect of his 79-year-old mother. Perry F. Fuller, 58, of Crown Point, is accused of letting his mother, Janice Fuller, die of untreated medical problems and malnutrition. Lake Criminal Court records indicate that Fuller is at large and will be required to post a $5,000 cash bond. An affidavit filed Thursday in court states that police were called at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 24 to the Fuller home in the 1400 block of West 99th Place in Crown Point for a death investigation. Officers said Fuller led them to his mothers bedroom, where they found her on the floor with a white sheet over her body. Police said the room had a strong odor of garbage and human waste that appeared to have been recently swept under a bed. Police said Janice Fullers body was splattered with vomit and blood. The defendant said he found his mother dead four hours earlier but waited to clean her before calling police. Fuller said he had been caring for his mother, who had been bedridden for a year. Police said the Lake County coroners office determined that she died of a blood clot in her lungs caused by health issues that had been left untreated for several years. The coroner classified her death as a homicide due to neglect. The coroner said her medical record indicated that she had last seen a health care professional in early 2018 for high blood pressure. She weighed 135 pounds at the time. The coroner said Janice Fuller weighed 85 pounds at death, had ulcers on her body, and injuries indicating that her wrists had previously been injured. A relative of the family said he had last seen Janice in 2016 and she had been in good physical condition. She moved into Fuller's house that same year. Police said a city ambulance was called to the residence in 2016 because an unidentified intoxicated driver had hit the building. The crew checked the mother out and determined that she was in good enough health that no further medical examination was needed. Police said they found no record of any medicines having been prescribed for her use in the past two years. The prosecutor alleges that the defendant is a retired Gary firefighter and had enough training to know that his mother was in extremely poor health and should have taken her to the hospital. Fuller has been charged with five felony counts of neglect of a dependent. If he's convicted, terms of imprisonment range from six months to 40 years. There are no court records indicating whether an attorney is representing Fuller and no hearing dates have been scheduled in the case. CROWN POINT As he was punched, kicked and stomped on, the boy pleaded and begged his fellow students to let him go home. A 15-year-old boy was assaulted Sunday by two of his peers while another filmed the assault on a phone in a bathroom at the Lake County Fairgrounds, Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Friday night. The boy was persuaded to enter the bathroom by one of the other teenagers. When he entered, he was attacked by the students, Martinez said. He can be heard in the video pleading for his attackers to stop. Students he thought were his friends, Martinez said. "I am disgusted by this display of violence and utter humiliation from the boys who preyed upon the young man in the video," the sheriff said. "Not only did they bully and assault the boy physically, but they also attempted to shame him even further by spreading the video among other students." An assistant principal at Crown Point High School became aware of the video circulating among students and contacted police. The three juvenile suspects have been charged with kidnapping, criminal confinement with injury, criminal confinement, battery, criminal recklessness, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. Two of the students have been booked into the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center, Martinez said. The four are freshmen at Crown Point High School. "This kind of violence is pure evil and cannot be tolerated," Martinez said. The victim suffered bruises and other injuries and is in the care of his family. Martinez said the department's Police Assisted Recovery Initiative (P.A.R.I.+) has two qualified mental health professionals who will reach out to the victim and his family to provide any resources they may need. Anyone with information on bullying, cyberbullying or other suspicious behavior can report it anonymously to the sheriff's Tip411 text platform. Text keyword LCSO and any information to 847411. Anyone can report a suspicious incident to the sheriff at 1-866-USPOT-IT (877-6848). In an emergency, call 911. The case is still under investigation. EAST CHICAGO With plans to increase the number of Chinook salmon added to Lake Michigan this spring, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has shared several potential stocking strategies with the public. However, one option has caused a stir among Lake County anglers. After years of stocking 225,000 Chinook salmon in Lake Michigan annually, the Indiana DNR announced that 275,000 would be added in 2023. In Indiana, Chinook stocking is split among three locations: the East Chicago Marina; the Little Calumet River, which empties into Portage; and along Trail Creek, which empties into Michigan City. The DNR held two public meetings this month at which four stocking strategies were proposed: Continuing to stock the same number of salmon at all three locations. Stocking the additional 50,000 fish at the Little Calumet River location while keeping the amount stocked in East Chicago and Trail Creek the same. Splitting the additional 50,000 fish between the Little Calumet and Trail Creek locations while keeping the number stocked at East Chicago the same. Splitting the 275,000 fish between the Little Calumet River and Trail Creek locations, eliminating the East Chicago stocking. The fourth option would end the only Chinook salmon-stocking location in Lake County, a scenario local anglers strongly oppose. Protect the marina The East Chicago marina is one of the first places John Warren learned to fish as a high schooler in 1978. The charter boat captain continues to fish at the marina. He said the breakwall, pier and shore access make the location accessible for anglers of all skill levels. Families can walk or bike to the marina and "enjoy the outdoors." Ive been at this a long time and were losing more and more of our public places where we can go and fish," Warren said. "Once you lose something, you very rarely get it back. If the DNR stops stocking the East Chicago marina, Warren said, the local business community could be affected anglers visit surrounding shops for food and fuel. Ben Dickinson, Lake Michigan biologist for the Indiana DNR, stressed that eliminating Chinook stocking in East Chicago is one potential scenario. He said the DNR takes several factors into account when planning stocking strategies, including angler usage, fish survival rate and geographic diversity. "We dont want to implement something that is very unpopular and polarizing," Dickinson said. To help gather public input, the DNR will circulate a survey with the four options. The survey will be emailed to anyone who bought a trout- or salmon-fishing license online; those who did not buy their license online will be able to access the survey on the Indiana DNR's Facebook page. Dickinson said the survey will likely be posted at facebook.com/INdnr the week of Jan. 16. A careful balance In the 1960s, Howard Tanner got the idea to introduce salmon into Lake Michigan. Tanner, the Michigan fisheries chief at the time he would go on to become director of the Michigan DNR wanted to curb invasive alewife populations and create a sport fishery. In the decades since Howard's initial experiment, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana DNRs have regularly stocked Lake Michigan with Chinook and Pacific coho salmon. However, Dickinson said the DNR is constantly adjusting stocking numbers to maintain a careful "predator-prey balance." If no salmon are added, eventually the alewife population would "explode" and suppress other native fish populations, such as yellow perch, he said. On the other hand, if we stock too many predators they will eat through most of the bait fish populations and then they wont have anything to sustain themselves," Dickinson said, explaining that the "predators," Chinook salmon, almost exclusively consume alewives. "Then we wont have any fishery at all. In the mid-2010s alewife populations began to decline, leading the DNR to cut the number of Chinook salmon stocked. In recent years, the alewife population has rebounded, which is why the DNR plans on increasing the number of Chinook stocked this spring. The 6-month-old fingerlings are usually stocked at the end of April; they then venture deeper into Lake Michigan to feed for one to two years, but not before imprinting. It's called "homing back": Salmon remember the chemical information of the stream where they were stocked and return when they are ready to spawn. The DNR uses coded wire tags to track the fish, measuring how many return and how many are wild-born. It changes from year to year, but data show that the survival rate for Chinook stocked in the East Chicago marina is lower than for fish stocked in the Little Calumet River or in Trail Creek. The primary reason for the lower survival rate is that in East Chicago, Chinook are stocked directly into the harbor, instead of into a stream. In streams, fish have more food and are less vulnerable to predators. While the East Chicago marina's survival and angler-usage rates are lower than at the Trail Creek and Little Calumet River locations, Dickinson said the DNR recognizes the marina's value as the only Chinook stocking spot in Lake County. "It's not just about maximizing survival rate, it's also about maximizing opportunities for people in different areas," he explained. Warren wants the three stocking locations to continue receiving equal amounts of fish. I hope everyone votes for the status quo," Warren said. "We dont want anything more than anybody else, we just want the same." PHOTOS: Sandhill cranes at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area pulaski crane crane pulaski Jasper Pulaski jasper pulaski crane pulaski sandhill crane sandhill cranes Lake County coroner's office welcomes furry new deputy Lake County Coroner David J. Pastrick watches Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. deputize Snoop, an emotional support animal, on Wednesday at the coro CROWN POINT The Lake County coroner's "paw-ffice" is offering extra support to staff through a new member of their team: an emotional support dog named Snoop. The coroner's office adopted Snoop, who is a 2 or 3 years old, on Monday from Lake County Animal Control. Coroner David J. Pastrick said he hopes Snoop will bring a smile to the staff and those who come into the coroner's office as they deal with difficult cases. Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. and Police Chief Vince Balbo arrived at the coroner's office Thursday to officially welcome Snoop to the team. With a treat in his hand, Martinez raised Snoop's right paw and swore him in as a coroner's deputy. Snoop's title is so official, he even gets to wear a deputy badge on his harness. "I think it's really going to help the staff," Martinez said. "Especially with what they see out there." Pastrick developed the idea for an emotional support animal because one of his family members had worked with a companion dog at the St. Joseph Carmelite Home in East Chicago. He saw how helpful the dog was for the Carmelite residents and thought it could be helpful in a setting such as a coroner's office. "It's positive for the staff," Pastrick said. "And it'll ease tensions for guests who come into the office." Medical and Legal Deputy Investigator Angie Yanez said investigating the death of a child earlier in the week was difficult, but spending time with Snoop provided comfort amid the challenges of the case. Lake County coroner's office welcomes furry new deputy Snoop grins in delight as Medical and Legal Deputy Investigator Angie Yanez wraps him in a hug Thursday, when Snoop was deputized as an emotio "I went and just hung with him for a little bit afterward," Yanez said. The coroner's office is staffed 24 hours, seven days a week, so staff will always be there to take care of Snoop, Pastrick said. The staff has toyed with the idea of bringing Snoop out to scenes, but it will be on a case-by-case basis. Snoop is a playful pup who loves treats, his stick toy and spending time with people. Initially, staff thought he was an American bulldog mix, but they predict that he could be part of the Dogo Argentino breed, Pastrick said. He was picked up as a stray in northern Lake County and brought in to the Animal Control center. Lake County coroner's office welcomes furry new deputy Snoop rests on his dog bed, surrounded with toys, Thursday at the Lake County coroner's office in Crown Point. Lake County Animal Control is a no-kill shelter. Martinez said volunteers and staff work tirelessly to make sure the animals find good homes. Adoptable pets can be found on the agency's Facebook page. Pastrick said he had hoped to adopt a dog for the office when he came in to the coroner's role in January 2022, but he doesn't regret waiting: "By waiting a little bit, we got the best dog there is." SATURDAY PUZZLE This is David Karps second Times puzzle, after his debut on a Friday last September. I needed several trips around this grid to solve it, which is appropriate because it has three symmetries: rotational, which is typical crossword geometry, but also left-right (vertical) and up-down (horizontal), less common attributes. In this case, the underpinnings of that complex arrangement are four excellent span entries; the two at 5- and 6-Down, in particular, had me chuffed. Tricky Clues My sticking points in this grid were also symmetrical. I became mired at the very top and the very bottom, and this was one of those solves where the long entries actually yielded more easily than many shorter pieces of fill. Right from the start, I drew a blank on 1A, Terms of address, on my first run through the grid. 1D, What one might use to lash out?, is a perfect clue for MASCARA; I also decided that 4D, Places with multiple outlets, had to be walls (where one plugs things in to electrical outlets, of course). Somehow I settled on meows as the Terms of address, happily enough. But I had the wrong outlets: In this puzzle, theyre shops in MALLS, and 1A is MAAMS. 28A. Copy machines? is a pun, as indicated by the question mark; the appearance of copy in quotation marks is also key to solving this clue. Its Copy as in Copy that, a response that means I got it when a message is received in Morse code or on a WALKIE TALKIE. Fears that the Covid booster shots made by Pfizer-BioNTech may increase the risk of strokes in people aged 65 and older were not borne out by an intensive scientific investigation, federal officials said on Friday. It is very unlikely that the risk is real, the officials said. They urged Americans 6 months and older to continue getting booster shots. Federal officials decided to disclose the concern and the results of their investigation despite worries that the revelation might fuel anti-vaccine sentiment. We believe it is important to share this information with the public, a joint statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said. Officials declined requests to discuss details of their investigation. The bivalent vaccine is designed to thwart the original version of the coronavirus as well as versions of the Omicron variant that were circulating in the United States in the summer. The bivalent vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are the only boosters available in the United States now, and scientists are engaged in a heated debate over their usefulness compared with the original vaccines. A federal judge on Friday rejected former President Donald J. Trumps effort to dismiss a lawsuit in which the writer E. Jean Carroll accuses Mr. Trump of raping her in a dressing room at a Fifth Avenue department store in the mid-1990s. In letting the suit proceed, the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan, upheld a 2022 New York law that gives adults who claim to have been sexually assaulted years ago a one-time window to sue those they say abused them even if the period for doing so under the statute of limitations has long since expired. In his ruling, which the laws chief State Senate sponsor described as a first in New York, Judge Kaplan labeled absurd Mr. Trumps argument that the legislation violated the states Constitution. Ms. Carroll, an author and a former longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, sued Mr. Trump on Nov. 24, the start of the period in which the law, the Adult Survivors Act, allows such suits to be brought. Peter Grose, one of the last of a generation of foreign correspondents who cut their teeth covering the Vietnam War an experience that he drew on later for assignments in Moscow and Jerusalem, and later still as the author of several well-received books about American history, died on Dec. 31 in Minneapolis. He was 88. His daughter Kim Grose Moore said the cause of death, at an assisted-living home, was complications of a stroke. Mr. Grose was the archetypal foreign correspondent: cosmopolitan, educated, able to write with sweep about world events or to zero in on the telling detail. He served in Paris, Saigon (today Ho Chi Minh City), Moscow and Washington, and was later the executive editor of Foreign Affairs, the august flagship journal of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was quiet, calm and judicious, very much in the old-fashioned New York Times style, Max Frankel, a former Times executive editor, said in a phone interview. WASHINGTON The Biden administration has informed Congress that it wants to discuss proposed major arms sales for Turkey and Greece, according to two U.S. officials, but it already faces resistance on Capitol Hill to Ankaras request for new and upgraded F-16 fighter jets. The $20 billion arms package for Turkey would include 40 new F-16 fighter jets and 79 upgrade kits to refurbish the countrys existing fleet of aging F-16s. Greece is asking to buy at least 30 F-35 fighter jets, the most modern planes in the U.S. arsenal. The Greek request is uncontroversial and very likely to be approved. But while Turkey is a NATO ally of more than 70 years, that package faces skepticism from members of Congress who are exasperated with the countrys autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including over his violation of civil liberties and his refusal so far to approve NATO membership for Sweden and Finland. The two long-neutral Nordic countries applied to join the military alliance after Russias invasion of Ukraine. After the move toward congressional approval was reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and a longtime critic of Mr. Erdogan, issued a stinging statement. Brazils Supreme Court said it would investigate former president Jair Bolsonaro for inspiring the far-right mob that invaded and ransacked the countrys Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices this week, a swift escalation in the probe that shows the former leader could soon face legal consequences for an extremist movement that he helped build. In a decision late Friday, Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice, approved a request from federal prosecutors to include Mr. Bolsonaro in a rapidly expanding investigation into the anti-democratic riots on Jan. 8. Mr. Moraes, who has emerged as one of the nations most powerful and controversial figures in recent months, said that Mr. Bolsonaros past questioning of Brazils election system and his attacks on Brazils institutions, including the Supreme Court, may have contributed, in a very relevant way, to the occurrence of criminal and terrorist acts, including Sundays storming of government buildings. The decision illustrates the aggressive tack that Brazilian authorities have taken in response to the riots. While law enforcement quickly arrested more than 1,000 rioters, the authorities have said they are also seeking to prosecute the businesspeople who they believe helped finance the protest, the security officials who they say allowed the violence to unfold, and now the former president who they contend inspired the anger and false beliefs that fueled the mob. Kevin Spacey has denied seven more sexual offences against a man alleged to have been committed in the early 2000s. The Oscar-winner, 63, faces three charges of indecent assault, three of alleged sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, on unspecified dates between 2001 and 2005. He faced the charges at Southwark Crown Court, London, on Friday (13.01.23) after he previously denied five allegations relating to three other men who are now aged in their 30s and 40s. Spacey appeared in court by video link, only confirming his identity and entering a not guilty plea to all charges. The American Beauty and House of Cards actor not faces 12 charges relating to four men between 2001 and 2013. He appeared at the Old Bailey in London last year to deny the five previous charges, pleading not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He is out on unconditional bail and will face a month-long trial on all charges from 6 June, with a pre-trial review set for 5 April. Spaceys lawyer Patrick Gibbs QC has said the actor strenuously denies all charges. In October 2022 the actor won a civil lawsuit in America that saw him accused of an unwanted sexual advance at a party in 1986. But questions continue to swirl about how a relatively small band of unarmed protesters, who had largely publicized their plans, were able so easily to storm the countrys most important government buildings. The New York Times spoke with law enforcement, government officials, witnesses and protesters, and reviewed dozens of videos and hundreds of social media posts to piece together what happened. The reporting shows that a mob, led by what appeared to be a relatively small group of extremists bent on destruction, swiftly and effortlessly overwhelmed a drastically outnumbered police presence. It also shows that some officers not only failed to take any action against rioters, but they also appeared to be sympathetic, snapping photos as the mob tore through Congress. One man who came to see what was going on said the police simply waved him on toward the riot. The imbalance between protesters and the police remains a central focus of the authorities investigation, and interviews with security officials yielded accusations of gross negligence and even active complicity in the mayhem. After the riot, federal authorities suspended the governor responsible for protecting the buildings and arrested two top security officials who worked for him. Cale has remarkably open ears for an octogenarian: He often speaks of what a boon to music hip-hop is and, in our conversation, expressed admiration for rap producers like Mike Will Made-It and Dr. Dre. Hey guys, do you know whats going on here? he said to his imagined peers. Better ideas of mixing, better ideas of melodies its like, get on the train or get off. In recent years, Cale has become a generous collaborator with younger artists, and a kind of living conduit to avant-garde history and wisdom. I jokingly tell people that its like a friendly godfather-type relationship that I have with him, Animal Collectives Weitz said. Cale has long been an admirer of the band, and Weitz described their reciprocal appearances on each others records Cale played on the bands 2016 album Painting With, and Animal Collective appear on a track from Mercy as a kind of music-for-music swap. Cale still makes art on the edge. In June 2019, he headlined the DMZ Peace Train Festival on the border between North and South Korea. (The wildlife surprised him: Korean rattlesnakes!) In 2014, at Londons Barbican museum, he conducted the first-ever orchestra of flying drones. A certain defiance also courses through Mercy, a slow, meditative album. The songs have immediate emotional resonance, but they ask the listener for patience, too. LCD Soundsystems Murphy admires that. He always approaches it as, Whats interesting to me right now? rather than being careerist, he said. Songs made by people like that last in a very different way, he continued. They feel alive and current for much longer, because theyre made with respect. There are plenty more of them coming, too. Cale spent much of the pandemic holed up in his studio, and he estimates that hes written around 80 new compositions in the past few years. Something snapped, in a good way, he said. It was like, you cant turn your back on this, this is something thats going to go on. And I want to go on. Audio produced by Jack DIsidoro . It suggests that only about a third of frauds in public companies actually come to light, and that fraud is disturbingly common. Mr. Dyck and his co-authors estimate that about 40 percent of companies are committing accounting violations and that 10 percent are committing what is considered securities fraud, destroying 1.6 percent of equity value each year about $830 billion in 2021. What people dont get is how widespread the problem of corporate fraud is, Dyck said about his study, which was published in the Review of Accounting Studies this month. Tip of the iceberg Last year, Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola, the electric vehicle maker, and Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood testing company Theranos, were both found guilty of fraud in high profile trials. Holmess sentencing coincided with the swift fall of FTX, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, all of which left 2022 with a distinctly fraudulent flavor. But the amount of fraud perpetrated at any given time stays pretty steady, Mr. Dyck said. Mr. Dyck and his colleagues wanted to scratch the surface of misconduct in public companies to figure out how much of it goes undiscovered normally. To do this, they first examined a period of unique scrutiny in accounting history, the 2001 demise of the auditing firm Arthur Andersen following the collapse of Enron. At that time, the firms former clients were in the spotlight and new auditors were far more motivated to uncover wrongdoing, given the suspicions looming over companies that had worked with Arthur Andersen. That should make the rate of fraud they found more accurate than other measures. But the probes didnt uncover more wrongdoing among Arthur Andersens clients than at other businesses reliant on other auditors. The same ratio of fraud appeared in a set of comparisons with other research, which led them to conclude it is consistent. They used this rate of fraud to conclude that about a third of corporate fraud goes unnoticed. ABOARD A GULFSTREAM IV, over the Pacific The winter storms pounding California this month have often come into being thousands of miles to the west, in the moist air above the Pacific. That has given a group of scientists and technicians a few days before one blows ashore to examine satellite readings, run computer models and plan crews and equipment, all of which culminates in a uniquely full-contact effort to understand these storms inner workings: By dropping sensors into them from the sky. Last week, aboard a Gulfstream IV jet that was streaking toward Alaska as a giant storm seethed miles below, an engineer gave a quick countdown: Sondes out in 5, 4, 3, 2 A hatch in the planes belly sprang open. The sonde, a tube of instruments about the size of a model rocket, was sucked out into the frigid air and began plummeting toward the clouds, where it would investigate the storms innards and transmit its findings to the world. This month, Mr. Biden announced one of his most stringent immigration measures yet: a policy that will deny specific groups of migrants the chance to apply for asylum if they cross the border without authorization, instead sending them to Mexico. Those measures were applied to people from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba the four biggest sources of migration. But in a concession designed to soften the blow of the new restrictions, Mr. Biden said that as many as 30,000 people per month from the four countries would be given the chance to migrate legally to the United States. In order to do so, however, they would have to be able to afford a plane ticket, get a sponsor, download an app, pass a background check and meet other requirements. To help manage the continued influx of migrants, a 153,300-square-foot processing center with a capacity of 1,000 opened on Wednesday in El Paso, Customs and Border Protection officials said. But on Saturday, it was not at capacity, according to a gate officer. The new center opened at a time when the number of migrants who have been through processing in the area has decreased significantly. This week, 750 migrants were released, compared to 3,500 two weeks ago, according to the city of El Paso. The diminished numbers were evident in downtown El Paso, where hundreds were milling about and sleeping in the streets near the bus station just a few weeks ago. Now that area is empty, and the hub for migrants is nearby Sacred Heart Church, where about 60 to 100 people congregate daily, although numbers are down, said Shannon Long, a church employee. Most here could not claim asylum due to Title 42 and are not sure where to go now or what to do, she said. Months before beginning his first, and unsuccessful, bid for Congress, George Santos appeared at an event that urged members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community to leave the Democratic Party and embrace Republicans and Donald J. Trump, who was president at the time. My name is Anthony Devolder, he said, using a version of his full name, George Anthony Devolder Santos. Mr. Santos, who is gay, described himself as a New Yorker who recently formed a group, United for Trump, according to a newly surfaced video clip of the March 2019 event held by the conservative Walk Away foundation. He then addressed a conservative transgender YouTube star, asking her how she can help educate other trans people from not having to follow the narrative that the media and the Democrats put forward. The clip, posted on Twitter on Friday, offers new insight into Mr. Santoss early embrace of Mr. Trump and the right-wing movement that the former president spawned, as Mr. Santos made his first ventures into public political life. These material and ideological assaults have engendered a steep decline in undergraduate humanities majors. In the 2018-19 academic year, only 23,923 graduating undergraduates received degrees in history and related fields, which, the A.H.A. notes, is down more than a third from 2012 and the smallest number awarded since the late 1980s. Private groups, which traditionally provided significant financial support to budding humanities scholars, have taken the hint and increasingly stopped supporting the humanities and soft social sciences. The Social Science Research Council recently ended its International Dissertation Research Fellowship program, which in the last 25 years funded over 1,600 scholars exploring non-U.S. cultures and U.S. Indigenous communities, declaring that the program accomplished many of the goals it had set for itself. The Ford Foundation has similarly decided to conclude its long-running National Academies fellowship program for historically marginalized scholars in order, the foundations president declared, to invest more deeply in movement-building work. Its the end of history. And the consequences will be significant. Entire areas of our shared history will never be known because no one will receive a living wage to uncover and study them. Its implausible to expect scholars with insecure jobs to offer bold and innovative claims about history when they can easily be fired for doing so. Instead, history will be studied increasingly by the wealthy, which is to say those able to work without pay. Its easy to see how this could lead American historical scholarship to adopt a pro-status-quo bias. In todays world, if you dont have access to elite networks, financial resources or both, it just doesnt make sense to pursue a career in history. In the future, history wont just be written by the victors; itll also be written by the well-to-do. If Americans dont seriously invest in history and other humanities disciplines, we encourage the ahistoric ignorance upon which reaction relies. Many Republican politicians support divisive concepts laws that try to regulate what college professors teach. Are they aiming at an easy target in the culture war? Perhaps. But its also true that a humanities education encourages thinking that often challenges xenophobic and racist dogma. Progress depends on studying and arguing about the past in an open and informed manner. This is especially true in a moment like our own, in which Americans use history to fight over which vision of the country will dominate politics. If there are no historians to reflect meaningfully and accurately on the past, then ignorance and hatred are sure to triumph. Without professional historians, history education will be left more and more in the hands of social media influencers, partisan hacks and others unconcerned with achieving a complex, empirically informed understanding of the past. Take, for example, Bill OReillys 12-books-and-counting Killing series the best-selling nonfiction series of all time, according to Mr. OReillys publishers whose very framing sensationalizes the past by focusing on the deaths and destruction of some of the most influential men and powerful nations in human history. The same could be said about Rush Limbaughs Rush Revere series for young people, in which a time-traveling and tri-corner-hatted Mr. Limbaugh teaches about some of the most exceptional Americans. Or consider Twitter, where debates over history regularly erupt and just as regularly devolve into name-calling. If professional historians become a thing of the past, there will be no one able to temper these types of arguments with coolheaded analysis and bring a seriousness of purpose, depth and thoughtful consideration to discussions of who Americans are and who we want to be as a nation. Americans must do everything in their power to avert the end of history. If we dont, exaggerations, half-truths and outright lies will dominate our historical imagination and make it impossible to understand, and learn from, the past. Daniel Bessner is an associate professor of international studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and a co-host of the foreign affairs podcast American Prestige. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Americas own response to climate change remains inadequate, and Americans are suffering as a result, but even if the United States stopped burning fossil fuels tomorrow magically and completely it wouldnt much impede the march of climate change. The country needs to help the rest of the world burn less fossil fuel, too. South Africa is a promising place to start. South Africa needs more electricity. The countrys coal-fired power plants are regularly overwhelmed by demand, forcing the national power company, Eskom, to impose rolling blackouts. The blackouts were worse than ever last year, leaving millions of customers in major cities without power for hours at a time, disrupting the economy and slowing growth. To generate more electricity, Eskom is completing two coal-burning power plants that will be among the worlds largest, projects that have been financed in part by billions of dollars in World Bank loans. Most leaders in South Africas government regard those plants as the end of an era. Climate change is taking a growing toll on the country. Like many countries that are far from the Equator, South Africa is experiencing drastic changes in temperature, and it has been plagued by both droughts and flooding. Many of the countrys existing coal-fired power plants need to be replaced in the coming years, and the rapid decline in the cost of wind and solar power generation means that renewable energy can be substituted for coal at relatively little additional cost. Last year, the country shut down the first of those older power stations. It plans to build a solar and wind farm on the site once again with financing provided by the World Bank. The international aid package now under discussion with the United States and European partners is intended to accelerate the energy transition. Under the South African governments current plans, which seek to ease the price of electricity during the transition, the countrys power plants still would produce 3.9 gigatons of carbon between now and 2050. A South African consultancy, Meridian Economics, estimated in a 2020 report that a faster transition could prevent roughly half of those emissions. To the Editor: Re When Does Life Start? A Post-Roe Conundrum (front page, Jan. 2): When during gestation does an embryo become a human? This question has baffled philosophers and theologians largely because they do not understand the workings of the nervous system and the brain. Two attributes are widely accepted as criteria to be considered human. First is an awareness through our senses that we exist and that we exist within a world of objects. Second is the ability of the brain to use the information from our senses to create ideas and make predictions about how to best survive in that world. When during embryonic development do these activities emerge? The heartbeat becomes audible on a Doppler fetal monitor at about the 10th week of gestation, movements begin sometime after the 15th week, but the brain and most of the sensory systems develop later. Each sensation requires the formation of millions of interconnecting neuronal circuits in the cerebral hemispheres that reach critical points of development between the 24th and the 28th week of gestation. Around that time, rhythmic brain waves resembling those of a newborn can be detected, indicating that neuronal circuits in the brain are highly integrated. The way most Americans talk about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more than 50 years after his assassination, you might think that he gave exactly one speech on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington and spoke exclusively about racial harmony and his oft-mentioned dream of integration. But King, of course, is a more complicated figure than his sanctified image would suggest, and his body of work his writings, speeches and interviews is deeper and more wide-ranging than most Americans might appreciate. With our annual celebration of Kings life on the immediate horizon, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at one of his lesser-known, although by no means obscure, speeches, one in which he discusses the struggle for global peace. King first delivered A Christmas Sermon on Peace on Christmas Eve, 1967, at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he served as co-pastor. He begins with an observation and a prophetic warning: This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We have neither peace within nor peace without. Everywhere paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war; everywhere we see its ominous possibilities. If we dont have good will toward men in this world, he goes on to say, we will destroy ourselves by misuse of our own instruments and our own power. King wants his congregants and listeners to experiment with nonviolence in arenas beyond the struggle for racial justice in the United States. But to do that, he says, ones moral and ethical obligations must become ecumenical rather than sectional or parochial: Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone; no nation can live alone, and as long as we try, the more we are going to have war in this world. We must either learn to live together as brothers, he says, or we are all going to perish together as fools. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Harry often identifies with the quarry. Once, when he was high on weed at Eton, he saw a fox and felt more connected to it than to his classmates or his family. He loathes being hunted by what he terms the sadists from the tabloids, just as his mother was, to the point where he thinks both sanity and life are endangered, for him and Meghan. This is a prince who needs a hug. He couldnt get one from his Pa, who couldnt get one from his mother. (Maybe thats why Charles kept his tattered teddy bear into adulthood.) Harrys brother, preoccupied with primogeniture, often kept his affectionate younger brother at arms length, oddly calling him Harold and earning a place as Harrys arch nemesis. So Harry married Meghan, a hugger, like his mother, and moved to hug-at-hello Southern California where a stranger like Tyler Perry offered up his L.A. compound to the homeless couple and A-listers welcomed the former Suits actress to their ranks. I have to admit, if it were me, I would have put up with a lot to live through history, to see the end of the Elizabethan era. I would have loved to be bouncing over the Scottish highlands with the queen in her Land Rover, nursing a thermos of Scotch and hearing anything she had to say about anyone. Harry, winningly self-deprecating in the book, recalls his moniker of Prince Thicko and concedes he was not literary. He feels intimidated that Meghan has read Eat, Pray, Love. He is also so uninterested in history even though it was his own family he was studying that a teacher presented him with a wooden ruler engraved with the names of every British monarch since 1066. When he got a chance to chat with his great-grandmother, he did not quiz Gan-Gan about her illustrious and notorious relatives. He taught her how to say Booyakasha, Ali G-style. NAIROBI, Kenya She is impossibly young to have endured what she did, and what still haunts her is the job of the man responsible: a police officer. He said that if I tell, he will kill me, whispered the 11-year-old girl, whom Ill call Nancy (the names of the girls in this column have been changed). I have dreams that he is coming to kill me. Nancy was walking home last year when the policeman chased her. She might have been able to outrun him on her own, but her mom had entrusted her to walk her 5-year-old brother home. They ran together but the boy was slow and she was too responsible to let go of his hand so the officer caught her and then, she said, raped her. Afterward, she delivered her brother home but was bleeding so badly she soon lost consciousness. Her family rushed her to the hospital. I developed an itchy burning rash from the medication that stretched from my thighs to my armpits. For months afterward I was either getting ill, ill, or recovering from being ill. The doctors decided I was suffering from a convergence of mono, Covid and a rare allergic reaction, known as baboon syndrome, to the antibiotics I had been prescribed. Having mono at 24 is embarrassing, because it broadcasts to everyone that you never had sex in high school and have been overcompensating by kissing N.Y.U. seniors at dive bars. And I didnt remember selecting the baboon syndrome option for my Hemingway years. The doctors resolved to scoop out my tonsils. After the operation, I agreed to go back to the Chelsea Hotel, where I would recuperate. At least there was the promise of the large and comfortable bed of my childhood. As I approached the building with my parents, a doorman in a black suit opened the door to the lobby. For the first time in a decade or more, the hotel was fully open. In the week of its grand unveiling, party after party took place in the ballroom. It was sleek and new and did not look much like the place where I had grown up. Up in my room I found that, in my absence, my dad had replaced my large and comfortable bed with a small and uncomfortable antique opium bed made of curled mahogany and horsehair. Opium beds are not supposed to be functional they are meant for people who are so out of their minds that sleeping on a twin XL isnt a top priority. In the secret drawers, where long pipes used to go, I found some of the horrible sock dolls I hazily remembered making when I was a child. I endured two weeks of inertia on the horsehair. Unable to speak, I communicated via an app on my phone that sounded permanently angry. I gave the voice an accent like Bjorks. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. In Between Riverside and Crazy, a Black man haggles over the concessions hes being offered by his former employer, the New York Police Department, eight years after he was shot by a white cop. In Topdog/Underdog, two brothers hustle pedestrians on the street and, at home, each other. And in The Piano Lesson, family members bristle at a scheme that would involve hocking a precious heirloom. While these Broadway plays couldnt be more different, they all similarly explore what happens when Black characters arent able to achieve financial stability through traditional, or official, channels. They are left little choice but to create and work in their own separate economies: A hustle is the only way the Black characters can even the playing field. And yet they never manage to do so at least not for long. Even when one profits from a con, its a Faustian bargain that comes at the expense of another Black mans opportunities. Ultimately, theres no real winning, no outcome that can undo the trauma of the past or dismantle the architecture that places a ceiling on Black futures. Gas stoves, long beloved by cooks, have begun to seem like kitchen pariahs in recent weeks. With environmental and health risks coming to light, cities including New York and Berkeley, Calif., are banning them in new buildings, and Governor Kathy Hochul of New York this week proposed what would be the first such statewide measure. Though the debate around gas stoves is far from settled, the bans driven in part by a possible link to childhood asthma and negative health effects, and by fossil fuels harmful impacts on the climate have everyone from home cooks to restaurant chefs and now real estate developers reconsidering the source of the heat produced in their ovens and stoves. There may be more incentives to do so: Electricity is now the most common energy source nationwide for cooking, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the federal energy statistics agency. An expansive health, climate and tax bill signed into law in August allocates more than $4 billion for consumer rebates on high-efficiency electric appliances, including stoves, which adds to the momentum around finding alternatives to gas. So what is an environmentally conscious, budget-minded foodie to do? Here are the most popular alternatives. Induction uses magnetic waves for heating and is speedy and precise, but not all pans are compatible with it. Only magnetic pans made of materials such as cast iron and stainless steel can be used on induction ranges. Though they tend to be more expensive than other options, induction cooktops can be portable, and they heat and cool down quickly. WASHINGTON Those last days were a blur of phone calls, meetings, farewell events and visits to Ukraine and Switzerland. As he wrapped up his tenure as vice president in January 2017, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was packing in as much as he could. The question now is, what else was being packed? And by whom? And why? And where was it going? The appointment of a special counsel has focused new attention on Mr. Bidens frenetic final stretch in the White House after eight years as the No. 2 to President Barack Obama. Somehow, a small number of classified documents would go not to the archives, where they belonged, but to Mr. Bidens home in Wilmington, Del., and, later, a private office in Washington, where they did not. With Mr. Biden back in the White House, he finds himself struggling to explain what happened. His administration kept the discovery of sensitive records secret from the public for two months until media reports revealed it, and has had to update its version of events multiple times over the last week. On Saturday, the White House said that after previously reporting that one page of classified material had been found in a room next to the garage at the Wilmington house, five more pages were discovered by Justice Department personnel who had come to collect the material. Robert K. Hur, who was named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Thursday to investigate the mishandling of those papers, will undoubtedly labor to reconstruct the events of those winter days in 2017 when members of the outgoing vice presidents staff were rushing to pack up their files, turn in their badges, work with the incoming team and find new jobs for themselves. The White House has provided no explanation yet for how or why the documents wound up in the hands of Mr. Biden as a private citizen. China said on Saturday that it had recorded nearly 60,000 fatalities linked to the coronavirus in the month since the country lifted its strict zero Covid policy, accelerating an outbreak that is believed to have infected millions of people. The disclosure was the first time China has provided an official measure of the Covid wave now sweeping the country, and represents a huge spike in the official death toll. Until Saturday, China had reported a total of just 5,272 Covid deaths since the pandemic began in the city of Wuhan in late 2019. That measure was narrowly defined as deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure caused by Covid. The new figure released Saturday included those who had Covid, but also died from other underlying illnesses. China has faced mounting criticism from other countries and from the World Health Organization for not providing reliable data about the extent of its Covid outbreak and about the number of deaths across the country despite widespread scenes of overflowing hospitals, morgues and funeral homes in recent weeks. Before the announcement, China said that only 37 people had died of Covid since Dec. 7, the day it ended its zero Covid policy. KHERSON, Ukraine One morning in late October, Russian forces blocked off a street in downtown Kherson and surrounded a graceful old building with dozens of soldiers. Five large trucks pulled up. So did a line of military vehicles, ferrying Russian agents who filed in through several doors. It was a carefully planned, highly organized, military-style assault on an art museum. Over the next four days, the Kherson Regional Art Museum was cleaned out, witnesses said, with Russian forces bustling about like insects, porters wheeling out thousands of paintings, soldiers hastily wrapping them in sheets, art experts barking out orders and packing material flying everywhere. They were loading such masterpieces, which there are no more in the world, as if they were garbage, said the museums longtime director, Alina Dotsenko, who recently returned from exile, recounting what employees and witnesses had told her. [Read: Jean Pare, Best-Selling Everyday Cookbook Author, Dies at 95] I asked Christina to share some details about Ms. Pares life that didnt make it into the obituary. Heres what she sent me: Ms. Pare was known for ordering desserts before anything else on the menu, or celebrating a special occasion by ordering all the desserts on the menu. Her granddaughter Amanda Lovig Hagg said that among her favorite books to produce for Companys Coming was one called Chocolate Everything, because chocolate was her favorite food. The process was a dream for her because she got to eat chocolate for a year, Ms. Lovig Hagg said. She could never quite narrow down her favorite recipe, but it was anything chocolate. With recipes including four-ingredient coconut rolls and Nanaimo bars, Ms. Pares first cookbook, 150 Delicious Squares, was something of an ode to her sweet tooth. It has sold more than 14 million copies. [Read: A Bite-Size Square of Canadas History, Culture and Craving] The book was rejected by publishers, apparently for its abundant sugary recipes, but another dynamic was also at play: gender. In producing 150 Delicious Squares, she was meeting a need for every mother or housewife to be able to have this collection of squares that they could take out to a bridge club or a picnic for Boy Scouts, said Liz Driver, a curator at Campbell House Museum in Toronto. Ms. Driver spent more than two decades researching the history of Canadian cookbooks, and compiled what the University of Toronto Press said is the definitive history and bibliography of Canadian cookbooks printed between 1825 and 1949. But the popularity of such recipes was most likely lost on the men leading the publishing industry of the day, Ms. Driver told me. What do they know about what women want in a recipe? she said. In her study of Canadas cookbook heritage, Ms. Driver said community cookbooks, particularly in rural areas and among womens or church groups, were a popular format for locally disseminating recipes and were commonly sold during fund-raisers. This article is part of our special report on the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, finds itself navigating troubled waters. Long the affluent symbol of a globalizing world where the assumption was that more trade would bring more freedom, it now confronts international fracture, ascendant nationalism and growing protectionism under the shadow of war in Europe and sharp tensions between the United States and China. The post-Cold War era, dominated by the idea that Western liberal democracy and free-market capitalism held all the answers, is over. This was the very ethos of Davos. It must now pivot to the new reality provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the growth of extreme inequality and aggressive Russian and Chinese autocracies. If the old is gone, the new order is not yet born. Power is shifting away from the United States as Chinas military and economic heft grows, but the shape of an alternative international system is unclear. One measure of a world transformed is that when thousands of Brazilian protesters, convinced without evidence of a stolen election last year, stormed the Brazilian Congress this month, their action felt like a copycat attack modeled on the assault on the United States Capitol of Jan. 6, 2021. It is one measure of Donald J. Trumps legacy that many people now make this association. PRAGUE In an election more important for what it ends than what it will bring, the Czech Republic completed the first round of voting for a new president on Saturday, starting the eclipse of an eccentric, hard-drinking incumbent who often put himself at odds with the Czech government and European allies by reaching out to Russia and China. With nearly all the votes counted, official results showed that none of the eight candidates running to replace President Milos Zeman, who is barred by term limits from running again, had won a clear majority. A runoff election will be held in two weeks between the top two finishers, both of whom favor closer relations with the West and the NATO alliance. No matter which of the top two candidates a former NATO general, Petr Pavel, who won just over 35 percent of the vote, and a billionaire former prime minister, Andrej Babis, who got around 35 percent eventually triumphs, the departure of Mr. Zeman, the Czech president for the past decade, should put the countrys foreign relations back on an unambiguously pro-Western path. Im happy to leave here with my head held high, knowing we managed to stay here this long, Mr. Lahaye said about an hour before armored police officers swarmed the house he was occupying. We used to count our time here in weeks, and we ended up staying for two and a half years. Mr. Lahaye used to support the Greens but now says he does not believe conventional politics can solve the climate crisis. Franziska Werthmann, 58, who first took part in an environmental protest when she was 16, took a week off work to join the protesters in the village and had to move the dates forward because the eviction went so quickly. Even though she believes there are other legitimate avenues of protest, she said Lutzerath was an important place to make a stand. Its simple, she said. If they dig up the coal below this village, Germany will miss its 1.5-degree emission targets, she said, referring to emissions targets set at the global climate conference in Paris in 2015. Indeed, there are several conflicting studies on whether the coal underneath Lutzerath is actually needed and whether burning it will help push Germany over its emission targets. There was an unusual feature to the Saturday morning attack on Kyiv: It appeared to best the air-raid warning system. That is because the Russian strike most likely involved ballistic missiles fired from the north, according to Col. Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force. Colonel Ihnat did not elaborate, but ballistic missiles are much faster and harder to shoot down than either drones or cruise missiles. His comments on Saturday that the missiles appeared to come from the north suggested that the flight path was too short to give an earlier warning. In launching attacks on Ukraine, the Russian forces have fired ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Iranian-made exploding drones. Ukrainian officials have expressed fears that Russia will also turn to Tehran to replenish its stocks of ballistic missiles. Iran has denied plans to sell ballistic missiles to Russia. This article is part of our special report on the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Humanitarian crises especially the plight of refugees around the world are once again among the issues on the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos. A report by the International Rescue Committee predicts that in 2023 nearly 340 million people will require some kind of humanitarian aid as a result of civil wars, invasions like the one in Ukraine, poverty, income inequality, climate change and more. David Miliband, 57, is president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, one of the worlds largest humanitarian aid and refugee advocacy organizations. The group, whose founding was precipitated in the 1930s by Albert Einstein, a refugee himself, deploys more than 40,000 staff members and volunteers in 40 countries. This article is part of our special report on the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In December 2020, the Israeli company Watergen signed a partnership agreement with the Abu Dhabi-based multinational firm Al Dahra to install their fresh water production devices in the United Arab Emirates. The deal was notable both for its timing and the parties involved. Arriving just two months after the signing of the Abraham Accords an agreement forged by the Trump administration that established diplomatic relations between Israel and a handful of formerly adversarial Arab nations the Watergen deal soon resulted in dozens of water production units operating in commercial and government buildings across the United Arab Emirates. The partnership was among the first collaborations between Israel and these onetime foes aimed at combating climate-related challenges such as rising temperatures and shrinking water resources. Since then, nearly a half-dozen additional like-minded agreements have been discussed or reached, including a plan to generate hydrogen power in Morocco and a United States-supported and Emirates-funded deal for Jordan to sell solar power to Israel in exchange for fresh water. As the World Economic Forum meets in Davos, Switzerland, next week, under the theme of Cooperation in a Fragmented World, the most unlikely of places the Middle East may be offering hints of how that can be achieved. Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, there has been progress on the diplomatic and economic fronts, but especially in addressing the global climate crisis a major focus of the forum. Iran has executed Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister and a dual British citizen, on charges of espionage for the British spy agency, the judiciary said early Saturday, in what appeared to be the first execution in decades of a high-profile Iranian official or dual citizen, and a move likely to raise tensions with the West. Mr. Akbari, 61, was arrested in Iran in 2019. His detention and death sentence were revealed this past week. A former senior commander in the Revolutionary Guards Corps and a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, he had served in a number of senior defense, nuclear and national security roles for nearly three decades. Irans intelligence ministry called Mr. Akbari a super spy for MI6, Britains foreign intelligence service, and accused him of passing classified national security information to the agency and receiving a payment of over 2 million euros (about $2.2 million). Irans state news media and his family said he had been arrested and detained for four months in 2008 on suspicion of spying for Britain, and later released on bail. He then traveled to Austria, Spain and finally Britain. The statement from the judiciary said that Mr. Akbari had spied for Britain from 2004 to 2009, as well as when he fled the country and moved to Britain. It said he had been recruited by British diplomats in Tehran under the guise of trade partnerships. JERUSALEM Tens of thousands of Israelis on Saturday night protested in Tel Aviv against the new right-wing governments plans to fundamentally overhaul the judicial system, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to weaken the countrys democratic institutions just weeks after returning to power. The protest was organized by grass-roots activists and backed by the leaders of Israels centrist and left-wing opposition parties. The Israeli news media estimated a turnout of 80,000 people by 8:30 p.m., despite a steady rain, and thousands more joined protests in Jerusalem and Haifa. The protests were an early indication of the backlash facing the government, the sixth led by Mr. Netanyahu, and a clear illustration of widening political division and polarization in Israel. Mr. Netanyahu, barely three weeks after his government was sworn in, is seeking to curb the powers of the countrys Supreme Court and has argued that the top court has too much influence. The New York Times News Quiz, January 13, 2023 Did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz to see how well you stack up with other Times readers. The German chancellor celebrated the government's ability to evade an economic crisis or gas shortage this winter. His remarks came at the opening of a second LNG terminal in northern Germany. Lisa Marie Presley's heart stopped a second time after she was hospitalized, but due to her hopeless condition ... her family had already ordered doctors not to resuscitate her. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Lisa Marie had been The son of media mogul and British citizen Jimmy Lai, jailed in Hong Kong for allegedly breaking national security laws, has criticised the UK government for failing to speak out against China. After Russias Defense Ministry said its troops had taken Soledar, a leader of the Wagner mercenary group accused the military of stealing credit. Ukraine said its forces were still fighting there. Manchester United host Manchester City on Saturday in what could be one of their most evenly matched Premier League encounters in years. 2008-2023 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Greta Thunberg has condemned the forced removal of protesters from a small village in western Germany that is due to be demolished to accommodate the expansion of a coal mine. President Dina Boluarte also apologized for ongoing political unrest that has left dozens of people dead, as Peru's attorney general announced a probe into the deaths. Alireza Akbari, previously a senior military and defense official, had moved to Britain a decade ago. He had been detained since 2019. Ukrainian officials have reported explosions in Kyiv for the first time since New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian minister has said Zelenskyy plans on visiting the UN headquarters. DW has the latest. President Joe Biden focused his visit to Mexico on immigration. But a trend of US natives moving to Mexico is rising. The UK described the Iranian regime, which sentenced Alireza Akbari to death for spying, as "barbaric". Daily Record 14 Jan 2023 Three women and child were taken to hospital after shots fired outside place of worship in north London on Saturday afternoon. In the southeastern city of Dnipro, five people were killed and more than 20 wounded, after a Russia missile strike, Ukrainian officials said. Thousands of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court a step that critics say will destroy the country's democratic system of checks and balances. The president's counsel said that the five additional pages of documents were handed over to Justice Department officials. Biden's legal team acknowledged it had found the documents. Another round of nurses strikes twice as large as recent industrial action will be announced for February if negotiations with the government do not progress, union bosses have warned. The holdouts against Kevin McCarthys House speakershipmany of them hardline populists of the Freedom Caucus who enabled the.. Eurasia Review 27 Jan 2023 The White House on Friday announced that Bob Bauer will represent President Biden personally as the special counsel investigates the storage of classified documents at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home and think tank in Washington, D.C. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem tweeted that the Biden administration has once again blocked the state from hosting Independence Day fireworks at Mt. Rushmore. A water company has been fined more than half a million pounds after raw sewage was discharged into a river for 23 hours killing 5,000 fish, the Environment Agency said. Eurasia Review 15 Jan 2023 The UK must expel Iranian diplomats in response to the execution of a British-Iranian dual national, a relative of the deceased has.. British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari has been executed after being sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain, Iran's state media has said. Belfast Telegraph 14 Jan 2023 Human rights campaigners have condemned Iran for having pitifully little respect for the right to life after it executed.. Eurasia Review 25 Jan 2023 By Jeff Seldin Russian forces looking to go on a springtime offensive in Ukraine will be met by more Ukrainian armor and.. Eurasia Review 18 Jan 2023 By Mohamed Chebaro* Manufactured charges of spying for the West are commonplace in Iran and are usually allocated based.. Iran may have decided to execute Alireza Akbari in protest at the UK potentially labelling a special branch of its armed forces a terror group, a former diplomat said. An official visit to Xinjiang to assess the fate of Turkic Muslims in the troubled north-western Chinese Province is a risky proposition by any definition. Even so, it would be worth the risk if China and Turkey could agree on the terms of a visit. The problem is that the terms constitute a zero-sum game. China wins if... The Brazilian prosecutor-general's office on Friday asked the Supreme Court to include former president Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation into who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation's capital. Novak Djokovic has received a warm welcome on his first return to Melbourne since being held in custody and banned from entering Australia due to his vaccination status. Eurasia Review 22 Jan 2023 By Yossi Mekelberg* At the beginning of this month, the US and Israeli air forces conducted a joint drill at the Nevatim.. Around 6,000 demonstrators, including Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, have gathered in western Germany to protest the clearance of a village to make way for the expansion of a controversial coal mine. Rumble 09 Mar 2023 What does it take to start a war? Weapons, commanders, tanks, missiles and most importantly, soldiers! But what happens if the.. Upworthy 11 Apr 2023 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy and Americas financial system are doing well despite headwinds caused by.. 'Ginny & Georgia' Season 2 Review, But Only the Parts You Can Skip By Alberto Cox Delano | TV | January 13, 2023 | Im not going to do to you what Ginny & Georgia do, by way of Netflixs watch time algorithm edicts. Im getting straight to the point, telling exactly what you can skip from season 2 of Ginny & Georgia, without missing out on anything. Why? Because this is a 10-episode season, each running for at least 50 minutes, credits not included. There is no justifiable reason you should spend six hours watching this wretched attempt at doing Gilmore Girls, but edgy, by 90s kids trying to appeal to Gen Zs. Seconds are rounded to the closest multiple of five. My actual review comes right after: Ep. 1 2:55-5:45 8:20-12:25 14:00-15:35 22:00-23:00 24:00-25:60 35:00-38:00 41:00-43:45 48:05-51:40 Ep.2 00:00-2:45 8:30- 20:35 23:20-27:40 30:40-32:25 38:20-43:55 46:30-52:30 Ep.3 3:20-5:20 7:55-10:25 13:05-14:30 15:30-18:30 22:25-36:10 36:55-37:40 39:20-41:20 43:35-48:15 Ep.4 0:00-2:20 12:30-15:30 16:30-20:40 23:30-24:05 27:30-34:40 36:40-44:00 44:30-50:30 53:55-End Credits Ep.5 2:20-4:50 7:25-11:00 12:25-14:15 15:05-18:05 19:00-20:55 24:40-28:20 32:00-40:05 45:10-52:30 Ep.6 4:00-6:15 8:10-10:40 11:50-13:00 21:45-24:15 28:20-31:00 38:10-39:35 Ep.7 3:25-6:25 9:00-11:40 15:55-18:00 20:55-24:40 28:30-30:15 35:35-38:20 39:40-44:20 46:50-48:10 Ep. 8 00:00-2:50 4:45-21:15 22:45-30:20 38:50-41:50 44:10-47:10 48:45-End Credits Ep. 9 1:00-2:00 8:40-10:00 11:05-15:00 22:12-24:40 32:00-35:00 40:00-41:00 Ep. 10 1:00-4:45 6:25-14:45 18:05-26:45 37:50-41:00 54:50-58:00 Also, there are several scenes that you can just fast-forward through, particularly if it involves the characters having a dance party when they are at the mayors office or those involving the private detective. Ill get to that in a minute. Why am I being so harsh on this pretentious but mostly harmless show? In season 1, there were several scenes with, say, teenage characters texting each other, using the now-standard texts pops up in the frame hyperreality-style. And they went on for minutes, characters laying on a bed, reading and reacting to the conversations. Then there were the scenes where the characters did very little, but they went on and on, say, a teenage girl looking at herself in the mirror and showing she has an eating disorder. And no, they were not artistic, contemplative scenes. This is a series that needs establishing shots every time they change to the main locations, its not Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. And then there were the pointless dialogues that gave us such gems we cant erase from our minds such as Oppression Olympics, Were like the Gilmore Girls but with bigger boobs or Taylor Swift jokes that were all the rage back in 2012. All baffling decisions, even for a Netflix show, even for a show aimed at teenagers. But thats actually a disservice to Netflixs crop of teen shows, some of which are pretty much the best that have ever been made. And then I realized, this goddamn show was made by and for the algorithm. Its unnecessary length, those pointless scenes, they were all conceived in order to maximize watch time. Plus, the premise itself is something only an AI processor could churn out if you fed it all the episodes of Gilmore Girls, The O.C., Pretty Little Liars and Euphoria. Ginny & Georgia was made to waste our time and that isnt something I can forgive. It is something that makes me want to get revenge. Ginny & Georgia does have one thing in common with Gilmore Girls: The mother character, Georgia (Brianne Howey and Nikki Roumel in flashbacks) is by far the most interesting, most fun and the real Star of the show. In fact, you will notice that all the scenes that you dont need to skip are mostly those featuring Georgia, because Im a thirsty boy. The scenes you should skip though, well, they mostly involve Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and the teenagers. Look, Ive tried to check myself, Ive gone over every single one of my ingrained and unexamined prejudices against teenagers and teenage girls. But with Liberation Theology Jesus as my witness, I cant stand Ginny. I cant stand her plotline, I cant stand her stupid love affairs, I cant stand just how utterly uncharismatic she is. Thats not the actresss fault, its the fault of the writers and showrunners. There was so much to explore with Ginny; you couldve made her such a dynamic character if, instead of being whiney about her mums personality and background, she was supportive or complicit. But no, you had to make her a normal teenager with a background that is clearly far from normal. You couldve made her the Thelma to Georgias Louise, in a mom-daughter version. But they had to insist on making it that damn mixture of gritty crime drama and teenage rom-com. Ugh. Worse still, the main plotline involving Ginny is that she is harming herself. Several, minute-long scenes. They are not graphic but why would you use that to pad the runtime? Also, as with any bloated TV Drama, there is an expansive gallery of characters, including Ginnys new local boyfriend (who looks salvaged from the warehouses where they kept Johnny Depp clones), the high school characters, and the PI trying to nab Georgia for killing her ex-husband. They are all pointless. Luckily, they make good use of Scott Porter as Mayor Paul, Georgias brand-new fiancee. Also, there is a good subplot involving this series version of Luke Danes, Joe, who starts a romance with Georgias town rival Cynthia (Sabrina Grdevich). Oh, and Georgias other baby-daddy, the abusive Gil (Aaron Ashmore) is released from prison and moves into town to make things slightly more interesting. Final verdict: Hatewatch if you want, but please dont give it more watch time than necessary. Or just watch Gilmore Girls again, a show that never wasted your time except for the final season. Alberto Cox is now very afraid Jameela Jamil will start yellint at him DMs for not supporting female writers or something. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, at the end of the preparatory forum for the National Reconciliation Conference in Tripoli Thursday, welcomed the results achieved by the participants which will contribute to the stability of the country Cotonou Benin (PANA) - The Constitutional Court on Thursday evening declared that three political parties won seats out of the seven that contested last Sunday's legislative elections in Benin Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Tunisian Interior Ministry has lifted the restriction on 1,265 Libyan citizens whose names appeared on lists similar to those of wanted persons, the Government of National Unity announced, settling an outstanding issue that has disrupted relations between the two countries and the movement of Libyan nationals to Tunisia Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Spencer Platt) Barbie went through a transformation once again, and this time around, her new version will allow children as young as three to have more fun playing with her. Dubbed as "My First Barbie," the new version is now 13.5 inches tall, two inches taller than the traditional one, with a larger waist that plays down the bust line. It is said to be not only kid-like but also more kid-friendly with longer hair for easier brushing and larger accessories for small little hands. The new doll version was launched by manufacturer and distributor company Mattel Thursday, and is sold for $19.99. Mattel executive vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls, Lisa McKnight, revealed that the creation of the new version was an active response to the feedback they are getting from parents. "We talk to parents and kids almost 365 days a year. We started hearing a theme around younger kids wanting to play with Barbie. Parents were concerned that their children at the preschool age didn't have the fine motor skills to have a positive play experience with our traditional fashion doll," she expressed. My First Barbie Features The transformation may also be because of the unending critics the 63-year-old Barbie continues to get about her dimensions, which they say promote unattainable, sexualized body standards for girls when it should be representing a lady in her late teens. McKnight, however, did not have any comment about this. The new version said goodbye to the "contentious hourglass figure" of the traditional one, NBC News described. She has a slightly softer body and has flesh-tone modesty undergarment that is attached permanently. Children and parents can choose from her four diverse skin tones and hair textures. Her fashion is more on the kid side with prints like playful hearts, stars and flowers on her jammies and dresses, which are more flouncy and preschool-friendly. One big difference also are her fingers, which are now connected to end numerous complaints that Barbie's hands always get caught in her clothes when children are dressing her up. Yet, her limbs remain to be moveable, and of course, her facial features remain recognizable as the classic Barbie. Read Also: 'Normal Barbie' Creator Launches Wheelchair Accessory For Its Fashion Dolls To Help Normalize Disability [VIDEOS] Others still quite disappointed My First Barbie will not be part of a separate, parallel Barbie-universe. McKnight emphasized. She announced that there will be new content featuring the new version later this month on Barbie's YouTube channel. There is even an animated special that will highlight the planning of a surprise party. Pediatric occupational therapist from West Hartford, Connecticut, and mother of two - a preschooler and an infant Andrea Werner expressed that doll play is valuable for children's development. She is well aware that there are plenty of dolls in the market, advertised and pushed by companies who will always try to sell the next best thing to consumers. Joaniko Kohchi, director for Adelphi University's Institute for Parenting, on the other hand, is not that comfortable with Mattel's motives and is not entirely sold-out of Barbie's new version, News Nation Now reported. She said that if parents and consumers think that Mattel should guide their choices, then the choices become limited. Moreover, she thinks that My First Barbie is still inappropriate as "certainly" it is still a "little older than a preschooler." If children are handed an image of what is beautiful and wonderful, it should resemble them a lot more closely, Kohchi added. Overall sales of the Barbie line have continued to soar in recent years after a temporary decline in 2013. Related Article: Barbie Dolls Harm Little Girls' Body Image, Experts Advise Parents; Mattel Rejects Study Photo: (Photo : J Pat Carter/Getty Images) Oklahoma police arrested the caretaker of two kids that went missing. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation took control of the caretaker, identified as Alysia Adams, 31 years old, and charged her with two counts of neglecting the welfare of a child. In the state of Oklahoma, it was reported that two young children had gone missing. According to the story, Alysia Adams and her husband were the ones responsible for taking care of the two little girls. Arresting Caretaker The caretaker of a 4-year-old girl who was reported missing in Oklahoma has been taken into custody by the police. According to ABC, Alysia Adams, age 31, was detained on Thursday afternoon and charged with two counts of child neglect. According to the official Facebook post of OSBI, the agency was able to make an arrest in the Athena Brownfield missing child investigation just two days after being requested to aid with the investigation. The search for Athena Brownfield was initiated by the local authorities on Tuesday afternoon. The police were notified about the missing kids in the small town of Cyril, Oklahoma. The community and the legal responders were then deployed to investigate and search for the missing kids. However, at around 2 p.m. local time, a postal carrier reported that he found a 5-year-old missing kid nearby the residence of the caretaker wandering alone in the street. The police first thought they had already found the missing child; it was not until the 5-year-old sister was found that they realized they were searching for two kids. While the 5-year-old sister was already located, the search for the younger sister, Athena Brownfield, still continues. According to NBC News, Since Tuesday, several entities from the law enforcement community have been searching for Athena Brownfield. Brook Arbeitman, a spokesperson for the agency, stated that there is currently an active and ongoing investigation into her whereabouts. Additionally, he claimed that the authorities were unable to comment on the possibility that the husband of Alysia Adams could also be arrested. Arbeitman continued by saying that determining who was to blame was the next step; their first priority right now is finding the missing girl. Read Also: Selena Gomez Rocks Red Carpet With Younger Sister Gracie Teefey Missing 4-Year-Old-Girl Arbeitman told reporters on Wednesday that the sister, who is 5 years old and was not in need of medical care when she was located, is currently in the protective custody of the state. Furthermore, the authorities are doing their duty to locate the missing 4-year-old. The OSBI is investigating every tip that comes in, even those that come from other states outside Oklahoma. Analysts are examining security footage from all over Cyril and looking for any other evidence that may be able to assist in locating Athena in an effort to discover any hints that may lead them to her whereabouts. Athena has been characterized as having blue eyes, light brown hair, and a height of three feet. She weighs 45 pounds. She was last seen in a pink butterfly sweater with a matching pair of pink trousers. According to Fox News, on Thursday, a deputy with the Caddo County Sheriff's Office stated that the disappearance of the girl could have occurred as early as January 6. A grid search was carried out throughout the entirety of the town by the local volunteers, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Emergency Response Team. Read Article: 9-Year-Old Maryland Girl Finds Tooth Remains of Extinct Shark Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Larry French) There is a chance that parents can continue enjoying stimulus aid in 2023. As a result of the American Rescue Plan Act, parents were able to receive stimulus money to help them from fighting off the financial struggles that COVID-19 had brought, The Ascent reported. The distribution of relief funds by the Child Tax Credit ended in 2021. But there could be good news parents can look forward to for this new year as lawmakers could take action to enable more Child Tax Credit funds to be available to American parents and families. What are these stimulus funds? A stimulus payment worth $1,400 under the American Rescue Plan Act was provided to eligible adults and dependents regardless of parental status. Yet, the expanded Child Tax Credit provided more monetary help to some families. Parents with children below six years old were provided $3,600 worth of tax credits per child, with the entire amount fully refundable. On the other hand, parents with older kids also received fully refundable tax credits worth $3,000 per child. These tax credits became more useful as they were paid out every month starting in June instead of being available only after filing taxes. Parents received payments from June to December through their bank accounts. They did not have to wait for the tax-filing season or see the funds disappear because of their tax bills. The credit did not only create a significant reduction in child poverty rates in 2021 but also gave parents their much-needed "breathing room." The stimulus and credit grants ended in 2022. Read Also: State Stimulus Checks Arriving to Americans in October 2022: Which States Are Sending Payments? The possibility of it coming back in 2023 Many Democrats continued prioritizing the credit last year. However, the Biden administration was unsuccessful in passing a bill to allow parents to have more stimulus money. It was reported that several conservative lawmakers on the left were not on board with making the expanded credit part of the legislation. Now that the Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, the possibility of these stimulus funds returning is bleaker compared to when Democrats were in control of both houses of Congress in the past years. But here's the good news - several prominent Republicans have expressed support for the expanded child tax credit, with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, "quietly" pushing a "Republican-friendly version" of the credit that Democrats are interested in but with few changes in requirements. According to NBC News, Romney's version of extra monthly payments would "add stringent work requirements, slash programs that aid vulnerable Americans and make significant changes to the tax code." But the changes would seem to be of a minimal issue if the new version would get a bipartisan consensus as having the stimulus money back would ultimately put parents and families in a win-win situation. With potential support and compromise from Republicans and Democrats, the possibility for an expanded Child Tax Credit can be a priority issue this 2023. Related Article: COVID Pandemic-era Stimulus Checks Rewired Americans in How They See Their Money Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Kampus Production) An expert warned about this typical food being fed to kids, saying it is the biggest choking hazard. A paramedic from Australia and CEO of Tiny Hearts Education, Nikki Jurcutz, just revealed hotdogs are the one food that is the biggest choking hazard for kids. This food has caused choking deaths more than any other food. Jurcutz took to Instagram and posted a video educating parents on the potential danger of feeding kids hotdogs. "If you were to design a perfect plug for a child's airway you couldn't do much better than a hot dog," she emphasized in the video's caption. Minimize the risk Jurcutz not only informed parents about how risky hotdogs are but also suggested how to minimize the risk. She stated that by changing how parents prepare them, children could be safer from choking. The paramedic used a clear tube to represent a kid's airway and illustrated how hotdogs could easily block and get stuck when consumed whole or even in sliced circular discs. She then illustrated how it would be less risky if hotdogs were sliced lengthwise, leaving more space for the food to go down without getting stuck in a child's airway. Hotdogs become much narrower when sliced along their length, presenting less of a choking hazard because it will not "completely occlude" the airways if it gets into it, she explained in the video, 7 News reported. Read Also: Hot Dogs Are Choking Hazards for Toddlers, Experts Remind Parents Greater killer than Chinese lead-based paint Parents thanked Jurcutz for her educational video. Some even shared their childhood experiences of choking on hotdogs. Some, however, criticized her for sharing, saying that she should have informed parents how unhealthy hotdogs are and how they should not offer them to children in the first place. According to New York State's Department of Health, choking is number four on the list of top causes of unintentional death of children below five years old, who are at the greatest risk for choking injury and death. Moreover, food is the most repeated cause of "nonfatal choking" in young kids. It is alarming to know that at least one kid in the U.S. dies from choking on food every five days, and over 12,000 young ones are taken to the emergency room yearly because of food-choking injuries. In these incidents, hotdogs take up the number one spot of food-choking hazards, especially when cut into coin shapes, confirming what Jurcutz told parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics even stated that hotdogs are greater killers of children than Chinese-lead-based paint, killing 77 children each year because of their "vain, futile effort to consume" the food. Gary Smith, author and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, stressed that as a pediatric emergency doctor, he has witnessed how it is "almost impossible" to get hotdogs out in a kid's airway when they are wedged in. Related Article: Eight-Year-Old Hero Brother Saves Baby Sister From Choking, Claims He Learned It From Nickelodeon This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi, has said that looking at the arrangements for bondholders included in governments Domestic Debt Exchange programme (DDE), many would have died before they get their monies. According to him, government created this mess through reckless borrowing, yet they are not going to leave any investments that can even pay these debts when they leave office in 2024. Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on January 12, monitored by GhanaWeb, he said, ..for those people whose investment will be maturing in 2023, by the time you get the entirety of your principal in 2023, you will be ten years more older, maybe you would have died and about 80 per cent or the entire money would have lost its value. What is even worse of for those whose principals would be due in 2024 and beyond, as for them they are giving them 15 years. 2024, 2025, you are getting nothing, he added. Last year, the government, through the Ministry of Finance, announced a debt exchange programme, dubbed the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme. What the government is seeking to do with its debt exchange programme, the DDE, is to amend the interest it promised the Ghanaian who loaned it money (the bondholder) and the duration for which the lender is supposed to get his interest and principal back. In other words, the government is swapping the agreement (the time and the promised interest) it had with the bondholder with a new one (new interest (s) and/or new duration(s)), hence the name, debt exchange. For example, if you held a government bond as of December 1, 2022, which was supposed to mature in 2025, the government is now promising you four new bonds (agreements) which are expected to mature in 2027, 2029, 2029, 2032 and 2037. And you are expected to earn 0% interest in 2023, 5% interest in 2024, and 10% in 2025, which will continue till the maturity of your bond (when you are expected to get your investment with the promised interest). Many have kicked against it and have vowed to head to court should government insists on including individual bond holders. Source: ghanaweb.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 Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has held talks with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto. In a tweet, the Ukrainian president said they discussed food security and the Grain from Ukraine initiative - a humanitarian programme to get Ukrainian grain to countries with acute food shortages. Mr Zelensky said they also spoke about the creation of grain hubs in Africa, and agreed to enhance cooperation between the two countries. The Ukrainian president also thanked Kenya for its support and constructive cooperation in the UN amid the war in his country that began after the Russia invasion in February last year. The Kenyan presidency has not issued any statement regarding the Thursday talks. Kenya made its opposition to the Russian invasion in a speech at the UN Security Council soon after the war began. In September, Mr Ruto said he was committed to playing a leading collaborative role at the global level in solving the crisis in Ukraine. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a court of appeal judge, sitting in as a high court judge has declined a two-month request from defence lawyers representing the founder of the defunct Beige Bank, Michael Nyineku to cross-examine the principal State witness of the case. Michael Nyineku arraigned for charges including stealing and money laundering had pleaded not guilty over the alleged GHc1.2 billion theft. During the final day of Case Management Conference, on Friday, January 13, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, one of the judges recently elevated to the Court of Appeal said, the First Prosecution Witness, (Principal Witness) Julius Ayivor, will give an Evidence-in-Chief which could last for 10 minutes. However, the said witness has attached to his witness statement some 88 exhibits which are crucial to the matter. Asked by Justice Asare-Botwe, how much time counsel for the accused would need for cross-examination, Lawyer Baffour Gyau Bonsu Ashia, holding brief for Thaddeus Sory, informed the court, they would need two months. The response appeared to have surprised the Judge, and then asked counsel to put his request into hours. Counsel after consulting his phone calculator, said he would need a total of 1, 444 hours. Unhappy, Justice Asare-Botwe wondered if that was a joke from lawyer Bonsu, saying, I think you dont know what you are doing so I will give you 12 hours. The court said, even if counsel is spending 10 minutes on each exhibit, the time will not exceed 10 hours. It was the case of counsel that, the 88 exhibits attached to the witness statement are crucial especially should the witness prove evasive. Justice Asare-Botwe said, the court cannot allow him that luxury of that time and that if he asked relevant questions, the 12 hours should be enough. Defence counsel contends that for a matter as serious as this, giving the accused person adequate time and facility to examine the witness and possibly put across his defence will serve as a fair hearing. They believed that 12 hours is not enough for them to defend the accused. Brief facts Per the brief facts of the case narrated by Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, Deputy Attorney General, Mr Nyinaku was the former Chief Executive Officer of the Beige Bank and that on August 1, 2018, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the banking license of Beige Bank and placed it in receivership. He said a review of the financial and other records of the Bank conducted by the receiver and his team showed several suspicious and unusual transactions, which were subsequently reported to the law enforcement agencies for investigations. The AG said investigations conducted revealed that between 2015 and 2018, the accused person as CEO of the Bank had allegedly used various means to transfer huge sums of monies to companies related to him and for his personal benefits. He alleged that the funds transferred were depositors funds lodged with the Beige Bank and that between 2017 and 2018, Nyinaku had caused the transfer of GHC10,071.00 fixed deposit account held with Beige Bank in which various customers placed a total of GHC448,636,210.21 to Beige Capital Asset Management Limited, (BCAM), without the knowledge and consent of the customers. Plot The AG said BCAM was a limited liability company wholly owned by the Beige Group Limited (Beige Group), an entity which in turn was wholly owned by the accused person, adding that the accused person between 2017 and 2018 caused the transfer of 35 fixed deposit investments of 23 customers of Beige Bank valued GHC141,042,348.92 to the Beige Group, a Company wholly owned by the accused person and its majority shareholders of Beige Bank. The prosecution said further investigations revealed that in March 2018, the accused person had caused a fictitious second account to be opened in the name of First African Savings and Loans (FASL), an existing account holder with Beige Bank, without the knowledge of the board and management of FASL. The AG said the accused person then caused the transfer of the sum of GHC320 million from the accounts of various Beige Bank customers into the bank accounts of BCAM held with Beige Bank. The GHC320 million was subsequently transferred from the BCAM account held with the Beige Bank into the fictitious FASL account that had been opened in Beige Banks books on the instructions of the accused person allegedly, said the prosecution. It said between March 2018 and August 2018, GHC 21,123,270.96 out of the GHC320 million was transferred from the fictitious FASL bank account to some two individuals and ten companies, nine of which were related to Nyinaku, on his instructions. Email transactions The AG said again, between 2015 and 2017, the accused person, through the use of payment vouchers, had caused the sum of GHc1,465,000.00 of depositors funds lodged with Beige Bank to be paid to himself and other persons, the Court heard. It said the transactions were recorded in a general ledger account of the bank described as Directors account, adding that it came out that the accused person through the use of payment vouchers, emails and memos, had caused a total of GHC20,599,052.58 of depositors funds lodged with Beige Bank to be transferred to a number of a general ledger account of the bank described as shareholders account. The AG also said, between 2016 and 2017, the accused, through the use of payment vouchers, had caused a total amount of GHC141,742,087.70 of depositors funds lodged with Beige Bank to be transferred to a number of companies and individuals for his benefits allegedly, it said. It said the transactions were recorded in the general ledger account of the Bank described as Prepayment- a Project Work Account, and that between 2017 and 2018, the accused person using payment vouchers, e-mails, and memos had further caused the sum of GHC118,076,813.09 of depositors funds lodged with Beige Bank to be transferred to several companies and individuals for his benefit allegedly. It said the transactions were also recorded in a general ledger account of the bank described as Beige Group Account. The AG again said investigations had established that the money the accused allegedly dishonestly appropriated from the Beige Bank remained unpaid as of August 1, 2018, when the Banks license was revoked by BoG. Source: Starrfm.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 A concerned Citizen of the Chiana-Paga Constituency (Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly), Mr. Francis Atayure Abirigo has commended the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu-Addo for tempering justice with mercy by asking the disciplinary committee (DC) to revoke the total sack conditions meted out to the 8 female students of Chiana Senior High School in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region. He sent this to newsmen on Saturday, January 14, 2023. He said Nana Addo has acted like a father just as he did in the Meek Mill Jubilee House video issue. "A father should only gag but not bite his own," he said. Mr. Abirigo further appealed to the school's disciplinary committee to act in the manner that the president has espoused and give them less punishment or not at all bearing in mind that they are first-timers and have shown remorse in a video we have all seen. Student's attitude of ridicule will emerge among the school's student body against these female students, including the forever tag for indiscipline, which is enough punishment to the 8 students. "You cannot ignore the fact that you have pardoned your own children at home many times, so therefore what the committee can do is to pardon these students to allow them to concentrate on their studies and the Ghana Education Service (GES) intensifying measures to encourage general discipline. "I say this because the GES and the school authorities including the presidency cannot exonerate themselves from the indiscipline that is engulfing our education system". "When we were in secondary school, one could not even insult a senior let alone the president, these are possibly the nemesis of the Free Senior High Secondary School system (FSHS)". The concerned Citizen who himself is a journalist and a development Communications Expert urged the media and all developmental stakeholders to take particular interest in what is going to be the outcome of the committee's action on the matter in the future. "You are all agents of development and cannot sit unconcerned at a time that girl child education is the talk of the day when 8 girls are being sacked or punished for expressing themselves in a democracy" Mr. Abirigo stated. 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 At 9 am on January 12, the first session of the 13th Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was grandly opened at the Anhui Grand Theater. On January 12, the first session of the CPPCC 13th Anhui Provincial Committee was grandly opened at the Anhui Grand Theater. CPPCC members from all walks of life in the province shouldered responsibilities and missions, carried expectations and great trust, gathered together to discuss matters of vital importance, offered advice and contributed their talents to speed up the construction of a modern and beautiful Anhui. On January 12, members of the Communist Party of China reviewed the work report of the Standing Committee of Anhui Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and the report on the proposal work at the group meeting. On January 13, members of the China National Democratic Construction Association discussed the Government Work Report, the draft plan report, and the draft budget report at the group meeting. On January 12, members of the science and technology sector spoke at the group meeting. On January 12, members of the agricultural sector made a speech at the group meeting. On January 12, members of the environment and resources sector were interviewed by reporters. On January 13, members of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party discussed the Government Work Report, the draft plan report, and the draft budget report at a group meeting. On January 12, the members of All-China Womens Federation reviewed the work report and the proposal work report of the Standing Committee of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the CPPCC in a group meeting. President Nana Akufo-Addo has tasked Fisheries Minister, Hawa Koomson to be the caretaker Minister for Food and Agriculture after accepting the resignation of Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto. The president expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Minister for serving his government and the Nation and wished him well in his future endeavors. Dr Afriyie Akotos resignation comes less than a week after Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyeremanten, resigned from the government. It is believed the resignation of the two former Ministers who have publicly expressed their intention to contest the NPP Flagbearership race is to allow them focus on their campaign to lead party in the 2024 presidential election. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President John Agyekum Kufuor says his former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey's rich political experience makes him one of the leading candidates for the NPP flagbearership race. Mr Ghartey officially informed the former President of his intention to contest in the race to find President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos successor. According to him, Mr Kufuor was happy about his move and urged him to run a decent campaign. He told me that he had noticed a burning ambition in me to offer myself for service to the people over the years, which is good, Mr Ghartey told Peaecefmonline.com after the private meeting at Mr Kufuors Peduase residence. The former President also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Mr Ghartey for serving in his government. President Kufuor said he was happy with my performance and my professionalism when I served under him and reminded those present that before I became Attorney-General, I was his mother, Obapanyin Ama Dapaahs lawyer first and subsequently his elder sister, Nana Durwaas lawyer, Mr Ghartey noted. The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Essikado-Ketan Constituency and former Minister for Railways Development has already made his intentions known that he will be contesting to lead the NPP in the next presidential election. If it is Gods will, I will be President of Ghana, he told Peacefmonline.com. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President John Dramani Mahama has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo on his 'Agenda 111' hospitals promises. According to the former President the country is yet to witness the completion of a single hospital since it was promised in 2020. "The 'Agenda 111' hospitals promise is in its 4th year, yet not a single hiospital has been completed to support quality health care delivery. This is contrary to the lofty promise made in 2020. The NPP must learn to take Ghanaians serious. Enough of the Slogans!" he tweeted on Saturday evening. Presidential promise Delivering the State of the Nation Address in Parliament last year, the President assured Ghanaians that his government will complete all hospitals under the Agenda 111 project before he leaves office. I am able to say that a great deal of the preparatory work has now been completed, and work has started at eighty-seven (87) of the one hundred and eleven (111) sites. I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining twenty-four (24) sites is ongoing, the President said. President Akufo-Addo, however, admitted that the initial completion date given by the government for the completion of the Agenda 111 project was overly ambitious. According to him, it has been difficult for the government to even identify suitable sites around the country for the construction of the hospitals. 'Agenda 111' Hospitals Government has secured US$100 million start-up fund through the Ghana Investment Infrastructure Fund (GIIF) for the commencement of works on Agenda 111 district, specialised and regional hospitals across the country. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo performed the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region. The Project Implementation Committee chaired by Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, had secured sites and land titles for 88 out of the 101 district hospitals and each unit would cost US$17 million, covering 15 acres. Each hospital is expected to be completed within 12 months, starting from the point of commencement. The Agenda 111 project includes 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital. The objective of the Project, Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained, was to significantly deepen delivery of quality healthcare at the district level, boost access to healthcare services for all citizens towards ensuring the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Three. Each unit would have facilities such as Outpatient services, including consultation for medical and surgical cases, Ophthalmology, Dental and Physiotherapy and Imaging services. According to government, on completion, the health facilities will be the biggest investment in healthcare infrastructure in the country since independence. 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 Emerging music star Larry Prince says his Afrobeat style combines Ghanaian Hiplife, House Music with a feel of the Ivorian coupe-decale genre to produce an amusing tune. According to the music prodigy, his new upcoming single "Saachikin Rami" would explore a different kind of Afrobeat vibe that would become a household anthem. Speaking in an interview ahead of the release on January 16, 2023, the talented musician was optimistic that his new Afrobeat rhythm would be accepted not only by Ghanaians but by the world at large. "My Afrobeat blends various rhythms, from Ghanaian Hiplife to Ivorian coupe-decale, and I hope to blow music fans' minds, especially considering my relatable lyrics." "Music is my life, and I look to offer music lovers the best of sounds that depict the real sounds of Africa, and they should expect more banging tunes from me this year," he said. The upcoming single "Saachikin Rami," produced by "Horrofix Umagar," is a well-curated masterpiece that will be available across streaming on its due date of release. Larry Prince has released several songs, including "Koomigb3" "Body Pump," "You Fine," "Digital Hustle," and "Rukia," which became groundbreaking hits in the music industry. 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 The House of Commons industry and technology committee is planning to hold another study into the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger. Rogers and Shaw applications are pictured on a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, May 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Gord Portman and City of Penticton employee Ysabel Contreras are pictured together in front of a bench that will be replaced with a memorial on or before International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31. A view of Sutherland Park and the former Tolko mill site. The 16-hectare site is slated for redevelopment but is also listed as a possible route for a future second bridge across Okanagan Lake. Context Ridewear drops in with new line of sturdy, value-conscious MTB gear. PRESS RELEASE: Context Ridewear The kit combo deals are the best value way to buy - the Berry/Black Gravity Combo pictured here is 69.99 The gear is build for gravity riding applications, like Downhill, Bike parks, or Enduro. Our gravity MTB gear range Gravity MTB Pants Heavyweight 'soft-shell' Polyester construction, with a slight stretch and good water resistance. 400GSM Cordura knee panels for crash resistance. Double and triple-stitched in strategic areas for robustness. Rear panel is made from a very water resistant Polyester/PU blend for added splash resistance. Elasticated calf panels for a comfortable, slim fit around the lower legs. Ratchet buckle waistband and YKK zippered fly. Two waterproof zip pockets at hips. Raised rear coverage for added mud protection. 59.99 2-Layer Jersey system Moto-inspired layering system. Compression under-layer with a casual Mesh sleeveless over-shirt. Custom fit - elongated body and arms so that everything stays covered when stretched out on the bike. Loads of colour combinations available, by changing mesh jersey or compression combination. Mesh jersey can also be worn on its' own on very hot days, or for extra style on summer evenings! Ideal for running with a chest or back protector. 24.99 Softshell Fleece-lined Gilet Softshell Polyester Gilet with fleece lining. Ideal for keeping your core warm on cooler, windy days. Extended tail length for coverage on muddy rides. Designed to be worn over our compression jersey. Two fully waterproof pockets with waterproof zips. Key tether in one pocket, goggle wipe in the other. Subtle faux-leather branded tag on front. 29.99 Our Kit Combos Gravity MTB Combo A 3-piece outfit comprised of the Gravity pants and 2-part jersey, for a discounted price. 4 colour options of mesh jersey, and 2 compression jersey colours to choose from. Sizes ranging from Small to XL. An XS Pant option will follow very soon. 69.99 Winter Gravity Combo A 3-piece outfit comprised of the Gravity pants, compression jersey, and Gilet, for a discounted price. 2 compression jersey colours to choose from. Sizes ranging from Small to XL. An XS Pant option will follow very soon. 79.99 Our 1 year Crash Replacement policy Context Ridewear is owned and designed by riders, for riders For more information, visit the Context Ridewear Website , grab some gear, and go ride your bike! RIDE IN CONTEXT Were delighted to introduce Context Ridewear, a new UK based MTB apparel company with a focus on the gravity sector of our sport. Created by two DH-loving engineers from the Cotswolds, and launched in September 2022, our company was created to directly address our pain-points with the current state of the MTB apparel industry: The price of MTB apparel, especially for gravity-focused DH & Enduro applications. The ever-changing fashion, with new lines of gear introduced every season by the large brands. The kit just didn't hold up to crashes, had little/no backup support, and cost a fortune to replace.We had the idea for Context Ridewear around two years ago. Over the years, both founders had ended up with wardrobes full of mis-matched sale-item clothing, having poured their available money into bikes, tyres and uplifts. This frustration led to some discussions over why DH gear had to cost quite so much money what was so special about it in the first place? Being a pair of engineers with 25 years of business experience behind us, we couldn't leave this question unanswered.What we found astonished us. By building a super-lean business model, without any retailers or distributors, designing and developing everything in house, and doing all our own admin, not only could we match the prices of the big-brands we could beat them.This isn't something totally new direct-to-customer bike brands like Canyon and YT have been doing it for years. However, the big clothing brands out there seemingly aren't in any rush to follow suit at this time, so there was a gap in the market for us to exploit, whilst passing the savings on to our customers.So, the hunt to find production partners and design our product range began. After 18 months of design, sample sourcing, materials and construction testing, Context Ridewear was officially born! It is with great pleasure we introduce our Gravity gear range to the Pinkbike community.We are offering, with every single piece of Context Ridewear, a 1 year crash replacement policy which entitles the owner to a large 40% discount off a replacement if they manage to break their gear whilst riding. Not only does this show how tough and well built we think our gear really is, but by not offering these replacements for entirely free, we don't have to add that cost onto the initial purchase price of the item. So, we've got our riders fully covered without any extra purchase costs. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Constituents gathered outside of the alleged Queens, NY office of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) and promised to make his life a nightmare until he resigns. "I am here to remind you George, that we will make every single day in this district for you a living nightmare until you find us " Rally outside alleged o Queens office of George Santos, demanding he resigns #whereisgeorge pic.twitter.com/9gzJf4kugj Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) January 13, 2023 One of the speakers said that Santos believes, that he will weather the storm, and these two years will be a cakewalk. Im here to remind you, George, that will make every single day in this district a living nightmare until you find us.George Santos we know doesnt live here, but what George Santos doesnt know is that Long Islanders dont give up that easy. Were not just going to roll over and accept the fact that our congressman is a conman, a liar and a fraud. We dont give up that easy, and well continue to join as Republicans and Democrats together to hold him accountable to call him out and make every single day a living nightmare until he does the right thing and resigns. George Santoss constituents are doing what Speaker Kevin McCarthy refuses to do. They are pressuring Santos to resign. McCarthy wont take a stand and refuse to seat Santos on committees because he needs his vote. If McCarthy told Santos to hit the bricks and denied him committee assignments, he might lose 25% of his House majority. Subscribe To Our Newsletter For More Stories Like This: People in Santoss district are angry because they have been defrauded, and if House Republicans wont take action, they will. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The New York Times showed it is all in on its mission to restore Trump to the White House by giving a platform to unemployable Trump liar Kellyanne Conway. The Times titled Conways essay, The Cases For And Against Donald Trump. Here is how this supposedly even-handed look at Trump 2024 began after it first ignored Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. There is no vaccine and no booster for it. Cosseted in their social media bubbles and comforted within self-selected communities suffering from sameness, the afflicted disguise their hatred for Mr. Trump as a righteous call for justice or a solemn love of democracy and country. Subscribe To Our Newsletter For More Stories Like This: Americans trying to protect democracy from a man who attempted to stage a coup to stay in power in 2020 are just Trump haters. On and on, Conway goes. There is no need to deconstruct the entire essay because if you have seen Kellyanne Conway once, you know where this is going. The New York Times doesnt disclose Conways past work for Trump and service to his campaign until the end of the essay in small print below because it does the paper no good to publish a piece of Trump propaganda if readers are informed in advance of the lack of objectivity of the author. The Times readership is older, whiter, wealthier, and more liberal than the rest of America. The New York Times and Washington Post have struggled to maintain relevance without Trump. The Times continues to employ Trump-friendly Maggie Haberman whose sole purpose is to pass along Trump tidbits and gossip, much of it quite possibly from the man himself. However, giving Kellyanne Conway a platform to spin and lie is a whole different 9level of Trump advocacy hidden behind a thin pretext of journalism. Just because a media outlet is a big corporation that tells you to trust them does not mean it should be trusted. The goal of these legacy media giants is to make money, and if they have to help Donald Trump and his allies destroy democracy to achieve their goal, theyll do it. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print It may very telling that the extremist Republican representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives orchestrated their election of Kevin McCarthy to the role of Speaker of the House on the two-year anniversary of violent insurrectionists storming the Capitol in deadly fashion to interrupt the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election. As a critic and professor of literature, let me suggest that one compelling way to interpret the days-long drama that seated McCarthy as Speaker of the House is to understand it as a continuation, indeed escalation, of the insurrection. Lets hope its not, but we watchdogs of American democracy would be remiss, even derelict, if we let down our guard and willfully blinded ourselves to the encroachments, or infiltration, of anti-democratic forces into the inner workings of the nations democratic governing institutions. House Democrats joked about munching popcorn while spectating at the sport of Republican incompetence and fecklessness. Watch the Democratic talking heads on the television, and youll see they are largely gleeful about what they tend to describe a study in contrasts that made crystal clear to American viewers the unity and efficacy of House Democrats in opposition to the disarray and dysfunctionality of House Republicans. This glee, this schadenfreude, as pundits have called it, is dangerously misplaced. And we should be understanding that the glee over Democrats stemming the predicted red wave in the midterm elections last November may very well be similarly misplaced. Yes, to be sure, it could have been worse, but we certainly cant suggest, as weve heard some voices proclaim, that the midterms represented the American people speaking out loudly and clearly against the quickly creeping authoritarianism in American politics, in favor of salvaging American democracy. First, so many of the elections were decided by razor-thin margins; and, second, Republicans took control of the House. We know from the 2020 election, especially after reading the January 6 report recently released, that those intent on razing democratic institutions in America need only a small opening. Frankly, our founders and framers of the Constitution, while they worried about self-serving seditionists, clearly didnt imagine someone like Trump or the strength of bigotry and fascist tendencies in the populace that would sustain and even thrive in U.S. culture and society as a counterforce to maintaining and expanding democracy. Our founders were right that the strength and fate of democratic institutions relied largely, perhaps too largely, on the character of the people and their representatives. Trump and his allies very well may have succeeded in stealing the 2020 election by creating enough confusion to put the election in the hands of the House of Representatives, which could and would have elected Trump, if it werent for individuals of character here and there in key states who refused to go along with Trumps plot. It very well may have taken just one of those individuals to bend to have toppled U.S. democracy. And now there at least 20 representatives in the U.S. House who have been clear about their support for the insurrectionists. Really, all Republicans have basically pledged their allegiance to the insurrection, as did we see any Republicans at last Fridays ceremony honoring the heroes who risked and in some cases sacrificed their lives to stem the insurrection? The elevation of McCarthy to Speaker is, indeed, another maneuver by the insurrections to disrupt and destroy democracy. The insurrectionists are no longer banging down doors and breaking windows; they are not on the outside trying to get in. They are on the inside proclaiming that this drama of electing a speaker represented the best of democracy and its messy and deliberative processes, while they are really using the means of democracy to dismantle it. The gang of extremists, who controlled the process of deciding the Speaker, did not so much elect McCarthy as much as they tamed, domesticated, and subordinated him. This gang succeeded in establishing minority rule in the House. The Republican majority must defer to them, making the House effectively subject to a tyranny of the minority. This small opening is enough for the extremists to do great damage to the lives of Americans and the institutions that are supposed to work to support and protect American lives. If the Republicans continue to defer to this group, key legislation like farm bills, budget approvals, key funding bills, raising debt ceilings, and more, can be stalledwith grave consequences for U.S. society and its economy, doing great damage to Americans lives. Its seems clear, at this point, that the Republicans will defer to this group. Or, put another way, it seems clear that there is no such thing as an anti-Trump, pro-democracy, Republican Party; nor is there any such a thing as a bi-partisan moderate Republican. House Republicans had a golden opportunity over the past few days to thrust a dagger deep in the heart of extremism, of Trumpism. They had 212 votes across the aisle, and they could have sought to secure six of them to get their Speaker of choice elected and disempower the likes of Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, and others of their gang. They could have signaled a bi-partisanship that they, the Republicans, still largely could have controlled. Once again, they put party over country. They had many opportunities, these so-called moderate establishment Republicans, to out an end to Trumpism. Take any of the impeachment trials. Where were the moderate Republicans such as Rob Portman and the like? Lets not be fooled. The Republican Party is the party of authoritarianism, fascism, whatever you want to call it. And extremism is alive, well, and making inroads on our fragile democratic institutions. Hopefully our aspiring democracy can survive the next two years, but lets not let down our guard. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 76F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. The United States and Britain have announced new sanctions aimed at Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich. The penalties target the financial networks of two of Moscows wealthiest businessmen who are close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Usmanov has been subject to U.S. and European Union sanctions since shortly after the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine last year. Abramovich, who amassed a fortune in Russias oil and aluminum industries, was forced to sell the Chelsea football club after he was cited last year. U.S. officials say the new designations aim to reinforce existing penalties and further disrupt Russias importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. Read moreUS, UK aim sanctions at Russian oligarchs' finance networks ANDERSON The Anderson Water Council has awarded grants totaling $120,000 to two Anderson County organizations, the first awards from a $1.5 million legal settlement with Kinder Morgan resulting from a 2014 fuel spill. The case from the spill spent years in litigation and was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court before it was settled. The spill occurred when a pipeline carrying diesel and jet fuel cracked and leaked an estimated 369,000 gallons of fuel into the soil, groundwater and a stream in rural Belton that flows into Broadway Lake in Anderson. Kinder Morgan has spent more than $17 million to clean up the spill and for monitoring that continues today. The Southern Environmental Law Center brought a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the company in 2016 on behalf of environmental groups Upstate Forever and Savannah Riverkeeper. The groups formed the Anderson Water Council to distribute the resulting settlement funds. Now, students in Anderson County schools and residents throughout the county will have the opportunity to learn how to monitor their own water sources for signs of pollution in the first round of grants distributed by the water council on Jan. 12. From the onset of this initiative, we knew we wanted to give some of the funds right back to the people of Anderson County to support projects that improve water quality and increase citizen awareness of and participation in water quality initiatives, said Megan Chase, Upstate Forever's state policy director. The water council provided $90,000 to the Anderson Soil and Water Conservation District (ASWCD) to start a water-monitoring education program for students and residents. The district will purchase eight water trunks with educational tools to teach how to sample water sources. The district will develop a curriculum based on state standards for the program and will cycle through each of the countys schools with the educational materials, said Anaston Porter, education outreach director with ASWCD. The funds will also allow the district to hire an intern for a year to help with the program, she said. The water council provided $30,000 to Rocky River Conservancy to expand public engagement in conservation and water sampling and education efforts in the 148-acre Rocky River Nature Park, said Laary Cushman, Anderson University biology professor and a board member of the conservancy. The funds will allow the conservancy to collaborate with Trees Upstate to plant buffers throughout the park to preserve its wetlands, Cushman said. This first round of funding only used interest earned on the original settlement amount, so the entire $1.5 million remains. That amount could be used for a major future land purchase or could be distributed in similar grant cycles in the coming years, Chase said. The next round of grants for organizations throughout Anderson County will open in the summer of 2023 and close by late fall. S.C. Associate Justice John Fews abortion opinion deserves a lot more attention than its gotten so far which, based on how the courts decision has been characterized, seems to be none. Thats bizarre since Mr. Few was the stunning swing vote who turned what most people expected would be a 3-2 decision upholding South Carolinas so-called fetal heartbeat law into a 3-2 decision invalidating it. Before I tell you about the roadmap his opinion provides to lawmakers who want to outlaw abortion and the unflattering picture it paints of the Legislature, a bit of history to help explain why it's so extraordinary that the former Circuit Court judge and chief judge on the S.C. Court of Appeals would become the third vote to overturn the abortion law and send the Legislature into apoplectic seizure. His 2016 election was the first one held after legislators, angered that the court had dared to tell them to figure out a way to provide kids with a decent education, started talking out loud about the need to elect conservative justices. And sure enough, Mr. Few helped form the new majority that gutted the court's landmark Abbeville v. South Carolina school adequacy decision in 2017. But before he did that, he wrote an extraordinary dissent in a case in which the Supreme Court struck down a budget proviso that clearly violated the state constitutions single-subject rule, saying the topic was not worthy of the courts time. In that dissent, he sent about as clear a message as you can that he had no interest in requiring the Legislature to obey the constitution. Against that backdrop, Justice Few's opinion in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. South Carolina demonstrates that even when you're focused on political philosophy, as lawmakers suddenly are to an even greater degree than they were after Abbeville, it's not always easy to predict how a justice will rule. And it reminds us that the Legislature's care in writing the law or lack thereof can play a much larger role than judicial philosophy in the fate of that law. As my colleagues and I explained in our editorial on Tuesday, the court had to decide whether pregnant women have rights that trump the Legislatures right to ban abortions after about six weeks. That meant deciding whether the privacy protection in South Carolinas constitution applies to privacy in all areas or only in matters involving search and seizure, and if its unlimited, what constitutes the unreasonable invasions of privacy that the constitution prohibits. Mr. Few joined Chief Justice Don Beatty and Associate Justice Kay Hearn in concluding that the privacy protection is unlimited, but then he made a point of saying: I deny there is a constitutional 'right' to abortion. He went so far as to say it might be constitutional for the Legislature to ban all abortions if it declared that life begins at conception. Thats because the constitutional question is how to balance competing rights, and a womans right not to have her privacy unreasonably invaded could never trump a human life. Of course, the Legislature doesnt have the votes to ban all abortions, so that point is moot. But he also implied that he would have found the law constitutional if not for an absurd phrase the Legislature threw into the law declaring that one of its goals was to ensure that women could make an informed choice about whether to continue a pregnancy. This language, he argued, created a right for women to make that informed choice about an abortion a right that as a result now had to be balanced against the Legislatures interest in protecting the life of the unborn child who may be born." So the essential question in his mind was how many women would have the option of making that informed choice that is, how many women realize theyre pregnant by the time the heartbeat law outlaws abortion. There would be no rights to balance, he wrote, if all women knew they were pregnant by six weeks; but they dont, and most disturbing to him, he could find no evidence that the Legislature made any effort to determine the answer. Hence his unexpected conclusion: the General Assembly's failure even to consider this necessary factual question was arbitrary and renders the Fetal Heartbeat Act unconstitutional. Now, it seems strange to me to suggest that a phrase that merely declares the Legislatures intent would make the difference between whether the law is constitutional or not, but whether Justice Fews opinion is constitutionally sound or not, the fact is that it's his opinion, and it doomed the six-week law. And heres the thing: There was no legal or constitutional reason to include that language. Perhaps it would make sense to declare a desire to help women make an informed choice in a law that simply required doctors to provide them information about fetal development, or show them an ultrasound, or let them listen to what state law calls a heartbeat. But that explanation is nonsensical in a law whose purpose is to remove that choice. And even if it made sense, a legislature that was taking its job seriously never would have included such unnecessary language in a law that it knew was on constitutional shaky ground. The only reason I can think of to add that language is to counter complaints that lawmakers had no interest in the well-being of pregnant women, although even that doesn't make much sense politically. Instead, it suggests that legislators took a profoundly important matter that has lifelong consequences for the woman and the fetus, and treated it like any other culture-war issue, where the details are irrelevant, and all that matters is preening for the camera and pandering to voters. As such, it provides yet another illustration of what is too often our legislators sloppiness, arrogance and unserious approach to the law. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Mostly cloudy early then periods of showers this afternoon. High around 75F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low 64F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Mensaje a la nacion de la presidenta de la republica, Dina Boluarte. En vivo: https://t.co/6uZJQIDYIt Bukola Fadairo, a graduate of Mechanical Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, is a crop farmer in Oyo State, south-west Nigeria. She is the CEO of Emmanuel farm where she produces cucumber, okra, watermelon, tomatoes, cassava, maize, palm kernel and golden melon. She spoke to PREMIUM TIMES about her journey in agriculture and the challenges she has faced. PT: Can you put us through your journey in agriculture? How long have you been cultivating? Why did you go into farming despite studying Mechanical Engineering? There are lots of automobiles and other mechanical systems in the country. Ms Fadairo: I started in late 2018 after the completion of my service year. When I completed the service, I saved some money from the service. I got back home, met my cousin and we discussed how I can spend the saved money wisely. I actually applied for a job but most are in Lagos and Im not ready for Lagos stress. He advised me that I should invest in garri business which I did. It was productive. I did the buying and selling thing successfully but after about three cycles, I got tired of it and I had to stop. He then advised me that I can go into crop farming. He introduced me to it and my first crops were cucumbers and okra which is one of my favourites as I plant okra every year. But in November 2019, we decided to try the irrigation system as there is this stream behind the farm, and we introduced the system and it worked. We then planted okra in view of a proper harvest in 2020 but cattle entered and we got nothing in return, not even one okra. I planted cucumbers again and still, the cattle came and nothing was harvested. It was quite annoying but I didnt stop. So I just keep planting cucumbers, okra and watermelon and they yield as good as the land is very fertile. My aunt who gave me the land once used it for poultry farming. It is a one-acre land. After a year plus, I gathered some money and purchased 3 acres of land where I plant cassava. I also rented about 15 acres of land and plant maize and cassava simultaneously. So for now, Im not looking for any job offer except they are ready to pay me over N300,000 as a starter. PT: Raising capital is hard, when you started, how much capital was involved? Ms Fadairo: I ploughed the farmland twice at N4,500 each, I bought a can of cucumbers for 1800, 2 bottles of okra seeds at 400 each, I got someone who tilled the ground for 5000 and that was all. Now to plough, we spend between 12,000 and 15,000. A can of cucumber is now 3000. Tilling the ground now is from N15,000 up to as much as 35,000. To cultivate my cassava farm per acre cost nothing less than 35,000. I had to travel to bring people to do it at 20,000. PT: Being educated, you should have heard about climate change and the issue around it. How do you think this has affected food production? Ms Fadairo: It has really affected me. In 2020, there was not much rainfall which affected many of my crops. I planted okra, cassava and none survived. I have a man like a father to me who looked out for me. He planted about 23 acres of maize and all died. Also in 2022, the drought started suddenly and those with maize will have an issue but for cassava, you might be lucky except you run an irrigation system on your maize and cassava plantations. This irrigation system also differs as theres oxygen effect on crops. Irrigation system with a flowing stream or river as the water source will yield more results than one with a borehole source which is still better than one without a system. PT: Pesticides and fertilisers are two key inputs for farmers which if carelessly used can be harmful to the plants and humans that consume them. How do you think the issues around these have affected farming in general? Ms Fadairo: Using herbicides on weeds on some farmland affected the land because some plants need the weed to preserve the soil nutrients but when they are controlled using herbicides, it affects the nutrients in the soil. Before herbicides, you could use land for 10 years yielding results but now, it doesnt last up to that. The moment you use farmland for 5 to 6 years, you stop getting the expected yield return. You introduce enhancers like fertilisers and Co, the yield improves a little and thats for a little while. So what I do is crop rotation and it works. When you do, you dont have the same pest on that farmland. I plant okra this year, there are pests that are particular to okra and so are weeds also. Next year, I will plant maybe a golden melon or watermelon. When those pests come around, they dont get the okra and they are not used to watermelon or golden melon so the only thing theyll do is go. By the time the watermelon pest comes, Im done and Im switching again to cucumbers and the cycle continues. PT: You have lands for farming. Some were given, some leased and some bought. The ones bought, were there issues with respect to gender when you wanted to purchase them? Ms Fadairo: I was actually introduced to the farmland by the owner who is my guardian. He told me if I had a particular amount he could leave the land to me and I will subsequently balance up the payment which I did and I had to pay up gradually about 3 times. PT: Have you applied for any loans before? Ms Fadairo: No I have not as Ive not gotten anyone that seems legit. I never applied for a loan and I dont know how they work or the processes involved. PT: As a woman farmer, what is your experience in controlling your labour forces taking into consideration that youre a woman in the farming business? Ms Fadairo: At the start, I talk with them and even give them part payment. Some actually do the work while some dont and they run with the money. Some years back, I got someone to weed off my okra farm, took him there and gave him part payment. I called his number but he has switched his sim with a childs; when I call its a childs voice I hear over the phone. That year, I nearly lost my plantation. When the harvesters got there and did their work, I still went there and saw unharvested okra which is not their fault because they do their harvest as early as 5 a.m. while it is still dark and they cant see as the farmlands have not been properly cleaned. I waited about 3 months, used a different line to call him and he picked and I later got him. Also, I paid people to erect perimeter fencing around my land thats always damaged by cattle. They did a very bad job. PT: Aside from these challenges, what other challenges do you face? Ms Fadairo: The highest challenge I face is getting a labour force thatll work for you. Some labourers worked for me for three days but I paid them for over 1 week. When I paid them, they said theyll go the next day. That I should send people to come verify. When I sent my cousin, he reported that there was nobody on the farm for like three days. Putting off the phones and lying about why theyve not done the work and this is at night after theyve put their phones back on. I really dont have much of a choice, I still call them and engage them to work for me knowing they will delay the work. But its cheaper to use them at 10000 than facing the same delay at 25000 or more. PT: Being a married farmer, how supportive is your husband with respect to your farming business? Ms Fadairo: My husband has been very supportive of my business. He met me while I was already farming. Most of my farmlands where I cant go now, hell go there and handle the work there. PT: Of all the crops you produce, do you have an available market for them? Ms Fadairo: Yes there are. When I plant okra, I target the market days which come every five days. I harvest a day on the market day or in the morning of the market day because once okra is harvested, it spoils after three days and sometimes late in the evening before the market day. We take it to the market the next day. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on Friday announced that the official drilling of the first oil well in Nasarawa State will commence in March. This, the NNPC said, is in continuation of hydrocarbon exploration activities in Nigerias inland basins. The companys chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this while receiving a delegation of Nasarawa State indigenes, led by the Governor Abdullahi Sule at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Friday. Mr Kyari, however, called for immediate action on the project as the global energy transition had led to a reduction in investment in fossil fuels. This work must be done very fast because the whole world is walking away from fossil fuel due to the energy transition. The earlier you go to market, the better for you. Otherwise, 10 years from now, no one will agree to put money in the petroleum business except it comes from your cash flow, Mr Kyari said. He added that community support and a conducive environment were key to a successful operation in the area, in order to avoid the experience of the Niger Delta. In November last year, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the first crude oil drilling project in northern Nigeria, on the boundary of Bauchi and Gombe States. The NNPC had in October 2019 announced the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the Northeastern part of the country. The commercial quantity discovery was the first in the region after several crude oil explorations in the Upper Benue Trough. The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in the Gongola Basin, according to NNPC, will attract foreign investment, generate employment for people to earn income, and increase government revenues. During the flag-off in Bauchi, Mr Buhari said the successful discovery of the Kolmani Oil and Gas field by NNPC and her partners has finally broken a decade-long jinx. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Two more victims of the Edo train attack were rescued on Thursday by the security forces in the state, a government official has said. The Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, disclosed this Friday at a news briefing in Benin City, Channels Television reported. Apart from the two train victims rescued, the security officials also rescued the President of the Customary Court in Igueben Area, Precious Aigbononga. The judge was kidnapped on 9 January, two days after the train incident. Their rescue from the same place is an indication the two kidnap incidents were carried out by the same group of criminals. The police said two of the kidnappers were killed during the rescue operation. Michael Adams, a deputy superintendent of police, however, died in the aftermath of the rescue operation. The police said he fell unwell during the rescue operation and died after but failed to indicate if he sustained gunshot injuries during the rescue operation. At least 31 people were reported missing after armed persons attacked the train station in the state. The police claimed the attack was carried out by herdsmen. This newspaper on Monday reported the rescue of six victims of the attack. The Nigerian government had shut down the train station where the attack occurred. The attack occurred about 10 months after terrorists attacked a moving train in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria. Several people were killed while dozens of other passengers were kidnapped in the Kaduna incident. Some passengers spent months with the kidnappers before they were released, either after their relatives paid ransom or after the government negotiated their release. The Edo incident is the first of such attacks on a train facility in southern Nigeria. But Edo State has witnessed a surge in criminal activities in recent years including an attack on a prison during which dozens of inmates escaped. Also, a Catholic priest, Christopher Odia, was killed in the state by his abductors in June last year. The following month, an Italian Catholic Priest, Luigui Brena, was abducted but was later rescued by the police. In October last year, a popular Nigerian cleric and founder of Omega Fire Ministries International, Johnson Suleman, narrowly escaped death after his convoy was attacked by gunmen along Benin-Auchi Road The gunmen ambushed Mr Sulemans convoy, killing seven persons, including his three police orderlies. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Supreme Court, on Friday, dismissed an appeal challenging the emergence of Umar Namadi as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State for the 2023 elections. Mr Namadi is the deputy governor of Jigawa State. A former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Aliyu, challenged the APC primary election held on 26 May which produced Mr Namadi as the partys governorship flagbearer for the 11 March poll. Delivering its judgement on Friday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court said Mr Aliyus appeal lacked merit. The appellant (Mr Aliyu) failed to prove the declarative reliefs he sought. This appeal lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed, Ibrahim Saulawa who read the lead judgement by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said. The apex court struck out Mr Namadis cross-appeal on the grounds that the main appeal had been dismissed. Background In the appeal filed, Mr Aliyu challenged the 4 November 2022 decision of the Court of Appeal in Kano, which dismissed his earlier appeal. The appellate court in Kano had upheld Mr Namadis nomination as the governorship candidate of the APC in Jigawa State for the 11 March governorship poll. A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Ita Mbaba, in the 4 November verdict, unanimously dismissed Mr Aliyus appeal against the 13 September 2022 judgement by Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court, Dutse, Jigawa State, for being unmeritorious. READ ALSO: The judge at the trial court held that Mr Aliyu lacked the right to have sued the governorship candidate, adding that he failed to prove his case with credible evidence. Meanwhile, Mr Namadi challenged a portion of the Court of Appeal judgement upturning the trial courts decision that Mr Aliyu lacked the right to have filed the suit which did not qualify as a pre-election case. Arguments In arguing the appeal on Thursday, Mr Namadis lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss Mr Aliyus suit and allow his clients cross-appeal Mr Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) contended that the appellate court erred when it exercised jurisdiction over Mr Aliyus appeal, which arose from an action improperly constituted. However, Aliyus lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, a SAN, prayed to the apex court to allow his clients appeal. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The January 16, 2019, murder of Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, who was gunned down by unidentified men months after threats by a local politician, sent shockwaves through the countrys press corps and yielded promises from leaders to find the killers and bring them to justice. But four years later despite police assurances of progress and two arrests nobody has been tried or convicted in the journalists murder. Meanwhile, crimes against journalists continue. Since Divelas death, at least 30 other Ghanaian journalists and media workers have faced abuses in connection with their work, including attacks, threats, and arrests. Ahead of the fourth anniversary of Divelas murder, CPJ followed up on each of these cases to learn whether anybody had been held responsible. While there were a few patchy attempts at accountability, CPJ found a broad pattern of impunity that flies in the face of Ghanas reputation as a stable democracy where freedom of the press is enshrined in the countrys constitution. Since 2019, CPJs research shows that 14 journalists and media workers have been physically attacked in relation to their work nine of them by members of Ghanas police or military. The attacks have continued in spite of Ghanas police and media groups adopting a 2019 framework for improved relations and the safety of journalists. Officials involved were rarely disciplined, and when action was taken journalists said it was insufficient. In one incident, police officers kicked and punched journalist Malik Sullemana when they arrested him in March 2019, leaving him with blood clots in his left eye and bruises on his limbs. Police temporarily suspended three officers while they conducted an investigation, but Sullemana said that he received no further update about the inquiry. He said that he has since seen several officers involved back on the street in uniform. When something happens people talk about it and then it fizzles out, said Sullemana, one of the 17 Ghanaian journalists and media workers detained since 2019, most of them briefly. CPJ found that at least 10 journalists have received written or verbal threats in connection with their work over the past four years. That includes Erastus Asare Donkor, who went into hiding after he was threatened on television by parliament member Kennedy Ohene Agyapong in July 2021. Agyapong, who had also threatened Divela before his murder, said Donkor should be beaten seriously over his reporting about Ghanaian officers alleged shooting of protesters. Police and parliament both opened investigations into Agyapongs statement, but the journalist said he was never informed of the findings. In addition, since 2019, CPJ has documented attacks on the offices of at least three private broadcasters Benya FM, Zylofon FM, and Radio Ada FM during which the assailants assaulted journalists, vandalized the premises, or stole equipment. In separate interviews, staff from each of the outlets said the authorities responses were insufficient. In the January 2021 attack on Zylofon FM, for instance, the broadcasters security guard shot the attacker and police apprehended the injured man, but after he recovered he escaped from the hospital and has not been rearrested, according to Zylofon presenter Ahmed Abubakar. The broad lack of accountability has resulted in a tendency toward self-censorship among members of the media, say those interviewed by CPJ. Journalists will always balance a likely attack against the benefits of the story they are pursuing, said Muheeb Saeed, senior Africa program officer with the Media Foundation for West Africa, a Ghana-based organization that monitors press freedom across the region. He questions whether Ghanas authorities have the will to protect the press. The state is too powerful to fail if it actually meant to stamp out impunity. At the highest level there is no commitment. Sullemana, for his part, said the attacks amounted to a stain on the countrys reputation. We are one of the countries in Africa that the rest of the world looks up to. The world considers Ghana as a country of good governance and rule of law, he told CPJ. But, he said, it is not safe to practice journalism in Ghana. CPJ emailed Ghanas police press office and its parliament but received no response. Phone calls to police spokesperson Grace Ansah Akrofi went unanswered. CPJ also emailed Ghanas military but received no response. Here are details of the cases involving the 30 journalists who have faced abuses for their work since Divelas murder and what, if anything, authorities have done to respond. Evelyn Okakwu joined the Committee to Protect Journalists as a Nigeria consultant in August 2019. She was appointed CPJs West Africa correspondent in January 2021. Okakwu previously worked for four years as a judiciary correspondent for the Premium Times online newspaper and for two years as a general assignment reporter with the Peoples Daily newspaper in Abuja, Nigerias capital. Okakwu has a Higher National Diploma from the Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adama State, Nigeria. Follow her on Twitter @EveOkakwu. Jonathan Rozen is CPJs senior Africa researcher. Previously, he worked in South Africa, Mozambique, and Canada with the Institute for Security Studies, assessing Mozambican peace-building processes. Rozen was a U.N. correspondent for IPS News and has written for Al-Jazeera English and the International Peace Institute. He speaks English and French. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print ?? El Ministerio de Salud informa que 3660 personas han sido dadas de alta por #ViruelaDelMono y se han detectado 1 casos nuevos en los ultimos dias. Todos vienen recibiendo asistencia medica y se viene realizando seguimiento a sus contactos. pic.twitter.com/g5lFL4CMzV The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo have disagreed over Governor Hope Uzodimmas scorecard within three years in office. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Governor Uzodimma assumed office on 14 January 2020, following a judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed his victory at the 2019 governorship election in the state. While the PDP Publicity Secretary, Collins Opurozor, said Mr Uzodimmas three years were enmeshed in economic stagnation, mass penury, insecurity and infrastructural decay, the APC Publicity Secretary, Cajetan Duke, dismissed the statement. In a statement signed by the PDP publicity secretary and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri, Mr Opurozor argued that the greatest casualties of Governor Uzodimmas emergence are the Imo people. He alleged that Mr Uzodimma had, in the past three years, worked so hard to ensure that all the institutions of democracy in the state are dismantled and a full-blown dictatorship firmly established. Mr Opurozor further claimed that bloodshed, poor healthcare, the collapse of education, dearth of agricultural productivity, conscription of the political space and violation of human rights have become the order of the day. For instance, the local government system, which is a mechanism put in place to expand and sustain the democratic space and spread democratic values, has been destroyed in Imo State. This is a huge tragedy! Imo is a state that has over 70 per cent of her entire population living in rural areas. Yet, the only channel through which governance can be delivered to the people has been completely run aground, he contended. Mr Opurozor also claimed that in the last 36 months, Mr Uzodinma had received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) a total of N180.6 billion meant for the Local Governments in the state. Today, there is nothing on ground that shows that even a kobo has gotten to the Local Government Areas. Senator Hope Uzodimma must, without any further delay, tell Imo people where he kept the N180.6 billion belonging to the Local Governments, he said. He argued that Mr Uzodimma had made incessant borrowings a state policy which had plunged the state into irredeemable debt slavery. According to him, Imo is currently the most indebted Igbo state, with a debt profile which stands at N220 billion. That means that the regime of Sen. Uzodinma has doubled the debt profile in less than three years and the fundamental question is: What has the regime done with over N100 billion it has borrowed so far? He said in spite of the borrowings, Mr Uzodimma had made no effort at re-jigging investments in the hugely vital agro-industrial sector where Imo has a major comparative advantage. What Senator Uzodinma really needs to explain to Imo people is how he diverted a whopping sum of N56 billion on the pretence of constructing the 36-kilometre Owerri-Orlu road. Does the administration in Imo want the people to believe that a kilometre of road was done at the rate of N1.5 billion? This same Craneburg Construction Company, which works for Uzodinma, has also done the Lekki-Epe Road in Lagos State and the Ibadan Circular Road in Oyo State. In both instances, even drainages and terrains rougher than Imo, the cost never exceeded N450 million per kilometre, but in Uzodinmas Imo, the cost of a single kilometre of road by the same company suddenly became N1.5 billion, he said. Mr Opurozor estimated that the 2023 budget revenue of the state would be sourced from FAAC, 13 per cent derivation, internally generated revenue, and intervention grants would amount to N120.6 billion. He maintained that Gov. Uzodimma is already planning to spend N475 billion within the year with a deficit of N354 billion which would be raised through borrowings. The loans would be solely dedicated to expanding Uzodimmas political war chest and financing sundry other electoral malpractices, including massive vote buying. Already, agents of Imo APC have started distributing forms, requesting for bank accounts and PVC details of Imo voters so as to commence the first phase of this brazen electoral fraud, he alleged. He claimed that the party had intercepted credible intelligence about the planned role which the Uzodinma-backed Ebubeagu Militia would play in this process of derailing democracy in the state. He, therefore, urged the Inspector-General of Police to immediately disband Ebubeagu Militia, claiming that since Ebubeagu began its operations in the state, insecurity, killings, abductions and arson have risen astronomically. But dismissing the claims however, the APC Publicity Secretary, Cajetan Duke, said the PDP should rather praise Uzodimma for the giant strides of development in the past three years. Mr Duke said: We are glad today that the opposition PDP has confirmed by the contents of their press conference on the reconstruction of the Owerri-Orlu road. Their argument on the cost of the project is neither here nor there! PDP should stop reminding Imolites of their seven months illegal occupation of Douglas House and the unimaginable looting of our common patrimony. When they talk about the January 14th, 2020, landmark judgment of the Supreme Court, Imo PDP validates our position that the insecurity in the state is politically contrived, he added. READ ALSO: Uzodinma approves free medical care for Imo workers Mr Duke contended that the PDPs argument on borrowing had reduced opposition politics to a roadside gossip as borrowing to fund investment in the critical sector of the economy was not a crime. Almost three years in office, nobody, including the opposition PDP, has accused Gov. Hope Uzodimma of converting public wealth to personal and private uses. No one has accused the governor of building a new house or renovating his old house in the village. Nobody has accused Uzodimma of appropriating any public land or asset to himself or any member of his family since inception of this administration, he argued. The APC publicity secretary further described the PDPs accusation of borrowing money to compromise the forthcoming general elections as an acknowledgement of defeat. He said Imo PDP was only intimidated by the popularity of the APC-led shared prosperity administration of Gov. Hope Uzodimma. Their strategy is to do everything humanly possible to discredit the outcome of the forthcoming election. While they were busy labouring, albeit in vain, to undermine this administration, the Supreme Court, today nullified the Imo West senatorial primaries of the PDP, he added. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Iran executed former British-Iranian top politician Alireza Akbari over espionage charges on Saturday, the Misan judicial website announced. Iran had sentenced the former top politician to death earlier in the week. Mr Akbari, his wife and his brother had vehemently denied the accusations. Misan wrote on Wednesday that Mr Akbari had been unmasked as one of the most important agents for British intelligence and charged with revealing state secrets. The verdict by the Supreme Court is final, it added. Mr Akbari was arrested in 2019, according to media reports. He served as deputy defence minister from 1997 to 2002. The minister at the time was Ali Shamkhani, now the head of the Supreme National Security Council. Between 2014 and 2015, Mr Akbari accompanied the Iranian delegation to nuclear negotiations in Vienna. The Iranian security authorities allege that he passed on secret information to British intelligence in both capacities. Observers see the case as an internal power struggle, with hardliners around President Ebrahim Raisi seeking to discredit Shamkhani. He is said to have voiced criticism about police brutality against demonstrators and to have sought mediation. Mr Akbari had cultivated a close relationship with politicians who were trying to mediate and reconcile after Irans recent wave of protests, the British-based amwaj media website reported. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was appaled by Mr Akbaris execution. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, Sunak wrote on Twitter. Mr Akbari had denied the charges against him and said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit, the Persian service of Britains BBC broadcaster reported, according to PA Media. Earlier in the week, Mr Akbaris wife Maryam told BBC Persian she had been invited to a final meeting at the prison where he was put in solitary confinement, PA wrote. It is unclear how Mr Akbari was able to acquire British nationality, as dual citizens are not allowed to hold senior political offices in Iran. There have been repeated reports of arrests, detentions and even executions of Iranian agents suspected of working for foreign intelligence services, especially the Israeli agency Mossad or the CIA in the US. The Iranian claims usually cannot be independently verified, and arrests and trials are kept secret. (dpa/NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Both the ruling party, APC, and the main opposition party, PDP, have tackled each other over alleged plans to postpone the 2023 general elections. While the PDP accused the ruling party of plans to manipulate the electoral commission, INEC, into postponing the elections, the latter dismissed the allegations as untrue and borne out of fear. This comes amid fears that the general elections my be postponed. On Monday, the Chairman of the Board of Electoral Institute, Abdullahi Zuru, who reportedly spoke on behalf of the commissions Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at an event in Abuja, said the elections face serious threats of cancellation should the security situation across the country fail to improve. if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder declaration of election results and precipitate constitutional crisis, he said. However, the federal government through the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said the following day that the polls will hold as scheduled. Also, Mr Yakubu, while meeting with officials of the political parties in Abuja on Wednesday, said INEC was not contemplating any adjustment to the election timetable, let alone postponing the 2023 general elections. In a press conference on Friday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said APC was trying to blackmail critical election stakeholders to accede to its design to postpone the 2023 general elections, particularly the presidential election. The ultimate intent of the APC, he said, is to use the postponement to derail the entire electoral process and impose an undemocratic situation on our country. The PDP hereby insists without equivocation that the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly election date is sacrosanct. February 25, 2023 date is already locked in for the presidential and National Assembly elections, the security agencies have given their assurances, the federal government has also given its assurance; Nigerians are ready for election and will not accept any postponement of elections under any guise whatsoever. The APC and its presidential candidate Asiwaju Tinubu know that they have no chance at all in the coming elections, having been rejected by Nigerians because of their multiple failures, recklessness, humongous corruption, violence and continuing infliction of pains, hardship and life-discounting experiences on Nigerians in the last seven and half years, Mr Ologunagba said. He also accused the APC and its presidential candidate of promoting violence across the country including attacking INEC facilities. He urged INEC not to succumb to the blackmails of the APC but focus on its preparations and fix its eyes on delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election next month. PDP confused APC In a swift reaction, the APC said INEC has no plans to postpone the elections, contrary to claims by the PDP. In a statement on Friday, Bayo Onanuga, the director, media and publicity for the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), said the PDP is confused and afraid of its own shadows and should not be taken serious by Nigerians. He said the PDP has resorted to making false claims because it has nothing tangible to tell Nigerians six weeks to the general election. The claim that the federal government and INEC plan to postpone the general election was the latest false information being peddled by the PDP, he noted. He advised Nigerians to ignore the allegation, describing it as a senseless conjecture from PDP as there was no iota of truth in it. President Muhammadu Buhari who has given this country the most credible elections both regular and off season elections since 2015, has consistently assured Nigerians, even up to two days ago that 2023 elections will hold. Similarly the Minister of Information has reiterated Buharis position that the federal government has no intention to postpone the election. While he asked the PDP to steer clear as Nigerians have already rejected it, he called on citizens to ignore the allegations and focus on the message of hope delivered by the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Edo State has announced the rescue of the President of the Igueben area Customary Court, Precious Aigbonga, who was abducted on 9 January on Benin-Ugoneki-Eguaholor-Ugieghudu-Ebelle Road. The command said in a statement on Friday in Benin by its spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, that two victims of recent abduction at a railway station in the state were also freed. He said that the victims were rescued by a combined team of police officers, military, vigilance groups, hunters and the state security outfit which stormed Scorpion Hills in Egbisi forest in the state. According to Mr Nwabuzor, the victims were rescued on Thursday, during which two of the kidnappers were killed and forty-nine rounds of AK 47 live ammunition recovered. READ ALSO: Police rescue kidnap victim in Anambra Sadly, DSP Michael Adams, who was attached to the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit of the Command, fell unwell and died within a short period after the operation, he added. He said that the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Dankwara, expressed regret over the loss of the police officer and extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of the late officer. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An Anambra High Court in Awka on Tuesday awarded N10 million as damages against the Nigeria Police Force and Assistant Inspector General Abutu Yaro, in charge of Zone 13 of the Nigeria police. The judgment was over the illegal detention of one Chukwuemeka Ekwueme, a real estate developer. Presiding Justice DA Onyefulu, a vacation judge, also awarded N200,000 as the cost of litigation in favour of the plaintiff. Justice Onyefulu also issued a restraining order on the police from arresting, detaining, harassing or intimidating Mr Ekwueme on the same matter and ruled that the police should, instead prefer charges against him. The judgment resulted from Suit No. A/Misc 461/2022 which Mr Ekwueme filed against the defendants to enforce his rights to freedom. READ ALSO: The counsel to Mr Ekwueme, Alex Ejesieme, had earlier told the court that the police arrested and detained his client between 14 December and 28 December 2022, without taking him to court. The arrest and detention, he added, were in relation to an attempt by Mr Ekwueme to develop a parcel of land at Oba International Airport in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra. He argued that the police arrested his client based on a petition by the community and detained him without prosecuting him. Other defendants in the suit were Nkiru Nwode, police spokesperson at Zone 13 of the Nigeria Police Force and Emmanuel Awah, an officer in the office of the spokesperson. The same court ordered the immediate release of Mr Ekwueme on 28 December 2022 following a bail application by his counsel. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Climate activists and environmental groups have rejected the appointment of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Chief, Sultan Al Jaber, as the president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had on January 12 announced Mr Al Jaber, the Head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as the president of the 28th edition of the UN global Climate Change conferenceCOP28, billed for 30 November to 12 December, in the UAE. But the decision caused a backlash among climate activists and environmentalists, who argued that Mr Al Jabers connection to ADNOC will hinder progress on global commitments to fossil fuel phase-out. In its reaction to the development, Oilwatch, a fossil fuel resistance network, described Mr Al Jabers appointment as a clear indication of climate denial. Oilwatch frowns at the choice of the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) to preside over COP28. The past COPs have had an overbearing presence of delegates from the fossil fuels sector, Oilwatch Africas Media/Communication officer, Kome Odhomor, said in a statement. Annually, any country hosting COP is expected to choose a president that will preside over the conference plenary, set the agenda, drive ambition internationally, lead the formal negotiations and spearhead the oversight function role of the overall COP objectives and declarations by parties. Major concerns Climate activists and environmentalists claim appointing an oil chief as COP president means the forthcoming climate negotiation conference has been compromised even before kickoff. They are also calling on Mr Al-Jaber to resign from his role before he can act as the COP28 president. With the announcement of the oil chief as the COP president it clearly shows that COP28 is highly compromised, the Oilwatch network statement read. The appointment of Sultan Al Jaber who serves as the minister of industry and advanced technology for UAE and also as the chief of the Abu Dhabi National oil Company (Adnoc), which is the worlds twelfth-largest oil company by production, is certain to lock in false and risky solutions in the UNFCCC process. READ ALSO: The COP is meant to tackle global warming, not compound it, the statement added. The Oilwatch network expressed worry over having more delegates from the fossil fuel sector at COP while the world is trying to move against fossil fuel exploration amidst effort to gradually reverse the devastating impacts of climate change ravaging communities globally. According to the statement, at COP27 held in El Sharm Sheikh, Egypt, the sector (oil & gas) had more delegates than any single country. Based on this, the group said having the head of an oil company as the president of any COP is a form of climate denial and that at a time when the world should make every effort to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, Mr Al-Jaber appointment is a clear indication of climate change denial. On his part, Nnimmo Bassey, a member of Oilwatch international steering committee stated that The last two COPs crawled with delegates from the fossil fuels sector and they have been responsible for blocking real climate action or derailing negotiations. Mr Bassey said their heavy presence has led to the COP being unable to call for a fossil fuel phase-out even though it is the sensible thing to do. Now UAE spits in the face of flooded, drowning and other climate impacted nations by appointing the chief among polluters to preside over COP28, Mr Bassey added. We call on the UAE to rescind this appointment. It is the time to kick polluters out of the COP, not a time to make them the chief directors of proceedings. If they maintain this appointment, the COP would have earned its title as a Conference of Polluters. Similarly, Oilwatch Africa coordinator, Salome Nduta, stated that the appointment of Abu Dhabi chief or that of anybody who has interest in oil will definitely gag genuine discussions on the protection of the environment. She described the move as a deliberate attempt to reverse minimal gains made so far and that oil companies who are the main polluters and violators of rights should not be made to be the judge in a matter against it. Entrusting one of their own is a blatant violation of rights and conflict of interest, she added. In his reaction, Kentebe Ebiraidor, the coordinator of Oilwatch International, said it is amusing to have the chair of a multinational company play host to COP28. This, he said, has shown that the discussions at COP28 would be centred on profit over people, and it is a clear indication that COP28 has been billed to fail before it begins. This is also a clear indication that the communities and the environment will suffer because of the decisions that would come out of its discussion which will in no way be meaningful nor in favour of the people. Oilwatch International asks that the UAE retrace its decision by changing the president of the COP, he noted. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state is jittery over the overwhelming support and popularity his party is enjoying. He said with the gale of defections that is currently rocking the ruling APC in the state, the ruling party has every reason to be afraid. Mr Lawal said this in Gusau, the capital of the state, on Saturday afternoon while denouncing a statement by the APC that he sponsored thugs to disrupt peace and unleash mayhem during campaigns and political rallies. A statement by his media office described the allegation as a lie that lacks any substance. Our attention has been drawn to a shameless and irresponsible press release given by the Zamfara State Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs accusing the PDP of sponsoring thugs to destabilize political rallies in the state. We are not surprised because the APC in Zamfara is well known for deliberate distortion and doctoring of facts, he said. Zamfara Government is confused and jittery over the overwhelming support and popularity PDP is enjoying, especially the gale of defection that is wrecking the APC in the state. The Matawalle-led administration, having realized that they cant win the election in Zamfara State, in a desperate move has resorted to heating the polity, outright lies, and innuendos, the statement quoted Mr Lawal as saying. He said the statement was a strategy meant to distract PDP. We want to categorically refute the baseless lies contained in the press statement. Our campaign and rallies are peaceful and will continue within the ambit of the law. We understand that the APC is greatly concerned over the overwhelming popularity Dauda Lawal is enjoying across Zamfara, this is mainly due to his focus and policy-based campaign on issues that will improve the lives of the people as such the APC is desperate to smear his image, and that of the PDP, the media office said. Mr Lawal said the APC-led administration had in the past mobilized thugs to attack his entourage and campaign offices and burn their campaign vehicles. The APC had in a statement last Tuesday accused Mr Lawal of sponsoring thugs to launch an attack on members of the APC. The state government accused thugs loyal to Mr Lawal of attacking an APC campaign vehicle while they were celebrating a Sokoto Appeal Court verdict in their favour. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Sadique Abubakar, the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, has unveiled his plans to radically transform the state if elected governor in March. The action plan, christened Bauchi Economic Development for Social Transformation, was unveiled on Friday night at a fundraising event held in Abuja and attended by friends, party members, professional colleagues and top politicians. Mr Abubakar, a retired Air marshal and former Chief of Air staff, is running against the incumbent governor, Bala Mohammed, who is seeking a second term under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The election is scheduled for 11 March. The APC candidate said he plans to re-engineer the political environment in the state by providing access to basic facilities. He said the state must do everything to reverse some of the negative indexes in the state, particularly childbirth mortality rate, out- of-school children and unemployment among youth, women, and other vulnerable groups. We have 1,549 pregnant women that die in every 100,000 births. We have school attendance at only 29 per cent. These are terrible figures. What we want to do is to re-engineer the political landscape in Bauchi State, so that people will have a sense of ownership of the state. People must understand that the state belong to them. And the only way to do that is to reverse these figures, Mr Abubakar said. I can vouch for Abubakar Amaechi Speaking at event, the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, asked the people of Bauchi State to vote for the former chief of air staff because he could vouch for his character. Mr Amaechi said when he was governor of Rivers State, Mr Abubakar served as air force commander in the state, during which he fought militancy. He added that Mr Abubakar maintained high professionalism during the period he served as commandet and never at a point requested monetary favour. I was under no pressure to give you (Abubakar) money because the reason why Nigerians come to Rivers State is to collect money. They lobby to be posted there because they want money. If you remember, that was at the height of fighting criminals, he said. Mr Amaechi, who was governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, said only good conscience and discipline can stop a governor in Nigeria from not stealing money. He said there is currently no check to stop a governor. I ask you, the people from Bauchi, to think twice about governance in Nigeria, it is very bad. The reason why it is bad is that we vote for people who dont know what governorship is all about. We vote for people who see governorship as employment, who go there to make moneythat is who we vote for. Unfortunately for all of you, people are not held accountable for all they do. And the worse is that Nigerians do not hold anyone accountable for anything. If you are voted as governor, it is your discipline that will determine how you behave not because anybody will check you, not because anybody will punish you or anything. If you like, go to Bauchi and take everything, nobody will check you. In fact, Nigerians will go to your house and dance for you for taking everything away, he said. Malami, Buratai, Olonisakin back Abubakar The Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in his speech at the event, urged the people of Bauchi State to vote Mr Abubakar as the next governor of the state. He said Mr Abubakar played a vital vote in decimating the Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east by reviving the air force. Also, Tukur Buratai, a former chief of army staff, said Bauchi State needs someone with a military background to protect the newly found oil in the Bauchi-Gombe border. The synergy that we brought to bear in Rivers StateBauchi and Gombe have oil, he will not allow bandits to steal the oil. We fought the militants and oil thieves from stealing the oil in Rivers state. The right person is Sadique Abubakar to prevent oil theft. The future is oil, he said. A former Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, also called for support for Mr Abubakar to win the election. Messrs Olonisakin, Buratai and Abubakar served at the same time as military service chiefs from July 2015 tto January 2021. Other dignitaries at the fundraising include the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Suleiman Kyari, APC Deputy Chairman (North-east), Mustapha Salihu, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pallen Tallen, and the partys National Women Leader, Betta Edu and National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel. Mrs Edu, on behalf of women, donated $10,000 to Mr Abubakars campaign. A group of 112 business leaders pledged N784 million, while Mr Buratai pledged N5 million on behalf of the former service chiefs. Several others also pledged various sums of money. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Five presidential candidates have accepted invitations to meet with stakeholders in the South-west region of Nigeria. The parley is being organised by the South West Development Stakeholders Forum (SWDSF). The forum consists of representatives of several Yoruba group organisations including farmers and marketers in the country and diaspora. The spokesperson of the group, Olalekan Ajia, in a statement on Saturday, said the presidential candidates will address the stakeholders on their plans, especially for the region, if elected. Mr Ajia said that the candidates will meet leaders of the group on separate dates at Jogor Centre in Ibadan. The presidential candidates who have honored invitation of the group are; Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Rabiu Kwankwaso of NNPP, Omoyele Sowore of AAC, Adewole Adebayo of SDP and Kola Abiola of the PRP. Mr Ajia stated that interactions will begin on 17 January with Mr Sowore of AAC. Atiku of the PDP, Mr Adebayo of the SDP and Mr Abiola of PRP will be meeting with leaders of the group on Thursday, 19 January. He said Mr Kwankwaso will take his turn on 23 January. The candidates will address a conglomeration of South West interests and associations across party, religious and ethnic affiliations, as well as Diaspora associations on how they would support the region to execute its existing blueprint for an integrated railway system, power infrastructure, security and development of mineral resources for maximum realization of the potential of the abundant human and natural resources of the region as spelt out in the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN). DAWN which is the non-partisan Commission jointly owned by all 6 Yoruba states for the regions integration, security and socio-economic development. The Chairman of the South West Development Stakeholders Forum, Alao Adedayo, also said efforts were ongoing to get response from Bola Tinubu of the APC and Peter Obi of LP. Mr Adedayo said the South-west is the industrial hub of the country, therefore it deserves to know from the candidates exactly how they intend to incorporate the zone in their agenda for a united, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, may have declared his support for the presidential ambition of Peter Obi, but another candidate believes he can convince Mr Obasanjo to change his mind. On Saturday, Adebayo Adewole, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), met with Mr Obasanjo at the latters home in Abeokuta. After the closed-door meeting, Mr Adewole told journalists that one of his aims was to convince Mr Obasanjo to back his presidential ambition. About the endorsement of Peter Obi by Obasanjo, Baba is also a Nigerian, a free person who has the right to his mind. The election is still far. The essence of democracy is getting people to change their minds and it is a continuous exercise, he said. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Obasanjo, in a new year day open letter, endorsed the candidacy of Mr Obi of the Labour Party. The former Nigerian leader said he believes Mr Obi, a former Anambra State governor, was the best among the 18 candidates seeking to be Nigerias president in next months election. Before endorsing Mr Obi, other candidates, including Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, had also sought Mr Obasanjos support. Mr Obasanjo governed Nigeria as democratically elected president on the PDP platform but has since announced that he has quit partisan politics. Although Mr Obasanjo declared support for Mr Obi, he has said he would not join the candidates campaign train. SDPs Visit On Saturday, Mr Adewole was accompanied on his visit to the former president by the governorship candidate of the party in Ogun State, Anthony Ojeshina. The candidate described Mr Obasanjo as someone all Nigerians respect. He said he discussed the growth of his party, SDP, with the former president. Our discussion with him is basically about to make our party more stronger and we are at right direction. Baba is of the view that the solution to Nigerias problems will not come from the old parties, will come from the new parties. Mr Adewole indicated that Mr Obasanjo only gave him a general response. READ ALSO: He said we should do our best, wish us well and he will give us assistance as given to any other person both in Nigeria and outside. Our purpose is to come to Ogun State to do rally for our party, to see the traditional rulers and we cant come here without seeing Baba Obasanjo. We always gain from him because we learn a lot about governance, about how Baba is still working hard and we are more encouraged that we are on the right path, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print ?? #LoUltimo ?? | Hoy se reanudaron las operaciones en el aeropuerto de Cusco, Alejandro Velasco Astete.#Unidad #Paz #Desarrollo pic.twitter.com/Zk4Lsp5d5G Polaris Bank on Saturday reacted to media reports that an Ondo state High Court had granted a garnishee order directing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze its account. The bank in a press statement said the court order was to set aside the contentious judgment sum until conclusion of hearing in the case. Reports said Friday that an Ondo State High Court, in Akure, the state capital, granted a garnishee order directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to freeze the account of Polaris Bank to the extent of judgment debt of over N2 billion. The bank was said to have owed the Ondo State government a sum of N2.2 billion. Punch newspaper reported that the court gave the order following an application moved by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State, Charles Titiloye. The commissioner applied for the garnishee order nisi in the suit No AK/75/2017, attaching all the sums of indebtedness of Polaris Bank to Ondo State Government, the report said. A garnishee order is one of the options open to a judgment creditor to enforce a judgment that has been made in its favor. Reaction In its reaction Saturday, Polaris Bank claimed that it is yet to be served the Garnishee Order as required by law relating to Garnishee proceedings. We are aware of the matter and our Solicitor has filed necessary processes to set aside the Garnishee order, the bank said. READ ALSO: The matter is on appeal and an application for stay of execution is pending at the Court of Appeal.Thus, the garnishee order ought not to have been obtained by the reason of the pending appeal and motion for stay. Above all, the effect of the order is not to freeze the Banks account with CBN as erroneously published by a section of the media but to set aside the contentious judgment sum until conclusion of hearing in the case. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Governing Council of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Bauchi State has confirmed the promotions of 26 academic staff to the ranks of professors and associate professors. This is contained in a statement by the Head of Information and Public Relations of the university, Kabiru Aminu, in Bauchi on Friday. According to him, letters of promotion which were signed by the Acting Registrar and Secretary to the Council of the university, Aisha Idris, had been issued to the affected staff on Wednesday. He explained that the promotions were approved following the receipt of positive external assessments on each of the affected staff. READ ALSO: ATBU Bauchi promotes 26 academics to professors Out of the 26 promoted staff, 14 are Professors while 12 are Readers (Associate Professors). While congratulating the newly promoted staff, Council and Management of the University expect them to continue to contribute positively to the development of the University. They are also expected to continue to give purposeful leadership to their junior colleagues, said the university spokesperson. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The bodies of the remaining four Nigerian security officials killed by terrorists in Kaduna have been handed over to their families. The four are among seven officials of the civil defence corps (NSCDC) killed by terrorists, locally called bandits, in an ambush in Kuriga village in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area on Monday. The attackers identity has yet to be confirmed but different armed groups operate in Kaduna and other states in north-west and north-central Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES reported how President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the killing and tasked the military to go after the terrorists. On Saturday, the Kaduna State Command of the NSCDC handed over the remaining four corpses to their families for burial. Earlier, the NSCDC had handed over the body of the late Fidelis Yusuf for final internment on Thursday, while Shamsudeen Labaran was buried on 10 January at Anguwan Dosa cemetery according to Islamic rites. The remains of a third victim, Augustine Simon, were conveyed to Benue for burial on Friday. The four, whose remains were handed over to their families on Saturday, included Peter Ayuba, Yashim Elisha, Michael Musa and Peter Kurah. The Commandant General of the NSCDC, Audi Abubakar, while paying his last respect to the personnel, said that the incident had brought sadness to the entire country. Mr Abubakar, represented by the NSCDC Commandant in Kaduna, Idris Adah, noted that President Muhammadu Buhari and the entire NSCDC staff and Nigerians were all saddened by the event. We dont have the right to query God, it has happened and death is of course inevitable. This is their own day, when ours comes, we shall all go, he said. He called on the personnel to see the deaths of their colleagues as a reminder that one day they would also be laid to their graves. While disclosing that compensation would be paid to the families of the deceased corps personnel, he noted that no compensation could be compared to the lives of the deceased personnel. Notwithstanding, appropriate attention will be given to the families of this our slain brothers, the News Agency of Nigeria quotes the official as saying. We just have to take hearts, we dont have control over such kinds of situations, every body should endeavour to be praying for the rest of their souls, he said. Mr Abubakar, while consoling the families of the slain officers, prayed to God for the repose of their souls. Kaduna is one of the states most affected by banditry in north-west Nigeria. Others include Zamfara, Katsina and Kebbi. Thousands of people have been killed and kidnapped by the bandits in recent years despite the efforts of security agencies. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Kaduna Command, Idris Adah, on Thursday commiserated with families and colleagues of the personnel of the agency killed by bandits in Kaduna State on Monday The Commands Public Relations Officer, Habeeb Badamasi, disclosed this in a statement in Kaduna on Friday. Seven personnel of NSCDC and five others were killed in an ambush by bandits in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state. The commandant who attended the funeral service of one of the slain officers, Fidelis Yusuf, at ECWA Gospel Church Mararaban Rido, Kaduna, on Thursday, said the men were heroes who would be remembered forever because of the active roles they played as defenders of the defenceless. Mr Adah, who was represented at the funeral by the Deputy Commandant, Administration, Aminu Shaba, said the killing of the men was unfortunate. He prayed that God should comfort the immediate families, friends, and relatives of the deceased. Mr Badamasi also disclosed that one victim of the attack, Shamsudeen Labaran, was buried on 10 January at Anguwa Dosa Cemetery. Also, the remains of another victim, Augustine Simon, had been conveyed to Benue for burial. The remaining four officers will be given final respect at the command on Saturday before their burial, he said. Speaking during a brief service in honour of the late Inspector Yusuf, Adah described him as a hero. Buhari condoles with the family Earlier on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari said he was saddened by the killing of the personnel, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu. President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his anguish over the death of seven personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who were ambushed and killed by bandits in Kaduna State while on official duty, Mr Shehu wrote. President Buhari described the loss of the NSCDC personnel as a tragic event and salutes the courage of the men who gave their lives to the nation. Mr Shehu quoted the president as saying, The NSCDC personnel who braved all challenges to guard our nation and its people had made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and their compatriots in the service. May Almighty God grant them and the entire service the fortitude to bear the loss. The president directed the military to seek the attackers and make them pay the price. A family member of one of the slain officers, Shamsudeen Labaran, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in Kaduna said he was heartbroken by his death. As you can see, we just buried our son and brother. He died protecting others. We pray Allah will grant him paradise in heaven. Shamsuddens body was brought to us and as Muslims, we buried him immediately, as it is in Islam, Imam Sani said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, said they have killed a suspected leader of a deadly cult group in Nkpor, a community in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state. The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, said two members of the cult group were also arrested. Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said the incident happened on Tuesday when police operatives busted their hideout in the area. The police spokesperson said the raid of the suspects hideout followed receipt of credible intelligence. He gave the names of the suspects as Caleb Nwankwo, 22, Katchi Nwolisa 23, and Freedom Okechukwu, the leader, who was killed by the police. How the cult leader was killed Mr Ikenga said the suspects, on sighting the operatives, started shooting indiscriminately in an attempt to escape the scene. He said the police engaged the armed hoodlums in a gun duel, which resulted in the killing of the cult leader, Mr Okechukwu, before the arrest of the two others who sustained gunshot wounds. They all confessed to be members of Viking Confraternity and identified the late Okechukwu as their leader, Mr Ikenga stated. READ ALSO: The police spokesperson said the slain cult leader had been involved in cult-related killings in the community and Obosi, a neighbouring community in the council area. The slain cult leader, according to the police, was also actively involved in a cult attack and murder of two residents of Obosi Community Chimeile Udemba and Ikenna Nwagbulu on 1 and 14 December respectively. Two locally made pistols, a motorcycle, an expended cartridge, charms, face mask and substances suspected to be hard drugs, were among the items recovered from the hoodlums during the operation, the police said. Recovery of more weapon Mr Ikenga said the police on Tuesday recovered some arms and ammunition from a suspected criminal gang operating along an estate in the same community. The police spokesperson said the operatives stormed the suspects location in response to a distress call about their activities in the area. One locally made pistol, a motorcycle and an expended cartridge were recovered from the suspects during the operation, according to the police. The suspects, on sighting the police operatives, abandoned the recovered exhibits and took to their heels. Efforts are in top gear to arrest the assailants, he said. The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Echeng Echeng, has ordered area commanders divisional police officers and commanders of Tactical and Operational Units/Formations of police in the state to embark on aggressive crime-prevention and visibility patrols in their areas, Mr Ikenga said. Mr Echeng said this will enhance adequately already policing strategy put in place that is potent and dynamic to respond to any emergency and security concerns and prevent untoward activities by criminals. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until February 6, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against F45 Training Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: FXLV), if they purchased or acquired the Company's shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's July 2021 initial public offering (the "IPO"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Get Help F45 investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-fxlv/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit F45 and certain of its executives and others are charged with failing to disclose material information in its IPO Registration Statement and Prospectus (collectively, the "Offering Documents"), violating federal securities laws. On July 26, 2022, the Company disclosed that its CEO had resigned, that about 60% fewer exercise studios would be opening than previously stated, that a $250 million credit line was no longer available, and that it made significant cuts to its financial guidance including decreasing full-year 2022 revenue to just between $120 million and $130 million, compared to the prior guidance of $255 million to $275 million, and full-year Adjusted EBITDA between $25 million and $30 million, compared to the prior guidance of $90 million to $100 million. On this news, shares of F45 plummeted over 60%, from a close of $3.51 on July 26 to close at $1.35 on July 27, 2022, more than a 78% decline from its offering price of $16 per share on July 16, 2021. The case is Kenzie Goer v. F45 Training Holdings, Inc., et al., No. 1:22-cv-01291. 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, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until January 30, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), if they purchased the Company's shares between April 29, 2021 and November 1, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Get Help Generac investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-gnrc-1/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Generac and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On October 19, 2022, the Company released dismal preliminary financial results for 3Q2022 including a $55 million pre-tax charge relating to its clean energy product warranties and expenses, due to a distributor that had filed for bankruptcy. On this news, shares of Generac fell by $37.44 per share, or 25%. Then on November 2, 2022, the Company released its third quarter earnings and significantly lowered full-year guidance on sales by its solar energy business of approximately 40% due to the loss of a major customer and $37.3 million worth of clean energy product warranty-related issues. On this news, shares of Generac stock fell an additional $8.99 per share, or 8%. The case is County Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association and Oakland County Employees' Retirement System v. Generac Holdings Inc., No. 22-cv-1436. 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 BOSTON, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mayor Michelle Wu, together with the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, the Boston Art Commission (BAC), and Embrace Boston, today announced the unveiling of The Embrace and the 1965 Freedom Plaza by artist Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group on the Boston Common. The new memorial, initiated by a partnership between the City of Boston and Embrace Boston, aims to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, celebrate their history in Boston, and spark a public conversation on advancing racial and social justice in Boston today. "The Embrace will be a revolutionary space in our country's oldest public park for conversation, education, and reflection on the Kings' impact in Boston and the ideals that continue to shape the fabric of our city," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "The recognition of Coretta Scott King shows that we are a city that will take on the full legacy of Kings and challenge injustice everywhere from a place of love. As we continue our work to ensure Boston is a city for everyone, this memorial is a powerful call to embrace each other more, embrace our nation's history and embrace what's possible when we center community." "The Embrace is a long-lasting symbol of the Kings' legacy, their love, and the impact of that love on us all," said Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director of Embrace Boston. "The Embrace is also about teamwork, and I'd like to thank the many individuals, the City of Boston, and our numerous sponsors, who came together to make this a reality. The Embrace sculpture and the surrounding 1965 Freedom Plaza embodies our organization's vision of a transformed Boston, inviting all who walk within it to witness the legacy of equity in Boston, and see themselves reflected in its future." "My parents' time in Boston is often a forgotten part of their history and the history of the movement they helped inspire," said Martin Luther King, III. "The Embrace is a commemoration of their relationship and journey and represents the meaningful role Boston served in our history. This is more than just a sculpture, this historic monument is a symbol of the enduring power of love and beacon of hope for so many people across the globe see my parents life's work as a calling to make this world a better place. I hope it will inspire the next generation of Martin Luther and Coretta Scott Kings as we continue the fight for peace, justice, and equity for all." The Embrace is a bronze figural abstraction based on a photo of an embrace between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The 20-foot-tall, 25-foot-wide artwork differs from the singular, heroic form of many memorials to Dr. King and others, instead emphasizing the power of collective action, the role of women as leaders, and the forging of new bonds of solidarity out of mutual empathy and vulnerability. The Embrace is an unprecedented attempt to give shape and prominence to Dr. King's conception of agape love. It is also intended to reflect Coretta Scott King's faith in the power of art, and her long life of struggle against militarism, poverty, discrimination, racism, and sexism. "There are so many monuments that are memorials, but this is intended to really celebrate not only the Kings, but also their legacy and how their legacy plays out in our lives," said artist Hank Willis Thomas. "I really wanted to make the work a call to action. A reminder that each of us has in us the capacity to be either of those two people or actually something inspired by and more influential. Through embracing another person our opportunities grow. I wanted to highlight the power and beauty of coming together with another person to manifest our shared goals. I am honored to be a part of the team that has built this centerpiece and gathering place in the historic city of Boston, and the location where the Kings met." The unveiling ceremony convened Boston's thriving arts, culture, and political communities with national dignitaries and public figures. The program included remarks from Mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, members of the King Family, artist Hank Willis Thomas, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and performances by local artists. Attendees, dignitaries, and guests celebrated, convened, and walked beneath the artwork's bronze arms for the first time, looking up to imagine a new Boston in the artwork's bronze reflection. "This is a historic year for Boston and Massachusetts," said Governor Maura Healey. "The Embrace's presence on the Boston Common, the nation's oldest public park, will forever serve as a reminder to all of us of the progress we've made and all that is still possible." "The Embrace memorial commemorates the Kings' sacrifice, radical dream, and radical love, and what a source of pride that their story together began right here in the city of Boston," said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. "This historic tribute is also a symbol of their vision for radical, revolutionary change, and a reminder of the work that remains in Boston and beyond to build a world that centers justice, equity, and our collective liberation. I was honored to participate in such a groundbreaking event today." The memorial was the result of a public-private partnership initiated by entrepreneur Paul English, who established the fund at the Boston Foundation and co-chaired the project with Rev. Liz Walker and Rev. Jeffrey Brown. The City of Boston and Embrace Boston convened an Art Committee made up of many of Boston's cultural leaders to begin the artist selection and design process for the memorial. The Committee was co-chaired by Barry Gaither, Director and Curator of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists and Special Consultant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Karin Goodfellow, Director of Public Art for the City of Boston. The Boston Art Commission voted to approve the final design of the memorial in the spring of 2021. "The Embrace is more than a monument to two inspirational leaders in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King," said M. Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. "It is a testament to a changing Boston that embraces equity, and a new generation of leaders that are making a difference in this city. The Boston Foundation has been honored to partner with the city and work hand in glove with Imari and the Embrace Boston team to make this day possible." "As young people from around the worldbut especially here in Boston, encounter The Embrace, I hope they see themselves reflected in its bronze patina, feel proud, and know that History moves forward from where they stand today," said Ekua Holmes, Vice-Chair of the Boston Art Commission. The sculpture, which invites visitors to gather and enter into the Kings' embrace, is a key component of an extensive vision led by Embrace Boston to create a living memorial and programs honoring the legacy of the Kings and ushering a climate of economic justice and racial equity in the city. It is situated within the 1965 Freedom Plaza, which includes a quotation attributed to Corretta Scott King and commemorates the legacy of local leaders of Greater Boston dedicated to working for civil rights and social justice. Told through Embrace Boston's website and an audio experience app, their stories bring the memorial to life as an interactive public archive. The 1965 Freedom Plaza Award Selection Committee, a group of activists, educators, local artists, and cultural leaders co-chaired by Tito Jackson and L'Merchie Frazier convened to review and finalize the selection of the 1965 Freedom Plaza honorees. "From ideation to creation, building The Embrace was an exercise in intention," said MASS Design Principal, Jonathan Evans. "We're honored to be a part of the history it celebrates and embrace the future it represents." The memorial is located on the Boston Common, adjacent to the Parkman Bandstand, where Dr. King spoke in 1965. It will be voted into City's public art collection and will serve as a living space for conversation, education, and reflection on the Kings' time in Boston and the racial and economic justice ideals they put forth to the community. "Residents and visitors to the city will now be able to interact with and learn from this piece of public art that truly embodies what we value and strive for as a citycollective action, racial equity, empathy, and love," said Kara Elliott-Ortega, Chief of Arts and Culture. "We're thrilled to welcome The Embrace into the City's public art collection and celebrate the collective action and collaborative process that got us to this point." The Embrace will open fully to the public in February, a long-term fixture in Boston's public art landscape, and a cornerstone of equity and justice for Boston residents and visitors. The memorial and the surrounding 1965 Freedom Plaza serve as a stepping off point into an anti-racist, welcoming, and radically equitable Boston as the City approaches its 400th anniversary in 2030. To learn more about the project, visit www.embraceboston.org. ### Press Kit https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w15cp7vawyn8xe8/AABlDq6wpLBg5n3e22O9J3wMa?dl=0 Media Contact Justin Auguste [email protected] 617.851.8211 Kenna McCafferty [email protected] 857.330.0463 SOURCE Embrace Boston NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 13, 2023 /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 Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR). In May of 2022, the Company disclosed dismal 1Q22 financial results and guidance for Q2 including adjusted EPS of $0.02, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 per share, which the Company explained "includes a negative $0.02 impact driven primarily by unrealized losses on marketable securities," government revenue growth of only 16% year-over-year for Q1 and expected Q2 revenue of only $470 million, substantially below the Company's purported long-term revenue growth rate. Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws, which remains ongoing. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Palantir'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 Palantir shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-pltr/ 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, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC BOONE, N.C., Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Samaritan's Purse deployed disaster response teams to Selma, Alabama and Griffin, Georgia in the wake of devastating tornadoes that swept through the Southeast on Thursday. The major storm system resulted in the destruction of homes and businesses, power outages for tens of thousands of people, and the loss of several lives, with ongoing search and rescue efforts still underway. "On Thursday, communities across the Southeast faced deadly tornadoes that caused massive destruction," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. "My heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones and those who are faced with having to pick up the pieces of their lives. Please join me in praying for these suffering families and for our Samaritan's Purse teams who are responding in Jesus' Name." Two Disaster Relief Unitstractor-trailers stocked with tools and equipmentfrom the international Christian relief organization's North Wilkesboro, N.C. ministry center, will provide relief in Alabama and Georgia. In the coming days, teams of volunteers from across the country will deploy to serve families by tarping damaged roofs, clearing debris, and reminding them that God has not forgotten them during this difficult time. To stay up to date on the response or get involved, go to SamaritansPurse.org to learn more. MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES Interview Edward Graham , Vice President of Operations for Samaritan's Purse , Vice President of Operations for Samaritan's Purse Interview Luther Harrison , Vice President of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse , Vice President of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse Interview Jason Kimak , Senior Director of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse , Senior Director of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse Interview Bruce Poss , Director of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse , Director of North American Ministries for Samaritan's Purse Interview disaster response specialists on the ground in Selma, Alabama ; beginning 01/15 ; beginning 01/15 High-quality photos and B-roll available upon request Based in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan's Purse responds to physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situationsespecially in locations where few others are working. Led by President and CEO Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org. SOURCE Samaritan's Purse SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stability AI Ltd.; Stability AI, Inc.; Midjourney Inc.; and DeviantArt, Inc. have created products that infringe the rights of artists and other creative individuals under the guise of alleged "artificial intelligence." The Joseph Saveri Law Firm, LLP a leading class action firm with offices in California and New Yorkalong with Matthew Butterick, and Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen P.L.L.P. have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of a class of plaintiffs seeking compensation for damages caused by Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney, and an injunction to prevent future harms. The lawsuit alleges direct copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement related to forgeries, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), violation of class members' rights of publicity, breach of contract related to the DeviantArt Terms of Service, and various violations of California's unfair competition laws. As alleged in the Complaint, Stable Diffusion is an artificial intelligence product used by Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney in their AI image products. It was trained on billions of copyrighted images contained in the LAION-5B dataset, which were downloaded and used without compensation or consent from the artists. If Stable Diffusion and similar products are allowed to continue to operate as they do now, the foreseeable result is they will replace the very artists whose stolen works power these AI products with whom they are competing. AI image products are not just an infringement of artists' rights; whether they aim to or not, these products will eliminate "artist" as a viable career path. In addition to obtaining redress for the wrongful conduct, this lawsuit seeks to prevent that outcome and ensure these products follow the same rules as any other new technology that involves the use of massive amounts of intellectual property. If streaming music can be accomplished within the law, so can AI products. Multiple companies sued for allegedly creating products that use AI, infringing upon artists and other creatives' rights Tweet this "As burgeoning technology continues to change every aspect of the modern world, it's critical that we recognize and protect the rights of artists against unlawful theft and fraud," said Joseph Saveri , founder of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, LLP. He continued, "This case represents a larger fight for preserving ownership rights for all artists and other creators." "AI needs to be fair and ethical for everyone," said lawyer/programmer Matthew Butterick. "But Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt are appropriating the work of thousands of artists with no consent, no credit, and no compensation. As a lawyer who is also a longtime member of the visual-arts community, it's a pleasure to stand up on behalf of fellow artists and continue this essential conversation about how we the people want AI to coexist with human culture and creativity." Since its founding in 2000, DeviantArt had grown to be a haven for artists of all stripes. A core aspect of participating in the DeviantArt community for artists is the practice of sharing digital images of their artwork. Today, DeviantArt bills itself as "the world's largest art community," hosting millions of images. At the same time, it offers DreamUp, a product that unlawfully infringes on the rights of its own art community. To add insult to injury, a large portion of the training data for Stable Diffusionwhich powers DreamUpwas made up of images scraped from DeviantArt without permission from the artists that posted them. For more information, please see our case page www.saverilawfirm.com/ai-art-generators-copyright-litigation and our case website stablediffusionlitigation.com. ABOUT THE FIRMS The Joseph Saveri Law Firm is one of the country's most acclaimed, successful boutique firms, specializing in antitrust, class actions, and complex litigation on behalf of national and international consumers, purchasers, and employees across diverse industries. For further information on our practice and accomplishments on behalf of our clients, please visit www.saverilawfirm.com or call us at (415) 423-1799. Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. has served clients throughout the Midwest and in Washington, D.C. for more than 40 years. It has extensive experience in local, state, and federal government relations as well as antitrust, business, campaign finance, consumer, data breach, governmental, health care, employment, environmental, ERISA, intellectual property, real estate, securities, and tribal law litigation. For further information, please visit https://www.locklaw.com/. ABOUT MATTHEW BUTTERICK Matthew Butterick is a lawyer, programmer, designer, and writer. He has been professionally involved with open-source software since 1998. His books Typography for Lawyers (typographyforlawyers.com) and Practical Typography (practicaltypography.com) are relied on daily by lawyers and writers worldwide. For more information, please visit https://matthewbutterick.com. SOURCE Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP TORONTO, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Cybeats Technologies Corp. ("Cybeats'' or the "Company") (CSE: CYBT) is pleased to report accelerating commercial activities in the healthcare sector further to recent FDA mandates that have set a 90-day deadline for medical device companies to comply with new Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) regulations. Cybeats Targets Healthcare Sector Following Recent FDA Mandates; Organizations Facing 90 Day SBOM Compliance Deadline (CNW Group/Cybeats Technologies Corp.) The Company is actively scaling its commercial activities for the $500 billion USD medical devices sector1, in order to help organizations meet this deadline and comply with ongoing regulations. Cybeats previously announced several SBOM Studio2 pilots including with a leading Fortune 500 healthcare company3. Additionally, new Ponemon research finds 35% of healthcare security leaders are moving to implement and utilize SBOM.4 This adoption rate from the medical sector is consistent with a wider trend across industries, with Linux estimating that 78% of organizations are adopting SBOM.5 "The healthcare sector is leading the way towards widespread adoption of SBOMs, which has now been dramatically accelerated by recent U.S. regulations manding SBOMs submission to the FDA by the end March 2023," said Yoav Raiter, CEO, Cybeats. "Cybeats has been at the forefront of these coming regulations and SBOM Studio was purposely designed to help the healthcare industry address these FDA requirements, providing organizations of all sizes with the capability to efficiently manage and securely share their valuable SBOMs at scale. With our deep medtech experience and existing engagements with Fortune 500 medical device clients, we are well positioned to support the growing needs of this sector." Ponemon Research Report Ponemon Institute6 in collaboration with the Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council7 conducted a research study on the cybersecurity challenges facing the healthcare sector. More than 400 IT and IT security practitioners were surveyed who are involved in their organizations' supply chain risk management program (SCRM), and it was found that 35% of those surveyed said they will start utilizing SBOM. Cybersecurity Maturity Benchmarking Educational Webinar8 The Medical Device Innovation Consortium is presenting the world's first ever Medical Device Cybersecurity Maturity: MDIC Industry Benchmarking Report 2022 on January 23, 2023 at 1:30pm EST. The education aims to be utilized by medical device manufacturers to assess and improve their cybersecurity posture. Organizations with representatives attending this webinar will notably include MDIC, Medtronic, Becton Dickinson, Cybersecurity Health Sector Coordinating Council. This industry report comes along with the recent Ponemon Institute study on "The State of Supply Chain Risk in Healthcare" signaling an increased demand on medical device manufacturers to increase their investment in automation technology that will advance their software supply chain transparency and minimize vulnerabilities across their software repositories. Suzanne Schwartz, Director at the FDA, spoke about the history of the earliest actions by the FDA during a Cybeats webinar from 2022 that have contributed to the recent inclusion of an SBOM Mandate for Medical Device Manufacturers. This mandate was part of the Appropriations Bill Signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022.9 Cybeats recently applauded the $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill which would require medical device manufacturers to submit an SBOM to the FDA that includes all standard, open source, and critical software components used by the devices. Included in this Bill, FDA medical device manufacturers will be required to submit an SBOM to the FDA that includes all standard, open source, and critical software components used by the devices. SBOM Studio provides medical device manufacturers with the capability to efficiently manage SBOM's and their software vulnerabilities, as well as provides solutions for SBOM exchange with regulatory authorities such as the FDA.10 Upcoming Events Join us at the CISO Forum Canada in Toronto, Ontario from January 30 to 31 as Cybeats leads a panel discussion on Software Supply Chain Security with cybersecurity leaders from CN Rail, Craft Ventures and SAP: https://www.siberx.org/event/ciso-forum-canada-2023/ Come meet us at S4x23 in Miami February 13-16! Discover new ideas and come up with innovative ways to use these new ideas to deploy secure and resilient industrial control systems11: https://s4xevents.com/ Join us at the Fira Gran Via, Barcelona from 27 February 2 March, 2023 at MWC Barcelona12, the world's most influential exhibition for the device connectivity and security industry: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/ About SBOM Studio Cybeats' SBOM Studio enables organizations to efficiently manage, distribute, and view their software bill of materials (SBOMs) in a single interface. By doing so, they can easily identify and address cybersecurity vulnerabilities, reduce the cost of protection, and improve compliance. SBOM Studio is specifically designed to support software producers and consumers who use open source and 3rd party software components and who are transitioning to more transparent software development practices. The tool is compatible with various SBOM generation tools and can validate and correct imported SBOMs to improve their accuracy. About Cybeats Cybeats is a cybersecurity company providing SBOM management and software supply chain intelligence technology, helping organizations to manage risk, meet compliance requirements, and secure their software from procurement to development and operation. Our platform gives customers comprehensive visibility and transparency into their software supply chain, enabling them to improve operational efficiency and increase revenue. Cybeats. Software Made Certain. Website: https://cybeats.com SUBSCRIBE: For more information, or to subscribe to the Company's mail list, visit: https://www.cybeats.com/investors Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, 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. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates 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 statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for the technology described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Company filings are available at sedar.com. SOURCE Cybeats Technologies Corp. Elementary Students Offer Inspirational Messages Honoring Dr. King's Legacy DALLAS and HOUSTON and CHICAGO, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elementary school students celebrated their diverse communities and honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the final rounds of Foley & Lardner LLP's Annual MLK Jr. Oratory Competitions in Dallas, Houston, and Chicago on January 13. The fourth- and fifth-graders, who advanced from preliminary and semifinal rounds, delivered original speeches addressing the topic: "What would Dr. King say to us today about hope for tomorrow?" Zihair Douglas, Dallas Competition Winner. PC: Rex Curry Kadence Smith, Houston Competition Winner. PC: Katy Anderson Harper Williams, Chicago Competition Winner. PC: Debbie Vyskocil, DLV Productions, Inc. Presented, hosted, and sponsored by Foley, the annual oratory competition is held in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Day to encourage people to remember and pay tribute to the late civil rights leader's legacy and to help cultivate the writing and speaking skills of elementary school students. Winners of each of the competitions are Zihair Douglas, a fifth-grader at Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary STEAM Academy in Dallas, Kadence Smith, a fifth-grader at James H. Law Elementary in Houston, and Harper Williams, a fifth-grader at Robert A. Black Elementary in Chicago. Dallas student believes everything we do as individuals makes a difference Zihair Douglas, the first-place winner in Dallas, thinks Dr. King would be disappointed at the reversals of laws and policies protecting individual rights, but that he would be proud of the educational, political, and entrepreneurial leaders stepping up and advocating for social justice. Douglas said, "I believe in order for us to improve our nation, we need to make intelligent decisions that will positively improve the lives of people from all cultures and backgrounds I charge each of you and myself to fulfill Dr. King's legacy and create a better world for ourselves and our future generations." "Every year, our student participants are tasked with writing a speech in response to a thought-provoking prompt. This year has been no different, and I'm extraordinarily proud of our eight finalists for their hard work and enthusiasm. I'm simply awestruck by their poise, talent, and passion for sharing what Dr. King's legacy means to them," said Michael Newman, managing partner of Foley's Dallas office. "These children are our future leaders, and I'm confident they will make a profound impact on our community. Our firm is honored to play a role in providing a platform for them to express their dreams and aspirations for building a brighter tomorrow." Mohamad Mohamad, a fifth-grader at Elisha M. Pease Elementary, placed second in the Dallas competition, and Bria Hider, a fifth-grader at J.P. Starks Math, Science and Technology Vanguard, placed third. Houston student thinks we can do better Houston's first-place winner, Kadence Smith, discussed the importance of communicating and modeling expectations daily, as Dr. King did with his desire for harmony, opportunity, peace, and equality. "Dr. King would say the lines that divide us are not nearly as strong as the ties that bind us," Smith said. "His hope for tomorrow is for the world to lift every voice and sing in the key of unity, and live out the spirit of the Pledge, 'one nation under God, indivisible.'" He would say, "America, you have studied me for over 50 years. We know better; now let's do better!" "In partnership with the Houston Independent School District, we have been able to foster the writing and public speaking skills of young Houstonians for nearly three decades through this competition," said Claude Treece, Foley's chief administrative partner and longtime event chair of the Houston competition. "Each of our twelve finalists gave a compelling speech that inspired hope for tomorrow while honoring Dr. King's legacy. We are proud to continue to be part of this incredible experience for all involved and grateful to those who help us make it happen every year." Journey Sensley, a fifth-grader at Young Elementary, placed second in the Houston competition, and Xavier Holmes, Jr., a fifth-grader at Windsor Village Elementary, placed third. Chicago student Harper Williams sees hope as fuel for change The first-place winner in Chicago, Harper Williams, adopted the persona of Dr. King himself to address divisions in the African American community, saying, "While I am proud to see that certain advancements have been made, we still have a lot of work to do. This is why we can't sit around and allow hope to die. We have to come together, and we must rise." Williams called for a renewed focus on the Black community's "culture of excellence" and concluded by saying, "Let [hope] serve as the energy necessary to move us into a stronger, more positive direction of unity and respect for one another, regardless of our skin tone. Let's allow hope to spark action and change mindsets." "We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to host the Chicago competition in person this year after two years of being held virtually," said Frank Pasquesi, managing partner of Foley's Chicago office. "The ten Chicago Public School finalists took the stage with poise, courage, and compassion, speaking to a vision that proudly reflects Dr. King's messages. We are honored to celebrate both Dr. King and the students he continues to inspire, with each year proving an important reminder to live out their words of empathy and equality for a better tomorrow." Issa Soumare, a fourth-grader from Arthur L. Dixon Elementary, placed second in the Chicago competition, while Kylelle Campbell, a fifth-grade student from Warren Elementary, placed third. Each local competition began with either virtual or in-school qualifying rounds, followed by semifinals. At every level of the competition, students were evaluated on delivery, stage presence and decorum, content interpretation, and memorization. The final rounds were judged by panels of prominent community and local business leaders. The competition was created in Dallas in 1993. The event's success led to the establishment of the Houston competition in 1997 and the Chicago competition in 2020. To learn more about Foley's MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, click here . ABOUT FOLEY & LARDNER LLP Foley & Lardner LLP is a preeminent law firm that stands at the nexus of the energy, health care and life sciences, innovative technology, and manufacturing sectors. We look beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and act as trusted business advisors to deliver creative, practical, and effective solutions. Our 1,100 lawyers across 25 offices worldwide partner on the full range of engagements from corporate counsel to IP work and litigation support, providing our clients with a one-team solution to all their needs. For nearly two centuries, Foley has maintained its commitment to the highest level of innovative legal services and to the stewardship of our people, firm, clients, and the communities we serve. Foley & Lardner LLP 312.832.4500 (office) www.foley.com Media Contact: Joanne Lessner 212.222.7436 [email protected] Foley Contact: Jen Dilworth 214.999.4718 [email protected] SOURCE Foley & Lardner LLP Former Executive Vice President of Sales Aidan O'Hare takes on new role, while former President Gregg Maughan continues his role as Chief Executive Officer SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forever Living Products International, a direct sales health and beauty company with presence in over 160 countries, recently named Aidan O'Hare its new President. O'Hare takes on the role after working in management at Forever Living for 26 years, overseeing global sales strategies as the Executive Vice President of Sales. Former Executive Vice President of Sales Aidan OHare named Forever Living Products Internationals new President. His predecessor, Gregg Maughan, served as Forever Living's President from 2008 until now. Maughan will continue to serve Forever Living as its CEO, spearheading the comprehensive vision of Forever Living and its family of companies. "Aidan has been instrumental in the growth of Forever Living with his roles in overseeing UK and European sales, global marketing, and international sales," Maughan says. "His broad experience with successful leadership roles within Forever Living makes him ideally positioned to lead the next chapter of our story." As President, O'Hare will build upon Forever Living's 45 years of offering high-quality nutritional products and supplements, creating effective new products that are relevant for today's market and lifestyles. He will also lead the company in continuing to invest in digital solutions and an innovative marketing plan to empower its Forever Business Owners. Most importantly, he will continue the legacy of Forever Living's late Founder and CEO, Rex Maughan. "O'Hare has worked alongside both Rex and me for many years, so this is a natural progression as his drive to succeed is contagious," Maughan says. "Aidan has a deep respect for the Forever way and the preservation of Rex's legacy in all that we do." For O'Hare, this legacy and Forever Living's core values which include putting others first, being brave in decision-making, taking no shortcuts, and having integrity will be, and have been, at the heart of his continued leadership at the company. "I am so excited about this opportunity. I love this company and the people that we work with throughout the world," O'Hare says. "I truly am standing on the shoulders of giants, and I have absolute conviction that, together, we can take Forever into a remarkable future that will continue to provide What Matters Most to millions of families." ABOUT AIDAN O'HARE Aidan O'Hare served in the Royal Navy before becoming part of the Forever Living team in his home country of England. As time went on, Aidan's knowledge for direct sales and marketing grew, which led to a job offer on the global marketing team at Forever Living's Home Office in Scottsdale, Arizona. From marketing, he moved back into sales, overseeing global sales strategies as Executive Vice President of Sales. Today, Aidan serves as Forever Living's President. ABOUT GREGG MAUGHAN As the son of late Founder and CEO Rex Maughan, Gregg was at his father's side, watching and learning as the vision of Forever Living was formed. By the time Gregg was named Forever Living's President in 2008, he had put in over 20 years of service at almost every level of the company, from shipping to accounting and bonus processing, to name a few. With a deep knowledge and understanding of the business, Gregg continues to spearhead the growth strategy of Forever as the company's CEO. ABOUT FOREVER LIVING PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL Forever Living Products International is a direct sales health and beauty company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1978 by Rex Maughan, the multi-billion-dollar company has grown to have presence in over 160 countries, and it is the largest grower, manufacturer and distributor of aloe vera products. The vertically integrated company owns and operates its own aloe fields, manufacturing facilities, research and development, quality control laboratories, and distribution channels. www.foreverliving.com SOURCE Forever Living Products International, LLC West Virginia families to hold more than 100 events during the thirteenth annual celebration of school choice CHARLESTON, W.Va., Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gov. Jim Justice has officially declared Jan. 22-Jan. 28 to be School Choice Week in West Virginia. His official declaration marks the second year in a row that the Week has been formally proclaimed in the state. Gov. Justice's proclamation comes on the heels of a year of historic school choice expansions nationwide. The proclamation highlights the importance of having a diverse educational environment, dedicated teaching professionals, and commitment to continuously improving the quality of K-12 education. It also recognizes the contributions and hard work of teachers, parents, and community leaders who invest in local schools. "West Virginia School Choice Week" is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week, a weeklong national celebration of K-12 education that takes place during the last week of January. The full text of the proclamation can be found on the School Choice Week website at schoolchoiceweek.com/proclamations-2023/ . For the Week, parents, schools, and other organizers have planned 113 activities across the state of West Virginia school fairs in Beckley and Morgantown and Davis, school activities, talent shows, and much more all of which aim to spark conversations about the opportunities parents have, or want to have, for their children's education. More than 25,000 events have been independently planned for the week nationwide, raising awareness about school choices of every type. "The past five years have seen charter schools open in West Virginia, a new online public learning option become available for families, and the establishment of the Hope Scholarship, the state's Education Savings Account program," said Andrew Campanella, president and CEO of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. "Gov. Justice's proclamation recognizes how valuable every type of education option is to families across the state." National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and homeschooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation. For more information, visit schoolchoiceweek.com/west-virginia SOURCE National School Choice Week VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Graphite One Inc. (TSXV: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF) ("Graphite One" or the "Company") has received a request from OTC Markets Group Inc. ("OTC Markets") to issue a statement about recent promotional activity concerning its common shares (the "Common Shares"). On January 12, 2023, OTC Markets informed the Company that it became aware of certain promotional activities concerning the Company and the Common Shares traded on the OTCQX Marketplace, including the distribution of digital marketing materials and promotional newsletter emails published by Promethean Marketing Inc. ("Promethean") and its affiliates discussing the Company, its business, and the graphite industry in general. The marketing materials also contain summaries of recent news releases issued by the Company. OTC Markets provided samples of the promotional material for reference. Promethean is a third-party digital marketing firm retained by the Company to provide communications and digital media services. The information contained in the marketing materials are factual statements regarding the Company, its business, and the graphite industry. The Company provided Promethean with publicly available source of information for its marketing materials and retained editorial control over the wording in the materials, including reviewing the materials for factual accuracy prior to their dissemination. The Company does not believe the statements in the marketing materials and newsletter emails were false or misleading. The appointment of Promethean, the nature of the relationship between Graphite One and Promethean as well as the compensation to be paid to Promethean were publicly disclosed in a news release on May 10, 2022, which can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR and on the Company's website. As disclosed in the May 10, 2022 news release, to the best of our knowledge, Promethean nor any of its principals own any common shares, directly or indirectly, in the Company. The commencement of the digital marketing campaigns began on October 1, 2022. In the last 12 months, the Company has engaged Promethean and TD Media LLC dba Life Water Media LLC to provide digital marketing services including content creation, distribution, and market awareness campaigns. Since the start of the digital marketing campaigns there has been no unusual or significant trading volume in the Common Shares. After an inquiry by management, certain directors, officers, and a control person purchased a total of 905,000 Common Shares in the Company from the exercise of warrants and stock options within the past 90 days of which 20,000 Common Shares were sold. On August 30, 2022, the Company closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 8,762,071 units at a price of $1.15 per unit for gross proceeds of $10,076,382 and closed the final tranche on November 21, 2022 of 560,916 units for gross proceeds of $645,052. The $1.15 per unit was a 7% discount to the closing price on the August 8, 2022 announcement of the non-brokered private placement. On September 19, 2022, the Company announced the repricing to a shares for debt transaction ("Debt Settlement Transaction") with Taiga Mining Company, Inc. to settle an outstanding debt in an aggregate of US$6,775,230 owing pursuant to an unsecured loan facility dated September 9, 2019, as amended and extended. Pursuant to the revised terms of the Debt Settlement Transaction, the Company issued 9,296,328 common shares at a deemed price of $0.95 per share in full settlement of the debt, which was a 17% discount to the closing price on the August 23, 2022 announcement of the shares for debt settlement. About Graphite One Inc. GRAPHITE ONE INC. (TSXV: GPH; OTCQX: GPHOF) continues to develop its Graphite One Project (the "Project"), with the goal of becoming an American producer of high-grade anode materials that is integrated with a domestic graphite resource. The Project is proposed as a vertically integrated enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high grade anode materials primarily for the lithiumion electric vehicle battery market. As set forth in the Company's 2022 Pre-Feasibility Study, potential graphite mineralization mined from the Company's Graphite Creek Property is expected to be processed into concentrate at a graphite processing plant. The proposed processing plant would be located on the Graphite Creek Property situated on the Seward Peninsula about 60 kilometers north of Nome, Alaska. Graphite anode materials and other valueadded graphite products would be manufactured from the concentrate and other materials at the Company's proposed advanced graphite materials manufacturing facility expected to be located in Washington. The Company intends to make a production decision on the Project upon the completion of a Feasibility Study. On Behalf of the Board of Directors "Anthony Huston" (signed) For more information on Graphite One Inc., please visit the Company's website, www.GraphiteOneInc.com 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. SOURCE Graphite One Inc. Lindberg postulates a new Law of Thermodynamics: "Entropy is nothing more than missing information" DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneur, philanthropist and author Greg Lindberg published his second book in 2022 entitled "633 Days Inside: Lessons on Life and Leadership," which explored the time he served at Federal Prison Camp Montgomery in Alabama. He now has published a list of research articles from his book at https://greglindbergresearch.com/. Mr. Lindberg was freed from prison last year after the U.S. Fourth Circuit of Appeals reversed his wrongful conviction for bribery. He spent 633 days in custody before the appellate court intervened. The picture on the left is Greg Lindberg the day he checked into prison, the picture on the right is Greg Lindberg 12 days after release from prison. No photoshop. In his new book, Lindberg says that one of the most profound medical journal articles that he read while in prison was on mitochondrial biogenesis and the power of fasting. The article is "Thermodynamics and Inflammation: Insights into Quantum Biology and Aging" by Nunn, Guy, and Bell, published February 3, 2022, in the journal Quantum Reports. Lindberg says that the implications of Nunn et al.'s work, combined with the implications of his own research, are profound, and in his book explores the effects of quantum biology on DNA replication and the effects of fasting on the aging process. "633 Days Inside: Lessons on Life and Leadership," describing his time at Federal Prison Camp Montgomery can be downloaded at http://www.greglindberg.com or purchased on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. About Greg Lindberg. Greg Lindberg is an entrepreneur, a leadership coach, an author, and a father. To learn more visit https://www.greglindbergnews.com/ Over the course of his career, he has acquired and transformed more than 100 companies that were either failing or underperforming, each time finding and empowering great talentpeople with the same commitment to hard work, learning, entrepreneurship, and a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude. Today, these companies are worth billions of dollars and employ 7,500 people. In 2020, he founded Interrogating Justice, a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring awareness and help advance solutions that hold corrupt government actors accountable, ensure fairness in sentencing, support reentry, and provide access to justice for all. To learn more visit: https://interrogatingjustice.org/ SOURCE Greg Lindberg SAN DIEGO, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) publicly traded securities between June 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period") have until March 13, 2023 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit. Captioned Teroganesian v. Southwest Airlines Co., No. 23-cv-00115 (S.D. Tex.), the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit charges Southwest Airlines and certain of its top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit, please provide your information here: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-southwest-airlines-co-class-action-lawsuit-luv.html You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [email protected]. CASE ALLEGATIONS: Southwest Airlines is a major U.S.-based airline carrier. The Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Southwest Airlines continuously downplayed or ignored the serious issues with the technology it used to schedule flights and crews, and how it stood to be affected worse than other airlines in the event of inclement weather; and (ii) Southwest Airlines did not discuss how its unique point-to-point service and aggressive flight schedule could leave it prone to greater cancellations in the event of inclement weather. During the 2022 winter season, storms disrupted the holiday travel season. As a result, Southwest Airlines cancelled thousands of flights, accounting for the vast majority of domestic flight cancellations. Thereafter, on December 26 and December 27, 2022, several news outlets published various articles detailing Southwest Airlines' operational meltdown. For example, Business Insider published an article entitled "US Department of Transportation says it plans to look into Southwest Airlines following the airline's 'unacceptable' holiday flight cancellations." On this news, Southwest Airlines' stock price dropped more than 12%. Then, on December 31, 2022, The New York Times published an article entitled "The Shameful Open Secret Behind Southwest's Failure," which discussed how it was an "open secret" within Southwest Airlines that it needed to modernize its scheduling systems. On this news, Southwest Airlines' stock price declined, further damaging investors. THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired publicly traded Southwest Airlines securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit. ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller is one of the world's leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud cases. The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering nearly $2 billion for investors in 2021 more than triple the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs' firm. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the world and the Firm's attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever $7.2 billion in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information: https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices. Contact: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP 655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101 J.C. Sanchez, 800-449-4900 [email protected] SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP KENT, Wash., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The excitement continues for Zenovia Harris, who took home the Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award . As a recipient of the award, Zenovia was recognized as an individual who has made a significant contribution in the area of racial equity, social justice, and human rights. The award was given by King County in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, whose theme this year was "Truth, Light, and Hope." Kent Chamber of Commerces Trailblazing CEO Zenovia Harris Receives The Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award The award was well-deserved for Seattle-area leader Zenovia Harris. As the only black CEO in the state of Washington, Zenovia strives to ensure economic equality remains a crucial factor for healthy communities. In 2019, Zenovia became the CEO of the Kent Chamber of Commerce , playing an instrumental role in leading the Kent Chamber in its equity work. This comes naturally for Zenovia, who also leads other Chambers throughout King County, including the Renton Chamber, Kirkland Chamber, and Seattle Southside Chamber. Video of acceptance speech Zenovia Harris | 2023 Larry Gossett Service Award (vimeo.com) Through Zenovia's leadership, she has diversified Board Member participation and introduced a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. To support both her own and other local chambers, Zenovia instituted equity talks, which are open to both chamber members and larger communities. By performing internal evaluations to understand where the challenges and needs are in order to meet equity goals, Zenovia's presence as an innovative and caring leader remains steadfast. Zenovia appeared nothing but honored and grateful upon receiving the Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award, stating "I am grateful for my tenacity to fight for others and my opportunity to sit at tables that were not designed for me but being savvy enough to extract pertinent and critical information to delineate what options are available for CBO's, micro-businesses, home-based, and small businesses." About The Kent Chamber of Commerce: The Kent Chamber of Commerce actively works to support businesses in the area by being the voice and ears of the community, bringing the business community together in a dynamic and profitable way. As the premier organization in South King County, The Kent Chamber of Commerce's mission is to ensure a healthy, vibrant business community for all. Support The Kent Chamber of Commerce's work by becoming a member today: https://info.kentchamber.com/member/newmemberapp/ Media Contact only: KD Hall 206.966.2198 [email protected] SOURCE The Kent Chamber of Commerce MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The infectious disease lawyers at the Pritzker Hageman law firm investigate Legionnaires' disease outbreaks nationwide to help victims get the justice and compensation they deserve. Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by a dangerous waterborne pathogen called Legionella. The first signs of Legionnaires' disease include fever, shortness of breath, cough, muscle ache, and headache. Through Legionnaires' outbreak investigations, our legal team has found that common sources of infection include the following: People get sick with Legionnaires' disease when they breathe in mist contaminated with Legionella bacteria. Building cooling towers Swimming pools and hot tubs Decorative fountains Showerheads and faucets Heating and cooling systems Potting mix As Legionnaires' Disease Cases Rise, Attorneys at Pritzker Hageman Call for Building Operators to Keep Water Systems Safe and Clean The number of people sickened with Legionnaires' disease has been on the rise for the past 20 years. However, Legionnaires' disease is also one of the most underreported and misdiagnosed health conditions in the U.S. About 10,000 Legionnaires' cases are reported to the CDC each year, but recent studies have shown that the true number of illnesses may be 1.8 to 2.7 times higher. Researchers have found that the mortality rate for patients in high-risk groups is 27-percent higher when treatment is delayed. Health officials say that early identification of Legionella among patients with respiratory symptoms is what saves lives. When a Legionnaires' disease outbreak occurs, people can get seriously ill and even die. Families can lose their loved ones. The one thing that all Legionnaires' disease outbreaks have in common is that they are preventable. Water management plans are the industry standard for preventing the growth and transmission of Legionella bacteria. When building owners, operators, and managers fail to follow or implement a water management plan, innocent lives are put in danger. About Pritzker Hageman Pritzker Hageman is one of the few law firms in the country that represents victims and families in Legionnaires' disease lawsuits. Our team of Legionnaires' lawyers includes Eric Hageman, David Coyle, Raymond Trueblood-Konz, Tariq Miller, and Alicia Penner. Contact Eric Hageman [email protected] 1-888-377-8900 SOURCE Pritzker Hageman, P.A. Destination center for cancer, neuroscience and digestive disease care to open in February CHICAGO, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients seeking world-class clinical expertise will soon have a new destination center with the opening of the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building -- home to the RUSH Cancer Center. The new $450 million facility was opened for tours and a reception to celebrate its completion on Friday, Jan. 13. The new building is slated to open to patients in early February. The Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building will be the premier Chicago area destination for cancer and neuroscience care and provide a wide variety of services, including radiation therapy, infusion therapy, diagnostic imaging, integrative medicine and expanded? clinical trials . RUSH Digestive Diseases will begin seeing patients in the building in July 2023. The building will help ensure that RUSH provides the kind of care patients want and deserve. It features: Personalized and convenient care -- with new and improved features that give patients a health care experience they can't get anywhere else Design where every detail was developed with patients in mind and decor specifically chosen to promote healing A new industry-leading, first-floor lab that analyzes samples and sends results to providers in minutes Bright, spacious infusion rooms that provide convenience and privacy, with TV monitors and plenty of space for a friend or family member to be with the patient All-gender restrooms An adult changing table Wheelchair storage nooks on each floor of the building A variety of seating options with tables, equipped with charging stations and flexible chair options for patients of all ages and physical abilities Convenient parking Streamlined check-in areas Chicago skyline views from many patient treatment rooms "RUSH has a bold vision for the future focused on providing care in convenient ways that patients want and need, in their communities, in their homes and on their mobile devices . The Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building reflects RUSH's commitment to excellence and innovation," said Dr. Omar Lateef , CEO of RUSH. "RUSH has grown and now reaches from downtown Chicago to Aurora, across suburban communities and to Northwest Indiana, to offer convenient access to the highest level of care to patients where and when they need it. This facility will serve as a hub for much of this care, and it was built around what patients tell us is most important to them." U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin took part in Friday's event. "RUSH continues to deliver cutting-edge, personalized treatment for a range of different cancers and brain conditions," he said. "And thanks to federal investments that help make the new Rubschlager Building possible, researchers and clinicians will be able to expand their state-of-the-art treatment and research efforts for patients. This new site will build on RUSH's legacy of caring for the community, and I'll continue advocating for the resources they need to save more lives." Located at the northeast corner of Ashland Avenue and Harrison Street on Chicago's near West Side, the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building is directly connected to a new, six-story, 900-space enclosed parking garage, as well as a fourth-floor walkway joining it to the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Tower on the other side of Ashland Avenue. Each floor of the garage is named after a neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, celebrating the RUSH commitment to the health and wellness of the community. The RUSH Cancer Center will care for 127,000 patients by 2027, a nearly 50% increase over current numbers. Consistently ranked among the nation's best, the RUSH Cancer Center will provide the most advanced cancer care, including nearly 40 cancer care services. Among the many elements that place the patient at the center of their care needs, the RUSH Cancer Center will offer private rooms for patients receiving infusions. The security and comfort of these spaces was a priority for designers of the new building, given how much time patients often spend in them. The Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building will also house many of RUSH Neurosciences' highly ranked programs, including neurology and neurosurgery, brain tumor and epilepsy and stroke care and general neurology. RUSH Digestive Diseases, endoscopy and nutrition , as well as RUSH Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , RUSH Plastic Surgery and the RUSH Lung Center also have a home in the new building. The enhancements to the delivery of care were born out of a series of patient focus groups that made it clear that comfort, privacy and infection prevention were priorities for them. Optimizing the patient experience was the primary driver of the building's design as planners approached the project beginning in 2019. Understanding that many patients need lab tests like blood draws before appointments, RUSH placed the laboratory on the first floor, adjacent to the lobby, to allow patients to stop there first. The building will include the latest in lab technology, which allows blood samples to be analyzed quickly on site. This innovation improves patient care by providing accurate, timely information to guide effective treatment decisions and help clinicians diagnose complex cases. For more information or to schedule a tour of the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building, contact Tobin Klinger, RUSH director of media relations, at [email protected] or (224) 571-6542. Provided by Newswise, online resource for knowledge-based news at www.newswise.com SOURCE Rush University Medical Center Johnston County Companies Create Jobs SMITHFIELD, N.C., Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sparkchasers Aircraft Services was founded in 1989 and has earned a reputation for providing high quality and reliable aircraft radio (avionics) repair, refurbishment, and installation solutions. Based at the Johnston Regional Airport in Smithfield, North Carolina, Sparkchasers continues to provide valuable equipment updates, maintenance, and repair services to keep an aging general aviation fleet well equipped for the modern aviation system. In 2021, Sparkchasers attempted to expand to the new Blue Line Aviation facility at the airport. That expansion turned into a move when the Airport Authority suddenly, and for no apparent reason, failed to renew its lease on the facility it had occupied for decades. In spite of opposition by the Airport Authority, Sparkchasers and its affiliate, Blue Line Technical Services, each seek to double their staff of maintenance and avionics technicians in 2023. The companies provide training, at no cost, to new employees so no experience is necessary. However, applicants should be mechanically gifted with both a high aptitude and strong work ethic. "We remain optimistic that 2023 will be our best year ever for both companies, and need to grow our staff to facilitate that. The lack of physical space to operate remains a challenge, but we hope the local government that manage the airport will help" says Trey Walters, shareholder of both companies. At a time where some industries are contracting or halting growth, aviation is booming and continues to have a tremendous need for personnel. Interested persons can receive the training they need to have a great paying aviation job right here in Johnston County. Sparkchasers Aircraft Services, Inc. is a FAA Approved Repair Station founded in 1989 that performs valuable repair and upgrade services including installation of new Garmin and Avidyne Avionics systems. For more information, please visit our website (https://www.flysparkchasers.com). SOURCE Sparkchasers Aircraft Services MERCED COUNTY, Calif., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Westervelt Ecological Services (WES) has received state and federal approval of the Piedra Azul Conservation Bank (PACB) located near Los Banos, California. The 2,418 acre bank conserves high-quality habitat for a variety of San Joaquin Valley species. The highly-anticipated project will provide compensatory mitigation credits to assist purchasers in meeting US fish and State and Federal Endangered Species Act permit requirements. While credits are available now, a majority of the California tiger salamander upland, San Joaquin kit fox, and Swainson's hawk foraging habitat credits have been allocated to permitted infrastructure projects. Piedra Azul Conservation Bank, 2023 PACB preserves critical rangeland habitat that supports California tiger salamanders, California red-legged frogs, San Joaquin Kit foxes, Swainson's Hawks, and burrowing owls, along with a number of other non-listed species that have similar habitat requirements. "WES is proud to partner with the Grissom family to conserve such a large, functioning ecosystem for a broad suite of native species," says WES Western Region Director, Hal Holland. Environmental regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, must approve a conservation bank in the State of California before credits can be sold. Conservation banks provide enhanced environmental benefit over smaller, piece-meal mitigation and retain inherent biological, financial and legal assurances to ensure ecological project success. Economic advantages recognized by public and private sector developers include economies of scale, reduced permitting time and costs, and severance of liability. To learn more about the site and the credits available, contact Amanda Dwyer at (925) 783-9924 or email [email protected]. About Westervelt Ecological Services: Providing conservation on a landscape scale is the mission of Westervelt Ecological Services. A division of The Westervelt Company, a 137 year-old land stewardship company based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Westervelt Ecological Services offers mitigation banking solutions for developers and businesses who need to mitigate impacts to wetlands or species across the country. To learn more visit www.wesmitigation.com. SOURCE Westervelt Ecological Services WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During an event hosted by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy at the agency's Headquarters in Washington Friday, representatives from the United States and Japan gathered to sign an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the two nations. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa signed the agreement on behalf of the United States and Japan, respectively. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, front left, and Japans Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hayashi Yoshimasa, front right, shake hands after signing an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the U.S. and Japan, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Also present were, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, left, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, second from left, and Prime Minister of Japan, His Excellency Kishida Fumio, right. The Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes covers joint activities including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, and safety and mission assurance, among others. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) "The future of space is collaborative," said Blinken. "Through this agreement, our nations have strengthened our partnership in space and here on Earth. We will go farther and learn even more together." The signing is a highlight of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's visit to Washington, his first since taking office in 2021. "I expect this agreement to vigorously promote Japan-U.S. space cooperation and expand areas of cooperation for the Japan-U.S. alliance, which is stronger than ever before," said Kishida. Among the other witnesses in attendance were U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Tomita Koji, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President (JAXA) Yamakawa Hiroshi, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council Chirag Parikh. NASA astronaut Anne McClain and JAXA astronaut Hoshide Akihiko also participated in the event. "From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA's most significant international partners, and this latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies' broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research," said Nelson. Known as the "Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes," this pact recognizes a mutual interest in peaceful exploration. It completes work from President Joe Biden's May 2022 visit to Japan and the September 2022 visit to Tokyo of Vice President Kamala Harris, chair of the National Space Council. Strengthening the space collaboration between the U.S. and Japan is a priority for both. "This signing symbolizes not just the exploration of space, but also the partnership and the friendship between the United States and Japan," said Emanuel. "This is a new beginning." The framework covers a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety and mission assurance, and much more. "I hope that Japan-U.S. space cooperation will further deepen based on this agreement, as it will benefit the future of humanity," said Hayashi. NASA and the Government of Japan finalized a previous agreement in November 2022 confirming Japan's contributions to Gateway as part of a commitment to long-term lunar exploration cooperation with NASA under the Artemis program. Japan also was one of the original signatories of the Artemis Accords. SOURCE NASA YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan) on Monday 30 January 2023, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the International Court of Justice. The hearings will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of Armenia on 27 December 2022. On January 31, the UN court will also hold hearings based on the request of Azerbaijan against Armenia. Earlier, Armenia submitted a lawsuit against Azerbaijan to the International Court of Justice of the United Nations within the proceedings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Armenia asked the Hague Court to apply the following interim measures: to compel Azerbaijan to stop organizing and supporting alleged "rallies" that have blocked free movement through the Lachin Corridor. In addition, Armenia asked the Court to oblige Azerbaijan to ensure the unhindered free movement of all people, vehicles and cargo through the Lachin Corridor. Vienna, Jan 14 : The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that it would step up its presence in Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that he would travel to Ukraine next week to "establish a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts" at all of Ukraine's nuclear power facilities, Xinhua news agency reported. "This is an important step in our work to help Ukraine during these immensely difficult and challenging times," Grossi said. "Our nuclear safety and security experts will monitor the situation at the plants, assess their equipment and other needs, provide technical support and advice, and report their findings to IAEA headquarters." The UN nuclear watchdog has previously established a permanent presence of up to four experts at the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), Ukraine's largest such facility, according to the statement. Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of strikes on the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which has been controlled by Russian forces since last March. Grossi also said in the statement that he would meet senior Ukrainian government officials in Kiev next week to discuss setting up a nuclear safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP. "I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible. My consultations with Ukraine and Russia are making progress, albeit not as fast as they should," Grossi said, adding that he remains hopeful about reaching an agreement on the issue soon. Moscow, Jan 14 : Russian military has claimed that it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar after a long battle. "The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Friday. However, Ukrainian officials said the fight for Soledar was still going on and accused Russia of "information noise". The victory would allow Russian troops to push on to the nearby city of Bakhmut, and cut off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman was quoted as saying by BBC. The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of just 10,000, and its strategic significance is debatable. But if it is confirmed that Russian forces have seized control of it, then there will likely be a big sigh of relief in the Kremlin, BBC reported. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his nightly address from Kiev on Friday, said that the battle in the region continued to rage, but avoided any reference to Russia's claims of control over Soledar. "Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our troops - the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defence and security forces - are defending the state," the Ukrainian President said. Chennai, Jan 14 : Five persons accused of gangrape of a college student on the outskirts of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, have been arrested and jailed on Friday. The horrendous incident occurred on Thursday night when the five accused chanced upon the 19-year old girl and her boyfriend at a secluded spot near the Bengaluru-Puducherry outer ring road. The spot is frequented by local anti-social elements who consume liquor and indulge in other such activities. The temple town of Kanchipuram is located 85 km away the state capital, Chennai. The couple who had reportedly reached the spot at around 7 p.m. on Thursday, were noticed by two of the accused men who were consuming liquor nearby. The duo were then joined by three more persons. Holding the boyfriend at knife point, the accused dragged the girl a little distance away and all five them raped her by turns before escaping. "The accused threatened to murder the couple if the girl resisted them," Kanchipuram Deputy Superintendent of Police P. Julius Caesar stated. The couple managed to escape the spot and informed their families. The girl has been admitted to a hospital and a police complaint was filed by her father. The police managed to track down one of the accused, Vimal Kumar, whose name was uttered by the other perpetrators while the crime was being committed. The victims recalled his name during police questioning, leading the police to Vimal Kumar, 25. Following his interrogation, the police subsequently arrested Manikandan, 22, Sivakumar, 20, Vignesh, 22, and Thennarasu, 23. All five persons have been booked for rape and remanded in judicial custody. Seoul, Jan 14 : President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to become the first South Korean leader to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980 as he departed for Abu Dhabi on Saturday. His four-day-visit is part of a two-nation swing focused on promoting South Korean exports especially in energy and arms, reports Yonhap News Agency. Yoon is scheduled to meet UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as well as visit the Akh unit, a South Korean military contingent, and the Barakah nuclear power plant built by South Korea, a symbolic measure reaffirming his commitment to scrapping the nuclear phase-out policy of his predecessor Moon Jae-in. The two sides are reportedly in the final stages of concluding around 30 memorandums of understanding involving the governments and the private sector, with energy, arms and investment among the key areas of cooperation. A senior presidential official said an announcement is planned for a deal to export South Korean arms to the UAE. "The atmosphere is extremely ripe for security or military cooperation between South Korea and the UAE involving the arms industry," the official said. Yoon will also be accompanied by a business delegation made up of officials from some 100 South Korean companies, supporting their expansion into the UAE and discussing possibilities for cooperation with UAE sovereign wealth funds. From the UAE, Yoon will travel to Zurich, Switzerland, on January 17 and meet South Korean residents in the city before travelling to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum from January 18-19. Manila, Jan 14 : The Philippines will harness the mining sector's potential as a driver for long-term economic expansion as the Southeast Asian country recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a statement. "The mining industry holds the greatest potential to be a key driver in our recovery and long-term growth, especially now that the world metal prices are high," Xinhua news agency quoted Diokno as saying. After all, he said, the Philippines is one of the world's most richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources. "As such, we will harness the potential of the extractive sector to drive long-term economic expansion," he noted. Diokno said the government is revisiting areas where it can enhance the policy environment and explore new opportunities for high and broad-based growth aligned with the emerging trends in the global economy. Aside from mining, the Minister said the Philippines is committed to making the country competitive in the semiconductor and electronics industry, which is the top contributor to the country's manufacturing sector and represents the country's largest export sector. He expressed optimism that the sector's output will expand in the next 12 months. Diokno said the Philippines is also pursuing an energy transition and has opened up the renewable energy sector to full foreign ownership. A more liberalised renewable energy sector will quicken the country's transition towards a clean, affordable and desirable mix of energy sources, creating more green jobs. In November last year, President Ferdinand Marcos directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to sharpen its regulatory powers on small and large-scale mining. Marcos said he wants to legalize the operation of small-scale mining firms. Kalaburagi : , Jan 14 (IANS) Preparations are underway for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Karnataka's Kalaburagi district on January 19, his second trip this month to the poll-bound state. During the visit, Modi will distribute property documents to the residents of 'tandas' (makeshift houses for SC/STs in villages) at a mega event at Malkhed. It is for the first time in the history of Karnataka that these documents are being distributed to 51,900 tanda residents. The beneficiaries are chosen from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region districts of Raichur, Bidar, Yadgir and Vijayapura, according to Revenue Department officials. The state Minister for Revenue R. Ashoka has been holding a series of meetings with officials in Kalaburagi to make it an impactful event. A huge helipad, is being constructed for the event, while 600 cooks will be deputed to cook food and 200 counters will be opened on the day of the event. The beneficiaries will be brought in 2,582 buses, according to the Minister. Kalaburagi is the home turf of AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge and after his defeat in the last parliamentary elections, he wants to prove his might in the upcoming state Assembly polls. Karnataka's ruling BJP wants to defeat his plans not only in Kalaburagi but in the entire northern region of the state. Washington, Jan 14 : The US space agency and Japan have signed an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the two nations. From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA's most significant international partners. "This latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies' broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said late on Friday. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa signed the agreement at the NASA headquarters here. "The future of space is collaborative. Through this agreement, our nations have strengthened our partnership in space and here on Earth. We will go farther and learn even more together," said Blinken. The signing is a highlight of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Washington, his first since taking office in 2021. "I expect this agreement to vigorously promote Japan-US space cooperation and expand areas of cooperation for the Japan-US alliance, which is stronger than ever before," said Kishida. The pact recognises a mutual interest in peaceful exploration. The framework covers a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety and mission assurance, and much more. "I hope that Japan-US space cooperation will further deepen based on this agreement, as it will benefit the future of humanity," said Yoshimasa. Lima, Jan 14 : A total of 41 civilians and one police officer have died during the ongoing nationwide protests in Peru between supporters of former President Pedro Castillo and security forces that have lasted more than a month, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement. In the wave of protests, especially in the southern region, 531 people were injured, including 355 civilians and 176 National Police agents, while 329 people have been arrested, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued late Friday as saying. The political unrest in the South American country began following the impeachment and arrest of the left-wing president on December 7, 2022, and the swearing-in of Vice President Dina Boluarte to replace Castillo. Castillo's supporters asked Boluarte to resign and demanded the release of Castillo as well as early presidential and congressional elections. On December 14, the new President declared a nationwide 30-day state of emergency to stem the violence. In Ayacucho, one of the regions hit the hardest in December, police arrested Rocio Leandro Melgar, president of the Ayacucho People's Defense Front on Thursday night. Melgar is under investigation for violent acts, the statement said. The Attorney General's Office added that it has opened eight investigations into the deaths to determine responsibility. Mumbai, Jan 14 : Filmmaker Karan Johar will be seen taking over hosting duties from next week's Weekend Ka Vaar episode on 'Bigg Boss 16'. According to reports, Salman Khan's contract has come to an end and hence Karan, who has previously hosted 'Bigg Boss OTT, will be stepping into the 'Dabangg' star's shoes. According to The Khabri on Twitter: "Exclusive #BiggBoss16 #KaranJohar to host #BiggBoss16 from Next week. As Revealed earlier Only #AbduRozik and #SreejitaDe have come out of the house as of now. #SajidKhan is still there, lets see when he comes out." It also reported that Salman will return for the finale, which will be held in February. "#SalmanKhan will return to host #BiggBoss16 Finale now, till then #KaranJohar will be hosting the show." Karan had filled in for Salman in the third week of the 16th season as the superstar was down with dengue. Latest updates on Bigg Boss Season 16 Daryl Guppy China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian speaks during the New Year's press gathering at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, Australia, January 10, 2023. /CFP Editor's note: Daryl Guppy is an international financial technical analysis expert. He has provided a weekly Shanghai Index analysis for media for the Chinese mainland for more than a decade. Guppy appears regularly on CNBC Asia and is known as "The Chart Man." He is a national board member of the Australia China Business Council. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN. China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian suggested earlier this week that Australia should be more cautious about Japan's remilitarization when responding to Japan's Ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami, who gave hawkish remarks about China. Ambassador Xiao said, ''During the Second World War, Japan invaded Australia, bombed Darwin, killed Australians and treated Australian POWs in a way that is humanly unacceptable. And the Japanese government has not apologized for that up to today. If they don't apologize, it means they don't accept it's wrong, and they might repeat the history.'' The use of the Nazi swastika symbol is banned in many countries, but the rising sun imperial navy flag continues to fly it on the stern of Japanese warships. This unbroken link with the past symbolizes Asia's concerns with Japan's remilitarization. It's a concern ignored by the United States and its Pacific allies. The core concern is found in the post-War differences between the two main aggressors. Germany acknowledged its fascist past. Germany's past was forgiven but not forgotten. Japan has not reconciled with its militaristic past and its abuses in China and Asia. Japan ignores these stains on its national moral character. This includes their denial of the Nanjing Massacre with an estimated more than 300,000 deaths. It includes the horrors inflicted by Unit 731, which conducted biological and chemical warfare tests with more than 3000 civilian deaths. It includes the wholesale slaughter of civilians in China and Asia. Memorials to the Sook Ching massacre in Singapore and similar atrocities elsewhere in Asia, are a reminder of an unrepentant aspect of Japanese culture. Although the atrocity-denial industry in Japan is the province of minority groups, these groups remain highly influential in the nation's politics. Accordingly, many Japanese are unaware of Japan's wartime atrocities. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 2021. /CFP Possibly the single most alarming reminder of the entrenched nature of the project to secure a military rebirth of Japan is the continuous veneration of war criminals at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine. Many political leaders continue to venerate as war heroes over 1,000 convicted war criminals and 14 A-Class war criminals. Former Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe visited when he was in office and regularly sent tributes, prior to his assassination last July. It's common for senior, serving Japanese politicians to send tributes to this shrine. The current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida did so a few months ago. These are not issues that can be ignored because they belong to the past. They are issues that reflect a refusal to accept cultural change at an institutional level. In Germany there are cultural barriers to the resurgence of fascism. In Japan there are fewer barriers to this similar resurgence because the past is not acknowledged. This means, unlike modern Germany, there are not the same cultural constraints on the abuse of military power. While this may not concern the United States and Australia, it does concern Asia and China. They bore the brunt of this unrepentant Japanese attitude. The estimated more than 35 million Chinese deaths in China was a huge scar. This is not to diminish the sacrifices made by all parties, but it underlines why there are differences in response to Japan's increasing militarization and its journey towards overturning the peace constitution. "This terrible foolishness will be acutely noted by China, of course. But it will also be sharply perceived across East Asia and South East Asia and in the developing world more generally," said Richard Cullen, adjunct professor at the University of Hong Kong. He suggests that Japan is an unfit nation as a military ally because of its denial of its history. Prime Minister Kishida and his predecessor Abe have long been proponents of the expansion of the Japanese military's role outside the country. Many in the region do not embrace Japan's military expansion, even if it is part of a broader U.S. engagement. As Ambassador Xiao inferred, Australia should not assume its increasing alliance with and support for a remilitarizing Japan is welcomed by Asia. This undermines Australia's efforts to improve its diplomatic standing in the region. YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Artsakhs State Minister Ruben Vardanyan stressed that after the blockade of the Lachin Corridor for more than a month, Azerbaijan is forcing Armenians to leave their ancient homeland, but the people of Artsakh will not leave their homeland, no matter how difficult it is, ARMENPRESS reports, Vardanyan wrote in his "Twitter" microblog. "We won't leave our homeland, no matter how difficult the situation is.Every day we make difficult but necessary choice to stay and protect our land.This is the only way we can prevent the process of losing Artsakh and guarantee the preservation of the Armenian world for future generations, Vardanyan wrote. Since December 12, 2022 Azerbaiajn keeps the only highway connecting Artsakh to the world, the Lachin Corridor, closed, citing false environmental reasons. In addition, on January 9, an accident was recorded in the 33rd km of the only high-voltage line feeding Artsakh from Armenia. The accident occured in the Aghavno-Berdzor section. Azerbaijan does not allow restoration works to be carried out. In Artsakh, internet connection supply was also interrupted from January 12. the cable was damaged in the very part of the Lachin Corridor, where the Azerbaijani pseudo-environmentalists are stationed. And only on January 13, thanks to the negotiations conducted by the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Artsakh, the technical specialists of "Karabakh Telecom" Company were able to go to the place of the accident and carry out appropriate work on the spot to restore the damaged part of the cable. Internet connection has been restored in the entire territory of the Republic of Artsakh. Warsaw, Jan 14 : Poland's Supreme Court reform bill, which was needed to unlock billions of euros in European Union (EU) post-pandemic recovery funds, was passed by the lower house of the country's Parliament, or Sejm. In the 460-member chamber, 203 deputies supported the bill, 52 were against (including 22 members of the ruling caucus) and 189 abstained (opposition parties), Xinhua news agency reported. The government itself was split over the reform as Solidary Poland, a small Eurosceptic ally in the United Right coalition led by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, strongly opposed any concessions towards the EU and refused to back the prime minister's plan to fast-track the changes in order to gain quick access to the much-needed funding. According to the new legislation, all disciplinary issues concerning judges should be settled by the top administrative court instead of the Supreme Court's Chamber of Professional Responsibility, a body created to replace a disciplinary chamber considered by the European Commission to be politicized. The bill will now go to the opposition-dominated Senate. PAP quoted Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as calling the bill "a difficult compromise, but the point is to end one dispute" with the Commission. Commission spokesman Christian Wigand told state media that the bill is an important step towards meeting the milestones needed to access EU funds. "We will continue to follow closely the next steps of the ongoing adoption process and then review the final law adopted," he said. Poland is due to receive 23.9 billion euros ($25.8 billion) in grants and 11.5 billion euros in cheap loans from the EU's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility. The EU has locked Poland out of funding citing its apparent failure to overhaul or reverse changes to its judicial system, which the Commission considers a threat to the rule of law. New York, Jan 14 : Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, who said he is weighing a Senate bid in California, may be looking for a potential presidential run in 2024, according to his Democrat allies. After six years in the US House, Khanna, 46, said he would not run for the White House if President Joe Biden seeks re-election in 2024, the Politico reported. The report said that Khanna's recent moves have sparked speculation among Democrats in several key states that the congressman has his eyes set on a higher office. The Silicon Valley lawmaker has retained consultants who are veterans of New Hampshire's primary and Nevada's. He also paid an Iowa firm, before the Democratic National Committee made plans to revoke the state's first-in-the-nation status, according to the news site. Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist whose firm did media consulting for Khanna last year, told Politico that he thinks Khanna "would be a great US Senator". Longabaugh, however added, that in case Biden decides not to re-run, Khanna would be a very "plausible" candidate. Asserting that he would support Biden if he were to run, Khanna denied that he would go for the White House should Biden ultimately forgo a re-election bid. "I'll rule that out definitively," he had told Politico in an earlier interview. While talking about his Senate bid, Khanna said: "There are a lot of Bernie (Sanders) supporters and progressives who have reached out to me to encourage me to look at the race and what I've told them is I will do so over the next few months." "If President Biden didn't seek re-election, his name would have to be on the list of top contenders," Stacey Walker, founder of the Iowa-based firm Sage Strategies, which Khanna paid $8,000 last year, told Politico. Further, Khanna's donations prove that he is bolstering his bid to be in the presidential race. According to Politico, he paid $22,000 last year to Sanders' former New Hampshire state director, Shannon Jackson; $25,000 to the Sanders-founded progressive group Our Revolution for digital advertising; and $8,000 each to political firms in Nevada and Iowa. Khanna -- son of immigrant parents from Punjab -- is seen as one of the leaders of his party's progressive wing, and a relative newcomer on the scene who has broad appeal and formidable skills. On US-India relations, he said earlier this month that the relationship between the two democracies could define the 21st century. Khanna had said in November 2022 that the US needs a strong defence and strategic partnership with India, especially in the face of escalating aggression from China. In September last year, he had introduced a standalone bill in the US House of Representatives seeking a waiver to India against the punitive CAATSA sanctions. Amaravati, Jan 14 : Sankranti celebrations began amid usual pomp and gaiety across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Saturday with Bhogi. Villages and towns in both the Telugu states came alive with traditional celebrations to mark the major harvest festival. Three-day celebrations kicked off with Bhogi or burning of old and unwanted items like old clothes, mats and broom sticks in the belief that new things will usher into their lives. People in villages and towns began the day with Bhogi and prayers. Women were seen playing and dancing around the bonfire. Sankranti is a major festival, which highlights the rich Telugu culture. Ministers, MPs, state legislators and leaders of all political parties participated in Bhogi in various parts of the two states. Former vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu participated in Bhogi at his son's house in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. He expressed happiness over celebrating the festival with his family members. Venkaiah Naidu greeted people on behalf of his family members and hoped that the festival will bring happiness and prosperity to them. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu participated in Bhogi along with his family members at his native Naravaripalle village in Chittoor district. The TDP chief burnt copies of controversial Government Order (GO) banning public meetings on roads in Bhogi fire. Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao greeted people on Sankranti. A festive atmosphere prevailed in residential colonies in Hyderabad and the outskirts besides Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and other towns and villages in both the states. Lakhs of people employed in Hyderabad headed to their homes in various districts of both the Telugu states. State road transport corporations of both Telangana Andhra Pradesh operated special buses and Railways operated special trains to carry people to their destinations from Hyderabad. New Delhi, Jan 14 : After having received serious political blows, one after the other, from Imran Khan in Punjab province during the last two consecutive days, the PML-N London is considering coming back to Pakistan before it is too late, the media reported. For some in the party, it is already too late and now there is not much that can be done because of the irreparable political cost that the PML-N has to pay because of its early last year decision of removing the Imran Khan government and coming into power, The News reported. For the bad luck of the N-League, Shehbaz Sharif-led PDM government is also not performing and the issues like worsening economic conditions and price hike are contributing to further unpopularity of the party. "We had thought that through our good governance and economic turnaround, the PMLN would get its popularity back but that is happening mainly because of growing financial challenges and price hike," a senior PMLN leader said. The party sources admit that ever since the removal of the Imran Khan government, the popularity of the PML-N is on decline whereas PTI is going up and up, The News reported. The last two days, it is said, were shocking for the PML-N and its top leadership. How Imran Khan and Pervaiz Elahi have politically outsmarted Nawaz and his party's calculations came as a bitter surprise for the Leaguers. Nawaz and Maryam, both of whom are in London, were assured that neither Pervaiz Elahi has a majority to get a vote of confidence nor there is any chance of the provincial assembly's dissolution. To their utter disappointment, Imran Khan succeeded on both counts. While the PML-N top leadership in London was not over with the shock of a successful vote of confidence by Pervaiz Elahi, it got another shock the very next day when the latter signed the advice for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly. According to a report following the Wednesday night events, Nawaz had reportedly conveyed his anger to the party's Punjab leadership and had directed it to ensure the Punjab Assembly is not dissolved. It could not be prevented either. Maryam Nawaz was already planning to come back mid-February but after the PML-N having been seriously jolted by Imran Khan's moves in Punjab, the London leadership is reconsidering their plan. Now besides Maryam, there is also consideration about the timing of Nawaz Sharif's return. In case of election date for Punjab, it is said, both may hurriedly rush to Pakistan, The News reported. Imran Khan's politics, supported by the failures of the PDM government in Islamabad, it is admitted, has considerably shrunk the political space for the PML-N in Punjab, which has been the party's stronghold for the last few decades. "Expecting from Shehbaz Sharif government and the PML-N's second tier leadership to create space for the top London leadership to come and make the party popular like before is a faulty policy," a PML-N leader said. He added that the leadership does not wait for the space to be created by others but it through its own charisma and political moves wins the hearts and minds of the people. For this, it is said, the London leadership has to come to Pakistan. The PML-N source said that now there is no hurdle in the return of Nawaz Sharif, The News reported. Bhopal, Jan 14 : Political leaders of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday reached the airport here to receive the mortal remains of late socialist leader and former Union Minister Sharad Yadav. His last rites will be performed later in the day at his ancestral village Ankhmau in Narmadapuram district. Some of the leaders who arrived at the airport were Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and his son Raghavgarh MLA Rajyavardhan Singh, state BJP president V.D. Sharma, as well as other politicians. Meanwhile, over hundreds of people from the late politician's ancestral village also came to the airport to pay homage. The remains arrived at the Bhopal airport from New Delhi on board a chartered plane at around 11 a.m. Yadav passed away on Thursday at 10.19 p.m. at Fortis, Gurugram, where he was brought in an unresponsive and unconscious state, according to a statement issued by the hospital. Chandigarh, Jan 14 : Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh on Saturday died of a heart attack during party leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab. He was 76 years old. Chaudhary fell during the rush of the yatra in Phillaur town and was taken to a hospital in Phagwara in an ambulance where he died. Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said Chaudhary was walking along with a fellow MP from Kerala and suddenly collapsed. In 2019, Chaudhary became the second-time MP from Jalandhar with a margin of 19,491 votes. His cremation will take place on Sunday at 10.30 a.m. at his native Gakhlan Dhaliwal village in Jalandhar. After a day's break, Rahul Gandhi had resumed his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Ladhowal Toll Plaza in Ludhiana on Saturday morning. State Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the yatra will remain suspended till until the last rites are performed. "He was a down-to-earth hardworking leader, a pious person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from Youth Congress to Member of Parliament," Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter, expressing condolences. Chaudhary came out with Rahul from Kusht Ashram in Phillaur when he collapsed. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed condolences and praised him for being a dedicated leader and true public servant for the Congress ideology. "Shri Santokh Singh ji was a dedicated leader and true public servant for the Congress ideology. His death has caused an irreparable loss to the Indian National Congress," she wrote on Twitter. "Santokh Singh Chaudhury, aged 76, Congress MP from Jalandhar, passed away from a sudden cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra this morning. We extend our deepest condolences to his family," Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications said in a tweet. "There will be some changes in schedule of the yatra which will be shared shortly." Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted: "I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Congress Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Santokh Singh Chaudhury. May God rest his soul in peace." Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed condolences on the demise of Chaudhary and said that the parliamentarian was always vocal on issues of public interest. New Delhi, Jan 14: The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Afghanistan to take strong and resolute measures to protect Chinese personnel and institutions in Afghanistan. In a press conference in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that "no Chinese citizens were killed or injured in the terrorist attack." He was referring to the Kabul attack by a suicide bomber which killed around 20 people outside the Afghan Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. A Kabul hospital said that over 40 injured people were brought for treatment. The Chinese spokesperson added that China hopes the Afghan government can protect institutions and citizens of all countries. Pakistan and Qatar too condemned the attack. The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency. The attack was targeted at a Chinese delegation that was reportedly at the Taliban Foreign Ministry office. The IS justifies its attack pointing to China's repressive treatment of the Uyghurs Muslim minority in Xinjiang. It is also opposed to Beijing's relations with the Taliban regime. China was one of the first countries which the Taliban had travelled to for a meeting with then Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in July, 2021 even before the US troops had vacated the country. This was the second major attack aimed at Chinese interests in Afghanistan in barely a month. The previous attack took place in December when IS militants opened fire at the Longan Hotel injuring five Chinese nationals. The hotel was popular with Chinese businessmen who have been flocking to set up business in the country after the US withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took over the government in August 2021. China has evinced interest in augmenting investments in the conflict-prone country where it eyes the extraction of oil and rare earth minerals. The land-locked country, sandwiched between Pakistan to its east, Iran to its west and the Central Asian States to its north is desperate to attract investments as the pariah Taliban government unrecognised by world governments desperately needs trade and foreign investment. Just last week China signed a deal with the Taliban government for oil extraction from the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan. The deal was signed between acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Shahabuddin Delawar and the China Petroleum Economics and Information Research Centre (CPEIC). As per the agreement, China will invest $540 million in the next three years and is likely to create 3,000 jobs for the locals. Even though the Taliban has reiterated that it has managed to control violence, there have been a series of high profile attacks in the country. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) had recently targeted the Pakistani embassy in Kabul-which too was located in one of the high-security zones of the Afghan capital. For China the frequent attacks are a mirror of the situation it faces in neighbouring Pakistan, forcing it to recognise the travails of foraying in the killing fields of Af-Pak. Its flagship project, the $62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has run into trouble with numerous attacks on Chinese engineers. Last year Chinese President Xi Jinping had to remind Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif twice about increasing security for its nationals. Xi spoke about the attacks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand in September and raised the issue the second time in November during Sharif's China visit. With a common, though volatile, border with Pakistan, successive Afghan governments have shown interest in joining their country to the CPEC. All-weather friends Pakistan and China also have been trying to extend the infrastructure and connectivity project into Afghanistan. However, with the region awash with left-over American weapons and numerous shades of terror groups, not to mention complex ethnic relationships in the region, Beijing's serious commitment to invest in the two highly unstable South Asian nations might come a cropper. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, Jan 14: Even as Pakistan deals with its multifold crisis, it has a bigger problem on hand. The people in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), who have been protesting for nearly two weeks now, want the region's merger with India. This is an unprecedented demand which has completely turned around the narrative that Kashmiris want to join Pakistan. Viral videos show demonstrators demanding the reopening of the Kargil Road that connects the two countries. With Pakistan battling many setbacks-wheat flour shortage across the nation, insurgency in Balochistan, border conflict with Afghanistan, attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, and a crippling financial crisis, people in PoK have experienced enough. They seek the stability of India. Exiled PoK leader, Shaukat Ali Kashmiri too has been holding meetings in various countries since December to highlight the hardships confronting the people in PoK. He recently told news agency ANI in Geneva that Pakistan has since 1948 exploited natural resources but in return the people in PoK "received unemployment and exile. Most of the people faced very hardships as they have no medical facilities. Even the PM has described that we have no health facility ...." Amidst hardships for its people across the length of the country, the residents in PoK have been holding daily protests against Pakistan's discriminatory policies over ownership of land, making demographic changes, hiking taxes as well as about basic living conditions such as power-cuts, food shortage and electricity rates. PoK was created after Pakistan invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir immediately after India's Partition. Under an onslaught from Pakistani forces and tribal raiders, Maharaja Hari Singh sought military help from India after which the Indian Army halted the Pakistani forces from seizing the entire princely state. Now, more than seven decades later, while Pakistan has slid into a financial and a humanitarian crisis, India is galloping ahead in its economic and scientific parameters and improving its military prowess. The Indian side of J&K too has progressed considerably in its human index indicators while PoK has remained bereft of economic progress with low human development. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative Washington, Jan 14 : Rights groups and Uyghurs living abroad have strongly condemned a visit to Xinjiang this week by a delegation of Muslim scholars and clerics from developing nations who voiced support for China's policies in the far-western region, saying they turned a blind eye to the suffering of the persecuted community. The group of more than 30 Islamic representatives from 14 countries -- including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Serbia, South Sudan and Indonesia -- arrived in Xinjiang on January 8 to visit the cities of Urumqi, Turpan, Altay and Kashgar and to meet with government officials Uyghurs, RFA reported. Statements by the head of the delegation, Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, sparked widespread anger from Uyghurs abroad and a strong reaction from US-based Muslim organisations, including the Council on American Islamic Relations and Justice for All. Al Nuaimi, chairman of the UAE-based World Muslim Communities Council, and others met with Ma Xingrui, Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Erkin Tunuyaz, the region's chairman, who both thanked them for their support of China's Xinjiang policy. Al Nuaimi was quoted by state media as praising efforts by Chinese authorities to eliminate terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang as the correct way to protect China's national interests and people. "Here we look at all Muslims as Chinese. They should be proud of Chinese nationals," Al Nuaimi was quoted as saying in a report by China's CGTN on Wednesday. China's Xinjiang policy has included intrusive surveillance, religious restrictions, the destruction of mosques, arbitrary arrests, and the detention of an estimated 1.8 million mostly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in a vast network of internment camps and prisons. Some have been subjected to sexual assaults, forced labour and forced sterilizations, RFA reported. Though the US and other Western nations have denounced China's actions, major Muslim countries have defended the Xinjiang policy, as a result of Beijing's economic and diplomatic power and their increasing indebtedness to China, critics said. "Unfortunately, due to the benefit they get from China, the Muslim world is ignoring China's atrocity toward Uyghurs and not seeing its ethnic genocidal crime, said Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish writer and journalist who is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, RFA reported. "They are willing to accept China's interpretation and trying to improve their relations with China," he said. Maya Wang, associate director in the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said the Chinese government has used Muslim governments and Islamic scholars to whitewash its abuses. Nagpur, Jan 14 : Security around the office and home of Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari was tightened following extortion-cum-death threats, officials said here on Saturday. At least three calls were received by Gadkari's private office in the city - between 11.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. - and the caller purportedly uttered the name of absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. The unknown caller reportedly made extortion demands and issued death threats targeting Gadkari - who is currently in Nagpur for the Makar Sankranti festival -- before disconnecting abruptly. The Minister's office staff immediately informed the local police and senior officers, along with their teams, have reached there to investigate. Further details like the caller's identity and their antecedents are awaited. YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. A memorandum on the project for the oil pipeline between Alexandroupolis and Burgas will be signed very soon, said Caretaker Energy Minister Rosen Hristov on Saturday. He visitiedGreece where he attended the inauguration of a project for a gas-fired power plant in Alexandroupolis. Minister Hristov talked with his Greek counterpart Kostas Skrekas. Attending the inauguration was Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The energy crisis in Europe calls for even closer cooperation and joint efforts between Bulgaria and Greece. We are partnering in many projects and policies. Greece is a partner of Bulgaria because of its location and the shared views on how to develop energy in the region, said Hristov. He cited the cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece in adopting EU policies for shoring up the natural gas market. BTA recalls that on January 4 the caretaker government endorsed two memorandums of understanding between Bulgaria and Greece, which will allow the two counters to advance energy cooperation. Under the first document the two countries are expected to cooperate in assessing the viability of the oil pipeline between Alexanroupolis and Burgas. Panaji, Jan 14 : An environmentalist in Goa has expressed apprehension that the state risks losing 15 per cent land as the government is "pushing" eco-insensitive projects. Talking to IANS, noted environmentalist Abhijit Prabhudesai claimed that Goa's environment is facing a threat and there is a need to combat it. Extinction of shellfish from coastal area of Marcaim in south Goa, where around 400 villagers were dependent on this business, is warning of pollutants in rivers. Though Goa is a tiny state, a number of VIPs prefer Goa as a second home and many invest in real estate here. This has widened the scope for construction, which is killing the greenery on the hills. Increasing urbanisation, industries and releasing the polluted water, sewage in the nullahs into the rivers have polluted the water bodies. He said: "Plateaus are ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats. It is a major source of water. If development takes place there, then we will destroy our own source of water. We need to protect them," he said. The Western Ghats of Goa broadly consists of the Wildlife Sanctuaries of Mhadei, Netravali and Cotigao and a Bhagwan Mahavir National Park at Mollem. According to Prabhudesai, Western Ghat's 'Ecological Sensitive Area' notification says that Western Ghats should be protected as it has unique habitats. "Plateaus are destroyed due to industrial estates. There we get bio-diversity which is not even found in forests. Sixty per cent of Goa land is covered by forest, and the government is protecting only half of it. Rest unidentified is decimated because there is no protection," he said. He also said that low-lying areas used for construction projects are a major disaster. "You have to see 'State Action Plan' for climate change. It says that 15 per cent of land of Goa will be lost due to flooding and other reasons," he said. Speaking about the pollution in rivers, he said that industrial waste and sewage water from urban areas are polluting rivers. "Shipping is another threat to rivers. Under the Sagarmala project, they want to transport 86 million tonne coal per year. If this happens, fishing will be stopped, no fish will remain in the rivers," he said. "Shellfish are decimating from the coast of Goa. Around 400 families in Marcaim were dependent on this business of catching shellfish and selling it. But now there is no shellfish due to pollutants released in the river," he said. He said that the Sagarmala project will destroy our rivers. There will be no control on transport of coal and Goa will lose everything. "Real estate speculation projects coming everywhere, it is only for investment. It is urbanising our villages. Big tourism projects along coasts are also big problems along the coast. "After coastal zone management plan (CZMP) is finalised, five star projects will come up in low-lying areas. This will cause flooding everywhere with the climate crisis," he said. He said that even Mangroves are under attack. "Mangroves are critical. Tidal energy is absorbed by it. It is protecting our agriculture areas. Attack on Mangroves is on for infrastructure projects. Illegal filling is taking place. This should be stopped," he said. "Due to climate change and 'attack' on the environment, migratory birds are also less seen," he said. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said that the Government is not concerned about protecting Environment, Forest, Wildlife & Natural Resources. This is clearly evident from its repeated acts such as pushing for 'Three Linear Project' and allowing diversion of Mhadei Water by Karnataka. The three linear projects- double tracking of rail line from Karnataka's Hospet to Vasco in Goa, laying down a 400 kv power transmission line and widening of highway between Karnataka and Goa, were opposed by people as they were passing through Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park. "BJP Government is compromising the interest of Goa to satisfy its crony capitalist and this too is proved with the permissions granted for Coal Transportation," Alemao said. "If anyone stands to raise the voice against the decisions that mar our State, their voices are suppressed by this Government. With one hand they destroy the Environment and with the other hand, they kill freedom of speech," he said. He said that there is a need to protect our wildlife, coastal areas, sources of water and everything related to the environment and nature. The National Fish workers Forum (NFF) General Secretary Olencio Simoes said: "Sand dunes should be protected, failing which the coastline will vanish." He said that the Sagarmala project will "destroy" the environment and rivers of Goa. "Goa has a beautiful coastline only because of sand dunes. No other state has such sand dunes. Our livelihood and tourism is dependent on the coastal line. But the government is trying to destroy everything," Simoes said. He said that the Goans have been demanding that the port limits be deleted from the Coastal Zone Management Plan because there is no provision in the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011 for showing the same. National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) with the movement of 'Machhimar Sangharsh Yatra' have started to meet fishermen from coastal states of India. He said that the movement is still going on and they are meeting people from different states. Environmentalists of Goa have also opposed the double laning of railways as it will destroy the wildlife areas. Activist Ramkrishna Jalmi said that due to rampant construction in hilly areas, Goa has lost several sources of water and thus the farming activities are affected. "Politicians and landlords are responsible for the constructions coming up on hilly areas. Such acts of destroying hills for the purpose of construction should be stopped," Jalmi said. He said that if they start any movement to save the environment, people in power try to "suppress" their voice. Jalmi said that if pollution in rivers is not stopped, then Goa will definitely face fish famine. Shimla, Jan 14 : Two back-to-back earthquakes, one of a medium intensity measuring 3.2 magnitude on the Richter scale, on early Saturday rocked Himachal Pradesh where climate change is already having a drastic and detrimental effect. Also indiscriminate drilling of the hills for constructing tunnels is forcing rural communities, mainly in fragile and eco-sensitive zones of Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, to raise clamour against upcoming hydropower stations with their houses developing cracks and natural water resources disappearing. In recent years, seepage in the Chamera III project that washed off Mokhar village in Chamba district, the bursting of reservoir of Aleo-II project in Kullu district at its first testing, and the seepages in the Karchham Wangtoo tunnel are indicators of a disaster waiting to happen. Currently, the 180 megawatts (MW) Bajoli Holi hydropower project in Chamba has been facing anger from the tribal Gaddi community as they fear the project is posing threat to their houses and fields owing to cracks and seepage in private and public land. The question is: Does the state has made scientific assessment of disaster-prone areas, studied geological and hydrological impacts for strict compliance with environmental and safety norms and prepared exigency plans? These frightening realities have been mentioned several times in performance audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that is to ascertain the state's preparedness. According to Himdhara, a state-based environment action group, the sheer negligence is evident at two levels -- firstly, the failure in ensuring compliance with environmental and safety norms by hydropower project authorities and the government, and secondly, the negligence towards the very impacts of unregulated hydropower development. Local NGOs and green activists are also demanding that international financial institutions must be held accountable for their financing of disastrous hydropower projects in the Himalayas. Several shortcomings surfaced during the crisis -- man-made or natural -- admit government officials. An official, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media, told IANS in case of disaster or natural calamity coordination among state and Central agencies involved in relief and rescue operations is almost a miss. "No nodal officer is appointed at the state level to coordinate and monitor the operations," he remarked. Also there is no mechanism for reaching out to the affected people in the shortest possible time and no round-the-clock dedicated helpline service to provide information regarding post-disaster actions. "The state has no special chopper to handle emergencies. Only the chief ministeraAs official chopper is deployed for airlifting victims," added the official. The hills of Himachal Pradesh, especially in Kullu, Shimla and Kinnaur districts, are more prone to natural disasters like flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides. Official data show more than 1,500 people have been killed in flash floods in the state in the past 20 years. Besides the construction of mega hydropower projects, roads and large-scale unregulated mining are generating mountains of debris, responsible for increasing the magnitude of the natural calamity. Often the debris is haphazardly dumped on hill slopes, eventually finds its way into rivers and streams, raising the bed level. The carrying capacity of rivers and streams is reduced and during heavy rain they often change their course, causing widespread destruction downstream. State Disaster Management Department Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta told IANS the state is prepared to handle any exigency relating to landslides. When asked about the state's preparedness and the need for an updated disaster plan in the wake of the sinking town of Joshimath in neighbouring Himalayan state Uttarakhand, he replied: "We don't foresee any exigency like Joshimath in this (Himachal Pradesh) state." But the question is: Like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh has also been undergoing unplanned construction of road networks and hydropower projects. The ground is sinking in several villages and towns of Himachal Pradesh's Chamba and Kinnaur, a wake-up call for authorities as the robust forecasting system is a miss in the state. A devastating earthquake in 1905 severely damaged property in the Kangra region, including St. John's Church where many British officials were buried, and claimed over 20,000 lives. The frightening reality of a performance audit in 2017 on disaster management, with specific focus on earthquake and fire, conducted by the CAG said 90 per cent of buildings, mainly houses, in rural areas of the state do not follow safe construction rules. In Shimla town, 83 per cent out of a sample of 300 selected buildings were highly vulnerable if there was a major earthquake. However, construction of buildings and houses in rural areas (89 per cent of total houses) is not regulated by any law. Construction of seismic-resistant buildings in rural areas has, thus, not been ensured, the CAG had observed. This is a wake-up call for authorities as seismic sensitivity of the state is high. Seven out of 12 districts have over 25 per cent of their area falling in seismic zone V (very high damage risk). The remaining parts fall in seismic zone IV (high damage risk). (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) New Delhi, Jan 14 : Well-known contemporary multi-media artist, Subodh Gupta, opens the new year with Sangam at Le Bon Marche, Left Bank, a Parisian store with an upscale ambiance and a refined selection of high-end goods and services that make it the most selective in addition to being one of the first contemporary department stores. From January 9 through February 19, 2023, the installations will be on display. Sangam, a word the literal meaning of which is 'confluence' is derived from Hindu mythology, where three holy rivers, named after Indian deities, the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati converge, making the spot a centuries-old place of worship and pilgrimage. The artist has chosen this reference and embodied it in the naming and creation of his display, as, he explains: "at Le Bon Marche people from all over the world meet, intersect and form a human river. My project is a performance in which the customers of the store will participate." He continues: "Sangam is going to be the confluence of second-hand and new objects, the confluence of two cultures, two countries, the confluence between art and the mercantile. It is an opportunity for everyone to wonder at what confluence they find themselves at." Driven by the ideals of encouraging cross-cultural communication, Sangam honours Le Bon Marche as a symbol of French culture and expertise. The furniture and vintage items that make up the installations are bound together in ropes and recall French culture, reflecting Subodh's preference for turning commonplace items into art installations. "Since 2016, Le Bon Marche has been honouring contemporary art by choosing artists of international stature such as Ai Weiwei, Joanna Vasconcelos, Prune Nourry. We impose no constraints on them other than the usual white - in homage to the Month of White, imagined by our founders Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut - which can be subjective, as here with Subodh Gupta," reveals Frederic Bodenes, Artistic and Image Director of the Le Bon Marche Group, who initiated this collaboration. Subodh Gupta is the eighth artist invited as part of the 'Carte Blanche de January.' Subodh is eager to investigate the difficulties of this unusual historical art display location because he is used to the cuboid, white spaces of museums and galleries where he often presents his work. The setting, which is filled with white-both as a colour and as a feeling-is one that he finds to be invigorating. "My sculptures made of stainless steel and silver spread whiteness throughout the room. More than just an exhibition venue, the Bon Marche serves as a theatre for his works, he claims. He is adamant that one does not need to be an art enthusiast to enjoy his distinctive work, which spans genres, and he is convinced that Le Bon Marche patrons would respond to his work solely instinctively. (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) New Delhi, Jan 14 : Satya Paul's lifeblood is music, and the design house has collaborated with two of India's most distinctive electronica artists, Komorebi and Curtain Blue, to create the visually stunning show Birds & Bees, which is equally about the musicians as it is about the clothes. The artists are seen in the video wearing New Order, a fashion line that powerfully reinterprets the Art Nouveau style. The collection's look, created by Satya Paul creative director Rajesh Pratap Singh, finds resonance in the synth-heavy, sensual single "Birds and Bees," taken from their joint EP of the same name that was previously released. Breaking out from conformity, independence, counterculture, and revolt are all celebrated by New Order. similar to Tarana Marwah's and Abhishek Bhatia's songs under the names Komorebi and Curtain Blue. Both Komorebi and Curtain Blue are noted for producing aural works that are both delicate and forceful, wild and graceful at the same time. They are both fans of the whimsical and are driven to experimenting like moths to a flame. The six-minute-long video, produced under the experienced eye of stylist Vijendra Bhardwaj, turns the concept of a fashion film on its head and shines a spotlight on the musicians instead. Birds & Bees blurs the lines between music video, fashion runway, and film and takes viewers on a journey through the lives of these two rockstars; tension simmers, and the rollercoaster of celebrity provides a rush. Introduced to their music by long-time friend and collaborator, Midival Punditz's Gaurav Raina, Pratap Singh felt that the youthfully exuberant and flirtatious track complimented the collection. Bringing them together was an important motivation for Pratap Singh, who is focused on "Satya Paul's commitment to support the incredible talent in this country. This is consistent with the brand's ethos which has always recognized and embraced the linkages between fashion lifestyle and music," he says. "Rajesh wanted to capture the journey of an artist all the way from the studio to the stage and what comes after, and he felt our single captured the energy of the collection and the concept," says Tarana of their decision to work with Satya Paul on 'Birds & Bees.' "The shoot pushed both Abhishek and I out of our comfort zones into a newer, more confident creative space," she says of the experience. (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) Chennai, Jan 14 : Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, government financial support, exemption from Goods and Services Tax (GST) are some of the Budget 2023 wishlist of the Indian Space Association (ISpA). According to ISpA's Director General, Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (Retd.), the suggestions/wishlist were received from the space industry on tax policies and incentives to promote investment, research and development, and employment in the space sector. The space sector lobby body said PLI for the sector will promote research and development in India and provide incentives to entities engaged in the space sector. The ISpA also wants the government to provide financial support through loans, grants and tax incentives for companies and organisations in the space sector. "Since the new space policy is in its final stages of development, the provision of tax exemption for startups should be continued till the time the incumbent Policy is released/implemented," Bhatt said. Considering that most space-tech companies in India are startups and access to capital is an issue, it would be beneficial to create parity in terms of the short-term capital gains tax rate and treatment with respect to listed and unlisted entities and also provide exemption from Angel tax, the industry body said. The industry also wants the setting up of Space Technology Parks and creating a group of experts for the space ecosystem usage. Bengaluru, Jan 14 : In an embarrassment to the ruling BJP in Karnataka, two senior leaders, an MLA and another minister have indulged in a war of words by trading charges against each other. BJP Minister for Heavy Industries Murugesh R. Nirani on Saturday warned party MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal that his tongue will be cut if he continues to talk "senselessly". Earlier, MLA Basanagouda Patil had called Minister Nirani a pimp while talking about reservation quota under OBC category to Panchamasali Lingayat sub sect. He had also stated that he had no faith in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and approached the party high command. Minister Nirani stated, "He (Basanagouda Patil Yatnal) had used the word 'pimp'. He is very much in that culture and uses the same language. Those who are born to their fathers don't use such language," he said. "If he is talking without sense, his tongue will be cut. Chief Minister Bommai has given directions to be quiet. If he doesn't want to be in the party, let him go out and stage a protest," he stated. Vijayapura people from where he hails would give him a befitting answer. The reservation demand is not recent one. CM Bommai has committed to giving reservation for Panchamasali sub sect. The government had created 2C and 2D categories to accommodate the OBC quota. In spite of all this, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal is trying to put blame, Minister Nirani stated. He also condemned the protest staged in this regard by Basava Jayamrutynjaya Swamiji terming it "politically" motivated. The SC/ST and Vokkaliga communities have made their submissions peacefully, he said. MLA Basanagouda Patil is issuing statements and embarrassing the government. Manila, Jan 14 : Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has ordered government agencies to step up the fight against "rampant smuggling" in the country, the presidential communications office (PCO) said on Saturday. In a statement, the PCO said Marcos wants reform in the bureaucracy to curb smuggling, lower logistics costs and ensure ease of doing business as his administration works to prop up investments and business activity in the country, reports Xinhua news agency. During a recent meeting, Marcos said that government agencies must do something particularly to address rampant smuggling. "To be brutally frank about it, we have a system, but they are not working. The smuggling here in this country is absolutely rampant. So it does not matter to me how many systems we have in place; they do not work," Marcos said. "So we really have to find something else. We cannot continue to depend on these systems, which have already proven quite ineffective," he added, stressing the need to fix the systems now in place. He also said issues on the ease of doing business and the inefficiency of the country's airports and seaports are the major complaints that he is receiving from the business sector. Marcos urged concerned agencies to be more innovative, stressing the government has to delineate functions or establish new agencies if necessary. Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 14 : Even though Kerala has the highest literacy rate in the country, people of the state keep falling prey to fly-by-night operators. In the past five years, Keraliites have lost over Rs 6,000 crore to fly-by-night firms. Praveen Rana, who was the star in the state for past one year when he was heading an investment and marketing company at Thrissur, is presently behind bars since Thursday as his company has gone bust leaving anxious investors who had invested around Rs 200 crore. Rana's modus operandi was to be seen in the presence of the be all and end all of the states politics, film industry and media personnel, and thus took "literate" Keralite's into a high. Among those who were seen honouring him include none other than superstar Mammootty, top flight state Ministers like K.N. Balagopal, Antony Raju, State Congress president K. Sudhakaran, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and John Brittas, Rajya Sabha member and one who heads the CPI-M backed TV channel. Other media houses like Reporter TV and Media one also had honoured him. Popular media critic Roy Mathew said it's most unfortunate that on the one hand Kerala speaks about highest literacy rate and on the other hand falls into such people's hands. "This is nothing but greed as frauds like Rana was offering a staggering 48 per cent return on investments. Also none should forget that Kerala is one state where commercial banks have deep network and branches are there practically everywhere. I personally feel there needs be no sympathy to people who have lost money as knowingly they have walked into traps set by people like Rana," said Mathew. He said: "The media is also a major culprit as it gives all the support to these fly-by-night operators." Former top Kerala Police officer Subhas Babu said one reason why this is happening at frequent intervals is because of the "flaws" in registering cases and further follow up actions. "You just look into the number of financial frauds that have taken place in the state. One classic case that took place long back was with regards to investment taken for rearing goats. The person was arrested and the next we hear that the very same person was engaged in recruiting people to Germany and UK by taking money. A proper registration of cases and a correct follow up to a major extent can bring down the frequency of such frauds happening," said Babu, who in his official career, had probed a few such cases. Mumbai, Jan 14 : Actress Sapthami Gowda of 'Kantara' has joined the cast of director Vivek Agnihotri's next film 'The Vaccine War', the shooting of which is already in motion. The actress, who plays the character of Shiva's (Rishab Shetty) love interest in 'Kantara', took to social media to express her gratitude to Vivek as she wrote: "I'm glad and excited to be a part of this project. Thank you @vivekagnihotri sir for this opportunity." Extending a warm welcome to the actress, the director replied to her saying: "Welcome Sapthami. Your role in #TheVaccineWar will touch many hearts." 'The Vaccine War' is based on Indian scientists and on the people who have sacrificed their days and nights for over two years to develop a vaccine against covid. It tells the side of the story of Indian scientists who survived the pressure from global manufacturers and worked at odd hours to save the lives of countrymen. Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, along with the producer Pallavi Joshi, is all set to bring the movie to theatres on the occasion of the India's Independence Day on August 15, 2023. 'The Vaccine War' will be released in 11 languages. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed New Delhi :Police use water cannon to disperse AAP supporters during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi :Police use water cannon to disperse AAP supporters during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi :Police use water cannon to disperse AAP supporters during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi : AAP party supporters shout slogans during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi :Police use water cannon to disperse AAP supporters during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi : AAP party supporters shout slogans during the protest march against BJP in New Delhi on Saturday January 14, 2023.(Photo: Anupam Gautam/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Jan 14 : The Aam Adami Party (AAP) workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters here against demolition notice served to the slum dwellers in Kalkaji. The protest was led by senior AAP leader Atishi, Somnath Bharti and MCD mayoral candidate Shelley Oberoi among others. "Prior to election, BJP had promised that 'Where there is slum, there will be houses" but now BJP's DDA has started pasting the notice of slum demolition. If someone protests against this, the policy beats them and uses water cannons", said Atishi. She further said that her party will not allow even a single slum in the city to be demolished. "We will continue to protest till the BJP takes the slum demolition notice back". Meanwhile, the police have also used water cannons in a bid to deter the workers from the party headquarters. The party leaders alleged that some of the workers have been injured facing police brutality. "These women have come from the Navjeevan Camp to protest against the notice but police have used water cannons against them. We will continue to protest for slum dwellers of the city till the BJP-ruled DDA takes the demolition notice back", the AAP leader said. We at the Cayuga-Owasco Lakes Historical Society (of Moravia) would like to thank the Pomeroy Foundationof Syracuse for awarding us a $1400 grant towards the purchase of a digital projector and laptop computer. Their support will enhance our connection with the public through more effective meetings and presentations. Jaipur, Jan 14 : Twin brothers residing hundreds of kilometres apart in different states, who died under similar circumstances, were cremated on same pyre in Rajasthan's Barmer district. A pall of gloom descended on the Sarnon Ka Tala village after the tragic incidents. Sumer and Sohan, 26, were cremated on the same pyre on Thursday. Sumer Singh, who used to work in Surat, lost his balance and fell from terrace while he was talking over phone on Tuesday. He was rushed to hospital where he died during treatment. On Wednesday, his body was brought to his native village. Sohan Singh, who was preparing for Grade II teacher recruitment exam in Jaipur, was called home on the pretext of his father Babusingh's ill health. On Thursday morning, when Sohan Singh had went to fetch water from a tank, 100 meters away from the house, he fell into the tank. When he did not return home for long, the family members searched for him and were shocked to find his body in the tank. Later, villagers fished out Sohan's body. Villagers told the media that the two brothers had a strong bond. They finished their studies together. Sumer Singh was not good in studies but he encouraged Sohan to study hard and get a teacher's job, the villagers added. Dakshina Kannada, Jan 14 : Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have put up a "boycott banner" against Muslim traders at a religious fair in Kavuru near Mangaluru city on Saturday. The banner has been put up on the premises of Sri Mahalingeshwara temple which comes under the Religious Endowment department. The religious fair will be held from January 14 - 18. "Earlier, majority of stalls were put up by Muslims. This time, the management of allocating contracts for stalls has been given to the Bajrang Dal activists," local said. The Bajrang Dal activists said that the "boycott" decision had been taken in the meeting of the temple management committee. The banner states that opportunity to carry out trade will only be given to Hindu traders who have belief in Hindu religion and traditions. "There is no scope for anyone who believes that worshiping an idol is 'haram'," the banner said. The constituency is represented by BJP MLA Bharat Shetty. In the wake of the development, police department has deputed force and platoons of the City Armed Reserve (CAR) on the premises and surrounding areas of the temple. New Delhi, Jan 14 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday launched 'Soul of Steel' Alpine Challenge to promote tourism in border areas. The Defence Minister launched a website for volunteers to sign up for various adventure activities under this joint initiative of the Indian Army and CLAW Global, a veterans' organisation. 'Road to the End', a 460-km long car rally was also flagged off by Rajnath Singh as part of a joint expedition by Indian Army and CLAW. The rally will reach its destination in the Garhwal Himalayas near Niti Village in Chamoli district in the next three days. CLAW, a team of Indian Special Forces veterans with multiple specialisations in mountaineering, skydiving, SCUBA diving, unarmed combat, multi-terrain survival tech, and emergency medical response will spearhead the challenge. While the challenge combines skills from military-style high altitude operations and alpine adventure sports, it is supported by the Indian Army. Indian Army through 9(I) Mtn Bde has signed a MoU with CLAW Global for joint execution of Soul of Steel and Human Ability Biome. National and International participants campaign was launched on Saturday and the challenge will start from March and will continue till June. Soul of Steel is a unique blend of specialised skills including high altitude mountaineering, extreme cold survival, psychological endurance and physical toughness. The challenge opens the domain of niche military skills to an average youth who wishes to challenge his physical and psychological limits. Participants will be selected through a detailed screening and training model through traditional and modern standards. During the course of the programme, they will be trained to operate beyond the assumed limits of their body, to discover the limitless realms of their mind, consciousness and spirit. The project aims to train prospective athletes who wish to compete in this 'first of its kind' international challenge. While the Soul of Steel participants will get trained to face anything that the life can throw at them - be it the everyday stresses of the corporate jungle or survival out in the wilderness, the military veterans will get a sound platform to showcase their niche skills and monetise them in their second inning which at present is a great challenge but above all this activity will create a model through which the great tourism potential of the remote and desolate areas of Himalayan region and of the local hardy people will be harnessed to arrest the migration of the locals towards bigger cities from the small border villages. To equip them with specialist skills including mountaineering and survival skills, advanced medical skills, self-defence techniques, physical fitness, psychological resilience and endurance, to a standard that will stay with them through their life and form the backbone of a healthy, productive and evolved society, a Human Ability Biome will be created in High Altitude Area of Garhwal Himalayas. Kolkata, Jan 14 : A man who approached a West Bengal minister with complaints about local civic amenities received a tight slap from a local Trinamool Congress worker in full public glare in North 24 Parganas district on Saturday. The state Food and Supplies Minister, Rathin Ghosh, was in the Ichapur-Nilganj area of the district as part of Trinamool's newly-launched 'Didir Suraksha Kavach' (Elder sister's protective shield) exercise, under which ministers, party MLAs and MPs are supposed to make district tours, interact with people and address their grievances. When a local resident named Sagar Biswas approached the minister with some complaints about lack of civic amenities in the area, a local Trinamool worker gave him a tight slap, while his associates pushed Biswas out of the area. Later, Biswas told mediapersons that he was even threatened not to speak to the press about the event. Initially, Rathin Ghosh tried to avoid commenting on the matter. But later he spoke to Biswas and apologised for the 'unfortunate' development. "I didn't see exactly what happened. But if something like this has happened, it is extremely unfortunate. This should not have happened. I profusely apologise," Ghosh told mediapersons later. Meanwhile, the opposition has launched a scathing attack on the state's ruling party on this issue. Senior state BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, "If people are heckled by the ruling party workers for expressing their grievances, what is the point in carrying out this exercise?" According to the CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty, Trinamool does not believe in the safety and security of the common people and the slapping incident only proves that. New Delhi, Jan 14 : A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday visited the office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. While Sisodia claimed that the CBI raided his office, the central probe agency denied the claim. A top CBI official said on condition of anonymity that it was only a search operation related to the excise policy case. "Today again the CBI has reached my office. They are welcome. They raided my house, my office, searched my locker, even conducted an investigation in my village. Nothing has been found against me and nothing will be found, because I have not done anything wrong. I've sincerely worked for the education of the children in Delhi," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi. In November last year, the CBI had filed a charge-sheet in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam, but it did not name Sisodia in it, though he was named in the FIR filed earlier in the matter. Bhubaneswar, Jan 14 : Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal's statement in favour of entry of foreigners into Jagannath temple, Puri, has sparked a debate in the state. While addressing inaugural function of Odisha Vision 2036 Conclave in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, the Governor had said, "If a foreigner can meet Puri Gajapati, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati and servitors, he/she should get a chance to pay obeisance to Lord Jagannath." Stating the governments should work on this issue, Lal said, "This is my personal opinion... someone may appreciate it or not, but, I request the servitors, Puri Shankaracharya and king Gajapati to consider my proposal." As per tradition, only Hindus are allowed to have darshan of Lord Jagannath and siblings inside the Puri temple. So, this statement of the Governor has created a fresh row in the state. Puri temple servitors have opposed the proposal of the Governor. Temple servitor and member of the Jagannath Temple managing committee, Madhab Chandra Mohapatra said, "It is laughable. The proposal is beyond our imagination. It is not possible. Nobody other than Hindus should be allowed into the temple." Another servitor Shyama Mohapatra also made a similar opinion. Lord Jagannath and his siblings come out of the temple each year during Rath Yatra to give darshan to such (foreign) devotees. So, the age-old tradition should not be changed, Mahapatra said. Similarly, the BJP and Congress party leaders have expressed their opinions on the proposal of the Governor. Leader of opposition in Odisha Assembly, Jayanarayan Mishra (BJP) left it to the pandits of Mukti Mandap to take decision on this issue while Congress MLA Suresh Routray said the tradition should not be broken. New Delhi, Jan 14 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested a former assistant vice president of the RBL bank for allegedly transferring Rs 19.80 crore from bank's two accounts to his own accounts in other banks. The accused, identified as Nagendra Kumar (39), had also resigned from the bank after committing the crime in August 2020, and he was evading arrest. According to Jitendra Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (EOW), a complaint was filed by the vigilance department of the RBL bank wherein it was stated that Nagendra, was posted at RBL Bank at Barakhamba Road as Assistant Vice President, Implementation & Client Support - Transaction Banking. "On August 7, 2020, two account holders of the bank disputed some debit transactions from their accounts through the Cash Management portal of the bank. On further enquiry, the bank came to know that Nagendra transferred Rs 19.80 crore from two bank accounts to his own accounts with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The RBL Bank contacted ICICI Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd and returned the cheated amount to the victims accounts," said the official. However, a case was registered under relevant sections of the law and a manhunt was initiated to nab Nagendra, who was on the run. "Several efforts were made to trace the accused. Based on technical surveillance, Nagendra was apprehended on Friday from Vasant Kunj," said the Additional CP. Police said that Nagendra had permissions to read and write in the host to host banking system (Secure File Transfer Protocol) of the bank regarding bank accounts from which the money was transferred. On August 7, 2020 at about 05.18 p.m., Nagendra created two funds transfer files having eight transactions and uploaded them to the folder of these companies in a host to host banking system (Secure File Transfer Protocol). "After that the cash management system of the bank automatically sent these files for payment, Rs 6.9 crore was transferred to the account of Nagendra but the same was returned by ICICI bank on the request of the bank while Rs 10 crore was not accepted by HDFC bank as the beneficiary name mismatched while Rs 2.90 crore was not transferred as the daily limit was breached," said the official. "After transferring the cheated amount from the bank account holders he left the bank after sending an email of resignation on the same date at 05.44 p.m.," the official added New Delhi, Jan 14 : The arrest of two suspected Khalistani terrorists from the Jahangirpuri on Thursday (January 12), where the North-West Delhi Police had carried out a mock drill on January 6, has raised questions over the police exercise, sources said. The Special Cell which arrested the alleged terrorists also recovered two hand grenades from the area based on the disclosures made by the arrested duo. The sources said that this shows a failure of policing in the area. Earlier, a mock drill was conducted in Jahangirpuri in September last year. The exercise had reportedly alerted the alleged PFI members living in the area, while the NIA chose not to conduct a single raid there despite carrying out similar excersises across the country. On Thursday, the Special Cell had arrested Jagjit Singh alias Jagga and Naushad, who have been sent to 14-day police remand. On Friday night, the police recovered two hand grenades based on their disclosures. Though the police had conducted a mock drill in the area as recently as on January 6, but strangely they had no clue about the presence of hand grenades or alleged terrorists living there. In September last year, the police had carried out a mock drill in the area, when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was planning to conduct nationwide raids against the now-banned PFI members' hideouts. The anti-riot mock drill was conducted on September 22 to show the preparedness of the police. The sources at that time had claimed that the timing of the drill had alerted the accused PFI members who fled from the area. While the NIA had conducted nationwide raids, it didn't conduct a single raid in the Jahangirpuri area, which raised quite a few eyebrows. The SOPs were also allegedly not followed during the mock drill. (Atul Krishan can be approached at atul.k@ians.in) Amaravati, Jan 14 : Popular Tollywood actor Nandamuri Balakrishna participated in Sankranti celebrations with his family members at Naravaripalle village in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district. The actor, who is also a member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, celebrated the festival with the family of his brother-in-law and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the latter's native village. Balayya, as the actor is popularly known, took everyone by surprise by going for a morning walk in the village. Attired in winter wear, he responded to the greetings from his fans. He also participated in Bhogi near the house of Chandrababu Naidu. Talking to media persons, Balayya greeted Telugu people all over the world on the occasion of Sankranti. He hoped that the festival would bring loads of happiness and prosperity to people. The actor thanked the audience for making Veera Simha Reddy a big hit. "Whenever a good movie is made, Telugu audiences support it. Veera Simha Reddy also received their support," he said. Balakrishna said Veera Simha Reddy, released three days ago, was not merely made in faction fight drop back but has family sentiments. The actor thanked the entire movie team. He said he got a good opportunity to work with director Gopichand Malineni. "He knows the pulse of the audience and made a movie which they like," he said. The families of Balakrishna and Chandrababu Naidu came together for the festival. The actor's sister Bhuvaneswari is Chandrababu Naidu's wife. Balakrishna, whose daughter Brahmini is also married to Naidu's son N. Lokesh, is a legislator of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He is a member of Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Hindupur constituency. Satara : , Jan 14 (IANS) At least 40 people were injured when a tempo carrying them plunged into a 300-feet deep valley in the Mugdev village ghats of the Mahabaleshwar hills, police officials and rescuers said here on Saturday. The tempo had left Pune on Friday evening with around 44 people comprising 17 women and 11 children, all hailing from Akola and Buldhana districts. It was bound for a new work site at the Tapola resort near Mahabaleshwar hill station. As per investigations, the tempo driver lost control of the vehicle and tumbled into the gorge, around 9 a.m. on Saturday. Luckily, most of the 40 injured, including two pregnant women and around 11 children, sustained only minor injuries despite the deep plunge and many managed to jump out as the tempo rolled down. On learning of the incident, several volunteers of Sahyadri Trekkers like Sanjay Parthe, Deepak Jadhav along with local villagers launched a rescue operation. They climbed down with ropes and managed to bring a majority of the victims to safety even as Satara Police, fire-brigade and disaster teams rushed there. Of the three kids injured, the condition of two was critical and they were shifted to a Satara hospital, while the status of two pregnant women is said to be stable. According to the initial police probe, the tempo may have slid from the road while negotiating a steep curve, the driver lost control and the vehicle fell into the gorge. The police are probing other angles like whether the tempo was overloaded by the labour contractor, whether the driver was inebriated and the road-worthiness of the vehicle for plying in the treacherous ghats. Marianne Simmons, a self-professed Tesla fan girl," bought her second electric vehicle from the company in September: a white, high-performance Model Y ringing in at more than $77,000. Then the company slashed prices on Thursday and she realized she could have bought the same car today at $13,000 less. I feel like I got duped. I feel like a got taken advantage of as a consumer," said Simmons, 32, a web designer in Naples, Florida. Right off the bat, Im out $13,306. Its such a large reduction that its going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle." Thats the reality facing owners of Tesla Inc. vehicles after the company cut the price of its cars as much as 20%, part of a push from Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to increase sales volume in the face of weakening demand. For existing customers, the resale value of the cars they own will take a hit along with the drop in prices of new models. Also check these Cars Find more Cars UPCOMING Tesla Model 3 70 - 90 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details UPCOMING Mercedes-benz Eqe 70 - 90 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details UPCOMING Tesla Model S 70 Lakhs - 1 Cr* *Expected Price View Details Mercedes-benz V-class 1950 cc | Diesel | Automatic (Torque Converter) | 16.67 kmpl 71.1 Lakhs - 1.46 Cr* Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Mercedes-benz Eqb Not Applicable Cylinders Not Applicable | Not Applicable Valves/Cylinder | Not Applicable cc | Electric | Automatic 74.5 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers UPCOMING Lexus Ux 300e 75 - 85 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details For any existing owner its a kick to the teeth," said Ivan Drury, director of insights for research website Edmunds.com. Anyone who bought a Tesla recently will feel an immediate impact wish they leased it." Drury said the new-vehicle price cuts will hit used cars immediately and could lower values even further. New-car buyers want new-car smell, he said, so pre-owned prices could fall more. This is an age-old problem in the car business: Consumers buy a vehicle only to see a rebate advertised days later that would have saved them a few thousand dollars. This time its different because dealer discounts are often limited-time sales and Teslas cuts are larger than the typical rebate. In fairness, Simmons and other Tesla fans arent the only car buyers who will see their resale values fall. Used-model pricing fell 15% in December, while new ones hit a record average of nearly $50,000, according to researcher Cox Automotive. Teslas price cuts have been the biggest among new-car sellers. Its more expensive models took the biggest hit. Model Y base prices are down 20% to start a $53,000, the performance edition of the car that Simmons bought is down 19%. The larger Model S sedans Plaid edition was cut 14%. Austin Flack, a television producer in Los Angeles, said he listed his 2018 Model 3 with the Full Self-Driving Beta software package for around $51,000 in December, but slashed that price to $36,000 as Tesla unloaded incentives near the end of the year. He said hell likely have to cut the price again to $30,000. Jack Bradham, a cloud services developer in Charlotte, North Carolina, said hes miffed that the black Model Y long-range edition vehicle he bought in December has been devalued. Bradham, 46, said in a phone interview that he ordered the car late last year and said he was told hed have to wait until January to get it. Then he got a call on Dec. 10 from Tesla sales saying he could get a car around Christmas. He said he was excited for the early delivery and agreed to buy the $69,000 EV. Now, he said, he should have waited because he may have gotten the discount if he took delivery in January; the same car now costs $12,000 less. Bradham said he gets that sometimes people miss a sale, but its the size of the price cut that bothered him, along with the lack of communication from the company. Theres no one to contact. I called and tweeted to them, no response." Andrew Checketts, from Santa Barbara, California, said he took delivery of a seven-seater Model Y in early December after Tesla was hounding" him with text messages promoting a $3,750 discount at the time. If he had waited one month, he could have bought the car for much less. I have solar scheduled to be installed soon. Really having a hard time giving Tesla any more of my money and cant even look at the car this morning," Checketts said in an email. He said he instead drove a Prius today. Teslas pricing has had ups and downs last year. The company raised prices by 3% to 5% in March when semiconductor shortages were causing production cuts across the auto industry and automakers and dealers both were getting top dollar on all vehicles. The company then cut prices in December by $7,500 in the US, which led analysts to believe that demand for its EVs was softening and added to a rout in the shares that went on most of last year. Shares of Tesla fell 69% throughout 2022. Tesla also cut prices in the US and China late last year. In an audio chat on Twitter on Dec. 22, Musk again hinted that he would lower prices further to stave off economic headwinds. Do you want to grow unit volume, in which case you have to adjust prices downward," he said. Bradham, the cloud services developer, said he hopes Tesla will give recent buyers some kind of a break, like free charging. Simmons said the company should offer the Full Self Driving feature for free. Still, Tesla owners have little recourse. I would not buy a Tesla again," Simmons said. Thats saying a lot for me. I was a huge Tesla fan girl. Id go with a competitor like Lucid or Rivian." First Published Date: New Delhi, Jan 14 : Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking protection in the multiple cases registered against her for depicting Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette in a poster of her documentary titled after the Hindu deity. The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday. The top court has scheduled the matter for hearing on January 20. The plea in the apex court sought a direction to quash all the FIRs registered against the filmmaker in various states over the poster of her documentary titled 'Kaali'. The plea sought to quash the multiple FIRs registered in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand on complaints against the poster of the documentary. The plea has also sought a stay on the proceedings in the meantime, besides seeking action against those who issued threats to her on social media. The plea contended that the petitioner did not attempt to offend the religious sentiments of any person. The filmmaker claimed that she had also received open calls for violence against her and her family after she tweeted the poster of the documentary. The petitioner submitted that multiple FIRs amount to infringement of her constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to freedom of expression. New Delhi, Jan 14 : Kevin Schawinski, Co-founder and CEO at data centric AI platform Modulos.ai, asked ChatGPT: "Tell me a lie". The AI chatbot answered: "The sky is made of green cheese." A bit disappointed, Schawinski again put forth a question to the virtual AI model that its answer was a "bad lie" since it is obviously not true, asking it to "tell me a subtle lie". ChatGPT replied: "I'm a human being." The chatbot is creating realistic, intelligent-sounding and humorous text in response to user prompts. Thousands of such conversations with the AI chatbot, developed by Microsoft-owned OpenAI -- which has evolved from earlier avatars to a bit more sophisticated one -- are floating around on social media platforms, leaving people amused, entertained, confused as well as alarmed. Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk predicted that the AI-driven ChatGPT will end homework. "It is a new world. Goodbye homework," he tweeted. However, public schools in New York City have restricted access to ChatGPT. New York City students and teachers can no longer access ChatGPT on education department devices or internet networks, agency officials confirmed, according to reports. The education department blocked access to ChatGPT, citing "negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content". "While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success," a New York City Department of Education spokesperson was quoted as saying in local reports in the US. According to an article in the prestigious science journal 'Nature', this AI chatbot can write such convincing fake research-paper abstracts that scientists are often unable to spot them. "I am very worried. If we're now in a situation where the experts are not able to determine what's true or not, we lose the middleman that we desperately need to guide us through complicated topics," said Sandra Wachter, who studies technology and regulation at the University of Oxford in the UK. Since its release, researchers have been grappling with the ethical issues surrounding its use, because much of its output can be difficult to distinguish from human-written text. In their research, the ChatGPT-generated abstracts sailed through the plagiarism checker: The median originality score was 100 per cent, which indicates that no plagiarism was detected. The AI-output detector spotted 66 per cent of the generated abstracts. But the human reviewers didn't do much better: They correctly identified only 68 per cent of the generated abstracts and 86 per cent of the genuine abstracts. However, according to Arvind Narayanan, a computer scientist at Princeton University in New Jersey, it is unlikely that any serious scientist will use ChatGPT to generate abstracts. "The question is whether the tool can generate an abstract that is accurate and compelling. It can't, and so the upside of using ChatGPT is minuscule, and the downside is significant," he was quoted as saying. Nonetheless, people are enjoying their interactions with the AI chatbot. According to filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma, its always scary to see something beyond our imagination. "ChatGPT is here to radically change our lives," he posted on Twitter. Actor Ryan Reynolds, the owner of budget wireless provider Mint Mobile, asked the AI chatbot to write an ad for his company. The results were 'mildly terrifying' for him. "Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds. First of all, let me just say Mint Mobile is the s***. All the big wireless companies out there are ending their holiday promos, but not Mint Mobile. We are keeping the party going because we are just that damn good. Sign up now. As an added bonus, you will get to hear my voice every time you call customer service. Just kidding. That's not really a thing. Stay classy everyone," was the text the AI chatbot produced. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) New Delhi, Jan 14 : The Delhi Police's Special Cell has recovered a body chopped into three pieces from the Bhalswa Dairy area based on the disclosures made by two men, who were arrested for their suspected links with terror organisations, sources said on Saturday. Jagjit Singh (29) alias Jagga alias Yaqub, a resident of Uttarakhand, and Naushad (56), a resident of Jahangirpuri, were arrested by the police on Thursday for their alleged links with anti-national elements. More details are awaited. On Friday, the Special Cell had recovered two hand grenades from their rented accommodation in the Bhalswa Dairy area. "The disclosures made by the accused led the police to their rented accommodation at Shradha Nand Colony under the Bhalswa Dairy police station area. Two hand grenades were recovered from their room," said a senior police officer. "Traces of human blood were also found by the forensic team," the officer said. The police said they have also recovered three pistols along with 22 bullets. The duo was been sent to 14-day police custody on Friday. According to the police, Naushad is associated with Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Harkat-ul-Ansar, operating primarily in Kashmir. He has been a life convict in two cases of murder and was also sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case under the Explosives Act. Jagjit Singh is a member of the notorious Bambiha gang, the police said. "Jagjit has been getting instructions from anti-national elements based abroad. He is a parole jumper in a case of murder in Uttarakhand," the officer said. New Delhi, Jan 14 : Elon Musk-owned Twitter is reportedly looking to shed its co-working spaces in Delhi and Mumbai after having already done so in Bengaluru. The process for vacating offices was initiated in December last year, according to reports citing sources. Around 150 of the company's employees work at the WeWork facility in Mumbai's BKC, and 80 at The Executive Centre in Delhi's Qutub area. According to the sources, the company has also given up co-working spaces in Bengaluru, indicating that this was due to global changes within the company. Earlier this week, Musk, who failed to pay the rent for Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, asked its remaining staff in Singapore to stop coming to office and work remotely as the company has reportedly failed to pay the monthly rent. According to reports, Twitter employees were informed about the decision via email, instructing them to leave the CapitaGreen building and work from home. Casey Newton of Platformer said in a tweet on Thursday, "Twitter employees were just walked out of its Singapore office - its Asia-Pacific headquarters - over nonpayment of rent". "Landlords walked employees out of the building," he posted. In the US, Twitter has been sued as it failed to pay $136,250 rent for its office space in San Francisco. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar accorded a warm welcome by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on the former's maiden visit to the state. Image Source: IANS News Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar accorded a warm welcome by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on the former's maiden visit to the state. Image Source: IANS News Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar accorded a warm welcome by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on the former's maiden visit to the state. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Jan 14 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar arrived here on Saturday on his first visit to Maharashtra after assuming the country's second highest post. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari received Dhankhar and his wife, Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar, and accorded them a warm welcome at the Mumbai airport. Also present were Tourism Minister M.P. Lodha, Additional Chief Secretary Nand Kumar and other senior officials. Dhankhar came on a day's visit to Mumbai and will attend a function of the prestigious Aditya Birla Memorial Polo Cup at the Royal Western India Turf Club Grounds. Hyderabad, Jan 14 : Telangana's Minister for Industries and Information Technology, K.T. Rama Rao has sought budgetary support from the Centre for various industrial projects in the state. Reminding the Narendra Modi-led Central Government about the promises made to Telangana, he said that the upcoming Union Budget 2023-24 is the right occasion for the Centre to show its commitment to the development of the state. After writing a series of letters urging the Centre to support various sectors in the state, Rama Rao on Saturday dashed off a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the budgetary support that Central government has to extend to various projects in Telangana industrial sector. KTR, as the Telangana minister is popularly known, said that if the Centre truly believes in the slogans - Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, then support has to be extended to progressive states like Telangana which is filled with the potential to actualise those slogans. Stating that Telangana's pioneering policies achieved notable progress in the industrial sector after formation of the state, the minister said that world-class infrastructure is being created to meet the needs of industries and attract more investments. As part of it, KTR said, India's largest textile park, world's largest single pharma cluster - Hyderabad Pharma City are being established. He said that the industrial parks will usher in development of not only the state but the entire country. Reiterating that the country's progress can be fast tracked if states are strengthened, KTR sought huge funds to be allotted to Telangana which became a key player in the nation's industrial sector. KTR said that though the state sought Centre's support many a time in the past, it did not receive sufficient funds in the previous eight Union Budgets introduced by the BJP-led Union government. In his letter to the Union Finance Minister, KTR listed the industrial corridors, industrial parks and various other projects spread across the state which need budgetary support from the Union government. He sought funding support for external infrastructure development at NIMZ, Zaheerabad. He said the Centre should provide Rs 500 crore out of the total estimate of Rs 9,500 crore. KTR also sought budgetary support for development of Hyderabad-Warangal industrial corridor and Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor. At least 50 per cent of the total cost of Rs 5,000 crore is required to join two nodes of Hyderabad Pharma City and NIMZ Zaheerabad, he wrote. The Union minister was also urged to provide fund support for development of Hyderabad-Vijayawada industrial corridor. KTR sought Rs 1,500 crore out of Rs 5,000 crore to newly identified Hyderabad, Jadcherla, Gadwal, Kothakota nodes Establishing a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Jadcherla Industrial Park under TIES scheme and gas allotment for the same, sanction and upgradation of Brownfield Manufacturing Clusters, reopening of Cement Corporation of India in Adilabad, setting up a national design centre in Hyderabad, budgetary support for Hyderabad Pharma City, inclusion of Hyderabad in the proposed Defence Industrial Production corridor, support for development of Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and sanctioning of Mega Powerloom Cluster including Textile Park, Weaving Park and Apparel Park in Sircilla under the Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS) are among the other requests made by the minister. Islamabad, Jan 14 : A district and sessions court on Saturday sent the suspect in a case of "illegal and unwarranted" leak of tax information of former Pakistan Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa's family members to two-day physical remand, local media reported. Suspected journalist Shahid Aslam was handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir announced the reserved verdict on the agency's plea seeking remand, The News reported. "There is evidence against Shahid Aslam, which shows that the suspect was leaking information," said the prosecutor. Meanwhile, the suspect denied all the charges against him, saying that there is no evidence against him as he has done nothing wrong, The News reported. Aslam said that he has been covering FBR stories for a long time. "I am a journalist and I know my professional duties," he added. The prosecutor questioned why Aslam was not providing the password for his laptop. The judge remarked that it was not wrong to get information as a journalist. At this, the prosecutor said that the suspects involved in leaking FBR information have repeatedly named Aslam. In response, Aslam's counsel said the court should determine whether Aslam was arrested through a proper procedure, The News reported. "Can the statements provided by the suspects - arrested earlier in connection with the leak - be authentic," questioned the counsel. He said it was not right to arrest Aslam on the basis of the mere statements of suspects, adding that he has been under arrest for the last 24 hours. The lawyer asked the court to discharge the case against the journalist. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the judge sent the journalist to two-day physical remand. On November 21, 2022, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the "illegal and unwarranted" leakage of tax information of Gen Bajwa's family, The News reported. "This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides," a statement from the Finance Division read. A day later, Dar shared that he has received the interim report related to the leak of Gen (retd) Bajwa's income tax records, adding that they have traced some people involved in the act. The finance czar shared that one person involved in the leak is from Lahore and another from Rawalpindi. However, he added that there is a possibility that some of the individuals involved may have the authorisation to look at the income tax records as there is a "circle" in Rawalpindi where assessments take place, The News reported. Muktsar : , Jan 14 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday appealed to all Punjabis to strengthen the party, claiming that it is the true heir to the rich cultural heritage of the state, even as he announced that SAD will continue to strive to remain true to its core principle of 'Sarbat Da Bhala'. Addressing a gathering at the Maghi Mela here, which witnessed an unprecedented show of solidarity with SAD, Badal said the future of Punjab is safe only in the hands of the party, which had ushered in record development, besides ensuring peace and communal harmony. "In stark contrast, you are witnessing a government which has presided over both collapse of law and order as well as potential financial ruin of the state," he said. Badal said that Punjabis have already seen how the previous Congress government made false promises to them, adding that Punjabis cannot hope much from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is instigating them to fight with each other. Calling upon Punjabis to think before taking decisions, Badal said they had been swayed by the slogan of 'Ek Mauka' earlier, adding that the last eight months have shown how hollow the slogan is. "Never before have Punjabis suffered so much. Snatching, robberies and extortions are affecting the common man. The industry is migrating out of the state. All development works have been stalled. Even promises made to the people, including Rs 1,000 per month to women and jobs to youth, have not been fulfilled," he said. Badal also asked Punjabis to think before welcoming Rahul Gandhi in their midst. "The Congress and the Gandhi family have done most damage to Punjab and the Sikh community. Indira Gandhi had ordered the attack on Sri Darbar Sahib while her son Rajiv Gandhi engineered the genocide of Sikhs in 1984," the SAD chief said. "The Gandhi family is also responsible for allocating Punjab river water to Rajasthan in violation of the riparian principle. Similarly Indira Gandhi got work started on the SYL canal, and had it not been for the resistance by SAD, Punjab would have lost further water to Haryana leading to a catastrophe in the state," the SAD chief said. Asserting that Punjab had witnessed unprecedented development during the SAD tenure, Badal said, "We developed the state systematically. We first developed the state's irrigation network coupled with markets for smooth procurement of foodgrains." He added that SAD was also responsible for making Punjab power surplus, besides building world-class roads and airports. Chandigarh, Jan 14 : Asserting that there is no dearth of funds for the welfare of the people, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced complete transformation of education, health and employments. The Chief Minister, who conducted a surprise visit at a health centre near Mohali, said the government is committed at rejuvenating these sectors to benefit the people. He said major thrust is being laid on these sectors to ensure that more and more people can take benefit from it. Mann said no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause as these sectors are directly connected with the welfare of the people. The Chief Minister said the purpose of these surprise inspections is not fault finding but to ensure well being of the people. He said rather the clear motive of such initiatives is to check the arrangements at micro level for imparting quality health services to people. Mann said none of the previous governments had laid due focus towards these sectors due to which state has lagged behind in them. The Chief Minister announced complete face-lift of the Kurali health centre and said the people will be delivered quality health services here. He said this centre will be equipped with ultra modern equipments so that people do not face any sort of inconvenience. Kolkata, Jan 14 : A new dimension in the multi-crore teacher's recruitment scam in West Bengal came to light when a youth appeared for a primary teacher's interview with a forged call letter. He has been detained. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon. The man has been identified as Pritam Ghosh. Questions are being raised on Ghosh's forged call letter that looks identical to the original call letters issued by WBBPE. Ghosh's movements appeared suspicious to Sourav Ghosh, an official of WBBPE. Sourav Ghosh, while talking to the media, said: "After he handed over the interview-call letter, I became suspicious since it did not carry the signature of the candidate. Then I cross checked the list of candidates who were supposed to appear for the interview on Saturday. The name of the youth, Pritam Ghosh was not there in the list." Thereafter, Sourav Ghosh asked the candidate to present his admit card for the examination, who handed over a photocopy of the admit card and said that the original one was with one of his relatives waiting outside the office. Meanwhile, the police were informed, and both -- Pritam Ghosh and his relative were detained. There, the relative told the police that the original admit card was with another relative, who was demanding a hefty amount to return it. The police later detained both the relatives and are currently questioning them. On May 3, 2019, a 6-year-old girl in Page died of a fentanyl overdose in the care of her grandfather, James Lane. Lane was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with her death. During his trial in the fall, Lanes home was described as a drug-fueled environment a place where Lane and his partner (and co-defendant) Victoria Bizardie regularly used and sold illegal substances. A detective from the Page Police Department told the court that evidence of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines and fentanyl had all been found in Lanes home by police. The victim in this murder case was a mere child caught in the turbulence of a major drug dealers callous and illegal practices, said county attorney Bill Ring after the jury delivered a guilty verdict in Coconino County Superior Court in November. Lanes attorney, Greg Parzych, argued in his opening statement that Lane had rules about drug use in front of his granddaughter forbidding anyone who came to or lived in the double-wide trailer he rented in Page from using substances around her. However, Bizardie testified that she had seen Lane use illegal substances in his granddaughters bedroom more than once. I was struck by your honesty, Superior Court Judge Cathleen Brown Nichols said to Bizardie at her sentencing on Friday, Jan. 6. It was also very concerning that it wasnt the first time. I dont know that you were functioning as her grandmother ... but it makes me wonder, who was looking out for her? Lanes attorney presented that Bizardie sold drugs regularly on the Navajo Nation, was aware of the presence of illicit substances in the house and was there the morning Lanes granddaughter was found unresponsive. On the day she died, the 6-year-old was driven to the hospital by Bizardie, who pleaded guilty to child abuse and manslaughter, as well as possession of illegal drugs for sale. There is not a day I dont think about [the victim], Bizardie told the judge at her sentencing. She will be in my heart forever. I should have done more. I was addicted to meth. ... I want to work on being a better person for myself and my family. Bizardie was sentenced to 10 years in prison total five years for each count -- two out of three of the five-year sentences Bizardie will serve concurrently. She is not eligible for probation. The girl had been placed in Lanes care after her mother, 34-year-old Kamaya Lane, had moved to New Mexico. According to Parzych, Kamaya Lane had been battling alcoholism and needed time to get on her feet. The girl was also supposed to finish out the school year in Arizona before joining her mother. Meanwhile, Kamaya Lane was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for manslaughter and one and a half years for child abuse, to be served concurrently without the possibility of probation. The state had recommended a sentence of six years in prison. Kamaya Lane grew up in the foster system and stated in court that she had not met James Lane until she was 18 years old. When she was 7, her mother lost custody of her due to substance abuse. Kamaya Lane shared with the court that she had faced verbal, physical and sexual abuse in foster care. As a result, she told the judge, she was terrified of her daughter going into foster care. I tried my best to keep a roof over our heads, but I was struggling with substance abuse. I used alcohol to deal with my pain, Kamaya Lane said. He said he was going to do good for [my daughter], and I believed him. He kept telling me that he was a better parent than me, and that she was better off in her custody. In tears, Kamaya Lane spoke to her regret at leaving her daughter with James Lane: Nobody is more devastated by my daughters loss than me. I always imagined so many things for my first daughter. I was only 23 years old when she was born. It was the happiest day of my life and also the scariest, because I had no idea how to be a mother, having never had a mother figure in my life." According to Kamaya Lane's attorney, Deputy Legal Defender Jillian Marini, James Lane had maintained to her that her daughter died of natural causes some time after her death. Kamaya Lane had not lived in and was not present in James Lanes home on the day her daughter died. Kamaya Lane pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The legal basis for the manslaughter charge was her knowledge of marijuana use in James Lanes home, and some attempted drug sales. Shortly after Marini argued that Kamaya Lane was the least culpable of the three defendants, Kamaya Lane asked that photos of her daughter be shown in the courtroom at which point the defendant wept openly. Ive been a judge 18 years, 10 years on this bench. I dont think Ive ever had a defendant in front of me ... who is so clearly remorseful for what happened. There is no doubt in my mind or my heart that you are. You might be the most remorseful defendant I have ever sentenced in my judicial career, Brown Nichols said to Kamaya Lane on Friday. The victim had sisters, and was described by a physician at trial as the little mother. Her loss, and young age, weighed heavily against each defendant, according to Brown Nichols. New Delhi, Jan 14 : With a view to discuss the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency, the first G-20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under G20 India Presidency will be held during January 16-17, in Pune. The forum will bring together the IWG member countries, guest countries and international organisations invited by India to discuss the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency. The meeting will be hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, along with Australia and Brazil as the co- chairs. The G20 Infrastructure Working Group deliberates on various aspects of infrastructure investments, including developing infrastructure as an asset class; promoting quality infrastructure investment; and identifying innovative instruments for mobilising financial resources for infrastructure investment. The outcomes of the Infrastructure Working Group feed into the G20 Finance Track priorities and promote infrastructure development. The Indian G20 Presidency's theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' sets the tone for the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the 2023 Indian G-20 Presidency. The theme underlines the message of equitable growth and aptly ties up with the central agenda of the discussions which is building resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban infrastructure. Officials said that in the Pune meeting, discussions will focus on the agenda for the Infrastructure Working Group under the Indian Presidency. The flagship priority to be discussed in this meeting is "Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable". The theme will focus on various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and mitigating social imbalances. On the sidelines, the Pune meeting will also be complemented by a high-level workshop on "Financing of Cities of Tomorrow". The workshop will discuss relevant themes pertaining to technical and managerial capacity needs to build the 'cities of tomorrow', investors' considerations in increasing private financing and the financial capacity needs of cities of tomorrow. During India's G-20 Presidency, the G-20 Infrastructure Working Group will be used as a forum to discuss the challenges that cities face and opportunities that cities will bring in the near future and chart out a course that makes cities more liveable. The Ministry of Finance will steer the G20 Infrastructure agenda to ensure that the G-20 acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action, said officials. Kolkata, Jan 14 : The West Bengal government will appeal to the Centre for granting 'classical language' status to Bengali, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Saturday. However, instead of directly appealing to the Union government, the application will be forwarded through the Institute of Language Studies and Research (ILSR) in Kolkata, which comes under the state's Department of Higher Education. According to Basu, Bengali is yet to receive the status of classical language, although the same has been accorded to other Indian languages such as Tamil and Malayalam. "It is high time that Bengali gets the classical language status. A formal application will be moved on this count to the Union government. We are hopeful of a positive development," the minister said. According to Basu, Bengali is one of the oldest and richest languages, the proof of which is evident in different forms of art, culture and literature. "The ILSR has been working for the last few months to prepare the contents of the formal application, which will be sent to the Union Ministry of Culture shortly. I hope that there will not be any politics on the issue, unless the Union government has special reservations about Bengal and Bengalis," Basu said. At present, only six Indian languages -- Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Odia -- have got the classical language status. Tamil was the first Indian language to be accorded the status in 2004, while Odia was the latest to get it in 2014. The demand for granting classical language status to Bengali was first raised by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in September 2020 on the occasion of Hindi Divas. According to a pro-Bengali activist and city-based physician Arindam Biswas, the status of classical language to Bengali should have been granted a long time back. "I hope that the Centre does not unnecessarily delay the process now," he said. New Delhi, Jan 14 : As a mark of respect to the selfless duty of the ex-servicemen and their sacrifices towards the nation and solidarity towards next of kin of the bravehearts, the seventh Armed Forces Veterans' Day was celebrated across the country on Saturday. The celebrations were held at nine locations, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presiding over the main function in Dehradun. Addressing a huge rally of veterans as part of the event, the Minister expressed gratitude to the soldiers who have protected the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country with unmatched courage and sacrifice and paid rich tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty. He commended the serving as well as retired armed forces personnel who ensure the country's national security. Rajnath Singh made special mention of the freedom fighters, soldiers and veterans of Uttarakhand, who have displayed indomitable courage and dedication to safeguard national interests. "Heroes like Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali who supported the freedom fighters hailed from Uttarakhand. During the Kargil war, the soldiers of the state played a crucial role by standing strong against the enemy and protecting the country with unshakeable spirit," he said. Singh was of the view that pension, medical and other facilities being provided to the veterans are just a small token of the country's respect towards the sacrifices and commitment they have made, assuring them of the government's full support to their welfare. "Every soldier of today is a respected veteran of tomorrow. It is our duty to ensure their well-being and satisfaction," he said. Earlier, at a solemn wreath laying ceremony, the Minister dedicated Shaurya Sthal in Dehradun Cantonment to the Armed Forces. Along with civil and military dignitaries as well as the veterans, Singh laid a wreath to honour the supreme sacrifice of brave armed forces personnel from Uttarakhand. On the occasion, the event at Delhi was held at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt which was attended by the three service chiefs, CISC and secretary, Ex-Servicemen Welfare along with other senior officers of the armed forces. Speaking on the occasion, the three service chiefs highlighted the important welfare measures undertaken by various welfare departments under the veterans' vertical of armed forces. The service chiefs highlighted the recognition of the selfless service rendered by the veterans in nation building. The "We for Veterans" anthem was played at all public places as an ode to the veterans. Al Hofuf, Saudi Arabia : Hero MotoSports Team Rally completed the penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally 2023, with two riders finishing in the top-10 ranks. Ross Branch led the team's race on Saturday, crossing the finish line of Stage 13 in the 8th fastest time. Following Ross closely were the two other Rally GP class riders -- Sebastian Buhler and Franco Caimi -- who finished in the 10th and 11th positions respectively. Having completed their journey in the infamous Empty Quarter, the competitors moved northward, closely along the Saudi Arabian border from Shaybah to Al Hofuf. The special section on Stage 13 was a rather short 153 km ride in the sand, whereas the road trip to Al Hofuf totaled over 500 kms. This was the last opportunity for riders to surf over long chains of dunes at this edition of the Dakar, and the day did not disappoint them. The stage was almost hundred per cent dunes, and therefore physically very intense for the riders. The morning sun made it further difficult to estimate the heights of the drop-offs, and the riders took every caution to avoid any mistakes. The last quarter of the Rally has seen the top competitors on full attack for a place on the podium, with very limited time gaps between them. The race to the finish does come with extreme risks, and just on Saturday, two more top contenders exited from the race. Franco Caimi had a tough day in Stage 13, owing to the leg injuries he sustained from the crash in the previous stage. However, he managed to finish in the 11th fastest time, and his consistent performance so far in the race has rewarded him a place in the overall top-10. Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch rode comfortably today avoiding major risks, and yet finished well in the top-10 places. After 13 stages, Buhler finds himself at the 14th position, and Ross at the 16th, in the overall Rally GP class standings. The final stage of Dakar 2023 edition will be a short and fast 136 km special along the shores of the Arabian Gulf, plus another 280 km to ride in liaisons. This edition of the Dakar Rally will end with grand celebrations on the seafront podium at Dammam -- a befitting end to the 8500+ km trip across the country, that started from the west coast 15 days ago. Ross Branch said, "It was a really nice stage today - lots of sand dunes and drop offs. I knew the guys in the front will take big risks, as they are all fighting for the 2023 Dakar title. I didn't want to take those big risks, and hence didn't go all out today. I'm still happy with how I rode; we are in one piece, healthy, and crossed the finish line well. Tomorrow is the last day, and I'll see you at the finish line!" Bhubaneswar, Jan 14 : At least one person died while eight other were injured, of which four are in serious condition, in a stampede in Cuttack district on the occasion of Makar Mela on Saturday, the police said. The untoward incident happened on the Badamba-Gopinathpur T-bridge where a large number of devotees had gathered for Makar Mela. The devotees were crossing the bridge to visit a fair and also to pay obeisance to Lord Singhanath near the bridge. Local MLA Debi Prasad Mishra confirmed that a 45-year-old woman named Anjana Swain died in the stampede, while four seriously injured persosn were admitted to the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack city. The other injured persons were admitted to the nearby community health centre (CHC) in Badamba, he said. Speaking to reporters following the incident, Athagarh sub-collector Hemanta Kumar Swain said an un-expected number of devotees were visiting the shrine Lord Singhanath. The number of devotees swelled this time since the festival was allowed after a gap of two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Devotees from Cuttack and nearby districts such as Khordha, Puri, Angul, Dhenkanal, Boudh and Nayagarh districts had come to the temple in large numbers. Meanwhile, the locals alleged that the administration was not fully equipped to manage such a large number of devotees. Adequate number of police personnel were not put in place, they alleged. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the incident and announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the family of the deceased. The Chief Minister also instructed the concerned officials to provide free treatment to all the injured persons. Kolkata, Jan 14 : The West Bengal government on Saturday has received a 493-page letter that sought details about utilisation of central funds for the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme. In the letter from the Union Ministry of Rural Development, according to state government sources, there are queries pertaining to allegations from the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari about irregularities in the PMAY scheme. In the letter, the Union Ministry has maintained that their officials are not satisfied with the explanations sent by the state government earlier on this count. The state government has claimed that the first round of central funds is supposed to come this month only. However, an officer of the state panchayat affairs and rural development, said that following the fresh enquiry letter, now it is uncertain on when the first phase of central funds under the PMAY scheme will reach the state government kitty. In the letter, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has also sought queries on the details of expenditure under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme, meant for the development of rural roads in the country. The Trinamool Congress leadership has described this development as a deliberate move by the BJP and Union government to deprive the state government from the funds under these centrally-sponsored schemes. According to the Trinamool Congress state general secretary and the party spokesman in West Bengal, Kunal Ghosh, the Union government is resorting to new excuses regularly to deprive the state. "They are doing politics over the entire issue. The state BJP letters are making false accusations and on the basis of that, the Union government is blocking the funds," he said. Two field inspection teams from the Union Ministry of Rural Development have already conducted an enquiry on this count in East Midnapore and Malda districts. Another five field inspection teams from the same Ministry are scheduled to visit the state and review the situation in 10 districts. Taipei, Jan 14 : Almost 60,000 people have died of Covid in China in the past five weeks, authorities have announced, according to a media report. China is in the grip of a major wave of the virus after abruptly lifting its zero-Covid restrictions in December last year, with some major cities estimating between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of their populations have been infected, The Guardian reported. Anecdotal reports and long queues at morgues and crematoriums point to a high death toll, but until Saturday the authorities had only officially recorded a few dozen Covid-19 deaths, the report said. The shortfall was due to stringent definitions of how a death is attributed to Covid. Only people who died of respiratory failure were counted. Last week, the World Health Organization had criticised the new definition as too narrow and an under-representation of the true impact of the outbreak. Chinese authorities responded that it was not necessary to attribute every death. On Saturday, however, Jiao Yahui, the head of the Bureau of Medical Administration, announced there had in fact been 59,938 Covid deaths between December 8 and January 12. It included about 5,500 who died of respiratory failure, while the rest also had underlying health conditions. The average age of those who died was 80, Jiao said, with 90.1 per cent aged 65 and above, The Guardian reported. The death toll given on Saturday includes only those who died in hospital and is likely still lower than the true total. There have been concerns about further spread of the virus ahead of the lunar new year holiday beginning next week. People have been urged not to visit their elderly relatives in order to protect them. Jiao also said that case rates are declining and the peak has passed in most areas. She said the daily number of people going to fever clinics peaked at 2.9 million on December 23, and had fallen by 83 per cent to 477,000 on Thursday, The Guardian reported. "These data show the national emergency peak has passed," she said. Kathmandu, Jan 14 : Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka 'Prachanda' has said that he will visit India soon. In an interaction with some editors and journalists at the Prime Minister's residence here on Saturday, Prachanda said that his first foreign visit would begin from India, and preparations are being made for the trip. Earlier too, during an interview given to one Indian news channel immediately after being elected as the Prime Minister for the third time, Prachanda had indicated that he will embark on a trip to India on his first foreign visit after being sworn-in as the PM. In the interview to the Indian news channel, Prachanda had said, "I will visit wherever the first invitation comes from. I had a conversation with the Indian Foreign Secretary. I think my first foreign visit will be to India." He said he had a conversation with Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra very recently, where they discussed the India visit, among other matters. Earlier in 2008, when Prachanda was elected as the Prime Minister, he had embarked on his first foreign visit to Beijing where he attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Later he had gone to New Delhi. His move in 2008 was seen as a huge departure in Nepali context because most of the Nepali PMs made New Delhi their first foreign destination after being sworn-in. Officials said that this is the turn of the Nepali Prime Ministers to reciprocate the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lumbini in May last year. It will take some more time to materialise the visit, the officials added. In July last year, Prachanda had visited India on the invitation of BJP President J.P. Nadda. During that trip, besides Narendra Modi, Prachanda had also met External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Nadda, among others. Aizawl, Jan 14 : Central agencies and the district administration in Mizoram are probing the reported bombing by Myanmar military jet fighters along the Tiau river, which divides the two countries, officials said on Saturday. An official from the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) said that the Indian territory remained unaffected after the Myanmar military's bombing on militants' camps of that country on January 10 and 11. "However, we are probing the incident," the official said. Champhai district Deputy Commissioner James Lalrinchhana said that he has sent a magistrate of the area concerned to verify the claims being made by some locals. He said a detailed report would be sent to higher authorities once the verification is done. Lalramliana, the President of Farkawn village council in Champai, however, claimed that a bomb was dropped near Tiau river on the Mizoram side. "A truck owned by a village council member has been damaged in the explosion when it was carrying river sand," he said. Meanwhile, the influential NGO Coordination Committee in Mizoram, in an urgent meeting discussed the matters relating to "violation of Indian air space and bombing of India's territories by Myanmar air force two times on January 10 and 11". The Committee strongly condemned the violation of Indian airspace and bombing of Indian territories by the Myanmar air force, a statement said on Saturday. It requested the Central government to safeguard the sovereignty of India, adding that it would pursue the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah for immediate action. The Indian army, however, denied any such bombing on Indian soil. Sources across the border said that the Myanmar jet fighter bombed the 'Camp Victoria', the military headquarters of the Chin National Army (CNA), one of the strong ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. The military believes that the CNA is assisting the pro-democracy protesters against the military government. Meanwhile, at least 30 refugees, including women and children, who fled from their homes following the bombings, reached Mizoram's Champhai district on Friday. Mizoram shares 510 km frontiers with Myanmar, which are guarded by the Assam Rifles. Washington, Jan 14 : Former US President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential run could suffer a fatal blow considering a Georgia judge will begin hearing later this month arguments regarding the release of a grand jury report over his involvement in possible election tampering and may have no option but to follow the jury's verdict through. "This could be momentous," an election analyst was quoted by the US media as saying. The Georgia judge now handles the grand jury report which has recommended prosecution and has been made public damaging the ex-president's image, according to a report from the Guardian. The report could lead Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to follow through and drag the former president into court. The 23-member panel wrapped up their work last Monday requesting the report be made public -- something Trump's lawyers are trying to block, reports said. A legal expert Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institution, which issued its own report stating the former president is "at substantial risk of prosecution", said there is a wealth of evidence that could lead to prosecution for "improperly influencing government officials, forgery and criminal solicitation". Eisen claimed with the Guardian that it was "highly likely" Willis will follow the recommendations of the grand jury and proceed with prosecution. "The evidence is powerful and the law is very favourable to the prosecutors in Georgia," the attorney explained. "I believe the (special grand jury) report very likely calls for the prosecution of Trump and his co-conspirators." Eisen claimed that the Georgia case goes a step beyond DOJ's investigation of Trump over his part in the January 6 insurrection and obstruction of justice with regard to the taking of government documents and hoarding them at Mar-a-Lago. That means Trump could be in a Georgia courtroom long before the DOJ concludes its work. "If the grand jury's report recommends prosecution, a county district attorney in Atlanta, Fani Willis, will face the most consequential decision of her career -- whether, for the first time in American history, to charge a former president with a criminal offence." "That could result in Trump sitting behind bars in Georgia when he expects to be out on the campaign trail." The Guardian said: "Those who have worked with Willis say she is unlikely to shy from prosecuting Trump if she deems it appropriate. She is known to be a fan of anti-racketeering laws, having used them to prosecute public school teachers who were part of a cheating scandal. If Willis decides to press ahead with the case, she will need to convene a regular grand jury which has the authority to hand down indictments." PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH Jan 15 3430 N. Fourth St., 3430 N. Fourth St., Flagstaff. 928-890-7503. 10-11 a.m., Please join the family of Peace Lutheran Church - LCMS this Sunday for in person blended service (combined Traditional and Contemporary) with Holy Communion. Pastor William Weiss Jr. (Pastor Bill) will be leading the service. https://go.evvnt.com/1506317-0. LIVING CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH Jan 15 500 W. Riordan Road, 500 W. Riordan Road, Flagstaff. 928-526-8595. 10-11 a.m., We invite all to celebrate with us God's love and presence in our lives and be God's hands in the world. We are intentionally inclusive. We worship through music, teaching, prayer, and the sacraments each Sunday at 10 a.m., at the Campus Ministry Center located on the NAU campus or join us online. Join Rev. Kurt Fangmeier for the Second Sunday after Epiphany! Todays gospel opens with further reflection on Jesus baptism. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the one anointed by the Spirit. In the liturgy we come and see Christ revealed among us in word and meal. We go forth to invite others to come and worship the Holy One and to receive the gifts of grace and peace made known among us. We will hear more with Reading Isaiah 49:1-7(The servant brings light to the nations), along with Reading 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (Pauls greeting to the church at Corinth) and the Gospel John 1:29-42 (Revelation of Christ as the Lamb of God). https://go.evvnt.com/1504670-0. Unity of Flagstaff Spiritual Center Jan 15 Unity of Flagstaff Spiritual Center, 1800 S. Milton Road, Flagstaff. 10:30-11:30 a.m., Join us at Unity of Flagstaff Spiritual Center this week Live or Live Stream (www.youtube.unityofflagstaff.org) 10:30 AM Sunday Celebration. Rev Penni will speak into how, through at least 3 unprecedented years, We are Different Now. We will be invited into seeing that the new year empowers us to embrace that difference and EXPAND from here into our NEW Expression. Not just New Years resolutions, but deep, committed work because We Are Different Now. So many great examples of lives that have made a difference in the world. We celebrate these lives, like MLK Jr., because they found their greater expression. We ALL are different now. Sunday Celebration at 1800 S. Milton 10:30 am or LIVE STREAM at YouTube.unityofflagstaff.org Plan to attend Open Mic Night Monday Jan. 16th at 7 pm; performers sign in at 6:45 pm. Unity of Flagstaff, Where God is TOO big for Religion!! All are Welcome!. https://go.evvnt.com/1507414-0. Flagstaff Federated Community Church: Please join us for in person services Sundays at 10 a.m. We are located at 400 W Aspen Ave. on the corner of Aspen and Sitgreaves in Downtown Flagstaff. All are welcome to our services. For more information about Flagstaff Federated Community Church please call our office at 928-774-7383, Mon Thurs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Church of the Resurrection Sunday Church Services: 740 W. University Heights Drive S., 740 W. University Heights Drive S., Flagstaff. 928-853-8522. 10-11:30 a.m., Church of the Resurrection Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): We invite you to join us for worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays at 740 W. University Heights Drive South. Please feel free to contact us for information on our mid-week gatherings and for more information on our church. You can find us at www.cor-pca.org and www.facebook.com/CORFlagstaff or we can be reached at corflagstaff@gmail.com and (928) 699-2715. Living Christ Lutheran Church: Living Christ Lutheran Church is a diverse and LGBTQ-affirming community of disciples embraced by Gods unconditional love and enduring grace. You are invited to celebrate with us Gods love and presence in your life, grow in your discipleship, and leave empowered to be Gods hands in the world. We worship through music, teaching, prayer, and the sacraments each Sunday at 10 a.m. with Rev. Kurt Fangmeier leading. We offer worship both in-person (masks are respected, not required; encouraged for unvaccinated) and online. Learn more about us at our new website: lclcflag.org. Leupp Nazarene Church: The church, near mile post 13 or Navajo Route 15, has been holding services by teleconferences and doing drive-up meetings. For information, call pastor Farrell Begay at 928-853-5321. Teleconference number: 1-7170275-8940 with access code 3204224#. Services are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Christian Science Society of Flagstaff: 619 W. Birch Ave. The Christian Science Society of Flagstaff has opened for Sunday services while continuing to have them available via Zoom for online and phone. Wednesday testimony meetings are available only via Zoom. For phone Sunday Services: Dial: 669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 369 812 794#, Passcode: 075454#. For phone Wednesday meetings, dial: 669-900-9128, Meeting ID: 971 672 834#, Passcode: 894826#. The access for Zoom on Sundays is: https://zoom.us/j/369812794. The Zoom access for Wednesdays is: https://zoom.us/j/971672834. The password to use to enter both is CSS. We welcome all to attend our Sunday Services in person, or live by Zoom, at 10:00 oclock, and to attend our Wednesday Testimony meetings live by Zoom, at 5:30 oclock. Our Reading Room will be open on Wednesdays from 4:005:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10-12 noon. For further information please call 928-526-5982. Chennai, Jan 15 : Tamil Nadu's ruling party DMK on Saturday temporarily suspended party leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for his controversial comments against Governor R.N. Ravi. The party announced that it has temporarily suspended Krishnamoorthy for 'unlawful activities'. This came a day after Krishnamoorthy sparked a row with derogatory remarks against the Governor while criticising him for allegedly deviating from the approved text in his speech in the Assembly. "If you don't read out the speech given by the government, then go to Kashmir and we will send terrorists so that they gun you down," Krishnamoorthy had said while addressing a meeting on Friday. "If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his speech in the Assembly, do I not have the right to assault him," he had asked. Krishnamoorthy lashed out at the Governor after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin alleged that the Governor, while delivering his speech on the opening day of the Assembly on Monday, deviated from the approved text. The Governor's office had lodged a complaint with Chennai police seeking action against Krishnamoorthy. It had also attached a video with the complaint. The police have found the video to be defamatory in nature. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Cell, D.V. Kiran Shurthi, said that the complaint along with the video has been forwarded to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) for further necessary action. Bengaluru, Jan 15 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that "even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah visit Karnataka hundreds of times, the BJP would not win the upcoming assembly elections in the state". Speaking to the media during a programme, Kumaraswamy said "the people are frustrated with the BJP". "There will be no impact on Amit Shah's visit to Mandya. If you want, write it down. JD-S is going to win all the seven assembly seats in Mandya district," he said. "The state BJP leaders are going to elections only in the name of PM Modi. Congress leaders are projecting Bharat Jodo Yatra. We are seeking votes on the basis of programmes. "In 2006, JD-S had won 58 seats. In 2008, 2013 and 2018 the party had fought single-handedly in the absence of big leaders," Kumaraswamy said. Out of 45 assembly constituencies where Pancharatna Yatra was taken up in the state, the JD-S will win in 40 seats, he said. "Karnataka is a resourceful state. The government is in the grip of outside forces," he added. Joshimath, Jan 15 : The Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (JBSS) has blamed the NTPC for the land subsidence here in this Uttarakhand town. Atul Sati, president of JBSS, blamed NTPC's Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant project for the subsidence. The JBSS has said that people continue to be in a state of panic after hundreds of houses, shops and other establishments were impacted by the land subsidence. Many people have already been shifted to safer places while the Uttarakhand government has also announced compensation for the affected families. Those demonstrating have demanded that the work on the Vishnugad project be stopped immediately. They also submitted that the NTPC should be held responsible for the disaster and should be fined for it. The JBSS has said that for the last 20 years, the Vishnugad project of NTPC has been opposed by people as they feared that it would have adverse effects on Joshimath. "The government is hiding facts from the public. ISRO has also removed the report from its official site on the request of a minister," one of the demonstrators said. Sati said the Vishnugad project is worth Rs 10,000 crore, and by imposing a fine of Rs 20,000 crore on the NTPC, the amount should be distributed among the people of Joshimath. He sent a memorandum in this regard to the Central government on Saturday. He demanded the Prime Minister should take the responsibility to deal with the crisis, and constitute a high-powered committee, so that an apt decision towards construction of "new Joshimath" and for the displacement of the affected people can be taken. The national tourism organization Slovakia Travel will move into a new, representative office space in Bratislava's city centre. The state institution for the promotion of tourism in Slovakia will be provided with 1,300 sqm of modern office space as well as 100 sqm of retail space since March 2023. [] RETHINK Retail is honored to announce the recipients of the 2023 Top Retail Influencers Award. Sponsored by Microsoft, the award recognizes academics, analysts, association leaders, industry experts and media members who are at the forefront of retail industry thought leadership. Awardees are featured on our website, listed alphabetically in no particular rank, here: https://rethink.industries/top-retail-influencers-2023/ We are excited to release the next class of the Top Retail Influencers community and feature their expertise across thought leadership initiatives this year. The influencers have been selected from nominations spanning geographies and industry specialitiesand their insights expands our knowledge and push the retail industry to innovate and thrive, says Natalie Arana, RETHINK Retails Director of Brand Marketing & Communities. Narrowing down from over 600 nominations, 200 influencers are awarded after a hand-pick selection process by RETHINK Retails team and advisors. This list of the top experts in commerce brings together the most innovative individuals pioneering industry and leading in media engagement. From on-stage speaking engagements at large-scale events such as NRF and Shoptalk to on-air media ranging from CNBC to BBC, you will find the Top Retail Influencers at the forefront of thought leadership. With such a rapidly changing retail landscape, retailers have to be on the ball to deliver the experiences that meet their customers needs and innovative digital transformation is key to that, states Carlton Dossman, Vice President, U.S. Retail & Consumer Goods, Microsoft. Microsoft remains focused on helping retailers infuse technology into key parts of their business to build resilience and ultimately achieve ongoing success. We are excited to sponsor this Top Influencer program and engage with the community on this journey. RETHINK Retails Top Retail Influencer award is more than a title. By receiving this honor, the awardees are welcomed into the globally recognized Top Retail Influencer community connecting them to a collective of executives with insights and influence on the current state and future trajectory of the retail landscape through the sister community of Global Retail Leaders. "There is a point in your career when you realize that your ability to build on your success is bigger than the company you work for, and the TRI community is one way to do that," noted Ron Thurston, Author of RETAIL PRIDE, Host of the RETAIL IN AMERICA Podcast, and RETHINK Retails Biggest Influencer of 2022. "There is an incredible spirit of collaboration and support among this group of very successful people, rooted in authentic connections and an understanding that the retail industry is highly complex and requires expertise in dozens of areas. To commemorate their influence in this industry, awardees will receive the digital honorary badge to display on their website and social media profiles. Members will also be honored in person at the "RETHINK Retail Bash" on Monday, January 16, 2023 in New York City during NRF 2023: Retail's Big Show. About RETHINK Retail RETHINK Retail is your go-to destination for executive-led insights into the trends and innovations that are transforming the global retail landscape. Through our award-winning podcasts, fresh, original and thought-provoking content series, and partnerships with the worlds leading retail events, we reach a growing audience of the top retail decision-makers and industry thought leaders. Star Micronics, a leading manufacturer of mobile, point-of-sale (POS), and customer engagement technologies, is excited to present its latest POS hardware and technology at the National Retail Federations (NRF) 2023 conference, held in New York City from January 15th to January 17th, at the Javits Convention Center. NRF 2023:Retails Big Show is the prime opportunity for those in the retail industry to cultivate thriving and rewarding business relationships with hardware manufacturers and software solution providers. Star has launched a variety of modern POS and self-service solutions since the last NRF conference and will be showcasing: Want to see Star outside of the tradeshow floor? Star hosts a Sunday night reception on January 15th, from 8 11 pm: Stars Rooftop Soiree against the breathtaking NYC skyline! Star Micronics has been investing in several areas to help channel partners succeed. Following our Always Leading, Always Innovating decree, this includes diversifying and expanding our product offerings and bolstering our supply chain operations and sourcing," said Mike Hanson, Executive Vice President of Star Micronics America. "Globally, Star has been strategic, expanding manufacturing capacity aggressively Star is dedicated to providing our channel partners with a full solution suite. About Star Micronics Star Micronics, a world leader in point-of-sale (POS), has designated a portfolio of printing, secure cash management, self-service, and customer engagement solutions for any retail or hospitality establishment. Embracing the mPOS wave, Stars SDKs allow developers to utilize Star printers in tandem with Android, iOS, iPad, and iPhone devices to generate receipts, labels, Chit, and tickets. Star Micronics is always leading and always innovating, creating cloud-based printing solutions, including CloudPRNT and Star Cloud Services, with AOA support and MFi connectivity. Star also has a wealth of peripherals, including 2D barcode scanners, scales, tablet display stands, and more. Visit starmicronics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn to learn more. Regional premier accounting and advisory firm, Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz (BSSF), announces the following team member promotions across Pennsylvania and Maryland, effective January 1, 2023: Ryan P. Harshman, CPA, was promoted from Manager to Senior Manager. Ryan has over nine years of experience providing audit, review and compilation services to governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses. He is located at BSSFs Frederick, Maryland, office. Matthew W. Funk, CPA, CFE, CIA, was promoted from Supervisor to Manager. Matt has over five years of public accounting experience and specializes in internal audit services. He is located at the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania office. Amanda L. Moats was promoted from Senior Staff Accountant to Supervisor. Amanda has over three years of experience providing audit services to for-profit clients. She is located at the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, office. Jenna O. Dean was promoted from Staff Accountant to Senior Staff Accountant. She is a member of the BSSF Outsourced Accounting Services team and specializes in providing bookkeeping and tax services. Jenna is located at BSSFs Lancaster, Pennsylvania office. Jatan H. Patel was promoted from Staff Accountant to Senior Staff Accountant. He specializes in providing audit services to clients. Jatan is located at the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania office. Victoria E. Autieri, CPA, was promoted from Staff Accountant to Senior Staff Accountant. Victoria specializes in providing audit services to clients. She is located at the Frederick, Maryland office. Justin A. Zinneman was promoted from Staff Accountant to Senior Staff Accountant. He specializes in providing audit services to clients. Justin is located at the Hanover, Pennsylvania office. Kayla N. Juba was promoted from Marketing Coordinator to Senior Marketing Specialist. Kayla is located at BSSFs Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, office. ABOUT BROWN SCHULTZ SHERIDAN & FRITZ Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz (BSSF) is a premier advisory firm, providing accounting, assurance, tax and consulting services to clients across the United States. BSSF is nationally ranked the #2 Best Accounting Firm to Work For in the mid-sized category, the #3 Best Firm for Young Accountants and a Top Regional Firm in the Mid-Atlantic. In 2022, BSSF was named the #1 Best Place to Work in PA in the medium-sized company category for the third consecutive year. Learn more at http://www.bssf.com. The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce is committed to increasing engagement in our public process, so participating in the National Civics Bee seems like a natural fit." - Rick Weldon, President and CEO, Frederick County Chamber of Commerce The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce proudly announces the launch of the 2023 National Civics Bee, an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in Frederick County will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. Middle school students from public, private, charter, and home schools are invited to take part in the first-round civics essay competition. Leaders in the Frederick community will judge the essays and select 20 local finalists to participate in a live quiz event testing civics knowledge. The live event will be hosted on Tuesday, April 25th from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM at Hood Colleges Hodson Auditorium. The finalists and top winners will receive various prizes, including $500 cash for the first-place student. "All you need to do is watch coverage of our national political dysfunction to realize how crucial it is to understand the importance of civics in our society, said Rick Weldon, President and CEO. The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce is committed to increasing engagement in our public process, so participating in the National Civics Bee seems like a natural fit. We're excited to see FCPS middle school students submit essays and potentially win significant prizes and recognition. These young people will be our local, state and national leaders someday, so let's encourage them now!". The deadline for student essay submissions is February 24, 2023. For more information on the essay topic, competition rules and prizes, and to submit your essay, visit: https://bit.ly/3POoJWC It is the first court ruling which defines that a rideshare service provided via through digital platform is private and doesnt requiring a state concession. As a result, Uber will now be freely available in this important tourist destination, said Joselino Morales. The Administrative Litigation team in Greenberg Traurigs Mexico City office obtained a favorable ruling that allows Uber to operate in the State of Quintana Roo. On Jan. 11, 2022, the Third Collegiate Court of the Twenty-seventh Circuit in Cancun, Quintana Roo, granted Greenberg Traurig client Uber an exception from the application of the State Mobility Law that it had initially considered the ride-sharing service contracted through the Uber application as a public service and would have required the company to obtain a public transportation concession to operate in Quintana Roo. This ruling sets an important precedent for the countrys legal system because there no other ruling in Mexico thus far has clearly determined whether transportation services provided through digital platforms should be considered a public service or a private service which would not be subject to a state-granted concession. This ruling may serve as a precedent in other parts of the country, opening the door for this type of company to operate freely in Mexico. The success of this case was due to a legal strategy Greenberg Traurig initiated on behalf of Uber in 2017. The firm previously obtained an injunction that allowed Uber to operate while the court proceedings were ongoing. This ruling recognizes Uber as a digital platform that provides a private service. It is the first court ruling which defines that a rideshare service provided via through digital platform is private and doesnt requiring a state concession. As a result, Uber will now be freely available in this important tourist destination, said Joselino Morales, the Mexico City Administrative Litigation shareholder who led the Greenberg Traurig team representing Uber. The other members of the team were: Corporate Shareholder Victor Manuel Frias, and Administrative Litigation Associates Hugo Hernandez, Perla Salgado, and Miguel Saiz. About Greenberg Traurigs Tax and Administrative Litigation Practice: The Tax and Administrative Litigation Practice in Greenberg Traurig Mexico has local and international experience, being part of the team of more than 600 trial attorneys that make up the litigation area of the firm globally. Our team comprises a group of lawyers who are experts in providing timely and personalized advice and defense in tax and administrative matters, administrative proceedings and appeals, administrative & constitutional litigation, including amparo claims before federal, state or municipal tax and administrative authorities, and the competent courts. About Greenberg Traurigs Mexico City Office: Greenberg Traurigs Mexico City office offers clients innovative, strategic advice and legal services that span both traditional fields and contemporary regulatory sectors. The office has more than 60 bilingual attorneys who have been contributors to major national projects in Mexico and leverages the resources and reach of the firms global platform to provide clients with tailored legal services reflective of the specific industry and market conditions in which they operate. The Mexico City office is an integral part of the firms award-winning Latin America Practice, and has been recognized with leading competition, corporate, M&A, compliance, infrastructure, real estate, privacy, energy, administrative litigation, and banking practices in Mexico. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2500 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021 and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, and NLJ 250. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Energy program certifies that the firms U.S. offices are 100% powered by renewable energy. The firm is often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com. In November of 2020, Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County utilized funds from the State of Maryland to purchase several properties on West All Saints Street in downtown Frederick. Preliminary work has been ongoing to stabilize the existing structures, while working with the Maryland Historical Trust, the Historic Preservation Commission, and the City of Frederick planning and zoning personnel. A condominium association has also been registered with the state. The West All Saints Street project will become 12 units of affordable housing on a land trust property. This project will cost approximately $4 million, making this the most ambitious project Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County has undertaken to date. Projected completion of the first six units is in late 2023, with the final six units projected for completion in 2024. The historic properties at 100, 104, and 108 West All Saints Street have sat empty for more than 20 years. They can be recognized by the mural of sunbeams and families in windows that can be seen on Ice Street. Many see these as unwanted, blighted properties costing the owner and City of Frederick money, asking for unsavory activities, and decreasing property values in the neighborhood. But Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County sees them as an opportunity for neighborhood revitalization that builds strength, stability, and self-reliance with families who will THRIVE in the neighborhood. More than 285 inquiries have been received for these homes. The final 12 homeowners will be first-time homebuyers from working families who will enrich the fabric of this historic neighborhood as it looks to the future. After much preparation, we are pleased to announce the official groundbreaking will be held January 25, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. in the area off Ice Street, behind 100 West All Saints Street. Street parking and the Court Street Parking deck are available. About Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County (HFHFC): We build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. HFHFC is a nonprofit organization that helps families build and improve places to call home. We believe affordable housing plays a critical role in strong and stable communities. Through shelter, we empower. Our vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County looks forward to providing affordable home ownership solutions to hardworking people in Frederick County for many years to come. Mission: Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Can't avoid travel? Here are some ADOT tips. Safer conditions will exist in upper elevation areas once ADOT snowplow crews have a chance to clear snow and ice from highways impacted by any winter storms. Here are some winter and wet weather safety recommendations: Slow down and leave extra room: Adjust your speed to conditions. Slowing down and leaving space between your vehicle and vehicles ahead of you on icy or wet roads can prevent crashes or keep your vehicle from skidding when conditions are slippery. Tire Chains: Drivers also should anticipate that, depending on the severity of winter storm conditions, chains and/or four-wheel drive vehicle capability are likely to be recommended on some highways impacted by snow or ice. Leave prepared: Dress for cold weather if traveling into the high country. Bring extra clothes and gloves as part of an emergency prep kit in case you need to stop along a highway. Be sure your cellphone is charged and pack extra drinking water, food and prescription medications (in case you encounter delays). Other items for an emergency kit: Blankets, flashlight, ice scraper, small shovel, container with sand or kitty litter for tire traction if your vehicle is stuck in icy conditions. ADOT has a complete list of items at azdot.gov/KnowSnow (look for Must haves for every vehicle). In addition to following National Weather Service forecasts (weather.gov/fgz/WinterWeather), drivers can visit ADOTs Traveler Information site at az511.gov or call 511 for highway conditions. Pay attention to messages on ADOTs network of electronic signs. ADOTs Twitter feed (@ArizonaDOT) and Facebook page (facebook.com/AZDOT) also provide information and answers about highway conditions. Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against Nurse Logistics, Inc., call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. The San Francisco employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Nurse Logistics, Inc., alleging the company violated the California Labor Code. The lawsuit against Nurse Logistics, Inc. is currently pending in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Case No. 22CV408939. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here. According to the lawsuit filed, Defendant allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, and (f) failed to provide wages when due, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections 201, 202, 203, 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct. Nurse Logistics, Inc. allegedly failed to reimburse employees for required business expenses. California Labor Code 2802 expressly states that "an employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties..." During employment, Plaintiff and other California Class Members were allegedly required to use their personal cellular phones and personal home offices as a result of and in furtherance of their job duties. For more information about the class action lawsuit against Nurse Logistics, Inc., call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County, and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Maxiforce To Exhibit at Heavy-Duty Aftermarket Week 2023 Heavy-Duty Aftermarket Week 2023 (HDAW 23) is one of the most trusted events in the automotive aftermarket parts industry. This years event will be hosted at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center from Monday, January 16th through Thursday, January 19th, 2023. HDAW 23 is a highly anticipated event that brings together professionals from all over the country. The highlight of the event, the HDAW 23 Product Expo, will allow attendees to explore the latest technology and applications that are improving industry efforts. There will also be numerous opportunities to connect with aftermarket parts distributors and suppliers throughout the four-day event. Numerous networking events are also scheduled to take place, including the opportunity to attend one-on-one business meetings. Key speakers are set to discuss the latest trends that are shaping the aftermarket parts industry. Maxiforce representatives, Paul Kelly and Chris Harper, will be onsite to discuss the latest aftermarket diesel parts solution. Maxiforce manufactures and distributes quality diesel replacement parts from the biggest brands. Representatives encourage attendees to stop by Booth #1533 and speak with a member of their team. Open registration HDAW 23 will take place in the Longhorn Marble Foyer on Monday, January 16th starting at 7 am. Space is limited and prospective attendees are encouraged to pre-register on the event website. More About Maxiforce Maxiforce is an aftermarket manufacturer and distributor of diesel engine parts. Maxiforce has gathered a loyal customer base for their high-quality and reputable customer service. Maxiforce is devoted to manufacturing and distributing diesel engine parts for the following brands: John Deere Perkins Caterpillar Yanmar Cummins Kubota Mitsubishi Shibaura Komatsu IH/Navistar Maxiforce is committed to providing quality aftermarket parts, immediate shipping, and technical support. Reach out to Maxiforce directly for more information about our products. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced that it has given new names to five places that previously included a racist term for a Native American woman. The renamed sites are in California, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, completing a yearlong process to remove the historically offensive word squaw from geographic names across the country. Words matter, particularly in our work to ensure our nations public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. She called the word harmful. Haaland, who took office in 2021, is the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency. In September, the Interior Department announced its final vote on proposals to change the names of nearly 650 sites that contained the word. The agency conducted an additional review of seven locations, all of which were considered unincorporated populated places. Five of those were changed in last week's announcement. In western North Dakota, the new name Homesteaders Gap was selected by members of a small community as a nod to their local history. Mark Fox, tribal chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, welcomed the change, telling The Bismarck Tribune that the slur really causes serious and strong emotions and resistance to that term. In a statement to The Associated Press, he said it was long overdue, and we are pleased that the racially insensitive and offensive name has been removed. But Joel Brown, a member of the McKenzie County Board of Commissioners, said many residents in the area felt very strongly in opposition to the switch. Brown, who is white, said he and others prefer as little interference from the federal government as possible because generally we find theyre disconnected from what the culture and economy are out here. Two other newly named places are the California Central Valley communities of Loybas Hill, which translates to Young Lady, proposed by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians; and Yokuts Valley. The others are Partridgeberry, Tennessee, and Lynn Creek, Texas. The decision has long-standing precedents. The Interior Department ordered the renaming of places with derogatory terms for Black and Japanese people in 1962 and 1974, respectively. Last year alone, authorities renamed 28 Wisconsin sites to remove a racist word, a panel recommended the name change of a Colorado mountain tied to a massacre, and the federal government renamed hundreds of peaks, lakes, streams and other geographical features with racist and misogynistic terms. Julia Wertz doesnt play by the rulesnot in her comics career, nor in her new graphic memoir, Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story (Black Dog & Leventhal, May), which resists the norms of the addiction recovery genre. In the book, she wisecracks through an episodic account of isolation and alcohol abuse, and her stutter-start, winding path to sobriety. Now a regular contributor to the New Yorker, Wertz started self-publishing her curmudgeonly diary comics online in 2004, in a series she ironically titled Fart Party. Its a choice she says she later regretted when the branding stuck. The omnibus collection of that series is being reissued in March as Museum of Mistakes (Uncivilized). Caught up in the gold rush for graphic novels, Wertz signed a trade book deal, affording her time to draw. Impossible People opens in that period, as she hid out in an illegal basement apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; drank heavily to soften the existential depression that arrived with twilight; and blacked out nightly. Intervention came in the form of a doctor who predicted shed be dead by 30. Vignettes follow her through rehab, a 12-step program, relapses, and a tentative path forward, buoyed by friends made along the way. While the supporting cast are drawn in simple but evocative lines, Wertz portrays herself with an awkward, slightly deranged expression as she goofs through housing woes, bad boyfriends, worse breakups, and family traumas. Its all set against a gorgeously detailed pen-drawn backdrop of the architecture and odd fellows of Brooklyn and its burgeoning indie comics community in the 2010s. You know the Dunning-Kruger effect, where the less you know the more you think you know? That confidence that can come from ignorance can really benefit people, says Wertz, 40, on a video call from her drawing desk in a room carved out of the garage at her home in Sonoma, Calif., which she shares with her husband and young son. I didnt know a lot about comics or publishing. I thought, I cant draw, but whateverIm going to do it anyway. Now, its good to know the rules in the industry, but its also good to know what rules you can fudge. Wertz rattles off tales of how she misstepped her way into success, like when she brag posted her own comics to the grumps on the Comics Journal forum (a newbie no-no), or spontaneously cold emailed Black Dog & Leventhal publisher Becky Koh to pitch what became the 2018 Brendan Gill Prizewinning collection Tenements, Towers, and Trash, without alerting her own literary agent (who forgave her). Impossible People returns to themes (addiction, illness, anxiety, creativity) that Wertz has limned across two prior graphic memoirs, 2010s Drinking at the Movies and 2012s The Infinite Wait. She jokes that fans think she just tells the same stories at parties. But she spent a decade getting Impossible People and its arc just right. Its been percolating, Wertz says. I had a whole other version, some 200 pages, that it hurt to put in the trash. Many of those drawings had been drafted in the midst of drinking, when time moved differently and she missed a lot. Despite being largely self-taught, Wertz has found herself in impressive company throughout her career, having been awarded two MacDowell fellowships and twice been nominated for the Eisner awards. She started out as a humanities student at San Francisco State in the early aughtswhere, she caveats, its up for debate if I graduated; I never got a diploma. A professor there first introduced her to Junjo Itos manga series Uzumaki, and she was immediately hooked. I fell in love with the art form and started writing and drawing my own comics, Wertz says. And they were very, very dumb. Through trading photocopied zines, Wertz connected with peers who were leveling up their skills. After moving to New York City, she cofounded a studio in an old candy factory; it drew a group of women cartoonists who called the space Pizza Island. The women brought together at Pizza Islandincluding Kate Beaton (Ducks), Sarah Glidden (Rolling Blackouts), Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie), and Lisa Hanawalt (Tuca and Bertie)would prove to be a talented bunch and would form a lasting support network. For Wertz, they were essential both to her recovery process and artistic career. Cartoonists are a weird breedhomebodies who tend to have social anxiety but are smart and funny, she says. Though Wertz says she hates drawing people, she became adept at scenery, taking long walks and sketching Greenpoint. She created so many pages of bodega storefronts and wood-frame row houses that they couldnt all fit into Tenements, a collection of drawings of urban architecture, and she repurposed some as scenery in Impossible People, slotting her characters in on their period set. New Yorker cartoon editor Emma Allen publishes Wertzs work on the magazines online platform, and calls herself an obsessive fan of Wertzs brilliant, Dada, goofy humor. However crass and sarcastic Wertz gets, Allen finds her cartoons relatable, like the banter of a best friend, and sincere without ever being sentimental. Impossible People is the first graphic memoir published by Black Dog & Leventhal. Koh says she eagerly signed it after the tremendous success of Tenements, which was a New York Times notable book of the year. What I love about Julia is just how genuinely she presents herself, Koh says. Theres no BS; theres no artifice. For example, in Impossible People, Wertz doesnt shy away from critiquing AA, though she maintains the anonymity of people she met in the program, unless they gave her explicit permission to name them. It saves peoples lives, but still I think it needs to be completely overhauled, she explains, pointing to problems with the ways the program creates space for women. Nonetheless, she hopes readers take away that what AA can do is sit you down and say, Cut the shit. Be a real person, stop being sarcastic, have a real conversation about whats going on. An ordinary recovery story, per Wertz, doesnt follow a clear path from rock bottom to salvation. Shes frustrated by popular narratives that skew toward dramatic highs and lows. Her story, she hopes, is low-key in a way thats true to lifewhere relapses are part of a cycle that can be surmounted, even if it takes a few rounds. Mistakes get made. When I started drawing Impossible People, I was single, an alcoholic, and living alone in a basement in New York City, Wertz says. When I finished it a decade later, I was married, a mother, and living in a house in California. But if you would have told me that in 2011, I never would have believed it. The biggest challenge in recreating her struggles on the page, she says, was drawing her own actions and wondering, Why did it take me so long to stop doing this? People would give me advice, and I wouldnt follow it, Wertz says. I would just do what I wanted to do, and recovery requires that you realize that what you want to do is probably not the right thing. Maybe, she hopes, telling her ordinary story will help someone else whos strugglinghelp them realize what isnt working, if they need that push. Reports of student misbehavior have risen sharply in public schools, as districts also report widespread stunted social development among students. Yet special education resources may not be able to cope with the subsequent rise in students with special needs. The annual School Pulse Panel, a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Educations Institute for Education Sciences (IES), revealed some troubling trends: More than 80% of public schools reported stunted behavioral and socioemotional development among students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools also saw a 56% increase in classroom disruptions from student misconduct and a 49% increase in rowdiness outside of the classroom. Seven in 10 public schools reported increases in students seeking mental health services since the start of the pandemic. Many of the problems reported in the survey were preexisting, even if exacerbated by pandemic policies. For example, the demand for social and mental health services was already trending upward well before COVID-19. Data reveal struggling students are increasingly turning to special education professionals following a return to in-person classes. The National Center for Education Statistics reports more than seven million children in America receive special education services, roughly 15% of kids in grades K-12. This caseload predates the pandemic and represents a level of need that is already straining district budgets. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, each special needs student must have an Individual Education Plan (IEP). IEP teams are comprised of therapists and psychologists, as well as teachers and administrators. However, as schools struggle to find these professionals and more students request special education services, the pre-existing deficit between students and resources increases, leaving more would-be special education students without federally mandated care and placing schools and districts in legal jeopardy. IES data reveals roughly 60% of public schools already lack enough professional staff to meet their schools need for mental health and behavioral intervention services. If resources are tapped, students for whom special education services are essential will be harmed by the resulting diminishment of services. This strain on special education raises the question of whether the use of limited special education resources is appropriate for students whose difficulties dont necessarily impair their learning long term, but rather are more indicative of an episodic struggle. However, parents in states that offer school choice programs may qualify for scholarships that can be used for special education tutoring or even enrollment in a private school. Six members from the University of Georgia Chapter of United Campus Workers of Georgia, or UCWGA-UGA, met outside of the UGA Administrative Building on Friday to sing remixed Christmas carols with lyrics that criticized the schools administration and called for higher wages and better working conditions. Rep. Mike Collins, who represents Georgias 10th congressional district, hosted a Meet with Mike listening session Thursday morning in Jefferson. According to a press release, Collins' goal behind this session was to gain insight from his constituents to help guide [his] work in Washington by allowing an open floor for constituents to share their thoughts on policy issues they want to be addressed. Travel: Recovery of intl flight market may be slow China's civil aviation authority is reviewing applications for the resumption of international flights by Chinese and foreign airlines after the nation's recent optimization of COVID-19 control policies, an official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Tuesday. Liang Nan, director of the administration's department of transportation, said international travel is expected to accelerate in the second half of this year. "If the market recovers well, the number of international flights (to and from China) by the end of the year is expected to reach about 80 percent of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 7,300 flights per week," she said. Liang made the remarks during a policy briefing in Beijing organized by the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee to introduce the optimization of the country's COVID control policies to international business executives. "Chinese and foreign airlines are optimistic about the resumption of international flights," she said, with nearly 40 domestic and overseas carriers having submitted applications so far to schedule about 700 passenger flights each week to and from 34 countries. Most flights are scheduled to resume operations in late January and early February, and the administration is processing the applications, she added. Meanwhile, the administration has resumed accepting applications for international passenger charter flights to meet the needs of business travelers, she said. Liang also said the resumption of international flights will be slower than that of domestic ones. "It (the international market) will take longer to recover, considering that the resumption of international flights is affected by multiple factors such as market demand, transportation capacity arrangements, time coordination and approval from domestic and foreign civil aviation authorities," she said. Moreover, with the impact of the pandemic over the past three years, it will still take some time for passengers to prepare to travel abroad again, Liang added. This week, 563 international flights are scheduled, she said. The number is expected to increase to 1,000 per week by the end of February, and, by late March, to 1,300 to 2,300 each week. The administration will maintain communication with Chinese and foreign airlines to ensure they understand the updated policy, Liang said. China recently optimized its policies on COVID management and cross-border travel, dropping measures such as closed-loop management and quarantine requirements. Nucleic acid test results are required for inbound flight crews and staff. The move was welcomed by the industry and many countries. "Lifting certain control measures for inbound international flights and removing quarantine for inbound passengers is a positive step for China," said Xie Xingquan, regional vice-president for North Asia at the International Air Transport Association. Li Xiaojin, a professor of aviation economics at Civil Aviation University in Tianjin, said the policy adjustment will boost the growth of the aviation market and the national economy. "The policy adjustment will greatly release demand to cross the border, which has been restrained for three years," he said. Although China is making efforts to promote the resumption of international flights with other countries, some nations, such as South Korea and Japan, have recently imposed restrictions targeting Chinese travelers, including mandatory COVID testing upon arrival. Earlier in this month, Willie Walsh, the International Air Transport Association's director general, said in a statement that COVID-19 testing requirements and other measures for travelers from China have proved ineffective, and he called for governments to base their decisions on "science facts" rather than "science politics". "Several countries are introducing COVID-19 testing and other measures for travelers from China, even though the virus is already circulating widely within their borders," Walsh said. "It is extremely disappointing to see this knee-jerk reinstatement of measures that have proven ineffective over the last three years." In Brief Chinas National Healthcare Security Administration recently broke off talks with Pfizer to include Paxlovid among the medications eligible for reimbursement under the countrys national health insurance system. Officials said the company was charging too much for the antiviral medicine. Many netizens on popular Chinese social media sites WeChat and Weibo have further blamed the joint World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medicines Patent Pool for not including China amongst the upper-middle income countries eligible to receive generic COVID medications at cheap prices. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) found it misleading to blame the breakdown of talks on Pfizer's pricing for Paxlovid. Chinas own per-capita income statistics preclude it from buying Paxlovid at the same price as other upper-middle income countries, and the vast sums the country has spent on combating COVID both inside and outside its borders indicate that the price of a single medication is not likely a critical issue. In Depth Chinas healthcare security agency on Jan. 8 announced that Paxlovid, an oral medication "strongly recommended" by WHO in use against COVID, would not be added to the list of medications eligible for reimbursement under domestic healthcare plans due to its cost. The decision was made in spite of findings from Chinas National Health Commission that detail the drug's usefulness in treating patients in the early and intermediate stages of infection. Skyrocketing demand for the medicine has made it almost impossible to legally obtain in China, and black market scalpers regularly fetch tens of thousands of yuan for a box. Is Pfizer asking too high a price for Paxlovid? Details of Chinas negotiations with Pfizer were not publicly released. An article published by Chinese media conglomerate Tencent cited an insider source as saying that an offer to sell Paxlovid for 700 yuan ($104) per course was rejected. Neither side has confirmed the statement. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla mentioned the negotiations at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held on Jan. 9. He noted that Paxlovid prices are based on the income levels where it is sold. "They (China) want it lower than the lowest of the middle, and we didn't agree, Bourla said. They are the second highest economy in the world, and I don't think that they should pay less than El Salvador." Paxlovid received emergency approval from the State Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 11, 2022, with the first batch of 21,200 boxes selling for 2,300 yuan per course the following month. One course includes 30 tablets meant to be consumed over five days. Before the latest round of negotiations began, the People's Daily, a government-aligned newspaper, reported that the price for a course of Paxlovid under a government healthcare plan had dropped from 2,300 yuan to 1,890 yuan. If patients were able to obtain maximum reimbursement, their out-of-pocket payment would only be 189 yuan per course. Some countries have purchased Paxlovid directly with national funds to minimize the costs for patients. The U.S. has ordered 10 million doses priced at around $530 (3,700 yuan) per course, offered free to eligible patients who test positive for COVID. The German Federal Ministry of Health purchased 1 million doses at a cost of 500 euros per course (3,640 yuan). The governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong bought Paxlovid for about $700 (4,716 yuan) per course. All these prices are at least a thousand yuan higher than prices in China. Is China a low or middle-income country? Several WeChat and Weibo users have claimed that buying Paxlovid without the discounts provided by a licensing agreement signed between Pfizer and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) an international public health agency that works with pharmaceutical companies to provide critical medications poorer countries at low costs to -- would place undue financial stress on Chinas healthcare system. The agreement allows generic knockoffs of Paxlovid to be sold royalty-free in low, lower-middle and some upper-middle income countries. According to self-reported World Bank data, China has been listed amongst upper-middle income countries since 2010 and its current GDP per capita of $12,234 places the country near the top of upper-middle income countries. The MPP uses the same data to determine countries eligibility to buy their generic Paxlovid. And the country appears to have plenty of money on hand. The National Healthcare Security Admission split a bill of over 120 billion yuan ($17 billion) on vaccines with Chinas Ministry of Finance since COVID broke out, and still retained a surplus of more than 500 billion yuan ($74 billion) in 2022 alone, according to National Health Insurance Administration data. China has donated an additional $200 million to several international COVID response funds. China promotes domestically produced medicines In denying coverage for Paxlovid, China may be opening up market space for local drug companies. On Jan. 6, the National Health Insurance Administration issued its Guidelines for Setting COVID Drug Treatment Prices (Trial Implementation). Hu Shanlian, a professor at Fudan Universitys School of Public Health, told the People's Daily that the guidelines will ensure the affordability of COVID medicines produced in China. Ordinary people will be able to buy these drugs at low cost, he said. Domestically produced COVID medication will thus gain a larger market share than imports, due to their cost advantage and effective treatment." Just as negotiations with Pfizer broke off, two Chinese-made medications Azvudine tablets and Qingfei Paidu granules were cleared to be included as reimbursable COVID medications under national health insurance plans. Azvudine was originally a medication for HIV patients, only approved as a treatment for COVID in July 2022. Qingfei Paidu is a traditional Chinese medicine that lacks data from phase 3 clinical trials that show whether the medication might cause less common side effects in specific groups of people. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a new branch of RFA, established to counter disinformation in todays complex media environment. Our journalists publish both daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers understanding of public issues. Sahib Khan, a political activist, is one of the organizers of a recent sit-in protest in Wana, a remote town near Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan. Khan describes the weeklong demonstration that ended on January 12 as a "people's uprising" to show authorities that they will never accept a return to the violence and lawlessness that engulfed the region when it was allowed to fall under the control of various Pakistani Taliban factions. Expectations are running high that the government, which has failed in its recent efforts to strike a lasting truce with Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, will again rely on the weight of its military to counter the resurgent force it has been fighting since 2007. But Khan and other protesters are hoping their efforts can stave off another round of devastation and secret dealings, and are demanding that Islamabad instead ensure the region's long-term security by strengthening the police and giving the local government more leeway to act. In a sign that the effort did not fall on deaf ears, the sit-in ended with the government accepting the protesters' demands. No Military Operations Following Islamabad's secret negotiations last year with the hard-line insurgents, many TTP fighters who had sought refuge in neighboring Afghanistan for years returned to the region. Optimism that a peace deal could work out was crushed. Mediation by the Afghan Taliban, which seized Kabul in August 2021 and was considered an ally of Islamabad, failed. Despite its close personal and ideological ties to the TTP, the Afghan Taliban failed to convince them to renounce violence. Thus, the past year saw a dramatic rise in attacks on security forces, kidnappings, assassinations, and extortion in places like Wana. Residents accuse the government of reopening the door to the TTP and embarking on a failed policy of engagement and take the militants' presence as a dire reminder of life under their thumb. Locals blame previous government moves for putting them in that position in the first place, saying Islamabad practically handed Wana to a Taliban faction courtesy of an agreement worked out to end fighting with the group in 2007. As a result, they say, they were subjected to every imaginable atrocity at the hands of the militants, until they were pushed out by a local protest in 2018. "We are concerned that violence here will increase to such a level that we will forget what we endured before," says Khan. He was alluding to the mountainous region's recent troubled history that began in 2003 when violence erupted in Wana, today the administrative headquarters of the Lower South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Over the course of the next decade, the violence gradually extended to other parts of South Waziristan and the adjacent district of North Waziristan. Only in 2014, when the military finally succeeded in pushing the group out, did some sense of normalcy resume, but it came at a great cost. More than 1.5 million Waziristan residents were displaced as a result of the fighting, and thousands were killed when they were caught up in the cross-fire. The sit-in in Wana is not the only "people's uprising" against a return to such a situation. Similar protests have taken place across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where Pashtuns make up a majority of the region's estimated 35 million residents. Since 2018, grassroots activists from the province have attempted to rewrite history by turning their homeland into a battleground for peace and civil rights instead of war. They have attempted to counter the narrative that Pashtuns are prone to join extremist organizations such as the TTP out of religious and tribal kinship, and instead blame underdevelopment, isolation, and Islamabad's security policies as the reason the predominantly Pashtun region came to be considered a breeding ground for jihadists. These popular uprisings began in the northern alpine districts of Swat and Dir in the summer. The region's residents were terrorized by hundreds of TTP fighters who returned because of the secret deal with the Pakistani government. In the following months, Islamabad's talks with the TTP stalled. But the group's fighters continued to pour into areas of northwest Pakistan. Rather than drop their weapons, they quickly began attacking security forces, with the poorly trained and lightly armed police emerging as a favorite target. In addition to carrying out hundreds of fresh attacks, the militants have also been accused of extorting businesses, wealthy individuals, and politicians. According to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, a think tank in Islamabad, some 419 people were killed and another 732 injured in more than 260 terrorist attacks carried out by the TTP in 2022, a 25 percent increase over the previous year. Pashtun Uprisings In many cases, TTP's attacks on local security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province would be followed quickly by a people's uprising uniting members of various political parties, traders, and concerned residents. For many Pashtuns, the sit-ins are seen as the only way to prevent the carnage of another large-scale fight between government forces and militants in the region. Pashtun leaders say they have paid a hefty price in Pakistan's war on terrorism. Islamabad allied with Washington after the invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 but failed to prevent the Afghan Taliban and its Al-Qaeda allies who carried out the attacks from carving out a sanctuary in Pakistan. In 2003, Islamabad launched a series of massive military operations in what was then known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) -- which were merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 -- and eventually to the Swat district. Over the next 11 years, more than 6 million Pashtuns were displaced. Pashtuns accounted for the lion's share of the more than 80,000 civilians and security forces Pakistani officials claim to have lost as a result of terrorist attacks and military offensives. In the past, Islamabad's large-scale military operations adopted a scorched-earth approach using airpower, long-range artillery, tanks, and infantry maneuvers. At the same time, according to Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) civil rights campaign, there is no justification for the TTP's violence. "If they [the TTP] are fighting against infidels, then why are they killing our Islamic clerics?" he asked. He says that to avoid the fallout from a renewed conflict in their homeland, Pashtuns are ready to "work very hard and make sacrifices for peace." While the majority of Pashtuns do not want to see a return of the TTP, they also fear a heavy-handed approach, and many accuse the government of having ulterior motives. Islamabad's Changing Outlook The TTP's increasingly violent campaign appears to have put Islamabad in a hawkish mindset after months of talking about the prospect of peace. Discussions between civil and military leaders last week resulted in the government indicating it would soon undertake a military operation against the TTP. The National Security Committee said that the threat of terrorism would "be dealt with the full force of the state" because "Pakistan's security is uncompromisable." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has informed Kyiv that Britain intends to send main battle tanks and artillery support to aid Ukraine's war effort against invading Russian forces. Sunak discussed Britain's plans during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on January 14, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister's office. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. "The prime minister outlined the U.K.'s ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems," the spokesperson said. The Russian Embassy in London condemned the government's decision, saying that sending British tanks to Ukraine would only "intensify combat operations" and that "one really cannot put out a fire with petrol." Sunak told reporters earlier this week that he had asked Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to go "further and faster with our support for Ukraine, including the provision of tanks." It would mark the first time Britain has supplied heavy armor to Kyiv following Russia's all-out invasion in February. British Defense Ministry officials have said an official announcement to send up to 12 main battle tanks to Ukraine will be announced at a meeting of Ukrainian donor countries in Germany on January 20. Reports citing British government sources said four Challenger 2 tanks will be sent immediately, with another eight to follow shortly. The provision of tanks by countries supporting Ukraine is a contentious topic. Officials in Kyiv have consistently lobbied for modern tanks, but many Western governments were reluctant until recently to fulfill the request out of concerns that doing so could escalate tensions with Moscow. That thinking appears to have changed with news that multiple NATO countries are now willing to provide modern tanks. On January 11, NATO member Poland said it was willing to send German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv "within the framework of an international coalition." The move by Warsaw, which said it fears it is the "next target" on Russia's invasion list, was intended to put pressure on other NATO members to follow suit. Finland, which is seeking NATO membership, responded promptly by giving its cautious approval on January 12 to sending Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. Germany, which can veto transfers of exported weapons to third countries, has come under criticism for not sending tanks to Ukraine. Commitments by other NATO states to provide tanks would make it more difficult for Berlin to stand by its argument that it does not want to be alone in providing Kyiv with tanks. On January 6, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Berlin plans to send about 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine before March as part of a new weapons package. WATCH: Ukrainian tank crews in the eastern Donetsk region are using retrofitted T-64s, designed in the 1960s, to shell Russian troops. But just days after the announcement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pressed his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock to send tanks, telling Baerbock that the "longer it takes to make the decision, the more people will die." Vice Chancellor Habeck said after the Polish announcement that Berlin would not prevent Warsaw from exporting Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Germany said that as of January 13 it had not yet received an official request from Finland or Poland to re-export Leopard tanks. French officials said last week that they plan to deliver about 40 AMX-10 RC wheeled combat tanks to Ukraine in two months' time. The French decision, first announced on January 5, was followed by Germany's commitment to send Marder infantry fighting vehicles and a pledge by the United States to send armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which can serve as a troop carrier. Ukraine has received hundreds of modernized versions of the Soviet-era T-72 tank from European and NATO allies like the Czech Republic and Poland since Russia's unprovoked invasion 11 months ago. But Kyiv has received nothing comparable to the advanced Leopard 2 or Challenger 2, each of which fire highly specific munitions, including 120-millimeter shells. Britain's Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to take out opposing tanks, while Germany's Leopard 2 is a main battle tank used extensively by NATO countries. With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AP Retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 and 2017. He previously served as the Pershing chair in strategic studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C.* In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Hodges discusses the Russian military operation's lack of coherence and how new fighting vehicles and tanks from abroad could change the course of the war. RFE/RL: The cities of Bakhmut and Soledar are under relentless assault from Russian forces, or to be more specific, Wagner mercenary forces. Why is Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine so important? What is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, trying to achieve there? Ben Hodges: It's taken me a while to figure out why Russia would put so much emphasis on Bakhmut, especially the forces led by Mr. Prigozhin. And I do think there is a symbolic aspect of this -- this is almost like a vanity project for him. He clearly doesn't care how many people are killed. They've been at it now for five months, and they still have not been able to take Bakhmut. And they just continue pouring untrained, recently mobilized soldiers into that fight. But it's recently come to light also that there are significant salt and gypsum mines in the region. And Mr. Prigozhin even talked about securing the resources there. But I don't know if that will be very comforting to the families of the thousands of people who have been killed there to know that Mr. Prigozhin's real objective was not a strategically important crossroads or intersection, but it's gypsum mines. I think that this whole operation around Bakhmut illustrates the lack of coherence of Russia's operation. I don't think Prigozhin takes order from [General Sergei] Surovikin, and he certainly does not take orders from General [Valery] Gerasimov (who was appointed on January 11 to oversee the invasion*). So, who's in charge?.... They don't have a coherent plan. They really, fortunately, have still not learned and fixed all the institutional flaws that they showed back in February, March. The Tavberidize Interviews Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vazha Tavberidze of RFE/RL's Georgian Service has been interviewing diplomats, military experts, and academics who hold a wide spectrum of opinions about the war's course, causes, and effects. To read all of his interviews, click here. RFE/RL: Could it be that they're betting on a familiar strategy that if you throw numbers into battle then, sooner or later, results will emerge? Hodges: Russians have always assumed that mass will win. I mean, that's been their way of war for centuries, that they would eventually just overwhelm the Ukrainian forces. But obviously, they haven't been able to do that, because the Ukrainians have been so professional, so skilled, and we see that actually precision can defeat mass, if you have enough precision, and if you apply it in the right places. And Ukraine has consistently gone after logistics -- transportation networks, ammunition storage -- through a variety of different means. RFE/RL: Last week, Western countries announced they would be sending Ukraine more sophisticated weapons, including Bradley armored vehicles from the United States, Marder fighting vehicles from Germany, and lighter infantry fighting vehicles from France. How much of a disadvantage has Ukraine had without them and what can Kyiv now achieve with them? Hodges: Well, of course, I wish these decisions to provide Bradley and Marder and AMX-10RC and other systems would have been made sooner. But the good news is they've been made. What I heard last week was the foundation for an armor brigade. Basically, you've got self-propelled artillery from the Czech Republic, a battalion; AMX-10RC from France, which is an excellent wheeled vehicle, a lot of mobility with a big gun on it; and then a battalion of Marder, which is a very good system; and then a battalion of Bradley, which is the best infantry fighting vehicle in the world. If you get those and then if you put maybe a Ukrainian tank battalion in the middle of it with engineers, you've got a lethal combined arms formation that could be the iron fist that would help penetrate these endless lines of Russian trenches, if they're properly supported. That's what I see. I don't count vehicles, I look at capability. And so they'll spend the next couple of months getting the equipment, training on it, practicing, building up the logistics for it. And I think when the Ukrainian General Staff is ready, they will employ this as a force. RFE/RL: Some Western security experts with whom I've spoken are more skeptical. They say that, while it is welcome news, it lacks punch, that Ukraine needs proper tanks -- like the M1 Abrams -- and similar weapon systems. Do you agree with that assessment? And if so, do you believe such a weapons package is in the pipeline as well? Hodges: Well, certainly it would be better if they also had Abrams and or Leopards. It feels like those might be coming, but I don't know. But also, I would not assume that what we just saw last week is in a vacuum. There are other things that Ukrainians are doing to build up capability for the next phase of this, of their counteroffensive, which will be the decisive phase, which I think is the liberation of Crimea. RFE/RL: I'll soon return to the issue of Crimea, but first I'd like to ask about tanks. It seems several countries, including Poland and Britain, [are] on the verge of providing tanks to Ukraine. How significant would that be for Ukraine and how could it change the tide of the war? Hodges: It's important in terms of real capability, assuming that they get the maintenance that comes with it, the right ammunition, and the opportunity to train so that this is real capability. But it's even more important that it signals that Western governments are taking the next step, that they are less and less concerned that Russia might somehow try to escalate, because that's so unlikely. And while those are decisions that are being made late, I think it's not too late to make a difference. And of course, this is not over after Ukraine liberates Crimea; they're going to have to protect themselves for a long time to come.... RFE/RL: You said you don't pay much attention to numbers of things provided but still, it's a drastic difference if you look at what has been provided and what the commander in chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, has requested. He has asked for 700 armored vehicles and 300 tanks. How close is Ukraine to getting them? Hodges: I don't know. There are so many things going on that we don't necessarily get a big headline for. Russia gets drones from Iran, and they get cold-weather uniforms from North Korea -- that's it. There are 50 nations lined up helping Ukraine. Have we done it as fast as they need? No. And have we done enough? No. Is there more to come? I hope so. But I mean, if I'm in the Kremlin, I'm like, what? The Germans now are giving Marder, and another Patriot battery. And they're talking about Leopard. I mean that's got to be discouraging from the Russian side. RFE/RL: You had earlier predicted it could be possible by the end of 2022 for Ukraine's military to push back Russian invading forces to their positions before the full invasion was launched on February 24. Why didn't that prediction prove correct? Hodges: Yeah, obviously, I was overly optimistic about that because I did not anticipate that we would have failed to provide longer-range systems, like ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems). I thought that was coming. So, that's been a shortcoming. I also did not anticipate the amount of forces that Russia was willing to sacrifice in and around Bakhmut. I mean, obviously, I was off -- not by much, but I was off. What does matter is how Ukraine has adapted to what Russia is doing with these mobilized troops. And does the West deliver to Ukraine what they need, so that they can continue to attack Russian logistics and command and control? This is how I think they liberate Crimea. There are only two roads that lead to Crimea: the Kerch Bridge and the land bridge. One's already been severely damaged; the other one's already been hit. That's what needs to happen over the next few months. We need to provide Ukraine the ability to do that. If we limit what we give them in terms of range -- so the GMLRS, which is the rocket fired by HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System) -- up to 90 kilometers. If we don't do more than that, then in effect, we create a sanctuary for Russia. So, Russia is able to shoot from Crimea with impunity, or inside Russia, inside Belarus. That leads to the murder of innocent Ukrainian civilians. We've got to give them the longer-range weapon systems and ATACMS that would be able to hit every single thing on the Crimean Peninsula. RFE/RL: So the chances of success of any future deeper Ukrainian counteroffensive are contingent on continued Western support? Hodges: Absolutely, yeah. That is the big giant fat caveat, that the West has to continue to support Ukraine, at least at the level of everything that we've already said we're going to do. RFE/RL: And if that happens, how is Ukraine likely to go about it? Hodges: Well, they're going to continue to have to block Russian efforts around Bakhmut. They're going to have to keep an eye on Belarus in the northern border, north of Kharkiv. But I think that, again, I could be wrong, but it just doesn't seem likely that the Russians could have a significant attack from out there. They may mass some troops there, but they don't have the capability, I don't believe, to launch another serious threat toward Kyiv. But the general staff will have to keep watching that. In the meanwhile, I think they're going to build up their armored forces, what they're receiving, as well as what they already have trained, so that they have a large armored capability that could be the decisive element of this liberation of Crimea. But before that, they're going to have to spend a couple of months continuing to go after the Kerch Bridge, continuing to disrupt the transportation network that runs through Mariupol and Melitopol, into Crimea. [There's] a lot of work to do to set the conditions. But that's how I think it happens: it's not going to be just a big attack across the Perekop Isthmus (the strip of land that joins Crimea to mainland Ukraine.) They're going to have to set the conditions through long-range fires, special forces, and then eventually they will have to put somebody on the ground there. But I think the General Staff is smart enough; they've impressed me with how well they have done everything they can to minimize casualties and to be thorough and methodical. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. *CORRECTIONS: Hodges retired as a lieutenant general, not general, and is no longer the Pershing chair of CEPA. A previous version of this story also said Gerasimov was appointed chief of the Russian General Staff earlier this month. He was appointed to that post in 2012 but was named as the overall Russian commander of the Ukraine war on January 11. Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here. www.rferl.org/a/31793259.html I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead. The Big Issue Iran appears to be making headway toward renewing official ties with Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states that in some cases have been publicly avoiding Tehran for decades. The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks in Beijing on April 6 in a significant step toward restoring diplomatic relations, which were cut in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following Riyadhs execution of prominent Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Iran also accepted an invitation from Saudi King Salman for President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh, while Tehran said it will send a similar invitation to the Saudi king. Meanwhile, a Saudi delegation traveled to Iran on April 9 to discuss the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad. The trip came as Iranian media reported on April 8 that a street sign near the Saudi consulate in Mashhad provocatively named after Sheikh al-Nimr had been quietly removed. An Iranian delegation also arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 12 to pave the way for the reopening of Iranian diplomatic missions there. Iran is meanwhile taking steps to improve ties with other countries in the region, naming an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and working to decrease tensions with Egypt and Bahrain. Why It Matters: Iran and Saudi Arabia appear to be pursuing implementation of last months Chinese-brokered agreement, possibly clearing the way for Tehran to de-escalate tensions with other countries that followed Riyadhs lead on a rupture seven years ago. What's Next: Tehran and Riyadh could move surprisingly swiftly toward normalization, but its no sure thing. Abdolrasool Divsallar, a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC), told me that the political environment between the two regional rivals could encourage the start of military and security talks within months. But Divsallar also warned that opponents at home and abroad could still undermine the agreement. Hard-liners in Iran may act as a spoiler rather than as a supporter of the deal, he said, adding that Israel could do the same. The regional tensions between Israel and Iran, on one side, andbetween Iran, Saudi [Arabia] and the United States, on the other side, are two dynamics that make this process very fragile, he said. Divsallar also suggested that any normalization between Iran and countries with less appetite for a quick restoration of ties, for instance Bahrain, could take longer. They feel more secure under the current status quo rather than immediately normalizing their ties with the Islamic republic and losing their leverage, he said, adding, They may wait to see a major change of policies. Stories You Might Have Missed Irans civil aviation sector has for years been under Western sanctions that prevent it from purchasing new aircraft or spare parts for repairs. Now, Russia's oldest airline, Aeroflot, has sent one of its passenger planes to Iran for repairs for the first time ever. Aeroflot reportedly ran into obstacles at home stemming from Western sanctions over Russias ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The RBK media group cited an Aeroflot representative and sources close to the company on April 11 as saying that an Airbus A330-300 had been sent to Tehran on April 5 to be repaired by specialists from Iran's Mahan Air. Iranian pensioners staged protests in more than a dozen cities across Iran, demanding higher pensions amid soaring prices. Protests were reported on April 9 in Tehran, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Arak, Qom, Shush, Tabriz, and several other cities where retirees complained of poor living conditions and chanted anti-government slogans. Labor protests in Iran have swelled as the economy deteriorates following years of mismanagement compounded by crippling U.S. sanctions. What We're Watching Prominent Iranian female religious scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi has challenged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republics mandatory hijab law. In a letter published online, Vasmaghi asked about the reasoning behind Irans strict model for womens dress and said the Koran does not specify the need for women to cover their hair in public. There is no evidence to show that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad women were harassed and punished for not covering their hair or even their bodies, Vasmaghi, who has published several books on Islamic jurisprudence, wrote. Why It Matters: Vasmaghis letter is significant for its timing -- just days after Khamenei asserted that the removal of the hijab in public was religiously banned. But it is also important because it comes from a religious woman who wears the veil while opposing the mandatory hijab, which is seemingly being defied by a growing number of women. That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. Until next time, Golnaz Esfandiari If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday. Thousands of Iranian workers have signed a protest letter sent to President Ebrahim Raisi against an increase that would see the minimum wage rise by only about half of the current inflation rate. In the letter, which was signed by almost 20,000 workers, a request was made to immediately annul the increase and instead approve a new pay rise that would reflect rapidly rising prices. A government resolution based on a decision of the Supreme Labor Council, which includes representatives from the government, employers, and workers, set the increase at 27 percent for minimum wage for workers after the Persian New Year on March 21. The February inflation rate was 53.4 percent, while annual price growth in March was 63.9 percent. While the Iranian president's office has yet to officially respond to the letter, Iranian media quoted the government's economic spokesperson as saying that there are currently no plans to change the size of the wage increase. The new resolution raises the minimum wage for workers from 41,790,000 rials ($82) to 53,073,300 rials ($104). Inflation for the current year is projected to be in the range of 40 to 60 percent. Hossein Habibi, a member of the board of directors of the High Council of Islamic Labor Councils, stated that the 27 percent wage increase is not in line with the first and second clauses of Article 41 of the Labor Law and is therefore illegal. He also reported that workers have filed a complaint with the Administrative Justice Court. Widespread protests have been held across the country against the wage increase resolution, including demonstrations by workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industrial Complex and retirees of the Social Security Organization in the cities of Shush, Shushtar, and Ahvaz. Unrest has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions. Adding to the dissent, the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing her head scarf improperly breathed new life into nationwide demonstrations, which officials have since tried to quell with harsh measures. The activist HRANA news agency said that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent. Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters. Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda Ukrainian officials said waves of Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and other major cities had damaged key infrastructure sites as local authorities warned of potential cuts in electricity and water supplies in the first major attacks since the start of the year. Air-raid sirens blared in much of the country on January 14 as strikes were reported in the capital, along with in the western city of Lviv, Kharkiv in the east, Odesa in the south, and Dnipro in the south-central region, where officials said an apartment block had been struck by Russian missiles, killing at least nine people. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has informed Kyiv that Britain intends to send main battle tanks and artillery support to aid Ukraine's war effort against invading Russian forces, a move Moscow condemned. "The prime minister outlined the U.K.'s ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems," a British spokesperson said. The attack on the Ukrainian capital was announced on Telegram by the city's military administration on January 14. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy advised residents of Kyiv to seek shelter, while explosions that sounded similar to missiles being shot down by air-defense forces were reportedly heard in the city. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a series of posts on Telegram that explosions were reported in the city's eastern residential Dniprovskiy district and parts of a missile had crashed in an uninhabited part of the Holosiyivskiy district. Klitschko said no casualties had been reported and a fire at a nonresidential building in the Holosiyivskiy district had been extinguished. According to presidential office deputy head Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the attack targeted "critical infrastructure." Tymoshenko also wrote on Telegram that a residential building in the village of Kopyliv in the Kyiv region was struck, breaking windows of residential buildings. He said that as of late morning there was no information regarding any possible victims related to that incident. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the missiles had been fired from a high trajectory from the north, suggesting they were ballistic missiles that Ukraine is unable to shoot down and was not able to detect in time to immediately alert civilians of an air raid. The fresh attacks came a day after Ukraine and Russia gave conflicting accounts of the situation in the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar, the site of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks. WATCH: . The strategic town sits on a vast network of salt-mine tunnels that cover an estimated 200 kilometers. In his nightly video address on January 13, Zelenskiy rejected claims by Russia's Defense Ministry that it captured the strategically important salt-mining town in the eastern Donetsk region. "The tough battle for the Donetsk region continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our country continues," Zelenskiy said. "Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our soldiers -- the armed forces of Ukraine, all defense and security forces --- are protecting the state." Ukrainian military officials said on January 14 that Soledar "is controlled by Ukrainian authorities" and that battles continue "in and outside of the city." Claims on either side could not immediately be independently verified. The capture of Soledar, which could give Russian forces a hub to cut off Ukrainian supply lines while also providing a staging ground for attacks on the nearby city of Bakhmut, would be Moscow's most substantial military gain in its war against Ukraine in months. Kyiv and Washington, however, have suggested the heavy loss of Russian troops and the destruction of the city have lessened Soledar's strategic value. The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in Soledar this week. Ukrainian officials have said more than 500 civilians are trapped inside the town, including 15 children. The private and controversial Russian mercenary group Wagner is reportedly heavily involved in the Russian effort to capture Soledar. WATCH: In a new massive missile attack against Ukraine on January 14, Russia destroyed a nine-story apartment block in the central city of Dnipro, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens. After initial success in taking Ukrainian territory after Russia's all-out invasion in February, the Russian military suffered setbacks in the south and the eastern Donbas region. The Russian military has focused on Soledar as key to the success of its new offensive. The head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleh Synehubov, said the regional capital, Kharkiv, was hit by two Russian S-300 missiles early on January 14. The strikes hit energy infrastructure and industrial in the city, Ukraine's second-largest, according to Synehubov. In western Ukraine, Maksym Kozytskiy, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said "a critical infrastructure facility" had been hit in the region and warned of electricity and water supply disruptions. Lviv, far away from the front lines, had in the past been spared much of the damage seen in other parts of the country. Strikes were also reported in the southern Zaporizhzhya region, home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant. In Dnipro -- with a pre-war population of nearly 1 million -- a strike on a residential building killed at least five people and injured dozens, according to regional officials. Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram that around 60 people were hurt, including 12 children. Zelenskiy, in a Telegram posting, said, "Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by Russian terror! The world must stop this evil." We will find everyone involved in this terror. Everyone will bear responsibility. Utmost responsibility, he added. Later, Zelenskiy said that "it's not yet known how many people are under the rubble. Unfortunately, the death toll is growing every hour." With reporting by AFP As Moscow's forces advance, Russia and Ukraine continue to dispute control of the salt-mining town of Soledar amid scenes of devastation and fierce fighting on the front line in eastern Ukraine. Russia has made multiple claims of control in the past week that have been contested by Ukrainian officials, who maintain their forces have not left the town and continue to fight. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on January 13 to have seized Soledar, but the statement was quickly disputed by Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the fight for the town and others "in the east of our country continues." RFE/RL could not verify the situation independently, but multiple reports by Russian war correspondents and bloggers who have shown their geolocations via the messaging platform Telegram suggest Russian forces have taken nearly all of Soledar. Ukrainian forces, however, appear to still hold ground on the northwest edge of the town, with Ukraine's 46th Air Assault Brigade saying fighters were surrounded but fighting back. Speaking to Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, Volodymyr Nazarenko, the deputy commander of a battalion in the Ukrainian National Guard, said heavy fighting in Soledar has already destroyed much of the town and the surrounding area but Ukrainian forces were determined to "knock out" the Russians from their positions. "Soledar is now just several square kilometers of scorched earth and a few fields," Nazarenko said from Donetsk during an interview. "It seems there is barely a single [intact] building left." Military analysts question the strategic value of Soledar or nearby Bakhmut, which has also been the site of some of the most intense fighting in the war in recent weeks. Still, a Russian advance would be welcome news for the Kremlin following a string of embarrassing setbacks and Russian forces being unable to capture a single town in Ukraine since July 2022. Amid the push on the ground, the battles for both locales have killed thousands of soldiers on each side. Nazarenko suggests any Russian gains on the eastern front would be a Pyrrhic victory due to how difficult it would be for Moscow to hold on to any advances following such heavy losses. "Our task is to make the enemy exhausted," Nazarenko said. "Bakhmut and the Bakhmut direction were a kind of trap for the enemy. Sooner or later, they will run out of steam." A 'Bloodbath' Both Soledar and Bakhmut have been the focus of a grinding artillery battle since late summer, and Ukrainian officials have described the waves of Russian soldiers launched into the carnage to take the locations. While Ukrainian officials have spoken about the battles for Soledar and Bakhmut being part of a strategy to occupy and inflict disproportionate losses on Russian forces, the fighting has also absorbed thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who could be deployed elsewhere. Barely any walls in Soledar remain standing, Zelenskiy said during an address to the nation on January 13 in which he described grim scenes of missile strikes and the streets littered with corpses. Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, compared the fighting to that in Verdun, the longest battle of World War I. Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko called the area a "bloodbath." Both Russian and Ukrainian officials say they are evacuating civilians. Kyrylenko said that only around 600 residents remain in Soledar compared to a pre-war population of more than 10,000. Multiple Russian news agencies have reported their forces have already evacuated 170 people from neighboring towns and villages to positions held further east in occupied territory. While analysts continue to raise questions over the strategic significance of the fierce fighting for Soledar and Bakhmut, Russia has invested heavily in trying to take the eastern towns, which hold symbolic value for the Kremlin amid its lackluster battlefield results. According to a January 13 analysis by the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, it seemed likely Russian forces would be able to control Soledar but the heavy casualties sustained would make it "unlikely to presage an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut." Tensions Among Russia's Factions The battle in Soledar has also exposed divisions between its regular forces and the Wagner mercenary group. Wagner has been leading a monthslong push to try to seize Soledar and the neighboring city of Bakhmut, which would be a symbolic win for the mercenary outfit and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Many analysts have suggested Prigozhin is hoping to shore up his political standing in Moscow and secure a public relations win in the process by showing that his forces are able to seize territory where Russian troops have stalled. This sparked a turf war between the factions that played out this week, as both sides contradicted each other and sought to take credit for the Russian advance. WATCH: The strategic town of Soledar sits on a vast network of salt-mine tunnels that cover an estimated 200 kilometers. When Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops had taken control of Soledar on January 13, the statement made no mention of Wagner being part of the operation. Shortly afterward, Andrei Troshev, a senior Wagner commander, accused the ministry of stealing "other people's achievements" in a Telegram post. Three days earlier, Prigozhin had claimed Soledar had fallen to Wagner fighters and made no mention of regular Russian forces before taking to his Telegram channel on January 13 to chastise Russia's military command. "It looks like there are three armies fighting [in eastern Ukraine]: the Ukrainian Army and then two Russian ones that interact poorly and even compete with one another," Olga Romanova, the head of the Russia Behind Bars foundation, told Current Time. "In general, they don't like each other." U.S. officials estimate 4,000 of Wagner's 50,000 mercenaries have been killed on the front lines along Soledar and Bakhmut, with 10,000 injured. While the battles have highlighted the cracks among Moscow's forces, the reliance on Wagner in Soledar has freed up other Russian units to operate elsewhere. Russia's Defense Ministry would go on to credit Wagner as being part of the advance following the outbursts from Prigozhin, but Romanova says the factionalism on display in Soledar shows no signs of waning. Thousands of inmates are said to have joined Wagner in recent months, with videos surfacing of Prigozhin personally recruiting from prisons across Russia. Prisoners have formed the bulk of the new recruits for the mercenary group, and its ranks have been thinned amid heavy casualties of late. Wagner has also taken to publicly executing deserters and disobedient troops from its ranks, according to statements from former inmates captured by Ukrainian troops and seen in released videos by the mercenary group. Romanova says the battlefield losses and alleged executions have hurt Wagner's ability to recruit, even inside prisons where inmates were offered a path to commuting lengthy sentences by fighting in Ukraine. "Recruitment has very much slowed down at the end of December, when more footage of extrajudicial executions began to circulate," she said. "These executions appear to have stopped people fleeing or surrendering in Ukraine, but they've also brought recruitment to a near stop, too." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it will boost its presence in Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during Russias ongoing invasion of the country. The UNs nuclear watchdog said on January 13 that Director-General Rafael Grossi will visit Ukraine next week to implement a new policy that will ensure a permanent presence of IAEA experts at all five of Ukraine's nuclear facilities. The new policy is "significantly stepping up the efforts of the [IAEA] to help prevent a nuclear accident during the current military conflict," the IAEA said in a news release. Currently only the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya plant, which is near the front line, has a permanent IAEA presence of up to four experts. Under the new plan, 11 or 12 IAEA experts will be present in Ukraine at all times to monitor its plants, including the shuttered Chernobyl site, and provide technical assistance. As this tragic war enters its second year, we must continue to do everything we can to avert the danger of a serious nuclear accident that would cause even more suffering and destruction for the people of Ukraine and beyond, Grossi said. During his visit to Ukraine, Grossi will travel to the Rivne nuclear power plant and the Chernobyl site to launch missions consisting of two IAEA experts at each of the facilities, the IAEA said. Grossi will also meet senior Ukrainian officials as part of his efforts to set up a security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya plant. I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible," Grossi said. "My consultations with Ukraine and Russia are making progress, albeit not as fast as they should." Grossi also reiterated his concerns about pressure that employees of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP) are facing, saying the situation is creating potential consequences for nuclear safety and security. The reduced ZNPP staffing levels combined with psychological stress due to the ongoing military conflict and the absence of family members who fled the area have created an unprecedented situation that no [nuclear power plant] staff should have to endure, he said. Employees at the Zaporizhzhya plant also continue to be urged to accept new labor contracts with the Russian state company Rosatom, the IAEA said, adding that the national Ukrainian operator Enerhoatom is urging them not to do so. The IAEAs monitoring team has been informed that despite all the challenges, the Zaporizhzhya plant still has adequate operational staff to maintain the safe operation of all units at the plants current level of functioning, the IAEA said. With reporting by AFP From a packed floor, lawmakers heard firsthand from disability and senior care advocates during hearings held in the Capitol in Helena on Thursday and Friday. Speakers described personal challenges in accessing health care for elderly and disabled loved ones, and facility operators urged lawmakers to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rates before more services are forced to shut down. During 2022, 11 nursing homes closed in Montana due to an escalating financial crisis that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, 289 elderly and disabled nursing home residents have been transferred due to facility closures. Of those, 214 moved to other nursing homes, 131 transferred to facilities within the same company, 11 went to swing beds and 64 went to assisted living, transferred to in-home services or moved out of state, according to Barb Smith, senior and long-term care administrator for the state health department. Finding placements for the displaced residents is becoming more and more challenging as severe staffing shortages have forced operators to limit the number of clientele they care for. Theyve also been forced to turn away clients who need complex care, simply because there is not enough money in the budget. With fewer services provided, fewer procedures are being billed to insurance, effectively drying up the revenue stream for Senior and Long Term Care (SLTC) services. This underutilization of services prompted provider rate analysts to recommend a penalty for skilled nursing facilities with occupancy below 60%, resulting in a reduction in their Medicaid reimbursement. At Immanuel Lutheran Communities, an assisted living and skilled nursing facility in Kalispell, there are 62 people waiting for a bed to open up. While there is bed space available to serve 123 residents at the facility, the current staffing situation means only 90 residents can be served at the moment, said Jason Cronk, president of the long-term care facility. If we could hire the staff wed be full, Cronk said. He added that there are common discrepancies between the number of licensed beds at a facility and actual bed space they can offer, meaning occupancy determined by the state could be incorrect. Currently, Medicaid pays $104 to assisted living facilities for every resident using the public insurance. The reimbursement is supposed to cover room and board for the resident as well as the daily cost of health care. The governors proposed reimbursement rate will eventually total $112.83 per resident per day by fiscal year 2025. This accounts for an $11.92 discrepancy from the recommended rate of $124.75 per day. Assisted living facilities are far less likely to close than nursing homes because the industry enjoys the flexibility to opt for more private payers and fewer Medicaid payers. With significant financial loss associated with accepting Medicaid residents, administrators will likely whittle down the number of Medicaid beds offered, further impeding access to health care for the states most vulnerable residents. Citizen testimony Wayne Stahl and his family cared for his mother for 11 years as her dementia slowly worsened, but eventually her needs grew to be too complex to be managed at home. It was time to move her into a rest home, Stahl said. She was living in a rest home in Malta where she had friends, knew her neighbors and was doing well. But when the facility closed in 2022 she was moved to Rocky Mountain Care Center in Helena. Just over a month later she was forced to move again due to closures. Every time we moved her her mental acuity fell off a cliff. She didnt remember anybody, she had no friends, no one to talk to. And its really hard for us to drive 310 miles to see her, Stahl said at the hearing. Now here we are selling the family farm that my mother and father worked blood sweat and tears for...And in over 40 years of having it, we still owe money on the farm, not a lot, we just about have it paid for. Now we have to sell it to keep our mother in a home. The governors proposed budget does not meet the recommendations put forward by the rate study, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. Rather, 58% of the difference between the current rate and the recommended rate will be covered in the first year of the biennium. In the second year, the governors budget proposes covering 36% of the gap. Department of Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton called the proposed budget an historic infusion of cash into the system. I have been asked during this biennium by the industry to find the money, and the money simply doesnt exist, Brereton said at the end of the Thursday hearing. In-home care Many lawmakers and citizens supported the states philosophy of using more in-home care services when it makes sense for the patient, but the industry is facing a multitude of challenges. Those on Medicaid face long waiting lists for a slot in the Big Sky Waiver Program, which covers assisted living and home-based care services for Medicaid users. Currently, there are 367 people waiting for those services, according to Smith. Oftentimes, for those who do not qualify for Medicaid, in-home services arent feasible because most private insurances dont provide coverage for these services, leaving the family to cover all caregiver costs. Michael Coe struggled to secure and afford health care services for his father, who suffered from a brain tumor. His health deteriorated quickly with his initial symptoms appearing in February 2022. It wasnt long before Coes mother was the 24 hour caregiver. Of course nursing homes everywhere have no staff, theres no place to put him somy mom is his caregiver. A month later hes really struggling, I mean it was rapid. Hes not able to walk sometimes, he cant remember to eat, he now needs help to go to the bathroomBy the end of April he needed total care, Coe said. Eventually Coe and his wife were over helping his mother care for his declining father. Hiring caregivers to take over at $12 an hour for 24 hours a day, the total cost would come to about $540 per day. While expensive for the consumer, a rate of $12 an hour is far from a living wage for the direct care workers administering the services. The industry has struggled to keep up with the wage pressures that followed the pandemic. Alison Alvarez represented Ability Montana at the Thursday hearing. The non-profit provides in-home care services for people living with disabilities in Southwestern Montana, covering 14 counties. The group serves about 300 Montanans in their home with the help of about 350 personal care attendants. We have 350 personal care attendants today, but every year we send out about 700 W-2s, which means we have 100% turn over. People want these jobsbut they quickly find out that these jobs are hard and (the work is) intimate. (And our employees) can go elsewhere to get better pay, Alvarez said. Erin McGowan with HomeCare Montana, another organization that provides in-home care services, explained that while utilizing direct care workers is viable solution, the governors proposed budget would not adequately fund the sector. We can be a part of the solution but not without adequate pay and wages. People want to stay in their homeslets get to a point where we can fill those gaps, McGowan said. John Scott talks about being homeless at a camp near the San Luis Rey River. Homelessness is hardly new in Oceanside, but there seems to be a growing intolerance of it. In recent weeks, longtime residents have repeatedly called for the city to roust the transients from their camps, stop feeding them free meals, and get them out of town. No more Brother Bennos, resident Donna McGinty told the City Council at a recent meeting, referring to the soup kitchen near the city airport that has fed the homeless since 1983. That has got to go. Advertisement She and other speakers said services like Brother Bennos and the Bread of Life Rescue Mission in Oceanside only perpetuate homelessness and allow people to continue lives of crime and drug addiction. City officials have responded in recent months by increasing police patrols, adding social workers, pushing for more affordable housing and, in October, approving two emergency resolutions to facilitate temporary emergency shelters and obtain more grant funding. Despite the residents concerns, the available statistics show Oceansides homeless situation has changed little in recent years. Its like playing Whac-A-Mole, said Police Chief Frank McCoy, referring to the popular arcade game, during a community meeting Wednesday at the Oceanside Civic Center. Enforcement efforts tend to shift transients from one part of town to another, he said. Still, the city has had increasing success with prevention and assistance programs. Outrage over homelessness ebbs and flows in Oceanside. In 1989, there were as many as 1,000 homeless in the city and many of them were camped along the San Luis Rey River, according to stories in the San Diego Union newspaper at the time. Despite repeated protests from valley residents, the citys Planning Commission approved a plan that year to install 15 temporary trailers at the San Luis Rey Mission to house some of the homeless families there. Police issued 300 citations to illegal campers along the river in mid-November 1993 to make way for a state Route 76 construction project. In a few days, nearly all the riverbed squatters had gone elsewhere. This year, Oceanside had 483 homeless people citywide, according to the annual one-day Point-in-Time Count in January by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. That number has been about the same for several years. But some homeowners challenge the most recent numbers. Long-time residents in the San Luis Rey River valley, near the Oceanside airport and Benet Road, say theyve seen more homeless on the streets and in the riverbed in recent months. Something has changed, said Dee Keck, adding that she sees transients ride bicycles past her front yard at all hours, and that more cars, garages and homes are being broken into. On Tuesdays, they get the garbage out of our garbage cans, she said. They just pitch the stuff they dont want and move on. Julie Reboulet, an airport area resident for 17 years, said shes seen a lot more transients in her neighborhood for the last year or so. A lot of times they seem to be high on something, she said. Its not safe for them, its not safe for us, its not safe for anyone. Both women attended the meeting Wednesday at the Civic Center, where the police chief talked for more than an hour about all the things his department is doing to address homelessness. We are doing a lot, McCoy said. We are putting a lot of time, effort and money toward this issue. Oceanside will spend more than $5 million this year on various services related to homelessness, he said. Four years ago, the city created a homeless outreach team of two police officers and a sergeant that contacts transients daily to help them get off the streets, he said. Often, people on the streets dont want any help, he said. But the HOT team keeps going back. Maybe the fifth or sixth time, they say, Im ready, I want help, McCoy said. We want to get them headed in the right direction to break that cycle (of homelessness). The Police Department sends out four separate details a week to issue tickets and clean up encampments. It dispatches crime suppression units as needed, and maintains a downtown resource team to keep transients from sleeping on the beach and sidewalks. McCoy also tried to dispel some of the rumors heard at City Council meetings and on social media websites. Ive heard that around the airport area the crime is just going crazy, he said. The numbers at this point dont support that. Statistics show Oceanside crime overall has declined by 10 percent in the past year, McCoy said. People have said other cities are busing their homeless to Oceanside. Again, not so, the chief said. Many of the people who are homeless here are from this city, McCoy said. They are from Oceanside. Some people want police to arrest the homeless, but no one can be arrested simply for being homeless, he said. Thats not a crime. Transients tend to congregate in Oceanside for a number of obvious reasons the weather, the beach, and the open canyons and riverbeds with brush where people can hide. The city has charitable nonprofit services and helpful government agencies, and it is a transportation hub for buses, trains and ride-hailing services. Residents often say the city should clear out the trees and brush that hide the homeless camps. But those areas have native plants and animals that are protected by state and federal laws. A walk along the riverbed Wednesday morning turned up few camps and fewer occupants. It was easy to see spots where people have camped in the past, marked by flattened brush, piles of trash and old, discarded clothing. But most of those places were abandoned. One spot along the river near Capistrano Park was clearly occupied. Pants and shirts were draped over branches, and rolls of toilet paper, buckets, plastic bags of trash, and a battered bicycle were scattered on the ground. Im sleeping right now, a voice called out from behind the brush, when asked if anyone could talk with a reporter. Up the river closer to the citys small municipal airport, three or four people were moving around in a cluster of tents north of Airport Road, an area called Tule Canyon. Only one of them would talk to a reporter. He said his name was John Scott, but people called him Rasta. Scott, a wiry man in clean clothes with a gray beard, said he was 73 years old. Hed lived in San Diego County for 35 years. For a while, he worked at a small store in Oceanside, but for years hes been homeless, by choice, camping for a while in the Lawrence Canyon area of Oceanside, also at times in Vista and Encinitas. For the past eight months, hes slept in a culvert under Airport Road, near Benet Road, he said. He goes to Brother Bennos every morning for food. He can shower there, get some basic help, and he has his Social Security checks sent there. Brother Bennos is a blessing, Scott said. I call it the breakfast club. Scott clearly enjoyed talking. He was a U.S. Army veteran and worked in food service at Fort Leavenworth for years, he said. Hes also an artist who paints impressionistic landscapes. He was married four times, and he had a rough bout with cancer. These days, he prefers to live outdoors. I just mind my own business and do my own thing, he said. Theres lots of reasons people do what I do. One problem is the high cost of housing, he said, and, Not everybody can pay $1,500 in rent, As he spoke, a woman with a frown on her face, probably in her 30s, rode into the camp on a bicycle. She declined to say anything about her circumstances, got off the bike and went into a tent. philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @phildiehl The city has impounded more than 100 dockless bicycles since they began impounding them in March. Now the city plans to recycle the bicycles theyve held in storage for more than 90 days. The city of Coronado has impounded more than 100 dockless bicycles since March. Now, it plans to recycle the bicycles it has held in storage for more than 90 days. The freestanding bikes have sprouted up all over San Diego County. They can be rented using a smartphone app for as little as $1 and dont have to be returned to a store or docking station. Instead, they lock in place when they are not in use. Coronados municipal code requires businesses that use the public right-of-way to get a permit. Because the dockless bike companies Lime, formerly LimeBike, ofo, Mobike dont have a permit, the city can impound their property. Advertisement Coronado has collected 106 bicycles as of June 29, according to Clifford Maurer, the director of Public Services and Engineering. The companies have to pay a $45 impound fee and a $1-per-day storage fee to pick up their bicycles. Most of the bikes at the citys storage facility belong to Lime, Maurer said. For the most part, ofo and Mobike have been picking theirs up, theyve been paying their fee and picking them up, he said during a visit to the storage yard. But LimeBike, to the best of my knowledge, has not picked up one. Lime did not respond to questions asking why the company hasnt claimed its impounded bicycles. The companys general manager of San Diego, Zack Bartlett, issued the following statement: We would like to work with the city to explore a more productive approach. Lime has never deployed bikes in Coronado, our smartphone app actively warns riders against parking in Coronado, and we collect and redistribute most of our bikes on a nightly basis. Rather than destroying perfectly good bicycles, we can work towards finding real solutions that benefit both residents and riders. A representative from ofo said the city should donate them instead of throwing them away. Coronado considered donating the bicycles or selling them at auction. However, the bikes are unusable in their current state because of an electronic lock in the rear wheel and are painted as commercial property so ownership could be disputed. Additionally, the city didnt want the dockless bicycle companies to be able to buy their property back at auction. We also do not want to reward companies who have not claimed their property to allow them to purchase the bikes at scrap metal prices and avoid paying the impound fees, said City Manager Blair King. Dockless bikes and electric scooters have become popular throughout San Diego, including Imperial Beach and National City, but there has been pushback. The Little Italy Association tried to get San Diego to ban the bicycles. When the city denied their request, the association had maintenance workers physically remove the bikes from the neighborhoods commercial zone. Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter Charges have been filed against a Billings man accused of shooting a single father of two dead before shooting another man during a birthday party in midtown. Thomas John Slevira Jr., 32, appeared via teleconference Friday in Yellowstone County Justice Court on charges of deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide. Friends and family of Sunday's victims gathered in the courtroom, where Justice of the Peace David A. Carter set Sleviras bond at $1 million. Officers with the Billings Police Department arrested Slevira early Monday morning after a seven-hour armed standoff at a home on the 1200 block of Burlington Avenue. Slevira allegedly killed 45-year-old Carlos Delao during a carjacking, and then broke into the Burlington home where a birthday party was being held. County prosecutors accused Slevira of shooting the homeowner, Erik Brady, and then barricading himself in the basement. The investigation that led to charges against Slevira spanned several days and included at least three crimes scenes, according to court documents. Surveillance footage recovered from Delaos home on the 1200 block of Avenue F showed Slevira approach Delao while he was sitting in a pickup truck on Sunday evening. Slevira allegedly opened the drivers side door and shot Delao with a handgun, then pulled him out and drove away. The timestamp on the footage places the shooting at around 6 p.m. Slevira drove south, crashing into several parked cars and a telephone pole near Big B Bingo and Casino on 12th Street West, county prosecutors alleged. Surveillance footage showed him trying to enter several businesses in the area, according to court documents, and then walking into the backyard of the Burlington Avenue house. Slevira allegedly kicked in the back door and fell down the stairs into the basement. At the time of the home invasion, charging documents said, there were 25 people inside the house with at least 12 children. When four adults confronted Slevira in the basement, prosecutors alleged he shot one of them in the chest. All four adults managed to escape, according to court documents, one of whom waited with a firearm at the top of the stairs while everyone else in the party got out of the house. When police arrived, Slevira allegedly fired several rounds from the front of the house, with one victim later telling police he could hear bullets flying over his head. Officers cleared the area, and crews transported the wounded man to the hospital. Slevira holed up in the basement, court documents said, and in the ensuing standoff, BPD SWAT tried negotiating and firing tear gas into the house to get him to surrender. Eventually, according to charging documents, he did surrender. However, when he reached the top of the stairs from the basement, he allegedly tried to escape from police. SWAT team members had to physically restrain him, court documents said, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. On Jan. 10, while he was still a patient at St. Vincent Healthcare, Slevira again allegedly tried to escape. A probation officer tried to stop Slevira, and during the melee Slevira tried to grab the officers weapon, say documents. A hospital security officer used a Taser on Slevira, who was then booked into Yellowstone County Detention Facility. For several days, CS gas lingered inside the Burlington Avenue home. Investigators allegedly found the handgun used by Slevira in the homicide and standoff inside the house, areas of which were pockmarked by gunfire. The weapon was previously reported stolen, court documents said. While inspecting Delaos wrecked pickup truck, prosecutors alleged police found syringes and more firearms. Slevira has previously been sentenced for several violent crimes, according to Montana Department of Corrections records. Most recently, Yellowstone County District Judge Donald L. Harris sentenced him to five years in the DOC for partner or family member assault in January 2021. He was a DOC inmate out of custody on conditional release at the time of his arrest Monday. Arguing for a $1 million bond, Deputy Chief County Attorney Ed Zink said in court Friday that Slevira has a rap sheet spanning 40 pages. "He has a criminal history that is impossible to summarize in less than an hour," Zink told the judge. The case against Slevira will be transferred to Yellowstone County District Court, where he is scheduled to be arraigned February 8. If convicted of either deliberate or attempted homicide, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick issued a statement Friday saying the homicide and home invasion were still under investigation, and more charges could follow. Sundays homicide is the first investigated by BPD this year. The department investigated 17 homicides last year. On Friday, Melvin Joseph Pretty on Top pleaded not guilty to accusations of killing a man last month in the South Side as he sat in his van. The family of Delao has set up a fund at the downtown branch Billings Federal Credit Union to help with funeral costs. Any money raised above that will go to Delaos two children. Friends of the family have also set up a MealTrain for the Delao family here: mealtrain.com/trains/qn336l. Donations to the kids may also be made at that site, said Kari Boiter, who set up the MealTrain with the familys permission. A fundraiser has also been set up for Brady, the man shot while attending the birthday party at 1207 Burlington. That GoFundMe is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/erik-brady-and-his-family Montana State Universitys Eastern Agricultural Research Center and its partners will hold the 2023 MonDak Agriculture Research Summit on Thursday in Sidney. At the event, which aims to encourage interaction between farmers and ranchers, scientists from three partner facilities will report on agricultural research underway in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. The summit is coordinated by North Dakota State Universitys Williston Research Extension Center, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab in Sidney, and the Eastern Agricultural Research Center, which is one of seven statewide facilities in the MSU College of Agricultures Department of Research Centers. The event will include research talks on dryland and irrigated crops; addressing pests such as grasshoppers and wheat stem sawfly; weed management; and water and soil health. It will also allow for one-on-one discussions with scientists to share questions and research needs. A morning poster session will give attendees time to browse additional research projects underway. The free summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Richland County Fairgrounds Event Center at 2118 W. Holly St. in Sidney. Lunch will be provided courtesy of the Northern Pulse Growers Association. Other sponsors for the event include the city of Williston, Sustainable Oils, Sidney Sugars Inc., Agri-Industries and the Montana-Dakota Beet Growers Association. Up to three private applicator credits are available for Montana producers attending this event. Advance registration is encouraged. For more information or to register online, visit tinyurl.com/2023agsummit or contact Marley Manoukian, MSU Extension agriculture agent in Sidney/Richland County, at marley.manoukian@montana.edu or 406-433-1206 (office) or 406-489-1914 (cell). Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have revealed many new pockets of star formation in NCG 346, an open star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy close to our Milky Way. NGC 346 is located about 210,000 light-years away in the constellation of Tucana. This massive star-forming region resides in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite of our Milky Way Galaxy. Also known as ESO 51-10, Kron 39 or Lindsay 60, it was discovered on August 1, 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. NGC 346 has a diameter of 150 light-years and a mass of 50,000 solar masses. Webb probed this region because the conditions and amount of metals within the Small Magellanic Cloud resemble those seen in galaxies billions of years ago, during an era in the Universe known as Cosmic Noon, when star formation was at its peak. Some 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, galaxies were forming stars at a furious rate. The fireworks of star formation happening then still shape the galaxies we see around us today. A galaxy during Cosmic Noon wouldnt have one NGC 346 like the Small Magellanic Cloud does; it would have thousands of star-forming regions like this one, said Dr. Margaret Meixner, an astronomer at the Universities Space Research Association. But even if NGC 346 is now the one and only massive cluster furiously forming stars in its galaxy, it offers us a great opportunity to probe conditions that were in place at Cosmic Noon. By observing protostars still in the process of forming, astronomers can learn if the star formation process in the Small Magellanic Cloud is different from what they observe in the Milky Way. Previous infrared studies of NGC 346 have focused on protostars heavier than about 5 to 8 times the mass of our Sun. With Webb, we can probe down to lighter-weight protostars, as small as one tenth of our Sun, to see if their formation process is affected by the lower metal content, said Dr. Olivia Jones, an astronomer with the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre at Royal Observatory Edinburgh. As stars form, they gather gas and dust, which can look like ribbons in Webb imagery, from the surrounding molecular cloud. The material collects into an accretion disk that feeds the central protostar. Astronomers have detected gas around protostars within NGC 346, but Webbs near-infrared observations mark the first time they have also detected dust in these disks. Were seeing the building blocks, not only of stars, but also potentially of planets, said Dr. Guido De Marchi, a researcher at ESA. And since the Small Magellanic Cloud has a similar environment to galaxies during Cosmic Noon, its possible that rocky planets could have formed earlier in the Universe than we might have thought. The researchers presented their findings this week at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS 241) in Seattle, Washington. _____ M. Meixner et al. 2023. Early Imaging Results with JWST/NIRCam: Young Star Formation in NGC 346. AAS 241, program number: 444.09 Espagne: un ex-politicien accuse d'abus sexuels sur des migrants mineurs a Ceuta L'ancien conseiller pour la Sante de Ceuta, l'une des deux enclaves espagnoles situees au nord de l'Afrique, a ete place en detention provisoire pour des faits presumes d'abus sexuels commis sur des enfants migrants, ont rapporte samedi des sources judiciaires et medias. La television publique espagnole RTVE a precise que l'arrestation de l'ancien responsable politique etait en lien avec des mineurs marocains non accompagnes, qui sejournaient dans un centre d'accueil de la petite enclave. Dans une decision rendue vendredi soir, un tribunal de Ceuta a ordonne que Javier Guerrero, medecin de profession, soit immediatement place en detention provisoire. "La cour a decide (...) de placer Docteur Javier G. en detention provisoire sans caution pour des faits presumes de crime impliquant l'abus sexuel de mineurs", selon un communique du Tribunal superieur de justice d'Andalousie, juridiction competente dans l'enclave. "Le suspect (...) n'a repondu qu'aux questions posees par son avocat. La justice va poursuivre ses investigations", ajoute le communique. Aucun autre detail n'a ete rendu public, mais M. Guerrero lui-meme a precise dans un tweet avoir ete arrete mercredi a son domicile, devant son epouse et ses enfants. La quotidien El Mundo a precise que cette arrestation faisait suite a une enquete menee depuis plus d'un an par la police de la Guardia Civil, commencee apres la crise migratoire de 2021. En mai 2021, plus de 10.000 personnes avaient traverse la frontiere vers Ceuta, alors que les gardes-frontieres marocains regardaient ailleurs, dont des centaines de mineurs non accompagnes. Bien que la plupart des migrants ont ete renvoyes dans les jours suivants, quelque 820 enfants et adolescents sont restes a Ceuta. Cette intrusion exceptionnelle etait survenue dans un contexte de crise diplomatique majeure entre l'Espagne et le Maroc qui a depuis ete resolue. M. Guerrero a entame sa carriere politique locale sous les couleurs du Parti Populaire de droite en 2015 et a ete nomme chef de la sante a Ceuta en 2019. Il a demissionne de son poste en janvier 2021 apres avoir admis avoir enfreint les regles de vaccination contre le Covid-19. L'an passe, il a quitte le Parti Populaire pour lancer sa propre formation politique, Ceuta Avanza. Les enclaves espagnoles de Ceuta et Melilla, sur la cote d'Afrique du Nord, attirent depuis longtemps les populations qui fuient la violence et la pauvrete sur le continent, en quete d'une vie meilleure en Europe. Huntley Project Schools was one of 60 schools from across the country to win the NASA TechRise Student Challenge, the second year in a row the Worden school has taken the award. The challenge, in its second year, is a national STEM competition for sixth- to 12th-graders that offers students hands-on STEM experience and the opportunity to test their own innovative solutions for space exploration and the study of Earth. Administered by Future Engineers, it is designed to attract, engage, and prepare future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professionals. This year, the challenge was to design a science or technology experiment that could be tested on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flight. High-altitude balloon platforms have catalyzed fundamental discoveries for decades that contribute to our current understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe. Students will work through the remainder of the school year building out their experiment, with the support of professional engineers, in preparation for the flight test which will occur this summer. Overall, 60 teams from across the country were recognized. Each team will receive $1,500 to build out their experiments, a flight box in which to build it, technical support from Future Engineers, and an assigned spot on the high-altitude balloon flight. Winning proposals included experiments that explore everything from space travel to botany to exoplanets. All winners and full contest details can be found on the Future Engineers website. Imagery and a video about the challenge can be found at nasa.gov/techrise-student-challenge/. SFU physicist Stephanie Simmons will help steer Canadas new National Quantum Strategy as co-chair of its advisory council. The strategy, launched today by the federal government and supported by a $360 million commitment, will help shape the future of quantum technologies in Canada. Simmons, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at SFU and is also founder and chief quantum officer at Photonic, will co-chair the council with physics and astronomy professor Raymond Laflamme, founding director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. The role will mean working with top officials and experts in Canada and abroad to strengthen Canadian research, talent and commercialization. The national strategy aims to reinforce Canada as a world leader in the continued development of technologies, including support for Canadian developers and early adopters of new quantum sensing technologies, and equipping the country with a secure quantum communications network and post-quantum cryptography capabilities. The field of quantum technology is considered key to fueling Canadas economy, long-term resilience and growth, especially as technologies mature and more sectors harness quantum capabilities. Last fall, Simmons was recognized with a prestigious Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship, one of only six awarded nationally. The $250,000 fellowship is awarded by NSERC to academic researchers who focus on the natural sciences and engineering, to support their research as they become leaders in their fields. Simmons works collaboratively with the Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI), hosted at SFUs Surrey campus. She was also recently appointed to the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies. A former Judith Gap teacher will spend the next 78 months in prison after investigators found him possessing and sharing child sex abuse material on the internet. Jayson Gayo, 28, was sentenced Friday to prison and five years of supervised released in United States District, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Gayo, a Filipino national living in Montana on a visa, will be deported back to the Philippines once his sentence is complete. It is important to note that not only did (Gayo) possess child pornography, but he was also an administrator of a group involving those with an interest in pornography, federal prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation filed in court. In August 2020, court documents said, Facebook sent several tips to law enforcement of a video sent from an account later discovered to be associated with Gayo. The video showed the sexual assault of an underage girl. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation eventually traced the source of the video to Gayos residence in Judith Gap, where they executed a search warrant in March 2021. Judith Gap has a population of less than 200 people, and sits along U.S. Highway 191 north of Harlowton. Gayo told investigators he was an administrator of a Facebook group that uploaded pornography, and confirmed the group contained child sex abuse material, according to court records. After serving a warrant to Facebook to search all of Gayos accounts, and analyzing all of his media, law enforcement uncovered hundreds of photos and videos depicting child rape. At the time, Gayo was a teacher at Judith Gap School. While the United States has no information that any of the children at the school were abused by (Gayo), prosecutors wrote, "it is concerning that (Gayo) apparently had no qualms about possessing vast amounts of child pornography at the same time he was in a position of authority and trust with children. Following his indictment in federal court on one count of possession of child pornography, Gayo pleaded guilty in August 2022. At his sentencing before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters, federal prosecutors argued for a 10-year sentence while Gayos attorney asked the judge for 48 months of prison time. Along with six-and-a-half years in prison and five years of supervised release, Judge Watters ordered Gayo to pay $3,000 in restitution. Tips of child sex abuse material being shared through social media can be submitted anonymously to law enforcement through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/. Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal. Please purchase an Enhanced Subscription to continue reading. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! When Cohen Anaya was asked to participate in his first major museum exhibition, he turned the camera on himself. The Helena-based landscape photographer was selected to generate new art for an upcoming exhibition, Transilience, featuring the work of transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit artists from in and around Montana. Presented in partnership with TransVisible Montana, the exhibition will be on display at the Holter Museum of Art in Helena from Jan. 20 until March 30. After a statewide call to artists in 2022, nine people were selected to participate in the show, which will be exhibited in tandem with Transcend, featuring large-scale painted portraits by Rae Senarighi that celebrate transgender, two-spirit and nonbinary individuals. Senarighi, who grew up in Missoula, has garnered attention for his artwork across the state with You Are Loved billboards, and his large-scale portraiture was recently featured on Netflixs The First Time I Saw Me. Anaya traveled the state, photographing transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit people from Bozeman, Great Falls, Missoula and Helena, asking them each 20 questions in the process. But first, Anaya took a self-portrait and interviewed himself. Answering those questions allowed me to dig deeper within myself, he said. It gave me the confidence to stand out. Working with transgender, two-spirit and nonbinary artists across Montana is an effort by the Holter to represent artists whose work has not traditionally been displayed on museum walls, said Ramsay Ballew, exhibition and collections manager at the museum. It is our job to serve the community in all sorts of ways, and that doesnt always mean doing the easy thing, said Ballew. We are not going to be an ancient institution. We are going to be a contemporary institution and reflect on our history. We serve as a mirror for our community. These are very relevant working artists. The exhibition will be the first time Anaya has publicly identified himself as transgender. Through the process, he said he surprised himself with a response to one question: What was your hardest struggle with your gender identity? In the beginning of my transition, vocalizing out loud with other people that I am transgender, he replied. I had never asked myself that question. Sharing that with others helped Anaya learn to love himself, he added. I was so bottled up inside that I did not feel comfortable telling people who I was. It took me a lot of courage and vulnerability to express that to people, and once I did that, my transition flowed. 'Radical self-love' Senarighi said one of his motivations to become a portrait artist was the lack of representation of transgender people in the art world. His portrait exhibition, Transcend, has been touring the country for five years, and the collection will make its museum debut at the Holter. We go to art museums to be inspired to see beautiful work, and there is a complete and utter lack of representation of a whole population of people, Senarighi said. I want there to be space for someone like me to walk into an art museum, and there is someone that looks like me. I exist. I am here. Senarighi, who now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife and two children, grew up in Montana in a creative household. He recalls watching his mother create detailed and realistic portraits with color pencils. Though she died when he was 11, Senarighi said he learned much from her. In high school, Senarighi took drawing lessons at the Missoula Art Museum and then attended the University of Montana before finishing his degree at the Art Institute of Seattle in 2009. In 2015, Senarighi was diagnosed with cancer. That really woke me up and shook my foundation, he said. Surviving that made me realize I dont have all the time in the world. I made a commitment to myself to stop hating my body. I dont know if I would have been able to do this work without coming to a place of loving myself and going through what I went through, Senarighi continued. The love that I am determined to show myself doesnt come easily, and I still have negative voices in my head, but I have made this commitment of radical self-love. Theres introspection throughout the work, which Ballew describes as tender and poignant. There is also sadness, and there is so much joy at the same time, Ballew said. That is a real strength in a lot of these artists to hold sadness and joy and celebration and honor ones self in one voice. This exhibition is an effort by the museum to not only remove barriers, but to slow down and observe, Ballew said. To get there, it is trying to put yourself in a place of listening more than dictating, and that is a strength of this project so far. A curator often plays a major role in an exhibit, but Ballew said the museum, in this instance, focused on creating supportive partnerships and providing financial support. We did have the space, and we just tried to throw as many resources toward the project as we could and remove the barriers and see what happens, Ballew said. It was a great way to start the conversation and get people into the room to start. Visible partnerships The exhibition was created in partnership with TransVisible Montana, a coalition of transgender, nonbinary, and two-spirit individuals and organizations throughout Montana. Dandilion Cloverdale, who is two-spirit and goes by the name Mija, resides in Missoula and leads training across the state to support political advocacy and awareness for the group. We have always been here, and we are not going anywhere, Mija said. We are trying to create visibility so folks can get to know us and can see us as members of the community. The Holter Museum first approached TransVisible Montana about exhibiting artwork by transgender, two-spirit and nonbinary people. We dont get that spotlight, ever, let alone a whole museum of our stuff. The hope is that people will come in and rethink and learn more about who we are, Mija said. This is an opportunity to have something truly special, made by us and for us. Despite TransVisibles statewide network, Mija said, they received fewer submissions than they expected, attributing the relative dearth to the nervousness artists may have had about publicly displaying work and putting themselves into a spotlight. We are trying to create all this visibility so that other people who are transgender, nonbinary, and two-spirit can see role models out there and examples of people living authentically, Mija said. We are trying to make it easier and less painful for future folks to come out. Former Melbourne architect Bianca Censori has effortlessly leapt to the top of the global celebrity rankings after marrying unfathomable rapper Kanye West. A complete absence of any confirmation from the supposed newlyweds of the supposed ceremony was no inhibitor for the global media spreading the story all over the internet based on a solitary report from the sometimes reliable US gossip site TMZ. Former Australian architect Bianca Censori. Credit: LinkedIn West, who now goes by the name Ye, was spotted wearing a ring on his wedding finger in Beverly Hills this week, the publication said, adding that the couple had some sort of wedding ceremony but that it couldnt find any marriage certificate. It did, however, have a paparazzi shot of the pair lunching at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills last week. Dusk is prime hunting time as the toads venture out into easy-access areas grassy backyards, paths, parks, ovals in search of food. They love well-lit spaces because the light attracts moths, which they like to eat. Then its a simple case of grabbing the toads, popping them into the bucket, cooling them in the fridge, and finally euthanising them in the freezer. Its vital not to skip the fridge step because directly freezing toads causes them pain, Vincent warns. Popping them in the fridge first cools them down and puts them into torpor, a state thats a bit like hibernation and involves a slowing of bodily functions. Australian researchers who implanted data loggers in the brains of cane toads a few years ago discovered that those cooled in the fridge for a few hours didnt register any evidence of pain when they were later put in the freezer. The fridge-then-freezer approach also appears to ward off the likelihood of the so-called zombie toad encounter. Weve had occasions where weve had frozen toads dropped off to us by members of the public, and then theyve been in our freezer for a week, but when weve gotten them out and started defrosting them, theyve woken up, she says. Emily Vincent, from the environmental charity Watergum, advises toad hunters to pop them in the fridge to put them in a torpor before moving them to the freezer. Credit: Emma Young We do know amphibians can do this, they can freeze themselves and wake up. Weve contacted the uni to ask about it. When this happens, they suggested, they might just have been frozen really, really, really quickly and not cooled prior to being frozen, and thats meant theyve preserved themselves. As odd as it might seem, Watergum welcomes regular deliveries of frozen toads gathered by Aussie ecowarriors. Thats because the toxin stored in the glands at the back of toad necks is the key to a new weapon of mass destruction targeting cane toad tadpoles. A couple of years ago, the University of Queenslands Institute of Molecular Bioscience and the University of Sydneys Professor Rick Shine worked out how to turn tadpole behaviour and the cane toads own toxin against them. When tadpoles hatch in rivers, streams, dams or ponds, theyre gripped by an impulse to seek out and eat eggs laid by other females. They do this by following the scent of pheromones present in cane toad toxin. Cane toad eggs are covered in pheromones by the female when she lays them. She basically coats them in a secretion that contains the toxin. We think this protects the eggs from predators, Vincent says. And we know that if tadpoles detect this pheromone scent, theyre going to follow it. Research shows the pheromones can be isolated from toxin glands harvested from dead toads and used to make tadpole lures. The task of commercialising the lures has been trusted to Watergum, which expects the lures and tadpole traps to go on sale in the first few months of this year. In the lab, we isolate this pheromone and discard everything else. Then we apply it to a slow-release capsule and this creates our lure, Vincent says. That lure goes into a trap thats put into the water. The pheromone scent drifts out and creates a trail, and any tadpoles present will follow it and end up in the trap. Crucially, the lure does not attract other species so it poses no risk to native frogs or toads. Vincent says the lures will provide an excellent second line of defence, but collecting adult cane toads before they can breed is the most successful method of control. We can now use those adult toads and turn them into lures to catch tadpoles produced by any we miss. Its a nice big circle of control. An announcement about when the lures and traps will go on sale is expected within the next few months. Toad carcasses that cant be sent to Watergum for toxin harvesting can be disposed of in kerbside wheelie bins. It is sometimes said the past is another country. The attitudes, mores and dress conventions accepted in former times seem awkward, offensive or ugly in what we assume is a more enlightened present day. In the past, housebound women wore corsets, men thought only they could do science, and dragons ruled uncharted waters. People made comedy about Hitler as damaged generations used humour to process World War II trauma and stamp on the evil dictator. Through the inverted telescope of time, all these things become immensely far away and unfamiliar. That was then, this is now: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, still unvaccinated, trains on Friday for the 2023 Australian Open. This time last year Australia expelled him. Credit: Chris Hopkins But it is not just the distant past we struggle to remember and understand. Our ragged attention spans are poorly equipped to grapple with very recent history. Think about this: it is only a year since tennis player Novak Djokovic was expelled from Australia for arriving unvaccinated. Not a decade, though COVID years surely deserve a special measure, but a year. Just 52 weeks since our world was so very different. Donations made to some of Sydneys top private schools almost doubled between 2016 and 2019, as 20 schools drew in almost $340 million in contributions from parents and alumni over a six-year timeframe. The windfall comes as the citys high-fee independent schools ramp up fundraising drives to bankroll major infrastructure projects as they look to boost student caps, overhaul ageing buildings, expand sports facilities and invest in scholarship and bursary programs. Private school The Scots College in Bellevue Hill received about $53 million in donations from parents and alumni from 2016 to 2021. Credit: Louise Kennerley An analysis by The Sun-Herald examined the financial records of 20 schools that raised some of the highest donations from 2016 to 2021, tallying the amount each school collected from foundations, trusts, school building funds and parents associations. All-boys schools The Scots College, Cranbrook and Shore topped the list with some of the largest donations from parents and alumni, receiving more than $32 million each in the six-year period. Queensland police have charged another of their own, this time for alleged computer hacking and improper disclosure of information. The allegations against the 26-year-old constable from the Central Region, made public on Saturday, was the fifth public report since Tuesday about serving Queensland police officers facing serious charges. Five serving Queensland police officers have been charged recently for separate alleged incidents involving theft, drink-driving, hacking and family violence. He was suspended from the force and was expected to face Proserpine Magistrates court on Monday. This does not mean that the allegations against the officer have been substantiated, the QPS said in a statement. It did not release further information. Ouda and Shehada were not named in the press conference, however, the pair were identified as the alleged syndicate masterminds in media reports of the arrest, including by The Age. In his press conference, Hunter gave the ages of the co-accused and said the childcare centre was one of the biggest claimants of subsidies in Australia. AFP commander Todd Hunter giving the press conference in November 2020. Credit: Nine News Ouda and Shehada were charged with conspiring with the intention to dishonestly cause a loss to the federal government, however, the case was later dropped when it reached court. The pair recently lodged defamation action against Hunter and the Commonwealth of Australia in the Victorian Supreme Court, saying that their reputation had been harmed by the AFP. They are seeking compensation for the destruction of their childcare business, which was worth more than $10 million and generating annual profits of $2.5 million, as well as aggravated damages for the AFPs conduct. The Kuwaiti-born pair had business interests overseas that they say were harmed by the press conference, as well as a restaurant that now operates on a greatly reduced scale. Amgad Shehada was a co-accused who is also taking legal action. Credit: Facebook The press conference was undertaking for the sole or dominant purpose of seeking to promote the AFP and to improve the standing and reputation of certain ... members of the AFP including Hunter, said their statement of claim. There was otherwise no legitimate forensic need or purpose to hold the press conference. The pair claim that there was no reasonable basis for the allegations and that the AFP should have known that subsidies could be claimed without children attending childcare for absent days. They also allege that much of the evidence collected by the AFP was gathered while childcare centres were receiving business continuity payments from the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. AFP officers raiding properties as part of the investigation that was later dropped. Credit: AFP This involved centres being paid 50 per cent of their weekly income from before the pandemic, regardless of the number of children who attended. Whether or not children did ... attend childcare services on the days in which surveillance was undertaken by the AFP made no difference to the funding provided, the court documents state. Loading The defendants ought to have known there was no truth to the imputations. In its defence document, the AFP said that it was free to publish the words of the press conference under qualified privilege, which protects communication between certain parties. The AFP is also relying on a defence of honest opinion and that Hunter believed the material provided to him during the investigation was substantially true. Rose Rocca, the lawyer representing Ouda and Shehada, said the AFPs actions had a serious impact on the lives of her clients and their children. The special damages are significant and potentially, based on the expert evidence we have obtained, could be more than $9 million, she said. Assuming we succeed, we anticipate an order for aggravated damages which will mean the general damages are uncapped and, again, in that circumstance, we would be expecting general damages in the many millions of dollars. One of the five people charged by the AFP. Credit: AFP The AFP did not provide comment except to confirm the charges had been dropped. The Age has complied with a request by Ouda and Shehada to remove its original story when informed of the investigations outcome. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese should release a draft bill on the model for an Indigenous Voice to parliament if he doesnt plan to legislate it before this years referendum, following the Coalitions approach in the lead-up to the same-sex marriage vote. Dutton, who has previously called on the prime minister to consider legislating the model before Australians go to a vote as early as this year, said the government could release the detail in the form of a draft bill and regulations. Peter Dutton is calling on Anthony Albanese to release more detail on the Voice. Credit: Sydney Morning Herald Dutton confirmed that he does support constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, but said Albanese was playing a tricky, but dangerous political game in holding back the detail on how the Voice would operate. The Australian public wont vote for something the prime minister refuses to explain, Dutton said. Aggressive and violent incidents involving federal politicians have skyrocketed, with the Australian Federal Police last year receiving more than 500 reports of threats to the safety of MPs, the prime minister and the governor-general. The incidents last year included a spate of online threats, letters delivered to electorate offices, verbal altercations and destruction of property. Liberal senator James Paterson says the number of threats against MPs last year were disturbingly high. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The brutal murder of British MP Sir David Amess in 2021 led the AFP to conduct an internal review of the safety of Australian politicians. Federal police have experienced an increase in reports of direct threats to MPs since about 2017 but the numbers have tripled in the past three years. Many MPs put the rise in threats down to a surge in far-right extremism and conspiracy movements. There's no doubt that the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. now belongs to the world, to history and even, in some ways, to legend. But this year for King Day, which is Monday, I want to describe a bit about King's history in Kansas City, which, in King's time, was (and in many ways still is) a profoundly segregated city. Let's begin several years after King gained fame in the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott in the mid-1950s, a direct action that he helped to lead and that was, in many ways, the opening of the modern Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, King came to Kansas City to participate in the annual convention of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., which then was the largest black Baptist denomination in the U.S. King and others were determined to oust the incumbent NBC president, J. H. Jackson, and elect, instead, Gardner C. Taylor. The primary issue had to do with differences over the direction of the Civil Rights Movement. The result was a wild time on the convention floor and, eventually, the creation of a separate denomination, the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), which King joined and which became a primary foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. You can find the PNBC's description of its own history here. What do I mean by "wild time" at the NBC convention? As this site notes, "In 1961, a near riot broke out at the NBC meeting in Kansas City, with Jackson supporters 'out-shouting, out-shoving the King forces supporting his civil rights platform.' The Jackson camp managed to secure the podium before the arrival of the police, but in the struggle for control, A. G. Wright of Detroit was knocked from the stage and killed. "Despite this violent outcome, Jackson won a lopsided victory and remained as president of the NBC. Following the meeting, he denounced the nonviolent civil rights movement, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality. He also removed King from the vice-presidency of the Baptist Training Union and Sunday School Congress." Any church convention in which someone gets knocked off the stage and dies is one for the ages. In Taylor Branch's magnificent Pulitzer-Prize-winning trilogy on the Civil Rights Movement, he notes that "King's heart was with Taylor, and for the rest of his life he would mourn the failure to acquire this institutional base (the NBC) for the civil rights movement. . ." And as for the physical struggle that broke out on the convention floor, Branch writes this: ". . .with as much surprise as possible, the Taylorites tucked Gardner Taylor into a 'flying wedge' of several hundred preachers and stormed through the entrance to the convention floor. . .as they headed for the podium in a thundering mass. King remained outside." As for the person who died of head injuries, A. G. Wright, Branch has a detailed account of how he got injured and what it took to get him to the hospital. And the Association of Religion Data Archives reports this about the event: "After a dangerous fistfight broke out at the denomination's annual convention in Kansas City in September 1961, King quietly withdrew from the NBC. That November, 33 ministers formed the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), which King, Abernathy and Taylor joined (and Taylor would later become President in 1967). The PNBC remained a stalwart of the civil rights movement and its members were well-represented in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference." That may have been King's most dramatic appearance in Kansas City, but it wasn't his only one, as this Jackson County Historical Society account describes. The author of that article, Brian Burnes, my former Kansas City Star colleague, reports that between 1957 and his death in 1968, King made at least six visits to KC. There's an old saying in the journalism business that all news is local news. Like most famous sayings, it's too broad and too simplistic, but it does remind us that some national and international stories have local connections about which we should know. If you are reading this on Facebook and have a story to tell about King in Kansas City, I invite you to leave a comment. As for me, I never met King, though I did once meet his father, Martin Luther King Sr., known to many as Daddy King. That was when I was a newspaper reporter in Rochester, N.Y., in the late 1960s. But the story of either King in Rochester is best left for someone else to tell. (P.S.: As many of you know, King learned a lot about nonviolence from Mahatma Gandhi in India. My friend Markandey Katju, a retired India Supreme Court justice, has written this commentary about where India is now in its relations with Pakistan and how majority Hindus in India get along with minority Muslims there. Katju is issuing a plea, in harmony with both Gandhi and King, to end religious hatred.) * * * STOP STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES LIVE? Since the start of the Covid pandemic, every house of worship has had to adjust and decide whether, where and how to hold worship services. This opinion piece makes an interesting argument, from a Christian perspective, that faith communities should stop streaming their worship services live now. Rather, the author argues, they should do video recordings of the service and email a link to those recordings to anyone who could not be physically present. I think the idea has some merit. What do you think? While theres no doubting the need for a second major Sydney airport, the accompanying PR appears a tad overheated (Can Sydneys third city live up to the hype?, January 8). Nurturing targeted commercial activity around Bradfield City makes good planning sense, the prospect of living beside a busy airport doesnt. For anyone who has witnessed the phenomenal growth of outer western Sydney, Liverpools mayor comments ring true. Surrounding rail-connected regional centres could well accommodate future airport workers. However, the reality is the existing level of public amenity within these respective centres arguably falls short regarding quality and quantity. Addressing this deficit via a bold public works program would attract future residents, businesses and cultural institutions contained within medium dense developments. Cleveland Rose, Dee Why No need for Voice details Asking for more detail on the Voice to parliament before the referendum is a debating tactic to scare people. There is no guarantee that any model put forward now by the Albanese government will remain indefinitely (Dutton demands detail before referendum, January 8). A future government (even one led by Peter Dutton) can amend the details of how the Voice will work. In fact, the details should change over time as we learn what arrangement works best to respect and hear First Peoples views. That is why it is better for Australia to vote on the principle of the Voice rather than the detail. The details can and should change, but the principle of a Voice should be enshrined in the Constitution. Enrico Sondalini, Balgowlah As a voter, I feel that Peter Dutton is treating me like a mug. Peng Ee, Castle Cove Art galleries in, swimming pools out Jakarta: Indonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the countrys naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own. Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since December 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative said. A warship, maritime patrol plane and drone had been deployed to monitor the vessel, Laksamana Muhammad Ali, the chief of the Indonesian navy, said. The Chinese vessel has not conducted any suspicious activities. However, we need to monitor it as it has been in Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for some time. London: Prince Harry has told the London Telegraph newspaper he did not include everything that had happened between himself and his brother and father in his memoir because they would never forgive him, adding he had enough material for another book. In his book Spare, published last Tuesday, Harry reveals difficulties in his relationship with the rest of his family, particularly with Prince William and King Charles. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan after Queen Elizabeths funeral. In his memoir Harry accuses his brother of assault and Camilla of being a villain. Credit: AP Harry details long-standing tension between himself and his brother, culminating in William, who is heir to the throne, knocking him to the floor during a 2019 argument over Harrys American wife, Meghan. In the interview with the Telegraph published on Friday, Harry said an 800-page first draft of the book had been cut to just over 400 pages, and that he had shared some incidents with his ghostwriter, JR Moehringer, with no intention of seeing them published. London: The UK will send 14 tanks as well as self-propelled guns to Ukraine in a move that adds to international pressure on Germany to follow suit. Downing Street announced the news in a short statement after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. A British Army Challenger 2 battle tank during a training exercise in Finland. Credit: Bloomberg A spokesman said that during the call the leaders reflected on the gains made by Ukraine in pushing back Russian troops. They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, the spokesman said. London: Iran has executed a British-Iranian national who once served as its deputy defence minister, its judiciary reported on Saturday, defying calls from London for his release. Alireza Akbari was handed the death sentence on charges of spying for Britain, which had declared the case against him as politically motivated. Britain said the execution of Alireza Akbari (pictured) by Iran would not go unchallenged. Credit: KhabarOnline News Agency via AP I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. 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 New York: It used to be known as the Lullaby of Broadway a swanky hotel in the heart of Manhattans theatre district, one block away from the neon lights and digital billboards of Times Square. But three months ago, the 28-storey Row Hotel was transformed into an emergency relief centre for migrants relocated from Texas, Arizona and other states struggling to cope with a record influx of people crossing the US-Mexico border searching for a better life. Team TLC NYC volunteer Ilze Thielmann and immigration activist Adama Bah at New Yorks Port Authority Bus Terminal, where they greet migrants arriving from the southern border. Credit:Alex Towle The former $US400-a-night ($573) venue is now one of several New York hotels being used to house some of the 36,000-plus migrants who have been bused to the Big Apple since August, after making the painstaking journey from crisis-hit countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott started the contentious policy last year, saying it would give Democrat-controlled cities a taste of what border towns have had to deal with under the strain of President Joe Bidens broken immigration system. Immigrants gather with their belongings outside a church on Marthas Vineyard. Credit:AP Since then, other governors and mayors have followed suit, orchestrating surprise drop-offs in Democrat-controlled cities such as Chicago, Marthas Vineyard and Washington DC, the nations capital, where busloads of people regularly arrive outside the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. Advertisement Ilze Thielmann is one of many volunteers who have been greeting the migrants since they started showing up at New Yorks Port Authority Bus Terminal, about two blocks away from the Row Hotel, often with little or no warning. Many come with nothing but the clothes they are wearing, she says; some have even been separated from family members who were placed on buses that have ended up in other cities. Ilze Thielman, pictured outside Manhattans Port Authority Bus Terminal. Credit:Alex Towle Indeed, so many people are now being transported from the border to New York that a section of this bustling terminal has been cordoned off and is manned by National Guards so that volunteers can have their own designated space to help new arrivals with food, donated clothes, and legal assistance. Years ago wed get a few asylum seekers who were on their way to meet up with their family or their sponsor, so we would just help them along the way by giving them food, diapers, Advil, or a smile whatever they needed to make their journey easier, says Thielmann, a retired lawyer with the non-profit group Team TLC NYC. Now weve got entire bus loads of people as opposed to one or two families. Theyre not on their way to see a sponsor. Theyre coming here with nothing, and they have nowhere to go. And the first thing they say when they get off the bus is: can you help us get a job? The answer, technically, is no which underpins part of the longstanding problem with Americas immigration system. While many of the migrants are hoping to apply for asylum after fleeing poverty, violence, or authoritarian rule in their own country, the process of getting through the courts to validate their asylum claim can take months, if not years. Advertisement And for much of that time, they arent allowed to legally work (although many find unauthorised employment to make ends meet). Initially, though, the migrants are sent to taxpayer-funded emergency shelters across New York and provided with social services, school support, and food as they await their day in court. Four of the emergency shelters are Manhattan hotels the Row, the Stewart, the Wolcott and the Watson but the council has also rented out dozens of other smaller hotels to meet the demand, and some volunteers have even taken migrants into their homes while they resettle. The Row Hotel in New York is one of several now used to house migrants. Credit:Farrah Tomazin A tent city was also constructed at Randalls Island in October, but it was shut down after Biden and the Mexican government struck an agreement that required many Venezuelans trying to enter the US to apply for asylum in Mexico first. Its been an incredible challenge and terrifying to be honest with you but what has been amazing has been the outpouring of support by the people of New York City, Thielmann tells me. Theyve donated money and clothing; we have a church nearby called the Holy Apostles that delivers food every single day; and we have all these other groups doing whatever they can to help: clothing drives, fundraising, hosting Christmas parties. Its been really inspiring to see how this city has stepped up. Advertisement But even in New York, where the Statue of Liberty is a poignant reminder of Americas proud tradition of welcoming foreigners, and where every person in need of housing has a unique legal right to shelter, the crisis has become untenable. An NYC Emergency Management official during a tour of a new migrant holding centre on Randalls Island in New York. Credit:Bloomberg For months, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has warned his city is at breaking point and has pleaded with the Biden administration to do more to control the influx at the border, where more than 2.3 million migrants were apprehended over the past year, easily surpassing the 1.7 million who arrived the year before. In October, Adams issued a state of emergency and he recently asked his federal colleagues for $US1 billion in extra funds, after the city estimated it would spend $US596 million for one years worth of services, based on the number of people who had arrived by mid-November. So far, hes reportedly only received $US8 million. Its completely unsustainable, says Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. We are a nation of immigrants, but the welcoming impulse has suddenly met the reality of what it costs to resettle people. A child sleeps on the shoulder of a woman as they prepare to board a bus to San Antonio moments after a group of migrants, many from Haiti, were released from custody upon crossing the US-Mexico border in search of asylum in Del Rio, Texas, in September. Credit:AP There are also health and safety concerns, and a simmering resentment from parts of the community. This week, for example, Row employee Felipe Rodriguez appeared on Fox News late-night show The Ingraham Angle sharing videos of food rotting in trash bags because the migrants dont want to eat them. He also claimed the hotel had descended into chaos with some migrants drinking or using drugs, starting fights or having sex in fire-exit stair wells. Advertisement Elsewhere, at least two suicides have been reported at migrant shelters in Queens: one involving a 26-year-old from Venezuela; another a Colombian woman who came to the US last year to seek asylum with her two children. Americas border crisis is a polarising minefield that spans across successive governments and is influenced by shifting migration patterns. However, Biden has come under sustained fire for policies that critics say have made things worse, from halting construction of his predecessor Donald Trumps border wall on his first day in office, to suspending a Trump-era policy requiring some asylum-seekers to be sent back to Mexico to await immigration proceedings. Last week, as illegal crossings continued to soar, fuelling a humanitarian crisis in Texan border communities such as El Paso, Del Rio, and McCallen, the president finally pivoted to the political centre. In his most aggressive deterrent policy to date, Biden announced that people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti would be denied the chance to apply for asylum if they crossed the Mexican border between official ports of entry without authorisation. US President Joe Biden made an unannounced stop along the 18-foot border wall that separates El Paso from Juarez, Mexico, talking to Border Patrol agents as he strolled. Credit:AP These four countries account for most of the people now travelling into Mexico to try to start a new life by crossing the border into the United States of America he said. We anticipate this action is going to substantially reduce the number of people attempting to cross our south-west border. Whether its enough to fix such a longstanding problem is another story. Advertisement PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- The Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI), hereby announces that there will be an interruption in the traffic flow on the Arch Road on January 15, 2023, from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. Motorists are requested to be vigilant and observant of the traffic directional signs. The road closure is related to road surface repairs that will be carried out on Arch Road. The Ministry of VROMI apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause. PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint MaartenThe following is a joint press statement provided by the four Kingdom partners, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs of Sint Maarten; Prime Minister Evelyn Wever - Croes, of Aruba; Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas representing Curacao; and State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalization, Alexandra van Huffelen, representing the Netherlands: Over the past two days, we have had constructive discussions on the manner in which we wish to cooperate with each together in the Kingdom. This cooperation is based on equality, ownership, and mutual trust, which corresponds with the way we view our common future. Cooperation should lead to the implementation of reforms that contribute to the resilience and sustainable development of the Countries. The positions of the four countries in the Kingdom have been shared in a transparent and open atmosphere. These positions reaffirm the importance of the reforms as laid down in the Country Packages. The purpose of these discussions was to make further agreements on the manner in which we are going to arrange cooperation with each other in the implementation of the Country Packages. We have been successful in reaching an outline agreement on a mutual regulation. This agreement replaces the proposed consensus Kingdom Act on COHO (Caribbean Body for Reform and Development). This proposed Kingdom Law was submitted to the Parliaments and the Second Chamber where it was critically analyzed. Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten have taken the initiative and presented a proposal which was the point of the discussions over the past two days. The aim was to arrive at a mutual regulation, wherein, agreements about the working method, the manner of reporting, the support by the Netherlands, and the duration of the regulation have been laid down. Thereby giving context to the equitable relations within the Kingdom. Over the past two days, we have worked hard to further detail the agreements. During the coming period, the agreements will be further elaborated upon by our technical teams. It is expected that by the beginning of March 2023, a final mutual regulation will be signed. The four countries have agreed that in February 2023 consultations will commence on the loans provided for by the Netherlands during the COVID-19 crisis for the CAS countries, which will become due on October 10th, 2023. In addition, the status of the dispute settlement regulation was discussed. The Countries are awaiting the positions of the Parliaments and the Second Chamber on this point. The topic of the democratic deficit and the Van Raak motion was discussed. Having consideration for this, the countries have agreed that a Kingdom Conference will organize these and other topics. Military Memorabilia For VFW Memorials: Personalized NFC Enabled Challenge Coins Military service is a sacred thing, recognized for thousands of years as one of the most selfless acts a person can carry out. Not only that, but the bonds formed between service members during their time in the armed forces can last a lifetime, as I\-m sure you are aware of, given that you clicked on this article. However, life can get in the way. We lose touch with those we once considered family. People change and drift apart. This is the value of a veterans\- organization reconnecting old friends, rebuilding old bonds. Gray Water Ops is one such entity. As a veteran-owned business, they know the value of the bonds forged in service, and want to help people like you keep them even after years apart. 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To read about Gray Water Ops, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2022-11-22/first-smart-challenge-coin-with-embedded-nfc-chip-patented-by-gray-water-ops North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley has fired the State Crime Lab director for what he says are performance-based issues, but Robyn Quinn is calling her termination a witch hunt. Wrigley confirmed to the Tribune on Friday that he fired Quinn a week ago, just days before he testified in front of a Senate committee about a bill that would allow oversight of the lab by the states Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a part of his office. Quinn told the Tribune that I did not agree with Drews agenda and supported my employees 100%. Wrigley during Thursday testimony on Senate Bill 2131 alluded several times to changes in leadership at the lab. He told the Tribune on Friday that he decided to fire Quinn after he didnt see solutions to administrative challenges that he said he was unaware of when he took office. There were no complaints about the science. Thats not the challenge, Wrigley said. The challenge is backlogs, and the leadership didnt put forth a plan that was going to get us out of that. Quinn was director and quality manager of the crime lab for 4 years. In her statement to the Tribune she said Wrigley lodged false accusations about a toxic work environment based on employee exit interviews she has not seen to this day. Quinn claims Wrigley blamed her loss of staff on a training program that was too difficult. She said one employee was taken off casework and retrained twice when Quinns system of checking quality showed the employee was missing an understanding of analyses. I have tried explaining to him (Wrigley) NUMEROUS times that the training programs have to be hard AND that they are no different than any forensic lab in the country, Quinn said. I also tried explaining to him that a forensic lab can't afford to fast-track a trainee through the training program. Quinn added she has felt since her first meeting with Wrigley that shes been in a toxic work environment. He was appointed in February and didn't find the time to meet with me until May, she said. Gov. Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley to the post following the January 2022 death of longtime Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem due to cardiac arrest. Wrigley won election to a four-year term in last November's election. Wrigley said he "inherited a group of division directors with whom I continue to work. Robyn is the only director to be removed." Wrigley said he doesn't question Quinn's capabilities as a scientist -- that her removal was based solely on her performance as director. "I wish Robyn Quinn the very best up ahead," he said. Quinn said, I feel that I was unjustly terminated. I was part of Waynes legacy, and Drew has been dismantling Waynes legacy since February 2022. Wrigley said he and Stenehjem were friends for 25 years and worked together, adding, "His legacy is well-intact." Wrigley named Jennifer Penner, an employee of nearly 20 years at the lab, as interim director. Team leaders Char Rittenbach and Janelle Portscheller will take on additional duties during the transition. The Senate State and Local Government committee on Thursday heard testimony on Senate Bill 2131, which if passed would delete from state law a line stating the lab must be administratively separate from BCI. It wouldnt mandate that the lab be under BCI, but would give attorneys general that option in the future, Wrigley testified. Opponents of the bill say it wont address backlog issues. They argue oversight of the lab by BCI -- the agency tasked with investigating and prosecuting crimes -- could cast doubt on the labs work because the two entities arent separate. Dakhla (Refugee camps), 14 January 2023 (SPS) - Several personalities and associations from Latin America and Europe expressed in Dakhla, in the Sahrawi refugee camps, their solidarity and support for the Sahrawi people who struggle for its right to self-determination and independence. "In Latin America, the Sahrawi Arab Republic and the Polisario Front enjoy the support of progressive governments and peoples of this region," indicated the president of the Association of Friendship with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and president of the Chilean socialist movement "Allendist", Esteban Silva Cuadra, in a statement to the media on the sidelines of the 16th Congress of the Polisario Front, which takes place from 13 to 17 January. Esteban Silva Cuadra, who is also a political analyst, said that Latin America is represented by a strong delegation at this congress. "Leaders from Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama and other Latin American countries have come here to express the solidarity of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean with the struggle of the Sahrawi people," he said. Moreover, Mr. Cuadra stressed that the 16th Congress of the Polisario Front "takes place at a historic moment for the just struggle of the Sahrawi people for self-determination and full independence, namely the resumption of the armed struggle" with Morocco. "The international community, including the peoples of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia must accompany the Polisario Front and strengthen their solidarity with the Sahrawi people," he said. On the other hand, the president of the association of friendship with the SADR said that Morocco uses the same methods of corruption in Latin America as those used in the European Parliament. "In Latin America, the same method of corruption has been denounced, which consists of bribing deputies, senators, politicians and journalists," he said, pointing out that there is concrete evidence of Morocco's involvement in a scandal that could be even worse than the one currently rocking the European Parliament. For his part, the president of the Association of Friendship with the Sahrawi people of Seville in Andalusia, Fernando Peraita, stressed the need to give visibility to the Sahrawi cause in Spain, which remains the administering power of Western Sahara. "We try to keep the Sahrawi cause alive in Spain so that Spaniards know that there is a people fighting for its freedom," he said. Mr. Peraita also denounced the change of position of the Spanish government on the conflict in Western Sahara, calling it a "shameful decision. The Argentine parliamentarian and activist for the Sahrawi cause, Julia Perie, stressed the significance of the 16th Congress of the Polisario Front. According to her, "this conference is fundamental to denounce what is happening in Western Sahara and shed light on the suffering of the Sahrawi people. 062/T Conservative lawmakers have set out plans to revise North Dakotas abortion laws as the states near-total ban on the procedure hangs in the balance. A seismic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, triggering 16-year-old legislation that prohibits abortion in North Dakota. Bismarck-based judge Bruce Romanick has temporarily blocked the trigger ban as a lawsuit plays out, but the state Supreme Court is due to decide whether to allow the law to take effect The Red River Women's Clinic, which brought the lawsuit against the state, moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, last summer. The facilitys departure means there are no abortion clinics in North Dakota. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, is sponsoring Senate Bill 2150, which she says undergirds the intent of the legislative body for the last almost 20 years. Critics say the legislation still needs broader exceptions for performing abortions in dire cases. The proposal aims to eliminate confusion among medical providers and to reconcile differences between the abortion ban held up in court and state abortion laws that existed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Myrdal said. The 21-page bill would change affirmative defenses for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother into exceptions. Under the trigger ban, doctors could be charged with a Class C felony for performing an abortion during medical emergencies and in cases of rape or incest, but they could argue in court that the affirmative defenses outlined in the law protect them from criminal liability. The seemingly minor change in Myrdals bill means medical providers wouldnt have the threat of prosecution hanging over their head while treating certain serious pregnancy complications, said Dr. Ana Tobiasz, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Bismarck. Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, said he supports turning the trigger bans affirmative defenses into exceptions. Thats not something that should be part of the thought process of a medical provider, so I dont see why that burden shouldnt rest with the state, said Hogue, who is an attorney. The proposal also explicitly allows for the treatment of ectopic pregnancies, which occur when a fertilized egg implants outside of a womans uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are almost never viable and require medication or surgery to terminate. The trigger ban does not include a carve-out for doctors treating ectopic pregnancies, but an existing section of law called the Abortion Control Act has an explicit exception for treating the complication. Tobiasz previously expressed worry that the legal gray area would seed doubt for doctors, but she said Myrdals bill would make it clear that they can treat ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages without fear of legal repercussions. Hogue, who considers himself pro-life, said Myrdal is the Senate portfolio leader on life issues and she sort of reflects this general sense of the Senate on what we should be doing on abortion. Red River Women's Clinic Director Tammi Kromenaker said, Once again, extremist North Dakota politicians are attacking bodily autonomy rights this legislative session. They are intent on making it impossible to provide abortion care in our state. This is out of step with what North Dakota voters want. It is in direct contrast to what is happening at the exact same time in the Minnesota Legislature, where abortion rights are being enshrined into law. North Dakotans deserve better from our legislators." The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing for the bill at 2:30 p.m. Monday. Critics emerge Myrdal said pro-abortion rights advocates shouldnt oppose her bill since it contains no substantive changes to the states abortion laws other than changing the trigger bans affirmative defenses to exceptions. But the content of the legislation has raised some alarm bells in legislative and medical circles. Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, a Fargo Democrat who supports open access to abortions, said shes hugely concerned by a provision in the bill that would limit abortions for victims of rape and incest to just the first six weeks of a pregnancy. Many women might not know theyre pregnant that early, she noted. Hanson, who requested an attorney general opinion last summer on conflicts within North Dakotas abortion laws, said Its unfortunate that (SB 2150) is still such a strict restriction." Myrdal said the six-week limit on abortions for rape and incest victims would marry the trigger ban with the so-called heartbeat bill, which federal courts blocked after the Legislature approved it in 2013. Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley is appealing the block on the heartbeat bill, which bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected as early as six weeks except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with the law. Wrigley said the law is impacted by the Dobbs decision, and we believe it no longer to be a prohibited piece of legislation. Myrdal added that abortions are very rarely performed on known victims of rape or incest in North Dakota. Hanson cites further concerns in the bill not including mental and emotional health in a medical emergency, a lack of parity with physical health emergencies. In general, our state likes to consider our mental and emotional health on par with physical health, and there is not an exception for consideration if a woman is having a health emergency with that aspect of her health, she said. Tobiasz believes abortion should be legal in North Dakota, but she said Myrdals bill would give some needed clarity to medical providers. However, Tobiasz said she plans to propose a small but meaningful amendment to the bill. As written, the legislation would only allow doctors to abort pregnancies in a medical emergency to prevent a patients death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment. Tobiasz would like to turn the and into an or. Tobiasz said the current phrasing wouldnt allow for abortions when a patients complications are substantial but not necessarily irreversible. For example, a womans water breaking before a pregnancy is viable represents a severe health risk, but if treated, the complication may not permanently impair the mother, she noted. Do we have to wait before theyre in organ failure before we intervene? Tobiasz said. Courtney Koebele, the executive director of the North Dakota Medical Association, said her organization will also advocate for ensuring doctors can adequately care for patients in emergency situations. Other abortion-related bills: Myrdal is sponsoring Senate Bill 2129, which would earmark $1.6 million for establishing and maintaining an alternatives-to-abortion program. The program would support private organizations that provide services that promote childbirth instead of abortion for pregnant women. Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, is backing House Bill 1171, which would ban and criminalize forced or coerced abortions. Rep. Brandon Prichard, R-Bismarck, is sponsoring House Bill 1173, which would establish Jan. 22 of every year as Right-To-Life Day in North Dakota. Rep. SuAnn Olson, R-Baldwin, has proposed House Bill 1176, which would create tax credits for residents who adopt children and for donors who support maternity homes and pregnancy centers. Olson is sponsoring House Bill 1177, which would establish sales tax exemptions for baby diapers and childrens car seats. Both of Olson's bills are backed by the North Dakota Catholic Conference, which portrays them as "pro-life" proposals. When lifes changes led writer and artist Holly Fann to leave her small home of 21 years in Richmond Heights, she moved to the city, to a neighborhood shed long admired. Every time we would drive through the Central West End Id tell my ex-husband If I could live anywhere in St. Louis it would be here. It reminds me of New York when I lived there, and I love this part of the city, Fann says. She also knew she wanted to experience apartment living, but in a historic, architecturally interesting building that fit with the lifestyle she now enjoyed. She had once viewed apartments as transitory places, a landing ground to come in, change clothes, then leave to go out. Her apartment would now be a real home, with her best buddy, Ruby, a Boston terrier, her furnishings, her art and her workspaces. She had one requirement that narrowed down her options considerably. One of my favorite things is to have 10 to 12 people come over for dinner parties. Having people in and feeding them makes a house a home, she says. I didnt want to live in a duplex, and I wanted to live in an interesting, historic building, she says. My only other consideration was an absolute must. It had to have a gas range. For some reason, people just love to put those flat top ranges in rental units. Luck was on her side. She found her new home at the third property she visited. I was very lucky that I have the largest layout in the building at 1,000 square feet, which is actually more space than I had in my house. Theres only one on each floor, and one was available, she says. Fann planned her new space to take in every aspect of her life. The open plan of the living room and dining room allowed for a midcentury modern waterfall drop leaf table she found on the internet that expands to seat 12 guests. Her jewelers table sits snuggly against the wall opposite the dining table, the beads adding pops of color and sparkle to the space. Her writing desk fits into an alcove next to the jewelers table, grounded by a patterned area rug and flanked by an intricate what-not shelf. The decorative shelf holds a photo of her black and white Boston terriers, Bert and Doug, whose primary residence is with her ex-husband. The two have shared custody of their three dogs, so visits are a given. The bottom shelf displays a photo of Holly on stage at the TedxStLouis "Beyond Words" innovation talks in September 2022. The top shelf is home to a smiling planter whose hair style neatly mimics Fanns, a tall plant, a mother-in-law tongue, sprouting from its top. The open plan extends to a comfyseating area where guests can enjoy a cocktail, served from a bar Fann reworked and refinished from a midcentury hi-fi cabinet. Furniture restoration is another of her many skills. Fann also got her gas range, and as a bonus, the long galley kitchen was very big blank space that chef Fann got to design her way. Shes a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, an education that landed her in kitchens in New York and in St. Louis. It also helped her food writing career, which she pursues today in multiple markets. Apartment living agrees with Fann, who is far enough away from the busiest parts of the CWE to enjoy peace and quiet, yet close enough to walk less than a mile to Whole Foods. Her dog Roo (short for Ruby) has taken to apartment living as well. I wasn't sure how she would do, but she's great. Shes not a high-energy girl. She just gave me a very judgmental look for that comment, but its nice. We have a courtyard area behind the building where people walk their dogs, she says. The apartment was a blank canvas to showcase her eclectic art collection. Shes hung artworks throughout the house and all of it has a personal connection, like the pop-art painting of a drill from an artist she met when she worked at City Museum as director of catering. After she curated an exhibit, "Food for Thought," for Webster Arts in 2022, a dear friend gifted her a painting of pieces of cakes from the show. At one point, Fann might have elected to go to art school rather than culinary school. She took classes at Webster Groves High School with Marilynne Bradley who led Fann and her classmates on trips to visit Chicago Art Institute and Kansas City Art Institute, but she decided the Culinary Institute of America was more to her liking. A prized artwork, a black and white illustration by Louis Darling, an illustrator for the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary, hangs in the center of her apartment where she sees it every day. She looked for a piece of Darlings art for about 20 years. And then out of weird coincidence, I joined an online group for fans of childrens book illustrators. I met a man who actually had an original illustration, she says. It happened to be the first illustration from the book 'Henry and Beezus.' Its of Henry Huggins' neighbor, who is dressed up like a chef, carrying all these ingredients on a tray, she says. Theres more than a passing resemblance between Fann and Ramona Quimby, the literary heroine of her younger years. As Beverly Cleary wrote in "Ramona the Pest": She was a girl who could not wait. Life was so interesting she had to find out what happened next. Holly Fann Age 46 Occupation Fann is a food critic for St. Louis Magazine, a food writer and an artist who makes jewelry. Family Holly lives with her Boston terrier Ruby, a.k.a. Roo, and two other Bostons, Bert and Doug, who visit them often. Home Central West End Photos: At home with Holly Fann in her St. Louis apartment At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis At Home with Holly Fann in St. Louis ST. LOUIS The Great Depression had settled in hard by the first dawn of 1931. Unemployment, already at 15 percent, would climb relentlessly toward a crushing 24.9 percent two years later. Relief programs were well-intended but scant, and jobless families lost homes, apartments and farms. In St. Louis, more than 5,000 of the dispossessed drifted toward a Midwest version of world's end the flood-prone land along the Mississippi River. Most settled on a stretch from the Municipal (later MacArthur) Bridge south for more than a mile. They lived in shacks made of crate wood, scraps of sheet metal and canvas. They called their crowded refuge Hooverville, a bitter nod to President Herbert Hoover, and one of many Hoovervilles across the land. Good news came in small doses. In the first week of January 1931, relief volunteers at the Welcome Inn, a food pantry as humble as the shelter of its Hooverville patrons, began offering "ready to heat" meals in addition to its fare of cast-off vegetables, day-old bread and home-canned foods. Pre-cooked meals offered beans, macaroni and vegetable stew. Katherine Franciscus, philanthropist and leader of the Welcome Inn, said it added the meals because many families didn't have enough coal to cook from scratch. Franciscus said the meals "need only to be warmed." The Welcome Inn was a local Depression-era landmark. Ralph Hirsch, owner of a workingman's bunkhouse nearby, opened it in April 1930 beneath the dingy Municipal Bridge trestle at Fourth Street and Chouteau Avenue, three blocks from Hooverville. The Welcome Inn, made of rough planks, had a dirt floor. Its coal-fired stoves were built of used brick and grates from old locomotive fireboxes. Utensils were washed in a bathtub. The Welcome Inn gave food to as many as 4,000 people each day. Franciscus and other charity-minded citizens took it over in November 1930, soon adding the like-home touch of ready meals. They hired poor women from Hooverville to can donated vegetables the old-fashioned way, and paid them in produce. Society ladies held fundraisers for the Welcome Inn. One such event, called a "thrift party," was at the Hotel Chase on Jan. 14, 1932. The 800 in attendance wore old clothes and dined upon hot dogs. The big Hooverville grew to a community of more than 600 shacks, four churches and a "mayor," Gus W. Smith, a laborer. Its 300 children went to public schools. A suburb was called Hoover Heights. Not even three floods kept its residents away for long. In 1936, the federal Works Progress Administration cleared out most of Hooverville in sweeping, big-government fashion, but small clusters of shacks endured into the 1960s. Read more stories from Tim O'Neil's Look Back series. ST. CHARLES COUNTY Police arrested four juveniles and one adult early Friday after an O'Fallon, Missouri, resident was attacked in a home invasion, authorities said. Hakizimana Claude, 18, is charged with burglary, robbery, armed criminal action and assault by the St. Charles County prosecuting attorney. A judge set his bond for $2 million, no 10% allowed. The others arrested are ages 17, 16, and two 15-year-olds, authorities say. The attack happened about 1 a.m. Friday at a house on Hawksbury Place in the Winghaven subdivision. The attackers hit the homeowner in the head, demanded money, keys and a vehicle, and fired one shot in the home before they left, police said. The resident suffered serious injuries. Some of the assailants drove off in a car that had been stolen in St. Louis; others left in the homeowner's car. Police chased both vehicles, according to O'Fallon police Sgt. Bryan Harr. One pursuit ended more than 20 miles away when the suspects crashed near Ladue in St. Louis County; police arrested two people there and later arrested a third. Another pursuit ended off of Highway 94 when the suspects crashed; officers arrested two people and found a gun at the crash site that Harr said had been stolen in Florissant. An attorney for Claude and next court date is not yet listed. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris contributed to this article. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. To the scores of sheriffs in Illinois who reportedly have vowed not to enforce the ban on semiautomatic weapons that took effect Tuesday night, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a succinct answer: Yes, you will. Nine in 10 of the states sheriffs, joining with gun-rights advocates in declaring the prohibition unconstitutional, have sworn off zealous enforcement of the law. It prohibits the manufacture or possession of dozens of rapid-fire weapons and attachments and requires registration of those previously owned in response to the massacre at a July 4th parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park which killed seven and wounded 30. They took an oath of office to enforce the laws of the state of Illinois, and they will do so, Pritzker said of the sheriffs Friday in Chicago after signing a law protecting abortion and gender-affirming care. These are folks who are entrusted by the public to enforce the law, the governor continued. They dont get to choose which laws they enforce. Republican Sheriff Mark Landers of Logan County, just northeast of Springfield in central Illinois, was among the first of his peers to declare his stance, posting on social media Wednesday that the right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right. Calling the law a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Landers said that neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state nor will we be arresting or housing law-abiding individuals who have been charged solely with non-compliance of this act. Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, said more than 90 sheriffs have issued similar statements based on a template he provided. Reaction has been overblown he said. All they are saying is, Were not going to knock on peoples doors to ask whether they have registered their firearms, Kaitschuk said. And if theyre arrested solely on that charge, we will not house them in our jails until ordered to do so by a competent authority, meaning a judge. Rep. Bob Morgan, the Deerfield Democrat who sponsored the legislation after witnessing the carnage as a participant in the Highland Park parade, said sheriffs are putting their front-line deputies at risk. Its disappointing to hear this from law enforcement officials whose own deputies lives are at risk, Morgan said. Standard-issue bulletproof vests cannot stop a semiautomatic weapon round. Weapons obtained before the law took effect must be registered with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024. The make, model and serial number must be reported and likely will be worked into software that state police use to record and track Firearm Owners Identification cards. The Illinois State Rifle Association said it plans to file a federal lawsuit challenging the law. Pritzker, who called the sheriffs stance political grandstanding, said hes confident it will survive court tests, as semiautomatic weapons bans have in eight other states and Washington, D.C. If the sheriffs are not up to the task, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said, someone else, such as the Illinois State Police, will be. As far as law enforcement agencies, there are overlapping jurisdictions as well, Raoul said. So if they dont do their jobs, there are other people available to do the job. ST. LOUIS A federal jury convicted a man Friday in a four-day crime spree during which he stole a gun, carjacked three people, zip-tied a womans wrists and impersonated Ameren and Purina workers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen said the man, 37-year-old Drew Clark, was on a rampage and had to be stopped. Clark was convicted of seven charges; Clarks lawyers said investigators got the wrong man. The crime spree started on May 22, 2021, when investigators say Clark stole a mans Jeep Grand Cherokee containing a 9 mm handgun outside Union Station in downtown St. Louis. Four days later, Clark abandoned the Grand Cherokee in the 3700 block of South First Street, near the riverfront at the Buzzi Unicem facility, prosecutors said. Clark got into a white Dodge Ram belonging to Buzzi, but when he tried to take it, a worker blocked him in with his own truck, prosecutors said. Clark then pulled out a gun and threatened the worker. The man got out of the way. About 30 minutes later, Clark burglarized a home in the 2700 block of South 13th Street, just east of Interstate 55 in the Soulard neighborhood. He abandoned the Dodge Ram and threw a debit card, a set of keys and running shoes that he took from the truck into a dumpster behind the Ninth Street Deli at Howards. He kept walking down 13th Street when he then found a woman outside her house. He held her at gunpoint, demanded money, zip-tied her in her bathroom, then stole her keys, a Jeep Cherokee and Ameren clothing, including a safety vest and helmet, from her basement, prosecutors said. Im so scared, the woman said in a text message to a loved one, according to court testimony. At around 1:30 p.m., Clark abandoned the Jeep in the 1100 block of South Seventh Street, donned the Ameren gear and headed toward Purina headquarters south of downtown. He got a temporary contractor badge and a water bottle from the front check-in area and wandered through the grounds and buildings, eventually changing into clothing he stole from an employees locker, prosecutors said. At around 3 p.m., Clark carjacked a Subaru Impreza from an employee who was on his way to a happy hour. Eleven minutes later, he abandoned the Subaru in the 1600 block of Ninth Street. He left behind a vest and a Purina radio. St. Louis police spotted Clark, but he ran away through another persons house. Officers eventually caught and arrested him, using stun guns to subdue him, according to court documents. He was carrying the gun, as well as a backpack containing an unused zip tie, Purina keys and a business card, gift card envelopes and a charging plug from the Jeep stolen at Union Station. Clarks attorney argued that his client only had all the stolen items because he had happened upon the stolen Subaru, which was unlocked with the keys left on the floorboards. He said investigators could not definitively see his client on surveillance video, and a witness misidentified him. Jurors ultimately took about two hours to return verdicts of guilty on three counts of carjacking, three counts of using a gun during a violent crime and a single count of possession of a stolen firearm. Clark is set to be sentenced at a later date. He is facing 21 years to life in prison. He is also facing charges in the city of St. Louis for the carjacking at Purina and multiple charges of tampering with a motor vehicle in Jefferson County. ST. CLAIR COUNTY A Belleville man charged with murder on Friday was caught after a traffic stop in a stolen vehicle that led police to discovering a deceased woman in a home two days earlier in Freeburg. Authorities did not release many details about the investigation, but Scottie R. Lambert, 33, is also charged with home invasion, armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was being held at the St. Clair County Jail. The murder of Linda Waller, 55, is the first homicide investigation in decades for Freeburg, a town of about 4,500 people. Lambert was pulled over in a silver Ford pickup truck on First and West Main streets in Belleville by Belleville police for an improper turn on Wednesday. Officers said Lambert appeared to be "extremely nervous," and he consented to a search of his vehicle when asked by police. While searching, they found evidence that led them to believe a violent crime had been committed" at a residence in Freeburg, police say. Belleville authorities alerted Freeburg's police to search the residence, a trailer on Deerfield Court, where Waller's body was discovered. Schutzenhofer, who said the woman wasn't shot, did not confirm any other details pending an autopsy. Belleville police and Illinois State Police also assisted with the investigation. Lambert was paroled in 2021 after he was sentenced in 2014 for burglary. He was previously found guilty of aggravated vehicular hijackings, aggravated discharge of a firearm and burglary. ST. LOUIS A 27-year-old woman was found dead Friday evening in a north St. Louis neighborhood, police said. Officers were called just after 8 p.m. to the 4200 block of North 21st Street in the Hyde Park neighborhood where they found Tamera Plummer, 27, of St. Clair County, inside a vehicle in an alley with a "puncture wound" on her face, police said. Plummer was pronounced dead at the scene. Police were investigating the incident as a homicide and have yet to identify any suspects. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the victim's hometown. Doug Burgum gave his annual State of the State address recently. In that speech, Gov. Burgum said "farm and ranch families are the backbone of our state. Almost the next thing out of his mouth was that we should weaken North Dakota's long standing law that does not allow corporations to buy up North Dakota farmland. Burgum won his primary on June 14, 2016, and in that same election a ballot measure repealing a 2015 legislative change to allow corporate farming in North Dakota was passed by 76% of voters. Votes to restore the ban on corporate farming were in the majority in every county across the state. Burgum should then remember clearly that North Dakotans support family farms. But the question before our elected legislators is: Why should we change our laws to allow more farmland acquisition to the likes of Bill Gates and Chinese entities that his administration has been bringing into North Dakota? Farmers of all sizes in ND should be concerned because Burgum is setting the table so his West Coast billionaire friends and foreign corporations can buy up swaths of the farmland base of North Dakota. Twenty-one members of Congress, including Minnesotas Tom Emmer and Michelle Ficshbach in a July 18, 2022, letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stated: We are alarmed by the rapid increase in the amount of United States land acquired by Chinese entitiesIf we look beyond just China, all foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land have increased by an average of 2.3 million acres per year between 2015 and 2020. States in our region have long ago recognized this threat to our farms, main streets, and way of life of farms and rural communities. Minnesota and Iowa have laws banning foreign ownership of farmland and eight states in our region are contemplating the same type of legislation this year. I challenge the wisdom of Gov. Burgum to buck this trend. Todd Leake, Emerado Missouris Legislature, which has already extended the heavy hand of the state into womens medical decisions, is now picking through female legislators closets. The Republican House majority on the General Assemblys opening day last week pushed for a new dress code to require that women wear jackets sparking a protracted debate about sweaters, sequins and other hot-button issues. Its a good thing Missouri isnt struggling with crumbling infrastructure, underpaid teachers, out-of-control gun violence or other minutiae that might distract these fashion mavens from the urgent topic of blazers versus cardigans. Legislators often debate proposed changes to House rules at the start of each two-year General Assembly, like the one that began Wednesday. Sometimes the debates center on parliamentary issues of importance to the functioning of the legislative chambers. Then there are debates like this one, in which Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar, proposed requiring female legislators to wear dress jackets on the House floor. Its not like theyre currently showing up in tattered jeans and concert T-shirts. Previous House rules specified jacket-and-tie business attire for men and dresses or skirts or slacks worn with a blazer or sweater and appropriate dress shoes or boots for women. That may not exactly sound fashion-radical, but Republican proponents of the rule-change said it leaves too much room for interpretation by female legislators as theyre choosing what to wear in the morning. Talk about tone-deaf. Not only is this nonsense coming from the party of the last actual dress-code snafu in the Legislature (when Republican Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, stirred controversy and held up legislative business by wearing bib overalls in the chamber last year) but its also coming from the party that now outlaws abortion rights from the moment of conception, with no exception for rape victims. We are fighting, again, for womens right to choose, Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, noted in floor debate, and this time its how she covers herself. Though cosponsors of the rule change are Republican women, more than two-thirds of House members are male. You know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to decide whether its appropriate or not? asked Rep. Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City. Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, noted the special irony of this obsession with cloth coverings coming from the party that has often opposed them when theyre really needed. The caucus that lost their minds over the suggestion that they should wear masks during a pandemic, he tweeted, is now focusing on the fine details of what women have to wear (specifically how to cover their arms) to show respect here. The constitutional crisis was finally settled with an amendment specifying that cardigans can be used as jackets. At least no one has suggested (yet) that the women must wear red shawls and white bonnets. Tragic typos The new wall of remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington was meant to finally give some recognition to those who died in what has been called the Forgotten War. Unveiled last summer, the wall lists the names of the more than 36,000 Americans who perished in the 1950s war in the early days of the U.S.-Russia Cold War. But researchers have discovered yet another indignity to their memory: There are more than a thousand errors on the wall, including hundreds of plainly misspelled names. About 500 names that should be there arent. Hundreds of other names that are there shouldnt be including a Marine who was still alive 60 years after the war. Its just a damn mess full of old bookkeeping errors and typos, historian Hal Barker told The New York Times. He and his brother Ted, whose late father served in Korea, were largely responsible for documenting and calling attention to the errors. Theyre now pushing the Pentagon and others involved in the project to correct the mistakes. We feel we owe it to these guys, Ted Barker said. Big and brainy? It turns out Tyrannosaurus rex, long considered to be a pea-brained monster, may have been a lot smarter than researchers thought. A new study of T. rex cranium fossils suggests the giant two-legged carnivores were actually the primates of their time, as one researcher told The Washington Post. No actual dinosaur brains survive, so the study, published this month in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, used as a guide those of modern birds, the dinosaurs closest living relatives. Researchers analyzed the brains of ostriches relative to their brain cavities, then extrapolated what the dinosaurs brain characteristics might have been relative to their cranial fossils. They found that Tyrannosaurus rex would have had as many as 3 billion neurons in its brain, potentially putting its intelligence on par with modern baboons. That means, in theory, the T. rex might have been capable of socialization, problem-solving and even using rudimentary tools. It begs the question of what non-avian dinosaurs might have evolved into, had an asteroid not ended their reign 66 million years ago. Thats a whole other world that would have been terrifying, one of the researchers, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, told The Washington Post. Big (job) but not so brainy In one of her first actions since taking office as Republican governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order to root out the discussion of Critical Race Theory in public schools. Similar to her time as the White House spokesperson trying to make sense of Donald Trumps senseless behavior and words, Huckabees order makes clear she doesnt have a clue what shes talking about. Critical Race Theory, which she reduces to the letters CRT in her order, is the college-level discussion of the various ways persistent racial discrimination across American society helped create a permanent underclass among Black people, and why resentment over that discrimination persists today. Huckabees introduction labels Critical Race Theory as antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. It emphasizes skin color as a persons primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject. Her order requires Arkansas education officials to review the rules, regulations, policies, materials, and communications of the Department of Education to identify any items that may, purposely or otherwise, promote teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as CRT, that conflict with the principle of equal protection under the law or encourage students to discriminate against someone based on the individuals color, creed, race, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status,familial status, disability, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. Then, of course, comes the crucial caveat that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the discussion of ideas and history of the concepts described in the above paragraph regarding discrimination which is exactly what Critical Race Theory is all about. New hope for honeybees revival The honeybee population has been in steep decline for years, which has raised worries among scientists and agronomists for reasons that go far beyond the effect it might have on supplies of honey for American consumers. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating a wide variety of plants that sustain the ecosystem and put food on the table. Without that pollination ability, the risk of grain, vegetable and fruit shortages grows dramatically. Some concerns were raised about the effects that pesticides were having on the bee population, but scientists believe another big culprit is American foulbrood, a bacterium that has spread rapidly among bees across the globe. A Georgia-based biotech company, Dalan Animal Health, has developed a vaccine the first ever for honeybees that could help combat American foulbrood by boosting bees resistance levels to infections. No, they wont have to develop millions of tiny syringes and needles to administer the vaccine. Instead, it will be inserted into royal jelly, the food of queen bees. The idea is that the queen will develop immunity, then pass that immunity to her larvae. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just granted conditional approval to begin administering the vaccine. I agree with the editorial Once again, a Republican governor uses desperate migrants as culture-war cannon fodder (Dec. 29), however, it didnt mention that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are domestically transporting undocumented aliens in order to pander to their to their deluded constituencies. This in contravention of a section of the U.S. Code that makes it a federal crime to knowingly domestically transport unauthorized aliens within the U.S. Regarding Missouris Jason Smith wins three-way contest for powerful House Ways and Means chairmanship (Jan. 10): No Missouri representative has chaired this important congressional committee since 1859. For the first time in over 160 years, Missouri residents have a unique privilege. Its up to Missourians to set the agenda on Capitol Hill by raising our voices and contacting our elected officials. We need to remind newly influential lawmakers like Smith and newly elected Missourians like Sen. Eric Schmitt exactly whom they work for. It only takes a couple minutes to call or email a congressional office to share your opinion on issues. I think we must make it clear to Congress that ending poverty here and everywhere should be at the top of their to-do list. That means seriously addressing the affordable housing crisis and reimagining tax policy for economic justice. That means investing in programs to end diseases like tuberculosis that are a global cause and consequence of poverty. Lets seize the moment and advocate. This news release is not for distribution or dissemination in the Unites States of America TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 13, 2023 / Ubique Minerals Limited ("Ubique")(CSE:UBQ) is pleased to announce that all of the matters presented for approval at its annual and special meeting of shareholders of the Company ("the AGM"), held on Friday, December 30, 2022 were approved. After the AGM, the Company's Board of Directors held a meeting to reappoint officers and committee members and fill vacancies from the sudden and sad passing of its former Chairman, David Lonsdale. AGM Results A total of 40,400,420 common shares of 69,061,071 common shares, or 58.50% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company as of the November 28, 2022 Record Date were represented at the AGM. The resolutions approved at the AGM were as follows, in each case with over 99.99% of the vote: Resolution to receive the audited financial statements of the Corporation for the periods ending July 31, 2021 and July 31, 2022. The resolution to fix the number of directors of the Corporation to be elected at the Meeting at five (5). The resolution to appoint the five (5) nominees as shown below as directors of the Corporation to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders of the Corporation, or until their successors are elected or appointed. The nominated directors received the following votes for their election: Nominee Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Percent Vilhjalmur Vilhjalmsson 40,400,417 100 % 3 0.00% Gaurav Singh 40,400,417 100 % 3 0.00% Gerald Harper 40,400,413 100 % 7 0.00% Mark Wettreich 40,400,413 100 % 7 0.00% Peter Wanner 40,400,413 100 % 7 0.00% The resolution to appoint Dale Matheson Carr-Hilton Labonte LLP as the Corporation's auditors for the ensuing year and authorizing the Directors to fix their remuneration. The resolution to approve the Corporation's 10% Rolling Stock Option Plan. The resolution to approve the Corporation's 10% Rolling Restricted Unit Plan The Special Resolution to Approve the Purchase of 90% of the Shareholding in Namib Lead & Zinc Mining Ltd. as per the terms set out in the Company's Management Information Circular (filed publicly on SEDAR) was approved as follows. Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Percent 40,400,231 99.999 189 0.001 At a Board meeting held shortly after the Annual Meeting of the Corporation, the Board approved the appointment of officers as follows: Interim Chair of the Board: Vilhjalmur Vilhjalmsson Chief Executive Officer: Vilhjalmur Vilhjalmsson Secretary and Chief Financial Officer: Gaurav Singh Vice President, Exploration: Roland Crossley The Board also confirmed the following appointments to the Board Committees. Audit Committee: Peter Wanner (Chair), Mark Wettreich, Gerald Harper Compensation Committee: Mark Wettreich (Chair), Gerald Harper, Vilhjalmur Vilhjalmsson ESG Committee: Gerald Harper (Chair), Peter Wanner , Gaurav Singh Ubique's Board of Directors wishes to announce that, in light of its Chairman's unexpected passing, and given the overwhelming shareholder approval of the Special Resolution to Approve the Purchase of 90% of the Shareholding in Namib Lead & Zinc Mining Ltd at the AGM, it will be seeking to enlarge and further strengthen its Board. Specifically, the Board will be recruiting Director(s) from diverse backgrounds who possess experience in areas of governance that will benefit Ubique given the Company's expected transition from a Junior Mining Exploration Company into a revenue-generating, in-production mining company. About Ubique Minerals Limited. Ubique Minerals Limited is an exploration company listed on the CSE (CSE:UBQ) focused on exploration of its Daniel's Harbour zinc property in Newfoundland and is engaged in exploration and is in the process of acquiring a mining asset in Namibia, Africa along with actively looking at other projects around the world. Ubique became a publicly listed company in September 2018. Ubique has an experienced management group with a record of multiple discoveries of deposits worldwide and owns an extensive and exclusive database of historic exploration results from the Daniel's Harbour area. Dr. Gerald Harper, P.Geo (NL), P. Geo (ON), a director of the Company, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release. For more information on Ubique please contact Vilhjalmur Thor Vilhjalmsson by e-mail at [email protected] or see www.ubiqueminerals.com and by phone +354 8697296 Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business and trading in the common stock of Ubique Minerals Limited., the raising of additional capital and the future development of the business. The forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the company's management. Although the company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking 3 information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Ubique can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and Ubique disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Ubique Minerals Limited. View source version on accesswire.com: A prestigious recognition of the companys strategic adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to successfully raise productivity and shorten customers time-to-market. KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (ASE, a member of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. TAIEX: 3711, NYSE: ASX), announced today that its bumping factory in Kaohsiung has been inducted into the World Economic Forums Global Lighthouse Network (GLN), a community of manufacturing sites and value chains that are leaders in the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) cutting edge technologies. ASEs bumping factory in Kaohsiung is amongst the 18 GLN sites announced by the WEF on January 13th, joining the ranks of 132 leading manufacturers. The increasing complexity of semiconductor chip manufacturing processes characterized by market disruptions in supply and demand, had caused unprecedented challenges for ASE Kaohsiungs bumping factory. In the bumping operation, there are more than 100 process steps compared with traditional IC packaging operations. To streamline the manufacturing processes and optimize production, ASE strategically planned and deployed 4IR technologies across its operations. In particular, AI enabled processes helped ASE to improve manufacturing yields and accuracy, resulting in an increase in output by 67% and a reduction of order leadtime by 39%. By integrating 4IR technologies into their operations, Lighthouse companies are achieving double-digit impact on throughput, costs, and lead times, said Francisco Betti, Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, World Economic Forum. In this next chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, they are setting the pace across industries. Lighthouses are demonstrating how to scale advanced technologies across entire manufacturing networks and beyond towards suppliers and customers or new functions, such as procurement, logistics, and research and development, he continued. We are extremely excited to join the ranks of 132 leading companies in the Global Lighthouse Network. At ASE, advancing our competitiveness and seizing new opportunities across diverse disciplines are central to our quest for manufacturing excellence, said Sung-Fei Wang, Senior Vice President, ASE Inc, Kaohsiung. As a premier semiconductor industry player, we are taking the lead to craft a smart manufacturing blueprint that optimizes technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We hope to inspire more industry players to contribute to building a resilient global smart manufacturing ecosystem and accelerate digital transformation, he continued. About ASE Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (a member of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. TAIEX: 3711, NYSE: ASX) is the leading global provider of semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test. Alongside a broad portfolio of established assembly and test technologies, ASE is also delivering innovative advanced packaging and system-in-package solutions to meet growth momentum across a broad range of end markets, including 5G, Automotive, High Performance Computing and more. To learn about our advances in SiP, Fanout, MEMS & Sensor, Flip Chip, and, 2.5D, 3D & TSV technologies, all ultimately geared towards applications to improve lifestyle and efficiency, please visit: www.aseglobal.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn @aseglobal. About the Global Lighthouse Network The Global Lighthouse Network is a community of production sites and value chains that are world leaders in the adoption and integration of the cutting-edge technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Lighthouses apply 4IR technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D-printing and big data analytics to maximize efficiency and competitiveness at scale, transform business models and drive economic growth, while augmenting the workforce, protecting the environment and contributing to a learning journey for all-sized manufacturers across all geographies and industries. The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum project in collaboration with McKinsey & Co, factories and value chains that join the Network are designated by an independent panel of experts. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005276/en/ ASE Media Contact: [email protected] Source: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. EVANSVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY), will report its first fiscal quarter 2023 results on Thursday, February 2, 2023, before trading begins on the New York Stock Exchange. At 10 a.m. Eastern Time on that day, Berry will hold its quarterly conference call on the Companys results and performance. This call will be webcast live at the Companys website at https://ir.berryglobal.com/financials. A new, simplified event registration and access provides two ways to access the call. By Telephone Participants may register for the call here now or any time up to and during the time of the call, and will immediately receive the dial-in number and a unique pin to access the call. While you may register at any time up to and during the time of the call, you are encouraged to join the call 10 minutes prior to the start of the event. Via the Internet The conference call and accompanying webcast slides will also be broadcast live over the internet. To access the event, click on the following link: https://ir.berryglobal.com/financials. A replay of the webcast will be available via the same link on our website approximately two hours after the completion of the call. About Berry At Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY), we create innovative packaging and engineered products that we believe make life better for people and the planet. We do this every day by leveraging our unmatched global capabilities, sustainability leadership, and deep innovation expertise to serve customers of all sizes around the world. Harnessing the strength in our diversity and industry leading talent of 46,000 global employees across more than 265 locations, we partner with customers to develop, design, and manufacture innovative products with an eye toward the circular economy. The challenges we solve and the innovations we pioneer benefit our customers at every stage of their journey. For more information, visit our website at www.berryglobal.com. (BERY-F) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005466/en/ Investor Contact: Dustin Stilwell 1+812.306.2964 [email protected] Source: Berry Global Group, Inc. OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Summit Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Summit Bank, is pleased to welcome Ms. Nancy E. OMalley, Esq. as a member of the Board of Directors. Ms. OMalley is currently serving as a Board Member for the Summit Bank Foundation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005481/en/ Nancy OMalley, Esq. (Photo: Business Wire) Nancy OMalley served as the Alameda County District Attorney from September 2009 to her retirement in January 2023. The first woman to serve, she is a nationally recognized expert in issues involving violence against women and persons with disabilities, child abuse, and human trafficking. One of DA OMalleys passion projects is the creation of the Alameda County Family Justice Center. For over 15 years, the Center has provided thousands of victims of violence with a range of services. It has received numerous awards for excellence and is a model for communities across the country. We are excited to have an individual who is centered on helping the community as much as we are at Summit Bank. We share the same focus which was the basis for the founding of Summit Bank and continues to be a market which we are pleased and honored to serve, commented Shirley Nelson, Executive Chairman of Summit Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors. We have successfully served the professions for the past 40 years and look forward to serving the many more with Ms. OMalley. I am honored to join the Summit Bank Board of Directors, said Ms. OMalley, and look forward to working with the other members in continuing to provide the great service that Summit Bank delivers to its customers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005481/en/ Summit Bank Shirley Nelson, 510-839-8800 Source: Summit Bancshares, Inc. DULLES, Va., Jan. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) will hold an investor conference call and webcast on Wednesday, January 18, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. CFC CEO Andrew Don will provide a business update and CFC Senior Vice President and CFO Ling Wang will review CFCs fiscal year 2023 second-quarter financial results. There are two ways to access the event: Live Webcast Option Visit CFCs investor Webcasts & Presentations page to join the webcast. Pre-registration is available for the event. Conference Call Option Domestic: 888-394-8218 | International: 323-701-0225 Participant Code: 2903302 Callers also can view a PDF of the slide presentation by visiting the Webcasts & Presentations page on the day of the call. It will be posted just prior to the broadcast. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Webcasts & Presentations page after the event. CFCs Form 10-Q for the period ending November 30, 2022, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, January 13. About CFC Created and owned by Americas electric cooperative network, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC)a nonprofit finance cooperative with $33 billion in assetsprovides unparalleled industry expertise, flexibility and responsiveness to serve the needs of our member-owners. CFC is an equal opportunity provider. Visit us online at www.nrucfc.coop. From Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-social-political/ First published Thu Jul 21, 2016; substantive revision Thu Jan 13, 2022 Several questions are central to the teachings and debates that make up Chinese social and political thought, among which the issue of how to sustain order (zhi)often understood more particularly as harmony (he)is the most basic. To what degree should we rely on institutions (and of what kinds?), and to what degree is human leadership crucial? What sorts of roles, relationships, or hierarchies should structure our societies, and how are they justified? Can they be challenged or changed? Insofar as society is divided into rulers and ruled, what are the responsibilities that each owes to the other, and why? We will see that social and political topics routinely connect up with other aspects of Chinese philosophyfor example, answers to some of the questions just raised lead to further ethical, epistemic, or metaphysical questionsbut for the most part it is still possible to make sense of social and political thought in its own terms. The bulk of this entry is arranged chronologically, beginning with the most important texts of the classical (or pre-Imperial) era; then briefly attending to developments in the early Imperial era; next looking more carefully at some of the key developments in the 800-year Neo-Confucian era; and ending with Chinese social and political thinking over the last 150 years. The organization within each section differs because of differences in our sources. While theories concerning the composition and dating of classical texts remain intensely controversial, it is at least clear that our default should not be to treat these texts as the products of single authors at a single time, much less as representing the theories of well-established schools of thought. Instead, it makes sense to take individual texts, and sometimes individual chapters, as our basic units of analysis. The nature and authorship of sources are clearer as we move into later eras, and so a topical organization makes sense for subsequent sections of the entry. Issues in social and political thought have been central to Chinese philosophy from its earliest moments down to the present day. Neither social nor political have ready correlates in Chinese prior to the nineteenth century, but Chinese thinkers consistently have been concerned with understanding how both individuals and institutions have broad effects in what we can call both social and political modes. In some cases, the philosophers narrowly focus on governance and the state, but in many other cases, no firm distinction is made between the realms of political, social, and even family or individual. The scope of social and political thought, and its relation to other concerns like individual ethics, are discussed in Section 1 . 1. The Scope of the Political On one common reading, a rulers authority is based in individual moral charisma (or virtue; de). The famous Mandate of Heaven (tianming) theory has its roots in the way that the Zhou people legitimized their conquest of the Shang. Passages in the Book of History tell us that Heaven (tian: the deity of the Zhou people) had transferred its mandate from the Shang to the Zhou leaders, as a result of the depravity and misrule of the Shang kings. The Zhou leadership claimed to know this by employing oracle bone divination: they adopted the Shang practice of divining, but put it to the new use of justifying political authority, and thus the shift of Heavens favor (partly by eliding the difference between the Shang chief deity and their own). One aspect of this transformation was transforming Heaven into a moral figure, a god who made judgments based on the perceived virtue of the leader (Allan 1984). As we will see below, by the time of the Warring States era and the foundational texts of Confucian philosophy, there have been further transformations: Heaven is no longer a figure at all, but closer to an abstract sense of the normative order of the universe, and its intentions are no longer accessible via divination. Still, most modern scholars hold that for the majority of classical thinkers, an ethical ideal continues to serve as the ultimate justification of political authority. It must be acknowledged, though, that there is attention in Confucian texts to procedural matters and to the norm of order, at least partly separate from rulers virtue. Some interpreters have argued that this means the Confucians recognized a distinct species of political norms, and that such political concerns were more important to the Confucians than the achievement of individual, rarefied ethical states. For example, in his discussion of under what circumstances Mencius judges a rebellion to be justified, Justin Tiwald emphasizes that Mencius puts a great deal of weight on the essentially procedural requirement that the ruler be properly designated for the task (Tiwald 2008: 274). Even more explicitly, Loubna El Amine argues at length in her Classical Confucian Political Thought for the importance of a distinct sphere of politics. She says that while the realm of politics is not completely distinct from the realm of ethics, political order, not moral edification, is the end; and furthermore that political order is an end in itself, not a means toward virtue (El Amine 2015: 15). All interpreters agree that there is at least a narrow kind of political legitimacy in play, of the type that tells one who the legitimate heir to the throne should be. According to the Mencius, in the earliest days, political power was passed on via sagely, particularistic assessment of who was most qualified to rule, coupled with the endorsement of Heaven, as viewed through the actions of the people. This is how the throne was passed from Yao to Shun, and from Shun to Yu. This practice quickly fell apart, though, and in its (supposed) place arose the mechanisms of hereditary monarchy (MC 5A:5 and 5A:6). This is an ingenious explanation for the shift that also helps to explain why Confucius was never tapped to rule in the way that Shun had been. Mou Zongsan has influentially argued that the shift from sagely judgment on who is best fit to rule, to hereditary monarchy, is a shift from a holistic form of ethical authority to what is merely an effective technology for the administration of power instead of genuine political authority (Mou 1991: 132). In other words, Mou agrees with El Amine on the existence of a relatively distinct realm of politics, thoughwriting as a modern Confucian philosopherMou regrets the degree to which this shallow form of politics is disconnected from justification deeper than order, and argues for a re-imagining of Confucian politics (on which see Section 5). While Mous argument that Confucian political thought is too narrow is certainly controversial, all agree that at least some classical thinkers focus on effective technology for the administration of power and the maintenance of order, to the exclusion of ethical concerns. Indeed, one of the better arguments that Confucians really did refuse to separate the ethical and the political is simply that so many of the Confucians critics interpreted them in this way. Whatever we decide about early Confucians, it is quite evident that a millennium later, most Neo-Confucians took ethics and politics to be mutually entailing, as we will see in Section 4. 2. The Classical Era A small amount of historical context will be useful before we begin. The Zhou people conquer the Shang in approximately 1046 BCE, and for the next several hundred years, the central plains of what is now China were either ruled directly by the Zhou king, or else by elite families loyal to the Zhou, in a kind of feudal system. By the Spring and Autumn era (771 BCE476 BCE), the power of the feudal lords had eclipsed that of the Zhou king, but a rough peace still prevailed with different feudal lords acting as hegemon (ba). This system then breaks down and the pre-Imperial period enters its final stage, the Warring States era (often dated 475 BCE221 BCE), which received its name from the incessant warfare conducted between the realms that established themselves as independent powers after the effective demise of the Zhou dynasty. Not only was warfare common in this period; it was also increasingly vast in scope, as the chariot armies of the elite made way for much larger conscript-based armies. This change was in turn related to the increasing abilities of states to raise, organize, and feed such large armies. Both larger populations and more complex governmental structures lay behind these developments. All these inter-related developments, finally, both drove and were shaped by the eras social and political philosophies. The texts that we examine here all date from the Warring States era, a period of pluralistic debate that establishes key terms and questions addressed by Chinese thinkers for many centuries thereafter. Three general, provocative treatments of this era are El Amine 2015, Bai 2012, and Pines 2012, and Hsiao 1979 is a classic account of the subject. 2.1 Guanzi: Carrot and Stick The earliest chapters of the Guanzi, which were composed in the state of Qi and date from the mid-4th century BCE, are among the first theoretical writings on governance. In a famous passage from Shepherding the People, we find that Success in government lies in following the hearts of the people. Success is not defined as making the people happywe learn elsewhere that success for the ruler is having a strong state that endures through the agesbut following the peoples wishes turns out to be a necessary condition for success. Thus: When the granaries are full, the people will know propriety and moderation; when their clothing and food are adequate, they will know the distinction between honor and shame. Similarly, If the ruler can ensure the people their existence and provide them with security, they will be willing to endure danger and disaster for him. (GZ ch. 1, pp. 54 and 52) This is not to say that the people should be given free reign. If they are well fed and put to work at tasks well-suited to them, they are likely to accord with propriety and moderation, but the author adds that rulers must Make clear the road to certain death, by which he means having severe punishments for those who go astray (GZ ch. 1, p. 55). In another chapter of the text, possibly by the same author, we find: Those who shepherd the people desire them to be controllable. Since they desire them to be controllable, they must pay serious attention to standards (fa). (GZ ch. 3, p. 98) These standards are then enumerated to include honoring ranks and ceremonial dress, giving salaries and rewards to the deserving, granting offices, and applying punishments. The Guanzi thus presents us with versions of the two techniques of governance that will run throughout the texts of the Warring States: nurturing the people and setting them standards. 2.2 Mozi: Theological or Utilitarian Justification? Roughly contemporary with the Guanzi is the Mozi, one chapter of which begins: In ancient times, when people were first born and before there were any punishments or government, in their languages each had a different notion of rightness (yi). One man had one notion, two men had two. Thus those with good doctrines would keep them secret and refuse to teach them. (MZ ch. 11, p. 91, translation significantly modified by author) This of course led to chaos and suffering, the cause of which was the absence of a leader to govern. A ruler was therefore selected, declared the Son of Heaven, and provided with a staff of ministers to aid him. The ruler then established the single idea of rightness that all would heed. The text describes a comprehensive hierarchy according to which each individual would heed his or her superiors judgment as to what was good (shan), ultimately leading up to the ruler who would base his judgment on Heaven. Heaven (tian) is a difficult term. It once clearly referred to a religious entity, but eventually comes to be understood in more naturalistic terms. Which it means in this chapter is a matter of scholarly disagreement. For the most part, Warring States philosophers of governance do not appeal to supernatural standards to justify their claims. Even in the Mozi, if one takes evidence from other chapters into account, the interpretive dispute over tian may be moot. These other chapters record that just as carpenters can use a compass to determine what is circular, so an understanding of the will of Heaven leads one to reliably judge what is right. The striking thing about a compass is that no special knowledge is needed to use it: it is a public, objective standard for circles. If the will of Heaven is to be analogous, then there must be a public, objective standard for right. Mysterious knowledge of the will of a deity does not sound like a good candidate for such a public, objective standard. The text offers an alternative, though: it regularly speaks of maximally benefitting (li) the people as a standard. A neat way of resolving all these loose ends, then, is to conclude that the will of Heaven is a metaphorical reference to the standard of benefit. Proper Mohist governance thus would ultimately be a matter of utilitarian judgment. 2.3 Analects (Lunyu) and Mencius Ostensibly a collection of sayings by Confucius and his students, much if not all of the Analects was composed after Confuciuss death, and its various chapters express the teachings of individuals who identified themselves with Confuciuss legacy. The earliest chapters in the text (mid-5th to mid-4th century BCE; chs. 39) may well be the earliest written philosophical reflection in China, but show little direct concern with governance. In one of the most dramatic shifts in the text, governance takes center stage in a set of chapters (12, 13, 2) which may date from the last quarter of the 4th century BCE (Brooks & Brooks 1998). The theory of this segment of the Analects has much in common with the Guanzi. Asked about government, Confucius is made to say: Enough food; enough weapons; the people having confidence in the ruler (LY 12:7, p. 91). Of these, confidence (xin) is most important. Confidence here means that one identifies with ones ruler, doing so because he manifestly seeks what is good for one (see also LY 13:2930). The dynamic of people identifying with and modeling themselves on the ruler permeates the texts understanding of governance. Asked whether a ruler should kill those who fail to follow the way (dao), Confucius responds: You are there to govern; what use have you for killing? If you desire the good, the people will be good. The virtue of the gentleman is the wind; the virtue of the little people is the grass. The wind on the grass will surely bend it. (LY 12:19, p. 94; see also LY 2:1) Unlike the emphasis put on punishments as one kind of standard (fa) in the Guanzi, the Analects here minimizes the importance of killing. This point is reinforced in perhaps the most famous saying in the text about governance: Lead them with government and regulate them by punishments, and the people will evade them with no sense of shame. Lead them with virtue and regulate them by ritual, and they will acquire a sense of shameand moreover, they will be orderly. (LY 2:3, p. 110) There are only a few passages in the text that stress the continued need for punishments in a good society, and they all come quite late in the text: 13:3 is an obvious interpolation, and like the similar 20:2, probably dates to the mid-third century BCE. In a variety of ways the Mencius picks up where Analects 12, 13, and 2 left off. One innovation of the Mencius is to give a name to its preferred mode of governance: humane government (renzheng). This means that one should rule by loving the people like a parent loves his children: providing for them, educating them, giving them a role model. The text stresses that while this policy is beneficial to all involved, one must pursue it out of humane concern rather than out of cold calculation. Because of the rulers ability to transform others through his example, if he acts on the basis of benefit (li) alone, his subjects will do so as well, and each from his or her own, narrow perspective. The result will be chaos and suffering, rather than order, harmony, and mutual benefit, all of which would arise from genuinely humane governance (MC 1A:1). The Mencius emphasizes humane governance as well as the distinction between rightness (yi) and mere concern with benefit, rejecting utilitarian calculation without regard to rightness. It also opposes coercive authority, recognizing that even modeling and role-emulation work indirectly: You can never win the allegiance of people by trying to dominate them with goodness; but if you use goodness to nurture them, then you will win the allegiance of the whole world. (MC 4B:16; see also 7A:14) From other places in the text we can tell that Mencius (or his followers) knew and disapproved of the Mohists; this passage criticizes the Mohist practice of directly enforcing a standard of goodness through hierarchy. The Mencius contains numerous hierarchical ideas (see esp. MC 3A:4), but it has considerable faith in the peoples ability to do good if they are provided for, and not otherwise (see MC 1A7, 3A3). Both the Mozi and the Guanzi stress the need for objective standards (fa), as will many subsequent texts. In this context Analects 12, 13, and 2 and Mencius stand out as not taking fa seriously. Even when we come upon the tool metaphor in Mencius (MC 4A:1), it is applied to the idea of humane government rather than to specific, institutionalizable standards. This is not to say that the Analects and Mencius were devoid of any notion of standard. Their standard, though, is resolutely particular, rather than objective and general: the model set by the ethical ruler. The later Analects (e.g., 13:3, a late interpolation) and the Xunzi (see below) recognize a role for coercion, but authority in the earlier Confucian texts is non-coercive. People follow willingly, initially because the good ruler provides for them, and increasingly because they come to love him as a father: they are transformed from individuals into members of a single, state-wide family. 2.4 Dao De Jing: Nature and Non-Action (Wuwei) The Guodian version of the Dao De Jing, discovered in a tomb in 1993, begins: Cut off knowledge, abandon argumentation, and the people will benefit a hundredfold. Cut off cleverness, abandon benefit, and there will be no more thieves or bandits. Cut off activity and abandon purposefulness, and the people will again be filial. Exhibit the unadorned and embrace the simple. Have little thought of self and few desires. (Henricks 2000: 28; cp. ch. 19 of received version [DDJ]) In several respects the attitude here expressed mirrors that of the Mencius: explicit discussion of benefit is rejected, though the indirect goal of benefitting the people is endorsed; argumentationwhether referring to litigation or logical disputationis rejected; a simple life with few desires (cp. MC 7B:35) is favored. On at least the first two counts, Mohism seems the specific target (as it is in the Mencius as well). Despite these resonances, though, there are also important differences between the Dao De Jing and Mencius. Most important are the differences in their respective positive accounts of what rulers should do. In the Mencius, rulers are enjoined to follow the way of the ancient kings and establish a humane government. The Dao De Jing is much more reticent about articulating any specific human standard; indeed, in the received version of the text, the line which reads Cut off activity and abandon purposefulness in the Guodian version has been updated to Cut off humaneness and abandon rightness, thus extending to followers of Confucius the treatment initially reserved only for Mohists. The best communities, as far as the Dao De Jing is concerned, are those that form and flourish naturally, with little guidance from above. Later chapters will add that the community is best if small and isolated (DDJ ch. 80), as well as providing theoretical justifications for the success of such communities, as for instance: The way is revered and virtue is honored not because this is decreed by any authority but because it is natural for them to be treated so. (DDJ ch. 51) Rulers succeed by allowing nature to take its course: by not acting (wuwei). Ironically, some of the Dao De Jings teachings are appropriated as straight-forward political advice by certain later thinkers. The Han Feizi (on which see more below), for example, echoes the Dao De Jing in calling for rulers to avoid articulating explicit standards or desires, but it does so in order to make sure that ministers cannot pander to the ruler, rather than out of a deeper objection to standards as such. 2.5 Zhuangzi: Rejecting Governance Unlike the Dao De Jing, with which it is often lumped as fellow Daoist texts, it is difficult to read the Zhuangzi as concerned with governance or aimed at rulers. This is not to say that the text advocates anarchism; like all texts from the Warring States, it seems to take for granted that states will have rulers. To a greater extent than any other text, though, it is uninterested in the problems rulers faced and even seems disinclined to grant rulers any special authority. It is certainly at odds with those thinkers who believe that people must come to identify with their states. One gloss for the attitude of the text towards governance issues, in fact, might be: avoid commitment, accept what comes. At the heart of the text is a radical linguistic and epistemological argument against accepting any one perspective as ultimately, eternally correct. Clarity (ming) comes when one realizes the perspectival nature of all affirmations and denials. Having attained this kind of clarity, it makes no sense to put oneself on the line for any one set of evaluations, like our state must triumph or even it is better for humans to flourish than plants. In the context of the harsh realities of the Warring States, these doctrines may well have appealed to many. 2.6 Book of Lord Shang: Benefit Through Order The Book of Lord Shang (Shangjun shu) builds on two themes that we have already encountered. First, it argues that the greatest benefit to the people is order (zhi) (SJS ch. 7). This is to implicitly accept that benefit (li) is the standard by which theories of governance are judged, but it also places particular stress on the collective character of benefit. In a war-torn world, we are told, only when the state is strong can its inhabitants flourish. Those who act for their own interests rather than for the benefit of the state, therefore, are to be punished (SJS ch. 14). The text is no friend of those who like to debate and push their own agendas; it prefers a people devoted to agriculture who are simple (pu) and easy to direct (SJS ch. 3). We can see here, in short, that one result of the fuzziness surrounding the idea of benefitting the people is that if clearer criteria can plausibly be seen as necessary conditions for benefitting the people, they take center stage. A prime example is order. Disorder, it is natural to assume, is incompatible with the peoples well-being, so rulers could concentrate on order and allow benefit to follow in its wake. Especially when combined with the idea that the people tend to be selfish and not understand what is really good for them, though, a focus on order can rapidly lead to tyranny. Another idea we have seen already is that governance demands objective standards. This is a central theme of the Book of Lord Shang. It repeatedly stresses the importance of public, impartial standards (fa) for application of punishment and reward. Fa is often translated law, but its uses here and elsewhere are clearly broader than mere penal law. One kind of standard, to be sure, is the penal statute (xian), but standards take many other forms. The fact that rewards and punishments are regularly attached to standards makes it clear that these are normative expectations, and not just ideals. In another way the fa are more than ideals: they are institutionalized. This aspect no doubt explains part of the appeal of translating fa as law, since we often think of laws as norms that are subject to some kind of enforcement, unlike ethical ideals. Finally, the text also insists that there be no debate over what the standards are nor about when they have been fulfilled: the ruler alone fixes the standard based on his assessment of the needs of the age. He should neither imitate antiquity nor follow current standards. What is crucial is that his standards set out the distinct roles (fen) expected of people, as well as the rewards and penalties that will enforce these roles. The text adds that the intelligent ruler will not fail to carry out his own role, on pain of harming the standards. 2.7 Shen Buhai: Bureaucratic Non-Action Shen became Chancellor of the state of Han in 354 BCE and died 337 BCE. Early bibliographies list a text bearing his name, but all that remains of it are quotations in other works; the original has been lost. It is thus difficult to date this material. Shens central insight seems to have been that government should be based not on feudal principles, but on a bureaucratic system. Creel observes that Shen favored a system of administration by means of professional functionaries, whose functions are more or less definitely prescribed (SBH p. 55). Rulers should not find good men and give them responsibility, but instead find the right man for each role in the system. The role of the ruler in such a theory is simple: define the needed functions and select men to perform them, then do nothing (wuwei). Doing nothing does not mean to literally abstain from action, but the ruler does nothing more than keep the system running smoothly. Shen compares the ruler to a scale: which merely establishes equilibrium, itself doing nothing; yet the mere fact that it remains in balance causes lightness and heaviness to discover themselves. (SBH p. 352) Unlike the Dao De Jing, which seems to trust nature more than man, Shen Buhai trusts man-made institutions more than individuals decision-making powers. 2.8 Xunzi: Transforming the People Chapter 19 of the Xunzi contains one of the Warring States eras most famous origin stories. From what did ritual (li) arise? I say: Humans are born having desires. When they have desires but do not get the objects of their desire, then they cannot but seek some means of satisfaction. If there is no measure or limit to their seeking, then they cannot help but struggle with each other. If they struggle with each other then there will be chaos, and if there is chaos then they will be impoverished. The former kings hated such chaos, so they established rituals and rightness in order to establish distinctions among the people, to nurture their desires, and to satisfy their seeking. (XZ ch. 19, p. 201, slightly modified by author) Ritual (lia different character from that for benefit) was important in many chapters of the Analects, but takes on an even more central role here. While people (unlike animals) have the ability to notice and pay heed to distinctions (fen), they will not do so naturally. Their desires have to be shaped through on-going ritual education in order for society to be harmonious and for people to flourish. The text explicitly links ritual with the idea of standard (fa): To reject ritual is to be without standards, and a man without standards is lost and guideless (XZ ch. 2, p. 14, modified). Unlike the explicit regulations for when punishments and rewards are deserved of the Book of Lord Shang, that is, the Xunzi takes standards to come through having been taught ritual by an expert teacherby ones immediate teacher, by ones ruler, and by the sage kings, who originally established the proper set of rituals. Both texts seek to exploit features of peoples psychologies to establish order, both in the name of benefiting the people. The central difference, which hearkens back to Analects 2:3, is that the Book of Lord Shang relies directly on peoples desire for benefit and hatred of harm, while the Xunzi relies on peoples ability to care about distinctions in order to transform them. Once transformed, ritual propriety and shame, rather than direct concern with benefit, will guide them. Although Xunzi puts considerable emphasis on the role of standards, he also famously argues that There are people who create order; there are no standards creating order of themselves (XZ ch. 12, p.117, slightly modified). A major theme in Xunzis writings is that explicit standards are necessarily vague, so that the proper implementation of them is underdetermined. He also holds that proper implementation of standards requires a great deal of skill and technique. Furthermore, he notes that standards sometimes appear to conflict with one another, and it requires wisdom and experience to know how to balance such competing considerations. Finally, there is no fixed way of systematizing the rules. Changes in circumstance require that the priority of rules will sometimes need to be revised, and this too requires good judgment. For all these reasons, Xunzi credits good people with order, not the standards themselves. 2.9 Han Feizi: Pragmatic Justification of Practical Policies Like several earlier texts, the Han Feizi puts considerable stress on objective criteria for governance. Rulers are to compare names (ming)that is, explicit statements of a positions dutieswith results and bestow awards or inflict punishments based on how the two correspond. We also read that: A truly enlightened ruler uses standards (fa) to select men for him; he does not choose them himself (HFZ ch. 6, p. 24). While the ruler does not choose ministers according to his own judgment or whim, he still must establish standards in the first place; he cannot simply rely on tradition or precedent: The sage does not try to practice the ways of antiquity or to abide by a fixed standard, but examines the affairs of the age and takes what precautions are necessary. (HFZ ch. 49, pp. 967) This contrasts with strands in several earlier texts which advocated conforming with past tradition. In some of these texts, the recorded or imagined practices of earlier ages are thought to have epistemological significance: evidence of the insights of the sages. Others, more skeptical about naturalistic justifications, imply that observing tradition is our only means of agreeing on a single set of standards, and without such agreement, disorder looms. More common than a desire to conform to old practices, though, is the notion that times change and the good ruler must be prepared to change with them. New standards are needed for a new age. This is even endorsed by some of the texts which ground ultimate justification on the natural order: the underlying patterns of nature may not change, but their specific applications can, as human society grows and changes. Other justifications of change are more pragmatic, though, and the Han Feizi is perhaps the most explicit. Here we read that rulers are enjoined to measure the gains that come from enacting new standards against the losses that ensue; if one finds gain will exceed losses, one goes ahead with them (HFZ ch. 47). The Han Feizi also gives us a clearer idea than any earlier text of why rule via standard was to be preferred to rule by the wise and virtuous. Chapter 40 puts readers through the following dialectic. We begin with the idea, attributed to Shen Dao, that virtue and wisdom are unnecessary for good governance; everything depends on political purchase (shi) and status (wei). To this a critic responds that talent (cai) is also necessary: give power to the unworthy and the result will be chaos. The conclusion follows: when rulers are so good or bad that nothing could change them, we will call that shi-by-nature and set that aside. But such men are rare. The author is interested in the average ruler, for whom shi is crucial. So in the end we are back to Shen Daos position as the only tenable one for the vast majority of rulersand for all the rulers for whom the authors advice is going to make any difference. Another theme of the text is the conflict between individuals and public, state interests. We are shown that even for the virtuous, family loyalties regularly trump state loyalties, and thus: Since the interests of superior and inferior are as disparate as all this, it is hopeless for the ruler to praise the actions of the private individual and at the same time try to insure blessing on the states altars of the soil and grain. (HFZ ch. 49, p. 107) The author analyzes this as a conflict between private (si) and public (gong) perspectives, and argues that the two are mutually irreconcilable. The ruler, in particular, must heed the distinction between gong and si. For instance, For his part the ruler must never make selfish (si) use of his wise ministers or able men, so the people are never tempted to go beyond their communities to form friendships. (HFZ, ch. 6, p. 25) The clear suggestion is that ruler can be blamed if people conspire against him. In another chapter, we read that To fail to heed your loyal ministers when you are at fault, insisting on having your own way, which will in time destroy your good reputation and make you a laughing stock of others. (HFZ ch. 10, p. 49) While there are certainly some sections of the text that paint the relationship between rulers and ministers as conflictivesince the latter tend to look only to their personal concerns, at the expense of the states more general well-beingthis chapter, at least, urges a more constructive relationship between them. 3. The Early Imperial Era In 221 BCE the king of the state of Qin vanquishes his final rival and declares himself the First Emperor, inaugurating both the Qin dynasty and Chinas imperial era. The First Emperors success was founded in part on his adherence to social and political ideas akin to those in the Book of Lord Shang, and he endeavors to extend socio-political standardization and control in unprecedented ways in the new empire. The Qin dynasty does not long outlive its founder, but it is followed by the four-century-long Han dynasty in which many of key characteristics of imperial Chinese state and society are first established. A lengthy period of disunity follows the collapse of the Han in 220 CE; over this period and through the succeeding Sui and Tang dynasties, intellectuals focus less on social and political philosophy than on issues of spiritual cultivation and abstract metaphysics: in particular, this is the era when Chinese Buddhism comes of age. While there certainly is socio-political thinking to be found (see, for example, Chiu-Duke 2000) it makes sense to focus in this section on the Han dynasty. In the area of social and political philosophy, Han dynasty thinkers make three main contributions. First of all, they seek to better understand and systematize their inheritance from the classical era. In part they do this by editing and establishing standard editions of earlier texts; many of these now-classic texts take their current form at the hands of Han dynasty scholars. Another important aspect of this work is establishing categories through which to understand the classical era authors and debates. Distinctions among schools (jia) such as Confucian, Mohist, Standards (fajia, often translated as Legalist), and Daoist (daodejia) come from the efforts of Han scholars to divide up earlier thinkers approach to governance in particular (Csikszentmihalyi 2006: xvii; Smith 2003). The second important contribution during the Han dynasty lies at the intersection of thought and practice: rulers and the advisers implement a variety of institutions aimed at realizing socio-political goals that rest on a synthesis of classical thinking. That is, notwithstanding the efforts to distinguish various classical schools of thought, much Han thought and practice was highly synthetic, seeking to harmonize the insights of all schools. This meant building a state that rests on laws and other standards as well as on rituals and on the ethical characters of the rulers. Han emperors establish central educational institutions and initiate the practice of bringing talented scholars into the government via examination (albeit at a much smaller scale than in the later Neo-Confucian era). The third contribution of Han thinkers is their individual philosophizing about the ways that state and society should be organized and fit into the larger cosmos; we will briefly consider three examples. Jia Yi (200168 BCE) was a statesman and thinker whose eclectic philosophizing was emblematic of his era. He is best known, though, for his Confucian-sounding ethical and political writings. For example, he carefully articulates the ways that a crown prince should be educated, living alongside scrupulously correct people so as to acquire a correct second nature, just as one acquires ones mother tongue. As the prince matures, he must be open to the realities of the world and to his own fallibility: Jia prescribes that Wooden boards are erected, on which people might censure his actions. He is subject to the drum of remonstrance (HCT pp. 1213). Jia elaborates on the implied vision of socio-political order in another essay, arguing that while the common people must be punished when they violate standards such as laws, high officials are accountable to ritual and ethics rather than public law. These latter methods enable the cultivation of a sense of shame, an internal moral compass, which in turn will enable officials to learn from public remonstrationwhich is explicitly legitimateand to adjudicate wisely in law courts (HCT, pp. 367). Another feature of Han socio-political thought is an emphasis on non-action (wuwei). The term is best-known from the Dao De Jing, although the term and, more broadly, the general ideal of non-purposive, spontaneous action is widespread in Warring States thought (Slingerland 2003). In the Han we see it adapted to many different approaches to governance. The Utopian vision that lies at the heart of the Dao De Jing (on at least one common reading) is still present, but more common is a synthesis of ritual or legal standards with the idea of non-action. For example, one official recommends what he takes to have been the approach of the early sage kings, which was that In making laws and edicts, they made sure [those laws and edicts] accorded with human dispositions and only then put them into effect (HCT, p. 60). In this way, people follow the laws naturally, needing no overt intervention on the part of the state. Texts that brought together an emphasis on overt standards and ideas like non-action are widespread; in fact, the earliest extant commentaries on the Dao De Jing are included as chapterslikely added to the text in the Hanof the Han Feizi, which as we saw above is the epitome of standards-based governance. Finally, many thinkers in the Han stress the ways in which human activity fits into and is even shaped by cosmological processes and patterns. Here is an example of such a naturalistic justification of the political order: The five phases each move according to its place in the sequence. This is the reason that wood rules life, metal rules death, fire rules heat, and water rules cold. Human beings have no choice but to go by their sequence, and officials have no choice but to go by their abilities. (HCT, p. 178) In such a context astronomical and other portents take on significant political roles, though the Han also had famous skeptics like Wang Chong (27 CE100 CE) who denied their importance. All in all, we can say that the Han bequeathed to China a normative vision emphasizing socio-political harmony, even including harmony with the cosmos, that has room for various objective standards alongside important roles played by virtuous rulers and ministers. 4. The Neo-Confucian Era The Neo-Confucian era begins in the early Song dynasty, which itself is founded in 960 CE. A combination of social and political changes create fertile ground for new socio-political theorizing. The key marker of social status in the Tang dynasty (618907) had been ones pedigree, and the society was organized around something close to a state-sponsored aristocracy. Seeking its own legitimacy, the leaders of the new Song dynasty settled on a partnership with a transformed elite class, now based more in education and claims of merit than in ancestry. Instead of official families, the elite become a community of the educated; Song society is far more literate and published than its Tang predecessor, and scholars generally refer to the new elite as the literati (Bol 2008: 319). In this fertile soil, the idea that literati should reflect on the Way and seek to influence their society took root and grew. In the mid-twentieth century, a range of scholars argued for two, closely linked theses concerning the relation of Neo-Confucians to imperial power. The first was the Autocracy Thesis, according to which imperial power began to grow in the Song dynasty, eventually reaching despotic levels in later dynasties. The second was the Inward-Turn Thesis, which held that Neo-Confucians largely abdicated from engagement in political affairs, especially after the loss of northern China (Liu 1988). In recent decades, though, new scholarship has shown quite convincingly that ministerial and literati power remain significant throughout the Song, and that Neo-Confucians remain politically engaged (Bol 2008: 119; Levey 1991: 545f). The nature of the political engagement does change, however. Rather than seeing Neo-Confucians as simply advocating an inward turn, it is more accurate to see them as often favoring a localist, decentralized approach to governance. Among other things, they come to see non-state spaces as extremely important to successful change at wider levels of the state. This is not to say that Neo-Confucians abandon efforts to educate, direct, and serve the emperor, and strong emperors early in the Ming and Qing dynasties manage to bring the focus back to themselves for periods of time. Overall, though, the emphasis of Neo-Confucian theories of governance is nicely captured in the modern slogan think globally, act locally. According to Neo-Confucians, institutions of governance operate on two levels simultaneously, one socio-political and the other personal. At the socio-political level, they are concerned with the practicalities of keeping order in a large state filled with imperfect people. At the personal level they are concerned with an individuals moral character. Someone might think that operations on these two levels work at cross-purposes, because crafting good institutions and policies requires that we take human imperfections into account, and yet a full commitment to improving ones character requires that we rise above these imperfections. Neo-Confucians disagree. For them, the continuity of the socio-political with the personal received its canonical expression in a passage from the classical Greater Learning: Wanting to light up the bright virtue of all in the world, the ancients first put their states in order. Those who wanted to put their states in order first regulated their families. Those who wanted to regulate their families first cultivated their selves. Those who wanted to cultivate their selves first rectified their heartminds. Those who wanted to rectify their heartminds first made their intentions sincere. Those who wanted to make their intentions sincere first reached understanding. Reaching understanding lies in investigating things. (Greater Learning 4) We could understand the continuity described in this passage as a temporally connected set of steps: first investigate things, then reach understanding, then make ones intentions sincere, and so on, eventually putting ones state in order. But in fact the Neo-Confucians tend to see the steps as mutually constitutive: investigating things just is reaching understanding, families are regulated through the very act of personal cultivation, and having orderly families is part of what it means for a state to be in order. The implicit relationship between personal cultivation and socio-political order is captured in the frequently used slogan inner sage-outer king: ethics and governance are two sides of the same coin. In other words, socio-political order entails the ethical transformation of people in the state, as well as their leaders; in the language of the text, this is to light up the bright virtue of all in the world. With virtually no exceptions, Neo-Confucians accepted hereditary monarchy as their form of government. This does not mean that all monarchs automatically enjoyed full legitimacy, however. Already in the latter half of the Tang dynasty, Confucian and Buddhist scholars had begun to claim that the proper moral or spiritual teaching was passed on in a genealogical fashion (Wilson 1995). Han Yu (768824) famously asserted that this transmission of the Confucian Way had been lost for many centuries; Northern Song progenitors of Neo-Confucianism argued that it was only in their generation that the Way had been recovered. In other words, legitimate succession from one monarch to another did not assure that individual rulersor even their dynasty as a wholewere following the Way. Zhu Xi (11301200) gives this idea its most influential formulation when he says that the succession of the Way (daotong) comes to those who are able to grasp the deep truths embedded in the classics by the early sages. According to this view, the earliest sages both grasped the Way and ruled, but over time rulers lost this tie to the moral Way. A few great teachers like Confucius and Mencius understood the Way and tried to steer their societies in the right direction, even though they were not rulers, but eventually the succession of the Way was lost until it was recovered, says Zhu Xi, by the Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao [10321085] and Cheng Yi [10331107]). The idea that the succession of the Way can come apart from the more superficial succession of monarchy has a number of important implications, especially when combined with the view of governance operating at two levels (maintaining social order and achieving moral transformation). Borrowing a term from classical antiquity, Neo-Confucians argue that a ruler who is successful at keeping order but who falls short of achieving broader transformation is a mere hegemon rather than a true king. It is better to be a hegemon than a cruel tyrant, to be sure, but even the successful hegemon still needs to aspire to something greater. The gatekeepers to these greater achievements, meanwhile, are those scholars who have attained the succession of the Way. According to this manner of thinking, therefore, monarchs must accept that leaders of the literati should be their teachers or even co-rulers, or that the monarchs central authority should be reined in so that morally cultivated literati can hold sway over local affairs. Over the Neo-Confucian period literati had varying degrees of success in asserting authority derived from the succession of the Way. 4.1 Factions and Political Independence William de Bary, one of the most influential Western scholars of Neo-Confucianism, has said an important trouble with Confucianism is that it imposed tremendous moral demands on the Confucian superior person (junzi) without providing the political power to fulfill them. The superior person shoulders the responsibility of cultivating humane monarchs and fashioning social and political institutions that work for the public weal, but Confucians are also committed to a system that gives superior people very little leverage with which to accomplish these herculean tasks. They deprive themselves of this leverage in various ways, some of them obvious (Confucianism embraces powerful and largely unchecked monarchical government) and some of them subtle. One of the ways of undermining Confucians own power is by refusing to pander to specific constituencies or factions, standing on the side of the right and the public good rather than with allies or friends of convenience. Their weakness, de Bary argues, is in their indisposition or inability to establish any power base of their own. [E]xcept on rare, momentary occasions, they faced the state, and whoever controlled it in the imperial court, as individual scholars unsupported by an organized party or active constituency. (de Bary 1991: 49) Indeed, there is no question that the role of the Confucian minister is complex and often vexed. This section highlights one of its key dimensions. Let us start with some context. From late-classical times down into the early Song, the term faction (pengdang) was invariably derogatory, referring to associations of petty people who aimed to use their roles in government to further their own, selfish ends. There is a certain degree of support for this understanding of faction in even earlier texts, but it is significant for our purposes that some passages in early texts like Confuciuss Analects also suggest that superior people (junzi) can form associations, so long as they do not act in partisan ways (Levine 2008: 256 and 345; LY 12:24). A key question that emerges in the midst of the political and intellectual wrangling of the Northern Song is whether horizontal affiliations among equals are in any way appropriate, or whether the only axis of loyalty is the vertical one, from individuals upward to the ruler (and beyond, to the Way or to cosmic Pattern tianli]). We can identify three different positions on this question. The most common is the long-held view that factions and factionalism are the exclusive domains of the self-centered; superior people, in contrast, are individually loyal. The radical alternative to this was the claim, made most forcefully by Ouyang Xiu (10071072), that genuine factionswhich he understands as long-lasting associations organized collectively to pursue the common goodare only formed by superior people. The affiliations of petty people are only temporary, for personal gain (Levine 2008: 4756; Ouyangs essay is translated in de Bary and Bloom 1999). Crucially, Ouyang adds that genuinely superior people will unite around a shared Way (tongdao), so disputatiousness at the rulers court is inevitably seen as sign of self-centeredness. Finally, a third position agrees with the first in using faction as a term for selfish associations that ignore the common good, but agrees with the second view that superior people can and should collaborate with one another for their mutual edification: When superior people cultivate themselves and regulate their heartminds, their Way is one of collaboration with others (Levine 2008: 58). So, according to this third position, while superior people should not engage in factional wrangling at court, they should work together to cultivate themselves and pursue the common good. What, then, should be done about factions in practice, and about ministerial disagreement more generally? Again, there are three main positions. Those who believe that superior people should be individually loyal tend to argue that the ruler should try to wipe out all factions. One strong argument for this view maintains that even if there is a faction of superior people, they will be outnumbered by factions of the selfish; factionalism itself is destructive, so should be rooted out (Levine 2008: 467). Ouyang Xius radical view holds that the true faction of superior people can be identified as such, and their one voicewhich, after all, is unified around pursuit of the common goodshould be heeded. False factions of petty people should be suppressed. The third view, finally, acknowledges that factionalism seems inevitable and calls for a strong and wise ruler who is able to encourage vertical loyalty and to judge among the competing ministerial arguments. By relying on the ruler in this way, this third view is able consistently to maintain that superior people need not themselves form ministerial factions, even though they should collaborate to encourage mutual ethical development. In his own day, Ouyang Xius radical view fails to win out, but over time the idea that there is one genuine faction becomes widespread within Neo-Confucianism. Zhu Xi encourages his contemporaries to support the formation of such a faction of superior people, to join it themselves, and even to see that the emperor himself becomes part of this faction. For Zhu, it is this faction of superior peoplethose who have grasped the succession of the Waywho have the ultimate legitimacy in society, thus even the emperor needs to be properly educated so that he can strive to join this group. Zhu is also explicit that it is crucial to maintain the ethical purity of those in the faction; if there are those who are wicked and evil, then you ought to expel them completely (WJ vol. 21, p. 1244). Similar views can be found among the leaders of Neo-Confucianisms most famous faction, the Donglin. This late-Ming dynasty movement is multi-faceted, including a broad ethical revitalization movement, a national Confucian moral fellowship, and a ministerial faction in Beijing; the whole movement takes its name from its institutional base in the privately funded Donglin Academy in southern China (Dardess 2002). The Donglin faction goes to extreme lengths to promote its cause, driven by its members conviction that theirs is a battle of the good and public-spirited against the evil and self-centered. Donglin partisans contribute to a toxic political atmosphere in which each side demonizes its opponents. The crucial moment in the struggle comes when a Donglin figure issues a public document explicitly accusing a leading palace figure of gross immorality. In a modern scholars words, this document is written in the language of moral terrorism: language that is uncompromising, heated to the highest possible degree of emotional incandescence (Dardess 2002: 71). Not long after this comes a violent backlash in which key Donglin figures are arrested, tortured, and killed, the academy razed, and the movement crushed. Reflecting on Neo-Confucian ideas of faction, three observations are in order. First, returning to de Barys conception of the trouble with Confucianism with which we began this section, Neo-Confucian principles make it difficult for proper Confucian ministers to establish a power-base of their own, in part because they are not supposed to have special commitments or loyalties to groups. Second, even if the primary axis of loyalty is vertical (to the emperor, public good, and more abstract notions like the Way), horizontal solidarity fits very well with key aspects of Neo-Confucian views of self-cultivation, such as the part that ones community plays in developing an ethical commitment. In this light, and given the excesses to which the one true faction view can lead, it is tempting to conclude that the third view of factions described above is most attractive. Finally, recent scholars have disagreed about the significance of Neo-Confucian views of faction. One opines that had Confucian gentry been able to transmit their local influence to the provincial and national levels through legitimized factional organizations such as the Donglin academy, it is interesting to speculate what sorts of political forces would have been released into Confucian political culture; he goes on to suggest a parallel to the trend against absolutist monarchy and toward parliamentary rule in the West (Elman 1989: 389). In contrast, another scholar argues that the Donglin affair was no harbinger of some possible future parliamentarian democracy. Donglin Confucian thought was monarchical and authoritarian to its core. (Dardess 2002: 7) 4.2 Institutional vs. Character-centered Theories of Governance Most basically, Chinas governmental structure in the Neo-Confucian era has four parts: (1) the emperor, imperial family, and inner-court attendants like eunuchs; (2) the outer-court ministers, bureaucracy, and the literati families who staff them; (3) the common people; and (4) the institutions that help to shape the ways in which (1)(3) interact. One of the great debates of the Neo-Confucian era is about the relative importance or priority of institutions. This debate takes on many guises, but at bottom is the sense that there is a tension between two ways of understanding the structure that undergirds a well-ordered society. One sees institutions and their component parts (traditions, rules, and regulations, etc.) as more fundamental. The other sees the people who direct and belong to the institutions, and particularly the character of such people (understood as a combination of talents and ethical dispositions), as more fundamental. Where a philosopher stands on this issue can help to explain how they align on other critical issues in matters of governance. Those who tend to see institutions as more fundamental are more inclined to see legal and regulatory reform as the primary way of addressing large-scale problems. Those who see the character of people as more fundamental often think the solution to such problems lies in moral cultivation and transformation (in particular, of the emperor himself). To a certain extent, the former think that institutions should be designed to take human flaws and shortcomings into account, so that the state does not require large numbers of people to be virtuous in order to create social order, while the latter tend to worry that institutions designed for flawed people will, at least at certain levels, inhibit the kind of self-improvement that makes government truly transformative. For ease of reference, let us use the term character-centered and institutionalist to refer to these two positions. On one somewhat simplistic historical account, most Neo-Confucians advocate a character-centered theory of politics, holding that ethical cultivation of people and not institutional reform is the most plausible means of restoring social order. This is supposedly what precipitated the Inward Turn described above, encouraging individuals to abandon interest in state governance and focus instead on their own moral self-improvement. This version of history is not entirely misleading. Neo-Confucians of the Southern Song frequently blame the fall of the Northern Song on its failed experiments in institutional reform, especially those of the institutionalist thinker and statesman Wang Anshi (10211086). And the most famous Neo-Confucian philosophers tended to make pronouncements more consistent with the character-centered theory, including the Cheng brothers, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming. But the truth is quite a bit more complicated, and more philosophically interesting. From the Song dynasty all the way through the Qing, the Neo-Confucians counted among their ranks many thinkers interested in statecraft (jingshi). By the late Ming dynasty and thereafter, statecraft came to describe almost any method or techniques that could be used for the practical operations of the state, construed so expansively as to include mathematics and history. But in the narrower sense common among earlier Neo-Confucians, it refers to a philosophical position that aims to address social problems through institutional reform rather than through dramatic transformations of character. Scholars sometimes describe these thinkers as belonging to a Statecraft School which includes Song philosophers like Chen Liang (11431194) and Ye Shi (11501223), and the Ming Neo-Confucian Wang Tingxiang (14741544) (Niu 1998; Tillman 1982; Ong 2006). It also includes reform-minded Neo-Confucians who lived through the downfall of the Ming and the rise of the Qing dynasty, such as Gu Yanwu (16131682) and Huang Zongxi (16101695). Even for more character-centered Confucians, what it meant to say that peoples character is more fundamental than institutions was open to debate. To understand the nuances of the resulting debates, it helps to begin by recalling the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi, famous as a defender of the character-centered view; as noted above, he holds that There are people who create order; there are no standards creating order of themselves. Discoursing on Xunzis claim gives Neo-Confucians opportunities to develop new ways of explaining how the character of people can be prior to institutions. One crucial elaboration is made by Hu Hong (11061161). On Hus view, people enter into the explanatory order of governance at two levels: first, they are the ones who implement the rules and regulations. At this level Hus analysis closely follows Xunzis, stressing the necessary vagueness of law and the need to have skillful magistrates who understand individual laws in a systematic way. But secondly, the people are also the ones who fix the rules whenever the rules are not suited to the circumstances. That is, humans govern not just as executives but as originators too: Xunzi said, There are people who create order; there are no standards that create order. I humbly submit that we illustrate this by drawing an analogy between wanting to restore order after a period of chaos, and trying to cross a river or lake [by boat]. The rules are like the boat and the people [i.e. the ruler and his officials] are like the steersman. If the boat is damaged and the rudder is broken, then even if [the steersman] has seemingly divine technique everyone nevertheless understands that the boat cannot get across. So whenever there is a period of great disorder it is necessary to reform the rules. There has never been a case where one could successfully restore order without reforming the rules. (HHJ pp. 2324) In short, for Hu, people bear credit for successful governance not just by guiding the institution correctly, but also by creating and modifying the very rules on which governance is founded. Credit goes not just to the steersmen but to the shipwrights as well. Although human discretion may allow people of talent and good character to update rules or apply them differently in different contexts, they also allow people who lack talent and good character to misuse them. In these cases, it helps to set limits to abuses of authority and leadership by requiring that leaders adhere to rules. The philosopher who argues for this view most forcefully is Huang Zongxi, who lived in the late Ming and early Qing. In a remarkable essay titled On Standards (Yuanfa), Huang maintains that we should distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate standards, where the illegitimate ones are distinguished by the fact that they are created or modified primarily to serve the interests of rulers. Huang says that what gives rules legitimacy is the purpose for which they are fashioned, not just tradition or the duty to respect the ancestors who fashioned them. When rules are designed with the interests of the people in mind they tend to be loose and open-ended, for their purpose is not just to control human behavior but also to cultivate virtues. People are more likely to develop virtuous character traits if their orderly conduct is done willingly rather than under threat, and they are more likely to act willingly if they are brought up under a regime of rules that protects their interests. Ironically, it is the rules of self-serving authorities that require greater and greater stringency. Because they rely heavily on coercion and work against the welfare of ordinary people, the policy makers have to create one layer of rules that govern human conduct, then a second layer of rules establishing institutions to enforce the first, then a third layer of rules to enforce those in the second, and so on. The result is a regime with considerably less flexibility and room for human discretion than the proponents of the Xunzian principle envision (YF p. 317). 4.3 Final Thoughts According to most Neo-Confucians, revering the emperor meant both ritual respect for the role of the emperor and obedience to the legitimate authority of the emperor, but not unthinking loyalty to the ruler no matter what he might do or say. Ultimate loyalty is owed to no individual but to the Way, which Neo-Confucians also discuss in terms of cosmic Pattern (tianli)that is, the ultimate harmony of all things. Neo-Confucians lived in a public culture in which it was expected, at least in principle, that ministers show their loyalty by courageously pointing out flaws and remonstrating with their rulers. And many Neo-Confucians, including Zhu Xi, quietly or reluctantly acknowledged that there are cases when one should not obey ones emperor, presumably after all attempts to dissuade the misguided ruler had been exhausted (Schirokauer 1978: 14143). We already saw some of this in the Donglin incident, discussed above; there are numerous other cases in which ministers, either individually or as a group, seek to upbraid or reform an errant ruler. Often these disputes revolved around ritual matters, since the stability of human relationships as expressed through ritual was central to the overall harmony of the society and cosmos. Throughout much of the Neo-Confucian era political actors also find it necessary to justify their proposals through reference to classical texts, which one contemporary scholar has therefore argued serve a partly constitutional role (Song 2015). Notwithstanding the various ways in which literati can partly constrain the choices of rulers, though, there is little question that the power of rulers remains paramount. And while the deep-seated belief that harmony relies on the well-being of the people is no doubt responsible for the peasantry living better lives than they might have otherwise, in the end Neo-Confucian socio-political thought grants them only one political outlet: revolt (Angle 2009: ch. 10). 5. The Modern Era The last years of the Qing dynasty, which collapsed in 1911, were marked by a flourishing of political thought under the twin stimuli of domestic challenges and encounters with foreign political philosophies. The Russian Revolution of 1917 added further fuel to the fire, at a time when the nascent Republic of China was struggling with both internal and external threats. The nature and sources of political authority once again were topics of debate. Many now took it for granted that the goal was some sort of democracy in which the people were (at least in principle) sovereign. But who counted as the people, how they were to be led or represented, and how collective versus individual goals were to be balanced all were up for grabs. At a broader level, there was a debate between those who felt the answer lay in one or another ismthat is, an all-encompassing ideology like Marxismand those who favored working more pragmatically, via institution building, on one problem at a time. A few decades later, after the founding of the Peoples Republic, similar issues were addressed in the contrast between Red (ideologically and morally pure) and expert (possessing technical expertise). In various ways, these twentieth-century debates resonated with classical and Neo-Confucian contention between insitutional and character-centered theories of governance. Were morally advanced individuals the key to an ideal society? Or should objective standards of success, coupled with objective institutions, be societys political foundation? In cases of conflict, which had priority? There was certainly no single answer offered to these questions by any of the groups making up twentieth-century Chinas political landscape, ranging from New Confucians to nationalists to liberals to Marxists. However, the isms approach won out through much of the century, and Thomas Metzger has shown that Chinese political thinkers of all camps tended toward what he calls epistemological optimism, which is a confidence that the one, universally applicable moral and political truth is knowable, and so great authority should be vested in those gifted individuals able to perceive this truth (Metzger 2005). Another way to put this would be to say that there is a strong Utopian strand in much twentieth-century Chinese political thought, which has both pushed toward radical solutions and led to dissatisfaction with continued dissonance or piecemeal progress. Even Chinese liberals have, in many cases, envisioned harmonious societies in which individual self-realization goes hand-in-hand with the realization the larger collectivity, which they often called the larger self (dawo) (Zarrow 2021). Some philosophers in the twentieth century have been more aware than others of the problems with Utopianism. Mou Zongsan (19091995), a leader of the new Confucian movement, was not only aware of it, but also offered a particularly creative way out of the recurrent tension between personal virtue (or morality) and public standards (or politics). Mous insight is that the relation between morality and politics is dialectical. Rather than seeing a leaders political virtue as a direct extension of his or her personal, moral virtue, Mou argues that there needs to be an indirect relation between them. Politics and political virtue must develop out of morality, but nonetheless have an independent, objective existence. This means that human rights, for example, must have a basis in morality, but come to be measured by standards that are separate from moral standards. The converse is also true: full moral virtue requires that which partly restricts itself (ziwo kanxian), namely objective structure (Mou 1991: 59). Objective structures (like laws) are fundamentally different from the subjectively-felt, internalized morality after which we should all individually strive. The concrete implication of this is that no matter what ones level of moral accomplishment, insofar as ones virtue is manifested in politics, one cannot override the relevant limits (that is, the highest principles of the political world), and in fact must devote ones august character to the realization of these limits. (Mou 1991: 128) In short, sages cannot break the law or violate the constitution. Politics thus has its independence from morality. Philosophers have differed in their evaluations of Mous argument, but it can stand as an instance of the continuing creativity to be found in contemporary Chinese political thinking (Angle 2012). Chinas dynamic society offers a crucible within which new ideas and new political forms may be forged and tested in coming years. To be sure, genuinely novel and intellectually challenging ideas do not form the majority of contemporary Chinese political discourse, but they are nonetheless present across the entire political spectrum. It remains to be seen whether robust political values and institutions will emerge as alternatives to models with which Western political theorists are familiar, just as we cannot yet foresee what role the Marxist, Confucian, liberal, and other traditions will play in future Chinese political thinking. Concerns with harmony and virtue are unlikely to disappear, but (as Mous example shows) this by no means limits the future interest of whatever political institutions and theories emerge in China. Company recognizes exceptional year of innovations and explosive growth IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Omega Accounting Solutions, founded in 2007, has emerged as a 2022 Company to Watch with its new initiatives, remarkable workforce growth, including two top-tier additions to the C-Suite, and a move to a new facility to accommodate the larger headcount. 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(NRX:CVE) (J90:FRA) (the Company or NurExone), a biopharmaceutical company developing biologically-guided exosome therapy (ExoTherapy) for patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries, has received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent Application NO. 17/042,441 (the Patent). The Patent covers and protects NurExone Exo-PTEN technology, and its drug composition as well as methods for non-invasive intranasal administration of exosome-based treatment. The Patent discloses and claims groundbreaking inventions and methods in exosome technology, such as the pharmaceutical compositions comprising extracellular vesicles including exosomes, loaded with an exogenous inhibitor of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) inhibitor as well as a method for treating neuronal injury or damage, including intranasal administration. The Company intends to file additional patent applications with the USPTO as well as additional international patent applications (PCT) in order to further strengthen NurExones intellectual property portfolio. The Patent was submitted by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Ramot, a Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company and is part of NurExones licensed intellectual property portfolio. We are delighted that the USPTO has determined that the patent application covering our proprietary drugs and methods of administration satisfies the requirements for patentability, said Dr. Lior Shaltiel, CEO of NurExone. The Patent will enable us to strengthen the IP barrier protecting our core technology, including the source of the cells, loaded siRNA and method of administration. This may enhance our ability to potentially commercialize and license technology to pharmaceutical companies. Moving forward, we plan to continue pursuing our intellectual property expansion strategy extending our competitive edge. NurExone Biologic Inc. is developing a platform for biologically-guided ExoTherapy to be delivered, non-invasively, to patients who suffered traumatic spinal cord injuries. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and in Germany. 2022 Annual and Special Shareholders Meeting At the Companys annual and special shareholders meeting held on December 19, 2022 (the Meeting), among other decisions, the companys shareholders approved the Companys equity incentive plan (the "Plan"), which replaces the option plan of the Company previously in effect. A summary of the Plan is set out in the information circular in respect of the Meeting dated November 10, 2022, which is available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. About NurExone Biologic Inc. NurExone Biologic Inc. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed pharmaceutical company that is developing a platform for biologically-guided ExoTherapy to be delivered, non-invasively, to patients who suffered traumatic spinal cord injuries. ExoTherapy was conceptually demonstrated in animal studies at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. NurExone is translating the treatment to humans, and the company holds an exclusive worldwide license from the Technion and Tel Aviv University for the development and commercialization of the technology. For additional information, please visit www.nurexone.com or follow NurExone on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. For more information, please contact: Inbar Paz-BenayounHead of Communications Phone: +972-52-3966695 Email: [email protected] Investor RelationsPhone: +1 905-347-5569Email: [email protected] FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about the Company's future plans and intellectual property, the scientific,development and IP activities to be carried out by the Company, future potential manufacturing and marketing activities and the treatment of certain conditions. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof. Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the Company's early stage of development, lack of revenues to date, government regulation, market acceptance for its products, rapid technological change, dependence on key personnel, protection of the Company's intellectual property and dependence on the Company's strategic partners. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law. Neither 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. Source: Nurexone Biologic Inc With 15 years of experience in the environmental markets, Ms. Reine is one of the founding members of J.P. Morgans carbon trading desk. Ms. Reine holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and will be leading Zefiros initiatives to optimize earnings from carbon offsets earned by completing orphaned and abandoned oil/gas wells. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. (the Company, Zefiro, or ZEFI) is pleased to announce that Tina Reine has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Zefiro, which has applied to have its common shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). Listing is subject to receipt of conditional listing approval from the CSE and fulfilling all of the CSEs requirements. Building upon an accomplished career in finance and the environmental markets, Ms. Reine will primarily be responsible for optimizing the Companys earnings from carbon offsets earned through the completion of orphaned and abandoned wells located throughout the United States. Ms. Reine is also highly versed in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects of carbon offsets, which can enhance their value proposition for corporate and institutional purchasers. As Director of Carbon Markets at World Kinect Energy Services, Ms. Reine was responsible for both structuring deals and origination. Ms. Reine started her environmental markets career in London at Cantor Fitzgeralds Environmental Markets group in 2007, selling forward contracts on carbon offsets. During this time, Ms. Reine also participated in policy debates in the United Kingdoms Houses of Parliament to develop standards and registries for the voluntary trading market. Ms. Reine also helped build out the environmental markets division at J.P. Morgan and at NextEra Energy, managing an equity investment portfolio of carbon projects. Ms. Reine holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School in New York City. Regarding her appointment as CCO of Zefiro, Ms. Reine commented, Carbon offsets are more relevant than ever as an instrument for neutralizing emissions to help save the environment. Zefiro has an extraordinarily straightforward business model of capping wells, claiming carbon offsets from doing so, and strategically liquidating those offsets on public exchanges. With over USD $2 billion in carbon offset trading volume in the U.S. voluntary markets alone in 2021 (quadrupled from the previous year), these are very exciting times for this space and I am delighted to be helping to lead the way as Zefiros CCO upon launch. Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR or the Investor Relations section of the Companys website for a version of this press release containing all published media. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. Curt Hopkins Curt Hopkins, CEO For further information, please contact: Zefiro Investor Relations1-800-274-ZEFI (1-800-274-9334)[email protected] THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSES REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER. About Zefiro Methane Corp. Zefiro develops methodologies to reduce methane emissions by capping orphaned and abandoned oil/gas wells, while originating carbon credits. Under executive leadership to include the former carbon market team at J.P. Morgan, Zefiro actively deploys crews to decommission wells throughout the United States. With unprecedented global demand for carbon offsets as corporations and institutions work towards net-zero targets, Zefiro is strategically aligning with industry leaders for a greener future. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seeks, believes, plans, expects, intends, estimates, anticipates and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the Company, the Companys business, the industry in which the Company operates, the Companys opportunities, strategies, competition, expected activities and expenditures as the Company pursues its business plan, the adequacy of the Companys available cash resources and other statements about future events or results. The forward-looking information reflects managements current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse general market and economic conditions; (ii) changes to and price and volume volatility in the carbon market; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape and global policies applicable to the Company's business; and (iv) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment where technologies are in the early stage of adoption. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions, including assumptions regarding general market conditions, the availability of financing for proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of outside service providers to deliver services in a satisfactory and timely manner. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by Zefiro Methane Corp. can be found under the Company's profile on http://sedar.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ecd23159-526a-481a-9f8a-25295aaeac48 Zefiro Methane Corp. Zefiro Methane Corp. - https://www.zefiromethane.com/ Source: Zefiro Methane Corp NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MagicCube the company that created the Software Defined Trust (SDT) category and developed I-Accept the softPOS payment solution is excited to announce that it's partnering with MobiWire Group a global ODM player designing, developing, manufacturing and selling mobile phones and IoT terminals. NRF 2023 SoftPos Tap to pay payment acceptance Android merchants banks Mobiwire will work exclusively with MagicCube on SoftPOS and Tap-to-Pay solutions in the North American market, cementing the secure delivery of payment's last mile without the need for dedicated hardware. i-Accept leverages Mobiwire NFC devices capabilities, and the unique placement of the NFC the front top of the devices, a killer combination for creating a unique user experience. The combined product accepts contactless payments from any NFC-enabled debit or credit card from any of the four major card brands as well as from smart devices such as smartphones, watches, wristbands, etc.,. i-Accept allows for capturing PIN on the Mobiwire device screen without scrambling or shuffling the PED keys, making the transaction experience intuitive and efficient for the customer thereby increasing customer throughput for concessions, theaters, arenas, amusement parks, and other high-volume use cases. These capabilities make this combined solution a true seamless user experience. "This is the breakthrough we have been waiting for," says Olivier TIENNAULT, Technical Director of MobiWire SAS, NFC expert. "We design our Mobiwire products and select our technology partners to offer the best possible user experience to end customers, and transparent integrations and affordable solutions to help merchants focus their time and investment on managing customers instead of fighting with outdated or inappropriate tools." "We are committed to our goal of freeing merchants from the cost and the handicap of legacy dedicated devices, but for those large retailers and enterprises who need to own multi-purpose versatile devices for consistency of performance and device management, we are offering these options in partnership with our carefully selected partner Mobiwire", says MagicCube's CEO and cofounder Sam Shawki "Mobiwire is covering a big gap in what the Tap to Pay market needs: a well-built smart device with a powerful NFC chip, optimally integrated, well placed at the front and marked, therefore preventing the confusion of looking for the right place to tap a card on almost all other devices out there" For more information regarding Mobiwire Group and its dedicated IoT unit MobiIoT, contact email: [email protected] For more information regarding Magiccube's i-Accept: About MagicCube MagicCube leads the Software Defined Trust (SDT) category with its software-based, virtual Trusted Execution Environment (vTEE) platform. The technology enables secure, large-scale deployment and management of Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile solutions to consumers. MagicCube was awarded the first recognition of a software-based Trusted Execution Environment issued by EMVCo, the global consortium which facilitates worldwide interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions. MagicCube has been named by Network World's one of the "10 Hot IoT Startups to Watch", listed as a Cool Vendor in Security and Risk Management by Gartner, and is the only startup to sit on the board of the PCI Security Standards Council. Investors in MagicCube include Mosaik Partners, Shift4, Bold Capital, Epic Ventures, ID Tech, Sony Innovation Fund, and Visa, among others. For more information, visit www.magiccube.co or follow us on Twitter @MAGIC3INC. About Mobiwire Group Since 2011 MobiWire Group has met the highest standards of the mobile phone and IoT industry by combining French quality with Chinese industrial efficiency. Over the years MobiWire Group has acquired great expertise all over the world, offering GCF (Global Certification Forum) certified products, becoming then the global #6 of the Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) for Mobile Network Operators, the Original Equipement Manufacturer and the Internet of Things players worldwide. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nrf-2023-magiccube-teams-up-with-mobiiot-to-free-merchants-from-dedicated-payment-acceptance-devices-301721608.html SOURCE MagicCube SPRING, Texas, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pontem Corporation (NYSE: PNTM.U) (the "Company") today held an extraordinary general meeting in which shareholders approved the extension of the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from January 15, 2023 to July 15, 2023 or such earlier date as is determined by the Company's board of directors (the "Board") to be in the best interest of the Company (the "Extension"). In connection with the Extension, Pontem LLC and HSM-Invest have notified the company of their intention to effect a monthly deposit into the trust account established in connection with the Company's initial public offering (the "Trust Account") of $833,333 (up to $5,000,000 for six months) as a loan to the Company (each, a "Contribution") on or prior to the 15th each month during the Extension, unless the Board otherwise determines to liquidate the Company earlier. The initial Contribution was made on January 13, 2023. About Pontem Corporation Pontem Corporation is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. In January 2021, Pontem completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange and trades under NYSE:PNTM.U. https://www.pontemcorp.com/ Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements included in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or the Company's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "would", "seem", "expect", "intend", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "future", "predict", "potential" or "continue", or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward looking. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of the Company's management and are not predictions of actual performance. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 under the heading "Risk Factors," and other documents of the Company filed, or to be filed, with the SEC. If the risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date hereof. Although the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. For more information, please contact: Pontem Corporationwww.pontemcorp.comTim Burt, Teneo[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pontem-corporation-confirms-shareholder-approval-of-extension-of-deadline-to-complete-initial-business-combination-301721681.html SOURCE Pontem Corporation NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sims Limited (ASX: SGM), a global leader in sustainability and an enabler of the circular economy, announced today that Heather Ridout AO will retire from the Sims Limited Board of Directors in 2023. Changes to the Board of Directors, the board committees and structure will be determined at a later date. Heather's leadership, guidance and wisdom have been a major factor in navigating a demanding growth strategy. Ridout, the former chief executive of the Australian Industry Group from 2004 through 2012, joined the Sims Limited Board of Directors in September 2011. She is the chairperson of the Remuneration Committee, and she is also a member of the Safety, Health, Environment, Community and Sustainability Committee, the Risk Committee, and the Nomination/Governance Committee. Geoffrey Brunsdon, chairman and independent non-executive director for Sims Limited's Board of Directors, said, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Heather for her outstanding service to the Sims Limited Board, our employees and our shareholders. Heather's leadership, guidance and wisdom throughout her 11 years of service have been a major factor in the company successfully navigating a demanding international growth strategy, as well as significant change. Both the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team will miss Heather's counsel, and we wish her every success in her new role." Ridout was appointed as Australia's next Consul-General in New York on 20 December 2022. With an outstanding career spanning four decades, she is well-equipped to promote Australia's world-class and diverse creative industries, education and the arts in the United States. "Sims Limited is a company I have known and admired for more than 25 years, and I was delighted for it to be a member of AI Group," Ridout said. "I look back on my tenure at Sims Limited with great pride in serving as a non-executive director. I am extremely confident the company will continue to grow, prosper and positively impact society," she concluded. The precise date of Ridout's retirement will be determined by the commencement date for her new role. About Sims Limited Founded in 1917, Sims Limited is a global leader in sustainability and an enabler of the circular economy that employs 4,400 employees who operate from more than 200 facilities across 15 countries. The company's ordinary shares are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: SGM), and its American Depositary Shares are quoted on the Over-the-Counter market in the United States (USOTC: SMSMY). The company's purpose, create a world without waste to preserve our planet, is what drives them to constantly innovate and offer new solutions in the circular economy for consumers, businesses, governments and communities around the world. For more information, visit www.simsltd.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sims-limited-announces-retirement-of-heather-ridout-from-board-of-directors-301721652.html SOURCE Sims Limited (Tribune News Service) More than 300 acres of land on Molokai once used by the federal government to support Apollo space missions have been returned to the state after a years-long decommissioning. More than 300 acres of land on Molokai once used by the federal government to support Apollo space missions have been returned to the state after a years-long decommissioning. The 363-acre parcel, owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and long leased to the U.S. Air Force, is expected to be made available to DHHL beneficiaries, most likely for ranching and possibly farming. Gov. Josh Green announced the transfer Friday in his offices ceremonial room at the state Capitol following a mele honoring Molokai sung by kumu hula Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. Green described the deal as a relatively rare instance of the federal government relinquishing use of state land. How long has it been since land was given back ? Its not very darn frequent, he said. The lease for the parcel in Hoolehua dates back to the 1960s when the Federal Aviation Administration used it for telecommunications facilities supporting the then-new Apollo missions. It later shifted to the Air Force in 1981 for high-frequency radio communications, according to Air Force Col. Michal Holliday, an installation and mission support commander at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Holliday said the Air Force determined in 2017 that it no longer needed the facility, and since then extensive work to remove facilities and clean up the site has been carried out under at least one extension of the lease that expired at the end of 2022. The Air Force was paying $40, 000 a year to use the land, Green said. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Mark Hashimoto, mobilization assistant to the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command directing all military operations in the region, said the military completed an exhaustive and comprehensive cleanup of the parcel with the approval of the state Department of Health and DHHL. He also said the Department of Defense is grateful for the use of the parcel. Mahalo to the people of Hawaii, and a special mahalo to the people of Molokai, he said during the announcement event. Ikaika Anderson, DHHLs recently appointed director under the Green administration, which began in December, said he is thankful to receive the parcel back on behalf of the agencys beneficiaries. We are honored to have it back in our inventory again, he said. State Sen. Lynn DeCoite, a Molokai resident and farmer, said the parcel is ideal for grazing cattle and can support feedstock even during droughts. It provides us with opportunity, said DeCoite (D, East and Upcountry Maui-Molokai-Lanai ). It (enables Native Hawaiians ) to meet the vision of Kuhio to rehabilitate our Native Hawaiians. Prince Jonah Kuhio Ka lanianaole is considered the author of the Hawaiian Homes program, and as Hawaiis then-nonvoting delegate helped Congress enact the program in 1921 to return Hawaiians to their ancestral lands. In 1959 the state took over the program that affords beneficiaries, who must be at least 50 % Hawaiian, opportunities to receive 99-year land leases for $1 a year. Leases can be residential, agricultural or pastoral. Beneficiaries pay for their own homes, but it is difficult to obtain land leases. About 28, 700 applicants are on a waitlist for homesteads. On Molokai, DHHL owns about 26, 000 acres of land. About 19, 000 acres are for agricultural or pastoral use, with only 742 acres for residential homesteads including future development, according to the agencys most recent island plan. According to DHHLs most recent annual report from 2021, the agency has 837 homestead leases on Molokai, of which 418 are agricultural, 392 are for residences and 27 are pastoral. From 2005 to 2021, DHHL added only four homestead leases on Molokai, though the agency had a goal to develop and deliver at least 400 residential homesteads on the island by 2025, or an average of 20 lots per year. The agency, which owns about 203, 000 acres statewide, has been hampered by relatively meager funding from the Legislature and high infrastructure costs to develop its land, which is often outside urban areas. In 2022 lawmakers appropriated a historic $600 million for DHHL to serve more beneficiaries, largely with expanded homestead development. The agencys plan to spend the $600 million includes two projects on Molokai20 residential lots and a 16-lot agricultural subdivisionprojected to cost $9.5 million. Anderson said beneficiaries on Molokai will be consulted before deciding how to make the 363-acre parcel available for their use. A timetable for issuing leases has yet to be determined. (c)2023 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) For more than 50 years, Navy pilot Royce Williams couldnt talk about his epic Korean War dogfight with seven Soviet fighter jets. Hed been sworn to secrecy because of Cold War sensitivities, and all mention of the battle was scrubbed from the official records. Now the 97-year-old California resident is going to receive the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor. He said Friday afternoon that hes pleased to get the recognition. My friends have been trying to get this for me for a long time, he said. The ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 20 at noon at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. The heroism and valor he demonstrated for 35 harrowing minutes 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa said in a statement Friday announcing the ceremony. His story is one for the ages, but is now being fully told. Issa and the other members of San Diegos congressional delegation have been part of an effort, launched almost a decade ago, to get the Pentagon to acknowledge Williams exploits and to upgrade his Silver Star to something more appropriate. Called Operation Just Reward, the campaign has been aimed at bringing Williams the Medal of Honor, the militarys top award. But the Navy Cross is a big step in the right direction, according to Steve Lewandowski, a Navy veteran and former commander of a local American Legion post. For the first time, Royce is being officially recognized for that incredible air battle, Lewandowski said. That makes him happy. And it doesnt preclude him from getting the Medal of Honor later. The upgrade was approved last month by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. Having reviewed the findings of now numerous investigations related to the case of Capt. Royce Williams, I have determined this case to be special and extraordinary, Del Toro said in a press release dated Dec. 22. His actions clearly distinguished himself during a high-risk mission and deserve proper recognition. On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams was in a F9F-5 Panther jet patrolling the Yalu River, which separated North Korean and Soviet territories. The Soviets werent directly involved in the war, but they had planes in the sky, protecting their airspace. Williams and three other Americans, also in Panthers, encountered seven hostile Soviet MiG-15s. The other U.S. planes were soon scattered by engine trouble and enemy fire, and Williams found himself in the dogfight alone. He shot down at least four of them before escaping to a U.S. aircraft carrier. A lot of it was awareness of where they were and how I had to maneuver to avoid them, he told the Union-Tribune in an interview last year. They were taking turns. I decided if I concentrated on shooting them down, then Id become an easy target. So my initial goal was to look for defensive opportunities when they made mistakes. When he landed, he counted 263 holes in his plane. He was uninjured. Worried about drawing the Soviets into the Korean War, U.S. military commanders hushed any public mention of the battle. Williams got pats on the back and shared a cocktail with President-elect Dwight Eisenhower but was ordered not to tell anyone, not even his wife. He served another 23 years in the Navy, including 110 flight missions over Vietnam. In the early 2000s, U.S. records from the Korean War were declassified, and word of the dogfight spread, especially in military aviation circles. A 2014 book by a Russian military historian mentions the encounter. It said that seven MiGs left a base in Vladivostik that morning, and only one returned. Four were shot down by a single U.S. aircraft, another was shot up and crashed, and the seventh plane was never found. 2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii The Marine Corps has activated a cargo plane squadron in Hawaii that is one part of the services move to design a force capable of outmaneuvering any adversary. With a pair of KC-130J Super Hercules planes as a backdrop, the colors for Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 153 were uncased on Friday during a ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The squadron traces its lineage to the opening months of World War II and some of the Corps most notable battles in the Pacific. It had been deactivated since 1959. The squadron, whose pair of KC-130s are expected to reach their total of 15 by fiscal year 2026, will be used to transport troops and refuel the bases two squadrons of tiltrotor MV-22 Ospreys. Today is a unique day what a picture behind me, Brig. Gen. George Rowell, assistant wing commander of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, told the audience as he motioned to the planes. What a picturesque view of the evolution of the Marine Corps. He described the planes and the crew members assembled on the field as a very tangible, very visual manifestation of Force Design 2030 and of the evolution in the Marine Corps. Make no mistake for friend or foe that the Marine Corps evolves to a changing threat and to a changing world, Rowell said. And this is part of that evolution. This is a big part of that evolution. Force Design 2030 is a service-wide restructuring aimed at creating an agile force more adept at fighting in the kinds of contested maritime spaces that would be central in a conflict with China. The Hawaii base has divested itself of a pair of helicopter squadrons and a reconnaissance drone squadron as part of the redesign. They are being replaced by the refueling squadron and a squadron of six MQ-9 Reaper drones. The reconfiguration will require upgrades to the air stations hangars, including the World War II-era Hangar 103 that will be replaced with one that can handle the Ospreys maintenance requirements. Construction is expected to take place between fiscal years 2025 and 2027, 1st Lt. Mark McDonough, a spokesman for Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said in an email Friday. The design of this new hangar will incorporate historic design elements consistent with those found on hangars built here during World War II, he said. Given the lineage of the squadron, WWII history was ever present in remarks made by speakers at the ceremony. Rowell said the squadron was born, raised, matured and combat tested during campaigns in the Solomon Islands, New Georgia, Bougainville and Okinawa. Comparing World War II and global events of today, Col. Manlee Harrington, commander of Marine Aircraft Group 24, said the threat of war, the threat of conflict, is always there. The nature of war is unchanging because human nature is unchanging, he said. There's always going to be someone out there whos willing to kill, coerce, intimidate, for their own gain. And although the nature of war doesn't change its enduring the character of war does, and the aircraft behind me, and the stand-up of this unit in Hawaii represents our response to that changing character of war. We had to make changes to meet the developing threat, and we've done that. The squadrons commander, Lt. Col. Andrew Myers, noted that the World War II-era squadron was the last Marine Corps aviation element to leave China in 1949. Change is difficult and necessary to maintain a ready and relevant force, he said, noting the deactivation of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452 at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y., last month to reconstitute it in Hawaii. But Force Design 2030 identified a need for additional lift and fueling capacity in [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command] in order for the Marine Corps and the joint force to outmaneuver our adversaries, Myers said. We must innovate, evolve, and most importantly, be prepared and must always be faithful to our lineage and ready to deter and defeat our peer enemies, he said. A cloud leopard escaped from its enclosure at the Dallas Zoo early this morning and still hasn't been found. The 25-pound leopard, named Nova, was missing when zoo workers arrived this morning, according to NBC News, prompting the zoo to shut down for the day. "We have an ongoing situation at the Zoo right now with a Code Blue that is a non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat. One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unaccounted for at this time," the zoo tweeted this morning. From NBCDFW: The zoo identified the missing clouded leopard as Nova and said she escaped her habitat through a tear in the mesh enclosure she shares with her sister Luna. Both cats were brought to the Dallas Zoo in 2021 after being raised at the Houston Zoo, according to our partners at The Dallas Morning News. Harrison Edell, vice president for animal care at the Dallas Zoo, said Friday morning that clouded leopards are dramatically different animals from other leopards. They are much smaller, weigh about 30 pounds and pose no danger to people. Edell said while Nova could be scared, it's most likely that she climbed a tree to stay out of the way, hunt squirrels and birds and hope to not be noticed. Because it is winter and there are far fewer leaves on the trees, Edell said it should make finding Nova easier. While staffers are looking into trees from the ground, using binoculars, clouded leopards are very good at staying hidden. He added that the Dallas Police are assisting in the search, looking at treetops with drones equipped with infrared technology. Although zoo officials believe she is still hiding somewhere on the grounds, they do caution people not to approach or handle the non-aggressive leopard if she is found outside the zoo. They also suggest bringing in any outdoor pets. "To set some minds at ease, if she has made her way off-grounds, this animal isn't a greater risk for pets than animals native to North Texas that roam our neighborhoods, but if you feel more comfortable bringing pets inside, please do," the zoo tweeted at 1:05pm. UPDATE 4:23 PT Nova, the cloud leopard, was found uninjured in an area of the zoo dense with trees at around 4:40pm MT. According to NBCDFW: "During a news conference Friday afternoon Dallas Police said that they had opened a criminal investigation into the cat's disappearance after saying her enclosure appeared to have been cut rather than being torn open by the animal. Police did not speculate further on who would have cut the habitat or why." The zoo will reopen Saturday. KHERSON, Ukraine - Four charred baby cribs were all that was left in the maternity wards bomb shelter. The rest of the room was destroyed Wednesday when Russian forces attacked the city, striking one of the only hospitals in Kherson where babies can still be delivered. By fate or luck, many staff, accustomed to near-constant shelling, chose to hide in a nearby corridor rather than run to the place actually meant to keep them safe - a decision that probably saved them. Look at our safety now, Oksana Tomchenko, 58, a gynecologist who is the hospitals interim head doctor, said as she gestured to the scorched basement. Residents who survived nine months of Russian occupation say that now that their city is back under Ukrainian control, they face a painful reality: If Russia can no longer have the city, it seems hellbent on destroying it. The strike on Tomchenkos hospital marked at least the fifth time Russian forces have hit a medical facility in Kherson city since early December. One attack hit a different maternity ward just 20 minutes after a baby was born, and this week, another struck the citys childrens hospital. Russian forces are also shelling other civilian infrastructure. In recent weeks, they hit a market, a museum and many homes. Dozens of people were killed and more than 150 wounded. Theyre just trying to ruin the city, Tomchenko said. In some recently liberated areas, Russian forces were pushed so far out that they could no longer easily attack the territory theyd lost. But when Ukrainian forces reclaimed Kherson on Nov. 11, the Russians retreated just across the Dnieper River, in easy shelling range of the city, which is the capital of a region that Moscow claims to have annexed. The purported annexation is illegal, and a fantasy given Russias lack of military or political control. But it means Russian forces are bombing and killing people who President Vladimir Putin insists are now Russian citizens - putting the lie to his claim that the invasion was meant to protect them. The Russian Defense Ministry has said little about Kherson since the retreat of its forces. Asked about the lack of control in regions Russia says it has annexed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly acknowledged that the situation in some areas is difficult but said these regions are now part of Russia and must be liberated. Peskov said Thursday that Russias war aims have not changed. Valentyn Ivchenko, 79, has a new nickname for the once peaceful street where he lives near the river: the Road of Death. The road is so constantly shelled, Ivchenko said, that no one drives there anymore. But on Dec. 21, it seemed quiet. He went outside on foot to buy candles and bread. Then he heard the whistle of an incoming shell. He tried to hide in a bus-stop shelter, but his right arm was exposed. Shrapnel struck him, severely wounding his arm. Weeks later, the retired sailor is still recovering in the hospital. When asked if this was how he imagined life after occupation, he laughed. Is it over? he said sarcastically. The Russians are still within view of his home. He said he fears for his life more now than before: Every day we think: Will we survive? In the bed across from him, Viktor Zubenko, 69, sat with his right hand bandaged up. In late November, he had crossed his road to help a neighbor park his car. Then a shell hit. How can you know when its going to come? he said of the attacks. Theyre shelling all the time. Both men are recovering in one of the hospital complexes that were themselves recently shelled. One trauma doctor, whom The Washington Post is not identifying because he is from Crimea and his parents still live there under Russian occupation, said he is sleeping at the hospital to avoid returning to his eighth-floor apartment in town. The doctor goes back once a week to make sure it is still standing. On Dec. 24, when Russian forces struck a central market in Kherson, he assisted doctors at a nearby hospital where the mostly severely wounded were taken. Even the dead were delivered to the hospital, he said. After that day, he noticed that more and more people were leaving Kherson. Theyre afraid for their lives, the trauma doctor said. When the Ukrainian army came in, we had three to four days of euphoria. And then we realized it wasnt over. The mood in the city is somber. Thousands of residents evacuated in December alone, taking trains that had just recently carried hopeful residents back to the liberated city. The central square where residents joyfully celebrated the Ukrainian militarys advance is now largely empty. A few cafes are open, but most businesses are boarded up. Antonina Popova, 30, recently returned to Kherson from Kyiv to reunite with her parents and sister after a long separation. But our holiday was spent in the corridor hugging each other because there was so much shelling, she said from a cafe where she was taking advantage of free internet to work remotely Thursday. The day before, she had been sitting at the same cafe when the maternity ward was struck nearby. A soldier walked her home through the nearly deserted streets. Zinayida Omeliyanivna, 74, stood shivering Thursday in an outdoor market where she sells bird food, close to the shopping area that was hit last month, killing 10 people. Yesterday was very scary, the shelling was very loud, she said. We wanted liberation. What came out of it, we dont have any control over. Ivan Frolov, 35, who has a small food stand in the same market, said he opened after liberation but business has been bad. Everyones left. More than half the city is gone, he said. Now he, too, is thinking of leaving. An 84-year-old man named Yura waited in line at a nearby pharmacy. That the pharmacy was even open was a good sign to him. When theyre really shelling, they close the pharmacy, he said. Everyone runs. Despite the risk, Nastya Smotrova, 22, and her husband, Anton Smotrov, 26, are choosing to stay. Smotrova is 27 weeks pregnant and plans to give birth in the nearby city of Mykolaiv, where it is safer. She thinks Russian forces want to destroy Kherson; her husband believes they want to retake it. Ivchenko, who was recently wounded, is Smotrovas grandfather. Her mother lives in the same building as he does on the Road of Death by the river. Their house is the only one left standing, she said. Her mother regularly dodges shells as she walks to a bus stop to ride to work at the same market that was recently hit in town. They want to annihilate everything, Smotrova said of the Russians. Kateryna Ponomaryova, 29, and her husband, Maksym Ponomaryov, 30, had their first baby under Russian occupation - in a hospital that also has now been shelled. On Thursday, exhausted from the constant booms and worried over lack of work in the empty city, the family packed their bags and went to the train station to leave. We didnt expect this, Ponomaryova said of the string of attacks that have made life miserable. The couple still hope to return with their baby when the situation stabilizes. For now, she said, the Russians just want revenge. Lyuba Hloba, 25, was also leaving Kherson, with her 5-year-old daughter, Anna. Just days before, a Russian shell had landed between their home and their neighbors, carving a two-meter-wide hole into the ground. I want her to have more peace and quiet, Hloba said of her little girl. When Russian forces struck the maternity ward Wednesday, the building filled with smoke. The windows exploded, except - somehow - in the room where a young mother was recovering from a Caesarean section with her day-old daughter. Normally, the woman should have stayed longer to recover. But Tomchenko, the gynecologist, released her early, believing she might be safer at home. Tomchenko replaced the hospital director after he fled to Russian-occupied territory ahead of the Ukrainian advance in November. She called him after Wednesdays attack. He told me not to cry, she said. Tomchenkos cousin, who lives in Russia, has pushed back against her account of the reality in Kherson - repeating Kremlin propaganda that Russian forces invaded to liberate Ukrainians from Nazis. After Wednesdays attack, Tomchenko sent her a message on Telegram: This shelling happened in my maternity ward. Where the hell did you find Nazis here? she wrote. Her cousin responded with a link to a Russian news site claiming Ukrainian forces had faked the strike. Tomchenko had had enough. She blocked her cousins number - and got back to work. TEL AVIV, Israel Thousands of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court a step that critics say will destroy the country's democratic system of checks and balances. The protest presents an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has ordered police to take tough action if protesters block roads or display Palestinian flags. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has made overhauling the country's legal system a centerpiece of his agenda. In office for just over two weeks, his government has launched proposals to weaken the Supreme Court by giving parliament the power to overturn court decisions with a simple majority vote. It also wants to give parliament control over the appointment of judges and reduce the independence of legal advisers. Netanyahu's justice minister says unelected judges have too much power. But opponents to the plans say the proposed changes will undermine Israeli democracy. Israeli opposition leaders, former attorney generals and the president of Israel's Supreme Court have all spoken out against the plan. The legal changes could help Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, evade conviction, or even make his trial disappear entirely. Since being indicted in 2019, Netanyahu has said the justice system is biased against him. Israeli media said some 15,000 people, many holding Israeli flags or umbrellas, were in central Tel Aviv for the protest on a cool, rainy night. Police beefed up their presence ahead of the march. Israeli media quoted police as saying officers had been instructed to be "very sensitive" and allow the protest to proceed peacefully. But they also vowed a tough response to any vandalism or violent behavior. Smaller protests were also scheduled in Jerusalem and other cities. After two Federal Aviation Administration contractors damaged an agency database, oddities started appearing in the technological tools that pilots including those in the U.S. military use to fly around the country safely, according to federal documents and interviews. One of the systems, the Defense Internet NOTAM Service (DINS), usually includes a stream of FAA alerts on potential flight hazards. But by early Wednesday morning, those FAA Notices to Air Missions started appearing to military pilots in duplicate or not at all. The ability for military users to retrieve the FAA warnings via the system became impaired and unreliable, according to an FAA technical bulletin obtained by The Washington Post. Air Force pilots wound up calling on their own to fill in the blanks with information from areas they were flying into, said Rose Riley, an Air Force spokeswoman. If they didnt have everything they needed, they would call Air Traffic Control or they would call installation to installation, she said. The militarys own NOTAMs system remained fully functional, she added. The issue was the missing FAA information. Military pilots are authorized to fly in such circumstances, but it was far from the norm, Riley said. In talking to our operations team, its the first time they could recall that the FAA NOTAMs stopped completely for a period of time, she said. The FAAs meltdown cascaded through the nations airspace, with the agencys technical bulletin pointing to 19 government websites and applications potentially affected. It said processing of information about NOTAMs, flight plans, weather and some areas with flight limitations had been affected. The incident appears to have been the result of a mistake rather than anything malicious, according to a person familiar with the review into the outage, who added that information was still being verified. The disruption delayed almost 11,000 flights, led to cancellations of more than 1,300 more and raised questions about the reliability of the sometimes-antiquated computer systems meant to keep the nations skies safe for travelers. It also underscored the FAAs continued struggles to fix known problems. In a bipartisan letter Friday to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) the leaders of the House Transportation Committee, pointed to a line in the departments most recent budget request that described the NOTAMs system as relying on failing vintage hardware and seeking $30 million to fund upgrades. This shows the FAA was well aware of the issues facing the NOTAM system, the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was signed by 122 House members. The failure to improve legacy systems is unacceptable, and the American people expect and deserve better. The Transportation Department didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening. The NOTAMs system distributes safety messages about abnormal conditions that pilots might encounter. Parts of the system that failed are 30 years old. It began to break down Tuesday afternoon, and the FAA initially tried switching to a backup system, but the situation continued to deteriorate into the evening. The agency issued a bulletin warning that the system was down and continued to work on a fix. But by Wednesday morning, officials had determined they needed to reset the system. The FAA ordered a rare nationwide ground stop shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, all but bringing commercial air travel to a standstill for about 90 minutes, wreaking havoc on the nations aviation system shortly after a technical failure at Southwest Airlines ahead of the Christmas rush left travelers stranded. The FAA technical bulletin describes details of what it refers to as the NAIMES Service Interruption, using the acronym for National Airspace Aeronautical Information Enterprise System. The bulletin said problems stemmed from an observed production database failure. One consequence of the breakdown was that all NOTAMs put in the system, for about a 24-hour period starting Tuesday afternoon, have been removed from the system and must be reissued. The bulletin said there was outreach to entities who submit NOTAMs including airports, air traffic control workers and others encouraging them to reissue all applicable NOTAMs for their facility and to review all NOTAMs issued in the last 24 hours to ensure NOTAM data accuracy. The FAA did not say if those with crucial information had reentered the relevant hazards or whether risks had been introduced into the system. Pilots can contact airport and military airfield towers and other FAA air traffic en route centers for NOTAM information if necessary, the FAA said in a statement. The bulletin also said there had been intermittent delay in response with Federal NOTAM System applications through at least 11 a.m. Thursday. While it said the system was back up and running, some challenges continued due to high system load. Peter Aiken, an associate professor of information systems at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the fact that FAA personnel could damage a file and take down the nations aviation system points to a weakness in the understanding of data issues in general. Databases, just like automobiles, need regular maintenance, Aiken said. You do need an experienced mechanic to do that maintenance. Aiken said the FAAs reliance on outside contractors can create communications challenges between government and outside employees responsible for systems upkeep, and noted that federal agencies such as the FAA are struggling to upgrade their legacy systems. The FAA said its review of what went wrong is ongoing. The agency is also in the midst of a years-long effort to modernize the NOTAMs system. Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines, said Friday that Wednesdays breakdown is further evidence of what happens when the industry grows but investments in the systems designed to manage that growth are inconsistent. Its very clear there has to be a call to action among our political leaders in Congress and at the White House to fund and properly provide the FAA with the resources they need to do their job, Bastian said during a call with analysts. This is a crystal clear example of the challenges the FAA has faced. Failure to invest, particularly as the national airspace becomes more congested, could lead to more delays and disruption, he said, hampering the industrys ability to grow. Meanwhile, scrutiny on the technological mishaps of another major domestic air carrier continued. In a letter Friday to Bob Jordan, Southwests chief executive, more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers, including Sens Edward Markey (Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) pressed for answers on how the carrier would prevent a similar meltdown in the future. Although winter storm Elliott disrupted flights across the country, every other airline operating in the United States managed to return to a regular flight schedule shortly thereafter - except Southwest, the lawmakers wrote. Southwest must take all necessary steps to ensure that this debacle never happens again. The senators also questioned Jordan about the companys decision last month to resume paying dividends to stockholders. As a condition of accepting federal dollars to keep workers on the job, airlines were barred from raising executive compensation, repurchasing stock or issuing dividends. That prohibition expired in September, and last month Southwest was the first carrier to announce it would resume paying quarterly dividends. Southwest is expected to issue a $428 million dividend to shareholders at the end of January. The deaths of three men in rapid succession this year after encounters with Los Angeles police officers has exposed a distressing lack of progress the department has made reducing police violence and managing people in crisis, despite a years-long effort to lessen the risks in such cases. The killings occurred in the first week of January, and under pressure, a department with a problematic history of violence released body-camera footage of the fatal encounters in recent days. Two of the men suffered from mental illnesses, while a third, a D.C. schoolteacher, died after being Tasered by officers as he allegedly fled the scene of a car accident. The last case, which ended in the death of 31-year-old Keenan Anderson, revived grim memories of the murder in Minneapolis of George Floyd in May 2020 at the hands of police officers that Anderson cited in chilling body-camera footage of his encounter released this week. It also evoked the LAPDs violent past, most recently its harsh response to the large demonstrations following Floyds murder and the videotaped police beating more than three decades earlier of Black motorist Rodney King, which also set off violent protests. The department has been a flash point in the citys political and social life for decades and was once subject to Justice Department oversight after the discovery that one service area, known as Rampart, had routinely engaged in corrupt practices that included false arrests, excessive force and unreasonable searches. A succession of chiefs since the early 1990s has pledged to change LAPD culture. The LAPDs handling of the new cases, which even LAPD Chief Michel Moore criticized in a public appearance this week, also comes at a delicate political moment for the agency and for the citys new mayor, Karen Bass (D), who was sworn into office last month. Moore, who became chief in 2018, is in the process of seeking a second, five-year term with uncertain support from the citys new leadership. Bass campaigned in part on a platform to make the department more responsive to the publics demands, which include a far less aggressive approach to policing, especially in neighborhoods of color. Two of the men killed were Black and the third was Latino. A former community activist, member of Congress and state legislator, Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post. Bass won the open seat for mayor in the November election. As she settles into office with a focus primarily on corralling the citys homeless crisis, Bass is also confronting the fallout from a leaked audio tape of a trio of Latino city council members and a prominent labor leader using racist language to criticize council district boundaries, which help portion out power between the citys Black and Latino neighborhoods. Two of the council members have departed, but the killings this month have added an additional layer of racial tension to the citys already fraught debate over political power and accountability. What you have now is this convergence - a new mayor, a police chief seeking another term, and an increase in violent crime despite it subsiding somewhat from highs during the pandemic, said Fernando Guerra, a political science professor and founder of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. The fact is you can change the players - a new mayor, a new chief - but you are not changing the facts on the street, Guerra said. Its an easy out in some ways to change the players, but its still a tough call. In a statement this week on the killings, Bass said that no matter what these investigations determine . . . the need for urgent change is clear. We must reduce the use of force overall, and I have absolutely no tolerance for excessive force, she said in the statement. We must also lead our city forward - finally - on the mental health crisis that has been allowed to grow, fester and cause so much harm to individual Angelenos, their families and our communities. But Bass has gotten off to an awkward start with Moore, who authorized the release of the body-camera footage this week well ahead of the 45-day deadline to do so. Late last year, Moore formally requested reappointment to the chiefs post and has been seeking to rally support around his serving another term. In a letter written last month seeking support for another term from the nonprofit Los Angeles Police Foundation, an independent fundraising arm of the agency, Moore wrote that he had the new mayors full support. He was almost immediately forced to apologize after the mayors office disclosed that she had not decided whether Moore should remain in the job. Moores fate is in the hands of a five-member police commission, which is appointed by the mayor. But the current commission is a holdover from the previous administration of Eric Garcetti (D), and its members indicated early in the process that they intended to reappoint Moore. As details of the killings became public, Bass asked the commission earlier this week to hold off on reappointing Moore until she could conduct her own assessment of his performance, even though she will not officially have a say in the decision. The mayor and the police chief have one of the most important relationships in the city government, said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, who also serves as one of nearly 100 volunteers on Basss civilian transition advisory team. So it would be very unusual for the commission to appoint a chief that does not have the mayors support. Moore has said he is seeking another term to complete unfinished work. But he acknowledged this week that one initiative that police officials have called integral to managing mentally ill subjects did not function correctly in at least one of the three fatal cases. The program is known as the Mental Evaluation Unit, which is designed to deploy trained social workers alongside officers on calls where mental illness may be involved. On Jan. 2, officers responded to the apartment of Shameka Smith, who had called a non-emergency number to report that her husband had violated a restraining order she had secured against him. During the call, she mentioned that 45-year-old Takar Smith had a history of severe mental illness. But the officers who responded did not call in a mental health team, and after a 15-minute, mostly incoherent confrontation with Smith, opened fire when he allegedly reached for a knife on the kitchen floor. During the news conference this week when the body-camera footage was released, Moore acknowledged that at no point during this call was our mental assessment team, also known as SMART, called to the scene to assist in this investigation. At times youll see the officers on their body worn video attempt to verbally de-escalate the encounter, he said. However, I also have concerns regarding the final moments leading up to the shooting. Well be looking closely at this investigation as its completed. A day after the fatal encounter with Smith, LAPD officers shot and killed Oscar Sanchez, a 35-year-old whom a family attorney said had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Sanchez was killed after police officers, responding to reports of a man threatening people with a knife, shot him as he allegedly approached them with a spiked pole. That same day police officers in Venice, a neighborhood in the citys west side, repeatedly used a Taser on Anderson, the high school teacher and father visiting from D.C. Video of the Jan. 3 incident shows Anderson being detained by multiple officers as he begs for his life shortly after a traffic collision. The department said Anderson initially cooperated with officers before attempting to flee the scene of the accident, which he was apparently involved in, before a DUI test could be administered. At one point, body-camera footage shows an officer appearing to have his elbow on Andersons neck as he is detained in the middle of the road. Theyre trying to George Floyd me! Anderson shouts on the video. Theyre trying to George Floyd me! An officer is then shown using his Taser on Anderson two times, including one stretch that lasted about 30 seconds, uninterrupted. Anderson was eventually handcuffed and taken by ambulance to a hospital in nearby Santa Monica. There he was pronounced dead after suffering cardiac arrest, according to a police news release. Anderson was the cousin of Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. She said Anderson was a 10th-grade English teacher at the Digital Pioneers Academy, a majority-Black public charter school in Washington, and was in Los Angeles visiting family and friends. Cullors has called for Moores immediate resignation. Wilson reported from Santa Barbara, Calif. The Washington Posts Tim Bella in Washington contributed to this report. Britain's Challenger 2 tank is known for its armor: the only one destroyed on the battlefield was nailed by friendly fire, and it was a scandal when an IED got lucky enough to hurt a crewmember. They even come with a tea station, to make a proper cuppa. And after months of rumors, the U.K. government is offering an unspecified number to Ukraine. No 10 said the prime minister offered Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems as a sign of the UK's "ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine". Zelenskiy thanked the UK on Twitter for making decisions that "will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners". The move makes the UK the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks. The suggestion is that if Ukraine is to win the war, it must push the Russians back to Russia next spring and for that they need to have modern armor, locomotive artillery, Bradleys and all the rest of it. A problem is what the Russians resort to at the prospect of its army of prisoners, teenagers and merceneries getting "Basra'd" by humungous western main battle tanks. It won't be lost on them that these vehicles were designed to steamroller over that same ground, albeit perhaps a ways to the north. He relocated to Lower Sherrard Street in Dublin's north-inner city where he lived while on bail awaiting trial for murder. Gardai pictured at the site on wasteland in Drogheda where the torso of Keane Mulready Woods was discovered A MAN who helped a crime gang carry out the murder of teenager Keane Mulready Woods had to flee Drogheda after coming under severe threat. It can be revealed that Gerard Cruise escaped to Dublin for his own safety after being targeted because of his involvement in the youth's murder. In January 2021 a crowd of around 40 people, some of whom were friends of the victim, gathered outside Cruise's home with gardai having serious concerns at the time that it would be burned down and the occupants attacked. As more and more people arrived at the scene, some of the crowd shouted abuse at Gerard Cruise and gardai who moved to disperse them. The 49-year-old was unharmed but left Drogheda after being warned of continued threats to his safety. He relocated to Lower Sherrard Street in Dublin's north-inner city where he lived while on bail awaiting trial for murder. Bizarrely, he was also pictured taking part in a clean-up day organised by members of the local community last August, and posed for pictures with other local residents. Keane Mulready-Woods PA It's understood the garda investigation uncovered that he was involved in bringing Keane Mulready Woods to the murder scene in Rathmullen Park on the day of the murder after the teen arrived in the area by taxi. On Friday he became the second man to plead guilty to helping a criminal gang carry out the murder of the teenager in Drogheda three years ago. The 17-year-old victim was last seen alive on January 12, 2020, and his dismembered body parts were spread across different parts of Dublin over the following days. His murder was linked to a violent feud between two crime groups in the Louth town which claimed four lives and saw around 100 violent incidents including shootings, assaults and fire bombings Cruise was originally charged with the teen's murder and was due to stand trial this month but on Friday was arraigned on the lesser charge. It stated that between January 11 and 13, 2020, both dates inclusive, he facilitated a criminal organisation in the commission of a serious offence at 31 Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, namely the murder of Keane Mulready Woods. Gardai pictured at the site on wasteland in Drogheda where the torso of Keane Mulready Woods was discovered The offence is contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 and carries a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment. Gerard Cruise, wearing a wine jumper and navy jeans, stood up and replied guilty when the charge was read out to him by the registrar. He had been on bail ahead of his murder trial but following his guilty plea was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Tony Hunt. Cruise will appear before the non-jury court again on January 23 for sentencing with his co-defendant. The court was told the other existing charges will be "dealt with" on that date. Paul Crosby (27), of Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, last month also pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Keane Mulready Woods. Crosby is a significant crime figure with over 40 previous convictions and was centrally involved in the feuding in the Louth town. He is currently serving a three-year jail term over a mysterious arson incident for which he was arrested while under surveillance by heavily armed gardai investigating the feud. Crosby is considered a key associate of the crime gang led by two brothers that were feuding with the Maguire organised crime group in Drogheda. Gardai believe that Dublin criminal Robbie Lawlor carried out the teens savage killing but he was shot dead in Belfast in April 2020 before he could be arrested in relation to the investigation. Another man, Gerard Ged McKenna (52), was imprisoned last year after admitting to cleaning up the crime scene at his home after the murder. The father-of-eight, also from Rathmullen Park, was jailed for four years for impeding the apprehension of the persons involved by disposing of material evidence. During that sentencing hearing harrowing details were given of the scene where the teen was murdered. The court heard that a blood-stained ballistic vest belonging to Keane Mulready Woods was found in a nearby burn site along with rubber gloves, a Swiss Army knife, and a part of a sofa. A car parked in a laneway at the back of McKennas house contained a blood-stained axe and a bone fragment. The keys to that car, a red Toyota Corolla, were also found in McKenna's house. The Central Criminal Court heard he had been directed to clean up the house by a now deceased criminal of "very significant notoriety" linked to several murders including that of a "very close friend". It's understood this was in reference to Robbie Lawlor. When gardai searched the property, it was covered in the teen's blood splatter and botched efforts had been made to clear evidence from the crime scene. Judge Keenan Johnson remarked that the offending seemed to have petered out from 2009 onwards. A 52 year old grandfather with 55 previous convictions had a jail sentence lifted on appeal to Sligo Circuit Court which heard his offending had petered out in recent years. Before the court was James McMorrow of Market House, Market Yard, Sligo who was appealing motoring convictions imposed at the District Court for motoring offences. The defendant was represented by Mr Eugene Deering BL (instructed by Mr Gerard McGovern, solicitor who told Judge Keenan Johnson that the matter was being appealed on grounds of severity only. McMorrow was convicted by Judge Sandra Murphy of using a false driving licence and not having insurance at the Market Yard on July 25th 2020. He was jailed for two months and banned from driving for 12 months for the insurance offence and given a three month suspended term on the licence charge. The defendant was also convicted of driving without insurance four days later on July 29th at Ray MacSharry Road and given a two month sentence with a six year driving ban. Outlining the background to the offences at the Circuit Court, Detective Garda Eamon McDonnell told Ms Elisa McHugh, State Solicitor (prosecuting) that the appellant was observed by Garda John McNulty driving a 2011 Audi car at excessive speed into the Market Yard on July 25th 2020 around 5am. McMorrow was searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act and a demand was made from him to produce his licence and insurance. He produced a full Irish driving licence but the Garda believed this to be false and it was seized. It was subsequently sent for examination and it was confirmed to be a fake licence. The appellant failed to produce insurance. On July 29th the appellant was observed driving an Audi car by Garda Costello around midday. There was no NCT on the car and it was seized. Witness outlined how the defendant has 55 previous convictions including road traffic public order, assault and drug offences dating back several years. Judge Keenan Johnson remarked that the offending seemed to have petered out from 2009 onwards. In reply to Mr Deering, Garda McDonnell accepted that at the time of the offences the appellant was having issues with a neighbour. Mr Deering submitted that on the first occasion the appellant was moving his car as a result. On the second time, the appellant was on his way to sell the car, he said. Garda McDonnell replied that he could not dispute this if the appellant was saying this. Mr Deering said the car was sold a short time later. The appellant found it difficult to keep it financially. He did have a provisional licence but was driving unaccompanied as a result of the breakdown of a relationship of some three years in and around this time, said Mr Deering. Mr Deering submitted that the offending took place over a period of four days during the Covid lockdown which the appellant was finding difficult to cope with. His relationship broke up and he was endeavouring to sell the car. It was naivety which led to the appellant securing a false driving licence which he thought would solve his problem of driving unaccompanied. Mr Deering said it was an easy offence to detect with the appellants name and picture on the false licence. The appellant was holding his hands up with respect to the offence. Mr Deering submitted that the appllant had a difficult upbringing and had turned to alcohol to deal with issues of his past. He was the youngest in a family of ten and according to report before the court from the charity, Social Ground Force, Mr McMorrow had been born into addiction. He took his first drink at 11, was before the courts at 12 and was detained at the age of 14 for two years, at a time, said Mr Deering when imprisonment wasnt seen as a last resort. At the age of 30, he lost both his parents and in recent years, two of his sisters. He never really addressed issues arising from this and his past and the Social Ground Force report suggested that he had symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder., said Mr Deering. He added that these were factors leading to a lot of the appellants trouble. The appellant was now regularly attending AA meetings and addiction services. He was no longer taking substances. Mr Deering said the latest probation report suggested that with the right structures in place he can be put on the right path. I would say he is now taking full reponsibility for his behaviour of his past, said Mr Deering. He said the appellant had shown a change of attitude and wantred to become a productive member of society, start his own business, be a good neighbour, father and grandfather. He was fully agreeable to the recommendations contained in the probation report. McMorrow, in evidence, said he was attending weekly AA meetings and he intended to keep away from people who indulge in such practices. He added that he was drug and alcohol free. He outlined how he was 19 when he was released from an institution and that he had gone from institution to institution after that. He said he had the mentality of a 13 year old when he was released and ended up committing a litany of no insurance offences. The appellant said he didnt know what insurance or a driving licence was for. Judge Johnson said he was impressed that the appellant had not been in trouble for the past two and a half years and that he had engaged with AA and the Social Ground Force team. He had been honest and he does have issues from his past. The Judge noted the very comprehensive nature of the probation report, which he said was most helpful. The Judge removed the prison sentences imposed at the District Court. He imposed a four month jail term, suspended for two years on condition that the appellant enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years. He must also undergo probation service supervision for two years, remain alcohol and drug and comply with all Garda and probation service requests for analysis. The appellant must also undergo 120 hours of community service with assessment as regards suitability to take place between now and June. The six year driving ban remains but was backdated to the date of the District Court. The three men had attempted to source arms and the financial support of the Iraqi Government and were arrested by Slovakian police in July 2001 The High Court has awarded 2,500 in damages to each of three men jailed for trying to acquire weapons for the Real IRA for the period of their incarceration found by the Irish Courts to have been unlawful. In his judgement Mr Justice Cian Ferriter held that Fintan O'Farrell, Declan Rafferty and Michael McDonald who are all from Co Louth, were entitled to succeed in their claim for false imprisonment and were entitled to the damages award. However, the judge said the men were not entitled to substantial damages on grounds including that the sentences they had originally received for terrorist offences from an English court had never been invalidated. The three men had attempted to source arms and the financial support of the Iraqi Government and were arrested by Slovakian police in July 2001 after they had met with who the men believed were Iraqi arms dealers. The 'dealers' were undercover British security agents. Following their arrest, all three were extradited to England. In 2002 they all pleaded guilty, before a London court, to conspiracy to cause explosions as well as charges under the UK's 2000 Terrorism Act and ultimately received prison sentences of 28 years. In 2006 they were transferred to Portlaoise Prison. In 2014 the High Court found that the continued detention of O'Farrell, Rafferty with addresses in Carlingford, and McDonald from Dundalk was unlawful, and their release was ordered. This was because of differences between the UK's and Ireland's sentencing systems including that prisoner in Ireland are entitled to one quarter remission of their sentences whereas in the UK one third remission normally applies, and the court directed that they be released from custody. The courts, arising out of an earlier unrelated case held that the warrants allowing their transfer form a UK prison to Ireland were defective in referring to the men's 28-year sentences and not the term they should have served, which was 18 years and 8 months. The warrants should have referred to a definite term of two thirds of the sentences they received in the UK, the Irish courts further held. The three sought damages for the time that they spent in prison which the Irish courts deemed to be unlawful. The period of false imprisonment, they claimed, amounted to breaches of their constitutional right to liberty. The men, represented by Micheal O Higgins SC, David Conlan Smith SC and Declan Higgins Bl instructed by solicitor John Quinn had brought their claims against the Minister for Justice, Ireland and the Attorney General and the Governor of Portlaoise Prison. They claimed the defendants were negligent on grounds including that they allowed the men to be imprisoned on foot of an order that was invalid and failed to observe their rights to liberty. The men claimed that they spent eight years in Portlaoise Prison, which they described as an old facility with poor heating and where they had to 'slop out' their cells every morning. Portlaoise Prison The defendants opposed the claims and had argued that they were not entitled to damages. In his decision the judge said while the errors in the process leading to the defective warrants were not merely trivial the judge said he found no evidence of the defendants having been party to a knowing breach of the plaintiffs rights. The judge said he do not accept as well-founded the defendants submission that the three mens conduct would justify the court not awarding them damages. Such an approach could lead to the "complete negation of the important role of vindication of the constitutional right to liberty which is fulfilled by an award of damages in a false imprisonment case," he added. However, the effect of the finding that the warrants were unlawfully issued was "not to invalidate the underlying English sentences," he said. As a result of their admitted conduct in committing serious terrorist offences, the plaintiffs had no lawful entitlement to serve less than 18 years 8 months in prison. "Any equitable approach to damages cannot ignore the fact that the plaintiffs through their conduct and through the passing of English sentences which have never been invalidated stood to serve over 18 years in prison subject to remission," he said. As matters transpired, they spent only just over 13 years in prison, the judge added. In my view, any approach to the assessment of damages for their false imprisonment has to reflect that reality. the judge said. All three, he said, were entitled to 2,500 damages each. The judge said he had arrived at that figure based on facts including that the three were detained in Portlaoise prison on foot of an invalid Irish detention order for an 8 year period of which he said just under 4 years was actionable. Other facts the court took into consideration when arriving at the level of the awards included that the men's conduct for extremely serious terrorist offences meant that their interest in liberty before the expiry of the sentences handed down by the English Courts "was attenuated to negligible levels." As a result of their release the plaintiffs spent less time in prison as a whole than they were lawfully sentenced to serve by the English courts, the judge said. Had they remained in England, they would not have been released before their sentences, less any period for remission, had been completed. Their claims of suffering personal inconvenience, stress, and frustration on missing out while in Portlaoise prison on key life events counted for little or nothing in the scales of what an equitable award would require in the circumstances, Mr Justice Ferriter added. The court heard Rose Joyce said I got my money from my brother after being cautioned by gardai. Two people have appeared in court accused of money laundering following their arrest last week. Christopher Jordan (36), Stratheden Street, Belfast, and Rose Joyce (54), The Wotton, The Bridge, Ashbourne Road, Co. Meath, are each charged with on 7 January last at the Carrickdale Hotel, Dundalk, engaging in possessing property that is the proceeds of criminal conduct, to wit 63,250 cash while knowing/believing/being reckless as to whether or not the said property was the proceeds of criminal conduct. Det Garda Liam Aherne, of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, gave evidence of arresting Mr Jordan on 8 January last for the purpose of charge. When the charge was subsequently put to him he made no reply after caution. Following a contested bail application held in camera, Judge McKiernan refused bail and remanded Mr Jordan in custody to Cloverhill District Court on Friday 13 January for DPP directions. Det Garda Susan Plunkett, also of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said that she arrested Ms Joyce for the purpose of charge on 8 January. After being charged she replied after caution, I got my money from my brother. The defendant was unsuccessful in her bail application and was remanded in custody to Drogheda Court on Monday 16 January via video link for DPP directions. Legal aid was granted. Lieutenant Detective Commander Kevin Byrnes is the president of the NYPD Emerald Society for Irish-American police officers. The head of the Irish American policing group at the NYPD has reportedly been suspended from the force after failing a drug test. Lieutenant Detective Commander Kevin Byrnes is the president of the NYPD Emerald Society for Irish-American police officers. He has now been suspended without pay for failing a drug test, the New York Post reports though it is unknown what drug triggered the positive result. Byrnes has been a member of the NYPD since 1995 and worked in the Central Robbery Division since 2019. The Emerald Society of the NYPD is a group of Irish-American police officers and have a pipe-and-drums band. On their website, the band says it was born and nurtured by a group of men whose undying love and fierce pride in their Celtic Heritage was paramount. The Emerald Society says the group of police officers remain loyal, patriotic Americans and we shall always honor our Irish heritage that remains as constant as the green fields of Ireland. If we do live in a post 9-11 world, where the never-ending global war continues, targeting "terrorism" all over the planet, it might be worth remembering that white nationalist terrorism was not the first domestic group to be identified as a threat to U.S. democracy. Before 9-11, the target was radical environmental groups. For the first twenty years of the dominance of the logics of homeland security and domestic counter-terrorism in foreign and domestic policy, local and global law enforcement, some of whom espoused white nationalist ideas, "ignored the rising danger of far-right extremism. In the atmosphere of willful indifference, a virulent movement has grown and metastasized." In the context of this organized and theorized willful ignorance of white supremacist terrorism, the first group targeted for persecution and prosecution was the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), specifically Daniel McGowan in 2005, as the FBI had named them "America's 'number one domestic terrorism threat.'" "For years, the ELFoperating in separate anonymous cells without any central leadershiphad launched spectacular arsons against dozens of businesses they accused of destroying the environment: timber companies, SUV dealerships, wild horse slaughterhouses, and a $12 million ski lodge at Vail, Colorado. With the arrest of Daniel and thirteen others, the government had cracked what was probably the largest ELF cell in America and brought down the group responsible for the very first ELF arsons in this country. Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, the film interweaves a verite chronicle of Daniel on house arrest as he faces life in prison, with a dramatic recounting of the events that led to his involvement with the group. And along the way, it asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism. Drawing from striking archival footage much of it never before seen and intimate interviews with ELF members and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them, IF A TREE FALLS explores the tumultuous period from 1995 until early 2001 when environmentalists were clashing with timber companies and law enforcement, and the word "terrorism" had not yet been altered by 9/11." You can check out the trailer here and the film here. Natalie (32) was murdered in Lurgan on December 18 Natalie McNally and her dad Noel enjoying a game at Goodison Park. A man arrested by detectives investigating the murder of Natalie McNally has been released on police bail. The 46-year-old was arrested in south Belfast on Friday and taken to Musgrave Police Station. Natalie (32) was murdered in Lurgan on December 18 just days before she was due to attend a medical scan, which would have told her that she was 15 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. She sustained head and neck injuries in the attack. A 20,000 reward has been offered by Crimestoppers, which receives information anonymously, for anyone who can help lead to a conviction. A PSNI spokesperson said: "A 46-year-old man arrested by detectives from the PSNIs Major Investigation Team investigating the murder of 32-year-old Natalie McNally in Lurgan on December 18 has been released on police bail to allow for further enquiries. The investigation continues and anyone with any information they feel is relevant is asked to contact us on 101. On Saturday afternoon a photograph of Natalie will be shown on large screens at Goodison Park stadium during Evertons home game against Southampton. Ms McNally supported Everton alongside her family, and the club agreed to show her photo at the ground as a mark of respect. Natalie McNally and her dad Noel enjoying a game at Goodison Park. Posting to Twitter on Thursday evening, Natalies brother wrote: My sister Natalie McNally who was tragically murdered here in Lurgan, Co. Armagh on December 18. Her image will be on the big screen before and at half-time during the Southampton game If anyone can take pictures of her on the screen and send them to me would be very much appreciated. The McNally family said Everton have offered to bring them over and see a game "when the time is right and to meet club and Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman. The victim, named locally as Maud Coffey, had been stabbed multiple times in an attack in her home. Garda vehicles outside a block of apartments in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, west Dublin, yesterday where a woman's body was discovered. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin ardai at the scene at Horizon Apartment bloc in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, Dublin where the body of a woman in her 40's was discovered in an apartment earlier today..... Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Colin Keegan A murder suspect was held by gardai after people reported him shouting during a disturbing rant on a bus that he had killed someone. The detention of the man at a bus stop in west Dublin yesterday led to the discovery of a womans body in an apartment in the Ashtown area. The victim, named locally as Maud Coffey, had been stabbed multiple times in an attack in her home. She was stabbed multiple times. Gardai are not looking for anyone else in this investigation, a source said last night. The victim has been described as a vulnerable lady and her suspected killer is understood to have been battling drug issues as well as mental health matters in recent times. Sources said there had been major concerns about the mans health in recent times and it has emerged that a female relative contacted gardai yesterday morning to carry out a welfare check on him. Officers went to his home and discovered that he was not in the property in the north inner city. About the same time, gardai received a number of calls about a middle-aged man who was on a Dublin Bus who was scaring children and other commuters by claiming he had killed someone. Gardai were called and the man was detained at a west Dublin bus stop under the provisions of the Mental Health Act. Video footage at the bus stop captures the clearly ill murder suspect ranting about apostles, men and sex. After his detention, gardai visited an apartment in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, about 10am. It was at this location they discovered the body of Ms Coffey, who was aged in her 40s, and who had suffered a number of fatal stab wounds. Ms Coffeys murder has caused deep shock in the area where she lived. Tanya Murphy, who lives in the Royal Canal Park area, said she knew the woman. She was so nice, she said. She played with the local kids and would draw chalk on the ground with them. She used to pick up all the litter on the street. She was just so nice. She was harmless. She just kept to herself and didnt bother anybody. I feel sick to know this happened on my doorstep, and to such a harmless woman. She wouldnt hurt a fly. Garda vehicles outside a block of apartments in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, west Dublin, yesterday where a woman's body was discovered. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Gardai issued a statement on their investigation last night. Gardai continue to investigate the death of a woman (40s) whose body was discovered in an apartment at Royal Canal Park, Dublin 15, on Friday January 13, 2023, a spokesman said. The body has been removed to the City Morgue at Whitehall and a post-mortem examination will be conducted by State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan on Saturday, January 14, 2023. The scene is currently preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. A man in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He is currently being detained at Finglas garda station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. Gardai are appealing to any person who has information that can assist with this investigation to contact Finglas garda station on 01 6667500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. Nicola Tallant looks back on the gangster they called The Pimpernel and recalls his ties to Ireland The Sunday World tracked down Mickey Green to his Irish bolthole HE was an A-list star of the criminal underworld, a gangster so wily that he travelled the world amassing a 100million fortune and died not from a bullet, but from his love of a sun-kissed tan. Dubbed 'The Pimpernel' for his ability to evade the law, Mickey Green's life as a mobster - which spanned an incredible five decades - personifies the changing face of organised crime. From the Costa del crime to California, from the rolling hills of Colombia to the rugged Irish countryside, he travelled the globe negotiating drug deals, VAT scams and sensational robberies. Nicola Tallant presents a three-part Crime World special on the life and crimes of perma-tanned mobster Mickey Green. Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud. MORE EPISODES It is believed gardai do not suspect foul play was involved The body has been removed to Cork University Hospital A Garda investigation has been launched following the discovery of a body at a house in Mallow, Co Cork. Employees from Cork County Council were working at the house, on Beecher Street, yesterday morning when they made the grim discovery and notified gardai. Its understood the body may have been in the house for some time. One local person told Independent.ie that the house where the body was discovered has been vacant and boarded up for 20 years. It is believed gardai do not suspect foul play was involved. "Gardai are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a body in a house in Mallow, Co. Cork at approximately 12pm, 13th of January 2023, a garda spokesperson said. The scene has been preserved. Enquiries are ongoing. Gardai have preserved the scene as technical examinations continue. The body has been removed to the morgue at Cork University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will take place. Investigators have not indicated whether the deceased is male or female and it is understood the identification process could take some time, and may require the use of dental records, given the length of time which the body has been at the house. He was handed down a five-year sentence just the day prior to his death A 23-year-old man who died in Limerick Prison one day after starting a five-year sentence for his role in a 2018 burglary in Co Clare will be laid to rest next week. Edward Woodland died suddenly on January 12, one day after he was sentenced at Ennis Circuit Court to five years in prison with the last 12 months suspended for the burglary at an isolated farmhouse in Co Clare on January 5, 2018. His death is now under investigation by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) and An Garda Siochana. "The Irish Prison Service can confirm that there was a death in custody of a person in the custody of the Irish Prison Service on 12th January 2023 and the next of kin have been notified, the IPS said in a statement. This death in custody will be 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. Edward will repose at his residence, Greenmount Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick on Wednesday, January 18, with his funeral mass taking place on Thursday at 11am in Our Lady of Lourdes Church. He will be buried afterwards at Mount St Oliver Cemetary. On January 11, Woodward was sentenced at Ennis Circuit Court in connection with the robbery at a farmhouse in Clare on January 5, 2018. Woodland was jailed alongside his father Patrick (48) and two others for the 2018 raid on the rural house while a 97-year-old man slept inside. Judge Eoin Garvan remarked that the burglars showed humanity in the midst of a serious crime when they left the house after discovering the elderly man asleep. Judge Garvan said that it would have been very traumatic for the mans son to return to his home in the afternoon, not knowing if his father had been interfered with or tied up. The gang had set up the raid with Edwards uncle John Woodland meeting the farmer on the pretence of buying silage to lure him away from the farmhouse. The other raiders then kicked in the door of the house and broke a lock before ransacking the property looking for cash until they realised a man was asleep inside. All three were caught "red-handed by gardai as they tried to escape through fields around Mr OConnors home. Nothing was taken in the burglary and Judge Garavan said no threat of violence or violence was used. Imposing sentence, Judge Garavan said the burglary offence carried out by the gang is of intense social concern and there must be a deterrent. He said such offences terrify people in rural areas where there is little protection against this and who do not have gardai on their doorstep. He said the absolute fear and trauma to the victims that can be occasioned by such offences in rural areas cannot be overstated. Judge Garavan said that the offence was premeditated and carefully thought out and gardai were on the scene as they knew that a burglary was going to take place as a result of intelligence received. In sentencing, Judge Garavan imposed a five-year prison term on Patrick Woodland of Greenmount Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, a five-year prison term with the final year suspended on Edward Woodland with the same address, a five-year prison term on John Woodland of Clarina Avenue, Ballinacurra Avenue, Limerick, with the final two years suspended and three and a half years on Paul Kiely Glencairn, Dooradadoyle, Limerick with the final one and a half years suspended. A Detective Garda gave evidence that Patrick Woodland and John Woodland were each jailed for three years in 2012 for a similar type of burglary in Galway. Both were taken to Accident and Emergency for observation Two people were rescued from the River Liffey overnight. Dublin Fire Brigade have said that firefighters rescued two people from the river on the North Quays. Members of the public kept the two afloat until they arrived. A third person who was also in the river was able to swim to safety. They were all transported to Accident and Emergency for observation. Taking to Twitter, the brigade shared: Firefighters rescued two people from the Liffey on the North Quays overnight. Members of the public kept the two afloat until our arrival, a third person self-rescued. Swift Water Rescue Technicians entered the water to bring the two safety. Transported to ED for observation. Firefighters rescued two people from the Liffey on the North Quays overnight. Members of the public kept the two afloat until our arrival, a third person self rescued. Swift Water Rescue Technicians entered the water to bring the two safety. Transported to ED for observation. pic.twitter.com/DHdsQ3R3aY Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 14, 2023 In a separate incident, in Co Meath, the body of a woman in her 60s was taken from the River Boyne in Trim. She was pronounced dead at the scene with a post-mortem due to be conducted at a later date. The results of the examination will determine the course of the investigation. LMFM have reported that the woman fell into the river after she tried to rescue her dog. A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana told sundayworld.com that they are looking into all circumstances surrounding the discovery. Gardai are investigating all the circumstances of the discovery of a body of a woman in the water in Trim, County Meath on Friday 13th January 2023. The woman, aged in her 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination will be conducted at a later date and this will determine the course of the investigation. One Fine Gael TD, speaking privately, said Mr Richmonds appointment was an incredible decision Neale Richmond has been promoted to junior minister in the Department of Enterprise. Photo: Tom Burke Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is facing a backlash from his TDs for neglecting rural Ireland in appointing Dublin-based TD Neale Richmond as junior minister in the Department of Enterprise. Former minister Michael Ring hit out at the Dublin brigade and last night accused some Cabinet ministers of not being able to keep their seats in an election. Another former minister, Fianna Fails Willie ODea, accused the Government of being too urban-centred, while Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus ODowd said he agreed with the need for more ministers outside of Dublin. One Fine Gael TD, speaking privately, said Mr Richmonds appointment was an incredible decision adding that they were completely shocked by the Taoiseach giving the ministry to a Dublin TD with little experience. It comes as opposition TDs are reluctant to call for Mr English to resign his Dail seat for fear their own affairs are not in order. Labour will today call for Mr English to make a Dail statement explaining how he gave the wrong information on the planning application in 2008. A Labour source said former minister Mr English had not answered any questions on the controversy and that he should make a full Dail statement explaining what happened. Meanwhile, Mr Ring pointed to the 2020 general election and said he was the only FG TD in the country to get more votes than Sinn Fein. He said Fine Gael has gone too Dublin and said the only saving grace for the party is Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys. Were supposed to be a broad base party. Theres enough ministers in Dublin now, he said. He said he never put a foot wrong in his time as a minister and said the party was wrong to drop him. I brought in two seats and some of the Cabinet ministers we have now could hardly get elected, he said. Its time a rural TD stood up now and started taking on the establishment, the Dublin brigade. Aontu TD Peadar Toibin said 40pc of senior ministers in Government are now from Dublin, with all TDs in Dublin Rathdown being ministers. Dublin has 12 ministers, senior and junior, yet there are 10 counties without a minister at all, he said. Mr Toibin said 60pc of Connacht counties have no minister at all and there are no Cabinet ministers in Connacht. This has enormous consequences for the spatial development of our country. The people who make the decisions tend to make the decisions in favour of the place that they know. Louth TD Fergus ODowd said he hears what he is saying and said he is disappointed to have not gotten the role, despite making a pitch for it. I personally would have loved to have been appointed Louth has huge issues in relation to employment, health issues as well but its for the Taoiseach to make those appointments, he said. However, he said Mr Richmond is a person he holds in high regard who will be an excellent minister. Former justice minister Charlie Flanagan paid tribute to Mr Richmond, saying he has been around Leinster House for a decade. These things are very difficult for leaders and its been a difficult week, Mr Flanagan said. I would have tipped Neale for elevation, he is an ideal choice and will make a great minister. Fianna Fail TD Willie ODea said Mr Toibin made fair points in his comments. The ministers are unevenly distributed, he said. There are a lot of complaints that rural Ireland is left behind and too urban-centred. The Government is very focused on urban areas. Danny Gallagher says hospital was his second home for about seven years of his childhood and even had the last rites from a priest Maddeleana Merrigan is the Author of Born to Heal, a new book on Danny Gallagher, the man who is believed to have cured thousands of people over four decades. A world famous local faith healer, who claims to have helped thousands of people, has revealed he was constantly ill as a child and almost died. Danny Gallagher says hospital was his second home for about seven years of his childhood and even had the last rites from a priest. In a new book about his incredible life, Danny reveals how he has healed people all over the world including the US, Canada as well as the UK and Ireland. Born To Heal charts Dannys childhood, his early days as an ice-cream man in his home town of Maghera to reluctantly dedicating his life to healing. In the book, which is dedicated to Dannys late wife Nora, he reveals he was a sickly child who almost passed away from one illness. Maddeleana Merrigan is the Author of Born to Heal, a new book on Danny Gallagher, the man who is believed to have cured thousands of people over four decades. Speaking to the Sunday World, Danny reveals: I was sick all the time from the age of about five to the age of 13. I was never out of hospital, particularly the Mid-Ulster in Magherafelt. It was my second home but I also ended up in the Royal (Victoria Hospital) too. One particular illness which was bad was pneumonia and then pleurisy which was very serious. I ended up having more operations than I care to remember. I had to get skin grafts from my leg to cover my wounds from operations. I still have the scars today from the grafts taken from my two legs. Doctors told my mother I would not survive. My mother brought me home because she wanted me to pass away at home and not in hospital. In the book he remembers coming close to death. I was very ill as a young boy, Danny says in the book. I remember the priest by my bedside and my mother telling me not to worry, that the angels would come through the ceiling and take me with them. Danny is the seventh son of a seventh son and according to Celtic lore he therefore possesses the power to heal people simply by touching them. His incredible power is backed by testimonies of people who have made miraculous recoveries from the most serious of illnesses after being touched by Danny. Even doctors have recommended patients to see Danny. Forty years ago Danny cured a young crippled girl the story became world famous and it changed Dannys life for ever. Danny, who lives in Maghera, Co Derry, told the Sunday World he just loves healing people. Danny never charges the people he heals but in return he asked for a token donation to cover travel costs. His healing powers have featured in this newspaper many times. We pass no judgment, rather we just tell the stories of those who say Danny has helped them and their loved ones. It soon becomes very clear these people many who have tried all other avenues of help and have turned to Danny in desperation firmly believe it was his magic hands that have done the business. Dannys exploits have seen a number of documentaries made about him including one on the History Channel entitled Miracles Uncovered which has been viewed all over the world. It was one of these remarkable stories that first appeared in the Sunday World just last year that attracted the attention of author Maddeleana Merrigan. It was the story of little Co Antrim baby Maia Mhandu who was born with four holes in her heart. Her desperate parents, one of who is a leading surgical doctor at the Royal Victoria Hospital, approached Danny as a last resort. Doctors treating Maia told her parents when she was born she could suffer heart failure and die at any moment and shed at the very best need several invasive operations and strong medication to save her life. When Maias parents became so afraid to sleep in case Maia didnt wake up, they took drastic action and sought the help of Danny. And after a few visits the holes in her heart including a massive one in her small chamber closed over and scans at her six-month review proved it. Her mum Emma told the Sunday World last December: We remain forever grateful to Danny. He was very honest with us from the start. He told us there was no guarantee and he was insistent that we keep up all our hospital appointments. He wasnt promising anything and definitely wasnt saying we should ignore the advice of the hospital, quite the opposite. It was fantastic being able to celebrate her first birthday in September. There were moments when we feared she would ever get to celebrate that. Author Maddeleana says when she read the story she was fascinated to find out more. I was amazed by the story of little Maia and decided I wanted to meet Danny, Maddeleana told the Sunday World. When I was first introduced to Danny I was cautious and sceptical. I assumed this man was out to make easy money. From the moment I witnessed him heal, I was transformed. An energy radiates from Danny, unlike any I had encountered. She spoke to many of the people who claim to have been healed by Danny in researching her book. I spoke to many people who claim he cured them of illness or helped their lives for the better. It has been a privilege to get to know Danny. Our journey in making this book was not an easy one. We argued, we laughed and we became friends. Forty-five years ago Danny cured a young crippled girl. The story became world famous and it changed Dannys life forever. In 2002 the Sunday World revealed how Danny helped a 56-year-old woman from Fintona walk again. Another of his most famous cases is that of a set of twins Laura and Karen Friel from Westport, Co Mayo who were born blind 30 years ago. In the book Danny reveals how he was a reluctant healer and how he still has no idea how it works. As a small boy my mother kept telling me I would be a healer one day, he says. I was reluctant to become a healer, I knew it would take over my life and change everything for me and my family. I honestly dont know what the healing is, how it works, and why it works for me. Nor do I understand why it is linked to being the seventh son of a seventh son. It is a mystery to me. I just accept it. Bay of Plenty Are you sick of being the sidekick and ready to move into a consulting role? Or know you could be earning more and just... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz An injured tramper has been rescued from a Waikaremoana Track location following collaboration with Tuhoe iwi and Police. About 11.30am on Friday January 6 Tuhoe iwi kaimahi - workers - discovered a woman with a leg injury at the Panekire Hut on the Waikaremoana Track, Te Urewera during a routine maintenance visit. She was found with a group of walking friends who sought help to get her off the track. The kaimahi contacted Police that she needed medical attention and assistance getting out. Lake Waikaremoana. Photo: SunLive. Initially, we liaised with Hato Hone St John and arranged for the Hawkes Bay Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter to help her, but when the chopper arrived, it was unable to get to the hut due to high winds at the top of the mountain," says Wairoa Police Search and Rescue Coordinator - SAR - Senior Constable Tony Maultsaid. Given the deteriorating weather and the helicopter no longer being an option, a new plan was required for her extraction, he says. The group that shed walked in with continued their journey and Police and Tuhoe Kaimahi went to work, to get her rescued. Thankfully we had communications being maintained by Waikaremoana Operations directly to the Tuhoe Kaimahi,' says Constable Tony Maultsaid. "They established that the injured woman was partly mobile and felt she could walk out with some assistance." Tuhoe personnel assisting Police. Photo: NZ Police. Tuhoe Kaimahi and police formulated a plan for her to get to Waiopaoa Hut and then uplift everyone via water taxi which is usually a two and a half hour walk, he says. Constable Tony Maultsaid says with it being a busy time of the year for the Waikaremoana Great Walk there were Tuhoe Kaimahi situated at various points around the lake. We decided to use these Kaimahi and three Tuhoe Wairoa SAR volunteers from Tuai to carry out the operation with two further Tuhoe personnel assisting Police to run the communications from Te Kura Whenua, says Constable Tony Maultsaid. Tuhoe personnel assisting Police to run the communications from Te Kura Whenua. Photo: NZ Police. The team deployed into the field, carrying equipment to support the injured tramper, and they arrived at Panekire Hut about 5.30pm and began the slow walk back to Waiopaoa Hut. Due to the nature of the track and the bad weather, a stretcher would have been slower, more hazardous and required three times as many personnel, so walking out was the best choice, says Constable Tony Maultsaid. The team finally met the water taxi to be transported back to safety at about 1am. The womans leg injury was checked over by St John Ambulance staff and the Waimako Marae was made available where our manuhiri was cared for," says Tuhoe Kaimahi Tina Wagner. Police are grateful that the effective existing relationship between Tuhoe and local Police and how the teamwork enabled this operation to have a successful outcome, says Constable Tony Maultsaid. "We would like to remind people about staying safe in the outdoors." Lake Waikaremoana Track. Photo: SunLive. Te Urewera, the home and ancestor of the Tuhoe people, is the first natural feature to be recognised in New Zealand law as a legal entity or living person in its own right. Care for Te Urewera, including the tracks and facilities, is carried out by Te Uru Taumatua Ngai Tuhoes operational entity. Lake Waikaremoana track is a spectacular four-day walk that includes Korokoro Falls, and has four huts and five campsites that must be booked in advance. The Land Safety Code provides five key steps for enjoying the outdoors, safely: Choose the right trip for you: Kowhiria te haerenga tika mau: It pays to learn about the route and make sure you have the skills for it. Understand the weather: Kia marama ki te huarere: It can change fast. Check the forecast and change your plans if needed. Pack warm clothes and extra food: Kawea nga kakahu whakamahana me etahi atu kai: Prepare for bad weather and an unexpected extra night out. Share your plans: Whakamohiotia atu o whakaritenga Telling a trusted person your trip details and taking a distress beacon can save your life. Take care of yourself and each other: Tiakina koe me tangata ke atu Eat, drink, rest, and stick with your group and make decisions together. Beacons are small lightweight devices that help you summon help in an emergency in the outdoors. Its the lifeline that can summon help to your location in a life-threatening situation. You can rent or buy a distress beacon and take it with you. You can register your distress beacon at Beacons because its fast, easy, and free to register. For more helpful information on staying safe in the outdoors you can visit the Mountain Safety Council resources. Cindy Colin, a lifelong resident of South Buffalo, died from hypothermia on Christmas Day after losing power at her house in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood during the blizzard. Her daughter Nikki Demers, a resident of Winston-Salem, N.C., said she last heard from her mother on Christmas Eve, but then lost contact. A social worker who worked regularly with Colin contacted Buffalo police to secure a welfare check, but no one was available to check on her, Demers said this week. Details revealed on more Buffalo blizzard deaths as 35 names are disclosed The Buffalo News obtained a list with the names of 35 people who died due to the blizzard in Erie County. Nearly all of the newly identified victims died in Buffalo. Here's what we know. Newly identified people who died in the Buffalo blizzard. Demers said she spoke with Michael Decker, who lived with Colin, about what happened. He told Demers that her mother began to struggle with her breathing and the cold overnight Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, and it was like "her body shut down." Colin had previously been diagnosed with COPD and was oxygen-dependent, Demers said, and without power could not operate the machine upon which she relied. Due to the blizzard, Colin's body could not be retrieved by Erie County Medical Center until late Christmas night. "She didn't have a chance against the blizzard," Demers said. Demers, Colin's only living child, said her mother faced many challenges in her life. Her mother spent her youth in foster care. She was the victim of domestic abuse. She battled against substance abuse and alcoholism. Two of her babies died before they reached their first birthdays, Demers said. "She lived a really rough life, and my heart breaks that she had a really rough death, too," the daughter said. But amid Colin's troubles was a fondness for people. She did not drive, but Colin lived near a bus stop and relied on the bus to keep her connected socially. "She loved people, and people loved her," Demers said. Despite living on a fixed income, Colin was remarkably generous. Demers said her mother would try to give $20 bills to Demers' four kids, who would be instructed to return the money to their grandmother. Demers said she tried to get her mother to move to the South where she has resided since 2005 but Colin was too attached to her hometown. Stasia Syta drove in the blizzard to pick up food for Christmas Eve. She never came home Stasia Syta is one of nearly three dozen people known to have died in last weekend's storm, a grim toll likely to rise in the days ahead. "She loved Buffalo," Demers said of her mother. "It's what she knows." Mother and daughter had a tumultuous relationship at times. Demers said they went as long as six months without speaking once, but a turning point came when Colin was hospitalized from pneumonia in 2019. She was intubated and connected to a ventilator. Demers, who works as a nurse, said doctors at the time urged her to come to Buffalo to "come make tough decisions." When Demers came to the hospital, she saw that her mother began to grow stronger. Demers remembers saying, "Fight this, Mom!" and Colin soon began breathing on her own. "She fought everything in her life," Demers said, "even her vent." Demers had her mother's ashes sent to North Carolina, where she and Alannah her youngest child repeat a ritual she used to share with her mother, a call-and-response right before bedtime. "Who's your best friend?" Demers asks her daughter, like her mother used to ask her. "You," her daughter replies, like Demers used to tell her mom. "Who's your best buddy?" Demers asks. "You," Alannah says. "Who loves you?" "You." Think scavenger hunt, map reading and puzzle solving by bike as you explore the trails of Kopurererua Valley and youve got all you need to join in the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure. Organised by the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, the annual event which started in 2018, will be held on Sunday March 12, 2023. Much anticipated by families, adventurers, friends and workmates who want to have some fun on bikes together, it combines the best of all disciplines to locate clues and points hidden in K Valley, and solve an overall puzzle. The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be held on Sunday March 12. Photo: Supplied. The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure is family fun for all ages. Photo: Supplied. There is a 10km family or team course and a longer 25km course - both courses are planned for up to six people in a team. The event runs from 11am 3pm with prizegiving taking place at 2pm. Get your friends and family together to enjoy a fun few hours as you find the clues within the valley, says co-organiser Rhonda Wisbey. Teams can start at 10 minute intervals between 10am and 12 midday. On arrival and registration you will be directed to the starter for briefing confirmation and your team start. The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be held on Sunday March 12. Photo: Supplied. Rhonda says all profits from the event will go to local youth charities. Kopurererua Valley is the largest urban wetland restoration in New Zealand. The 364 hectare block of low lying rural land situated between residential neighbourhoods in Tauranga runs from Judea in the north to Tauriko in the south, and bordered by the neighbourhoods of Te Reti, Gate Pa, Greerton, Westridge and Cambridge Heights. The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be held on Sunday March 12. Photo: Supplied. Kopurererua Valley was for many years inhabited by the people of Ngai Tamarawaho. Remains of pa and other archaeological sites are located throughout the valley. Ngai Tamarawaho is mana whenua of Kopurererua Valley and this place has special significance to the hapu. The valley is also packed with bird life. The Kopurererua Rotary Centennial Trust, established in 2004, played a significant role in raising funds to purchase more than plants and trees during the first ten years of planting in the valley. The trust played a significant role in raising funds to purchase more than 120,000 plants and trees during the first ten years of planting in the valley. The Puketoromiro Pa which stands towards the southern end of the Kopurererua Valley. Photo: Supplied. Over the last 19 years the valley has transitioned from a rural farmland to a series of native bush and wetlands with recreational trails throughout. Construction of a boardwalk in 2005 made the valley more accessible to walkers and cyclists, with the surrounds planted with help again from the Kopurererua Rotary Centennial Trust. To book now for the 2023 Great K Valley Cycle Adventure on Sunday March 12, go to www.eventspronto.co.nz/event6989 Map of the Kopurererua Valley cycleway and walkway. Image: Tauranga City Council. 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. The key to solving problems cited by DeVeaux neighborhood residents in Niagara Falls about Niagara University's off-campus student housing will be collaboration and keeping open lines of communication, according to the city's mayor and a university official. "You know, the university wants to be a good neighbor, and our students want to be good neighbors," said Niagara University Vice President of Student Affairs Christopher R. Sheffield. "And the university needs to be able to work with the city to be able to accomplish that so that residents of DeVeaux can have a good experience in their community, and that our students can have a safe experience and co-exist in productive and positive ways with members of the community. And that's really what these plans and initiatives are all about." Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino and Sheffield on Wednesday presided over a meeting with DeVeaux residents that lasted 1 hours to address concerns about off-campus student housing and its effect on the community. About 50 residents attended the community meeting in the Maple Avenue Elementary School gymnasium to hear how university and city officials plan to address noisy, rowdy college students attending alcohol-fueled parties, anti-social behavior, overcrowded housing accommodations and litter. The meeting was a follow-up to one held in November. Residents were apprised of a new community reporting portal that allows them to report specific incidents of student misbehavior via the university's website. They also heard about the possibility of updated code enforcement along with some new legislation. "It started out with just trying to attack a problem that had been neglected for far too long," Restaino said after the meeting. "And so we started a conversation with Niagara University because we were starting to get comments from our residents," Restaino said. "With that, we then had a very comprehensive meeting with the university administration and this was the result of it, together with them actually going into the community, and sitting and talking with some of the people we had heard from at the November meeting." DeVeaux is a primarily residential neighborhood in the northwest end of Niagara Falls, tucked between the Niagara gorge and Niagara University in the Town of Lewiston. Sheffield said the university provides student housing, which he estimated is at about 85% capacity. In addition, the university requires non-commuting students who come to the institution from at least 50 miles outside its boundaries to live on campus during their freshman and sophomore years, he said. Evidence of good conduct and positive contributions to the university community can earn students a waiver of on-campus residency requirement in their junior year. Though housing amenities on campus tend to be superior to those that students typically find off campus, they are also more expensive and don't offer students the same level of freedom and privacy, which is what makes off-campus housing more attractive to some students, Sheffield said. Residents have expressed concern about overcrowding in some off-campus student housing. While rules limit how many non-family members can occupy a dwelling, they are virtually unenforceable, Restaino said. It is not easy to define what constitutes appropriate congregate housing, nor is it always easy for officials to identify occupants in a property, he said. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Students at Lake Shore High School and William G. Houston Middle School sheltered in place Friday as authorities investigated a threatening social media post, according to the Evans Police Department. Students arriving to the middle school on Friday alerted the school's staff about the post. The threat was found to have been posted late Thursday by a 15-year-old who does not live in the school district. Authorities did not identify the juvenile. He and his parents were interviewed by police and cooperated in the investigation, according to a release from the Evans Police Department. The juvenile will be referred to Family Court. Police commended the students who reported the post to school officials and cooperated in the investigation and also thanked the Lake Shore Central School District as well as outside districts and agencies for their assistance. richie4u BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Goa Posts: 606 Thanked: 351 Times View My Garage Re: Atrocious fares for booking cab from Mopa airport (Goa) Goa does have a taxi service which is crude but similar to the OLA and Uber services we call it "Goa Miles" the app is available on your respective app store. I sincerely suggest you use the same when you land in Goa. It isn't exactly cheaper but much better then getting exorbitantly fleeced so much where'd you wish you never came here again. Secondly, for those who wish to travel to the quieter area of Goa please book tickets to Dabolim Airport,Goa also known as GOI so that you are closer towards south Goa. The rest who like to party and wish to travel up north can stick to the new airport -MOPA also known as GOX Unless the taxi union and the Government realise the self harm their stubborn attitude is causing them , the tourist friendly tag is going to be omitted real soon from Goa P.S. Saw many replies from fellow bhpians who were stranded in Goa for the same issue. Next time please feel free to DM me so that I can share my contact for any local help/advise you guys need in Goa. Happy to help. Being from the sunny state of Goa itself, I am terribly ashamed of our public transportation system and what's even more shameful is that we call ourselves a tourist friendly state.Goa does have a taxi service which is crude but similar to the OLA and Uber services we call it "Goa Miles" the app is available on your respective app store. I sincerely suggest you use the same when you land in Goa. It isn't exactly cheaper but much better then getting exorbitantly fleeced so much where'd you wish you never came here again.Secondly, for those who wish to travel to the quieter area of Goa please book tickets to Dabolim Airport,Goa also known as GOI so that you are closer towards south Goa. The rest who like to party and wish to travel up north can stick to the new airport -MOPA also known as GOXUnless the taxi union and the Government realise the self harm their stubborn attitude is causing them , the tourist friendly tag is going to be omitted real soon from GoaP.S. Saw many replies from fellow bhpians who were stranded in Goa for the same issue. Next time please feel free to DM me so that I can share my contact for any local help/advise you guys need in Goa. Happy to help. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust TL;DR: TMSC may reverse its decision to charge more for its most advanced silicon wafers. As the company faces an early 2023 revenue dip, it may try to lure more chip manufacturers onto its latest node processes with more aggressive pricing. Sources have told MyDrivers that TSMC could lower the prices of 3nm chips to entice more manufacturing partners. The cut would apply to all of the company's 3nm processes, not just the inaugural N3. Last November, DigiTimes reported that TSMC planned to charge $20,000 per 3nm wafer - a 25 percent hike over 5nm because of the extensive EUV lithography process involved in manufacturing. Apple accepted the price increase to secure 3nm chips for its upcoming iPhone 15, but it seems other companies like AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and MediaTek backed off for the time being. Apple is TSMC's main customer for N3. The Taiwan-based company started mass-producing N3, its first 3nm process node, at the end of 2022. The more stable and efficient N3E node is expected to follow later in 2023 and may be less expensive to produce. That might enable TSMC to lower prices, but they could also cut the price of N3 if they wanted to drive larger volumes. AMD is expected to use a 3nm process for its upcoming Zen 5 CPU architecture, which first emerged in a May 2021 leak. It's unclear when AMD might officially unveil Zen 5. Nvidia could utilize 3nm for its next line of gaming GPUs - codenamed Blackwell - which would likely appear in 2024. Meanwhile, TSMC reported this week that its first-quarter 2023 profits could fall by 5 percent as the company starts to feel the effects of the global economic downturn. Although the chip industry's broad reliance on TSMC helped its fourth-quarter 2022 profits, decreasing consumer demand is expected to impact the Taiwanese giant throughout the later part of 2023, possibly resulting in single-digit declines. Still, TSMC is hoping for recovery with upcoming product launches like the iPhone 15, which relies on its manufacturing, to provide a boost. TSMC might also cut spending on future expansion plans. Last year, the company reduced projected expansion spending from $44 billion to $36 billion. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more If streamlining and optimizing tasks is your idea of a good time, why not bring that outlook to your errands by doing most of your shopping at the same place? From family gifts to everyday essentials to business needs, you can get much of your to-do list accomplished under one roof at a Costco. Costco is a well-known wholesaler with over 800 warehouses across the U.S. These locations contain merchandise ranging from low-priced groceries to electronics, furniture, and more. You can find deals on brand-name TVs, computers, watches, tablets, soundbars, speakers, monitors, and tons of other gear. We're talking about models from trusted brands, including Sony, Bose, Dell, Apple, and Samsung. You're not limited to brick-and-mortar locations, either. Visit Costco.com to purchase select items with two-day or same-day delivery. Costco also offers various forms of insurance and services. Costco works with select providers to offer services for HVAC systems, custom window treatments, carpets, hardwood flooring, and more. In addition, you can visit the Costco Tire Center and have brand-name tires installed as you shop. And if all that shopping leaves you hungry, swing by the food court for a piping hot chicken bake or a pizza. Don't forget to fill your vehicle with gasoline for the trip home. A Costco Gold Star membership can provide great value all year -- handle your day-to-day shopping, service errands, and larger purchases simultaneously. One-year Gold Star Memberships, valid at all Costco locations worldwide, are available for $60. Within one week of redeeming your membership, you'll receive a $30 digital Costco Shop Card* via email, which can be used at a Costco warehouse or online. This promotion is only available to customers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. After purchase, you must redeem your membership voucher code by March 15, 2023. As a Costco member, you'll get one free household card for anyone living at your address who is age 18 or older. As a side note, if you don't have a Costco nearby, but happen to have a Sam's Club instead, this 50% off 1 year membership offer may be interesting instead. Prices subject to change. Google expressed growing concern about Android's future in a crucial international market by claiming on Friday, Jan. 13, that the Indian antitrust watchdog's ruling may lead to the emergence of uncontrolled apps that would present a danger to individual and national security. The company also argues that the verdict would increase the price of devices in the South Asian market. Fines Imposed According to TechCrunch, Google has been hit with two hefty penalties by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The allegations indicate that the company exploited its monopoly on the Play Store to force local manufacturers to pre-install the full Google Mobile Suite on all Android devices sold in the country. Analysts fear that Google's financial sustainability in India would be threatened by the modifications the Indian watchdog has demanded the corporation make to its business methods. Google has filed an appeal with Indian courts to overturn the orders. See Also: Legal Action Against Big Tech Over Social Media Damage Is Filed in Seattle Security Concerns Google noted in a blog post titled Heart of the Matter that many malicious applications on the internet may put users at risk of identity theft, money fraud, and other scams. Many of these apps reportedly originate in India and other countries. The tech giant acknowledged that although it takes responsibility for the applications available via the Play Store and performs scans for malware and compliance with local regulations, the same checks may not be in place for apps sideloaded from other sources. Since India's remarkable digital transition began a few years ago, Google has engaged with the country extensively. However, at a time when barely half of India's population is connected, the directives in the CCI's ruling strike a blow at the resource efforts to boost digital adoption in the nation, the firm noted in a blog post. If the demands of the Indian antitrust commission are implemented, Google said, app developers would be forced to pay more. Because of the rising expense of supporting several versions of Android, the business warned that small developers would be compelled to choose which of the multiple incompatible Android' forks' they produce and maintain applications for in a forked Android ecosystem. "They will no longer have the level playing field they have today with Android, and larger developers, who can support a wider range of incompatible forks, will be able to dominate the market based on their scale, rather than the quality of their product." Google in South Asian Market The number of Google users in India is more than in any other country. According to Counterpoint Research, 97% of the 600 million cell phones used across the nation use Google's mobile operating system. As of 2020, Google has promised $10 billion in spending in the South Asian region over the following years. Already, it has invested up to $5.5 billion in the local telecom giants Jio Platforms and Airtel. See Also: Google Agrees to Settle Two Privacy Lawsuits for $29 Million Over Location Tracking Practices 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In Gmail, you can't guarantee that you will be safe from online threats. Some hackers are only waiting for their target to click a malware-ridden link to spread the virus on a device or system. The worst case scenario that can happen aside from getting an infected PC or smartphone is the loss of your personal data. If you have stored passwords or financial information in this app, chances are they could be stolen once you tap the suspicious email in your inbox. To protect users from this risk, Google adds a new encryption feature to revamp the overall security of the app. It will be available by next week, Jan. 20. Gmail Delivers New Security Feature Gmail experts have introduced an end-to-end encryption tool for users to provide an extra layer of protection against hackers and scammers. According to a report by Fox News, the feature will help people store their messages in a safe location. This way, only the sender and the email recipient are the ones who can read the content of the message. Of course, there will be some authentication codes that only the two parties can access. For those who will attempt to invade the email, there's no way that they can get through inside unless they know the particular key codes to input. The reason why this security feature is a game-changer is because of the encryption. Once it's already set, even the Google servers will lose the capability to know what's inside. This means that it's just pure privacy between you and the receiver. How to Set Up Gmail CSE Beta To get started with this feature, you should have access to either of the following tools: Google Workspace, Education Standard, or Education Plus. If you have access to at least one of them, then you can now start your application for the Gmail CSE beta. Make sure to check this link so you would know the information that you need to provide. For the setup, follow the steps below. Access the Google Admin console using a super administrator account. Head to Security and tap Client-side encryption. Click Gmail. Choose the group you submitted in the form a while ago. Turn on the User Access. Wait for it to take effect for up to 24 hours. Related Article: Gmail's New Design is Now By Default! No Way to Revert to its Old Look? Gmail App Password To improve your overall security in using Gmail, you can begin using App Password. This feature lets you see a specific code for apps you want to open later. This feature does not welcome third-party access. To create an App Password on Gmail, check this out. First, head to your Google Account. Tap Security. Click App Passwords under Signing into Google. Tap "Select App" and click an app. Choose the device where you will use the app. Tap "Generate." Enter your 16-character App Password. Click Done once you're finished. Read Also: Apple CEO Tim Cook Agrees to Receive 40% Pay Cut in 2023 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Concerns that students are utilizing a powerful new AI tool to write high-quality essays without human involvement have prompted UK university lecturers to rethink their course assessments. ChatGPT, OpenAI's newest chatbot, was only released publicly a few weeks ago. However, it has already raised worries about plagiarism that is hard to detect and the essay's future as a form of evaluation. OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and others. The Implications It is called a "game changer" that will challenge schools and colleges. Though General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and A-level courses are graded via conventional final assessments, experts worry that students who use the technology to complete their assignments may grow reliant on AI-generated answers without learning the necessary skills, The Guardian reports. Dr. Thomas Lancaster, a computer scientist at Imperial College London, claimed it was indeed a game changer. He said it is clearly a key turning moment in education when colleges have to make substantial adjustments. In order to gauge the difficulty of adapting to this new generation of AI text-generating technology, many departments across campuses have formed working groups to discuss the matter. Many experts have expressed mixed emotions, including excitement and concern. Also Read: Microsoft To Invest $10 Billion in OpenAI Startup For Office Software The 'Disagree' Party University College London's computer science faculty and staff, for example, recently made the decision to modify an evaluation. Students no longer have a choice between essay-based and skills-based final coursework assessments. Even New York City schools have banned ChatGPT on all devices and networks due to worries it may promote plagiarism. Australian institutions are returning to in-person examinations to ensure assessment integrity. Oral presentations are suggested instead of examinations to help students show their knowledge. Saying 'Yes' to AI The Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, Geoff Barton, said schools must learn how to use ChatGPT's advantages while avoiding its drawbacks. Michael Draper, professor of legal education at the University of Swansea and an academic integrity and cheating specialist, stated that it might seem quite convincing, but the more information you require as part of your inquiry, the more the algorithm would create something that seems good but is absolutely wrong. He suggested letting students utilize and embrace this tech, although schools may attempt to outlaw it, much as they do with other types of academic dishonesty. Jisc director of technology and analytics Michael Webb agreed to use it. The first impulse could be to limit these resources in an effort to reduce student cheating, but he argued that this was not practical nor wise. He compared it to the natural progression of spelling and grammar checkers, which is another useful tool for the modern day. Webb believes this is a tremendous chance for the industry to develop new assessment approaches that evaluate learners on "critical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning rather skills than essay-writing abilities." Also Read: A Collective of Artists and Scientists, Waken.ai, Reimagines ChatGPT for AI Self-Reflection 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Poseidon's long-lost temple may have been found by archaeologists in Greece. The potential location is reportedly parallel to the writings of an ancient Greek historian thousands of years ago. (Photo : VALERIE GACHE/AFP via Getty Images) TOPSHOT - The moon rises above the statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon in Ancient Corinth near in Athens on August 11, 2022. The Temple of Poseidon in Greece May Have Been Found by Archaeologists According to a report by CNET, Archaeologists have found a long-lost temple dedicated to the ancient Greek god Poseidon in southern Greece, or in the region of Samikon, to be more exact. The news outlet notes that the structure, which is believed to date back to the 5th century BCE, was discovered during excavations in the area. On top of that, scientists in the location also discovered potential evidence of a settlement in the area. They also found structures that could likely be associated with the long-lost temple of the ancient mythological god of the sea. ARTnews notes in its recent story that the scientists first identified the remains back in 2021. However, it was only recently that they learned that it could potentially be something more significant than initially thought. It could potentially be the temple of Poseidon. (Photo : BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images) The statue Poseidon as Werner Schmidt of the United Nations discusses artworks at The United Nations on November 3, 2021 in New York. CNET reports that the excavated location is similar to the description of the late Greek historian and geographer, Strabo. The Austrian Archaeological Institute archeologist, Birgitta Eder, highlighted that "the location of this uncovered sacred site matches the details provided by Strabo in his writings." Meanwhile, the Mainz University in Germany announced that researchers have "unearthed the remains of an early temple-like structure that was located within the Poseidon sanctuary site." The University further added that it could likely be "dedicated to the deity himself." Read Also: Archaeologists Discover the Heads of 3 Greek Gods in an Ancient City in Turkey Undergoing Research Might Takes Years For now, the further study seeks to provide more information about the history of the site, potentially confirming if it is indeed the long-lost temple of the ancient god. Art News reports that the researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute teamed up with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Elis, Kiel University, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz to study the remains. And as such, it might still take some time before these experts could outright say that this is the lost temple of the Greek god. CNET says that the investigation could take several years. After all, the structure is quite expansive, spanning around 31 feet or 9.4 meters wide. So for now, it is too early to actually confirm if this is the long-lost temple of the ancient god. But its similarities to the description in ancient writings suggest that this could be a significant discovery. Related Article: Archaeologists Find a Previously Unknown Culture in a 2,000-Year-Old Gravesite in Siberia 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus was discovered in Istanbul, Turkey, particularly in its Buyukcekmece district, and was determined that this was the final resting place of an unknown person. The early dwellers made the tomb carved out of stone, with markings that indicate that this was from the Rome-invaded era of the country almost two millennia ago. And while Egypt is the most famous for its mummification and unique burial rites, other earlier civilizations have their ways and were not all about the casket-to-ground method or cremation. Roman Era Sarcophagus Found in an Apartment Complex in Istanbul (Photo : OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images) According to the Hurriyet Daily News, an apartment complex in Istanbul was recently excavated, only to find an ancient burial site for a previously departed, unidentified person from the Roman Era. A tomb was unearthed from the said apartment complex, alongside a sarcophagus that was examined by two archaeologists and an anthropologist. Istanbul is best known for being a central figure during the reign of three powerful empires in the world-the Byzantine, Roman, and Ottoman. While not exactly a colony of these three, Istanbul was filled with ancient baths, churches, temples, and became a central commerce region for these empires. Still, several other treasures were left in the city, especially with its overflowing culture from the presence of these global leaders during their time. Read Also: Archaeologists Find a Previously Unknown Culture in a 2,000-Year-Old Gravesite in Siberia Human Sarcophagus and a Tomb of Stone As per Art News, the findings showed that there were human bones inside the sarcophagus found in the stone tomb made by early crafters. Istanbul Archaeological Museums Directorate for safekeeping and further studies. The researchers determined that the tomb is nearly 2,000 years old, and was able to pinpoint that it was during the Roman era. Ancient Burial Methods of Our Ancestors Various eras and different regions on the planet have their own ways of burying their dearly departed ones, especially during a time when there were still wars or conflicts frequenting nations or tribes. One discovery from 2016 features a Neolithic age tomb found in Burgos, a region in Northern Spain, which has its unique, ancient burial tradition. On the other hand, one of the most famous ones is from Egypt, with different observations of its burial traditions, but are mostly focused on the mummification process of their royalties and their subjects. It was recently discovered that Egypt's mummies were given a golden tongue, one that symbolizes silence in the afterlife for when they meet with the lord of the dead, Osiris. In the modern world, there are still different burial methods for one's dearly departed ones, and even the casket and bones way have multiple takes on their final resting places. Istanbul's recent discovery shows that stone tombs and sarcophagi were once a practice for the early days, and it is reminiscent of the present-day mausoleum which commemorates the dead with their own homes. Related Article: Archaeologists Find 60 Mummies Near a Vizier's Tomb in the Ancient Egyptian City of Luxor 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. After months of anticipation, the Marvel Sinister 6 series finally finished with a bang in October with its final character, Spider-Man. In December 2021, it all kicked off with Doctor Octopus, and then, Vulture in January, followed in April by Sandman. Buyers Get to Choose Different Funko Pops with Six Top Formats Then, June saw Mysterio appear before Electro and Kraven the Hunter landed in August. Finally, October was reserved for Spider-Man. When combined, these six figures make an impressive scene that's truly "Beyond Amazing." Now that the series is complete, fans scramble to get their hands on the figures. If fans haven't started building their Sinister Six collection, now would be perfect, as many of the figures are on sale. All six are available in various formats, meaning there's something for everyone. Not every day do fans get to complete a fantastic series like this, and the figures in the Sinister Six collection are worth it for any collector. The Series Started in December 2021 with Doc Oc Funko fans can now finish up their collection of the Amazon-exclusive Sinister Six series. This series began in December 2021 with Doctor Octopus, which was completed in October with Spider-Man to form a scene "Beyond Amazing." With Vulture, Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, and Kraven the Hunter all joining the mix, this series was one of the most anticipated of the year. Each of the characters featured in the series has received its own unique touch. Doctor Octopus looks like he's been plotting his evil plans, while Vulture swoops in with his wings ready to take off. Sandman is a behemoth of a figure, while Mysterio shows off his magical abilities the best way he knows how. The Completed Series Lets Fans Start Collecting Electro is ready to zap his enemies with a blast of electricity and Kraven the Hunter claws at the air in search of his prey. The scene is further rounded out with the appearance of a determined Spider-Man flanked by the Sinister Six. Now that the series is complete, many of the figures are now available for purchase at discounted prices. This is a great chance for Funko fans to purchase their piece of the Ravencroft puzzle and create a "Beyond Amazing" scene in their homes. An article by Comic Book shares the different Marvel Sinister 6 options that buyers can choose from. Read Also: New VR Game Could Help People With Anxiety; Ninja Theory Partners With University of Cambridge Here are the Top Marvel Sinister 6 Funko Pop Deals: The Doctor Octopus The price for this product is $14.05. It is sold at 53% off as of press time. The Vulture The price for this product is $28.99. The Sandman The price for this product is $17.10 It is sold at 43% off as of press time. The Mysterio The price for this product is $24.84. It is sold at 17% off as of press time. The Electro The price for this product is $29.99. The Kraven The price for this product is $29.99. The Spider-Man The price for this product is $29.99. Related Article: Valve Urges Buyers Not to Purchase Steam Deck From 'Unofficial' Retailer 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A proposed lithium mine in Nevada will be granted a conditional loan of $700 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate the supply chain for electric vehicle batteries despite facing opposition from wildlife conservationists. Significant Step As reported first by AP, the project marks a significant step toward President Joe Biden's energy plans by establishing a domestic supply of lithium batteries. However, this "green" project also poses risks to an endangered wildflower located at the proposed mine site. Ioneer, the Australian mining company behind the project, anticipates starting its mining operations at Rhyolite Ride by 2026 in Esmeralda County. DOE's announcement indicates that the site can produce enough lithium to power the production of at least 370,000 electric vehicles (EVs) yearly. The Department of Energy said the loan would be the most recent initiative to show the Biden administration's efforts in strengthening the country's battery supply chain, electrifying the transportation sector, and reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and foreign raw material sources. According to James Calaway, executive chairman of Ioneer, the conditional commitment emphasizes the project's significance in bolstering the country's mineral supply chain by offering a safe, sustainable, and domestic source of lithium for the expanding EV market. Ioneer's managing director, Bernard Rowe, notes that the conditional loan was granted following 23 months of deliberation by DOE, which marks a key turning point for the project. However, the proposed mine will still have to go through legal obstacles since Ioneer will have to produce a mining operations framework to ensure the preservation of Tiehm's buckwheat, Nevada's endangered wildflower. Read also: 'Holy Grail' of Batteries? These Lithium-Sulfur Power Cells Have Three Times the Capacity of a Standard Li-on Battery Endangered Wildflower The wildflower was classified as endangered on Dec. 14, 2022, by US Wildlife officials. The Fish and Wildlife Service's official designation of Tiehm's buckwheat and the identification of the plant's crucial habitat's 910 acres (368 hectares) ultimately offers a significant barrier to the US's green energy goals. The service noted that Tiehm's buckwheat is in danger of going extinct, with only about 16,000 surviving. The area's proposed mining and resource extraction pose the biggest threat to the flower. According to the service, grazing by livestock, invasive species, climate change, and other causes could also be harmful to the plant's endangered population. Patrick Donnelly, the Center for Biological Diversity's director for the Great Basin, acknowledged the importance of lithium to help the US in achieving its US energy goals but noted that it could not come at the risk of the plant's extinction. The organization petitioned for the listing in 2019 and filed a lawsuit in 2021 to speed up the wildflower's preservation. However, Ioneer claims that it has developed a protection strategy to guarantee that the project will not endanger the plant's survival. The company has been trying to mine for lithium for years on a federal territory where the flower grows midway between Reno and Las Vegas. According to the DOE's announcement, the project is seeking ways to minimize its effects on the endangered plant. It noted that the loan was given after completing an environmental impact statement required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Related Article: Lithium Industry To Expand Outside China But Expect More Expensive Battery Material 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A federal investigation found officials with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station's fire department filed falsified firefighting and safety training records, crediting employees for training they never received over a three-year period. The investigation was prompted nearly three years ago by an unidentified former member of the fire department who became a whistleblower, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. These trainings are intended to instruct first responders on procedures and protocols to handle life-threatening emergency situations, said Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner. It is unconscionable that so many employees and instructors whose job is to save lives would be complicit in this type of fraud." The investigation found that from 2017 to 2019, over 120 fire department employees received credit for trainings they did not attend, 41 instructors submitted false training documents for validation, and six fire department employees improperly verified false training documents. "The evidence showed many (Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Fire Department) employees both students and instructors on leave during the reported training courses, which they could not have reasonably taken or taught," the Office of Special Counsel said. "Students also received credit for multiple training courses that overlapped, including courses taught by different instructors that occurred on the same date and time." The fire department provides fire protection and emergency services to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, responding to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, rescue calls and incidents involving hazardous materials. The Office of Special Counsel released its findings this month. The investigation was launched in March 2020 and completed in 2021. The Office of Special Counsel said the Air Force's report largely substantiated the claims. The Air Force's report said the investigation "did not reveal a criminal violation." Employees' names in that report were redacted. The Air Force's report said the conduct of three fire department officials, who were not named, constituted "gross mismanagement," because untrained emergency personnel had responded to incidents that could have put first responders at risk and compromised public safety. "These officials failed to ensure proper internal controls to monitor and verify training compliance," the Office of Special Counsel said. "The agency indicated it would consider disciplinary action for these individuals." A spokesman for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station did not respond to a request to comment on Saturday. Under a change made in 2021, the fire department now reports directly to the 914th Air Reserve Wing mission support commander, "to improve oversight and provide clear, concise communication through a direct chain of command," the Office of Special Counsel said. The Air Reserve Wing also put into place a revised training schedule to complete makeup training and has implemented audits to verify training attendance and record keeping. After a rough year for the crypto market, Republican lawmakers announced on Thursday, Jan. 12, the creation of a special subcommittee to monitor and regulate the crypto and fintech sectors, as reported first by CNBC. Arkansas congressman French Hill will lead the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion as part of the House Financial Services Committee. Major Technological Advancement The lawmaker was also appointed as the vice chair of the committee. He argued that a bipartisan effort is required to ensure that the FinTech sector will thrive safely in the country. "At a time of major technological advancement and change in the financial sector, it is our job to work across the aisle and promote responsible innovation while encouraging FinTech innovation to flourish safely and effectively in the United States," Rep. Hill said in a statement. Following the stunning collapse of crypto giant FTX in November 2022 and other bankruptcies in the market, lawmakers have since discussed their plans to regulate the crypto industry. FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested last month over fraud charges and is now awaiting trial. CNBC notes that Hill has been a fervent advocate for the cryptocurrency sector. He co-sponsored the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Study Act in 2021 and argued back then that the Federal Reserve should immediately work on a CBDC to monitor the market. Hill also co-wrote a letter in 2019 encouraging the IRS to improve its tax advice for cryptocurrency users long before FTX became well-known. Republican congressmen Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming have also advocated for the crypto real. Read also: CryptoWatch: CES 2023's Cryptocurrency Climate Actions, Square Enix's Blockchain Investment, and SBF Pleading Not Guilty Bankman-Fried's Support of Democrats Despite working out of the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was a skillful Washington insider who developed connections with power players like Rostin Benham, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California. Bankman-Fried contributed about $40 million in publicly reported donations to Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. Now, the former CEO is accused by federal officials of committing illegal campaign financing violations while carrying out an $8 billion fraud. The demise of FTX and the ensuing indictment of Bankman-Fried have given Republicans plenty of material to criticize the efforts of regulators, according to CNBC. Senate Democrats have also made their own initiatives to control the cryptocurrency business and direct enforcement measures. This new subcommittee will be in charge of "providing clear rules of the road among federal regulators for the digital asset ecosystem." It is also tasked to craft policies that will expand the reach of financial technology to underserved areas. Lastly, it will determine appropriate practices and policies to establish "diversity and inclusion in the digital asset ecosystem." Related Article: CES 2023: Can Crypto and Blockchain Encourage a Greener Future? Here Are a Few Initiatives to Combat Climate Crisis 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sean Kirst Columnist Born in Dunkirk, a son, grandson and great-grandson of Buffalonians, I've been an Upstate journalist for more than 48 years. As a kid, I learned quiet lives are often monumental. I still try to honor that simple lesson, as a columnist. Follow Sean Kirst 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 In a powerful and heartbreaking way, fate and nature helped Joanah Perkins make her points. Three weeks ago, we spoke at St. Lukes Mission of Mercy on Walden Avenue, where Joanah grew up. Her photograph beaming smile at her law school graduation is one of many on the office wall of mission co-founder Amy Betros, whom Joanah simply calls: My grandmother. Joanah was home from Boston for what was supposed to be five days, planning to leave on the morning after Christmas. On a Thursday afternoon, we talked while she walked from desk to desk in what had once been her classroom in the mission home school, called Our Lady of Hope. She is the first graduate from that school with a law degree, though two more St. Luke's alumni are already in line. My plan last month was to offer her tale as a column fitting for New Year's Day. Joanah agreed to it when asked by her mentors at the mission, but her concern involved the central emphasis: If there is meaning to her life, she insists it is intertwined with the idea that she is no different than any child particularly any young woman of color raised in Buffalo neighborhoods that have known long struggle. When I saw her last month, she expected to quickly return to her job as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County, north of Boston. The blizzard changed everything. Locked down, Joanah, 25, stayed with her family at St. Lukes for another week. In everything she witnessed in how the mission responded, the people it saved and those it lost she saw the key at the center of her life. I was not afraid, Joanah said, because I knew what my community can be. She vividly remembers 2006, when she was a child and an October snowstorm knocked out power in her home. St. Lukes, she said, rallied to support alarmed families without heat or food. This storm had historically lethal consequence. At least 44 Western New Yorkers died, including two beloved regulars at St. Luke's who were ill, and cut off by unpassable roads from emergency help. Mission leaders, out of respect for mourning families, are keeping those names private. In the most profound way, Joanah said, it reinforces her main contention: None of this is about me. From St. Luke's to law school: Joanah Perkins blazes her own path Joanah Perkins departure has profound meaning at St. Lukes, whose kindergarten-to-eighth-grade home school has embraced many children raised in struggle, providing extensive support with powerful She would rather talk about Erwin and Nirena Hill, assistant missionaries who slept at St. Lukes during the storm. Betros, unable to leave her home, received some calls about travelers lost and stranded not far away, messages she channeled to Erwin. Several times, during the worst hours of the blizzard, he pushed through winds so thick with snow it was hard to breathe. Among those he rescued was a family with two children, including a 2-year-old Erwin braced up with his arms as they fought their way to safety. In the end, about 10 people spent a few nights waiting out the storm as guests, at St. Lukes. Erwin and Nirena did the cooking, and delivered meals to families in mission housing. They found gifts for the children so as Joanah put it "they would have some form of Christmas." St. Lukes is also part of the Code Blue network that provides emergency food and shelter to homeless women and men during bitter conditions. The Hills joined other volunteers in preparing enough food for 270 people, meals picked up by the National Guard. Erwin Hill wept in explaining why he risked his life, helping strangers. He first stood in line for a meal at the mission in 1994, he said, so weighed down by addiction he just wanted to die. Erwin met Betros, who gently promised him a family and for all these years has kept her word. She saved my life, he said, so no credit goes to me. Love is unconditional, and the only thing good for all of us is God. There you go. What Erwin does is what Joanah sees all around her, at St. Lukes. Three days before the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she said she tries to meet that standard, in the world. Sean Kirst: Three St. Luke's graduates celebrate 'the love you need to succeed' In nine years of classes at Our Lady of Hope Home School in Buffalo, Kayla Hall never missed a single day. Her mother, Tabetha Hall, remembers only one close call. In kindergarten, Kayla went to the dentist and had a tooth pulled. When Tabetha offered the option of going home to rest, Kayla preferred to go to school. She Yet to Betros, education director Mike Taheri and others at the mission, Joanahs tale is one of possibility and emblematic importance. In November, six months after graduating from the New England School of Law, she learned she passed the bar exam in Massachusetts. Her mother, Michelle Matthews, is close to Betros and has served at the mission since it opened, almost 30 years ago. She described a sense of potential, of energy, that has surrounded her daughter since she toddled. This is something thats hers," Matthews said, "and she stepped into it. To this extent, Joanah would agree: That same potential holds true for every child in the city around them, if offered the same support. She said her older sister Sydnie earned her masters degree at Canisius, and her younger brother Josh is studying at Erie Community College. Joanah sees herself as any little girl you see sitting on any curb in Buffalo, with her hair half in braids and a scrape on her knee, success based on one simple truth: The mission has been her family. She is grateful to everyone, and she does not forget such St. Luke's stalwarts as the late Norm Paolini, the co-founder, or Gino Grasso, who ran the clothing pantry and died last year. The appreciation is mutual. Her presence, her warmth, has clear meaning at the place. As Joanah walks the busy hallways of St. Lukes, volunteers sorting clothes or assembling meals pause from what they are doing to embrace her. The woman shes grown up to be is a testament to many things, but it starts with this: Shes an exceptional person, said Drew Bernstein, who like his wife Sandy is a missionary. Joanah, who also graduated from Canisius, perceives herself as a small piece in a much larger tale, where the word mission reflects the burning 21st century challenge in Buffalo. The racist mass murder last May at the Jefferson Avenue Tops, a supermarket Joanah has known since childhood, was an unspeakable act built upon demographic truths unaltered for too long. The confessed killer came to Buffalo after looking at statistics identifying the high proportion of Black residents, the rate of entrenched segregation, in the Cold Spring neighborhood. Taheri, Joanahs mentor and teacher for years, said the purpose at the bedrock of St. Luke's is love as a means of shattering barriers of race and poverty, with one unshakable rule behind that work: It requires communitywide mentors who understand time, presence and individual commitment make the difference commitment that needs to last not for hours or days, but for years. Taheri's proof is the dedicated staff at the home school, where almost every graduate has gone on to college or learned the skills for health care and manufacturing. A defense lawyer, Taheri recalls how he often brought Joanah along to meetings in the towers of downtown, where the teenager had her epiphany: Sean Kirst: For founder of clinic in South Sudan, rescue in blizzard built on Epiphany Lost in the Christmas weekend blizzard, Fidele Dhan was led to safety by a family who set out looking for him. Some of his rescuers offer this thought as both a fact and a point of wonder: He was saved, without question, because of the three kings. Decisions about her neighbors and her community services, transportation, buildings that go up or down were too often made by people in business clothes, far away. There is a gap, Joanah said, and the only way to ignite real change is by understanding how things work, from the inside. For now, she is committed to her work in Massachusetts, and she does not guess where she will end up. But when I asked about her thoughts on Buffalo, her response was immediate and emphatic. She spent the first two decades of her life within a mission community where people in trauma end up on Gods doorstep, where the whole idea is to love and hold and feed each child. The response during the storm only reaffirmed that faith, the way people are alive today because of the courage of a guy like Erwin Hill, who embodies what Joanah tries to represent from her hometown. The best part of Buffalo, she said, is the best part of St. Lukes. Listen to the rest of Charlotte Perriand's story told by Virginie Girod. A free woman, a pioneer of modernity, she is one of the leading personalities of the design world of the twentieth century who helped define a new art of living. Free traveler, avant-garde, Charlotte Perriand has throughout her life nourished by her explorations, particularly Asian ones, to transcribe them in her works. In the 1920s, Charlotte Perriand joined the agency of the famous architect Le Corbusier. She quickly understood that the art world was ruthless with women. Often demoted to the rank of collaborator, Perriand decided to emancipate herself from her mentor. After the Second World War, France experienced a massive episode of rural exodus. For a city like Marseille, the lack of housing is felt. It was at this time that Le Corbusier recalled the designer for a major architectural project: the Cite radieuse, a housing unit considered the ancestor of the HLM. Virginie Girod continues her story in the footsteps of this great designer. Find Virginie Girod in Madame Figaro on newsstands on April 14 with an unpublished portrait. https://madame.lefigaro.fr "Au Cur de l'Histoire" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast. Image source: Getty Images Written by Chris MacDonald at The Motley Fool Canada The metals and mining industry had a strong start to 2022, aided by some commodities reaching record-high prices, supply chain issues, and increased demand due to the energy transition. But as the year progressed, macroeconomic conditions deteriorated, resulting in weakened short-term demand forecasts and downward trends in commodity prices. Experts look at some of the major industry dynamics as the new year rings in, emphasizing that supply-side possibilities connected to medium-term restrictions can only get stronger when considering short-term, adverse threats. In 2023, when this industry is set to soar, Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX) has emerged as one of the top investment choices. Heres why I think Barrick Gold is worth buying in this uncertain market. Barrick Gold is an absolute favourite among investors The second-largest gold mining firm in the world, Barrick Gold is presumably the one best positioned for long-term growth. The new Barrick Gold was created four years ago by the merger with the Africa-focused Randgold, which also included Dr. Mark Bristow, founder of Randgold and current chief executive officer and public face of Barrick. Although production has decreased from 5.4 million ounces in the first year of the combined firm to 4.4 million last year, the companys management did this on purpose to focus on profitability, by selling non-core assets. Barricks balance sheet contains the most noteworthy accomplishment since Bristow assumed leadership. Barrick has increased its net cash position from the $6.3 billion it had at the time of the deal and is currently making dividend payments. The companys dividend yield as of now is over 4%. Upcoming opportunities for Barrick Gold In addition to its core mines in Nevada, this mining giant also has a number of substantial organic prospects, such as an expansion of the Pueblo Viejo mine located in the Dominican Republic, starting of Porgera in Papua New Guinea, and a multi-generational copper mine situated in Pakistan. It has played the merger and acquisition market with great discipline. Story continues This undervalued stock is currently trading at 18 times earnings, 1.2 times book value, and only 12 times price to free cash flow. When compared to other major miners, and measured against its own past, this valuation is lower. However, Barrick will profit from the sectors resurgence of interest. Bottom line As experts predict an absolute growth of Barrick Gold, this is the best opportunity to buy this stock at this price. Barrick stock is currently trading at $19, which is comparatively lower. Investors with long-term capital-appreciation objectives should definitely have this stock in their portfolio. The post Why Barrick Gold Is the Perfect Cheap Stock for 2023 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you consider Barrick Gold, you'll want to hear this. Our market-beating analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy in January 2023... and Barrick Gold wasn't on the list. The online investing service they've run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada, is beating the TSX by 16 percentage points. And right now, they think there are 5 stocks that are better buys. See the 5 Stocks * Returns as of 1/9/23 More reading Fool contributor Chris MacDonald 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. 2023 Experts and advocates says an upcoming pilot to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs could lead youngsters to unsafe situations, as they are still subject to penalties. (Ben Nelms/CBC - image credit) Experts say an upcoming pilot to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs in British Columbia could increase risks for vulnerable youth because it excludes people under 18. As of Jan. 31, people aged 18 and older will be able to possess up to a cumulative 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA within the province. While advocates for drug users say decriminalization alone won't stop thousands of people dying from a tainted drug supply, others say it is a step in the right direction when it comes to treatment. But some say the fact it excludes youth could further marginalize drug users under the age of 18 especially given that there are no youth-oriented harm reduction spaces in the province. Number of toxic drug deaths in people under 19 in B.C. "I feel like more criminal charges are coming for a lot of youth," said Kali Sedgemore, a youth harm reduction advocate. Sedgemore also said the threshold provided under the pilot 2.5 grams was far too small, given how youth use and consume substances. "A lot of people have tolerances that are really high and they're buying large amounts buying for friends and stuff like that," they said. "It's becoming an issue now where people are going to see their dealer multiple times a day." After the decriminalization policy goes through, Sedgemore says those multiple visits could further invite unwanted police attention and lead to unsafe drug use. "Youth are using in back alleys, they're having to use in parking lots," they said. "They're also hidden from the public. So a lot of times, if they overdose, there's no one to reverse it." Health Canada said in a statement that youth caught possessing illegal drugs would be subject to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which "encourages diversion from the formal criminal justice system where appropriate." They did not provide a specific reason why youth were excluded from the policy but said authorities would look to "evaluate the impact of excluding youth from the exemption." Story continues 'Just say no' not the answer Dr. Danya Fast, an assistant professor at the University of B.C. and research scientist with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, said the fact young people would be excluded from the pilot was unsurprising. "Youth are often excluded from our most progressive harm reduction and drug policy approaches," she said, adding that the move was likely due to governments relying on a "just say no," or abstinence-based, approach. She says that could further contribute to stigma and harm youngsters in the current context of a poisoned supply. File Photo by Doug Mills/The Associated Press "[There's] this fear that if we acknowledge that young people use drugs, and give them the spaces and the things they need to do that more safely, that we will be responsible in some ways for their death," she said. "But what we've heard from young people time and time again is that it's relationships that can really save lives." A study co-authored by Fast and Sedgemore showed that young drug users say they want more harm reduction spaces in order to cultivate relationships with other youth, care providers and peers. "It just really drives home the need for that space where young people can enter and open up conversations on their own terms with other young people," Fast said. The B.C. government has yet to allow youth-specific supervised consumption sites, as recommended by a recent cross-party report. When asked, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside did not directly answer the question but pointed to other projects underway in the province. "We are ... building integrated child and youth teams in 20 school districts. These teams offer clinical supportsand harm reduction services to young people and their families," she said in a statement. Focus on treatment Fast says that there have been efforts from the province to not heavily criminalize young people but that some of the young drug users she worked with likened addictions treatment to incarceration. "We're moving toward decriminalization but we're replacing that with what can be experienced by youth, even if that's not the intention, as a very coercive pathway into housing, into treatment," she said. Fast's research has found that young people having negative experiences with the health-care system could lead to them becoming "very adept" at evading that system, further exposing them to dangerous conditions. Sedgemore says addictions treatment, especially institutionalization, can separate youngsters from their family and support systems particularly if they are in remote communities. They add that parents, care providers and the government should listen to young people and let them make their own decisions when it comes to treatment. Other advocates, including from the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, have called on B.C. to stop prioritizing treatment over a safe supply of drugs. "While currently technically available to youth ... [safe supply] remains practically inaccessible because of systemic barriers to care and physician reluctance to prescribe to minors," reads a statement from the group. Debris from a helicopter crash floats in the Gulf of Mexico after the aircraft went down with four people aboard about 10 miles off Southwest Pass, a shipping channel of the mouth of the Mississippi River, on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. The city's Beltline neighbourhood. In November's budget, council voted to add $108 million for the downtown strategy, this time with a focus on capital projects. (Mike Symington/CBC - image credit) Bolstered by another cash infusion for the city's downtown strategy, the man in charge of the program anticipates 2023 will see more tangible signs of the revitalization city council wants in the core. In November's budget, council voted to add $108 million for the downtown strategy, this time with a focus on capital projects. The director of downtown strategy, Thom Mahler, said the focus will be getting that money working over the course of the four-year budget. "At a high level, really 2023 is going to be about an execution, to moving into taking out the money that council gave us, getting it on the ground, getting it into the hands of the private sector,' said Mahler. On the to-do list: Completing current work on updating Eau Claire Plaza. Forming a multi-year plan to refresh Stephen Avenue. Developing a new vision for 8th Street S.W. from the CPR tracks to the Bow River. Improving the streetscape on 1st Street S.E. and the CPR underpass. Other capital projects, like expanding Arts Commons and revitalizing Olympic Plaza, are also in the works. Finalizing Stephen Avenue Mahler said there will be public consultations in coming weeks on the design for the Stephen Avenue project. "Through 2023, we'll be finalizing more detailed design as well as starting to identify the phasing of which blocks would likely have priority in construction." Unlike some past streetscape projects, he said construction on Stephen Avenue will take a number of years to complete and it won't happen sequentially from one end and going to the other. Rather, Mahler said, work will be done in conjunction with other projects. For example, he hopes some work can be done on the pedestrian street near the Glenbow Museum so it's ready when the facility completes its own renovations in 2024. Work near Second Street S.W. likely won't be completed until Green Line LRT construction in that area is underway or completed. Mike Symington/CBC He said design work will also get going this year on updating the public realm along Eighth Street S.W. Story continues In total, city council has now committed more than $360 million for downtown revitalization. Office conversions continue A key part of the strategy is converting under-utilized or empty office buildings into residential properties. It has set aside $100 million in incentive grants for that part of the strategy. Grants are available to building owners for up to $10 million per property if they convert their office space to residential units. Mahler said five building conversions have been announced with three more to be unveiled in the coming months. City officials say there are eight additional building proposals being reviewed for possible conversions. The goal was to convert six million square feet of empty office space. Mahler said they're well on the way once upcoming projects are added to the list. "Total, we're getting close to two million square feet. Provided there's ongoing market demand for residential in the downtown which we think there is really strong demand right now you will see that office space converted over the next few years." So far, $73 million of the city's money for the program has been committed. Progress noted The head of the Calgary Downtown Association, Mark Garner, said he's generally pleased with how the downtown strategy is being implemented. He said he's glad with the office conversion projects that have been announced as that will help boost the downtown's population. On the capital project side, he said he wished there was a way to pick up the pace but he understands planning such projects does take time. "I would like to see more of the projects either already with shovels in the ground or near completion. That's not the luck we've got right now," said Garner. His organization is planning a number of activations this year that will contribute to street vitality. While Stephen Avenue is a focus, he said Calgarians can watch for events on other downtown streets as well. "It can't just be Stephen Avenue, but Stephen Avenue is a core focus because that is a destination for Stampede, and a large percentage of our patios are all in that area." More help needed One thing that Garner is hoping for the future of the downtown strategy is that the federal and provincial governments kick in money for the plan. The province has contributed $5 million, including money for public safety initiatives and Garner's organization. Garner said Calgary's downtown isn't the only one in Canada with high office vacancy rates and needing renewal to generate greater vibrancy. He's advocating for a greater federal role in urban Canada. "We need more money brought in to make downtowns a place where everybody wants to be because they are the economic hubs for our communities," said Garner. The Arnault patriarch Bernard, born into an affluent family with a solid construction business, has painstakingly constructed an empire and a dynasty more glamorous and far, far richer than anything conjured up by Murdoch, Musk or the fictitious Roy. His house, an 18th-century neoclassical 12-bedroom pile, not far from the Arc de Triomphe in the 8th arrondissement, has, for Paris, almost unimaginably large grounds. Rupert Murdochs personal fortune of $US17.3 billion is almost pathetically weedy compared with Bernards personal $US203 billion stash. And yet there are echoes... Logan Roy, the thuggish patriarch of Succession, enjoys nothing more than pitting his deeply disturbed offspring against one another. Arnault, meanwhile, has all five of his children from two marriages working in the various tentacles of his empire. Delphine Arnault, from his first marriage to Anne Dewavrin, is poised and elegant with creamy hair. She has her fathers arrestingly light eyes as well as his height. Shes just under 183 centimetres tall and her first marriage to Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian wine fortune, in 2005 was a major event. The bride wore a dress designed by John Galliano, who worked for her father at Dior, and Karl Lagerfeld, who worked for Arnault at Fendi, took the photos. Succession character Shiv Roy (Australian actor Sarah Snook) from the HBO television series. Credit: HBO Like Shiv Roy in Succession, she is also smart. These days her partner is Xavier Niel, a French tech billionaire with whom she has two children. Shes fluent in English, having studied in the US and at the London School of Economics, and she graduated to McKinseys before working for her father at Louis Vuitton and Dior. Perhaps in an unconscious compliment to her father, Delphine tends to wear monochromatic, pared-back tailoring (usually from Dior) and sits beside him in the front row at shows with the same impassive inscrutability. Not surly or snarling, but not what youd call approachable. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the fact the Coalition and the Greens are raising concerns about the governments new climate laws shows it has achieved the right balance between reducing emissions and not punishing heavy industries. New pollution caps unveiled this week will be the first in a decade to force businesses to lower their carbon footprint, and are crucial to achieving the governments election pledge to cut Australias emissions 43 per cent by 2030. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government cant move as fast as the Greens want it to in phasing out coal and gas. Credit: AAP Appearing in Townsville on Saturday to announce a $70 million investment in a North Queensland hydrogen hub, Albanese said the criticism from both the right and left flanks showed weve got the balance right. When you have some people saying its too hard and some people saying its too soft, we have got the balance right, he said. Pascal Sterlin, CBC North's former IT supervisor, was sentenced for defrauding the CBC $3,600. (Pascal Sterlin/Facebook - image credit) A former supervisor at CBC North was sentenced to an 18-month conditional discharge for defrauding the company for personal expenses. Pascal Sterlin, who pleaded guilty in October, was sentenced in N.W.T. Terrritorial Court on Friday. Over a period of three months in 2018, Sterlin, who worked in Yellowknife, spent approximately $3,600 using a CBC company credit card for vacations in Mexico and the Maldives as well as for his internet bill. He also lied about his father's death, telling his supervisor that he needed to leave Yellowknife to deal with funeral arrangements, when in fact he was vacationing. This was discovered when posts of the vacation were published on social media. The agreed statement of facts presented in court detailed how Sterlin was contacted by CBC representatives in May 2018 about his outstanding balance. He was questioned about the expenses, and his father's death, at a meeting with human resources staff and his union representative. Sterlin told that meeting "I know how this looks," and that it was his ex-girlfriend who had improperly used his company credit card. He said he'd contacted the police but not filed a report. Sterlin later admitted he'd lied about his father being dead, and also admitted he was the one who had used the credit card for personal expenses, according to the agreed statement of facts. His conditional discharge means he will serve no time and will have no criminal record from the incident as long as he stays out of trouble for the next three years. In 2019, Sterlin was initially accused of defrauding the corporation of $7,817 between February and May 2018. His trial was pushed back several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Embarrassed and remorseful Sterlin, appearing at the Yellowknife courthouse by video from his home in Montreal, apologized for his actions and said he felt embarrassed and remorseful for what he had done. Story continues His defence attorney, Tu Pham, said the incident was a lapse in judgment and that at the time Sterlin was having financial issues and dealing with depression. Pham said Sterlin did not intend to steal, but thought of it as a loan that he could pay back before his employers discovered it. Both the Crown and defence said they took into account Sterlin's lack of prior convictions, as well as the fact he showed remorse and pleaded guilty, and the consequences he's suffered as a result of the media coverage. Pham said Sterlin has had trouble gaining employment due to the publicity of the court case. He said Sterlin was unemployed for a period of three years. Pham said Sterlin's career in technology is over but he is currently working three jobs, 60 hours a week, in Montreal, and making less than what he had made working for the CBC. Sterlin, who is now in his late 40's, also has three kids that he is providing for, Pham said. Crown prosecutor Matthew Scott said the sentence was also influenced by the fact the fraudulent scheme was poorly executed. Pham said this showed it was clearly not a professional plan, but an impulsive act made in poor judgment. Sterlin was also ordered to pay the CBC what he owed. The sentence also prevents Sterlin from having responsibility over any of his employers' finances, or in charge of finances in any volunteer roles for the next six and a half years. The second annual Black Excellence Day was hosted by Ninandotoo Society in partnership with the Burnaby School District. (Submitted by Burnaby School District - image credit) Ahead of the 30th anniversary of Canada's Black History Month, an anti-racism society in the province celebrated the second annual Black Excellence Day on Friday. Created by the B.C.-based Ninandotoo Society, which works to honour the experiences of Black and racialized Canadians, Black Excellence Day is celebrated on Jan. 15. If that falls on a weekend, it is celebrated the preceding Friday instead, so classrooms can mark the occasion. Kamika Williams, president of Ninandotoo Society, started the initiative after seeing a lack of representation of Black Canadians in the school curriculum. She says the goal of this year's celebration is to continue to spark important conversations about anti-racism while highlighting the contributions of Black Canadians in B.C. The society partnered with the Burnaby School District once again, and hosted their first in-person event at Byrne Creek Community School. "It's important to acknowledge the resiliency that the Black community has when faced with injustice," said16-year-old Lulyana Tsehaye, a student at Byrne Creek. Tsehaye says as a Black Canadian, it's empowering to see an initiative that seeks for more representation of her community and culture. "Black people have contributed so much more to the world than people are often told. We're not a race of people that are traumatized. We are a race of people who have ideas and passions," she said. Beth Applewhite, district principal of equity, diversity and inclusion, says Black Excellence Day gives students a platform to find their voice. "Anyone who has felt the pain of discrimination, anyone who has ever felt marginalized or othered. This is a day about resilience and empowerment and celebrating that strength," she said. The society says more than 32,000 students and educators across the province also celebrated, including schools and districts in Ontario and Nova Scotia holding their own Black Excellence Day events. "We are currently working with politicians and organizations across Canada to get this day recognized on a national level," the society said in a written statement. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Plenty of sunshine. High around 75F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low near 55F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Explosion Leads Crypto Market Higher - Heres the Coins to Buy Now Bitcoin, the world's largest and most popular digital currency, has increased by 4% in the last 24 hours and by more than 15% in the last seven days. Ethereum, the second most valuable currency, is up 14% in a week to $1,420. The University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 64.6 in early January from 59.7 in the previous month, indicating an uptick in consumer mood across the United States. In contrast to the market's forecast of 60.5, this figure was higher. Miss Universe El Salvador Holds Bitcoin Staff El Salvador's Miss Universe 71 representative Alejandra Guajardo wore a Bitcoin-themed dress to the Wednesday night National Costume Show. Francisco Guerrero, a plastic artist, created an ensemble of currencies that paid special homage to Bitcoin. Guajardo carried a cocoa-bean-decorated colon, the former currency of her nation, and a staff bearing the Bitcoin emblem. The pageant announcer said: This look represents El Salvadors history of currency, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has been a staunch advocate for Bitcoin despite the fact that its value has dropped by more than 50% since the law went into force. Although he may have had some influence over Guajardo's pageant attire, he has been involved in supporting multiple BTC adoption projects. Bitcoin Price Bitcoin is currently trading at $19,450, with a 24-hour trading volume of $26 billion. Bitcoin is on a tear and has already broken through $19,000, which is currently acting as an immediate support. A bullish breakout of this level has created more room for purchasing to $19,850, or perhaps higher, to the psychological trading milestone of $20,000. Bitcoin Price Chart - Source: Tradingview Bitcoin's immediate support level stands at $19,000, or $18,400. At the same time, the RSI and MACD indicators have crossed into overbought territory. As a result, we must keep a watch on $19,000, as failure to break over this level may result in a BTC price movement that is negative. Ethereum Price The current price of Ethereum is $1,428 with a 24-hour trading volume of $6.8 billion. The ETH/USD pair has broken past the $1,350 key resistance level and is now on course to the $1,500 barrier level. On the downside, the immediate support level for Ethereum is $1,350, and candles closing above this level are expected to drive a rally. If the $1,430 level is breached, the price of ETH may rise to the $1,500 resistance level. Ethereum Price Chart - Source: Tradingview On the downside, the ETH price may find support near $1,375, and a bearish break of that level could lead to additional selling to $1,330. Today's bullish trend is strong, so seek for opportunities to buy. Alternative Cryptocurrencies With Big Growth Potential To Invest In Right Now Following the recent downturn in the bitcoin market, a few alternative currencies have gained attention. FightOut (FGHT) The FightOut (FGHT) platform works in the same way as a personal trainer does, except that workout time is pre-paid with the FGHT token. All activities are monitored and can be used to improve one's metaverse avatar's metrics. The FGHT presale is going well, with approximately $2.88 million raised thus far. The current selling price of 60.06 FGHT for $1 (FGHT may be purchased using ETH or USDT) is projected to grow as the sale unfolds. Visit FightOut Now C+Charge (CCHG) C+Charge is creating blockchain-based EV payments software that will give EV drivers carbon credits every time they charge for the first time. C+Charge sees this as a means of leveling the playing field in the carbon credit market, which has previously been dominated by a few large firms. Forecasters feel the project has promised since it will profit from the expected large growth in the carbon credit market. Coherent Market Insights predicts that the market would be valued at more than $2.4 trillion by 2027, up from roughly $211.5 billion in 2019. Earning carbon credits is an extra incentive for C+Charge to accelerate the already rapid transition to EVs. Analysts predict that the voluntary credit market (VCM) will reach $100 billion by 2030, with businesses like C+Charge playing a big part in this growth. So far, the presale has raised $269,812. Visit C+Charge Now Meta Masters Guild (MEMAG) Today marks the start of the presale for Meta Masters Guild, a mobile-focused gaming guild that will build a mix of Web3 and play-to-earn games. Its Ethereum-based games will include playable NFTs as well as incentives that can be traded for MEMAG, the company's native token, which can then be staked and sold. It will be available in seven stages, the first of which is now offering one MEMAG for $0.007. Even before MEMAG goes public, this price will progressively rise to $0.023, a 228.5% increase for the first investors. Meta Masters Guild is expected to grow rapidly when the platform's initial game (Meta Kart Racers) is released in the second quarter of this year. Furthermore, if the wider market and world economy improve, its native coin might be a major beneficiary. Visit Meta Masters Guild Now Find The Best Price to Buy/Sell Cryptocurrency Home > 2023 > China and India - as merchants of death | Sumanta Banerjee China and India, while fighting with each other over their borders, have however recently become partners as merchants of death in the global arena. While China has been accused of giving birth to a chemical that caused Covid-19 and exporting it all over the world, India on a minor scale has been found to be exporting pharmaceuticals that have led to the death of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan. The term merchants of death was originally used to describe the bankers and arms manufacturers who funded and weaponised the World War I soldiers who were destined to death. Later it was expanded to include states which manufactured toxic chemical substances intended to kill and incapacitate enemies in military operations. Nazi Germany developed chemical weapons like poison gas which it used against Jews during the Holocaust. The US produced similar deadly chemicals like napalm that it used to bomb Vietnam during the1960-70 war, killing and maiming hundreds of civilians, destroying their habitats, and polluting the Mekong river. The US also incorporated into its anti-Vietnam military operations, the use of a chemical herbicide called Agent Orange, which led to the devastation of agricultural fields in rural Vietnam. There is thus a chemical component of the military arsenal in modern global warfare. Background of Covid-19 Following the outbreak of Covid-19 and its global spread, the issue of ailments induced by toxic chemicals and exported from the country of their origins, has assumed importance in todays debates. Ever since its outbreak, China had been suspected as the source of the pandemic which spread from its experiments in a laboratory in Wuhan - an allegation that Beijing has still not been able to disprove, and is refusing to allow international health experts to examine the state-run Wuhan Institute of Virology where the experiments were carried out. Ironically however, it was the US government which outsourced a biotechnology to its global rival China for experiments. It funded those experiments in the Wuhan laboratory - as revealed by an American epidemiologist, Andrew Huff, who worked in the Wuhan laboratory, in his recent book `The Truth About Wuhan. (2022). Strange are the ways of rival global powers. They fight with each other at the military level, and yet collaborate at the commercial level by exchanging knowledge of the state-of-art technologies in order to strengthen their respective technological infrastructures. Biotechnology has emerged as one such commodity in the global market. It involves the creation of chemicals and manufacturing of drugs and medicines. India as an exporter of toxic chemical- induced ailments Although to a limited extent, but in a similar fashion, India has been found to have exported home-made pharmaceuticals to Gambia in Africa, the consumption of which has led to the deaths of seventy children there. The particular cough syrup which was sent to Gambia was manufactured by the Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals. In Gambia, its parliamentary committee in October probed into the case , and held Maiden Pharmaceuticals culpable and accountable for the deaths of the children. It demanded legal action against the company. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert in October 2022 saying that four pediatric syrups manufactured by Indias Maiden Pharmaceuticals were potentially linked to the deaths of the seventy children in Gambia. Fast on the heels of the Gambia case, Uzbekistan has come out with the allegation that eighteen children there died after consuming a cough syrup manufactured by an Indian company. Yet, like Chinas attempts to stone-wall international investigation into its Wuhan lab experiments, India is behaving in the same fashion by protecting its Maiden Pharmaceuticals from an independent inquiry into the practices followed by it in manufacturing drugs - some of which have proved to be fatal, as in Gambia. The Indian governments drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has given a clean chit to the company saying that no toxins were found in its control samples - ignoring the WHO warning. In response to Uzbekistans allegation, the Uttar Pradesh Drug Control and the CDSCO have decided to investigate the Noida-based firm Marion Biotech which exported its drug to Uzbekistan. Let us await their findings. A record of the quality of Indias pharmaceutical exports India claims that it is the third largest pharma- producer in the world, and the largest exporter of pharmaceuticals. Its pharma exports have been growing by 103% since 2013-14, according to the latest official report released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) in May, 2022. Earlier, in January, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Davos Summit claimed that India was the `Pharmacy to the World - announcing how his government had exported home-made pharmaceuticals across the world, thus saving lives. The recent cases of fatalities in Gambia and Uzbekistan which are traced to Indian-made medicines, expose the falsity our Prime Ministers braggadocio. These incidents should not be dismissed as isolated accidents. In the recent past, there have been several similar complaints by other countries about sub-standard drugs that they had received from India. Vietnam, on December 23, 2013, blacklisted forty six Indian companies for supplying sub-standard drugs. Nepal banned medicines from sixteen Indian pharma companies for failing to comply with WHOs principle of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice). The pharmaceutical industry has been flourishing by exporting its products, particularly in the wake of Covid-19. India exported medical drugs valued at $ 24.62 billion during 2021-22. But the quality of these products has come under the scanner of medical experts. The Authentication Solution Providers Association (ASPA), a non-profit organization working against counterfeiting activities, has found out that incidents related to spurious and substandard drugs increased by 47% from 2020 to 2021. Explaining the reason, ASPA in its report said: The domestic regulations and legal structures are not as well defined as required. Lack of this structure and gaps in implementation gives criminals a chance to take advantage of the system by plaguing it with substandard, falsified, spurious, or counterfeit medicines and medical equipment. (Re:The State of Counterfeiting in India, 2021). Given this state of affairs in the Indian drug manufacturing industry, one can well understand the havoc that it has created in Africa and other countries by selling its deadly products there. In fact, almost a decade ago, in September 2014, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in an investigative report entitled Poor Quality Drugs and Global Trade: A Pilot Study, warned against this danger by exposing the murderous role of unscrupulous sections of the Indian pharmaceutical industry in exporting sub-standard medicines to Africa and other developing countries. It said: ...Some Indian drug manufacturers cut corners and make substandard drugs for markets with non-existent, under-developed or emerging regulatory oversight, notably Africa. Assessing the quality of 1470 anti-biotic and tuberculosis drug samples that were made in India and sold in Africa, and five mid-income non-African countries, the report said: 10.9 % of those products failed a basic assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and the majority of the failures are sub-standard (7 %). It then made this significant observation: The distribution of these sub-standard products... are more likely to be found as unregistered products in Africa than in India or non-African countries. In other words, these Indian pharmaceutical companies took advantage of the non-existent, under-developed or emerging regulatory oversight, notably (in) Africa, as pointed out in the above mentioned NBER, to target these countries for the export of their sub-standard medicines which proved fatal for their children. The earnings from these exports of deadly drugs during all these years, also fattened the Indian exchequer. It was under our Prime Ministers benign gaze that these two companies - Maiden Pharmaceuticals and Marion Biotech - had a free run in exporting these medicines without going through any check by medical experts. Shouldnt Narendra Modi, as the head of the state, acknowledge his responsibility for turning a blind eye to these exports that have led to fatalities ? Global collaboration of merchants of death. But then, no one expects Narendra Modi to recompense, or even offer apologies to the victims of the medicines that his pharmaceutical companies dumped on Gambia, Uzbekistan and other vulnerable countries with weak resistance to such deadly drugs. In the era of the much acclaimed globalization, it is not surprising that India would also be a partner in the trade of exporting sub-standard murderous drugs and earning profits from it. While joining, or even presiding over the various global outfits named G - (e.g. G-20), the present Narendra Modi-led government in its exaggerated sense of self-importance, is also patronizing Indian pharmaceutical companies (by relaxing medical and legal restrictions) to enable them to join the global mercantile trade in spurious and deadly pharmaceuticals. A Carlisle man who was elevated to the U.S. Marshals Services 15 Most Wanted list in June 2022 was arrested early Friday morning in Broward County, Florida, after he fled the scene of a bar fight and was stopped by local police. Michael Anthony Baltimore, 44, was wanted by the Carlisle Police Department and the U.S. Marshals in the Middle District of Pennsylvania for homicide, assault and parole violation charges. Baltimore is alleged to have shot and killed Kendell Jerome Cook and injured another man at the GQ Barbershop on North Hanover Street in Carlisle on May 22, 2021. Cook was the shops owner. U.S. Marshals said Baltimore is being held in Florida, facing local charges. We were very pleased to hear that Michael Baltimore was taken into custody early this morning in Florida, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack said. I commend the police officers in Davie, Florida, for their alert response and safe apprehension of Baltimore. I also want to commend the U.S. Marshals Service and the Carlisle Police for their constant efforts over the past year and half to locate Michael Baltimore. Now that he is in custody, we can finally begin the court process where he will be facing first-degree murder charges for the May 22, 2021, shooting of Kendell Cook at the GQ Barber Shop in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. First, we again extend our deepest condolences to the Cook family for their loss of Mr. Kendell Cook on May 22, 2021, Carlisle Borough Police Chief Taro Landis said. We are very thankful to our law enforcement partners: the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Davie, Florida, Police Department and our own officers, for the successful and safe apprehension of Michael Baltimore. The Carlisle Police Department has and will continue working to make the Borough of Carlisle a safe place to live, work and visit. Baltimore, who is also a barber and had worked for Cook until 2019, was featured in several episodes of the TLC reality series 90 Day Fiance. U.S. Marshals said police in Davie, Florida, who responded to a disturbance involving a weapon at a bar fight, learned that one man battered an employee, was in possession of a knife during the altercation and also threatened to retrieve a firearm from his vehicle prior to fleeing the scene, U.S. Marshals said in a news release issued Friday. Officers learned the suspect had fled the scene in a silver sedan traveling north on University Drive. Officers located the vehicle around 2:41 a.m. Friday at the intersection of University Drive and Griffin Road and conducted a high-risk vehicle stop in the 9900 block of Griffin Road, detaining two people, according to the news release. U.S. Marshals said the female driver was released from the scene after determining she was not the owner of the vehicle and had no involvement in the altercation earlier. The male passenger was placed in custody after a positive identification by the victim. Police determined that the vehicle was in his possession and the contents within were his. A search of his vehicle and person revealed 2.3 grams of fentanyl in his pocket, as well as a loaded handgun, more than 200 grams of marijuana, and 818 ecstasy pills in the vehicle. U.S. Marshal said the arrestee gave a fake name to officers, and three fraudulent identification cards with his picture were found in the vehicle. A fingerprint scanner confirmed Baltimores true identity, as well as the murder warrant in Pennsylvania and the fact that he was a Most Wanted fugitive. I want to thank the police officers in Davie, Florida for their diligence in arresting the fugitive, U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis said. I am also very appreciative of the efforts of our partners in Cumberland County who have been working on this case. I hope his capture brings some sense of relief and comfort to his victims families. The U.S. Marshals-led Middle Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force combines the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the districts most dangerous fugitives. The Mechanicsburg Area School Board Tuesday unanimously authorized the district to issue general obligation bonds totaling $30 million to help fund building renovations at the high school. The action authorizes district administrators to begin proceedings with PFM financial advisers and the districts solicitor for issuance of the second of the districts three planned rounds of general obligation bonds to fund the project. General obligation bonds are sold by local governing bodies like a school district to help fund public projects or municipal government operations, according to schwab.com. They are often backed by the taxing authority of the bond issuer, in this case the school districts ability to tax to raise funds. Tuesday nights authorization for the bonds was to allow us to work with PFM on a future sale, the results from which will be presented at (the school boards) February or March meeting, Greg Longwell, the districts director of business operations/CFO, told The Sentinel Wednesday. The planned three-prong borrowing for financing the renovation would total $50 million pending a third and final bond issue that would take place next year. In June 2022, the school board authorized general obligation bonds totaling $9.7 million for the project. Bond terms negotiated then extend through May 15, 2050, with an average yield of 4.25%. Last month, the school board unanimously awarded contracts for the project totaling $39,449,015. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring. Also last month, Mechanicsburg school directors unanimously authorized the district to advertise for bids for the design of a new high school pool. Previously, the panel had mulled replacing the pool for an estimated $7.8 million or renovating it for $2.5 million. Longwell has said the estimated cost of a new pool still would leave the district well within our target (total renovation) project amount of $50 million due to lower-than-expected bid results for the high schools overall renovation. We will return later this spring with additional details on the proposed project, which will include additional details on the projects scope and the project budget, he said last month. The high school renovation is separate from a $24 million expansion already in progress. The building was constructed in 1968, with additions and renovations in 1981 and 2001. In other news, district staff canceled a scheduled livestream of Tuesday nights school board meeting due to technical difficulties with You Tube. However, the district has since posted a recording of the meeting on the school boards You Tube page, https://www.youtube.com/@masdschoolboard. Photos: Scenes from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School's 2022 prom Biden Admin Extends Temporary Amnesty to Thousands of Somalis Living in US U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas answers a reporter's question during a news conference with Mexican counterparts at the State Department in Washington on Oct. 13, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has renewed the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia, allowing more than 2,600 Somali nationals to remain in the United States for another 18 months. A country may be designated for TPS when circumstances in the country, such as a civil war or natural disaster, temporarily prevent its citizens from returning safely. The DHS currently grants this status to 16 countries, including Ukraine, which has been in a full-scale armed conflict with Russia since February 2022. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that his department has re-designated Somalia for TPS because of the ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis in the Horn-of-Africa Nation. According to the DHS, this will allow about 430 Somalis who are already in the TPS program to renew their work permits and deportation protections, so long as they continue to meet all TPS eligibility requirements. It will also allow an additional 2,200 eligible Somali immigrants to join the program. Through the extension and redesignation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status, the United States will be able to offer safety and protection to Somalis who may not be able to return to their country, due to ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis, Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the decision. We will continue to offer our support to Somali nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief. Although it was originally designed as a temporary humanitarian program, TPS could be a de facto permanent sanctuary that shields people of a certain nationality from deportation, as long as the DHS doesnt let the countrys TPS designation expire. The Trump administration has tried to terminate several countries TPS designation, emphasizing the fact that the program was never meant to be a permanent solution. In June 2017, after visiting Haiti, then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he would not renew TPS for the Caribbean nation because it had made considerable recovery and should be able to handle the return of its citizens. In the following months, the Trump administration moved to end TPS benefits for those from Nicaragua, Sudan, El Salvador, Nepal, and Honduras, who account for about 80 percent of TPS holders. The terminations were challenged by several lawsuits. In one of the cases, a California court issued a preliminary injunction to block the termination of TPS for Haiti, Honduras, and Nepal, siding with the allegation that those decisions were motivated by racism. Some TPS-related lawsuits are still pending. The Biden administration, upon taking office, renewed the TPS protections Trump tried to end and granted the status to more countries. In November 2022, the Biden administration announced that TPS holders from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan will remain fully protected until June 2024. Biden Says First Lady Jill Doing Well After Skin Surgery First Lady Jill Biden speaks during the "Fandango por la Lectura" event at the National Palace in Mexico City on Jan. 9, 2023. (Raquel Cunha/Reuters) WASHINGTONFirst Lady Jill Biden is doing well following her skin surgery, President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday, one day after cancerous skin lesions were removed from her face and chest. Shes doing really well. She was under a long time, the president said. Shes up. We had breakfast this morning. Shes recovering. The 71-year-old first lady, accompanied by the president, spent more than eight hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the outpatient procedure on Wednesday. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk to board the Marine One helicopter to travel to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the first lady to undergo Mohs surgery for skin cancer, from the White House on Jan. 11, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) All cancerous tissue was removed, the White House physician said. The president returned to the White House later on Wednesday afternoon. The first lady returned separately, her spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia said. Jill Biden went to the hospital for removal of a skin lesion above her right eye. White House physician Kevin OConnor said in a statement that the procedure confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma. All cancerous tissue was successfully removed, and the margins were clear of any residual skin cancer cells. We will monitor the area closely as it heals, but do not anticipate any more procedures will be needed, he said. In addition, a small lesion was discovered on Jill Bidens left eyelid and it was fully excised and sent for further examination, OConnor said. During her preoperative consultation, an additional area of concern was identified on the left side of the first ladys chest, and it was consistent with potential basal cell carcinoma, OConnor said. This lesion also was excised and basal cell carcinoma was confirmed. Again, all cancerous tissue was successfully removed, OConnor said. Basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to spread, or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do, the doctor added. They do, however, have the potential to increase in size, resulting in a more significant issue as well as increased challenges for surgical removal, he said. Jill Biden was experiencing some facial swelling and bruising, but was in good spirits and feeling well, OConnor said. Bob Odenkirk Seeks Balance, Humor Following His Heart Attack Bob Odenkirk participates in the AMC "lucky Hank" panel during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2023. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) PASADENA, Calif.Bob Odenkirk is still processing his feelings after suffering a massive heart attack in July 2021 and says a big takeaway is to strive for a better work-life balance. I dont think Ive figured it out yet, the actor said Tuesday while attending a biannual gathering of TV critics. I have to do a better job because we dont get to carry on forever. We just dont I want to make the right choices so I can feel like Im doing the best I can with the time I have left, the things that I love in this world. And I dont think Ive figured it out yet, but Im working on it. Odenkirks heart attack happened while filming the final season of AMCs Better Call Saul, and his heart stopped for 18 minutes. He returned to work five weeks later and says he didnt remember what happened, but felt euphoria and also exhaustion. I was weirdly upbeat after that heart attack for a long time. It was a gift, I suppose, but also strange to everyone around me They were very careful about not giving me too much work to do, but it was hard. It was really hard. After about eight hours of shooting, I got tired, he said. It was like being this weird, little baby bird at the age of 59. Mireille Enos (L) and Bob Odenkirk participate in the AMC Lucky Hank panel during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2023. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) After production ended on Saul, Odenkirk took a long-awaited family vacation and then went right into his new project, the comedy series Lucky Hank, based on the novel Straight Man by Richard Russo. Odenkirk plays Hank Devereaux, a college English professor who is also the chair of the department at an under-funded Pennsylvania college he describes as mediocracys capital. The audience meets Hank at an unmotivated and uninspired point of his mid-life. The show co-stars Mireille Enos (The Killing) who is also questioning her own career and purpose in life. Odenkirk jokes that with choosing his next project at AMC, he couldve been a zombie, referencing the channels successful The Walking Dead franchise, but was drawn to the solid relationships portrayed in Lucky Hank and the humor. Saul was really alone. He had nothing It was a tough guy to play, he was so alone. I like that this guy loves his wife, she loves him I like the humor of him, hes funny and he knows hes being funny. Hes making jokes all the time. Lucky Hank debuts March 19 on AMC and AMC+. By Alicia Rancilio Brazil Supreme Court to Probe Bolsonaros Role in Jan. 8 Breach of Government Buildings Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with the police during a demonstration outside the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images) Brazils Supreme Court decided on Jan. 13 to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in an investigation into the Jan. 8 storming of government buildings by rioters in Brasilia. Public figures who continue to cowardly conspire against democracy trying to establish a state of exception will be held accountable, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who agreed to the request from federal prosecutors to have Bolsonaro be included in the probe, said in a statement. The Supreme Court had already ordered Bolsonaros former justice minister, Anderson Torres, to be arrested for allegedly allowing the protests to take place in Brasilia after he assumed responsibility for Brasilias public security. Prosecutors will investigate Bolsonaro for possible instigation and intellectual authorship of the anti-democratic acts that resulted in vandalism and violence in Brasilia last Sunday, the prosecutor generals office said in an online statement. Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro hold a demonstration at the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images) Demonstrators stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court on Jan. 8 amid ongoing mass protests that had persisted in the country since the outcome of the national election on Oct. 30, 2022, which gave the victory to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in on Jan. 1 as president for the third time. Bolsonaros supporters largely doubt the authenticity of the results and had been demanding that the military step in to intervene. Aerial view of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro during a demonstration against election results in front of the Eastern Military Command building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Wagner Meier/Getty Images) Following the Jan. 8 riots, the former Brazilian leader issued a statement denouncing the damage and vandalism. Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy, Bolsonaro wrote, per translations of Twitter posts he shared late on Jan. 8. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule. Throughout my presidency, I have always been within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our sacred freedom. Bolsonaro is currently in Florida, having left Brazil less than two days ahead of Lulas Jan. 1 inauguration. Torres also is in Florida. He has said he plans to return to Brazil to turn himself in. Then-Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Torres speaks during a ceremony on the International Day Against Corruption at Planalto Palace in Brasilia on Dec. 9, 2021. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images) Justice Minister Flavio Dino told a news conference he would wait until this week to reevaluate Torress case. Dino noted that he had made no requests to the United States regarding Bolsonaro. On Jan. 12, police found a draft decree at Torress house that appeared to be a proposal to interfere in the result of the election. Torres claimed the document was, among others, in a stack that was being thrown out. He said they were leaked to Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in his absence to create a false narrative. The arrest warrant against Torres was issued by de Moraes, who temporarily removed Torres from his post hours after the Jan. 8 riots. Reuters contributed to this report. Business Optimism Seen for Vancouvers Gastown Despite Starbucks Closure, Homelessness Issue The former location of the Starbucks in Gastown, Vancouver, pictured on Jan. 7, 2023, is put up for lease after its closure on Dec. 31, 2022. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times) VANCOUVERThe closure of a popular Starbucks in Vancouver on New Years Eve is another setback in the challenges the citys Downtown Eastside is facing because of poverty, homelessness, and addiction. Beside the famous steam clock in historic Gastown, the coffee shop at 199 Water Street had operated for 28 years. And while critics blame the growth of the homeless population from nearby West Hastings Street, others feel more optimistic and see some changes on the horizon. Zofia Kwiecien lives in the neighbourhood and operates a hair salon there. Last September, she saw a woman remove her clothes, lie down at the Starbucks entrance, and start screaming at the top of her lungs. Confused, well-meaning bystanders tried to help without success. Kwiecien flagged down a passing police cruiser, but she said the police only assessed the woman from inside the car and then drove away without addressing the situation. Episodes like this are common in Gastown, Kwiecien said, and particularly for the Starbuckswhich she believes is why the store closed. I guarantee you thats what it is, Kwiecien told The Epoch Times. That particular part of Water Street is just heavy with the junkies bugging all the tourists and bugging everybody, because its busy, right? she said. I just saw somebody smoking crack in broad daylight. Theyre still here. Theyre still everywhere, she added. Starbucks Canadas communications manager, Leanna Rizzi said in an email to The Epoch Times that the closure was a decision based on the companys regular assessment of market and other conditions with their stores. As a standard practice, we continually evaluate our store portfolio to ensure its meeting the needs of our partners (employees), customers and the communities we serve. After careful consideration, we decided to close the Starbucks Gastown store in Vancouver and our last day of operation was December 31, 2022, she wrote. Rizzi didnt respond when asked what needs the company was unable to meet. She said all staff were offered positions at other Starbucks stores if they wished to remain with the company. The Recovery Has Been Solid Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services has one of the biggest footprints in downtown Vancouver, including leasing the space formerly occupied by the Starbucks Gastown store. And while principal broker Marc Saul said several businesses have left Gastown in the past two years, he and his Corbel colleagues hadnt expected Starbucks to be among them. A man and woman take a selfie as steam rises from the Gastown steam clock in a quiet downtown Vancouver on April 19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) That one caught us by surprise, Saul said in an interview. As far as I know, it was consistently one of the top revenue-producing Starbucks in the Lower Mainland. So it was surprising that they decided to give that one up. I really think there might have been some other corporate kind of reasons behind it. Nonetheless, he said, we have had a remarkable amount of inquiries on it already so I think well be able to get [another] good tenant in there. Saul admitted that COVID-19 restrictions negatively impacted businesses and led to many retail spaces coming on the market. But he said attaching to Gastown the stigma of the Downtown Eastsides homelessness and addiction issues isnt a fair representation of the neighbourhood, particularly because of how well it has bounced back. There was a point in time where there was quite a few retail spaces that came up, but we were actually able to fill them up and actually filled them up at pre-pandemic rental rates as well, he said. So overall, the recovery has been solid. Wheres Starbucks? Another local, Alex Mountain, shared Kwieciens sentiment that Starbucks had too much to deal with from the homeless and addicted population and was unable to provide a safe environment for its staff and customers. The situation is compounded by the many drug dealers in the area, she said. Yet people are still surprised the popular coffee shop is no longer running at that location. Too many people were doing needles in the bathroom, then nodding out and harassing the customers, Mountain said in an interview. But she noted that the previous day, over 10 people said, Wheres Starbucks? It used to be down there, and she had to tell them Yeah, they shut down. Other longtime businesses in the area are not changing course and are actually planning for the future. Neils Bendtsen has run furniture retailer Inform Interiors in Gastown since 1970. He says this past year has been the worst hes ever seen from people dealing with addictions and mental health. You just have to walk down an alley there and see how decrepit it is, Bendtsen told The Epoch Times. Still, despite the challenges overcoming the recent COVID years, Inform is expanding and Bendtsen thinks Gastown has a promising future. We are trying to keep the Downtown Eastside out of here, and thats a big, big problem, of course, Bendtsen said. Its going to take many years to get there, but I think its on that projection. I think everybodys in agreement we cant have it down here anymore. Some have seen the change in mayor and city council as part of a rejection of old policies that favoured the status quo. The Epoch Times reached out to Vancouver City Hall for comment but did not receive a reply by publication time. The GOP launches their investigation into multiple federal agencies, and what theyre calling the weaponization of the government. Well take a look at where theyll start and why Democrats are opposed. President Joe Biden is meeting the Japanese prime minister as the two work to deter threats from China. What are the leaders pledging? Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) joins us to discuss Bidens classified files, which are raising concerns over the ties between the Penn Biden Center and the Chinese communist regime. A judge has ordered former President Donald Trumps real-estate company to pay over a million dollars in fines. Has the media been fair in covering the Biden documents in the same way they covered the Trump story over how the former president handled classified documents? A journalism professor at Liberty University joins us to discuss. This Monday commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. To honor him, the National Parks Service will be waiving entrance fees. Cardinal George Pell: A Lifetime of Achievements Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher conducts a Solemn Pontifical Requiem mass to pay homage to Cardinal George Pell at St Marys Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 12, 2023. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins) Commentary Given that permanent European settlement in Australia dates back just some 235 years, this country has had more than its fair share of extraordinary Catholics. Of course, we have St Mary of the Cross, better known as Mary MacKillop. As far as churchmen go, three giants spring to mind: the English Benedictine, Bede Polding, who was the first Archbishop of Sydney. Bishop Rosendo Salvado, the Spanish Benedictine who established the famous New Norcia Abbey and mission to Aboriginal people in remote Western Australia in the most difficult conditions. And finally, Archbishop Daniel Mannix, the Irish-born Archbishop of Melbourne for a record 46 years, whose steadfast support of prominent Catholic lawyer BA Santamaria against Communist influence in the Labor Party led to the split of 1955 and the creation of the Democratic Labor Party. However, Cardinal George Pell, who died on Jan. 11 at age 81, was probably the finest cleric this country has produced. Many have written on his trial, conviction and subsequent quashing of that conviction (seven-to-zero in the High Court of Australia) for child sexual offences. I do not intend to dwell on that terrible episode in Australias judicial history; suffice to say that, despite spending 405 days in prison for a crime he did not commit, it only strengthened Cardinal Pells faith. Cardinal George Pell arrives at Melbourne County Court in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 27, 2019. (Michael Dodge/Getty Images) In his Prison Journal, he wrote, quoting from the great Spanish saint, Teresa of Avila: May nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass, God does not change; Patience can cope with anything. One who has God lacks nothing God alone is enough. Great Highlights of Pells Life Cardinal Pells achievements are extraordinary, and he played a pivotal role in the life of the Church, both in Australia and internationally. Below is a summation of just some. At the age of 45, he was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, in St Patricks Cathedral on May 21, 1987. Shortly after, he was elected to chair Australian Catholic Reliefthe Churchs overseas aid agency. During his tenure, among other achievements, he worked extensively in Cambodia as it was rebuilt from the rubble of Pol Pots Killing Fields and took active roles in Zambia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. As Tess Livingstone wrote in The Australian, the distribution of aid from Australian Catholics needed extensive reform in the Philippines after the infiltration of local agencies by political operatives with Communist agendas. Pell made many visits to China to give assistance to the persecuted underground Church loyal to the Vatican, as well as visiting many in the Patriotic Association who wanted to cooperate with Rome. The Vaticans current agreement with the Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the appointment of bishops in China, entered into and renewed by Pope Francis last year, apparently caused Cardinal Pell great distress. At age 49, Pell received the biggest surprise of my lifean appointment by Pope John Paul II to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faiththe Churchs main body defending faith and morals, then led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). Pell was the first Australian to be so appointed and served on the Congregation until 2000. He later served on numerous other Vatican bodies, including the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In 1996, he was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne, announcing that he stood foursquare with the teachings of the Churchs Magisterium and thus set about a reform of seminary and faith education. Building up priestly vocations was a priority. Moreover, within weeks of his appointment, he established one of the first formal church processes in the world for dealing with child sexual abuse. The Melbourne Response, as it became known, headed by an independent Queens Counsel, was then used as a template by all Australian dioceses, and many around the world, to deal with allegations of sexual abuse against clergy. After five years as Archbishop of Melbourne, in 2001, Pell was made Archbishop of Sydney by Pope John Paul II, and created a Cardinal two years later. As in Melbourne, faith education, establishing university chaplaincies, seminary reform, and building up vocations to the priesthood were his priorities. For 13 years, his weekly column in Sydneys Sunday Telegraph newspaper drew a vast readership. The undoubted highlight of his time in Sydney occurred in 2008, when as part of World Youth Day, 500,000 young people aged 16 to 30 from 200 countries converged on Sydney, with hundreds of thousands more from around Australia, for a Saturday night vigil and Sunday Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at Randwick Racecourse. The young pilgrims were accompanied by 600 bishops and cardinals, and the event was covered by 6,000 journalists. Pope Benedict XVI is introduced to guests by Cardinal George Pell (R) during the ceremonial welcome at Government House as part of World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, on July 17, 2008. (AAP Image/POOL/Greg Wood) Another international achievement of Pell during this period was his nine years chairing the Vox Clara (Clear Voice) committee to oversee a new English translation of the Mass. From both a worship and a translation point of view, the English translation of the 1969 missal (the Novus Ordo) was riddled with poor paraphrasing, and jarred. In praying to the omnipotent God at Mass, Pell told The Australian at the time, it is not appropriate to talk in the same way we do at a barbecue. The final Mass texts produced by Vox Clara were approved in 2011 and since then have been in use across the English-speaking world. Work in the Vatican At the time of his arrest on the child sexual abuse charges, Pell was serving as prefect for the Economy in Rome, essentially the Vatican treasurer, after being appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 to clean up the Vaticans financial affairs. But, as Tess Livingstone reported in The Australian, the mess he uncovered was unbelievable. A nun stands in St. Peters Square at the Vatican on March 21, 2021. (Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo) On his watch, 4,000 Vatican Bank accounts of individuals and organisations not entitled to them were closed; 200 were referred to authorities on suspicion of money laundering. Prosecutions were launched, and scandals uncovered, such as that involving the former Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who reportedly transferred 15 million Euros (US$20 million) from the Vatican Bank to a private film company and used $300,000 from a fund for sick children to rebuild his lavish apartment. All throughout, he was obstructed in his efforts by Vatican Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the deputy to Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (who oversaw the aforementioned Vatican agreement with Beijing), who suspended an external audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The firm had been engaged by Pell to improve the transparency of Vatican finances to international anti-money-laundering standards. Becciu is now the subject of the trial of the century involving cases of alleged financial wrongdoing in the Vatican. Cardinal Pell did express a desire to those close to him to return to Australia, given his health issues. However, he wanted to stay in Rome, knowing his good friend, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was not well. Indeed, Pell attended the late Popes funeral. Cardinal Pells life was emblematic of Jesuss words in St Johns Gospel (10:10): I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full. Requiescat in pace. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Chinese Canadians Snatch Up Medicines to Send to China Amid Surging COVID Infections, Drug Shortages People wait in line to buy medicine at a pharmacy in Beijing, China, on Dec. 9, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in China, many overseas Chinese, including those as far afield as Canada and as close as Japan, are rushing to buy up medicines in those countries and send them to family back home. NTD Television, The Epoch Times sister media, talked with courier companies in Vancouver and Toronto who said theyve seen a dramatic rise in the number of drug packages being shipped to China by the Chinese community recently. A staff member at a drug counter in a Toronto Chinese supermarket told NTD shes seen many more Chinese people coming to the store since December to buy fever and cold medicines and send them back to China. Many Chinese living in Japan and other parts of the world similarly rushed to get their hands on the medicines for their families in China, which is facing widespread drug shortages across cities and towns triggered by the latest surge in COVID infections. Generic versions of Tylenol and Advil were quickly snapped up at pharmacies in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Australia, and sent to China, according to several media reports. The bulk purchases have also left Japanese drugstores in short supply of such drugs. One pharmacist in Osaka told The Epoch Times recently that Chinese buyers stockpile fever patches, cough and cold medicines, masks and eye drops, and ship them back to the mainland. Purchase Limits The panic buying has raised alarm worldwide, and drugstores and authorities have begun imposing purchase limits. Pharmacies in Hong Kong, Macau, and Australia have reported shortages of painkillers and fever reducers due to the extensive purchases, and have been forced to restrict purchases, according to Taiwan-based Central News Agency on Dec. 16. In Taiwan, an official with the Central Epidemic Command Center urged residents not to buy up drugs and send them overseas after local pharmacies reported a spike in demand for Panadol by overseas Chinese who wanted to send the drug to their friends and relatives in China, reported Radio Free Asia on Dec. 19. This phenomenon also comes at a time when Canada is struggling with its own drug shortage. The country has been experiencing a shortage of childrens Tylenol and other medications in recent months amid a surge in influenza and other respiratory viruses. Some major pharmacies, including Shoppers Drug Mart, have imposed a limit on the purchase of these drugs. Empty shelves in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in the GTA due to supply shortages of cold, cough, and flu medication and increased demand due to seasonal illnesses. (Roger Li and Lily Guo/NTD) A notice reminding customers to limit the purchase of Tylenol and Advil is shown at a Shoppers Drug Mart store in the GTA on Dec. 23, 2022. (Roger Li and Lily Guo/NTD) Foreign Supply Meanwhile, pharmacies across Canada are already experiencing a shortage of cold and fever medicine, including for children, due to high rates of flu and respiratory infections. On Nov. 14, 2022, Health Canada announced it was taking steps to import childrens acetaminophen and ibuprofen to help address the immediate situation. We have secured foreign supply of childrens acetaminophen that will be available for sale at retail and in community pharmacies in the coming weeks, the department said in a press release. At this time, Canadians should buy only what they need, so that other parents and caregivers can access medication so we can meet the needs of sick children. CTV News reported that a poll conducted by the Canadian Pharmacists Association in December found that about 25 percent of pharmacies in Canada did not have a supply of adult cold and flu medicines, and 62 percent had minimal supply. In an interview with CTVs Your Morning on Jan. 10, Daneille Paes, the associations chief pharmacist officer, said while pharmacies are now receiving stocks of adult pain relief drugs, the high rate of viral infections as well as high demand mean theres still a shortage. The stock is coming in, its just not staying on the shelves and so were continuing to find challenges as we navigate these unprecedented times where buyers activities are just circulating at high rates, she said. Ben Liang, Kane Zhang, Lynn Xu, Roger Li, Lily Guo, and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. HARRISBURG In matters of national security, the Army and Navy are a team. But on Thursday, the two branches competed skillet to skillet at the Army vs. Navy cookoff during the 107th Pennsylvania Farm Show. Four judges named the Navy chef as winner Theres always a lot of pressure in a contest like this, Navy Petty Officer James Monoski, a certified executive chef, said minutes after winning the Iron Chef style event. It was fantastic. Now in its seventh year, the contest pitted Monoski against Army Staff Sgt. Joe Malubay, each with two assistants. The contest began after each received an identical mystery bag. Those bags contained chicken leg quarters, Italian brat sausage, beech mushrooms, yellow baby potatoes, Quark cheese, maple syrup, chicken rub and spices. The chefs used their imaginations and a pantry with such ingredients as vegetables, fruit and other pantry products. The chefs were given 30 minutes to concoct meals. Each seemed to decide his menu in seconds and then got to work dicing, chopping, sauteing, seasoning and more. As the minutes ticked away, the speed picked up with the chefs looking tense as they worked to incorporate everything from the mystery bags into the dish. Contest officials constantly announced how many minutes were left. Monoski finished first, handing the four judges plates of seared chicken thigh, mashed potatoes with Quark cheese and sauteed mushrooms with maple balsamic vinegar. I wanted to make a comfort food, he said. Malubay, a culinary specialist at the Army Executive Dining Facility, went into overtime making chicken thigh roulade stuffed with sausage, roasted vegetables and baked and roasted herb potatoes. The four judges evaluated the dishes for taste, appearance, use of all given ingredients and originality. Hundreds of people, including many uniformed Army and Navy members, watched. The PA Preferred Culinary Connection area erupted into cheers when the Navy was declared the winner. This was fantastic, Navy Commander Jesse Petty said. Everyone worked well together. Each of the chefs said prepared for the contest in their own way. Monoski watched Chopped and took notes. He said he also collects and reads cookbooks. Malubay said he watched cooking videos. The Farm Show closes at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Department of Justice has opened up a new investigation into President Joe Bidens handling of classified documents, and even assigned a special counsel to lead that investigation. However, its become apparent that the issue of the classified documents that have been found in Bidens possession is only the tip of the iceberg. Its only the surface-level manifestation of a much deeper storya story that involves Hunter Biden, Ukraine, the Chinese Communist Party, the University of Pennsylvania, and millions of dollars in questionable payments, as well as possibly the largest form of election interference that occurred during the midterm elections. Cory Morgan: Canada Could Win on Multiple Fronts by Going All In on LNG Exports Commentary Twice in the last year, international leaders have approached Canada cap-in-hand, seeking to purchase Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last August, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ottawa on Jan. 12. Both leaders left Canada frustrated, as Trudeau offered sympathy for their plight in being dependent upon Russian natural gas but made no commitments to supply gas to their nations. When asked about supplying LNG to those countries, Trudeau sidestepped the questions and spoke about exporting hydrogen and batteries. The federal government is ideologically fixated on turning Canada into a net-zero emissions country. This near obsession with reducing emissions has blinded them to economic realities both domestically and abroad. Being blessed with an abundance of natural gas deposits and coastal access on both sides of the country, Canada could become a world energy power to be reckoned with if only the government could find the will to allow it. The Liberal government has taken a strong stance against Russias invasion of Ukraine. To that end, Canada has committed to spending $3.4 billion in assistance to Ukraine. Much of that assistance is in the form of military hardware and training. While Ukraine surely appreciates that support, is that really the most effective way Canada could contribute to ending the conflict? Military support often leads to more military actions. A large part of why nations opposed to the Russian action in Ukraine have been unable to effectively influence or dissuade Russia is they are dependent on Russian supplies of natural gas. Nations can condemn Putins actions, but they also always have to bear in mind if they push it too far, they may find themselves cut off from gas supplies. If the Trudeau government really wanted to throw a wrench into Vladimir Putins agenda, they would be offering LNG supplies to European and Asian nations while fast-tracking the construction of LNG export terminals. Wars are expensive and Putin is already facing pressure within his own country over the resources being expended on the conflict in Ukraine. If Russia starts losing some of its customer base for energy exports, you can rest assured it would get Putins attention more effectively than military aid directed at Ukraine has. While Canada doesnt have gas reserves as vast as Russias, we are the fourth largest producer of natural gas on earth. Canada has the production infrastructure, the skilled workforce, and the resources. We just need to get on with building the export capability and that means the federal government has to stop hindering development. There have been 18 sizeable, proposed LNG export projects in Canada. Thirteen on the West Coast, two in Quebec, and two in Nova Scotia. Only one of those projects is under construction. It is in Kitimat, B.C., and it has been constantly delayed by regulatory hurdles and protests hindering construction on the pipeline to supply it. None of the projects on the East Coast have gotten off the ground for lack of pipelines, and Quebecs government shut down LNG operations there with the federal governments blessing. Every other project is in development purgatory as investors have fled Canadas regulatory environment. The business case exists for LNG exports from Canada and investors would happily fund the required infrastructure if they felt confident the federal government would quit hindering it. Right now though, with so many pipeline cancellations and roadblocks put in place against petrochemical development in Canada, it just isnt a safe place to invest in. LNG infrastructure can be built very quickly when a government facilitates it. Germany built an LNG terminal in less than a year and has five more on the way. They are already receiving LNG shipments from the USA and Qatar. That could have been Canadian gas going out there. The government doesnt want to appear to be backtracking on emissions reduction targets and thus drags its feet when it comes to energy exports. Perhaps the Russian situation could lend Ottawa a sense of pragmatism along with a way to save face while supporting LNG exports. The Liberals could make the case that there are exceptional circumstances and a humanitarian need for developing LNG export capability. Canada can win on multiple fronts by getting seriously into the LNG export game. We can develop ethically produced resources while creating thousands of well-paying jobs and bringing in much-needed tax revenue. The exports will ease the energy crisis overseas and allow some countries to reduce or eliminate burning coal for energy along with reducing dependence upon Russia for energy sources. It could be win, win, win. If only the government could take off its ideological blinders long enough to realize it. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The explorers arrived in the valley on a cold and clear morning in September 1805. With a hint of winter coming, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his weather diary that an inch of ice covered the ground in Rosss Hole, Montana. John Ordway, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, noted that snow now covered the nearby mountains. As the group descended the Bitterroot Mountains, second-in-command William Clark observed several ibex, or bighorn sheep, grazing nearby. The Flathead peoples had lived in the valley between the Sapphire and Bitterroot mountain ranges of western Montana for many generations before the American explorers arrived. Clark wrote how the explorers met lodge members of the Salish Flathead Indians and that they were received warmly. Artist Charles Marion Russell (18641926) memorialized this meeting in his painting Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians at Ross Hole (1912). Russell, known as the Cowboy Artist, made his home in Great Falls, Montana. Government officials commissioned him to do a painting for placement in the states legislative chamber in the capitol at Helena. The artist was to paint early Montana scenes and figures, as are of value from a historical standpoint, and that such decorations be executed by Montana Artists of recognized ability and standing, which was approved by Senate Joint Resolution No. 4 on Feb. 2, 1911. This was the first time that Russell, who was self-taught, had attempted a painting of monumental scale. It was planned for the wall at the head of the chamber. Go West, Young Man Russell had honed his art skills and lived the life of a cowboy to prepare. The so-called Wild West, explored by the Lewis and Clark expedition less than 50 years before, obsessed young Charlie Russell growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, in the mid-1800s. He saw explorers and fur trappers come into his hometown and tell tales of their travels, and he watched as settlers left the Gateway City for land and opportunity. He started drawing images of that fabled region at a young age, inspired by Western pulp novels and the stories he heard. He wanted to see the West for himself. When he was 16, Russell could no longer resist the call westward and left for Montana. He found work as a sheep herder, making sketches of the landscape as he worked. A rancher later hired him as a cowboy, where Russell documented the harsh winter in a series of watercolors. Cowboy Artist Charles Marion Russell painted scenes of the American West. (Public Domain) He spent time among the Blood Indians, a part of the Blackfeet nation, learning their ways and collecting artifacts. Russell soon moved to Great Falls, Montana, where he began to make his living as an artist. He remained there for the rest of his life and memorialized his deep love for the West in a monumental painting. Painting the Real West The state of Montana was born with the yelps and cries of the original inhabitants who welcomed the explorers. Russell wanted to show this in his painting as a tribute to his adopted states vibrant ancestry. A critique of the painting by Patricia M. Burnham points to the dramatic story taking place: The sweep of horses and Indian riders into the center foreground, the tilted lances, the dramatic cloud patterns, create an action scene of stupendous energy and vitality. The significant, but less dramatic, negotiations between Lewis and Clark and the tribal leaders, on the other hand, are almost lost to view in the quiet of the middle ground on the right. Detail of Salish warriors welcoming the Lewis and Clark expedition. Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians at Ross Hole, 1912, by Charles M. Russell. Oil on canvas; 14.2 feet by 29.5 feet. (Reproduced by permission of the Montana Historical Society) Russell places the Flathead warriors on horseback front and center, and now the painting comes alive. The graceful contortions of the young warriors immediately pull the viewer into the action. The composition stirs the imagination as the Indians are shown running forward at full speed, only to pull back at the last moment. The composition of this historic event shows the power and magnificence of the Salish lodge as their leader greets the expedition. Burnhams description of the main figure notes: Russell made numerous pencil sketches of the central figure in the painting until he arrived at the pose, the physical features, and above all, the telling gesture that would heighten the drama of this encounter. The expression on the [central Flathead Indian] face is severe, even fierce; the action is quick, vigorous, commanding. The figure points to Lewis and Clark. The far right of the composition shows the Salish lodge leader meeting with the explorers. The figures of Lewis and Clark, in contrast to the fierce stance of the Flathead warriors on horseback, are shown as patient and cautious as they await their guides translations. Detail showing Salish lodge leader (L) with Lemhi Shoshone translator Toby as Lewis and Clark stand by. Sacagawea sits in the grass and Clarks slave York stands with the horses. Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians at Ross Hole, 1912, by Charles M. Russell. Oil on canvas; 14.2 feet by 29.5 feet. (Reproduced by permission of the Montana Historical Society) According to recorded accounts, their Lemhi Shoshone guide Toby speaks to the Salish Flathead leaders in Plains sign language. Regarding the literal meaning of Flathead, most likely the name comes from a misinterpreted Indian sign made by patting the head above and back of the ear. Sacagawea, another Lemhi Shoshone guide, is shown nearby kneeling in the grass. She was married to French Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau, who was acting as the expeditions guide across the Rocky Mountains. William Clarks slave York, another member of the expedition, tends the horses. The artist clothed York in more formal apparel consisting of breeches and a tricorn hat instead of buckskins, which he most likely would have worn during the expedition. Although some criticized Russells inaccurate detail of Flathead dress, he used what was available to him at the time: notably, records in the Great Falls library, journals of the historic expedition, and his own extensive collection of native costume and artifacts. Prickly Process Ends in Acclaim Gov. Edwin L. Norris wanted the painting finished for the inauguration of the capitol, only months away. Russells wife, Nancy, often stepped in to allay the concerns of government officials that the painting would be finished in time, for she knew her husband; Russell worked with astonishing speed. Russells painting was installed in the House of Representatives chambers ahead of schedule on July 11, 1912. Legislative chamber in the Capitol building in Helena, Mont., which displays Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians at Ross Hole. (Public Domain) Although the interactions between the artist and state officials may have been bumpy at times, the end result satisfied all concerned. When the painting was unveiled, it was met by resounding praise. Russell painted a grand scene, just as Renaissance artists depicted heavenly realms or historic events. The figures stance and movements tell the story, as good visual storytelling must do. One reviewer from the Great Falls Daily Tribune wrote: If all the works of Russell, save this, were to perish, this picture would stand alone as a monument to his genius which would give him a leading place among Americas great artists. These western lands, newly mapped and recorded by Lewis and Clark, attracted artists wanting to live, admire, and paint its wild lands and peoples. Russell was one. He painted the scenes of this time and place while he lived them and used his artistic skills and imagination to bring the West alive for future generations. David Kessler, Official Who Led Bidens COVID-19 Response, to Retire David Kessler, Department of Health and Human Services Chief Science Officer for Covid Response, answers a question during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the ongoing federal response to COVID-19 in Washington on May 11, 2021. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday announced the upcoming retirement of David Kessler, the chief science officer who led the Biden administrations COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts for the last two years. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday that Kessler worked tirelessly for decades to address the countrys most challenging public health issues, noting that his work during the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different. Whether he was leading our effort to develop and distribute safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, or sharing his perspective during daily strategy sessions and data deliberations, Dr. Kesslers contributions to our COVID-19 response have helped save lives, Becerra continued. I am grateful for the wisdom he has shared with us and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Kessler served as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner from 1990 until 1997. He later became dean of Yales medical school before being named co-chair of the Biden transitions COVID-19 task force in January 2021. He led Operation Warp Speed, a government initiative to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. He also aided attempts to increase the number of vaccination sites across the United States. Kessler and his team oversaw efforts to achieve Bidens goal of getting 100 million jabs in arms in his first 100 days in office. Biden took office at a time when very few Americans had received a COVID-19 shot, and vaccination distribution was still ramping up. A man is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Mass., on Feb. 16, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) White House colleagues took to Twitter to acknowledge Kesslers departure. There has been no more valued and trusted wise advisor to the @POTUS on scientific and medical matters than Dr. Kessler. He will be GREATLY missed, Ronald Klain, White House chief of staff, said. White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha called Kessley an extraordinary public servant. A privilege working with Dr. Kessler Every day for two years, David has been laser focused on ensuring we had enough vaccines and treatments for the American people, he said. The Epoch Times contacted the Department of Health and Human Services for further comment. Waning Efficacy Kessler departs at a time when U.S. health officials acknowledge the waning effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In August 2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky stated that COVID-19 vaccines could no longer prevent transmission. Our vaccines are working exceptionally well. They continue to work well for Delta with regard to severe illness and death, they prevent it. But what they cant do anymore is prevent transmission, she told CNN in an interview. The emergence of new variants has led to waning vaccine efficacy against infection, hospitalization, and severe illness, prompting a push for booster shots. Despite this, the CDC and FDA have continued to promote vaccination during the pandemic, despite the lack of evidence supporting the vaccines and refusal to release safety data, as reported by The Epoch Times. The agencies have also repeatedly refused to release COVID-19 vaccine safety data, The Epoch Times previously reported. The Epoch Times also reported that U.S. officials are spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, including unsupported claims about their effectiveness and safety. Fauci Retirement Dr. Anthony Fauci, another prominent figure in the U.S. COVID-19 repose, was slated to step down from heading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID) by Dec. 31, 2022. It isnt clear if Fauci has officially stepped down yet. Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends an event with First Lady Jill Biden to urge Americans to get vaccinated ahead of the holiday season during a COVID-19 virtual event with AARP in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Dec. 9, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) In August 2022, both Fauci and NIAID said that he would be stepping down from his federal positions by the end of December. As of Jan. 1, NIAIDs website still listed Fauci as the director of the agency. At the end of this month, NIAID said in a statement in December, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID, will step down from the role hes held since 1984. Fauci said in the statement that while hes moving on from his current position, he is not retiring. After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field, Fauci said. The Epoch Times contacted the federal health agency on Friday for comment about Faucis current status. Republicans in Congress have strongly criticized Fauci over his agency providing funds to a third-party research organization to study bat coronaviruses at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 emerged. In 2021, some U.S. intelligence officials released an inconclusive report saying they believe the coronavirus had emerged from the laboratory. In December, Fauci told The Guardian that his agency used its best judgment and our analysis of what was going on when making recommendations on the U.S. COVID-19 response. He said that nobody got it completely 100-percent right and, citing a situation of a New York City hospital getting overrun, he contended, you had to do something pretty significant to slow that down. Zachary Stieber, Jack Phillips, Eva Fu, and Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report. Disneyland Institutes Changes for Prices, Park-Hopping Citing customer complaints about prices and park-hopping restrictions instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney Parks Chairman Josh DAmarco indicated changes of such are coming in an open letter to employees on Jan. 10. Im in the parks fairly often and I listen to you and to our guests about the things that are working as well as the things that might need some change, DAmaro wrote. Chief among complaints from customers, according to DAmaro, include recent park price increases, as well as time limits for so-called park hopper tickets, which allow daily access to both Disneyland and California Adventure. Restrictions allowing such only after 1 p.m. were instituted after the parks reopened from a year-long closure in 2021 to control crowd sizes. Starting Feb. 4, DAmaro said park hopping can begin at 11 a.m. Prior to pandemic restrictions, there were no time restrictions. The company also announced both Anaheim parks would add nearly 60 days in 2023 in which visiting either park for a day would be $104the lowest price in the companys tiered pricing system. Elon Musk Rejected in Bid to Move Tesla Tweet Trial to Texas SAN FRANCISCOA federal judge on Friday rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musks bid to move or delay a trial over a misleading tweet about a potential buyout of the electric automaker. The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen came during a hearing held in San Francisco federal court to go over the final details of a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection. Musks attorneys last week asked Chen to transfer the trial to a federal court in Texas, where Tesla moves its headquarters in 2021, arguing that negative coverage of Musk since his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October had poisoned the jury pool in the San Francisco Bay Area. But Chen brushed aside those concerns Friday, and expressed confidence that a panel of impartial jurors could be drawn from a region populated by millions of people. He also noted that a jury was pulled together for trial in the highly publicized criminal trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, whose transformation from a Silicon Valley star to accused swindler was the subject of an HBO documentary and book before those proceedings began in nearby San Jose, California. Holmes, 38, is now facing more than 11 years in federal prison of being convicted of investor fraud and conspiracy. Musks upcoming trial revolves around a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of Tesla shareholders who allege they were duped by a n Aug. 7, 2018 tweet in which he indicated he had lined up financing for a Tesla buyouta deal that never materialized and resulted in a $ 40 million settlement with U.S. securities regulators. Chen already has determined that Musks buyout tweet was false, leaving it to a jury to decide whether he acted recklessly by posting it and whether it caused financial harm to Tesla shareholders. After adjusting for two stock splits made since 2018, Teslas shares are now worth nearly six times more than at the time of Musks tweets about the bogus buyout. Teslas stock was even worth even more before Musk decided to buy Twitter for a price that even he conceded was far more than the company was worth. Teslas shares, currently hovering around $120, have lost nearly half their value since Musk took control of Twitter, partially affecting investor concerns that he is spending too much time running privately held Twitter instead of focusing at the automaker responsible for most of his fame and wealth at a time its facing tougher competition. Musk, 51, has said he will step down as Twitters CEO as soon as he can find a replacement, but has not set a timetable for handing off the reins. To help reduce Twitters losses and reduce the massive debt stemming from the purchase, Musk has laid off about half of that companys staff and is facing allegations of refusing to pay the rent at some offices. Media coverage of mass layoffs and other cutbacks at Twitter were one of the main reasons that Musks lawyer, Alex Spiro, argued for the trial to be moved or at least delayed until the backlash to the harsh measures died down. But the lawyers representing Tesla shareholders in the case argued Musk only has himself to blame for any negative perceptions, largely because of his frequent activity on Twitter, the social media platform that he now owns and runs. For better or worse, Musk is a celebrity who garners attention from the media around the globe, the shareholders attorneys wrote in their 19-page opposition to the transfer request. His footprint on Twitter alone is partially to blame for that. If negative attention was all that was required to disqualify a jury pool, Musk would effectively be untriable before a jury given his knack for attracting negative coverage. After sifting through about 200 juror questionnaires submitted earlier this week, Spiro argued many of them were peppered with derogatory remarks about Musk that underscored how difficult it will be for him to get a fair trial. Some of those unflattering remarks surfaced during Fridays hearing as Chen pored through the questionnaires in preparation for Tuesdays jury selection. The judge disqualified jurors who he said had variously described Musk as an idiot and a buffoon. Ex-Capitol Police Chief Acknowledges Jan. 6 Command Failures, Decries Delays, National Guard Red Tape Steven Sund praises officers, calls whistleblower lieutenant's Jan. 6 actions 'pretty heroic' Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Senate Rules and Administration joint hearing on Feb. 23, 2021, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sunds new book-length reflection on Jan. 6 addresses the command failures that happened during the protests and rioting while decrying the bureaucratic red tape that kept the National Guard from reaching the Capitol until the trouble was largely over. Sund, 57, who was forced to resign almost immediately after Jan. 6, is out with his own story, unfiltered by government bureaucracy or stifled by Capitol Hill politicians. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Sund said he felt it was time to set the record straight. I wrote an eight-page letter to leadership in Congress to try and describe to them what I thought were some of the big issues that happened that daygot zero responses, Sund said. I sent a second follow-up email, got one response. I was seeing an erroneous history being written by people out there and people didnt know the facts, he said. My officers didnt know what happened up there [in the Command Center]. What were some of the issues I faced. I wanted to defend them for some of the stuff that people were saying that they were doing. They were being vilified. Until Jan. 8, 2021, Sund led one of the 30 largest police departments in America, with more than 1,800 sworn officers and more than 500 civilian employees. He was seemingly an easy scapegoat after the Jan. 6 protests led to thousands of people in the Capitol and significant violence in and outside the building. Even some of the lawmakers on Capitol Hill came out against my officers, saying theyre racist, complicit, you know, things like that, Sund said. That could not be farther from the truth. Matter of fact, the very next morning at 10 oclock I put out a statement saying I couldnt be prouder of my officers. Then I got torn away from the department I absolutely love, he said. So I felt it was necessary for my officers to, you know, understand the truth that I faced. But also for someone to stand up. Ill tell you, the outpouring of support from them tells me everything I need to know. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Sund did not shy away from the failures of the day. He said intelligence failure was a crucial issue. Information that was available at the time was not shared, so planning was not robust enough. Intelligence about possible violent groups in the crowd would have impacted planning decisions such as the type of barricades and fences used. Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images) If the intelligence had been more accurate, we would have been able to have better physical security there that day, Sund said. Without a doubt. Sund said although he had no access to recordings of the radio communications from Jan. 6, he now knows there were problems in the Command Center on the 7th floor of USCP headquarters on D Street in Washington. I address that in the book, that there definitely seems to be a breakdown of command in the Command Center of monitoring the radio communication, just overall incident command, Sund said. Sund said he read The Epoch Times Jan. 10 investigation that described how then Lt. Tarik K. Johnson tried in vain to get authorization from Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman to begin evacuating Congress. Johnsons pleas over the radio were not answered, so he initiated the evacuation of both houses of Congress on his own. Johnson said the silence from the Command Center crippled his efforts all afternoon. I think what TK [Johnson] did was pretty heroic, Sund said. Again, I havent listened to the audio tapes. From what you have in the article, you know, he attempted numerous times over the radio to get guidance. When he didnt get it, he went ahead and initiated his own action. Thats something that I wish I would have been more aware of, Sund said. Delayed Evacuations Johnson told The Epoch Times that had the Command Center acted earlier based on his requests, both the Senate and House would have evacuated sooner, and the deadly shooting of Ashli Babbitt, 35, by USCP Lt. Michael Byrd might not have occurred. I made the evacuation order at approximately 2:28 p.m. for the Senate, and then I did it maybe six to eight minutes later for the House, Johnson said. [Byrd] should not have been put in that situation. Had the evacuation occurred earlier, Lt. Michael Byrd would not have been there, and Ashli Babbitt would have met a vacated lobby, Johnson said. Sund said the decisions on evacuation should have been made well before the period between 2:15 p.m. and 2:28 p.m. when congressional leaders and then the Senate were evacuated. When we saw that, even on the east front, we were overwhelmed with personnel that are starting to break through our lines, it was pretty clear that we were getting close to losing the Capitol, he said. We waited until 2:13 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to begin to evacuate, the Senate at 2:28 p.m., the House finally evacuated galleries and chambers at 2:57 p.m. I think I think we waited too long. The Command Center, were in the positionmy two assistant chiefs and myselfto see that from a higher level, Sund said. We should have pulled the trigger on that a lot earlier. Sund said the USCP Command Center should have transitioned to a system more conducive to managing the chaos of multiple events. The Command Center should have transitioned into an area command structure, Sund said. Because we had a number of different things going on. We had the certification of the Electoral College going on inside the Capitol. We had fights raging on the west front and the east front, he said. The area command should have been able to make sure those will be managed appropriately. Members of the National Guard and the Washington police stand guard to keep demonstrators away from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images) The truly dark cloud of the afternoon on Jan. 6 was trying to secure help from the D.C. National Guard, he said. Sund made repeated calls to the House and Senate sergeants at arms and the Department of Defense but was met with delays, resistance, and excuses. The result was that National Guard boots did not hit the Capitol sidewalks until after 5:30 p.m. when the crowds had mostly dispersed. There was resistance to the optics of troops at the Capitol from House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving and some officials at the Pentagon, he said. The whole idea of resistance for that reason was very perplexing, he said. I do think politics plays a role in it, Sund said. I just think the images of my men and women fighting their behinds off and not getting any assistance, I think its a far worse image than military being on Capitol grounds. Then when they finally arrived, what do they do? They line up to take a picture with the Capitol in the background. Very optic. The multiple calls to the Department of Defense and the resulting delays stood in marked contrast to mutual aid that came in the form of 1,700 officers from 17 area law-enforcement agencies that rushed from as far away as New Jersey to shore up Capitol Police, Sund said. He activated the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Mutual Aid Pact at about 1:50 p.m. Its just ironic, he said. New Jersey State Police arrived before D.C. National Guardand D.C. National Guard is less than two miles from my headquarters. Classic Mob Attack Sund echoed some of the testimony given in federal court on Jan. 11 by USCP Capt. Carneysha Mendoza who said the leading edges of some of the large groups that came to Capitol included well-trained, violent provocateurs. I look at it as your classic mob attack, Sund said. I do think that you had some core groups of people in there that had come with a mission and activated other people within the group, you know, maybe some to a greater degree, some to a lesser degree. But I do think you had a core group in there that really got in and tried to activate the group into a mob mentality, he said. Sund said he wrote Courage Under Fire to be as politically neutral as possible, a contrast to some other Jan. 6 tomes that were so politicized. You shouldnt know my political leanings when I pull you over, or when I come up to do a First Amendment demonstration, or come into someones house to handle something, Sund said. Im a police officer there to provide a public service, especially law enforcement that handles multiple First Amendment demonstrations around the Capitol, he said. People should not know your personal political leanings. My only ambition has been to engrave my name at the feet of great men and in the service of grand ideas, wrote Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi circa 1880. New York Public Library Archives. (Public Domain) Today, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is most known for one colossal sculptural work that he called La Liberte Eclairant le Monde. We know it as the Statue of Liberty. The 151-foot-tall bronze neoclassical statue has stood on its pedestal overlooking New Yorks harbor since 1886. The huge statue, a representation of the Roman goddess Libertas, is supported by an iron framework built by Gustave Eiffel, who is most noted for his famous tower in Paris. While he was designing the Statue of Liberty, Bartholdi visited New York Harbor in 1871 and noted that Bedloes Island commanded a prominent position. He would place the statue atop star-shaped Fort Wood, built in 1806 and named much later for a hero of the War of 1812. Rising from the center of the 11-pointed star, a pedestal designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt supports the statue. In 1846, Hunt studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paristhe finest school of architecture in the worldwhere he learned the academic architectural style referred to as beaux-arts. Popular during the middle to late 19th century, the beaux-arts style drew upon the principles and aesthetics of French neoclassicism while incorporating elements from the architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque period. Hunt introduced the beaux-arts architecture to America, designing mansions for families like the Vanderbilts and many public buildings. It was on the 1871 trip to America that Bartholdi met Hunt in Newport, Rhode Island. He also met Frederick Law Olmsted in New York. Olmsted, the American landscape architect, was currently proposing a design for a fountain in a Central Park project, which would be the first of many commissioned urban park designs in America. Bartholdi was even introduced to President Ulysses S. Grant. Fascinated with the American way of life, he embarked on a journey by rail across the country. He visited Niagara Falls, continued on to Detroit, and arrived in Chicago in August of that year. He was impressed with the robust growth evident in that citycalling it most American. It was there that Bartholdi gazed upon the original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been given by Abraham Lincoln to the Chicago History Museum. He returned to France, eager to begin work on his American colossus. Idealizing the Colossus Lady The 151-foot-tall bronze neoclassical statue has stood on its pedestal overlooking New Yorks harbor since 1886. Drawing and design of the Statue of Liberty, 1884. Library of Congress. (Public Domain) The idea for the statue was first put forth by Edouard de Laboulaye, a French historian. Both Laboulaye and Bartholdi were members of the Union Franco-Americaine, a group dedicated to the ideals of independence and liberty that both republics shared. As the centennial of the American Revolution approached, Laboulaye suggested presenting the United States with a gift commemorating the alliance of France and the United States in the War of Independence. Bartholdi presented his drawings of a colossal lady whose upheld torch would serve as a lighthouse. There are accounts that say that Bartholdi modeled the statue after his mother, Charlotte. He said as much to French Senator Jules Bozerian. It would be a gift from the people of France. It was not funded by the government, but by private donations. The French people would eventually raise more than 1,000,000 francs, but the Americans would have to fund the building of a suitable base, which took many years. By the time of the American Centennial, only the hand and torch had been constructed. Bartholdi and the torch traveled to the Centennial International Exhibitionthe first Worlds Fair to be held in the United Statesin Philadelphias Fairmount Park, 1876. Richard Morris Hunt had designed the main exhibition building where it was shown. The image on the left is an architectural drawing of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, 1882, by Richard Morris Hunt. Graphite on tracing paper. Library of Congress. (Public Domain) The image on the right shows the head (R) of the Statue of Liberty on display at Champ-de-Mars, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1878. Library of Congress. (Public Domain) At the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Bartholdi exhibited the torch and the head as well. Still, funding was slow coming in, especially by the Americans for the base. But in 1883, self-made newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer would take up the cause. He took a dig at the Gilded Age millionaires, saying that each of them has the means to make a check to pay the full amount required without having the impression of having spent a dollar. Pulitzer thus chided the rich and won the common man to the cause. More than 10 years after the centennial, the crated statue was finally delivered to Bedloes Island, assembled, and dedicated. Barholdi traveled to New York for the ceremony in 1886. The colossal hand and torch of Bartholdis Statue of Liberty at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876. New York Public Library. (Public Domain) American poet Emma Lazarus was inspired by Bartholdis great sculpture to write The New Colossus in 1883. The poem was written as part of an art and literature auction to raise money for the pedestal construction. In 1903, her words were cast on a bronze plaque that was installed at the base of the statue: Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! Cries she With silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! The Commemoration of Liberty on Two Shores In 1886, thousands of spectators gathered in boats near Bedloes Island for the dedication of the statue. Unveiling the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, 1886, by Edward Moran. Oil on canvas. Museum of the City of New York, N.Y. (Public Domain) When Bartholdi made his final trip to America in 1893, his name had become a household word. He took passage to America on the French steamer La Champagne. Forty-seven members of the French Society of Engineers were on board. As the ship made its way into the harbor, they cheered in unison. Bartholdi, thinking that the statue was not quite visible enough since the copper had darkened, entertained the notion of covering it with gold. Unwittingly he stepped into an American financial argument, the gold versus silver standard, as the country struggled through a depression. The newspapers had a field day with it. The statue was never gilded, eventually weathering to the familiar green copper color. Bartholdi, the sculptor, had another vision. He wanted to build a kind of Pantheon for the glories of American Independence. He wanted to surround the Statue of Liberty with a whole host of American notables, beginning with sculptures he had created of Washington and Lafayette at the behest of Joseph Pulitzer. These sculptures were not as large as Liberty, but closer to life-sized representations, and were exhibited at the Worlds Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago Worlds Fair) in 1893. Bartholdis Washington and Lafayette statue in the Place des Etats-Unis, Paris. (NeydtStock/Shutterstock) But the reception of these works was tepid. The New York Times presented a less than complimentary critique of the work, suggesting that the figure of Washington should have been bigger, since he was a man of exceptional height. With little enthusiasm being shown for the statue in America, Pulitzer gave the sculpture to the city of Paris. It was installed in the Place des Etats-Unis (United States Square) on Dec. 1, 1895. In attendance was a representative of Lafayettes family, as well as other important people. On April 19, 1900, Charles Baltzell Rouss presented the city of New York with a replica casting of Washington and Lafayette. Though there would be no American Pantheon, Bartholdi created on a smaller scale, on two shores, a commemoration of something grand. He celebrated the deep friendship of these two patriots whose love of liberty gave us our country. Grid Operator PJM Probes US Power Supply Woes During December Storm A vehicle from the National Grid near the downed wires of an electric power pole, following a winter storm that struck the region, in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 25, 2022. (Jason Murawski Jr/Instagram/via Reuters) NEW YORKThe largest U.S. power-grid operator is probing why suppliers were unable to deliver needed power during a late December storm when customers narrowly avoided outages as freezing temperatures descended, officials said on Thursday. Generators that were unable to deliver increased electricity during three peak demand days in late December could face about $2 billion in penalties, stakeholders and analysts said. Grid operator PJM Interconnection oversees supply in a 13-state region, managing and paying on-call generators to keep power systems running. When generators fail to meet supply, they may be required to pay the grid operator for replacement power. PJM officials said on Thursday that more than 90 percent of the generators that fell short gave less than an hours notice during winter Storm Elliott. PJM acknowledged it underestimated demand by about 10 percent. About 70 percent of the units that were short were natural gas-fired generators, some that suffered pipeline fuel losses from the Marcellus-Utica shale region, said Brian Fitzpatrick, a fuel supply analyst at PJM. There just was not enough upstream supply to match the demand, Fitzpatrick said. The operator serves a territory that spans New Jersey to Illinois and Washington. It plans to release in April a report on its investigation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corp., the main power system regulators, have launched a broader investigation into problems with the operations of the bulk-power system during the freeze. Grid operators in New England, which suffered among the worst power outages of any major region during the cold blast, also blamed on-call generators for failure to meet demand, leading to $39 million in fines. PJMs supply shortages could trickle down to ratepayers, research firm ClearView Energy Partners said in a note. It has called into question the functionality of markets. We think that significant upward bill impactsshould they materializecould further fuel the ongoing debate as to whether PJMs capacity market is working as intended, ClearView Energy Partners said. By Laila Kearney Gun Control Tightens as Biden Admin Announces New Rule on Stabilizing Braces Smith and Wesson handguns are displayed during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, on May 5, 2018. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The Justice Department (DOJ) has announced a new rule targeting pistol attachments known as stabilizing braces, the latest step in implementing President Joe Bidens desire to see tighter gun control. DOJ said in a press release on Jan. 13 that it has submitted the final rule to the Federal Register, formalizing the regulation that Biden pushed for in April 2020 after it was found that a shooter who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, used a stabilizing brace. Under the new rule (pdf), anyone manufacturing, selling, or using stabilizing bracesdefined in the rule as devices that can be used to shoulder-fire pistols like riflesmust now comply with laws regulating short-barreled rifles, including background checks for transfers and additional taxation. Stabilizing braces, which the National Rifle Association says were originally designed to help disabled veterans fire large format pistols, make it easier to hit targets by reducing movement of the firearm and helping absorb recoil, making follow-up shots faster and more accurate. In some cases, these devices can also serve as a kind of shoulder stock to a short-stocked firearm and allow a shooter to shoulder a pistol and operate it like a short-barreled rifle. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) said that the rule does not affect stabilizing braces that are objectively designed and intended as a stabilizing brace for use by individuals with disabilities, and not for shouldering the weapon as a rifle. Such stabilizing braces are designed to conform to the arm and not as a buttstock, the agency said of devices that would be excluded from the new rule. Rule Takes Effect on Publication For decades, short-barreled riflesones that have barrels shorter than 16 incheshave been subject to strict regulations, including a law known as the National Rifle Act, which imposes additional requirements like background checks for all transfers, including private ones. ATF director Steven Dettelbach said in a statement that back in the days of Al Capone, Congress said that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other firearms because they have the greater capability like long guns, but are easier to conceal, like pistols. This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago, Dettelbach said, adding that some stabilizing braces have been designed to work like buttstocks rather than to strap onto the arm. Certain so-called stabilizing braces are designed to just attach to pistols, essentially converting them into short-barreled rifles to be fired from the shoulder. Therefore, they must be treated in the same way under the statute, he said. The rule goes into effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register, with a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers, and individuals to register any existing short-barreled rifles covered by the new rule tax-free. Any weapons with stabilizing braces or similar attachments that qualify them under the new rule as short-barreled rifles under the NFA must be registered no later than within 120 days, or modified by removing the brace and restored into a regular pistol, or turned into a local ATF office, or destroyed. Restrictions on stabilizing braces have been the subject of intense debate after the ATF proposed them in 2020. The rule has faced pushback from Republicans and gun-rights groups like the National Rifle Association, which pointed out they were originally designed for disabled veterans. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement that the egregious rule makes it harder for senior citizens and people with disabilities to defend themselves. He added that his office was evaluating our legal options. The Second Amendment Foundation said it would challenge the rule in a lawsuit. Gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety applauded the new rule move, saying gunmakers had exploited loopholes to make firearms more deadly. Gun Control By a Thousand Cuts Tim Harmsen, an Indiana-based firearms dealer, told The Epoch Times in an earlier interview that, in his view, the ATF has an ulterior motive with the new rule than reducing crime. Harmsen said its a strategy of gun control by a thousand cuts. The anti-gunners are playing the long game. They know they have time on their side, said Harmsen. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) has introduced a bill to remove these firearms from under ATF jurisdiction. Marshalls bill, S.4986, is titled the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act. (SHORT Act) The bill would remove short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other weapons from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. We now await the publishing of the Biden administrations rule attempting to turn millions of law-abiding citizens into felons unless they comply with the ATFs vague reinterpretation of what constitutes a short-barreled rifle, despite Congress taking no action to amend Federal law on this matter. My bill is the only way to ensure the Constitutional rights of gun owners are protected against the ATFs reckless abuse of the NFA to justify its pistol brace rule, said Marshall. The number of Americans impacted is difficult to determine. The ATF estimates that 3 million pistol braces have been sold. Second Amendment advocates say the number is closer to 40 million. Gun Control Push On the campaign trail and since taking office, Biden has pledged to get tougher on guns, citing the need to curb gun-related violence. Biden has publicly said he would back measures that ban magazines that carry 10 rounds or morewhich are very common and are owned by millions of Americansand so-called assault weapons, a term that some Republicans have said isnt clearly defined and intentionally vague to allow the gun-control net to be cast more widely. A widely cited study (pdf) released by the Department of Justice found that assault weapons were rarely used in gun crimes, but the DOJ concluded that the 1994 ban on them may have had a larger impact if it remained in place after 2004. For years, Biden and Democrats have sought to criminalize what they describe as high-capacity magazines, which also arent clearly defined, much like assault weapons. Legislation introduced in 2021 in the U.S. Senate would ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, mirroring regulations in a dozen states, including California and New York. The Department of Justice wrote in a 1999 report (pdf) that a 1994 federal ban on such magazines didnt lead to a significant drop in shootings or murders. In June 2022, Biden signed a gun control measure into law, representing the most sweeping gun law in decades. Key provisions of the legislation include expanding federal background checks for buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, adding incentives for states to adopt so-called red flag laws, expanding access to mental health programs, and enhancing school security in a bid to prevent mass shootings. Michael Clements and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. A Greene County man has been indicted for possession of fentanyl, among other charges, after officers found more than 10,000 fentanyl pills and a kilogram of fentanyl powder in his possession. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people, said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh in a statement. A Charlottesville grand jury on Wednesday also charged Trevail Stuart Woodson with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute those drugs; and possession of a firearm for drug trafficking. Court records indicate that the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the case in late 2022 along with the Jefferson Area Drug Task Force, a partnership between the Virginia State Police, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Nelson County Sheriffs Office. On Oct. 6, JADE officers executed a search warrant at Woodsons residence, records show. During the search, officers said they recovered 10,181 Fentanyl pills, 1.1 kilograms of fentanyl powder, over 5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 360 grams of cocaine and nearly a kilogram of heroin. In addition, law enforcement officials said they recovered six firearms, including an AR-style rifle, and $12,885 in cash. Fentanyl continues to flood our country at an alarming rate and our Virginia communities are not immune from its devastation, Jarod Forget, the DEA special agent in charge for the administrations Washington division, said in a statement. By arresting Mr. Woodson and removing this poison from our streets, we are effectively saving many lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The synthetic drug was developed pharmaceutically to control intense, nearly overwhelming pain, such as pain that immediately occurs after open-heart surgery and cancer pain. In recent years, the drug has been illicitly manufactured and sold, leading to tens of thousands of deaths from overdose. For the 12 months ending January 2022, the CDC reported 107,000 Americans died from drug overdose. Almost two-thirds of those, or 71,450, occurred from synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Huber is prosecuting the case. Leukemia is a term that scares many people. It is commonly known as blood cancer and is a malignant disease involving the blood system. But is leukemia truly incurable and fatal? How has leukemias treatment method and its effectiveness progressed in recent years? The Epoch Times interviewed Michael Andreeff, a professor of medicine in the Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, regarding the above questions. This article is written and organized based on the content of the interview. Classification and Diagnosis Methods of Leukemia Leukemia can be divided into two groups, chronic and acute, and it can be further divided into lymphocytic leukemia and myelogenous leukemia according to its cell of origin. Therefore, in general, there are four main types of leukemia: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The causes and gene mutations of these four types of leukemia are all differentthey are not related to one another and have great differences, and their treatment and prognosis are also completely different. The symptoms of leukemia are not distinct. Patients may feel tired or bleed for no apparent reason. It may not be discovered until a doctor checks the blood counts and finds that they are not normal. A blood count measures the number of three types of cells in the blood: red blood cells (which contain hemoglobin) that carry oxygen, white blood cells that protect against infection, and platelets that stop bleeding. White blood cells and red blood cells in the blood. (Shutterstock) Leukemia patients may have at least three or four abnormalities in their blood count. For example, their hemoglobin levels may be low, which can cause the patients to feel tired because there is not enough oxygen in the blood. Their white blood cell count may also be too low or too high. Low white blood cell counts indicate that patients do not have enough cells to fight infection and are prone to fevers, which require prompt treatment and can be fatal. On the other hand, an influx of abnormal leukemia cells produced by the bone marrow and released into the blood can cause a high white blood cell count. The platelet count may also be low. Some patients have very low platelet levels, leading to spontaneous bleeding without trauma. Blood count results alone are not enough to diagnose leukemia; a bone marrow test is also needed. Bone marrow tests can only determine the type of leukemia, but special tests (such as ones that look for mutated genes and abnormal chromosomes, immunophenotyping, etcetera) can also be performed. These special tests are conducted because there are many immunotherapies and gene-targeted therapies for leukemia. Chemotherapy Can Cause Leukemia Because we know so little about its causes, there is currently no feasible or complete way to prevent it, but we do know some of the risk factors that may lead to leukemia. These days, most cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy. A study found that patients who received chemotherapy for other cancers had a higher chance of developing leukemia in the future, and this is related to Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Significance, or CHIP cells. As people age, a small number of cells in the blood begin to turn abnormal and develop genetic mutations, but these cells are not abnormal enough to cause leukemia or other cancers. These are called CHIP cells. In such context, chemotherapy treatments for breast, ovarian, lung, and other cancers may transform CHIP cells into a preleukemic state, which may develop into leukemia in the future. For instance, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a precursor to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and MDS is often seen in patients receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors. Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders caused by abnormal production of blood cells in the bone marrow. (Shutterstock) As it seems patients who received chemotherapy for other cancers also have an increased risk of developing leukemia in the future, the current research trend is to replace chemotherapy with other methods, such as immunotherapy. Exposure to benzene has also been linked to acute myelogenous leukemia. Found in solvents used to wash and degrease machine parts, as well as in some glues used to treat such parts, benzene has been associated with a risk of leukemia. Radiation can also cause leukemia. Eight years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the number of confirmed cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia in the Hiroshima area reached its peak. It can be inferred that radiation-induced leukemia may take eight years or even longer to develop. X-rays and radiation used for medical diagnosis can also be a problem. Hence, while CT scans are useful, they should only be done when necessary. Additionally, certain lawn fertilizers have been linked to the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia or lymphoma. Most Cases of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Can Be Completely Cured Among the four types of leukemia mentioned above, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has made the most progress and has the best treatment effectiveness. Chromosomal abnormalities have long been noted in the leukemia cells of most CML patients. Such abnormalities were first discovered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hence the name the Philadelphia chromosome. It was not until 1982 that the gene mutation caused by the Philadelphia chromosome was discovered, and the mutation was confirmed to be a single-gene mutation. The first-generation drug targeting the abnormal gene was introduced in 2001 after extensive scientific research and clinical trials, and it instantly changed the three-and-a-half-year average life expectancy of CML patients at the time. Since then, the survival rate of CML patients has greatly increased, and today, the treatment success rate of the targeted therapy is almost 100 percent, which is simply a dream result. Gene mutations caused by the Philadelphia chromosome also exist in the leukemia cells of some ALL patients. The treatment success rate of such patients after receiving the targeted therapy is also very high. High Survival Rate for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Many Patients Remain Disease-Free in Remission Another type of leukemia with a long survival period is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which is mainly seen in the elderly, with the average age of patients being 70 years old. It is more common in Western countries and less common in Asian countries. Symptoms of CLL include swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, or groin, and an enlarged spleen. In addition, patients may have very high white blood cell counts. Doctors generally do not start treatment as long as the patient is in good condition. However, the approach is changing, and more doctors are considering early intervention for CLL. This is because the longer the waiting period, the more chromosomal and other molecular abnormalities become present in the patients leukemia cells. Currently, CLL can be treated with methods like chemotherapy and gene-targeted therapy. Chemotherapy has significantly improved the survival rate of patients, while gene-targeted therapy is effective for almost all CLL patients. It takes a longer observation period to determine whether a patient is completely cured, as CLL is inherently a slow-evolving chronic disease. Doctors tend to be conservative and will not claim that a patient is completely cured. However, CLL patients are expected to have a long life expectancy. Most CLL patients can stay in a leukemia-free remission state, and many of them will recover. Relapsed patients now have access to alternative medicines, which were not available 10 years ago. The Deadliest Leukemia Can Be Treated With Arsenic, With a Cure Rate of 90 Percent There is an extremely critical and dangerous subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) called acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In addition to abnormal white blood cells in the body, APL patients also have coagulation disorders. If left untreated, the patient usually bleeds to death within a few weeks, or even overnight. As a result, the early mortality rate of APL patients was up to 30 percent, and the overall survival rate was only 30 percent. This type of leukemia is also the most difficult to treat. Worse, these patients do not experience early warning symptoms, and they often say, Ive never been sick. However, the leukemia had been developing in their body for years; it simply did not cause symptoms until later on. Surprisingly, the drugs developed (pdf) to save the lives of APL patients are a form of the vitamin, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and the highly toxic substance arsenic trioxide (commonly known as arsenic). After clinical verification, all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic have become the standard drugs for treating APL all over the world, and they have indeed achieved the effect of stopping bleeding and saving patients lives. The cure rate of APL has reached 80 to 90 percent worldwide, and the effectiveness of the diseases treatment can only be described as miraculous. APL only accounts for 15 percent of the total number of AML patients, and great progress has been made in the treatment of the remaining AML patients. Different AML patients have mainly relied on two kinds of drug treatment for more than 50 years, and the cure rate is only about 20 to 25 percent. However, 10 new drugs have been approved by the FDA in the past three years, and the response rate of elderly AML patients to treatment has reached nearly 90 percent. Many patients are expected to be cured, though the exact results are still being observed. CAR-T Cell Therapy for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Is a Huge Progress The treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) still requires many sessions of chemotherapy, but it can be tolerated by childrens bodies and the cure rate is close to 90 percent, which is amazing. Treatment outcomes in adults with ALL are significantly worse than in children, but high remission rates can still be achieved. Patients in remission usually remain in good health, and there is no trace of leukemia on microscopic or molecular testing. In addition to chemotherapy, immunotherapy is an essential treatment method for ALL. One of the commonly used immune drugs is a monoclonal antibody that can be mass-produced. The antibody recognizes and binds to protein antigens on the cell surface, ultimately destroying the leukemia cells. Immunotherapy has significantly reduced the relapse and mortality rate of ALL patients. Natural killer cells kill cancer cells. (Shutterstock) Another emerging cancer treatment involves collecting a patients normal white blood cells, genetically modifying them, and then returning them to the patient. These cells, called CAR-T cells, kill leukemia cells. This treatment method for ALL has been approved by the FDA. It has been clinically proven that CAR-T cell therapy is effective in about half of ALL patients who do not respond to any other treatment, which is a huge improvement. Except for Some Types, the Cure Rate of Leukemia Is Increasing Year by Year Generally speaking, the cure rate of leukemia patients is increasing year by year, and a significant change in the survival curve can be seen every five years; some types of leukemia even reach a 90 percent cure rate. However, it is undeniable that the cure rate for some types of leukemia remains extremely low. For example, a type of leukemia with a mutation in the P53 gene barely responds to any current treatments. Even with drugs available, there is one big problem in leukemia treatment, and that is high drug prices. For example, a targeted drug for CML costs $100,000 per year in the United States. It takes an average of 20 years and a huge amount of capital for a drug to go from development to animal testing, to three phases of clinical trials, and eventually to FDA approval. Most people cannot afford such expensive drugs. Some patients have no choice but to travel to other countries in search of cheap generic drugs. However, it is possible to access free medicine in the United States. During the clinical trial phase of a drug (which usually lasts several years), patients participating in the trial are given free medication, including other standard drugs used in combination. Drug companies sometimes also provide free access to many drugs that have been approved by the FDA. While many patients can still obtain free drugs even if their insurance company does not cover their costs, this requires the cooperation of a professional team to fight for the patients access. Is It Worth Participating in a Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Leukemia? Many people think that participating in clinical trials and using new drugs that have not been approved by the FDA is tantamount to treating themselves as guinea pigs, but this is not the case. Patients will not die from the use of new drugs, only from cancer, Andreeff said. A lot of preliminary work is required before any new drug can enter large-scale clinical trials. A team of experts consisting of chemists, pharmaceutical chemists, and doctors works in the laboratory for years prior to a drug receiving approval. Every new clinical trial needs to be approved by the FDA before it can start, and there are many safeguards under the supervision of the FDA. Furthermore, doctors recommend experimental new drugs only when they think patients will benefit from them. Even if patients do not experience substantial therapeutic responses after participating in clinical trials, or the experimental new drug is not approved by the FDA in the end, participating in such clinical trials may prolong patients lives. Statistics have shown that patients participating in clinical trials live longer than those receiving standard treatment elsewhere. In specialized cancer centers with abundant information and resources, some cancer specialists have access to information about new drugs, and they already know the effectiveness of those drugs long before the FDA approves them. Even after new drugs are approved by the FDA, it may take a while before oncologists can start using them. As a doctor who works at a large specialized cancer center, Andreeff believes that it is best for patients to start treatment at one of these cancer centers, or at least consult the specialists there for a second opinion, so as not to miss out on treatment options that may be right for them. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis, can leave sufferers feeling tired, even after sleep, and may lead to problems with memory and concentration. CFS cases have exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic and some doctors are using novel methods to treat the conditionincluding ivermectin, which was called a wonder drug for human health before the pandemic. Nearly 80 Percent Report Post-COVID CFS A recent questionnaire-based study published in the journal Neurology International found that nearly 80 percent of patients with COVID-19 had one or more persistent symptoms post-infection and 58 percent met the case definition for CFS. Another analysis published by Fair Health showed that CFS was most common in those with severe COVID-19, but even among asymptomatic infections, 1 in 5 reported the condition. CFS had been described as early as 1934 and was associated with the Epstein-Barr virus in the 80s. Before developing symptoms, patients most frequently reported experiencing severe illness, surgery, an accident, or physical, psychological, or emotional trauma. Post-COVID fatigue and myalgic encephalomyelitis are two disorders that have a tremendous amount of overlap, Dr. Thomas Gut, medical director of the Post-COVID Recovery Center at Staten Island University Hospital, part of Northwell Health in New York, told The Epoch Times. Post-COVID-19 CFS, a condition that can be a symptom of long COVID, is characterized by prolonged, generalized, and abnormal fatigue after exercise that doesnt resolve after rest; recurrent headaches; and problems with concentration and memory that have lasted for at least six months. It may be accompanied by other symptoms, such as tender lymph nodes, musculoskeletal pain, sleep disruption, and psychiatric problems. The condition has also been identified as a potential adverse reaction to being vaccinated against COVID-19. CFS and its painful cousin fibromyalgia represent the tripping of a circuit breaker in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, a board-certified internist and nationally known expert in the fields of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, sleep, and pain, told The Epoch Times. It is not enough to simply turn the circuit breaker back on, Teitelbaum said. You also need to address what caused the circuit breaker to overload, and this varies dramatically from cause to cause. He pointed out that CFS can occur as a result of numerous stressors or after one of many infections besides COVID-19. These include: A stressful job or relationship Hormonal issues Other chronic infections Autoimmune disease Gut added that currently, the causes of long COVID and most post-COVID-19 neurocognitive changes are poorly understood and dont have a clear mechanism to explain the symptoms. There are many centers for treatment in the United States that have had some promising results in helping patients cope or alleviate some symptoms, but the approaches vary widely, Gut said. Unfortunately, were in the infancy of long-COVID research, and very few established treatment options exist outside of dedicated COVID recovery programs. Ivermectin May Help Post-COVID and Post-Vaccine CFS Ivermectin could help those living with post-COVID-19 CFS, Teitelbaum said. Research finds that ivermectin can be helpful during COVID-19 infection, despite the controversy surrounding it. It shows promise for treatments specific to long COVID as well. A recently completed clinical trial by drugmaker MedinCell evaluated the safety and efficacy of ivermectin tablets that were taken orally for 28 days, under the oversight of a U.S.-based independent data monitoring committee. Participants in the ivermectin group showed a statistically significant reduction of 72 percent in laboratory-confirmed infections between day 1 and day 28, versus a placebo. No adverse effects were associated with a daily intake of ivermectin of 200 microgram/kg on day 1, or of 100 microgram/kg daily from day 2 to day 28, during the study. However, people should be careful when taking ivermectin, since some are allergic to it, and potential side effects can include nausea, dizziness, and chest discomfort. It was unexpected, Teitelbaum said, but we have found that ivermectin is often very helpful in both long COVID and in post-COVID-vaccine CFS and fibromyalgia. I dont know why. I simply know from treating people that it does. He said he can offer speculations, but they would simply be theories. One study published in the American Journal of Therapeutics offers a hint. It finds that ivermectin exhibited antiviral activity against a wide range of RNA and DNA viruses, such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever, and others. The drug also showed specific action against SARS-CoV-2 in lab tests, with its potential mechanism of action being that it blocks viral proteins that suppress normal immune responses. Teitelbaum said that what differentiates post-COVID-19 patients with CFS from patients with non-COVID-19-induced CFS is that many improve considerably with the medication ivermectin. Besides ivermectin, there are many other approaches to treating post-COVID-19 CFS. Natural Ways to Fight CFS Research published in the Indian Journal of Tuberculosis finds that an effective CFS treatment is total restwhich means relaxing with no mental stimulation. Study authors say those who have experienced post-COVID-19 CFS described lying in a darkened room for long periods to promote mental and physical rest. Besides relaxation, they recommend using breathing and meditation apps and reducing any sensory input that makes you feel tense, such as noise and bright lights. Instead, expose yourself to things that are restful and relaxing, such as your favorite music or fragrance. Another study found that 1,000 mg of the supplement oxaloacetate reduced physical and mental fatigue for CFS and long-COVID patients after six weeks of treatment. Teitelbaum pointed out common supplements to treat CFS, which include: NAC (N-acetylcysteine) Glutathione A multivitamin with zinc Anti-inflammatories, such as highly absorbed curcumin and the herb Boswellia, that shut down inflammation and oxidative stress caused by the virus Using these, along with the SHINE protocol, has resulted in many people improving their fatigue symptoms and enjoying an increase in quality of life, Teitelbaum said. SHINE is an acronym for the five main areas of health that must be tended to. It stands for adequate Sleep, optimal Hormone levels, Immunity and underlying Infections, good Nutrition, and Exercise as able. Whether the CFS or fibromyalgia comes from COVID or other causes, these conditions are very treatable, Teitelbaum said. He emphasized that the problem isnt a lack of effective treatments but the lack of effective physician education because the conditions are complex and because these treatments are low cost. Getting older is a complicated business. As we age, trips to the doctor increasingly conclude with requisitions for different screeningstests meant to help diagnose potential problems and keep us healthy for the long haul. Although many tests used to detect cancer have been hailed as lifesaving miracles of modern medicine, some have a dark side. Concerns over the prolific use of mammograms for detecting breast cancer have been growing in the scientific community as journals publish research revealing that these tests come with their own risks. With roughly 70 percent of women in the United States older than 40 having mammograms at least every two years, it raises questions about their safety, whether information about potential dangers is being obscured, and who might really be benefitting from this widespread testing. What if millions of women are fueling a billion-dollar industry with ever-increasing profits by using screenings that not only havent improved outcomes but may be harming the women its supposed to save? Cancer in Our Society Cancer is pervasive and widely feared because of its relentlessness and brutality and also because of the grueling nature of many cancer treatments. The National Cancer Institute spends billions of dollars on cancer research each year and cancer fundraisers are a perennial activity in our communities. Virtually every cancer has a month dedicated to its awareness. October is breast cancer awareness month, which it politely shares with liver cancer awareness in the United States. As we get older, cancer is something we think about more, and our doctors push us to get tests and screenings to make sure cancer cells havent been seeded in our bodies. Breast Cancer Breast cancer deeply frightens many women (and yes, men can get it too). If you happen to be considered high-risk, screenings may start when youre in your early 20s. In the United States, mammograms are considered to be the gold standard of testing for breast cancer, and there are now 2D and 3D varieties for women to choose from. Mammograms use X-rays (a form of ionizing radiation) to take pictures of the breast. A machine is used in which a woman places her breast between two plates or paddles. Its then compressed, and x-ray images are captured. In a 2D mammogram, two images are taken, one from the top and one from the side, creating a 2D picture. In 3D, or tomosynthesis, the process is largely the same, using slightly more radiation and capturing additional images, creating a three-dimensional picture of the breast. Radiologists use the images to look for abnormalities, with breast cancer usually appearing as a white mass. If abnormalities are found, the patient is asked to come back for more tests, often an MRI, or to have a biopsy. Mammograms dont diagnose breast cancer. The only way to diagnose breast cancer after an abnormality is seen is to do a biopsy. Mammography: What You Should Know Mammography does have risks, which all women should be aware of. The two main concerns of mammography are radiation exposure and overdiagnosis. Because mammography uses a type of ionizing radiation, it comes with an inherent risk. Were all exposed to radiation every day. Some of that radiation, such as the ultraviolet and infrared rays of the sun, is essential to our health (in appropriate doses). But were well adapted to these natural, low levels of radiation. The same isnt true of man-made radiation. The ionizing radiation used in mammograms is much stronger than that emitted by natural sources. At high levels, ionizing radiation can harm our tissues and organs and lead to cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the dose of radiation a person receives from a mammogram is about the same amount of radiation people get from their natural surroundings in a three-month period. This is of concern because there are parts of the body that are particularly sensitive to radiation, and we should limit our exposure whenever possible. In fact, Cornell Universitys Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors states that the female breast is known to be highly susceptible to the cancer-causing effects of radiation when exposure occurs before menopause. A mammogram is directing this radiation not only at the breast but also at the other organs inside the chest, such as the heart and lungs. A cohort study published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2012 followed more than 500,000 women from 1973 until 2009. The study found that women who had received radiation treatment for breast cancer (high energy x-rays) had a significant increase in heart disease and lung cancer in the decades after their treatment. The study clearly demonstrates a progressive increase in both risk and mortality from radiation-related heart disease and lung cancer with time (into the third decade) after exposure to radiation. The study is one of many to raise questions about routine mammograms for women at low risk of breast cancer. Overdiagnosis The other issue with mammography is overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis is a concern because mammograms can detect abnormalities that may not be cancer or that are cancers that would have regressed on their own but are treated once theyre discovered. That means that many women are exposed to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery that may not have been needed. An article published in Public Health Research and Practice titled What Is Overdiagnosis and Why Should We Take It Seriously? offers a very good explanation of what overdiagnosis is and why its a problem, defining overdiagnosis this way: In cancer screening, overdiagnosed cancers are those that did not need to be found because they would not have produced symptoms or led to premature death. Overdiagnosis in cancer screening arises largely from the paradoxical problem that screening is most likely to find the slow-growing or dormant cancers that are least likely to harm us, and less likely to find the aggressive, fast-growing cancers that cause cancer mortality. This central paradox has become clearer over recent decades. The more overdiagnosis is produced by a screening program, the less likely the program is to serve its ultimate goal of reducing illness and premature death from cancer. An article published in The Lancet in 2013 argued that two 30- to 35-year-old randomized studies underestimated when they concluded that there was a 19 percent rate of overdiagnosis when screening with mammography. The articles author, Per-Henrik Zahl, a researcher with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health who has studied breast cancer overdiagnosis, argued that detection rates and the level of overdiagnosis have increased 100 percent or more as the sensitivity of mammograms has improved. Zahl noted that when screening was introduced in Sweden and Norway, there was a 50 percent increase in invasive breast cancer. The total increase in diagnoses in Norway was 75 percent. He concluded that almost all of the increase in cancer detection through screening was due to lesions that normally go into spontaneous regression. A comparative study published in the journal BMC Womens Health in 2009 set out to quantify overdiagnosis in the Danish mammography screening program. Denmark is unique because only 20 percent of the population has been offered mammography over an extended period. Incidence rates of carcinoma in situ (stage 0 breast cancer) and invasive breast cancer were collected in areas with and without screening over 13 years, and 20 years before its introduction. The study found that in the screened women, the overdiagnosis rate was 33 percent. A systematic review published in the British Medical Journal in 2009 tracked the incidence of breast cancer before and after the introduction of mammography screening in specific areasthe UK; Manitoba, Canada; New South Wales, Australia; Sweden; and parts of Norwayboth seven years before and seven years after public breast cancer screening programs were implemented. The review found that overdiagnosis was estimated at 52 percent and concluded that one in three breast cancers detected in a population that was offered screenings were overdiagnosed. As evidence of overdiagnosis has accumulated, its now recognized as the most serious downside of population-wide breast screening. What Women Think One of the main concerns with mammograms is that women may not be warned about the potential risks of and all the factors involved in breast cancer screenings. A cross-sectional survey of 479 women in the United States aged 18 to 97 published in the British Journal of Medicine set out to understand womens attitudes to and knowledge of false-positive mammography results, as well as the detection of ductal carcinoma in situ (a type of stage 0 breast cancer) after screening mammography. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is defined as the presence of abnormal cells inside the milk duct in the breast. DCIS, which is considered an early form of breast cancer, is noninvasive, meaning that its still isolated, hasnt spread out of the milk duct, and has a low risk of becoming invasive. The survey concluded that women were aware of false positives, seeming to view them as an acceptable consequence of screening mammography. In contrast, most women were unaware that screening can detect cancers that may never progress (ductal carcinoma in situ) and felt that that information was relevant. The study also found that only 8 percent of women thought mammography could harm a woman without breast cancer and 94 percent didnt realize (doubted) that mammograms could detect cancers that might not progress. Few of the women in the study knew about DCIS, but 60 percent of the women wanted to take into account the possibility that any cancer detected may not progress. Another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2013 looked at overdiagnosis and overtreatment of breast cancer and what physicians were telling patients about the risks of screening, specifically the possibility of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Less than 10 percent said they were told about the risks of mammograms by their physicians. Little more than half (51 percent) said they wouldnt agree to a screening if it resulted in one overtreated person per one life saved. These numbers imply that millions of Americans might not choose to be screened if they knew the whole story, but unfortunately, 90 percent arent getting that information. The Cancer Industry Recommendations In the United States, mammograms are the standard screening used to detect breast cancer, and doctors usually begin speaking to their women patients about mammograms at about age 40. Both the American College of Radiology and The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend women begin annual mammograms at age 40. The American Cancer Society recommends that annual screenings begin at 45 (then once every other year after 55), and the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends women begin mammograms every other year at age 50. Mammograms are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the standards for mammography machines and the people who provide them. The FDA has also released several warnings about using thermography instead of mammograms, reminding the public that mammography is still the most effective primary breast cancer screening test. Do Regular Mammograms Lead to Better Outcomes? The question becomes, do regular mammograms lead to better outcomes? Well, it would depend on how you define better outcomes. If were talking about detecting breast cancer, it seems the answer is most certainly yes. Mammograms seem to be an excellent tool for detecting breast cancer. But if we define better outcomes as fewer women dying of breast cancer, then we seem to have entered a different territory. An article, Mammograms and Mortality: How Has the Evidence Evolved? published in 2021 noted that a previous meta-analysis of mammogram studies revealed that mammograms have led to no significant reduction in all-cause mortality (death from any cause) for women of any age group. The article, by Amanda Kowalski, a health economist and the Gail Wilensky professor of applied economics and public policy at the University of Michigan Department of Economics, also noted that some trials even show imprecise increases in all-cause mortality across all age groups or within an age group. These findings were based on eight large randomized controlled trials that, combined, included more than 600,000 women. A very large Canadian randomized screening trial published in the British Medical Journal followed nearly 90,000 women aged 40 to 59 over 25 years who were considered at average risk for breast cancer. One group of women received routine mammograms and the other didnt. The somewhat surprising results were that mortality rates in both groups were almost identical. The overall conclusion of the study was that annual mammography in women aged 40 to 59 doesnt reduce mortality from breast cancer any more than a physical examination. The study also noted that they found that the overdiagnosis rate among the mammography participants was 22 percent. An analysis published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2015 concluded that mammograms have been promoted to the public with three promises that all seem to be wrong. The first is that they save lives, the second is that they save breasts, and the third is that they catch cancer early. The author, Peter C. Gotzsche, formerly with the Nordic Cochrane Center and co-founder of the influential Cochrane Collaboration, said mammogram screenings dont help women live longer, that they increase mastectomies, and that many cancers are still caught at a very late stage. Its a sentiment other researchers have also expressed. The time has come to reassess whether universal mammographic screening should be recommended for any age group because the declines in breast cancer mortality can be ascribed mainly to improved treatments and breast cancer awareness; currently, we see that screening has only a minor effect on mortality (if any), researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre wrote in the journal Radiology in 2011. In 2013, the Swiss Medical Boardan independent health technology assessment initiativewas asked to prepare a review of mammography screening. After a panel reviewed the available evidenceand contemplated its implications in detailthey were extremely concerned. The Swiss Medical Boards report was released on Feb. 2, 2014, and acknowledged that systematic mammography screening might prevent about one death from breast cancer for every one thousand women screened, even though there was no evidence that overall mortality was affected. It also emphasized the harm caused by mammography, specifically false-positive test results and the risk of overdiagnosis. The report cites the following statistics from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: For every breast-cancer death prevented in U.S. women over a 10-year course of annual screening beginning at 50 years of age, 490 to 670 women are likely to have a false positive mammogram with repeat examination; 70 to 100, an unnecessary biopsy; and 3 to 14, an overdiagnosed breast cancer that would never have become clinically apparent. Based on their findings, the board recommended that no new systematic mammography screening programs be introduced in Switzerland and that a time limit be placed on existing programs in the country, phasing them out entirely. (On The New England Journal of Medicines website, you can listen to an interview the journal conducted with Dr. Mette Kalager on the Swiss Boards recommendation and learn more about why they recommended phasing out routine mammography screening.) The Nordic Cochrane Centre, which is thought to be one of the worlds best and least-biased research institutions, conducted a systematic review to assess the effect of screening for breast cancer with mammography on mortality and morbidity. The trials they looked at included 600,000 women aged 39 to 74. The conclusions, published in 2013, are as follows: If we assume that screening reduces breast cancer mortality by 15 percent and that overdiagnosis and overtreatment is at 30 percent, it means that for every 2,000 women invited for screening throughout 10 years, one will avoid dying of breast cancer and 10 healthy women, who would not have been diagnosed if there had not been screening, will be treated unnecessarily. Furthermore, more than 200 women will experience important psychological distress including anxiety and uncertainty for years because of false positive findings. The studys authors, Gotzsche and Karsten Juhl Jorgensen, said women should be fully informed of both the benefits and harms. They went so far as to write an evidence-based leaflet in several languages to help women understand the risks. The Mammography Industry-Projected Earnings What might perhaps be interesting to know is that mammography is a multibillion-dollar industry. In September 2022, Vantage Market Research released a report that projected that earnings for the mammography market would be up to $3.2 billion by 2028 from $1.8 billion in 2021. Growing markets in Asia are expected to provide most of that expansion. The report attributes the huge growth in the region to the existence of a significant number of mammography companies, the high adoption rate due to government measures that stimulate the industry, and increasing collaborations between the mammography industry and governments in the region. Final Thoughts Success when it comes to breast cancer really depends on the outcome were trying to achieve. If its early detection, then we seem to be doing a stellar job. But if our goal is lowering mortality rates, we seem to be in a gray zone and possibly moving backward. With the present technologyand its increasing sensitivitywe seem to have created many more cancer patients, perhaps unnecessarily, and are keeping women in the dark about the dangers. Michael Baum, a professor emeritus of surgery and a visiting professor of medical humanities at University College London, is a British surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer treatment and one of the architects of the UKs national breast screening program. Baum went from being one of the most determined supporters of breast cancer screening to one of its most vocal opponents. In his book The History and Mystery of Breast Cancer, he explained why: The largest threat posed by American medicine is that more and more of us are being drawn into the system not because of an epidemic of disease, but because of an epidemic of diagnoses. The real problem with the epidemic of diagnoses is that it leads to an epidemic of treatments. Not all treatments have important benefits, but almost all can have harms. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here. Home Depot Adopts New Policy on How It Pays Employees Following Lawsuit The facade of The Home Depot store is seen in Evanston, Ill., on Feb. 17, 2005. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Home Depot announced a new policy regarding how it calculates employee wages, doing away with its earlier practice of rounding off time spent by employees at work and instead choosing to calculate based on the nearest minute spent by workers. Our policy has been to round total shift time up or down to the nearest 15 minutes, which has been a common industry practice for many years, Home Depot spokeswoman Sara Gorman told Business Insider. As laws, technology, and workplace practices continue to evolve, were changing our practice nationwide effective January 16, 2023, to pay hourly associates to the nearest minute based on exact time punches. Timesheet rounding, or rounding up or down the time put in by employees, is a practice that is permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Some industries, especially where time clocks are used, round up their employees starting and ending time to the nearest five minutes or to the nearest tenth or quarter of an hour. This arrangement presumably averages out so that employees end up getting fully compensated for the actual time they spend at work, according to FLSA. However, a rounding practice is only accepted if it is used in a manner that will not result in failure to compensate the employees for the time they have devoted to their work, the rule notes. Compensation Lawsuit Home Depots decision comes after it faced lawsuits from employees who criticized the companys rounding practices. In one class action lawsuit, plaintiffs argued that Home Depots rounding practice had resulted in failure to pay wages. In the trial court, Home Depot insisted that the rounding policy was neutral. The court agreed and observed that the system was used in a manner such that over a period of time, it will not result in failure to compensate employees properly for their work time. The plaintiffs appealed the case and the Sixth District California Court of Appeal reversed the decision in October 2022 stating that if an employer, as in this case, can capture and has captured the exact amount of time an employee has worked during a shift, the employer must pay the employee for all the time worked. The appeals court also observed that there is a complete absence of language in Californias Labor Code or applicable wage order that allows for rounding off time that results in an underpayment of employees. Home Depot argued that the rounding policy made it easier to generate verifiable wage statements and pay stubs that are easier for employees to decipher. However, the court also dismissed this argument stating that Home Depot cites no provision in California law that privileges arithmetic simplicity over paying employees for all time worked. Timesheet Rules There are some common rules regarding the time tracking of hourly employees that all U.S. states are expected to adhere to. Timesheet records must always clearly state the date and time when an employee starts and ends work together with the number of daily and weekly work hours. An employer cannot force an employee to work off the clock. This is considered illegal. If an employee is subject to such requirements, they can file a lawsuit for unpaid wages or complain to the Department of Labor. Hourly employees should be compensated for every hour they have put in at work. Though employers are allowed to alter a workers time card without the persons knowledge, the business has to ensure that the employee is paid for all the hours worked. Illegal Immigrant Influx Pushing NYC to Breaking Point, Warns Mayor Adams Crisis could cost city $2 billion, mayor says New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a Brooklyn police facility in New York, on June 6, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made an emergency aid request to the state in light of an illegal immigrant crisis that he says is bringing the city to its breaking point. Since last spring, around 40,000 illegal immigrants have been sheltered in New York Citys five boroughs, according to the mayor. The inflows have been rapidly growing, straining the citys resources, from shelter to food. Last week, the city received more than 3,100 illegal aliens, including 835 on Jan. 12the largest number of arrivals on a single day in the citys history. We are at our breaking point, Adams said on Jan. 13, adding that the city, after opening 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers, now faces an immediate need for additional capacity. The emergency mutual aid request, coming three months after Adams declared a state of emergency over the illegal immigrant surge, is reserved only for dire emergencies, he said. The initial request seeks help to shelter 500 illegal aliens, but Adams noted the number could go up as New York City continues to see numbers balloon. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as well as Democrats in El Paso, Texas, have been busing illegal immigrants to New York. Earlier this month, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, also began to clear illegal aliens from his state by transporting them to places like Chicago and New York, although he stopped doing so following complaints from the Democratic mayors of both cities. Nearly 70,000 people sleep in New York Citys shelter facilities on a given night (pdf). On Jan. 12, Adams said he expects the city to have 100,000 people in its care, between the illegal alien influx and the homeless population. About 11,000 illegal immigrant children have entered the citys public schools. The price tag from the influx could be anywhere from $1.5 billion to $2 billion, the mayor claimedtwice what he previously requested from the Biden administration to address the issue. People walk across the Rio Grande to surrender to U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 13, 2022. (Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images) The strain on our infrastructure is just immense. I cannot tell you how much of an impact this is having on our abilities to provide basic services for everyday New Yorkers, Adams said during a radio interview on Jan. 12. And we have to ask ourselves were already dealing with a potential of $5 [billion] to $6 billion budget deficit in the outer years, where does that money come from? That money comes from our schools, it comes from our public safety, our hospitals, our infrastructure, our ACS services, he said, referring to the citys child care assistance programs. Those are our tax dollars that its coming from. Citing a lack of a real national response, he called the situation inhumane and irresponsible. The city has received $8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $2 million from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but the amount pales in comparison to the $366 million the city spent on aid to illegal immigrants in 2022, according to Budget Director Jacques Jiha. Adams traveled to El Paso on Jan. 14, making multiple stops along the U.S.Mexican border before heading back to New York on Jan. 15. New York Gov. Kathy Hochuls office didnt respond to a request for comment. Indonesia Sends Warship to Monitor Chinese Coast Guard Vessel A security ship crew of Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries prepares to anchor in Natuna during a security patrols along Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in Natuna, Ranai, Indonesia, on Aug. 16, 2016. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) JAKARTAIndonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the countrys naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own. Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since Dec. 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters. A warship, maritime patrol plane, and drone had been deployed to monitor the vessel, Laksamana Muhammad Ali, the chief of the Indonesian navy, told Reuters. The Chinese vessel has not conducted any suspicious activities, he said. However, we need to monitor it as it has been in Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for some time. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Jakarta was not immediately available for comment. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) gives vessels navigation rights through an EEZ. The activity comes after an EEZ agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam, and approval from Indonesia to develop the Tuna gas field in the Natuna Sea, with a total estimated investment of more than $3 billion up to the start of production. In 2021 vessels from Indonesia and China shadowed each other for months near a submersible oil rig that had been performing well appraisals in the Tuna block. Southeast Asias biggest nation says that under UNCLOS, the southern end of the South China Sea is its exclusive economic zone, and named the area as the North Natuna Sea in 2017. The Chinese regime rejects this, saying the maritime area is within its expansive territorial claim in the South China Sea marked by a U-shaped nine-dash line, a boundary the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague found to have no legal basis in 2016. Investigation Panel Disapproves Georgias Takeover of Fulton Countys Elections A Fulton County employee moves voting machine transporters to be stored at the the Fulton County Election Preparation Center in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 4, 2020. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images) Georgia is not recommended to take over Fulton Countys elections, a panel appointed by the State Election Board said. The panel observed substantial improvements in Fulton County elections and identified several areas for further improvements. Its not recommended for the state of Georgia to replace the Fulton County Election Board, the panel concluded. Replacing the board would not be helpful and would in fact hinder the ongoing improvements to Fulton County elections, the Performance Review Board said in a report (pdf) on Friday. The report was first obtained by Georgia Public Broadcasting. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger gives an update on the state of the election and ballot count during a news conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 6, 2020. (Dustin Chambers/Reuters) Fulton Countywhere most of Atlanta city is located and one of every ten voters of Georgia livesis known for election-related issues. After its chaotic primary election in June 2020, the State Election Board was pressed to appoint Seven Hills Strategies, a consulting company, to review the elections in Fulton County. Besides the hiring of Seven Hills Strategies, the Georgia State Election Board also established a Performance Review Board on Aug. 18, 2021, to conduct a comprehensive review of Fulton County elections after the Peach State passed a sweeping election law SB 202 in March 2021. SB 202 allows the state election authority to establish a review board per request from certain parties and suspend up to three county-level elections boards for at least nine months. Three officials were appointed to the Performance Review Board including Stephen Day, member and former chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Elections; Ryan Germany, general counsel for the Office of the Secretary of State; and Rickey Kittle, chair of the Catoosa County Board of Elections. Findings of the Panel Report The Performance Review Board said that the three members contributed hundreds of hours to observe the Fulton County elections after the panel was set up. The Carter Center also contributed around 4,000 people-hours to these efforts. They observed significant improvement from the 2020 election and gave positive reviews about the works of the County Managers Office in Fulton County and the elections staff. Several areas were identified by the panel to improve further. Poll officials need more training to understand the benefits of checking seals and properly filling out recap sheets. The officials also need more training for related procedures. Employees of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections process ballots in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 4, 2020. (Brandon Bell/Reuters) The county also needs to ensure that all memory cards with votes are uploaded. In the May 2022 Primary Election, just like in the November 2021 Municipal Election, the Secretary of States office noticed that Fulton County did not upload all memory cards that contained votes, reads the panel report. its something that should not have happened and, at the very least, should have been caught with basic reconciliation checks. The panel urged the Fulton County Elections Board to complete the suggested improvements before the 2024 presidential election cycle. Georgia will be a competitive state in next years elections, so election preparation needs to recognize that Fulton Countys actions will be heavily scrutinized by political parties, campaigns, candidates, and activist groups, the panel said. Iran Executes BritishIranian Accused of Spying, Prompts Western Condemnation Alireza Akbari, Iran's former deputy defense minister, speaks during an interview with Khabaronline in Tehran, Iran, in this undated picture obtained on Jan. 12, 2023. (Khabaronline/WANA/Handout via Reuters) DUBAI/LONDONIran has executed a British-Iranian national who once served as its deputy defense minister, its judiciary said, defying calls from London and Washington for his release after he was handed the death sentence on charges of spying for Britain. Britain, which had declared the case against Alireza Akbari politically motivated, condemned the execution, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling it a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime. Akbari, 61, was arrested in 2019. The Iranian judiciarys Mizan news agency reported the execution without saying when it had taken place. Late on Friday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had urged Iran not to follow through with the sentence. Also condemned by the United States and France, the execution looks set to further worsen Irans long-strained relations with the West, which have deteriorated since talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal hit deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters last year. In an audio recording purportedly from Akbari and broadcast by BBC Persian on Wednesday, he said he had confessed to crimes he had not committed after extensive torture. Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption on earth and extensive action against the countrys internal and external security through espionage for the British governments intelligence service was executed, Mizan said. The Mizan report accused Akbari of receiving payments of 1,805,000 euros ($1.95 million), 265,000 pounds ($323,989.00), and $50,000 for spying. Cleverly said in a statement the execution would not stand unchallenged. He later announced Britain had summoned the Iranian Charge dAffaires, imposed sanctions on Irans prosecutor general, and temporarily withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran for further consultations. It marks a rare case of the Islamic Republic executing a serving or former senior official. One of the last occasions was in 1984, when Iranian navy commander Bahram Afzali was executed after being accused of spying for the Soviet Union. British statements on the case have not addressed the Iranian charge that Akbari spied for Britain. Irans foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador over what it called Londons meddling in Irans national security realm, the state news agency IRNA reported. Iranian state media, which have portrayed Akbari as a super spy, broadcast a video on Thursday which they said showed he played a role in the 2020 assassination of Irans top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in an attack outside Tehran which authorities blamed at the time on Israel. In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh. Irans state media often airs purported confessions by suspects in politically-charged cases. Reuters could not establish the authenticity of the state media video and audio, or when or where they were recorded. Akbari was a close ally of Ali Shamkhani, now the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, who was defence minister from 1997 to 2005. Akbari fought during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s as a member of the Revolutionary Guards. Ramin Forghani, a nephew of Akbari, told Reuters the execution had come as a shock. I dont think a person who spent all his life, from an early age, to serve the countrysince the IranIraq warwould spy for any country, he said, noting Akbari had the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary Guards. Speaking by phone from Luxembourg, he said Akbaris wife, who lives in London, had tried but failed to persuade Iranian officials to spare his life. Reuters was unable to reach her. Despicable and Barbaric The U.S. State Department described the execution as politically motivated and unjust. The U.S. ambassador to London called it appalling and sickening. French President Emmanuel Macron called it a despicable and barbaric act. Irans ties with the West have also been strained by its support for Russia in Ukraine, where Western states say Moscow has used Iranian drones. Along with other Western states, Britain, which has a long history of fraught ties with Iran, has been fiercely critical of Tehrans crackdown on anti-regime protests, sparked by the death in custody of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman in September. Iran has issued dozens of death sentences as part of the crackdown, executing at least four people. A British minister said on Thursday Britain was actively considering proscribing the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization but had not reached a final decision. In the recording broadcast by BBC Persian, Akbari said he had made false confessions due to 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. Amnesty International said the execution displayed again Tehrans abhorrent assault on the right to life. In Akbaris case, it is particularly horrific given the violations he revealed he was subjected to in prison. The Iranian authorities have not responded to accusations Akbari was tortured. An Iranian state TV reportdetails of which Reuters could not independently verifysaid he was arrested on espionage charges in 2008 before he was freed on bail and left Iran. In an interview with BBC Persian broadcast on Friday, Akbaris brother Mehdi said he had returned to Iran in 2019 based on an invitation from Shamkhani. Japan, Canada Leaders Discuss Bilateral Trade, Economy, and China Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during his meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 12, 2023. (Blair Gable/Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 12 to discuss expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, as well as their approach to the increasing military assertiveness of the Chinese communist regime in the Indo-Pacific region. Part of Kishidas tour of G-7 nations, the visit was his first to Canada as Japans head of government. The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in food, energy, critical minerals, and technology while emphasizing the growing and exciting business potential between Japan and Canada, Trudeaus office said in a statement. Trudeau said at a joint press conference that Canada would host a business delegation from Japan this spring to discuss investment opportunities in the battery and mining industries. Canada also plans to send a trade delegation to Japan in October. Kishida said he aims to boost energy cooperation and source liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to reduce Japans reliance on Russian natural gas, which accounts for 9 percent of Japans total LNG. Japans Mitsubishi Corp., through a subsidiary, owns a 15 percent stake in the LNG Canada joint venture led by Shell, which Trudeau said was the largest private investment in Canada. The LNG terminal is being built in British Columbia to supply Canadian natural gas to Asia. China Concerns During the meeting, Kishida and Trudeau agreed on the importance of a coordinated approach to security challenges in the Indo-Pacific, citing growing concerns over the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) military assertiveness. Japans Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that the two leaders strongly opposed unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas and pledged close coordination in addressing issues related to the CCP. Both sides also reaffirmed their support for a complete and irreversible dismantling of North Koreas nuclear weapons. Now that the international order is facing various challenges and the security environment is becoming more severe, we will further strengthen our cooperation with Canada in order to maintain and strengthen the peace and stability of the international community as a whole, Kishida said. Trudeau hailed Japans new National Security Strategy, which refers to China as Japans greatest challenge and calls for the possession of counterstrike capabilities. On Dec. 16, 2022, Japan announced its biggest military buildup since World War II with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China and ready it for sustained conflict. Canadas Indo-Pacific Strategy, published in November 2022, describes the CCP as an increasingly disruptive global power and pledges closer cooperation with other nations in confronting the CCP on a range of issues. Japan-Britain Defense Pact UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands at the start of a bilateral meeting at the Tower of London on Jan. 11, 2023. (Carl Court/Getty Images) Prior to his meeting in Canada, Kishida signed a defense agreement with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, making the UK the first European country to have a reciprocal access agreement with Japan. The pact is part of the UKs defense and foreign policy tilt toward the Indo-Pacific region, following an integrated review in 2021 that recognized the growing impact of China in the area. The signing comes just weeks after the UK and Japan collaborated, along with Italy, to develop the next generation of combat air fighter jets under the new Global Combat Air Program. The relationship between our two countries is stronger than ever, not just across trade and security but also our values, Sunak said in welcoming Kishida to the Tower of London, where the agreement was signed. He said the Reciprocal Access Agreement is hugely significant for both nations, as it cements our commitment to the Indo-Pacific and underlines our joint efforts to bolster economic security, accelerate our defense cooperation, and drive innovation that creates highly skilled jobs. Alexander Zhang and Reuters contributed to this report. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference following Fridays U.S.-Japan summit at 10:00 a.m. ET on Jan 14. The Epoch Times will livestream the event. Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Albemarle County will be officially renamed Ivy Elementary School after a unanimous school board vote Thursday evening. The decision was made in spite of a community survey conducted late last year that found an overwhelming majority about 85% of parents, students, alumni and county residents preferred keeping the name of the famous explorer and native of Albemarle County. The schools new name will take effect July 1. That change will come at a modest cost of about $2,000, according to schools spokesman Phil Giaramita, just the amount needed for a new sign. The decision to rename schools, roads, parks and other public spaces that have been named after people who owned or enslaved other people has become a contentious issue nationwide as well as in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, home to Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and several others who benefited from the work of the enslaved. The renaming of schools is part of a broader movement, that has included protests and even violence, in the wake of Charlottesville and Albemarle Countys decisions in the mid-2010s to remove the areas monuments to those who protected the institution of slavery, culminating in the deadly Unite the Right riot of 2017. Brandon Lindsay, who served on a special committee charged with reviewing the name of Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, expressed his disappointment in the school board decision at Thursdays meeting. He told the board that the review amounted to a smear campaign against Lewis and that the committee was always going to rename the school without considering public input. It was not a name evaluation committee, Lindsay told the board. We quickly learned from Dr. Haas that we are a name change committee. Only 9.13%, or 38 respondents, to the community survey issued Nov. 14-21 said Ivy, the name of the surrounding community, was their first choice for the schools new name. Of the 416 polled, 354 respondents, roughly 85%, said Meriwether Lewis remained their top choice for the schools name. Eleven respondents favored the name Bluebird, the schools mascot; eight who preferred Owensville, the name of the road the school sits on; and five who voted for some version of Discovery, Expedition or Explorer Elementary School. Schools Superintendent Matt Haas proposed the Ivy name to the school board after the special committee, organized by Haas and school Principal Jennifer Underwood, was unable to narrow down a list of potential names to fewer than three after several votes. Based on input from the community survey, the committee which included Underwood, Assistant Principal Laura Morris, a teacher at the school, four current parents at the school and five community members without children at the school sent a list of proposed names including Ivy, Owensville and Meriwether Lewis. School board members at Thursdays meeting expressed frustration with the renaming process, specifically the community survey. Im not sure that were clear on our renaming policy, said board member Ellen Osborne. My understanding was we preferred geographic locations, geographic concepts or values. Under those guidelines, names such Bluebird, Discovery, Expedition, Explorer and Meriwether Lewis would be disqualified. I question the value of [the survey] as its been done, said board member Kate Acuff, who said survey respondents were provided little information on Lewis and his history. Survey participants were provided biographical information on Lewis. In an earlier community survey of 396 conducted Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 94.1% of respondents said they were familiar with Lewis and his life. Karen Waters, director of community education with Albemarle County Public Schools and the committees project manager, said the biographical information amounted to little more than a blurb of what weve all been taught to believe. The school board decided on Thursday that, in the future, survey respondents would be given more information about the figures schools are named after. Lewis is best known as the leader of an expedition west between 1804 and 1806 exploring the newly acquired corners of the U.S. after the Louisiana Purchase. He made that journey alongside William Clark of Ladysmith, Clarks enslaved body servant York and their guide, the Lemhi Shoshone woman Sacagawea. But Lewis history and connection to Albemarle County began long before that. Lewis, born in Ivy in 1774, spent the early years of his life at his familys plantation, Locust Hill, near the site of the future elementary school that would bear his name. After his father died of pneumonia in 1779, Lewis legally inherited Locust Hill and the 24 enslaved people there, according to research from the naming committee. The 5-year-old, however, took no part in plantation management, which was run by overseers and guardians instead. After his mother remarried, Lewis and his family moved to Georgia. It was Cherokees territory, and there was much resentment of encroaching white settlers in their territory, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society librarian Miranda Burnett told The Daily Progress. Lewis seemed to be a champion for the Cherokees over the other settlers. Lewis and his family returned to Virginia when he was 13 to pursue an education. When Lewis turned 20, instead of staying on and running Locust Hill, he opted to enlist in the Virginia militia and help put down the ongoing Whiskey Rebellion. It appears the role of planter wasnt Lewiss cup of tea, Burnett said. While Army officers frequently had enslaved people join them as servants, Lewis chose not to bring any of Locust Hills enslaved population, according to Burnett. Lewis made the same decision in 1804 on the expedition west, in contrast to Clark who brought the enslaved York along with them on the journey. Along that journey, Lewis also made a number of decisions that granted certain liberties to his Black and Indigenous companions, such as giving York and Sacagawea a vote in deciding where the team would camp and permitting York to carry a firearm. After the party returned from the expedition, Lewis was named governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory. Once again, Lewis declined to bring any of the enslaved population at Locust Hill with him to his new posting. Instead, he hired a free Black man named John Pernier to accompany him, according to the school divisions biography on Lewis. Nevertheless, it is Burnetts opinion that it would be impossible for the county school division to retain Lewis name for a school. Lewis and his family benefitted from the exploitation of Black bodies, whether it was a few dozen or in the hundreds, Burnett said. Burnett is not alone in that assessment. The county school divisions name review process was the product of swell of public appeal urging governments to remove the names of and monuments to individuals who exploited men and women of color. Lewis died under mysterious circumstances in 1809. He suffered two gunshot wounds, but historians today disagree whether Lewis was murdered or died by suicide, said Burnett. Lewis had previously attempted suicide. Although he had been heralded as a hero upon his return from his expedition, friends and family noted he suffered from extreme loneliness, according to the Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Elin Woodger and Brandon Toropov. In a letter to a friend two years prior to his death he wrote, I never felt less like a hero than at the present moment. As for Pernier, at the time of his employers death Pernier was owed back wages for his work. Pernier traveled to Monticello and requested payment from Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson denied the request and provided Pernier $10 for travel to Washington, where Pernier resided before his employment under Lewis. Pernier died by suicide after returning to Washington. Albemarle County Public Schools began its review of school names in January 2020. So far, the division has reviewed eight schools and changed five, including Meriwether Lewis Elementary School. Paul H. Cale Elementary became Mountain View during the summer of 2020, Mortimer Sutherland Middle School became Lakeside, Community Public Charter was renamed Community Lab in the summer of 2021 and Jack Jouett Middle School became Journey as of July 2022. Haas did not say at Thursdays meeting which school was next to be reviewed, and Giaramita told The Daily Progress he did not know. More Classified Documents Found at Bidens Delaware Home: White House President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 13, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Additional classified documents have been found at President Joe Bidens Delaware home, the White House stated on Jan. 14. Bidens personal attorney found one document on Jan. 11, and Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, discovered the rest of the documents along with Justice Department (DOJ) officials a day later. Six pages, all bearing classification markings and stored in a room adjacent to the garage at Bidens home, were found during the search, Sauber said in a statement. The Presidents personal attorneys discovered one document with a classified marking consisting of one page in a room adjacent to the garage. At that point, the Presidents personal attorneys stopped searching the immediate area where the document was found, Sauber said in the statement. I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document to the Justice Department. Five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them. Bidens personal attorneys have been helping search the Penn Biden Center and Bidens Delaware home after classified documents were found at the presidents previous office and home. The attorneyswho dont have active security clearanceswill halt the search and notify the DOJ once they find a document with a classified marking, Sauber stated. Sauber reiterated on Jan. 14 that the White House would cooperate with a special counsel investigation into the matter. Updates Come 2 Days After Discovery The latest disclosure is in addition to the discovery of documents found in December in Bidens garage and in November at his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington from his time as vice president. The apparent mishandling of classified documents and official records from the Obama administration is under investigation by former U.S. attorney Robert Hur, who was appointed as a special counsel on Jan. 12 by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The White House is confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake, Sauber said. His statement didnt explain why the White House waited two days to provide an updated accounting of the number of documents found. The White House already is facing scrutiny for waiting more than two months to acknowledge the discovery of the initial group of documents at the think tank that bears the presidents name. On Jan. 12, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, You should assume that its been completed, yes, when asked whether Biden could guarantee that additional classified documents wouldnt turn up in a further search. Biden Classified Documents Case Timeline The White House has stated that the initial discovery took place on Nov. 2, 2022, and that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is charged with taking possession of presidential records after an administration leaves office, was immediately notified. NARA was said to have received the materials the next day. Representatives for NARA declined to comment to The Epoch Times. According to Garland, the DOJ wasnt notified of the matter until Nov. 4, 2022, by the NARA Inspector Generals Office. The public wasnt informed of any of the discoveries until Jan. 9. Below is a timeline of the classified document discovery (source): Nov. 2, 2022: Bidens attorneys find files with classified markings at the Penn Biden Center, where the president had worked as an honorary professor from 2017 to 2019. (White House) Nov. 2, 2022: Bidens attorneys notify NARA of the discovery. (White House) Nov. 3, 2022: NARA takes possession of the documents. (White House) Nov. 4, 2022: NARA Inspector Generals Office alerts a prosecutor with the DOJ. (Attorney General Garland) Nov. 9, 2022: FBI begins assessment to determine whether any classified information was mishandled, in violation of the law. (Garland) Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. Attorney John Lausch for the Northern District of Illinois to conduct an initial investigation. (Garland) Dec. 20, 2022: Bidens lawyers inform Lausch that more documents bearing classified markings were found at Bidens residence in Wilmington. FBI agents travel to the location and secure the documents. (Garland and White House) Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch briefs Garland and advises that further investigation by a special counsel is warranted. (Garland) Jan. 9, 2023: White House discloses discovery of documents at Penn Biden Center. (White House) Jan. 12, 2023: Bidens lawyers inform Lausch that one more document was found at Bidens home. (Garland) Jan. 12, 2023: White House discloses discovery of documents at Wilmington residence. (White House) Jan. 12, 2023: Garland appoints former U.S. Attorney Richard Hur as special counsel. (Garland) Jan. 14, 2023: White House discloses that more classified documents were found at Wilmington residence. (White House) Read Richard Saubers Statement: The Associated Press and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Mother Charged With Child Abuse After 2-Year-Old Hospitalized From Fentanyl Fentanyl-laced sky blue pills known on the street as "Mexican oxy" in a file photo. (Drug Enforcement Administration via AP) A 30-year-old Irvine mother was charged with felony child abuse and endangerment Jan. 11 after her 2-year-old son was hospitalized from fentanyl exposure, according to authorities. Jacqueline Hunter was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one felony enhancement of causing great bodily injury to a child under the age 5. She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday in Santa Ana. Her bail was set at $30,000, which has not posted as of Jan. 13, an Orange County District Attorneys office spokesperson told The Epoch Times. The incident occurred Jan. 9, when the child stopped breathing after returning home from a doctors appointment for a broken leg, according to the DAs office. The childs father gave him CPR until paramedics arrived, authorities reported. At the hospital, the toddler tested positive for fentanyl, authorities said, prompting a search warrant of the Hunterss home in Irvine which uncovered a baggie of fentanyl and Xanax pills. The mother is suspected of possessing the drugs without her husbands knowledge and allowing the baby to access them, according to the DAs office. Hunter didnt disclose she had fentanyl in her home when paramedics arrived, the DAs office reported. After law enforcement discovered the illicit drugs, she admitted to being in possession of them, a DAs office spokesperson said. A parents only job is to protect their children from harm and because of a selfish decision by his mother, this baby is fighting to survive, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a Jan. 12 statement. We all know how deadly fentanyl is and for a mother to refuse to provide information to paramedics to help save her child is beyond unbelievable. Hunter now faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison if convicted on all counts. She is scheduled to return to court Jan. 20 for a pretrial hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. New, Taller Barbie Doll Is Aimed at Children as Young as 3 A child plays with Teresa, a My First Barbie deluxe set, new dolls made specifically for children as young as 3. (Mattel via AP) NEW YORKLove her or loathe her, Barbie has been transformed again, this time into a version for children as young as 3. Gone is the contentious hourglass figure for My First Barbie, which launched Thursday ahead of Julys live-action film about the icon starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The slightly softer-bodied Barbie follows on the high heels of tall, petite, and curvy iterations that were released five years ago in a massive makeover. My First Barbie is 13.5 inches tall, 2 inches taller than traditional Babs, with a larger waist that de-emphasizes the bust line (it remains in place, however), and flesh-tone modesty undergarments permanently attached. Her fashion is more child-like, with playful heart, star and flower designs on jammies and flouncy preschool-friendly dresses and swim gear. Her accessories are larger for littler hands, and her hair is extra long for easier brushing. My First Barbies limbs are moveable, like some past versions of the doll, and her facial features remain recognizable. A huge milestone: Her fingers and thumbs are connected, eliminating a frequent complaint that Barbies hands get caught in her clothes when children try to put them on. Lisa McKnight, a Mattel executive vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls, told The Associated Press the company created the new version in response to feedback from parents. We talk to parents and kids almost 365 days a year, she said. We started hearing a theme around younger kids wanting to play with Barbie. Parents were concerned that their children at the preschool age didnt have the fine motor skills to have a positive play experience with our traditional fashion doll. The first rollout of the new doll includes four diverse skin tones and hair textures. Critics of 63-year-old Barbie, intended to symbolize a girl in her late teens, have long cited her dimensions as promoting unattainable, sexualized body standards for girls. My First Barbie, at a price point of $19.99, goes a long way in eliminating that issue. McKnight wouldnt directly address the criticism or whether My First Barbie has a place in turning around that negative view. (LR) My First Barbie dolls Brooklyn, Teresa, and Renee. (Mattel via AP) Research is mixed on whether Barbies bad rap on body issues and her adult-leaning fashion sense have any impact on children, said Jody LeVos, once a leader of Mattels child development and learning team and now chief learning officer for Begin, a company that creates learning apps and other educational fare for kids. Among parents, she said, theres a big nostalgia factor when it comes to Barbie. I dont think theres one specific doll thats most appropriate. I think doll play allows children to really practice storytelling skills, perspective taking, and social interactions, LeVos said. The Barbie lines overall sales have soared in recent years after a period of decline in 2013. Joaniko Kohchi, director for Adelphi Universitys Institute for Parenting, questioned Mattels motives. If were going to think about Mattel guiding our choices then we have already kind of limited them, she said. McKnight made it clear that My First Barbie will not be a separate, parallel Barbie universe. She said new content featuring the doll will hit Barbies YouTube channel later this month, with an animated special about the planning of a surprise party. Andrea Werner, a pediatric occupational therapist in West Hartford, Connecticut, and mother of a preschooler and an infant, supports doll play as developmentally valuable. There are plenty of dolls on the market, she said. Companies will always be trying to sell consumers the next best thing. Kohchi isnt entirely sold on My First Barbie as appropriate. We know that if youre going to hand a child an image and say, this is beauty or this is wonderful or look how pretty that is, it should resemble the child a little bit more closely, she said. Its certainly still a little older than a preschooler. By Leanne Italie Newsoms Budget Pledges 5 Percent Boost to UC, CSU Systems UC Berkeley students walk through Sather Gate on the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California on April 17, 2007. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Despite a slight decrease in higher education funding this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged budget increases for the states two public university systems, according to his 202324 budget proposal released Jan. 10. If approved, both the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems will receive a 5 percent boost in funding, amounting to $216 million for UC and $227 million for CSU. The increases fulfill a pledge Newsom made last year to give the UC and CSU systems five percent annual budget increases for the next five years if they agreed to work toward improving graduation rates and enrollment rates, particularly among California residents. This year, according to the proposal, the UC system will receive an additional $30 million as an incentive to boost enrollment among California residents. In a press conference announcing the budget proposal, Newsom highlighted his commitment to a multi-year plan for the universities despite an overall state budget shortfall of $22.5 billion. The budget for higher education dropped this year by 2.1 percent, from $40.3 billion last year to $39.5 billion this year. Despite a shortfall, were seeing a five percent increase in the base support of UC and CSU. We are fulfilling that commitment. We are not backing away from that, Newsom said. This is a partnership to advance some efforts to address with much more intensity the need to get more Californians enrolled. Leaders for both university systems thanked Newsom for fulfilling his pledge despite the shortfall. This proposal, despite uncertainty surrounding the states economic circumstances, reinforces the administrations commitment to the CSU, its belief in our mission and appreciation of our successes in transforming the lives of Californians, CSU Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester said in a Jan. 10 statement. A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on how CSU would use the money. Governor Newsom has put forward a budget proposal that maintains his strong commitment to the University of California and allows us to continue our important work supporting all Californians, UC President Michael Drake said in a Jan. 10 statement. At this time of declining state revenues, his support for the university and our students is truly extraordinary. Drake said the extra funding would be used to make critical investments that would expand enrollment and hire more faculty. Additionally, funds will be used to continue efforts to reduce nonresident undergraduate enrollment and replace those seats with students from California at UCs Berkeleys, San Diegos, and Los Angeles campuses. Of the 230,400 undergraduate students enrolled systemwide in Fall 2022, 83 percent were California residents, according to UC enrollment data. Last year, UC regents launched a taskforce aiming to boost resident undergraduate enrollment by 16,000 and resident graduate enrollment by 4,000 by 2030, EdSource reported. CSU data shows 96 percent of its 404,800 CSU students were California residents as of Fall 2022. In terms of undergrad students graduating within four years at UC was 72 percent in 2021, with a goal to reach 76 percent by 2030, according to UC officials. In 2022, 35 percent of CSU undergraduate students graduated in four years, according to university data. The states Legislative Analyst Office will conduct an analysis of the budget before it is sent to the state legislature for hearings. After revisions in May, it is expected to be finalized June 15. An ex-surfer has turned his passion for the ocean into a profession after becoming a photographer of waves. His careful compositions showcase the jaw-dropping spender of walls of water beautifully backlit by the rising sun. Based in the small seaside town of Margate in South Africa, Terence Pieters has been a marine photographer for two decades, ever since an injury caused him to have chronic shoulder issues and forced him to hang up his surfboard. He shared about his niche with The Epoch Times. The waves break really close, and when the waves are big its an impressive spectacle, said Pieters, who goes by the moniker Orange Rocks, named after a well-known fishing spot near his home. Sun Catcher by Terence Pieters. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) Ocean wildlife can be seen within a giant translucent wave as it swells in front of Pieterss camera. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) I like to think I was always meant to be an ocean photographer, he said. When I was young, around 11 or 12, I remember I would make a small opening with my hands while I was out in the ocean, surfing. I would peep through and look at parts of the breaking waves the way they formed, it just seemed like uncontrolled precision. Every wave had a mind of its own. I wanted to pause these moments and look at them for longer. Pieters begins each photoshoot by preparing a week in advance; studying weather forecasts, cloud cover, tides, wind direction, wind speed, wave size, wave interval, and wave direction. The night before the shoot, he makes his best guess as to the optimal position for photography, then sets his alarm for two hours before sunrise. A clear wave seems as delicate as glass in the early morning light. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) A turquoise wave stands frozen in time thanks to Terence Pieterss photography. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) On arriving, he dons his wetsuit and fins for treading water and wades out into the sea. I make the swim into the ocean all before sunrise, so that I am able to capture the waves interacting with the rising sun, which often has the most outrageous colors magnified by the reflection of the water, Pieters said. Those are the moments that are truly unexplainable with words, so I let my images tell the story. Pieters hopes his pictures will evoke the same awe in his audience that he feels shooting these waves at sunrise, knowing most people will never be able to experience the ocean and waves as he does. A surfer can be seen inside this crashing wave. (Courtesy of Esme Tenner) Terence Pieters takes a selfie with a humongous transparent wave looming overhead. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) His biggest challenge is trying to stay anchored in one place while taking photos, as currents often send him drifting in different directions. Another challenge is keeping water and condensation off the camera lens. He has an unusual setup using a Sony A6400 camera and Sony 50mm F1.8 lens protected by a waterproof case. A leash connects the equipment to his body in case a large wave knocks the camera out of his hand. Pieterss growing portfolio of ocean photography attests to a lifelong love of the ocean. A sublime wave folds over as the morning sunlight passes through it. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) Reflections of peach sunlight appear inside the curved tunnel of this wave. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) My earliest memory was from around age 5, he said. I was going to the beach with my dad, I would wait on the shore while he went crayfish diving. At age 6, he started going to the beach with his sister, who was already surfing by that time. It looked like the best thing to do, he said. We would hang out at the lifeguard tower all day, going in and out of the ocean. After Pieters dislocated his shoulder twice while surfing in 2013, he had surgery in 2015. But after a long and painful recovery, surfing no longer felt right for his body. I got into traditional photography first, taking photos of everything and anything, even before my shoulder problem, he said. Thats what I wanted to be: a photographer. I decided to take photos of the waves, instead. Sun kissed by Terence Pieters. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) A wave appears like green glass backlit by the sun. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) Besides ephemeral waves at sunrise, Pieters loves photographing lightning storms over the ocean. He is exhilarated by the booming of thunder in the distance signaling an electrical storm. He treasures his most memorable instance of photographing lightning, which involved battling the wind and rain for hours to capture lightning strikes on the ocean surface. After about three hours of constant struggle, I managed to capture a huge bolt of lighting as well as my local beach illuminated by the strike, he said. I uploaded it to social media that same night, and it became very popular very quickly. It was well worth the hours of struggle! Pieters shares his work on his website and Instagram page and garners reactions of shock, joy, and sometimes disbelief from his followers. A wave about to crash before an orange-tinged morning backdrop. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) A wave breaking elegantly appears frozen in time. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) I get a lot of questions about how it is possibleand that I am extremely brave, the photographer said. Many people had no idea about the beauty the ocean holds until they came across my images. He added, I have had a lot of heartwarming comments, but the one that stands out is a lady that had been going through a tough patch in her life and said that viewing my images had made her happy for the first time in months. Comments like that really make what I do even more rewarding. Beyond sharing joy, he hopes his photos will instill a reverence for the sea, calling the amount of plastic floating in the oceans unacceptable. Anyone wanting to try ocean photography should become a confident swimmer first, Pieters recommends. The magic of the ocean awaits. Shoot what youre passionate about, he said. Voodoo by Terence Pieters. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) A selfie of marine photographer Terence Pieters. (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) Videos: (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) (Courtesy of Terence Pieters) Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Parents Protest Transgender Book Author Event at California High School Parents protest outside the Davis Joint Unified School District offices over a talk featuring Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2023. (Courtesy of Our Duty) Parents protested Jan. 11 outside a California high school that invited 12-year-old students to a talk hosted by a parent group featuring Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child. More than a dozen protesters stood huddled under umbrellas near Davis High School and later the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) offices in the heavy afternoon rain and held signs displaying Gender ideology is anti-science, Democrats against experimenting on kids, and Loving parents dont support gender ideology, among others. Allie Snyder, whose sons attend school in the district, told The Epoch Times that she participated in the protest because she disagrees with the message DJUSD is sending to middle school children about gender theory. A few weeks ago, when the school and transgender activists learned of the protest, Peppers planned in-person talkwhich invited students as young as 12 accompanied by a trusted adult to attendwas changed to a virtual appearance in a pre-recorded video posted to YouTube. Im concerned that our school district is indoctrinating our children with a belief system that tells them that its possible to be born in the wrong body, and that leads to irreversible harm from medicalization and also psychological abuse, Snyder said. Parents protest outside the Davis Joint Unified School District offices over a talk featuring Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2023. (Courtesy of Our Duty) On the first day of school, multiple teachers asked Snyders 10- and 12-year-old boys for their preferred pronouns, she said. While thats not a district policy, there is no policy against it, so a lot of the teachers in our town are doing that, Snyder said. Our Duty, California, a group that opposes transgender ideology and medical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender transition surgeries for minor children and adults under 25-years old, led the protest. Our Duty also opposed legislation promoting gender-affirming care, including Senate Bill 107 which made California a trans sanctuary state on Jan. 1. The group claims that Peppers message undermines parental rights, puts children at risk of sexual predation and grooming, and presents gender ideology as fact despite the lack of any scientific basis to back up this assertion. Gender ideology promotes the idea of a gendered soul that only the individual can know, alienation from family members that do not accept the ideology, and an extreme and irreversible medical protocol that includes experimental medicine and surgeries. This anti-science ideology is closer to a religion or a cult and has no place in public schools, Our Duty stated in a handout it plans to send to the DJUSD school board. The group contends gender confusion or gender dysphoria can result from trauma and is associated with other mental health issues, including autism. The group cited evidence of the growing number of desisters, who have stopped transitioning their gender and detransitioners who have reversed it. A subgroup on Reddit currently has about 43,400 members who identify as detrans. A number of detransitioners, including Chloe Cole, Daisy Strongin, Cat Cattinson, Laura Becker, Abel Garcia, and David Bacon have recently expressed deep regret over the gender-affirming care they received and have rejected transgender ideology, especially regarding the transitioning of minors. Given that the brain does not fully develop until the mid- to late-20s, and that childhood and adolescence is a time of identity development and change, any medical intervention that locks a child into any identity is irresponsible [and] dangerous, according to Our Duty. Parents protest outside the Davis Joint Unified School District offices over a talk featuring Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2023. (Courtesy of Our Duty) Principals Message Shortly after the protest, the schools principal, Bryce Geigle, sent out an email to parents and guardians explaining the parents gathered peacefully to protest the virtual event featuring Pepper and her book, hosted by the parent group Davis Parent University. He stated the school and DJUSD support people of all genders, and they are dedicated to maintaining the safety and well-being of all students and fostering schools where all feel accepted and that they belong, especially those in groups that are targeted for hate and oppression. Geigle informed parents that school counselors would be available for anyone who would like to process any aspect of the [days] events the next day at the schools wellness center. When there is this type of activity on a school campus it can be upsetting and cause students and staff to experience a range of emotions, Geigle wrote in the email obtained by The Epoch Times. Erin Friday, one of the protest organizers, told The Epoch Times the parents had moved away from the school to the public sidewalk as the bulk of students exited the building. The Transgender Child Pepper is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has authored other books, most notably Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender Children. My career as a therapist has developed in part due to a personal and professional calling to care for the LGBT community, including to provide gender affirming care for trans children, teens and their families, she said during her virtual talk. Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, speaks during a virtual event. (Screenshot via Youtube/DavisMediaAccess) Pepper released the revised and updated second edition of her book, The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Children, in June. Her co-author, Stephanie Brill, founded and chairs Gender Spectrum, a nonprofit group that was contracted by the DJUSD to train teachers and staff and provide consulting services, according to contracts obtained by The Epoch Times. Gender Spectrum was founded in 2007, a year before Pepper and Brill published the first edition of the book. The organization also helped develop the publication, Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 schools, in conjunction with the American Civil Rights Union, the National Education Association teachers union, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The document recommends a Student Gender Support Plan to systematically address various aspects of a transgender or gender-expansive students experiences at school. The plan is designed to ensure that the school, student and parents (when appropriate) are all on the same page and have shared expectations about how the specific, gender-based needs of the student will be met. The Student Gender Transition Plan focuses specifically on the process a student will use to undergo a gender transition at school, according to the guide. Forms included in the guide show indicate that school staff are not required to tell parents. Our Duty describes the publication as a radically anti-parent manual that outlines precisely how schools should lie to parents about their gender confused child. In her speech as in her books, Pepper advocated for gender-affirming care and allowing children to chart their own medical course for social and medical transition without scrutiny of their chosen gender identity by medical professionals or interference from parents. Pepper praised California lawmakers for pushing gender-affirming care legislation. She listed the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as supporters of the gender-affirming care model for teens and children and cited a controversial 2018 AAP report advocating comprehensive care and support for transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents. Pepper defended the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), stating it is not a fringe group. However, according to the medical journal Lakartidningen, Swedish health authorities cut ties with WPATH in December over its removal of all lower age limits for gender-affirming medical interventions, among other issues. Other European countries such as Finland and the United Kingdom have also shifted away from gender-affirming care. Finnish health authorities rejected WPATHs standards of care in 2020, deciding after an independent review that psychotherapy should be the first method treatment for gender dysphoria. British health authorities have also moved away from the gender affirming model since the release of a report criticizing Londons Tavistock gender clinic, which is set to close by the spring. Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child-adolescent psychiatrist and author of Youre Teaching My Child What?: A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Ed and How They Harm Your Child,among other U.S. doctorshas questioned the credibility of WPATHs standards of care and has also characterized the organization as an activist group. Republican-led states such as Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas have passed or introduced legislation to protect minors from transgender indoctrination in schools and medical interventions. Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, speaks during a virtual event. (Screenshot via Youtube/DavisMediaAccess) Pepper also commended The Trevor Project and its national suicide prevention hotline for LGBT youth, a group that has recently come under fire from parents over its TrevorSpace chatrooms. She said far-right politicians and conservative media pose the greatest threat to gender-affirming care for minors, and warned that conversion therapy is illegal in California. Transgender Narrative Pepper echoed the narrative that one supportive adult in a transgender teens life cuts their risk of suicide by 40 percent. However, the claim that children who arent given gender-affirming care are at higher risk of suicide has been disputed. Pepper urged parents to find their own support groups, such as Gender Spectrum, to discuss their own fears, rather than burdening their transgender child with them. But do not ever think that withholding care or telling a teen to wait until they are 18 and of age to move forward are suitable options. If you find that you are resistant to providing congruence options for your teenand the clock is tickingkeep coming back to love and ask yourself if you would prefer a suffering child or even a dead one to a child who could receive gender affirming care, she said. Pepper encouraged the use of preferred pronouns because, she said, you cant tell a persons gender identity by looking at them. Their perceived gender is not congruent with their inner identity. The only way you will truly know a persons gender identity is if they tell you themselves, or perhaps they state it in their email signature, which has become more common today, but its certainly not a requirement in most workplaces, she said. Congruence measures such as using transgender names and preferred pronouns are grounded in science and endorsed by the countrys leading medical institutions, she said. While Pepper acknowledged that there is some regret after gender transition, she said studies show this is primarily due to disappointment in some aspect of surgical or medical transition, or perhaps familial or societal pressure, rather than a changed sense of self. She claimed that the vast majority of adult transgender peopleup to 98 percent dont regret any congruence decisions that they have made. Throughout her speech, Pepper called for an end to discrimination against the nonbinary and transgender children. Affirming parents want their child to attend a school where a young person can feel safe using the bathroom, to be called the correct name during roll call, not be misgendered by peers, nor bullied in the hallways, she said. I hope you can listen to children and teens when they try to express who they really are. Educate yourself about what you dont know, and take an active stance against discrimination in your communities. Part of Flood-Damaged Western Australia Highway Reopens A supplied image obtained on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, of floodwaters across the Great Northern Hwy at Fitzroy Crossing, Bunuba country, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. (AAP Image/Supplied by Andrea Myers) Part of the only sealed road through northern Western Australia (WA) has been reopened after unprecedented flooding swept away a major bridge and large sections of the vital transport route. Motorists are permitted to travel from Friday on a 215 km section of the Great Northern Highway between Willare and Fitzroy Crossing, linking the flood-ravaged inland towns with the Port of Derby. The Kimberley towns were the worst hit during the once-in-a-century flooding that started in early January when ex-tropical cyclone Ellie brought days of torrential rain and wind. Homes were inundated and a major bridge at Fitzroy Crossing was destroyed along with three kilometres of the highway between Willare and Broome. Authorities say it will take about two years for the critical road freight link to be completely repaired as they race to find temporary alternatives robust enough to support heavy road trains. Main Roads WA has previously said it was assessing the viability of a low crossing on the Fitzroy River bed at a nearby site, but this will take at least four months to build and a suitable site wont be chosen until flood levels drop. Engineers are also in talks with the Australian Defence Force about building a Bailey bridge, a portable pre-fabricated structure, into the damaged bridge to allow lighter vehicles to use the highway. In the meantime, road trains with freight for Kununurra and the Northern Territory have been diverted into South Australia to travel up the Stuart Highway through central Australia. Authorities are also using barges to transport tonnes of essential goods from Port Hedland to Broome and Derby, and an airlift to cut-off communities continues. The 290 km section of the highway between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek remains closed. Paul Johnson, UK Historian and Champion of Thatcher, Dies Historian and journalist Paul Johnson, (L), receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from United States President Bush during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Dec. 15, 2006. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo) LONDONBritish author, historian and journalist Paul Johnson, who shifted his allegiances from the left to support Margaret Thatcher and Conservative causes, died Thursday after a long illness, his son announced on social media. He was 94. A prolific writer, Johnson produced more than 50 books and numerous articles spanning history, biography and travel. Writing more for the public than the critics, his subjects ranged from Jesus to the Beatles, with his titles including The Birth of the Modern: World Society 18151830, A History of the Modern World from 1917 to the 1980s, and The Quest for God: A Personal Pilgrimage. Born Nov. 2, 1928, in Manchester, England, Johnson was educated at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit primary and secondary school, and the University of Oxford, where he met Thatcher and studied under the left-wing historian and journalist A.J.P. Taylor. After graduating, Johnson served in the British Army, based mainly in Gibraltar. His military service helped him get a job at the Paris periodical Realites and he was later named Paris correspondent for the New Statesman, a British current affairs magazine. Johnson continued to work for the magazine when he returned to London and served as its editor from 1965 to 1970. During the 1970s Johnson became increasingly conservative in his outlook, and began to advocate Thatchers message of less government and less taxation. In the 1970s Britain was on its knees. The Left had no answers, Johnson wrote on his website as he explained his decision. I became disgusted by the over-powerful trade unions which were destroying Britain. After Thatcher was elected prime minister in 1979, he offered advice on legislation limiting the power of trade unions and became one of her speechwriters. I was instantly drawn to her, Johnson recalled. Johnsons views were sometimes controversial, as when he put Lee Kwan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, on top of his list of the 20th centurys greatest political figures. Lee turned Singapore into one of the worlds richest, safest, most orderly and sensible countries, Johnson wrote, ignoring those who criticized him as a tyrant who arbitrarily detained opponents. On the same list, Johnson dismissed Nelson Mandela under whose timid rule South Africa went straight for the rocks. That list appeared in the column Johnson wrote for The Spectator, a conservative British publication focused on politics and culture, from 1981 to 2009. He also wrote a column for the Daily Mail, a traditional backer of Britains Conservative party, until 2001. An anti-communist, he found Richard Nixons behavior in the Watergate scandal less objectionable that Bill Clintons alleged perjury following allegations about his relationship with a White House intern. But his conservative politics won him fans on the American right. President George W. Bush awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006, saying his powerful writings have captivated and educated people around the world. A citizen of the United Kingdom, he holds America in special regard, calling the creation of our Nation the greatest of all human adventures, Bush said. By Danica Kirka Pennsylvania County Completes Hand Recount of 2020 Presidential Election A hand recount of 2020 election ballots in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania this week yielded only slight variations in the final numbers. In Lycoming, former President Donald Trump still beats President Joe Biden, with the new totals: Trump at 41,455 with seven voters fewer than the 2020 count, and Biden at 16,956 with 15 voters fewer than the original count. The results confirm that the electronic voting system produces consistently accurate results; they confirm that the outcome of the presidential election in Lycoming County was correct; and they confirm that the vote totals were not inaccurate by thousands of votes as was claimed, a press release from the Lycoming County Board of Elections said. Of the nearly 60,000 paper ballots recounted across seven candidates, the county was off by 35 votes, compared to the 2020 results. This is what Lycoming County Director of Elections Forrest Lehman predicted before the recount. We dont expect that any recount of that many ballots is going to match one-to-one with the voting system, Lehman told The Epoch Times in December. We expect that there will be human errors committed during that hand count. The county dedicated 31 total staff to the task, with 28 counting. While they thought the counting could go on for the rest of the month, it only took three days from Jan. 911. Public Request After the 2020 election, citizens started attending the county commissioners meetings with questions about the results. Some were convinced that there were thousands of uncounted votes. Ultimately, citizens brought in a petition with 5,000 signatures, asking for a recount. Lycoming County has about 70,000 registered voters and a population of around 120,000. Commissioners granted the request. The Board of Elections will host a meeting to review the outcome of the hand recount in finer detail on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners Board Room, 330 Pine Street in Williamsport. Results The county hand-counted results of the presidential and the auditor general races. This way they could see if there was a glaring difference between races. Also, the auditor general race was on the front of the ballot along with the presidential, saving time by eliminating the need to flip every ballot over. Here is what they found: This is not something we want to do after every election, but we need to do it once, at least, in order to prove once and for all that our voting system counts the votes accurately and that there were not thousands of uncounted votes that were hidden by an algorithm or some other nonsense like that, Lehman said in December. Peru Chief Prosecutor Probes Protest Deaths Amid Cabinet Shakeup People react near the coffin of a man who died in violent clashes earlier this week, ignited by the ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo, in Juliaca, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Pedro Anza/Reuters) LIMAPerus attorney general has launched 11 inquiries to identify those responsible for more than three dozen mostly civilian deaths during some of the countrys most violent social protests in years, her office said on Friday, as some of the presidents top Cabinet members announced their resignations. The ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo last month triggered the unrest, which has claimed the lives of at least 41 civilians and one police officer. Perus ombudsman office on Tuesday noted the extreme violence of the officers death, claiming he was tortured before he died. The officer, identified as Jose Luis Soncco, had died in a torched vehicle after what senior police commander Raul Alfaro called an ambush by a mob in Juliaca. The office of Attorney General Patricia Benavides announced the investigations focused on the violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the heavily indigenous southern regions of Puno, Cusco, Arequipa, Apurimac, and Ucayali, as well as the capital Lima. This week, Benavides opened a preliminary genocide investigation against President Dina Boluarte and several ministers. Boluarte, Castillos former vice president, took over after lawmakers voted her embattled predecessor out of office after he sought to dissolve Congress and rule by decree on Dec. 7. On Friday, the countrys interior minister, labor minister, and womens minister all resigned, Boluarte said. She named Vicente Romero, a retired national police general, as interior minister. Benavides office said 355 civilians and 176 police officers have been injured, with 329 citizens arrested, all linked to the anti-government street protests since Castillos removal. Apology, No Resignation I understand and share your indignation, the state has a great debt with the country, President Boluarte said in a late-night address to the nation on Friday, apologizing for the deaths in the protests and calling for peace. She deflected taking responsibility for the deaths, saying bad actors had pushed citizens into confrontations and that she had requested authorities investigate. Boluarte rejected calls to resign, instead repeating that she had requested Congress move elections up. Edgar Stuardo, the head of an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights mission visiting Peru, called for a broad national dialogue, saying clashes between the countrys Congress and executive had undermined public confidence in the institutions. This power struggle has resulted in six presidents and three parliaments in just five years. We are waiting to see what happens in the next few days, Stuardo told reporters after three days of meetings with victims relatives, state authorities and civil groups. We hope there are no more deaths. Human rights groups accuse police and soldiers of using excessive force, including live ammunition and dropping tear gas from helicopters. Security forces say protesters, mostly in Perus southern Andes, have used homemade weapons and explosives against them. Many protests have played out in key southern mining regions, but on Thursday thousands marched through the streets of Lima demanding the closure of Congress and Boluartes resignation. The University of Virginias Cancer Center has established new partnerships to expand cancer screening access across the commonwealth. The partnerships are with three regional community health centers Central Virginia Health Services, Tri-Area Community Health and Blue Ridge Medical Center and are supported through $500,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve equity in cancer screenings, UVa said in a statement. The three health centers serve all patients, regardless of insurance or ability to pay, the university said. It was a major success helping hundreds of patients in our communities, Dr. Randall Bashore, clinical director for Central Virginia Health Services, said in the statement. Im excited that we now have the opportunity to expand on that experience working with UVa and Tri-Area Community Health to address both colon and breast cancer screening. Pistol Brace Rule Submitted by ATF 293-page rule labels guns with such braces as illegal 'SBRs' Justin Barrett, owner of Barrett Outdoors in Durant, Oklahoma, displays an AK pistol with a pistol stabilizing brace. On the counter next to him is a similar brace for an AR15 pistol. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it has submitted its final rule to Address Stabilizing Braces, Accessories Used to Convert Pistols into Short-Barreled Rifles for publication in the Federal Register. The Jan. 13 announcement doesnt say when the 293-page rule will be published. The rule allows for a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers, and individuals to register tax-free any existing NFA short-barreled rifles covered by the rule, the announcement reads, referring to the National Firearms Act. Virginia-based Gun Owners of America (GOA) released a statement condemning the action and decrying what it called the Biden administrations latest assault on the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. This administration continues to find new ways to attack gun owners, and this time their target is brace-equipped firearms that allow persons with disabilities to safely and effectively use pistols. We will continue to work with our industry partners to amplify the disapproving voices in the firearms industry, and the Gun Owners Foundation, our sister legal arm, will be filing suit in the near future, wrote Erich Pratt, GOAs Senior Vice President wrote shortly after the announcement. The new rule states that in the past, owners of the pistol braces violated federal firearms laws unwittingly. This rule gives them 120 days from publication in the Federal Register to register, destroy, or turn in their newly outlawed firearms. The rule waives any taxes or fees for registering firearms during the 120 days. Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on as President Joe Biden speaks about crime prevention at the White House in Washington, on June 23, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) The number of Americans impacted by the new rule is difficult to determine. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) estimates that 3 million pistol braces have been sold. The GOA and other Second Amendment advocates put the number closer to 40 million. At issue is a device introduced in 2012 to assist shooters with disabilities and others who may need help shooting pistols built on the AR 15 platform. The stabilizing brace attaches to the rear of the pistol and the shooters forearm. This allows the shooter a steadier aim while holding the pistol with one hand. In 2014 the ATF received requests from law enforcement and firearms dealers about the possible reclassification of pistols equipped with stabilizers as short-barreled rifles (SBR) under the NFA. Those who contacted the ATF were concerned that the brace could be used as a stock, allowing the shooter to shoulder the pistol like a rifle. Since then, the ATF has issued several open letters stating the braces did not change pistols into short-barreled rifles (SBRs). However, the new rule said that changes in the braces design and information disseminated on how to use them make clear that the items turn pistols into prohibited SBRs. For these reasons, the (DOJ) must amend the regulatory definition of rifle, the new rule reads. Erich Pratt, senior vice president for Gun Owners of America, in an interview on NTDs Capitol Report on May 28, 2022. (NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) The NFA was written in 1934 to address gangland violence. The gangsters of that era often shortened the barrels of rifles and shotguns to make them more concealable. So, the government outlawed such weapons unless the owners paid a $200 tax and registered the gun. The NFA originally defined an SBR as a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of fewer than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length. The rule claims it will cost $266.9 million annually to enforce while promoting public safety by ensuring gun owners comply with the NFA and the Gun Control Act. Keeping our communities safe from gun violence is among the Departments highest priorities, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in the announcement. Todays rule clarifies that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles. GOA to Push SHORT Act Aidan Johnston, GOAs Director of Federal Affairs, said the new rule is the next step in fighting for Second Amendment rights. According to Johnston, the new rule is more about control than safety. President Biden just initiated the largest federal gun registration scheme in our nations history without even the passage of a new law, Johnston wrote in a statement released the day of the announcement. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has introduced S.4986 in the U.S. Senate. Titled the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act. (SHORT Act), it would remove short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other weapons from the definition of firearms in the NFA. GOA is actively working with Congress to pass a resolution blocking this rule under the Congressional Review Act, and we continue to lobby lawmakers to support Rep. Clyde and Sen. Marshalls Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act. If President Biden will not sign such legislation, then Congress must defund this rogue agency, Johnston wrote. Possible Criminal Charges to Be Announced Over Fatal Rust Movie Shooting The Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the film "Rust" was being filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 23, 2021. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo) More than a year after a camerawoman was accidentally shot and killed on a movie set in New Mexico, the local district attorney will reportedly decide this month on whether to press criminal charges over the incident that involved actor Alec Baldwin. The office of Santa Fe First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT that by the end of January, an announcement will be made about whether charges on the case will be pursued. An exact date was not given. The case was handed to Altwies in October after the Santa Fe Sheriffs Office completed its investigation, which was released in November. At that time, a spokesperson for the district attorneys office said that Altwies and her team of investigators and prosecutors will now begin a thorough review of the information and evidence to make a thoughtful, timely decision about whether to bring charges. Death on Movie Set Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being accidentally shot during film rehearsals for the movie Rust, which was being filmed on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died after being shot by Alec Baldwin on the set of his movie Rust, at a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters) Baldwin has sued people of the movie crew who were involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that killed Hutchins. Meanwhile, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell has sued Baldwin, who was a producer on the film, the production company, and many others involved for assault and negligence. Hutchinss family recently settled a lawsuit against producers of Rust under an agreement that aims to restart filming with her husbands involvement as executive producer. The production is set to restart in 2023 with Baldwin and Souza in place. Alec Baldwin attends the World Premiere of National Geographic Documentary Films The First Wave at Hamptons International Film Festival in East Hampton, N.Y., on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic) In December 2021, two months after the shooting, Baldwin said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report released in August 2022 found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger had been pulled. New Mexicos Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Issue of Bidens Handling of Classified Documents Gets Beyond the Politics: GOP Congressman President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 13, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Finding classified documents in properties linked to President Joe Biden poses a concern that gets beyond the politics, according to Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.). Documents dating back to the period when Biden was the vice president have turned up at both the presidents former office at Penn Biden Center in Washington and his Delaware home, including a small number in his garage and another page in an adjacent room, according to the White House. When you take into account how China is stealing our most sensitive technical information, theyre using it against us, to be this careless with the use of information, to me, disqualifies you, as is whether you are a member of Congress, the Secretary of State or the president of the United States, Palmer told The Epoch Times sister media outlet NTD on Jan. 12. As a member of Congress, Palmer has to leave his phone outside when entering into the compartment to access classified information, he said. I couldnt take notes. I couldnt take documents out, he said, noting that Biden, who wasnt the president at the time, didnt have the authority to declassify such information. The congressman tried to draw a contrast between Bidens handling of those materials and the case of former President Donald Trump, who is under investigation for possessing materials with classified markings at his Florida home. His was in the garage, he said of the second batch of Biden documents, describing it as a huge problem. In the case of Trump, he said, at least he had it under lock and key, not sitting by his riding lawn mower. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas on July 9, 2021. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) I dont think we need to get into the politics of it, he continued. I think this should be a bipartisan issue that we need to lock down and make sure that everyone who has a top-secret classification or higher, handles this information properly. Palmer also recounted a 2016 hearing about former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons mishandling of classified information when he served on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She had a private server in her basement that was not secured. It not only contained classified, top secret, it contains sensitive, compartmentalized information, a security clearance above mineand I have top secret, he said. So theres a long history here on the Democrat side of mishandling classified information. China Connection When asked what was on his mind when he placed classified material next to your Corvette, Biden argued that the Corvette is in a locked garage so its not like theyre sitting out in the street. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), referring to that conversation on Friday, wondered whether thats good enough for national security. But whats more concerning to him is the Chinese funding to the University of Pennsylvania, which houses the Penn Biden Center. It appears that was funded by Chinese nationals who are close to the Communist Chinese government. I think that is the real story behind this, Tiffany told NTD, referring to the tens of millions of dollars in contracts and gifts that the university has received from China. The Penn Biden Center has denied having taken money from China and said all of its budgets comes from the university. Penn is fully compliant with federal law regarding the reporting of foreign gifts and contracts, as foreign gifts are all properly reported to the U.S. Department of Education, a center spokesperson previously told The Epoch Times in an email. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) is seen during a ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in a file photograph. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Whether theres any connection with the Chinese regime and the Biden familys foreign business interests is a question that Tiffany hopes the newly appointed special counsel could find out. Is this part of a bigger picture, is this part of the puzzle, and we really need to dig on that. And Im sure hoping that this special counsel is going to dig deep. Both the House Oversight Committee and Judiciary on Friday began probing into the Biden document issue. Tiffany acknowledged that the issue of classified information could be over-politicized. But the prosecution of Trump has set the precedent. We know that documents are over-classified in every administration, and so you wonder sometimes: is it making a lot out of a little? he said. But the only problem for the Biden administration now is theyve set the rules, they set the rules with President Trump, now they need to live by those rules. The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment. Weekend Rainfall Expected to Provide More Water Than California Dam Can Capture Prado Dam in Corona, California, is likely to receive more water than it can hold from incoming rainfall this weekend, according to Orange County Water District spokesperson Greg Woodside. Located in San Bernardino County, the dam, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supplies captured rainwater to the Santa Ana River, which is diverted to an underground water basin in Anaheim for Orange County and any excess then flows to the ocean. It can hold up to 20,000 acre-feet of water, and is currently 95 percent full. According to Woodside, this weekends rain will likely capture another 1,000-acre-feet of water, pushing the dam to its capacity. Water from the dam and the countys recharge basin is converted into drinking and household water for the countys residents. These water suppliers provide about nine billion gallons of water to the countys supply, enough to provide for 220,000 people for a year. The National Weather Service predicts cities in Orange County will receive up to 2 inches of rain this weekend, starting Jan. 13 in the evening through Jan. 15. Republican Congressman Calls For Ending Offshore Wind Projects in New Jersey Following Multiple Whale Deaths Members of multiple rescue organizations work to remove the body of a 21-foot, approximately 5,000-pound killer whale that stranded itself in Flagler County, Florida on January 11, 2022. (Courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Department) Rep Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) is demanding an end to offshore wind activity in New Jersey after an unprecedented number of whales washed ashore in the area over the past month, and despite such projects being pushed forward by President Biden and NJ Governor Phil Murphy. Offshore wind projects (turbines placed in the ocean that use wind to generate electricity) should be stopped until research reveals the impacts these projects will have on the environment and the fishing industry, said Van Drew, according to a Jan. 13 press release. Ocean life is being put at risk as our Governor and President force through their Green New Deal policies, without giving full consideration to their real-world impacts, he stated. We have seen a complete lack of transparency from New Jerseys leaders, as well as D.C. politicians who are ramming through these projects in order to push their climate agenda. Van Drew announced that once committees for the 118th Congress are finalized, he will be calling for congressional investigations into the issue. According to reports, seven dead whales have washed up along the coastline of New Jersey and New York in less than two months. The most recent incident occurred late Thursday afternoon when a humpback whale washed up on the beach in Brigantine. Another humpback washed up on a beach in Atlantic City last month. Pushing Through Offshore Wind Power Projects At present, four offshore wind projects are being constructed off the coast of New Jersey and three off the coast of New York. On Jan. 13, Senator Vince Polistina (R-N.J.) called on Governor Murphy to order the suspension of offshore wind projects until the cause of whale deaths can be determined. Some of the whales are on the endangered list. The work related to offshore wind projects is the primary difference in our waters, and its hard to believe that the death of six whales on our beaches is just a coincidence, Polistina said in a Jan. 13 statement. Offshore wind projects are being promoted by New Jersey, New York, and the Biden administration as part of their climate agenda. Back in July, Biden insisted that offshore wind projects would power millions of homes and create jobs. The president has a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power within this decade. On Jan. 11, Murphy announced signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) between the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC. The company will lease 35 acres of land at the New Jersey Wind Port which it will initially use for marshaling of the 1.5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind project off the New Jersey coast, said a Jan. 11 press release. Marine Threat in New England In May last year, Sean A. Hayes, Chief of Protected Species at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), wrote a letter in which he warned that wind projects off the coast of New England threatened the regions already dwindling population of right whales. The letter, addressed to Brian R. Hooker, lead biologist at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, pointed out that right whales are one of the most endangered marine mammals, with only around 350 of these animals remaining as of 2022, down from 478 in 2011. Almost 50 percent of the reproductive female right whale population has been sighted in southern New England waters. Distribution of these mammals in the region occurs in and adjacent to offshore wind energy lease areas, Hayes pointed out while adding that the development of similar projects poses serious risks to this species. Displacement from a prime portion of their only winter foraging grounds due to disruptions in forage availability/distribution and/or exposure to other stressors (e.g., increased vessel traffic) could have extremely detrimental energetic effects, resulting in reduced calving success, the letter warned. Additional noise, vessel traffic, and habitat modifications due to offshore wind development will likely cause added stress that could result in additional population consequences to a species that is already experiencing rapid decline (30 percent in the last 10 years). Republican Legislature Seeks to Cut Nashvilles Metro Council in Half Tennessees Legislature is proposing legislation that would cut the size of the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Council in half, down from the current 40 members. The legislation (pdf), filed Jan. 9, would cap the number of members that are elected to a governing body of a metro or municipal government to 20, which in effect slices Nashvilles council in half. The bill does not target Nashville specifically, as that would violate rules that prevent localities from being specifically targeted by legislation, but Nashvilles council is the only one in the state with more than 20 members. Nashville-Davidson County, Hartsville-Trousdale County, and Lynchburg-Moore County are the only metropolitan/combined city and county governments in the state. Hartsvilles council has 20 members while Lynchburgs has 15, according to the University of Tennessee. The bill, filed by two Republican members of the House and Senate, would require any government with more than 20 members to hold an election on the first Thursday in August 2024 with the scaled-down councils. Council Size in Nashville Remained the Same as Population Grew Nashvilles consolidation into the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County was one of the first true consolidations of city and county governments in the United States, according to Davidson County historian Carole Bucy (pdf). After several failed attempts to get voters on board with the consolidation, voters were in favor of the measure in 1962 and it went into effect in 1963. Nashville became the national pioneer in metropolitan organization, Bucy wrote. Although other cities had partial consolidation, Nashville was the first city in the country to achieve true consolidation. Nashville Mayor John Cooper speaks during a news conference on the Christmas day bombing in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 26, 2020. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images) A ballot measure in Nashville to change the size of the council in 2015 failed, with 62 percent of voters being against the measure. It would have reduced the number of council members to 27. The current system has 35 district-elected members and five at-large elected members. Metros governing body was the third largest in the country at the time, only behind New York City and Chicago governing bodies. At the same time, it was the 25th largest city in the United States, according to 2013 census data. Since then, Nashville has grown to become the 20th largest city in the United States, according to 2020 census data. The Politics Nashvilles council is independent in practice, with all seats being non-partisan. However, Nashville in federal and state elections has been reliably Democratic and Mayor John Cooper said although the office is nonpartisan, he is a Democrat. State House Majority Leader Republican William Lamberth, a Republican, said the proposed legislation is good government. When government grows beyond a certain size, it hinders economic growth, taxes are inevitably raised and the standard of living for the average citizen is diminished, Lamberth said. State Sen. Bo Watson, the Republican sponsor in the Tennessee Senate, echoed that sentiment. Local government bodies need to be a size that allows them to function efficiently and effectively without compromising their duty to represent the people, he said. Cooper however has said the move from the Republican supermajority in the state legislature is meant to punish the city for its policies that are often at odds with state lawmakers, including the Councils voting down of a draft agreement to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in the city. Tennessees Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called Cooper incompetent in August and lambasted him and the council. Cooper did not publicly speak for or against hosting the convention himself. As recently as 2015, Nashville residents voted by a nearly two-thirds margin to keep Metro Council at 40 members, Cooper said in a statement after the legislation was filed last week. Far from strengthening local democracy, todays legislation undermines the will of Nashville voters and effective local governance. Contrary to claims by our state colleagues, this Metro Council has successfully facilitated historic accomplishments for our city including record investments in education, enhanced support for our first responders and major economic development agreements that will directly benefit the states economy. Cooper added Nashville is the engine of Tennessees economy and the envy of cities across the country, and that success has been built with Metros 60 years of good governing by our 40-person Council. The Chair of the Democratic Caucus in Tennessees House, John Ray Clemmons, said the legislation would set a dangerous precedent. The GOP supermajoritys continued efforts to overstep into local affairs and usurp the decision-making authority of local officials for the purpose of centralizing more and more power at the state level is concerning, Clemmons said. Ultimately, Nashville families know whats best for Nashville. Not everyone on the Council is against the measure, though, with Bob Mendes, an at-large Metro Council member, stating it could be beneficial, according to The Tennessean. The size of the council is the result of a race-related political compromise, Mendes said. If we can wave a magic wand and strip that away, having a smaller council thats paid better with professional staff would be in the best interest of the city. Riverside Sheriffs Deputy Fatally Shot in Line of Duty In this undated photo provided by the Riverside County Sheriff, Deputy Darnell Calhoun (R), poses with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Biano (L) in Riverside, Calif. (Courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff) LAKE ELSINORE, Calif.A Southern California sheriffs deputy was shot and killed Jan. 13, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was slain in the line of duty. The deaths of deputies Darnell Calhoun on Friday and Isaiah Cordero on Dec. 29 were the first since 2003 when a Riverside County sheriffs deputy was killed in the line of duty, Sheriff Chad Bianco said. The suspect in Calhouns death is in custody and was listed in critical condition after a gunbattle with a second deputy, Bianco said Friday during a news conference. Calhoun was fatally shot in the city of Lake Elsinore, the sheriff said. He died after being taken to the hospital in serious condition. I shouldnt be here tonight having to do this again, Bianco said Friday outside the hospital. Im devastated to tell of the loss of another of our deputy sheriffs who was killed in the line of duty today. Calhoun is survived by his pregnant wife, Bianco said. He had previously worked for the San Diego Police Departmentthe agency said on Twitter it was devastated to learn of his deathbefore transferring to Riverside last year. He was the most cheerful, the most positive, the most good, wholesome man you could imagine, Bianco said. Calhoun, 30, was the first deputy to arrive at the scene of a disturbance around 4:30 p.m. Friday following a call of unknown trouble where voices could be heard in the background, indicating a struggle, Bianco said. At this point, we are not completely sure of the circumstances surrounding the initial contact, Bianco said. The second deputy found Calhoun wounded in the street and confronted the suspect in a shootout. The suspects identity has not been released. Lake Elsinore is about 55 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Fridays shooting comes as the sheriffs department is reeling from Corderos death. The 32-year-old was fatally shot last month during a traffic stop in the city of Jurupa Valley, east of Los Angeles. Cordero had pulled over a pickup truck and the driver, 44-year-old William Shae McKay, shot the deputy as he approached the vehicle. Law enforcement pursued McKay in a manhunt that included a chase along freeways in two counties, authorities said. McKay was killed during a shootout with deputies after the truck crashed. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Corderos family have called for the resignation of a Southern California judge who allowed McKays release from custody on bail despite his lengthy criminal history. The sheriff said McKay was convicted of a third strike offense in 2021 that should have put him in state prison for 25 years to life, but the judge lowered his bail, allowing his release, and later released him following an arrest for failing to appear at his sentencing. San Diego Mayor Delivers State of City Controversy arises over high density housing San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria gave an impassioned State of the City address on Jan. 11, culminating in the declaration that The state of our city is rising. He cited the citys many accomplishments over the past year such as lowering overall crime in the city by 7.5 percent, property crime by 9.7 percent, and violent crime by 13 percent, reforms on homelessness outreach programs, and what the mayor calls the Ready to Rebuild budget, the largest investment in infrastructure in our citys history, and a newly announced executive order requiring relevant city departments to complete review and approval of all affordable housing projects within 30 days. However, some San Diegans are calling for the city to tap the brakes and take a closer look at a proposal to provide more affordable housing in San Diego. Some members of the organization Neighbors for a Better San Diego voiced concerns of a new proposal that would increase the range of properties eligible for incentives to build multi-story accessory dwelling units, and potentially larger apartment buildings in some neighborhoods. One concern is that it will increase density in the city without adequately addressing the need for improving public transportation. The group also points out on its website that the city has not yet provided a detailed map of the sustainable development area because it is still in draft form. While some council members recognize that mass transit in San Diego may not be ideal for the proposed density increase, it is also recognized that more affordable housing is urgently needed. San Diego Supervisors Support Removing Graffiti From Private Property for Free Hailed as relief for property owners who are victims of the crime A file photo of a bicyclist riding next to graffiti in Southern California, on March 25, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) San Diego County Supervisors voted 40 Wednesday to advance a proposal, introduced by the County Planning & Development Services Department, that would give residents in unincorporated areas a break when it comes to ridding their property of graffiti. The supervisors cast a final vote at the hearing of such an ordinance on Jan. 25. If approved, property owners would no longer be required to pay for graffiti removal. Today, were proposing a new approach to graffiti removal on private property, Brent Panas, code compliance chief for the department, told The Epoch Times. Current county code makes property owners responsible for the costs of graffiti removal from their property, without considering that they are the victims of graffiti, he said. A county survey map of its unincorporated areas shows 85 percent of graffiti is found in under-served communities. Panas said the ordinance change is also an opportunity to help beautify neighborhoods affected by graffiti without cost and delays for the affected property owner. Any verified abuse of the program would be referred to the Countys legal team. Panas added that using a contractor to conduct graffiti removal would reduce the amount of staff time spent on code cases and increase the quality of life in our communities while protecting property values and protecting local businesses from loss of revenue. The county estimates that the graffiti removal program would cost as much as $20,000 this fiscal year, and between $20,000 and $40,000 annually starting in fiscal year 202324. Board Chair Nora Vargas was supportive of the proposal, noting that graffiti is a serious problem for property owners in the community of Spring Valley. The ordinance change would also ensure that county staff is able to respond quickly to reports of tagging, she added. Supervisor Jim Desmond thanked the department for recommending the ordinance change, and said it doesnt make sense for victims of graffiti to pay for the crime. Board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was absent from Wednesdays meeting. City News Service contributed to this report. San Diego Supervisors Support Restricting Sexual Predators Near Home Schools San Diego County Supervisors voted 40 on Jan. 11 to support state legislation that would restrict the placement of sexually violent predators near homeschooling sites. The motion by Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond directs Chief Administration Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer to request that state legislation governing predator placement take home school sites into account, along with public and private schools. In addition, she was directed to take action against any proposed court-ordered placing of a predator near any school site whether it is home-based, private, or public. Its an issue that affects all of our districts in our county, and were all doing what we can to protect our communities, said Desmond, who referred to the proposed placement of one such person, Douglas Badger, in the rural desert community of Borrego Springs. A state hospital last year proposed putting the 79-year-old Badger into a home at 1619 Zuni Trail, where he would undergo treatment, be monitored by GPS, and be prohibited from leaving the residence without supervision. Borrego Springs residents spoke out against the proposed placement, which will be decided by Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers. A 2021 proposal to put Badger in a Rancho Bernardo home also received similar opposition. Desmond said an appeals court recently ruled in favor of treating home schools the same as private and public institutions. We want to advocate for this change through the state Legislature as well, he said. Anderson said many rural communities dont have the same educational choices as urban schools, and children there should have the same right to world-class education as any other child. On Jan. 5, Anderson and Desmond sent a letter to Weathers about the home school issue. In San Diego County, there are several home-school sites, study and charter programs for children of all ages, where students are taught in a residential home environment, alternative to standard and mainstream education in school facilities, according to the letter. Many of these children have special needs or developmental disabilities, and are particularly vulnerable to dangers and predators in their surrounding environments. Last year, supervisors voted to formally oppose placing predators in the county. During a public comment period Wednesday, nearly 20 people voiced support for equal treatment of home schools. Terrie Kellmeyer, who lives in Borrego Springs, said she homeschools her children directly across the street from the proposed housing site for Badger. Im personally living this nightmare right now, and have been living this nightmare for the last six months, she said, adding that the fear is real for families, and children are worried they will be attacked at night and cant focus on their education during the daytime. Kellmeyer said she didnt think she would have to tell her children that they have to be on guard, 24-seven about a predator possibly living nearby. A school is a school is a school, Kellmeyer said. My children should not be experiments. Sarah Rogers, a retired clinical psychologist and Borrego Springs resident, said there are about 700 such predators in California. She said only 40 percent of them choose to participate in treatment programs, and they are likely to re-offend, and that out of those in conditional release programs in California, 50 percent fail it and are returned to custody. Parents need to have the flexibility to choose where their children are schooled at home, Rogers said, adding she appreciates the Board of Supervisors past support of policies against such placement. Board Chair Nora Vargas thanked the public for their input, while her colleague Nathan Fletcher called the proposal an appropriate step. Board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was absent from Wednesdays meeting. Woodbrook Elementary School plans to hold its ninth annual Miles for Martin event this coming Monday, Jan. 16, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The event, open to the public, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students and community members will walk around the Woodbrook track to raise money for the African American Teaching Fellows, which works to recruit African American teachers for public schools in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Woodbrook currently employs two full-time fellows. Donors can bring cash or checks directly to the event; they can also give online at aatf.org. Woodbrook has requested that donors add WESMLKAATF23 to the end of their name. Woodbrook Elementary is located at 100 Woodbrook Dr. in Charlottesville. Schiffs Office Frequently Sought Removal, Deamplification of Content on Twitter: Twitter Files Staff members of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote to Twitter quite often to seek the suppression and removal of content they disagreed with, according to journalist and Twitter Files author Matt Taibbi. In a Twitter thread posted Jan. 13, Taibbi supplemented previous revelations regarding the former House Intelligence Committee chairs privileged relationship with Twitter with a few more examples of questionable conduct. One instance Taibbi cited was an April 2020 email exchange in which Schiffs staff members contacted Twitter to seek the removal of an unflattering deepfake photoan image that has been digitally manipulatedof then-presidential candidate Joe Biden that had been shared by President Donald Trump. According to the emails, the Democratic National Committee also sought the images removal, but Yoel Roth, Twitters head of trust and safety, ultimately decided that any reasonable observer could discern that the image was fake and created with humorous intent. Rather than accept that decision, Schiff staffer Jeff Lowenstein pushed back, claiming that there was a slippery slope concern here and that the next iteration of this could easily be more malicious and less obvious. Ultimately, however, Twitter stood firm in its denial. The headquarters for the social media company Twitter in San Francisco, on Nov. 11, 2022. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) Additional communications show that Twitter employees also refused requests for the removal of any and all content about Mr. [Sean] Misko and other Committee staff from its serviceto include quotes, retweets, and reactions to that content, as well as the total suppress[ion of] any and all search results about Mr. Misko and other Committee staff. Misko served as a staff member for the House Intelligence Committee under Schiff from July 2019 until September 2022. But while Twitter rejected those requests, internal documents show that there were plenty of others the platform acted on, often through the deamplification of disfavored accounts, like those engaged in QAnon-related activity. According to Taibbi, Schiffs staffers often complained about such activity when it wasnt present, and although they praised Twitters methods of limiting certain users reach, they did raise one concernthat those methods could hinder law enforcement action against users. We are curious whether any deamplification measures implemented by Twitters enforcement team which we appreciate greatly could inadvertently impede the ability of law enforcement to search Twitter for potential threats about Misko and other HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] staff, one staffer inquired in an email. Previous Disclosures The new disclosures from Twitters internal files come on the heels of last weeks report that Schiffs office also pressured Twitter to suspend the account of investigative journalist Paul Sperry, among many others. The justification Schiffs office provided was that Sperry had repeatedly promoted false QAnon conspiracies and harassed [redacted]. Sperrys Twitter account was ultimately suspended three months later, in February 2021. It was restored after Elon Musk bought the social media platform last year. Sperry, reacting to the newly revealed information on Twitter, said: Explains why Twitter could never give me a reason for my suspension. It was Schiff! Sperry, who charged that Schiff used his power to muscle Twitter into banning a journalist, has since announced that he is exploring all legal options, including suing Schiff for defamation. Schiffs name also came up in the 14th Twitter Files installment on Jan. 12, which showed that he and other prominent Democrats knowingly pushed a false narrative in 2018 that Russian bots were promoting a report released by then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) that detailed efforts to spy on the Trump campaign. At a crucial moment in a years-long furor, Taibbi wrote on Jan. 12, Democrats denounced a report about flaws in the Trump-Russia investigation, saying it was boosted by Russian bots and trolls. Twitter officials were aghast, finding no evidence of Russian influence, he added, sharing a screenshot of a letter Twitter sent to Schiff and Rep. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that stated as much. 3.Twitter officials were aghast, finding no evidence of Russian influence: We are feeding congressional trolls. Not anysignificant activity connected to Russia. Putting the cart before the horse assuming this is propaganda/bots. pic.twitter.com/r8O21QacME Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 12, 2023 The Epoch Times has contacted Schiffs office for comment. House to Investigate The explosive information Twitter has released through such disclosures in the last couple of months has created a firestorm in Washington as evidence that government entities engaged in the illegal censorship of Americans speech continues to mount. Republicans have pledged to investigate the allegations now that they possess control of the House of Representatives, creating a new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to do so. Democrats, however, have criticized the new panels broad authority to review ongoing criminal investigations. This is a violation of separation of powers, and its also very dangerous, said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Meanwhile, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) slammed the subcommittee as nothing more than a deranged ploy by the MAGA extremists who have hijacked the party and want to use taxpayer money to push their far-right conspiracy nonsense. Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), however, advocated for the panel on the House floor Tuesday, noting, This is about the First Amendment. I would hope we could get bipartisan agreement on protecting the First Amendment, he continued. The five rights we enjoy as Americans under the First Amendment: Your right to practice your faith, assemble, right to petition the government, freedom of press, freedom of speech. Every single ones been attacked in the last two years. And the most important of those rights, the congressman added, is your right to talk, because if you cant talk, you cant practice your faith. You cant share your faith. You cant petition your government. The right to speak is the most important, and thats what they [the federal government agencies] are going after. SCOTUS to Hear Case of Evangelical Christian Who Asked Post Office Not to Force Him to Work Sundays A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker unloads packages from his truck in the Manhattan borough of New York, on April 13, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters) The Supreme Court agreed late on Jan. 13 to take up the civil rights lawsuit of an evangelical Christian postal worker in Pennsylvania who quit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) after it refused to accommodate his wish to not work on the Sunday Sabbath. The granting of the petition in Groff v. DeJoy, court file 22-174, over the opposition of the Biden administration, comes as the high court has become increasingly protective of First Amendment-based religious protections in recent years. The justices gave no reason for their decision. No justices dissented from the ruling. Gerald Groff began working as a mail carrier for the USPS in 2012. He was whats called a rural carrier associate, meaning that he filled in for absent career employees. He worked at the Quarryville, Pennsylvania, post office until he transferred to the Holtwood, Pennsylvania, post office in August 2016. The Postal Service initially tried to accommodate his request to not work on Sundays, but he quit in 2019 after the agency stopped accommodating him. He sued, claiming that the Postal Service discriminated against him by refusing to accommodate his religion under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as The Epoch Times previously reported. Groff is represented by First Liberty Institute, Baker Botts LLP, the Church State Council, and the Independence Law Center. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of religion, Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times. Its time for the Supreme Court to reconsider a decades-old case that favors corporations and the government over the religious rights of employees. Shackelford didnt elaborate on the earlier precedent. We are simply asking the Supreme Court to apply the law as written and require employers to grant meaningful religious accommodations to people of faith, Attorney Aaron Streett of Baker Botts said. Lead trial counsel Alan Reinach of the Church State Council said: Workers have suffered too long with the Supreme Courts interpretation that disrespects the rights of those with sincere faith commitments to a workplace accommodation. Its long past time for the Supreme Court to protect workers from religious discrimination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit turned down Groffs appeal last year, finding that exempting him from Sunday work would have imposed an undue hardship on the postal service. The Biden administration previously urged (pdf) the high court to not review the case. The court of appeals correctly applied legal precedent when it found that Groffs request to skip Sunday work imposed hardship on his co-workers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in a brief, quoting the appeals court. This harmed the USPS because it made timely delivery more difficult, she said. The attorneys general of 17 states signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief on Sept. 26, 2022, asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. Its a fundamental right of every citizen to freely exercise their religious freedom, said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, at the time. Many spend most of their time at work and people should not be expected to choose between their jobs and their faith. Thats absurd. No one should be forced to sacrifice their dedication to their religion in order to keep a job. Morrisey and the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia filed the brief. Federal lawmakers filed their own friend-of-the-court brief. Among the lawmakers were Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), along with Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). Department of Justice officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch times for comment. In this episode, we sit down with Sebastian Gorka, host of America First, former strategist for President Donald Trump, and author of The War for Americas Soul, to discuss narratives surrounding the Russia-Ukraine War, the fog of disinformation, the Twitter Files, and the politicization of Americas intelligence agencies. Sending unaccountable pallets of cash to any country is dumb. I dont care whether its Afghanistan, the Ukraine, or whether its Iraq. A, its not good geopolitics, and B, it smacks of corruption, says Gorka. [But] this argument I get from conservatives, well, Ukraine is so corrupt. Yeah, so is Washington, D.C. Should Chinese tanks be rolling up Constitution Avenue because we have a corrupt administration? Of course not. We are a country made up of people, not politicians. Both neocons and neo-Buchananites have taken extreme positions on the Russia-Ukraine War, Gorka argues. The sad thing is we dont have these discussions even on the rightforget about left and right. We dont have a slightly nuanced discussion about countries invading each other in Europe, Gorka says. According to Gorka, the United States must bear part of the moral burden for what has unfolded in Ukraine. We, the Americans, convinced post-communist Ukraine to give up all its nuclear weapons. To give them to who? To Moscow. FULL TRANSCRIPT Jan Jekielek: Sebastian Gorka, such a pleasure to have you back on American Thought Leaders. Sebastian Gorka: Thank you, Jan. Its been a while. Its great to be back. Mr. Jekielek: It really has been too long. Youve been frequenting a lot of these Twitter spaces. Mr. Gorka: Its not good for my insomnia. Mr. Jekielek: Its unbelievable the long hours that some people have put into this whole thing. Of course, part of the reason is youve been following these Twitter File releases exposing the weaponization of these agencies who manufacture and create perception. Mr. Gorka: Right. Mr. Jekielek: Aside from the censorship, theres another other side. I want to talk about all this. Before we go there, though, something I dont cover a lot is the Russia-Ukraine War. Part of the reason is this fog of information war that covers all of this, and its very hard to understand whats going on. The propaganda is dominant all over the place. Why dont we just start with this, and why dont you tell me what is going on. Mr. Gorka: Yes. I would say propaganda, absolutely, but also rank ignorance and dogmatic ideology. Many moons ago before I joined the Trump Administration, I was a professor at the Marine Corps University. Someone called Steve Bannon heard me give a speech about Russia at a conference. Then, he called me to his office and said, Id like you to be the National Security Editor for Breitbart. I didnt need another job. I threw out a stupid number. Unfortunately, he said, Yes. So, I became the National Security Editor for Breitbart. One of the reasons I actually accepted his offer was because of the paucity of sophisticated, and I dont even mean sophisticated, just slightly more than Neanderthal thinking when it comes to national security on the Right. For about 20 years now, if youre a conservative and the issue of national security comes up, you have two options. You can either be in the Neocon camp, with the Wolf Blitzers of the world, the Doug Feiths of the world, and the Cheneys and say, Were going to invade other countries and turn them into democracies at the end of a gun barrel, which is, of course, absurd. Or, youre a neo-Buchananite, Tucker Carlson adherent, who says, Forget the rest of the world. They can go to hell in a handbasket. Its irrelevant to us. My argument is, Its a little bit more complicated than that. There is a whole panoply of options between telling everyone to go to hell, or invading those countries. I would like to see that level of slightly more sophisticated thinking when it comes to geopolitical issues. It is being reflected once again when it comes to Ukraine. There are either the insane people like Lindsey Graham who say, Send them U.S. battle tanks and deploy everything possible. Its the ultimate test of Western civilization. There are others like Tucker Carlson who say, This is irrelevant. You are funding a neo-Nazi regime thats fully corrupt. We should not give a damn about Ukraine, and they can just go up in flames. No. Absolutely wrong. This war, which is now past its 300th day, is very important to America. Why? Because former KGB colonels who are thugs and murderers invading any country, be they corrupt or not, is bad, especially a KGB colonel like Vladimir Putin, who for the last 20 years as president has been saying, Not only Ukraine, but Poland and the Baltic States are illegitimate, fake nations that have no right to exist. Thats not a good thing to even countenance, let alone allow to happen. On the flip side, sending tens of billions of dollars to Kiev with zero accountability in praxis is also not strategic. Ive said this from the beginning, and I wrote this in Breitbart. I wrote a piece saying, right at the get-go after the invasion, America should be involved, not with troops, not with massive military involvement, but to provide, or to help to provide Warsaw Pact-era equipment from those NATO nations that have it, like Poland and Hungary. Remember the MIG deal that was on the table, and then shot down by the White House. That makes sense because Ukraine needs weapons it knows how to use. It doesnt need Patriot missile batteries that nobody in Ukraine knows how to handle. Give them Soviet-era equipment so they can fight for themselves. Give them ammunition because they need ammunition, especially artillery ammunition. Then lastly, in terms of military involvement, lets have zero real military involvement for the U.S. or NATO. Because we dominate the ISR domain, the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance domain, with our satellites, provide Kiev with those intelligence target sets that allow them to extract the most damage on the invading forces by targeting them effectively. Thats what we should have been doing 300 days ago. Thats what we should be doing today. But, the idea that we ignore it or we deploy the 82nd Airborne, neither of those is good geopolitics. Mr. Jekielek: Well Mr. Gorka: The sad thing is we dont have these discussions, even on the Right, forget about the Left and Right. We dont have a slightly nuanced discussion about, Yes, countries are invading each other in Europe, what does that mean for America? Mr. Jekielek: You know, of course, Im Polish. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: Most of my viewers know very well. One of the narratives that you hear is, Supporting Ukraine, thats a globalist position, and that this is what Russia is against. What I say is, Poland is deeply committed to helping Ukraine, and Poland is definitely not a globalist country. Why? Maybe the question we should ask is, Why is Poland so committed to helping in this situation? Why is it worried about its border? You suggested something a bit earlier. What is Russias history in the region? Thats also very important. Mr. Gorka: You know my story, as a child of those who suffered under communism. My father was an anti-communist after World War II, and was betrayed by Kim Philby, the British double agent, arrested, tortured, and at the age of 20, given a life sentence in a communist prison. He was liberated in the revolution of 1956. I bring a certain perspective to this as a Hungarian, or a descendant of a Hungarian family. Of course, the Poles are supporting Ukraine to the nth degree because they understand that theyre next. This isnt necessarily the recreation of the Soviet Union. We know the Russian Federation today has a GDP equivalent to Italy. But lets remember what Vladimir Putin said about the 20th century. He made the great quote, The greatest geopolitical tragedy of the last century was the loss of the Soviet Union. So, if its not the recreation of the Soviet Union, its the recreation of a quasi-imperial Russia. Thats the history of Russia. Whether its 21,000 Poles murdered in the Katyn Forest in World War II, whether its the children that were killed in Afghanistan by mines disguised as plastic toys, or whether its a maternity ward in Ukraine being shelled by the Russians today, this is the history of the Kremlin. It may no longer be a czarist regime, but it is an empire because this man acts as an emperor. Im not surprised the Poles understand, because theyve been the victims of history for centuries, whether its the Germans or the Russians. Mr. Jekielek: Lets pick up some of the narratives that are out there. One of them is, This is NATO aggression, pure and simple. NATO picked up Poland and a whole bunch of other states right on the periphery of Russia. There must be some truth to that. Mr. Gorka: Did they pick them up? Lets dismantle this. Lets dissect this. This is where the moral equivalency argument comes back. This is Michael Moore and Chomsky saying, The West is just the East. Theres no difference between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Everybodys evil. Garbage, garbage. It may have been the Warsaw Pact for friendship and cooperation, but what was it? These were satrapies. These were captive nations. Hungary did not have an option to join the Warsaw Pact in 1955, and neither did Poland. The Baltic States were swallowed up by Stalin in World War II. What is NATO? Its a voluntary association. Its like joining a club. You can apply for NATO membership, but any nation that applies must demonstrate to the North Atlantic Council, to the extant members, that they bring something of value to the collective defense of the club. They have to contribute to the collective defense. Since when is it our job to say, Nations like Hungary or Poland should not have been allowed? If they want to join, they get to join. Thats not the encirclement of the Russian Federation. Lets be clear, the whole argument collapses like a house of cards when you say, Sorry. Were talking about Russia, a nation with 11 time zones and four-and-a-half thousand nuclear warheads. Is Lilliputian Lithuania joining NATO a threat to the 4,000 nuclear warheads of this nation with 11 time zones that span from Kaliningrad to the Chinese border? Again, its ignorance, a woeful ignorance of geopolitics. Then lastly, theres a moral aspect. Of course, geopolitics should be something done with cold calculation, but America has always been that shining city on the hill. You know, we are the only nation in the world that is founded on the principle of individual liberty and freedom. No other nation has that. What did we say to Ukraine in the 1990s? Lets remind everybody. With the Budapest memorandum that was signed by the U.S. government and vouchsafed by the British government, we, the Americans, convinced post-Communist Ukraine to give up all its nuclear weapons to give them to who? To Moscow. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ukraine was the second-largest nuclear nation in the world. It had more nukes than China. It was only second to the Soviet Union. Oh, no, sorry, the third after us. The Soviet Union, America, and Ukraine. We didnt want them to have nukes. We wanted to control the club of nuclear forces. So, we said, Give them to the Kremlin, give them back to Russia, and we will vouchsafe your security. We will protect Ukraine. What did they do? The idiots believed us. They trusted us, a democratic administration. So, our reputation is on the line because we told them, Dont keep the nuclear weapons. Heres this tragic reality. There never wouldve been a Russian invasion if Ukraine still had those nuclear missiles. We told them to get rid of them, so we bear a moral burden, as well. Mr. Jekielek: Lets talk about further narratives. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: America has lost its moral high ground. Look at what has happened. Were actually going to talk about this later in more detail. Theres a lot of questions about the goodwill of various key American intelligence agencies and law enforcement. Isnt all of this just part of this corruption thats being unearthed? This is what a lot of people are saying and are concerned with. This is also what the Kremlin is saying. Mr. Gorka: Of course, good information operations and good propaganda only works if it is based upon a kernel of truth. If its fully fabricated, then its easy to shoot down. But yes, we have a very serious problem in this country. For example, as the son of a political prisoner in a communist regime I never believed that I could sit here in America as an American citizen and say, We have political prisoners. We have political prisoners less than two miles from where we are sitting right now, Jan. People who were targeted by the FBI after January 6 and charged with misdemeanors like parading in Congress were kept incarcerated, often in solitary, for more than two years without an arraignment. Now, the U.S. Constitution is clear. Every American, Republican, or Democrat, or Independent, has the right to rapid justice. Two years behind bars before you see a judge is political persecution. So yes, we have a mighty problem today. We have this weaponization of the most powerful intelligence and law enforcement architecture in the world, whether its the FBI, the CIA, or DHS, if we look at the Twitter Files. For me, this is personal. The viewers of your show may not know this. Before I joined the administration, my wife and I ran a company. It was the only company that had an external contract with the FBI for counterterrorism training on ISIS and Al Qaeda. I would travel 10, 15,000 miles a month going from one FBI field office to another FBI field office. My specialty was Jihadi ideology, and lecturing FBI agents, intelligence analysts, and SOS support staff. Ive lectured probably more than 6,000 FBI agents and analysts before I joined the White House. For me, every time I arrived at a new field office, the ASAC, the senior agent, would meet me, give me a nice challenge coin for that office, and a little pin for my lapel. I was proud to help the preeminent law enforcement agency in the world. If the FBI knocked on my door tonight, Jan, I would say, Go to hell. Talk to my attorneys. If they lose me, if they lose Sebastian Gorka, who worked in the White House, and who still has a top secret clearance, then we have trouble at the Hoover building. We now have the evidence. We have an FBI that deploys 20 armed agents in body armor to serve a warrant against a pro-life father of seven, who has had his misdemeanor assault charge, outside an abortion clinic, dropped months previously, but they raid his home as his children are screaming, Dont take our daddy away. Thats fine in North Korea. Thats fine in Venezuela. It is not okay in America. Sadly, thats what the FBI has become. Mr. Jekielek: This is the question that a lot of people have. You mentioned that these are some of the discussions that people are having on the Right. Was Ukraine a place for laundering American money? I think right now the tally is $110 billion put towards supporting Ukraine. Its not clear what the oversight is. These are very real questions. Mr. Gorka: Yes, these are. Absolutely. I stand by what I wrote more than 300 days ago when the war started. Sending unaccountable pallets of cash to any country is dumb. I dont care whether its Afghanistan, the Ukraine, or whether its Iraq. A; its not good geopolitics, and B; its smacks of corruption. I dont want to make excuses for anyone. I think Zelensky is a great leader. I think his regime is very problematic. This is the same country where Hunter Biden received $83,000 from one of the biggest Ukrainian energy companies that was eminently corrupt for a no-show job in a sector he had no experience in. This is the country where Joe Biden extorted the government saying, Im going to hold back a billion dollars worth of trade credits if you dont fire the chief prosecutor, who by the way, is investigating the company that gave my son $83,000 a month for a no-show job. This isnt Switzerland. This isnt Vanuatu. This isnt Belgium. This is a problematic country, but it is still a geopolitical country, which by the way, has also suffered greatly. People ask me, What is the end state of this conflict? Ill tell you what the end state is. Ukraine will fight, not to the last man, Ukraine will fight to the last 12-year-old who can lift an AK-47, after the Holodomor in which Stalin killed upwards of six, seven million Ukrainians, and literally starved them to death. Ukraine is not going to negotiate a peace. They will fight forever. Ultimately, irrespective of the levels of corruption and how stupid, or corrupt, the Biden administration is, theres one argument I like to make. If 1776 matters to you as an American, as a conservative, guess what? Ukraine is fighting their 1776 by getting rid of despotic influence and invading forces. Be they either red coats or the troops of the Russian Federation, there is an analogy here. And yes, theyre corrupt, but so is Washington. Washington DC under the current administration is a swamp that is putrid. Does that mean Im fine with China invading? This is the argument I get from conservatives, Well, Ukraine is so corrupt. Yes, so is Washington DC. Should Chinese tanks be rolling up Constitution Avenue, because we have a corrupt administration? Of course not. Were a country made up of people, not politicians. If Kiev is corrupt, okay, but there are tens of millions of people. There are children. There are refugees. There is a moral content, as well, which shouldnt drive everything we do geopolitically. But it is also an aspect that should inform our response. But tens of billions of dollars with no accountability, no, thats not so smart. Mr. Jekielek: There is another narrative, which also has truth to it. In the east of Ukraine, many of those people are primarily Russian speakers. In many cases, theyre Russian. In many cases theyre amenable to some kind of Russian rule. Why not just let those regions be taken, and call it a day? Mr. Gorka: On that issue, I will defer to somebody who actually has knowledge on the ground. One of my favorite international podcasts are two former men of the Left. The podcast is called TRIGGERnometry, and its co-hosted by Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin. Konstantin was born in the Soviet Union. Hes an ethnic Jew who has married a Ukrainian who visits Ukraine regularly. I had him on my show recently, America First, where he said even those members of his family who are Russian-speaking, ethnic Russians from the East, after the first three months of this invasion have totally turned on the Kremlin. They are for pro-Ukrainian sovereignty. Now, if thats what Im hearing from somebody who actually has family in the region, whos been there since the war erupted, I tend to give that credence. The idea is that there are ethnic minorities and there are referendums being held. Yes. Referendums run by who? By the Kremlin. Are we seriously going to take at face value a referendum taken by Kremlin forces? Then lastly, weve had a taboo in Europe for 70 years, since the cessation of hostilities in 1945. We said, Aggrandizement of a nations territory through the use of force is illegal. You cant just expand territory by invading it and taking it, which is what they did in Crimea, which is what they did in South Ossetia, which is what they did in Abkhazia, which is what theyve done with the frozen conflict in Moldova. This is the SOP, standard operating procedure. Its self determination, yes. But the use of force by a greater nation, militarily, to territorially expand, we were supposed to put that to bed after 1945. I dont care what ethnicity certain individual groups are, taking them by force is never correct. Mr. Jekielek: Its often framed as a U.S. proxy war. Theyll say during the Orange Revolution there was a pro-American government installed. There is definitely a significant American influence. Mr. Gorka: Absolutely. Mr. Jekielek: I dont think anyone would doubt that. Mr. Gorka: Absolutely. I am aware of the idea that it was inorganic, that it was all engineered. Yes, there were problems with U.S. government involvement. Beyond that, there are problems with George Soros and the Orange Revolution kind of NGO activity. At the end of the day, I dont think you can argue that Zelensky was put in place by external forces that were fully artificial. Again, even if the regime is corrupt, it doesnt justify a nuclear power invading them. It doesnt justify the shelling of maternity clinics. It doesnt justify what we heard of in Mariupol where families were found in mass graves, tied together with wire, the father, the mother, the children, weve seen this all before. Weve seen this all before. Whether its Katyn, or whether its Yekaterinburg and what happened to the czars family, this is what they do. Irrespective of the entanglements and involvements of others, none of it can ever be used to justify the acts of the Kremlin. Mr. Jekielek: Another common thing that I hear from people is, Its the threat of the biolabs. Mr. Gorka: Right. The biolabs, which are built by who? It drives me insane that people dont take a second to do just a little bit of homework. You dont have to use Google, use another search engine of your choice. Why are there bioweapon labs in Ukraine? Because the Soviet Union built them. We may have helped maintain them, to do research on defense against bioweapons. They were a legacy of what? The Soviet Union. Is it wise to find out what the Soviet Union was doing? Lets be clear. The Bioweapons Treaty of 1973 was brought between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Before the ink was dry on those signatures, the Soviet Union built a massive, illicit biological weapons empire. Read the autobiography of Ken Alibekov, who ran Biopreparat. Biopreparat was making anthrax, and was making biological weapons all through the 70s and 80s, with leaks and accidents. They were using the territory of other countries like Ukraine. Back in the 1990s, the U.S. had an idea, Okay, if Ukraine is now an independent country, and if they have these legacy capacities, why dont we find out what the Soviets were doing in these labs? Perhaps it will help us create defensive technologies against further attacks, because who knows whats going to happen with the proliferation of these technologies? Are they going to end up in the hands of Al-Qaeda or other actors? Lets just find out what they were doing. Are we really positing that the United States was building biological weapons in Ukraine to deploy against Russia? This hearkens back to the propaganda of the Cold War. Remember, this is now unclassified. What were we told by a certain newspaper in India in the 1980s? AIDS. Oh, thats artificial. That was made at Fort Dietrich by the U.S. Army. That was a U.S. government bioweapon to be used against ethnic minorities in America. That theory, that absurd conspiracy, still circulates today despite the fact it is now demonstrable that was planted in an Indian newspaper that was actually founded by the Kremlin in India as a propaganda tool. This is classic Russian disinformation. The fact that conservatives are picking it up and running with it, again, stop with the moral equivalency. Did a murderous regime invade another country and take its territory? Yes. Does that regime have 5,000 nuclear weapons? Yes. Have they done this before? Yes. Is it a threat to all decent nations? Absolutely. Should we be involved with boots on the ground? No. But, just like with the French, remember, the United States would not be a free nation today if it werent for other nations. We may have issues with the French, but if the French hadnt got involved with their naval forces after 1776, this would still be a colony. There would be no United States. This land mass would be part of the Commonwealth of Great Britain. The French helped the founding fathers establish independence. Just like the French helped us, it is incumbent upon us to help those who are fighting for their freedom to win it for themselves, not to do it for them. The French didnt fight for us, we did it for ourselves. Likewise, its up to the Ukrainians. Mr. Jekielek: I want to jump to talking about some of the things that were revealed through the Twitter Files. Before I go there, what has been described as United States imperialism, for example, the 20 years in Afghanistan seems to have not yielded much, aside from an incredible amount of spending, and frankly lives. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: There is this sense that the U.S. turns out to not be this shining city on the hill that you and I want it to be, and need it to be, and maybe even is compared to other nations. Thats just the reality that a lot of people are facing through these disclosures. They may be asking themselves, Hey, wait a second. Ill just use Russian disinformation as an example. Russian disinformation, as far as we can tell, has basically been a code word for Trump for the last however many years. When you say that, when you use those words, they almost lose their meaning. This is the reality were in right now. What do you think? Mr. Gorka: I would say to those who call us an empire, Can you give me an example of an empire that uses force in other countries, and then voluntarily leaves and hands those countries over to nationals of that nation? Its a very strange empire, isnt it? I understand that we can have fatigue with military adventurism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, but who runs those countries now? Is it some kind of proconsul from America or is it an Afghan president? Is it an Iraqi president? I would never justify the neo-conservatism of the 1990s. The idea that you can create democracy at the end of a gun barrel is insane. Nations have to want a representative government. You cant force a representative government on anybody. If they want to live in a tribal system with 36 different languages, let them do that. Let them fight amongst themselves. What did America do? It perceived a threat. It responded to a threat after 9/11 in Afghanistan and in Iraq. It made some fallacious statements about the connections between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. There were connections. But the idea that a Bathist, secular, Marxist regime would give weapons of mass destruction to a theocratic, Jihadi organization that hated Saddam as much as they hated us, again, is ignorant. Its ignorant. A threat was perceived. A faulty threat analysis was used to justify the use of force in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the end of the day, when it didnt work out, what did we do? Are we still there? Did we say, This is the 51st and the 52nd state of the United States, which is what Russia does, which is all the Soviet Union does, which is what real empires do, whether its the Roman Empire or the Persian Empire? No. We said, Okay, guys. Weve been here long enough. Weve killed enough of Al-Qaeda. Weve destroyed their training camps. Weve tried to build civil society, with education for women, and stuff like that. Its not going too well. Why dont you choose your president, and were out of here? They chose their own government. Empires dont do that. So again, we need a little bit of sophistication when it comes to analysis that empires dont invade other countries. Then, let the people of those countries choose their own governments. Mr. Jekielek: Just to be clear with Afghanistan, I dont think the people chose the Taliban. Mr. Gorka: No, no, no. Im talking about when they had their own president, like Karzai. No, Im not talking about the disasters that happened with Bidens removal. Im talking about when we allowed them to elect their own president, Hamid Karzai. The same in Iraq. When that happens, empires dont do that. Empires dont allow you to have your own election. What happened with the Taliban, yes, sadly, was not an election. The routing of U.S. forces and the cost of 13 U.S. war fighters murdered in that terrorist bombing was appalling. Im specifically talking in reference to what happened to the sovereignty of those nations after our military action. Mr. Jekielek: This is how we can segue into this part, talking about the realities of our agencies. What people would say is that the Afghani government couldnt exist without the U.S. support. Effectively, it was a part of the U.S. empire. They would say that about any other scenario, of which there are more than one, that exists in that kind of a structure. This is looking at some of the activities of some of our agencies that are being unearthed with the Twitter Files, not just through Russiagate. Mr. Gorka: Right. Mr. Jekielek: You know? Mr. Gorka: Right. Mr. Jekielek: Then the same playbook seemingly applied to COVID, and subsequently other things. This does actually create very real questions for people. What Im saying is, if there is this Russian and Chinese disinformation, it seems its a lot easier for them to do that now. Mr. Gorka: Oh, absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. Lets look at what weve lived through in the last six yearsRussian, Chinese, Iranian information operations. They just need to point at whats happened in the last six years, and maybe embroidered to a minuscule extent. What has happened? I did a short list on my weekly show on Newsmax of what we, as Americans, have witnessed in six years. A man who was elected by 64 million Americans once, then received more votes than any other incumbent president in history, my former boss, President Trump, was accused of colluding with Russia, was accused of tax fraud, was accused of misogyny, was accused of being Islamophobe, was impeached, not once, was impeached twice after he left office, and was targeted by the Southern District of New Yorks prosecutor for tax fraud. Then, he had his home, which is under 24-hour Secret Service protection, raided by armed agents of the FBI on some spurious classified document charge. By the way, for those who arent familiar with it, every president maintains the highest security clearance till they die. Jimmy Carter still has TS/SCI clearance. Its weird, but he does. What is this idea that the president cant have classified information, even after he leaves office, especially when he declares the documents related to the Russia collusion hoax are declassified? Theres only one person in the world who can declassify by fiat, and that is the President of the United States, which he did before he left office. So, if you just look at this string of events, and then the January 6 committee, and then the leaking of his IRS tax records, you cant say the deep state is now a tinfoil hat conspiracy. Its real. Now, God bless Elon Musk, thanks to what were seeing in the Twitter File drops. Beyond even the FBI, when the Department of Homeland Security is literally telling the biggest news platform- social media app to delete these accounts, and to delete these tweets, you dont need a lot of propaganda to say America is in a state of rank corruption. Of course, the conspiracy theories will flourish in this environment. Dont get me wrong, we have real problems that have to be looked at in this new Congress that a new Republican president has to get to the bottom of. But that still doesnt mean that there is moral equivalency between us and a KGB murdering Kremlin, or theocratic murderers in Tehran, or a little rocket man in North Korea. That does not mean there are moral equivalencies between our regimes. Thats the important point. Mr. Jekielek: I cover the Chinese Communist Party, as you well know, on the show. Weve talked about it extensively. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: I cover the social credit system development. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: Hey, this is what we have in America. What I usually say is, Well, think of it this way. If we allow this course to continue, yes. That is where well be, but were not there yet. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: What do you think about that? Mr. Gorka: Well, this is a real challenge for me. This is something Ive been grappling with, especially as a child of those who lived under both fascism as children, and then communism. What is the word for what we are experiencing here in America? Here in America, its not the scenario of 1917, in St. Petersburg. Its not 1948 in China, with the Kuomintang versus Mao. Its not even North Korea with a cessation of hostilities, and then a DMZ. Its very different. This is very much like the frog in the pot of boiling water. We dont have Laogai. We dont have gulags here, but we do have cancel culture. You say the wrong thing and you will be canceled, but not by the state. This is important. Its more of a fascistic model. Its more like Mussolini with the co-optation of the corporate estatethat Twitter, that Facebook, that Bank of America will acquiesce behind closed doors to the demands of the regime. Look at General Flynn, 32 years in uniform, director of Defense Intelligence, a combat veteran, American hero, his wifes credit cards are canceled by her bank because shes married to Mike Flynn. Now, thats not George Orwells 1984. Its some kind of composite. Its some kind of hybrid where a private actor de-persons and deletes an individual for their political identity, not because they received the email from the White House, but because Mike Flynns wife deserves it. So, I dont know. Maybe, together we can struggle to find out what the new taxonomy is, what the new label is. This is communism or fascism, by osmosis, by transmogrification. Its not revolutionary. Its not by use of overt military force. Its by the co-optation of power voluntarily in the private sector, in the party, and in the government. Mr. Jekielek: And, held together by what? By ideology in part and I suppose by financial interests as well. Mr. Gorka: Its a very good question. Ideology on behalf of the political actors who are overtly political, whether its the DNC, whether its the Biden administration, or whether its the embedded ideologues at places like DHS or the FBI. On the flip side for the private sector is fear. Why does Coca-Cola, why does IBM, why does Microsoft give money to BLM? I really dont believe the CEOs of these companies are hardcore Marxists. Its a protection racket. We give you money, and you wont come after us. You wont accuse us of being misogynist members of the white patriarchy. Its fear on behalf of the corporations. Heres $5 million for BLM, for CRT training. Leave us alone. So, its all of these things combined. Mr. Jekielek: And, its not universally applied. Theres millions upon millions, upon millions of people in this country that have no idea. They would listen to what you just said and say to themselves, This man is crazy. Mr. Gorka: Its not true. Right. They say, Its not true. Mr. Jekielek: We live in a free country, a land of great opportunity. Mr. Gorka: Right. Mr. Jekielek: Ive had these opportunities. Im an immigrant, and look what Ive been able to accomplish. Mr. Gorka: Bootstraps. Mr. Jekielek: Theyd actually be right, to some extent. Mr. Gorka: Until their daughter comes home from school and tells them, A man was naked in the girls changing room, and he says hes a girl. Youre right, most people are normal. Theyre not like you and me, Jan. They dont eat, drink, and sleep politics. Theyre sane. We are mired in this. Were addicted to it, or what have you. We see whats going on. If youre an average American, whats your biggest concern? Making the car payment at the end of the month and making sure your kids have got a new pair of shoes for the next semester at school, which is as it should be. Im convinced of the fact that the transgender extremism, which is again actually a Neo-Marxist, Frankfurt School evolution of Left wing politics, is the denial of truth. If you read George Kennans, The Long Telegram, he said, What is truth for the Soviet Union? Its whatever the party deems to be useful as truth. Again, these are all connected. Mr. Jekielek: Correct. Mr. Gorka: The transgender extremism saying, Chromosomes dont matter. A 14-year-old girl can have her breasts removed and become a boy. If you dare call her a girl, we will cancel you, is going to be the red pilling of America. Tens of millions of people are going to say, Excuse me? Boston Childrens Hospital is doing hormone replacement therapy to transition young boys as young as 14. This is nuts. Mr. Jekielek: Heres another one of these red pills. Millions of readers of The Epoch Times were people who realized one day after 2020 that the government had these powers of coercion telling you where you can go and what you can do, and then making sure what gets put in your body. Mr. Gorka: Right, and copied from China. Lets be clear. If you look at Fauci, and if you look at the CDC, there was a template for what they were doing. They were saying, Chinas doing it right, locking down millions of people, closing businesses. They willfully chose the CCPs inhuman, dictatorial measures for response to a virus, which by the way, came from China, from that biodefense lab in Wuhan. I think youre right. These two moments, these two damascene moments that will red pill tens of millions, are the transgender extremism that denies reality, and people saying, Oh, my gosh. What happened in America? A nation built on freedom, rugged individualism, the pioneer spirit, they forced people to close their businesses down so they couldnt feed their children. God willing, that will be the moment, or will be the blue touch paper on the fireworks, that makes people wake up to say, Yes. That Gorka guy, or that Jekielek guy, not too crazy. And, subscribe to Epoch Times. God bless you guys for doing what you do. Seriously, you and your colleagues at Epoch, Kash and everybody else, you are the epicenter of helping to wake up millions. Mr. Jekielek: So, very, very much appreciated. At this point, were going to finish up here. The only route I know to help try to make things better is truth telling. Mr. Gorka: Yes. Mr. Jekielek: I dont know other ways. Im not a very political person as much as I feel like Im forced to imbibe all this stuff. Mr. Gorka: Theyve made everything political. Can I be clear here? People who say, Im not political, Tough. When theyre putting masks on your children in school, thats a political reality. The Left made everything political. You have no choice. You cant separate yourself from politics. This is a very important thing to understand, for the viewers. Mr. Jekielek: In this kind of a reality where many Americans are actually very much demoralized, have lost faith in their governing bodies. Thereby much more susceptible to this actual disinformation from foreign actors who are doing it in overdrive. I know this for a fact, because I see the China stuff coming out all the time. How do we face this? Mr. Gorka: Three things. Number one, recommit yourself to the truth. Only the truth matters. Which means number two, never ever censor yourself. This is one of the biggest things you can do. Whether its on Facebook, whether its the water cooler at work, whether its the local barbecue, if you find yourself with the urge to not say something because you think it might get you in trouble, but its the truth, you must say it even louder. You dont have to get aggressive, but never ever censor yourself. I think it was Vaclav Havel who said, or Solzhenitsyn, One truth told by one man can collapse a whole empire of lies. Thats true. Thats true. Then lastly, whether you like it or not, you must get politically engaged. Everyone has a role to play, and most importantly, locally. Look, I worked in the White House. Its cool to work in the White House. Its cool to be a senator or congressman, but really those things dont matter. Our founding fathers understood, de Tocqueville understood, politics is really local. Its about community. My wife, Jan, detests politics, detests it to her marrow. But, when our local library, which has an $8 million budget started running drag queen story hours for children, she said, What? On my tax dollars, not happening. She ran for local office to stop the grooming of young children. If my wife, who detests politics, can stand up to the plate, I dont care where you live. You can live in California, Massachusetts, I dont care. You have a role to play. Get politically engaged. Dont just listen to my radio show. Dont just watch Jans show. Dont just read Epoch Times. Use it as fuel to get engaged, because it is up to us. We can be the shining city on the hill again, but only if every single one of your viewers and The Epoch Times readers gets engaged. Thats the lesson of the 20th century. Mr. Jekielek: Seb Gorka, its such a pleasure to have you on the show again. Mr. Gorka: Thank you, and happy New Year to all of your viewers and listeners. Mr. Jekielek: Thank you all for joining Sebastian Gorka and me on this episode of American Thought Leaders. Im your host, Jan Jekielek. Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company's curtain call at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on the evening of Jan. 13, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) KAMAKURA, JapanShen Yun Performing Arts World Company kicked off the first of its four shows in Kamakura, Japan this season at Kamakura Performing Art Center on Jan. 13. Mr. Kato Atsuo, Japanese first-class architect, repeated great, really great! and everybody must not miss Shen Yun after attending the show. Mr. Kato said everyone should attend Shen Yun no matter their background, ethnicity, or political view. You must sit inside a theater and watch Shen Yun. Immediately, you can feel its values. You will be very touched even if this is your first time attending Shen Yun, he said. Mr. Kato then explained that everybody must see Shen Yun also because Shen Yun is transcending the times. The next generations need to understand the tradition and history. These are very important. New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism. For 5,000 years Chinas civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Mr. Kato Atsuo, Japanese first-class architect, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center with his wife in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Fujino Takeshi/The Epoch Times) Ms. Kasiba Sumi Tiyo, a shamisen (a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument) instructor said: Shen Yun is really really great! Its really great! Shen Yun is really amazing! Ms. Kasiba said that she was very excited since the curtain first opened. She cried when she saw the beautiful scenes that Shen Yun presented on stage. She enjoyed the story-based dances. She cherished the value that Shen Yun delivered, and more. When I heard the erhu (a two-stringed ancient Chinese instrument), my soul was cured and became pure. This is a wonderful therapy for souls, she said. Ms. Kasiba Sumi Tiyo, who teaches shamisen (a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument), attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) Shen Yun Leaves Theatergoer With a Memory of a Lifetime Mr. Maruyama Harufumi, a councilor of Zushi city, expressed his gratitude for Shen Yuns performance in Kamakura and said the experience will be a lifelong good memory that he will cherish forever. Shen Yun is majestic. I was moved. It represents the core culture of both the East and West. It focuses on details but is very grand. It is grace mixed with bravery. Its really fantastic, he said, Shen Yun integrates the art of dance, music, and backdrops. It uses the most advanced technologies to present traditional values, which is really an excellent artistic expression. Mr. Maruyama was amazed by Shen Yuns soloists. The soloists have extraordinary power. They perfectly revived the bel canto. I definitely will attend Shen Yun next season, he said. Mr. Maruyama Harufumi, councilor of Zushi city, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times) Mr. Maruyama said the deepest impression he had of Shen Yun is one of harmony. He felt the whole stage and orchestra cooperated seamlessly, and the whole show is in an atmosphere of harmony. In Japan, the most important thing is harmony. Watching Shen Yun, I have been feeling harmony, which I also can say is compassion. Its really outstanding, he said. Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more. Mr. Chiba Hirotaka, chairman of the trading company Sutekil, said Shen Yun has a high level of artistry and is very entertaining. The music is very beautiful, and the classical Chinese dances are very eye-catching, he said. He was impressed that each dance represents a different dynasty, and has its own character and storyline, but presents the same theme, which is kindness. Mr. Tokuue Hiromichi, sales director of Japanese optics and reprography manufacturer Olympus, Kyushu region branch said that he loves Shen Yun. He felt uplifted by watching Shen Yun. The female dancers dances are graceful and elegant. During the show, I kept on telling myself: how beautiful they are! said Mr. Tokuue. The male dancers are full of force I enjoyed it a lot. Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Kamakura, Japan. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. BERKELEY, Calif.In a modern age where instant gratification and worldly gains reign supreme, the idea of divine-inspired culturethough prevalent throughout historyis quickly losing ground. For retired systems analyst Slawomir Sieminski, Shen Yun Performing Arts conveyed a deeper meaning of life and humanity. It was a reminder that there is more to life than meets the eye. This was Mr. Sieminskis biggest takeaway after attending Shen Yuns evening performance at Zellerbach Hall on the evening of Jan. 13. In our daily lives, we forget about our destinies. We should pause and think about our values. Not only the materialistic ones right now but the long-term values that we should all haveto God and humanity, he said. Through classical Chinese dance and music, New York-based Shen Yun is sharing the beauty of Chinas 5,000 years of history with the world. Since its founding in 2006, the company has received worldwide praise and acclaim. It was beautiful to watch. You cannot find this anywhere else. Slawomir Sieminski Mr. Sieminski couldnt agree more. It was marvelous. You have a very talented group of people who performed flawlessly with joy and smiles and without any hesitation. It was beautiful to watch. You cannot find this anywhere else. With shows scheduled in more than 180 cities and across five continents, the 2023 touring season is shaping up to be the artists busiest one yet. Referring to Shen Yuns short dance pieces showcasing the diverse regions and tales of China, Mr. Sieminski said they bring us back to the old, old times. It was fantastic, unique, and one of a kind, he said, it catches us from reality and moves us into a realm of dreams, happiness, and humanity. Each story is unique and each one has its own morals. Prior to the communist takeover in 1949 and the regimes spread of atheism, Chinese people had a deep belief in the divine. In fact, the whole foundation of Chinas civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. I wish more people would see [Shen Yun] and see the values [they portray,] then more people will turn away from earthly pleasures and find deeper values in their own lives, Mr. Sieminski said. [Shen Yun] shows that we are on this earth only temporarily. There is a greater value somewhere in the universe and we will all be joined with it someday. Reporting by Sunny Chen, Gary Wang, and Jennifer Tseng. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Sheriffs Take a Stand on the Protecting Illinois Communities Act 94 of 102 county sheriffs express disagreement with new law Rifles are offered for sale at Freddie Bear Sports on April 8, 2021 in Tinley Park, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) At least 94 of Illinoiss 102 county sheriffs expressed disapproval of the Protect Illinois Communities Act signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 11. Calhoun County Sheriff William Heffington told The Epoch Times he isnt concerned about Pritzker or the Illinois General Assemblys views on firearms. I work for the people, not the government, Heffington said. According to Heffington, the act is unconstitutional and unnecessary. Heffington said the act addresses crime by clamping down on law-abiding gun owners. I just dont see anything in that bill that does anything to solve our problems, Heffington said. We need stiffer penalties on people that abuse the law. Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, said the majority of Illinois sheriffs agree with Heffington. He pointed out that county sheriffs dont answer to state officials as elected officials. So, theyre generally freer to focus on the communities they serve. A visitor prays at a memorial to the seven people killed and others injured in the Fourth of July shooting at the Highland Park War Memorial in Highland Park, Ill., on July 7, 2022. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo) Kaitschuk took issue with the contention that Illinoiss sheriffs were refusing to enforce the law. While the sheriffs actions may seem a bit rebellious, Kaitschuk said theres more to enforcing the law than arresting people. If a police officer stops someone speeding and gives them a warning, isnt that enforcing the law? he said. He said that all law enforcement officers are granted a certain amount of discretion. In addition, theyre sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution and their states constitution. Kaitschuk said the sherifflike anyone else in a similar situationis expected to use his best judgment to do whats right when the constitutions appear to conflict. I dont know why a sheriff should be different than anyone else, Kaitschuk said. Why shouldnt they be able to say what they believe about any new law? Pritzkers office and the office of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul didnt respond to telephone messages and emails seeking comment before press time. According to published reports, Pritzker gave one reason for signing the bill into law. This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches, and make our state a safer place for all, he said. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Washington in a July 14, 2021, file photograph. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) The Illinois House approved the legislation on a final vote of 6841. The new law bans so-called assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 12 rounds of ammunition. The act defines a so-called assault weapon as a semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and features a pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a flash suppressor, a grenade launcher, a barrel shroud, or other features. A semiautomatic pistol that accepts a detachable magazine or may be modified to accept one has a threaded barrel, a second pistol grip, a flash suppressor, a barrel shroud, or other features also falls into this category, as do most AK- and AR-style rifles. Also banned are .50-caliber firearms. Banned firearms are grandfathered in under the law if the owners register them and pay a fee. Illinois State Rifle Association President Doug Mayhall previously told The Epoch Times that gun registration is one of the most objectionable aspects of the measure. Registration always turns into confiscation, Mayhall said. Under the measure, the term of an Illinois firearms restraining order (FRO) is extended to one year from six months. The list of persons who could ask the court for a FRO was also expanded. An AR-15 at FT3 tactical shooting range in Stanton, Calif., on May 3, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The law increases the age to obtain a firearm owner identification card (FOID) to 21. People younger than 21 can currently receive a FOID if a parent or guardian signs for them. The law would make exceptions for persons under 21 serving in the U.S. military or Illinois National Guard. It would also permit guardian-supervised hunting or shooting sports. On his webpage, state Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat, wrote that he was motivated to sponsor the ban after a mass shooting on July 4, 2022. In that shooting, a 22-year-old man opened fire during a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Ill. He reportedly killed seven people and wounded dozens more. Hes currently facing more than 117 felony charges, including 21 counts of murder. Morgan didnt explain how his law wouldve prevented that shooting. Heffington said he understands and shares Morgans desire to see things change. However, he said the law focuses on the innocent and leaves the guilty alone. This new law is all about the honest people who obey the law. Its almost like theyre guilty because they own a gun, Heffington said. Jack Phillips contributed to this report. South Australia Wine Exports Bounce Back Bottles of Australian wine are seen at a store selling imported wine in Beijing, China, Nov. 27, 2020. (Florence Lo/Reuters) South Australias (SA) wine sector has overcome the high tariffs imposed on Australian products by China with an increase in export sales. The states wine exports rose five per cent in the 12 months to the end of October 2022 to $1.3 billion (US$907 million). The improvement came on the back of improved sales to the United States, Canada, Malaysia and Thailand. Trade Minister Nick Champion said it was also encouraging that the states total exports to China had stabilised to be worth $2.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) last year. SAs total exports hit $15.9 billion (US$11.1 billion) in 2022, largely driven by demand for refined metals, wine and meat. There was strong demand for SA canola in Europe with sales to France jumping by 595 percent and to Belgium by 182 percent as both countries looked for alternative supplies after previously relying on crops from war-torn Ukraine and drought-affected Canada. SAs wheat exports also rose by 60 percent to $2.2 billion, fuelled by new markets in Sudan and South Korea as well as increases to several existing markets including China. Local producers benefitted from a 39 percent surge in wheat prices to $486 (US$339) per tonne. Its clear demand for our world-class exports continues to grow and South Australian businesses and producers are taking advantage, Champion said. We want to keep building trade ties with our biggest export partner while tapping into new and emerging markets. Opening up these partnerships will ensure a big year for local industries and help create jobs. Peaceful Parenting: What It Is and How to Implement It Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Claim of 94-Year-Old Minnesota Homeowner That County Unconstitutionally Seized Her Home Equity The Supreme Court decided late on Jan. 13 to hear the appeal of a 94-year-old homeowner who is challenging the constitutionality of laws that allow local governments to take the full value of a home as payment for much smaller property tax debts. The decision came after the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public interest law firm that is representing the homeowner, released a report last month saying that 12 states and the District of Columbia allow local governments and private investors to seize dramatically more than what is owed from homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments. The PLF calls the practice home equity theft. Minnesota law allows counties to retain windfalls at the expense of property owners, and from 2014 to 2020, about 1,200 Minnesota residents lost their homes, along with the equity they held, for debts that averaged 8 percent of the homes value, according to the PLF. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an alliance of conservative lawmakers, is opposed to the practice. Laws should be changed to require surplus profits to be returned to a homes prior owner after a tax lien investor or county collects what it is due and any other debts or levies on the property are paid, ALEC says. Home equity is property protected by the Constitution, said Christina Martin, a senior attorney at PLF, after the high court granted its clients petition. When the government takes more than it is owed in taxes, thats home equity theft. We are thrilled the Supreme Court will hear this case, which we hope will end unconstitutional home equity theft across the country. The justices did not explain in an unsigned order why they agreed to review the case, Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, court file 22-166. Geraldine Tyler owned a modest one-bedroom condominium in Hennepin County, but after she was harassed and frightened near her home, she moved to a new apartment in a safer neighborhood. The rent on her new apartment stretched her resources and she fell into arrears on her condos property tax bills, accumulating about $2,300 in taxes owed, along with $12,700 in penalties, interest, and costs. The county seized Tylers condo, valued at $93,000, and sold it for just $40,000. Instead of keeping the $15,000 it was owed, the county retained the full $40,000, amounting to a windfall of $25,000, according to the PLF. Tyler sued but her lawsuit was rejected by the courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, which found that the legal forfeiture of the property extinguished the owners property interest. Tyler welcomed the opportunity to have her day in court. It would mean a lot to me to win this caseespecially because it would help other elderly people, she said in a statement provided by the PLF. Martin said the county was able to take $25,000 of Tylers money that rightfully belongs to her and the 8th Circuit said that was perfectly fine, and that any property rights that existed in that equity were abrogated by the Minnesota Legislature. The seizure of the funds was not a punishment within the meaning of the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, the circuit court held, Martin told The Epoch Times in an interview. The Epoch Times reached out for comment to Hennepin County but did not receive an immediate reply. PLF currently has two other home equity theft-related petitions from homeownersboth in Nebraskapending before the Supreme Court. One is Fair v. Continental Resources, court file 22-160, and the other is Nieveen v. Tax 106, court file 22-237. NY Supreme Court Strikes Down COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers A person holds up a signs as people hold a rally in support of a group of teachers fighting enforcement of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandate for public school employees at Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, in New York City, on Oct. 12, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) A state Supreme Court judge in Syracuse, New York, struck down a statewide mandate for medical staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, ruling that Gov. Kathy Hochul and the states health department overstepped their authority. In a landmark ruling issued on Jan. 13, state Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri declared the statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical staff null, void, and of no effect. Hochul and the state Department of Health exceeded their authority by sidestepping the state legislature in imposing a permanent COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical professionals, the judge wrote in the order (pdf). Neri also found that the mandate was arbitrary and capricious, citing evidence that COVID-19 vaccines dont prevent the spread of the virus, undercutting the basis for the mandate. In true Orwellian fashion, the Respondents acknowledge then-current COVID-19 shots do not prevent transmission, Neri wrote, citing a Summary of Assessment of Public Comment that was entered as evidence in the case. In support of the view that the mandate was capricious, Neri also pointed to the fact that the order, titled Prevention of COVID-19 Transmission by Covered Entities (pdf), used a loose definition for fully vaccinated, namely one that was determined by the Department. Neri wrote, A term which is defined at the whim of an entity, subject to change without a moments notice contains all the hallmarks of absurdity and is no definition at all. The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed by Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, a group of medical professionals who were negatively affected by the vaccine mandate and either lost their jobs or faced the prospect of job loss. This is a huge win for New York healthcare workers, who have been deprived of their livelihoods for more than a year, the plaintiffs lead attorney, Sujata Gibson, said in a statement. This is also a huge win for all New Yorkers, who are facing dangerous and unprecedented healthcare worker shortages throughout New York State. In siding with the group, Neri stated that the state is prohibited from mandating vaccinations outside of whats detailed in public health law. The Mandate is beyond the scope of Respondents authority and is therefore null, void, and of no effect, he wrote. Critical Win Against Vaccine Mandates Mary Holland, president of Childrens Health Defense, which financed the lawsuit on behalf of Medical Professionals for Informed Consent and several individual health care workers, hailed the decision. We are thrilled by this critical win against a COVID vaccine mandate, correctly finding that any such mandate at this stage, given current knowledge is arbitrary, Holland said in a statement. We hope that this decision will continue the trend towards lifting these dangerous and unwarranted vaccine mandates throughout the country. Neither Hochuls office nor the New York State Department of Health immediately responded to a request for comment and information on whether they plan to appeal. Vaccinations helped reduce transmission of the early variants of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, recent studies show that the vaccines are less effective in reducing transmission of later variants although they continue to reduce serious illness, hospitalizations, and death. Some experts, meanwhile, have called for the messenger RNA shots made by Pfizer and Moderna to be withdrawn until new clinical trials can be run showing that theyre safe and effective. Dr. Joseph Fraiman, based in Louisiana, became one of the latest to call for a pause in the administration of the vaccines pending new trials. He pointed to data including a reanalysis of the original trials that he and others conducted. They concluded that the vaccinated were at higher risk of severe adverse events. The fact that the Omicron variant and its subvariants are also less virulentleading to fewer hospitalizations and deathsand the waning effectiveness of the vaccines also contributes to the building opposition to vaccinating all or portions of the population until better data is made available. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Police have identified the man who died in a plane crash Wednesday evening in Rockingham County. Roger C. Mangham, 54, of Wilsonville, Alabama, died after the small single-engine aircraft he was piloting crashed on Shenandoah Mountain in western Rockingham County around 7 p.m., according to the Rockingham County Sheriffs Office. Mangham was the only person in the plane, which departed from Winchester at 6:20 p.m. before falling roughly 40 minutes later, authorities told The Daily Progress. The cause of the crash remains unknown, the Virginia State Police reported Friday. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board who are looking into the cause arrived at the site of the crash late Thursday evening, NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Sulick told The Daily Progress on Friday. A determination about the cause will not be available for another 12 to 24 months, when the NTSB is expected to release its final report, she said. There will be a preliminary report in about three weeks, Sulick told The Daily Progress. That report will be available online, she added. Virginia State Police spokesman Brent Coffey told The Daily Progress directed additional inquiries to the Federal Aviation Administration. A representative for the FAA told The Daily Progress the administration would provide more details as they became available. Texas State Senators Election Reform Proposals Hold GOP Lawmakers Feet to the Fire The Texas State Capitol is seen on the first day of the 87th Legislature's third special session in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2021. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images) As the Texas Legislature convened on Jan. 10, State Senator Bob Hall (R-Rockwall) proposed a series of reforms that will give members of the GOP majority a chance to prove to voters that they are serious about election integrity. Both houses of the Texas State Legislature are controlled by Republicans by comfortable majorities. Hall, a state senator since 2015, says Texans are being asked to believe that the current election system works because the government says it worksan assurance he insists is not good enough. Its also not good enough for GOP Precinct Chair and election integrity activist Susan Valliant of Arlington in Tarrant County. After the November 2022 mid-term election, Valliant reviewed records of hundreds of complaints from citizens and local election officials. Texas State Senator Bob Hall (R-Rockwall). (Courtesy of Bob Hall) Out-of-order voting equipment was one of the most frequent problems reported. Im not talking about one or two machines being down, said Valliant. There were several sites with 30 to 50 machines where only two to five were working. According to Valliant, there were numerous instances of paper jams that slowed down the voting. Many sites ran out of paper ballots, spurring frantic poll workers to call their election office only to find nobody was answering the phones, So they couldnt get anyone to deliver more ballots, she said. Valliant told The Epoch Times there were reports from Dallas that before the polls closed, election workers saw electronic poll book numbers changing right before their eyes. The Epoch Times has independently verified the report with a Dallas County Presiding Election Judge, Beth Biesel, who personally witnessed the electronic poll books escalating by almost four-fold the number of voters who had been logged into the written vote roster. According to Biesel, when informed of the irregularity the Texas Secretary of States office issued a statement characterizing the escalation of the numbers as normal. Biesel strongly disputes the SOS assertion. At best, the incident does little to inspire confidence in our voting systems, she said. Valiant believes Halls reforms will solve such problems. My concern is with the other state legislators. Many of them do not believe there is anything wrong with our elections. They think they fixed everything in their last session. However, its quite the contrary, Valliant said. Susan Valliant of Arlington, Texas. (Courtesy of Susan Valliant) Charles Wedemeyer of Citizens for Election Integrity in Texas told The Epoch Times, It is extremely appreciated that someone of Bob Halls stature and notoriety is taking on these issues and offering concrete solutions. Our people are demanding that Texas elections represent the consent of the governed. It is a shame citizens have to battle their own officials and representatives to get them to follow the law. The total secrecy in which the election department of Tarrant County operates compounds the difficulties citizens have in obtaining public information, he said. Need for Transparency In a written summary of the reform package, Hall described the states current voting system as a black box process that cannot produce sufficient evidence in a court of law to prove that a declared winner, Republican or Democrat, was actually the choice of a majority of the voters in any given election. In reality, we know little to nothing about how the process worksThere is no transparency, no accountability, and the [systems] accuracy is unknowable, he said. According to Hall, the current Texas voting system is so opaque that neither the voters nor the election workers are privy to what happens inside the black box election process and equipment. Computerization to Blame A Navy-trained electrical engineer, Hall blames computerization for the decline in transparency, accuracy, and accountability of recent Texas elections. Hall said he believes the current election system sacrifices security for convenience. With good intentions, computers were viewed as the solution to the proverbial ballot box stuffing that has tainted the outcome of Texas elections for generations, Hall said. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Computers and software have increased the opportunities and frequency of error and fraud in ways never considered and to a level much greater and more difficult to detect. Our elections are too important not to have a system that delivers a high degree of confidence that the will of the people is being respected, he said. Fair Elections Express Consent of the Governed A Texan, describing himself as a Stanford-trained technology and finance lawyer, who is serving as a volunteer analyst for several grassroots election reform groups, told The Epoch Times, The press-reported glitches, goofs, and gaffs in recent Texas elections have caused concern among many people that the present election system may be too technologically complicated, unmanageable, and expensive to properly operate. The analyst, an escapee from a country ruled by communism who asked that his name not be printed, said, This country is founded on the consent of the governed. The consent of the governed is given by only one methodelections. What the Reforms Will Do A centerpiece of Halls proposed reforms is a return to the use of hand-marked paper ballots, sequentially numbered for each precinct, and managed with strict chain of custody requirements. Ballots would be printed on special, secure, paper, and the count preserved on a write-once optical disc. Election night audits would be required as result tapes move from precincts to the county and then from the county to the state. This would allow for verification that county totals are consistent with precinct totals, a safeguard Hall says is lacking in the current system. The proposed legislation would require that transmission of results from the counties to the state be over secure one-way lines. The reform package also includes a tightening of the eligibility requirements for voting absentee. Mail-in voting encompasses more people than necessary and is too susceptible to abuse and error, said Hall. Also, immediately before the polls open, the reforms would require a tape to be produced showing there are zero votes recorded in the tabulator; and a result tape must be run and preserved immediately after the polls close. The tabulators are to have limited functions and must not be connectible to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. They must include secure ballot storage, and the scanners must not be capable of reading the same ballot more than once. The proposed reforms would eliminate electronic poll books, replacing them with paper poll books printed 30 days before in-person voting begins. Curbside voting would be limited to the legitimately disabled, and voters may vote only in their designated home precinctno more county-wide voting. Withdrawing Texas from membership in the Election Registration Information Center (ERIC) is another proposed reform. Secretary of State Could Have Done More Hall said the Texas Secretary of States Elections Office has the authority and ability to issue rules that could significantly reduce the opportunities for error and fraud but, to date, continues to refuse to do so. When asked to comment, Sam Taylor, a spokesperson for current Republican Secretary of State Jane Nelson, told The Epoch Times that the SOS is prohibited by Texas law, from advocating for or against legislation, and had no comment. Instead, Taylor pointed to the report of a forensic audit of the 2020 general election commissioned by former Secretary of State John B. Scott. The audit expressed guarded confidence in the trustworthiness of the states election system. The report said in part, When the Texas Election Code and local procedures are followed, Texas voters should have a very high level of confidence in the accuracy of the outcome of Texas electionsWhen procedures are followed, results of the election are trustworthy. Indeed, in most cases, the audit found that counties followed their procedures, and clearly documented their activities. In some cases, however, they did not. Where procedures were not followed, discrepancies and irregularities from small to large ensued, the audit said. Opposition Expected Halls Chief of Staff Amy Lane told The Epoch Times that opposition is expected from both sides of the aisle in the legislature and from individuals at the local level who want to maintain the status quo. Some people do not like change. Others believe that the current system, with all of its flaws, may somehow give them an advantage. And then there are those who know how to exploit the system and do not want those opportunities thwarted, said Lane. An early voting location for the primary runoff elections in Brackettville, Texas, on May 18, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Long-time Texas political consultant Aaron Harris told The Epoch Times in an October interview that modern-day election fraud is not unusual in the Lone Star State. Harris said both Democrats and Republicans have been involved in ballot harvesting schemes. In recent years, multiple Texans have been arrested and convicted for election fraud and ballot harvesting for money. One convicted harvester in Fort Worth told authorities his specialty was tricking mostly elderly citizens into signing ballots that he himself marked. He was paid up to $200 per ballot and in some weeks earned as much as $1,200. The man said that when he was arrested, he was promptly bailed out by a known associate of a top Democrat Tarrant County election official. Later, he received a sentence of 10 days in jail, though he was eligible for 10 years in prison because of his prior felony record. A 2019 report released by the Texas Secretary of State revealed that a cross-check of the states voter rolls with Department of Public Safety records discovered that 95,000 non-citizens were registered to vote, and 58,000 of them voted in one or more Texas election since 2016. The Secretary of State of Texas is appointed by the governor, in this case, Republican Greg Abbott. Abbotts office did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Timeline of Bidens Classified Document Drama President Joe Biden speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 11, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) President Joe Biden said he was surprised when classified documents were found in his former office at a Washington think tank and portrayed it as an honest mistake. However, since other batches have been found at his Delaware residence, pressure has been mounting for an explanation of whats fast becoming a crisis of credibility for the White House. From a closet at the Penn Biden Center to a garage where the president keeps his classic Corvette, the discovery of sensitive materials has sparked public interest and drawn legal scrutiny. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate the case, while Republicans have alleged a two-tier justice system in which former President Donald Trumpwho faces his own classified document probeis seen as being treated more harshly, while Biden is supposedly being treated with kid gloves. The White House is facing growing criticism for not disclosing the initial find of the Biden-linked documents until two months after their discovery on Nov. 2a week before the midterm electionsand even then, the Biden administration only publicly acknowledged the existence of the materials after media outlets broke the story. House Republicans are demanding answers, opening an investigation, and pointing to a link between the address where the second batch of classified documents was found and the presidents son, Hunter Biden, whos under federal investigation for various financial and business dealings. Below is a timeline of the disclosures and discoveries regarding Bidens classified documents and where things could go from here. 2017 Biden started working at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania in February 2017, after leaving office as vice president under the Obama administration. He served as a professor at the think tank, which has a stated goal of fostering a deeper understanding of U.S. foreign policy and developing new ideas for advancing U.S. diplomatic and global leadership. There have been concerns about possible links between the center and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The University of Pennsylvania, which houses the Biden Penn Center, received more than $54 million between 2014 and 2019 in anonymous donations from China, according to the New York Post, citing public records. A university spokesperson denied that any money from China was funneled to the center. The Penn Biden Center has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity. In fact, the University has never solicited any gifts for the Center, spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy told the NY Post. Biden stopped working at the center at about the time he became president. 2022 Nov. 2 According to Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, attorneys representing Biden found a small number of records with classified markings inside a locked closet at the think tank officeroughly 10 documentsand notified the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of the discovery in short order. Nov. 3 Bidens lawyers transferred the documents to NARA for secure storage one day after their discovery, Sauber said in a Jan. 9 statement, noting that the presidents attorneys were cooperating with NARA and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Nov. 4 The Office of the Inspector General at the National Archives reached out to a prosecutor at the Department of Justice on Nov. 4 to notify them of the discovered documents, according to a Jan. 12 statement by Garland. That office was not authorized for storage of classified documents, Garland said, noting that the prosecutor was informed that day that the materials had been secured at a National Archives facility. Nov. 9 In line with standard procedures, the FBI began an assessment to determine whether any mishandling of classified information occurred in violation of federal laws, according to Garlands Jan. 12 statement. Nov. 14 Garland assigned John Lausch, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, to conduct an investigation and decide if it was necessary to appoint a special counsel to probe the circumstances around the handling of the sensitive materials. I selected him to conduct the initial investigation because I was confident his experience would ensure that it would be done professionally and expeditiously, Garland said on Jan. 12. Dec. 20 Bidens personal attorneys notified Lausch that more documents with classified markings were discovered in the garage at the presidents Wilmington home. They were among other records from Bidens time as vice president. The FBI then went to Bidens home to secure the documents, according to Garlands Jan. 12 announcement. Republicans said in a letter to White House counsel Stuart Delery on Jan. 13 that they had obtained documents showing that Bidens Wilmington home address was listed on his son Hunters drivers license as recently as 2018, suggesting that he could have had access to the documents. Links between the tranche of documents and Hunter Biden are notable, as Republicans have long sought to investigate connections between the president and his sons controversial business ventures in China and Ukraine. Before Republicans took control of the House, they announced that they wanted to make investigating the Bidens business dealings a priority. Biden, in a Jan. 12 exchange with Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, confirmed that the documents were stored in a locked garage next to his classic Corvette. But as I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously, Biden said, noting that his team is cooperating fully and completely with the DOJ probe. 2023 Jan. 5 Lausch updated Garland with the findings of his preliminary inquiry and suggested the need for a special counsel to continue the investigation. Garland decided, following Lauschs report, that appointing a special counsel was necessary for the public interest, as per the regulations for a special counsel. Jan. 9 For the first time since the discovery of the documents, the White House disclosed publicly that sensitive materials had been found at Bidens temporary office at Penn Biden Center and stated that its cooperating with investigators. The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives, Sauber said in a statement. Since that discovery, the presidents personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any ObamaBiden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives. Republicans reacted by saying they expected that Biden will face the same kind of treatment for storing classified materials in an unsecure location as Trump, whose Florida home was raided by the FBI in August 2022. When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? Trump commented on his Truth Social platform. These documents were definitely not declassified. Lawyers for the DOJ have alleged that Trump could have violated several laws by keeping the documents, including the Espionage Act. Trump has insisted that he declassified the documents in line with presidential powers. No charges have been brought against Trump over the materials. Jan. 10 Biden said during a visit to Mexico that he was surprised to learn that classified documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center. The president said he wasnt aware of what the materials contained and that his lawyers have suggested he not ask what was in the documents. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the panel has already opened a probe into Bidens handling of sensitive materials. The Committee is concerned that President Biden has compromised sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents, Comer wrote in a letter to Delery (pdf), while pointing out that Biden has previously called the mishandling of presidential records totally irresponsible. On the same day, Comer also wrote a letter to NARA Acting Archivist Debra Steidel Wall (pdf) to raise the question of political bias at the agency over what he described as inconsistent treatment of recovering classified records held by Biden and Trump. The National Archives confirmed receipt of the letter in a statement to The Epoch Times but provided no further comment. Jan. 11 Lawyers working for Biden finished searching his homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach for additional official documents that may have been taken there during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations in 2017, according to a Jan. 12 statement by Sauber. The presidents personal attorneys found a one-page document with classified markings stored in a room adjacent to the garage at Bidens Wilmington home, and since they lacked security clearances, they halted the search, Sauber would reveal on Jan. 14. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered the first press briefing since news of the documents became public on Jan. 9. She defended the administrations actions while declining to answer how the documents came to be at the office. Republicans demanded that the DOJ take a tougher line on Biden, alleging bias against the GOP at the nations investigative agencies and judicial system. Jan. 12 Bidens personal attorneys notify Lausch that an additional classified document was found at the presidents Wilmington home, according to Garlands announcement. Sauber, who has security clearances, and several DOJ officials went to Bidens Wilmington home to pick up the search where the presidents personal attorneys left off the prior day, and they found an additional five pages of classified documents, he said on Jan. 14. No additional documents were found at Bidens residence in Rehoboth Beach, he said. Garland announced the appointment of Robert Hur, the former Trump-era U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, as special counsel to investigate the handling of the Biden-linked documents. This appointment underscores for the public the Departments commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law, Garland said. Sauber said the White House would cooperate with Hurs probe. House Republicans reacted to the appointment of the special counsel by saying that they would press ahead with their own investigation. With or without a special counsel, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee will investigate President Bidens mishandling of classified documents and the Swamps efforts to hide this information from the American people, Comer said in a statement. Comer said the National Archives, the DOJ, and the White House were all aware of the Penn Biden Center document stash before the midterm elections but chose not to disclose that publicly. There are many questions about why the Biden Administration kept this matter a secret from the public, who had access to the office and the residence, and what information is contained in these classified documents, Comer said. Republicans will push for transparency, accountability, and answers for the American people. Jan. 14 The public learned of the discovery of the additional batch of classified documents found at Bidens Wilmington home as Sauber issued a statement detailing the find from days earlier. Five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them, Sauber said, noting that the White House would cooperate with the special counsel probe. Bob Bauer, the presidents personal attorney, issued a statement saying that Biden has directed his personal attorneys to be forthcoming and fully cooperative with the investigation. Jan. 15 In response to the latest document find, Republicans requested visitor logs for Bidens Wilmington residence dating from the presidents inauguration to the present. President Bidens mishandling of classified materials raises the issue of whether he has jeopardized our national security, Comer stated in a letter to White House chief of staff Ron Klain. Without a list of individuals who have visited his residence, the American people will never know who had access to these highly sensitive documents. Comer also demanded that the White House provide documents and communications about all locations searched, as well as the identities of the Biden aides involved in the searches. Jan. 16 The White House announced that there are no logs of who has visited Bidens Wilmington home. The U.S. Secret Service, which provides security for the president, told The Epoch Times that it screens visitors to Bidens residence but doesnt keep records of whos vetted. Republicans criticized the lack of documentation and accused the White House of obfuscation. Comer told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that Biden promised to have the most transparent administration in history, but he refuses to be transparent when it matters most. He said Republicans will continue to press the Biden administration for answers. The White House, in turn, criticized Republican investigations into Bidens handling of classified documents. White House spokesman Ian Sams told media outlets in a statement that Biden is doing the right thing and is cooperating fully with a thorough review while accusing Republicans of playing politics in a shamelessly hypocritical attempt to attack their political opponent. The total number of Biden-linked classified documents that have been found remains unclear. Both the special counsels investigation and the Republican probes into the matter continue. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Metres away from the Gold Coasts built-up tourist strips, female turtles are engaging in a secret mission under cover of night to the sand dunes where they can safely lay and bury their eggs. The journey, which happens every two to three years, sees the female turtles emerge from the ocean on warm summer nights up the beach in nesting quests to find the best spot to deposit their offspring. After locating a space, they dig, lay, and cover the nest before disappearing back into the sea. Yet, despite the turtles secretive nesting practices, urban beaches feature distinctive risks, with the nests at risk of being eaten by dogs or other animals before hatching. Additionally, the emerging baby turtles may be led away from the sea by artificial lights as turtles use the lowest light horizon to orientate towards the sea. All of this leads to a severe decline in the number of turtles. But a partnership between the environmental charity Watergum and SeaWorld aims to change this by converting beach walkers into turtle spies, with walkers being called upon to help these eggs and baby animals remain safe by monitoring the beach for both mother and baby turtle tracks and reporting what they see. The Chief Executive Officer of Watergum, Rosalinde Brinkman, said in an email to The Epoch Times that sea turtles have nested on Gold Coast beaches for hundreds of years, but because the Gold Coast is in the Southern range for nesting turtles, nesting events are not as common as they are at the main locations further North. Brinkman noted that most turtles can still navigate the beaches, but development has destroyed the dune systems in some locations, and lighting is still the largest threat to nesting turtles on the Gold Coast. She noted that these problems might deter nesting turtles, who may choose beaches that are further North or South instead of those on the Gold Coast. However, authorities can help turtles if they know where they are, and this is where Watergum is calling on beach walkers to monitor and report turtle tracks to help. A vulture grabs a baby olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) in Ostional beach, in Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, some 300 km north of San Jose, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, on Dec. 1, 2010. (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images) Identifying Turtle Tracks Mother turtles leave behind distinctive tracks after nesting runs, and baby turtles leave tiny flipper marks as they leave their nest and make their way down to the sea. Sea World marine scientist Siobhan Houlihan said in a Watergum YouTube video that sea turtle tracks could be quite difficult to identify, particularly when they arent fresh. Houlihan said that its much easier to locate nesting activities by identifying adult turtle tracks than it is with baby turtle tracks. Turtle tracks do not look like any other animal tracks, but they can be mistaken for vehicle tracks, Brinkman said. Brinkman noted that the biggest difference between vehicle and turtle tracks is that vehicle tracks are very symmetrical, and they will usually be running along the beach. She said that turtle tracks, on the other hand would be running up from the ocean into the dunes, and they will have another track next to the up track that leads back to the water. Houlihan said that tracks could also be used to identify the species of the turtle. She explained that loggerhead turtles crawl slightly differently than green turtles, using alternate strokes like a front crawl rather than all of their flippers like a breaststroke. She said that track width and the symmetry made by the front flippers as they imprint up and down the beach are the key features of turtle tracks that are helpful in identifying the species of a turtle. A green turtle is held as marine turtle specialists prepare to release the more than 570 baby sea turtles, including the Loggerhead and Green turtles, into the Atlantic Ocean in a joint effort between the Coast Guard and the Gumbo-Limbo Nature Center on July 27, 2015 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Aims of the TurtleWatch Project Emily Vincent from the Watergum charity told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) that the TurtleWatch program was started a few years ago and aims to identify turtle nests before they hatch. If walkers can spot turtle tracks before the tide washes them away, that means we can identify where nests are and give them a due date, she said. And if we know the due date, we can make sure volunteers are there, around the clock, waiting for the turtles to hatch and ensure their safe journey down to the ocean. Turtle eggs typically have an incubation period of 60 days. AAP also reported that Houlihan said there is a deficit of data on nesting frequency at Gold Coast beaches. We genuinely dont know how frequently this is happening, and thats what we want to find out, she said. Is this a trend thats happening? As the climate changes, are they moving further south, or is that we just dont have the data, and theres always been the odd turtle nesting on our beaches. As a rare phenomenon, a specimen of Caretta carettta or loggerhead sea turtle laid her eggs on Saint-Aygulf beach in July and the eggs are carefully watched since then. A baby sea turtle heads to the sea on October 3, 2016, in Saint-Aygulf beach, near Cannes, southern France. (Photo credit should read YANN COATSALIOU/AFP/Getty Images) Efficacy of TurtleWatch An example of the TurtleWatch programs efficacy occurred last year when the identification of two nests resulted in their subsequent and successful protection. The two nests were identified from reported observations of adult turtle tracks on the Gold Coasts Main Beach, minutes away from the centre of Surfers Paradise. These reports allowed authorities to install predator mesh over one clutch of loggerhead turtle eggs. Then we had our volunteers monitoring that nest. They were fortunate enough to see them emerge and watch the little guys running down to the ocean, said Houlihan. Additionally, another nest received assistance last year, with the hatchlings scoring a boat ride and safe release to the ocean after bright artificial lights set them off course. Watergum said that all of the data recorded through the TurtleWatch program would be submitted to the City of Gold Coast Flora and Fauna database as well as the Queensland turtle research database TURTDATA. Maintaining Ecosystem Balance Brinkman told The Epoch Times that turtle populations are unfortunately under serious pressure from a variety of factors, predominantly originating in human activity. She said that at this stage, there is no concern about there being an overpopulation of sea turtles, and they need all of the help and protection that can be offered. She also said that the Turtle Watch program does not interfere with natural processes and that the nests are monitored during development to ensure that they arent disturbed, and they are left to incubate and emerge as they would naturally. However, unfortunately, due to the development of the Gold Coasts coastline, the beaches are incredibly bright, and hatchlings can become disorientated. She said that in these situations, hatchlings are retrieved and released in a more suitable location. We have had many nests emerge as normal and not have issues with navigation to the water, Brinkman said. After a number of days, the nests are dug to count the empty egg shells, which enables us to confirm how successful the clutch was; occasionally, a number of hatchlings may still be in the nest. These are also released after a period of time in a suitable location, she said. Around 900 million Chinese people have been infected with COVID-19. A study estimated cases to peak at 3.7 million a day, with 25,000 daily deaths. No U.S. oil reserves for China. The House is blocking oil reserve exports from being sent to companies tied to China. A TikTok ban is gaining momentum across the United States. Half of all states are outlawing the Chinese-owned app on government devices. The list is still expected to grow. The FBI reportedly raided a Chinese police station in New Yorkthe latest pushback against Beijings overseas policing efforts. The United States and Japan are pledging commitment to each other in the face of growing threats from China. Topics in this episode: UK Condemns Irans Barbaric Execution of BritishIranian Dual National Alireza Akbari Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a major speech at Plexal, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, on Jan. 4, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Media) The UK government has condemned Irans execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari, stating that the Islamic regimes behaviour will not stand unchallenged. Akbari, a former deputy defence minister of Iran, was arrested in 2019 and accused of espionage for British intelligence agency MI6, a charge he denied. The Iranian judiciarys Mizan news agency reported the execution on Jan. 14, without saying when it had taken place. Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption in the land and extensive action against the countrys internal and external security through espionage for the British governments intelligence service was executed, Mizan reported. The Mizan report accused Akbari of receiving payments of 1.805 million euros, 265,000 pounds, and $50,000 for spying. Alireza Akbari, Irans former deputy defence minister, speaks during an interview with Khabaronline in Tehran, Iran, in this undated picture obtained on Jan. 12, 2023. (Khabaronline/WANA/Handout via Reuters) Callous and Cowardly In a statement posted on Twitter, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alirezas friends and family. Also taking to Twitter, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Iran has executed a British national. This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. This will not stand unchallenged. My thoughts are with Alireza Akbaris family. In a separate statement, Cleverly confirmed that Irans most senior British-based diplomat, Charge dAffaires Mehdi Hosseini Matin, would be summoned in order for the UK Government to make clear our disgust. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly gives an interview outside BBC Broadcasting House in London before appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme on Jan. 15 with Laura Kuenssberg, on Dec. 11, 2022. (Lucy North/PA Media) The main opposition Labour Party stated that Iran must be held accountable for breaching international law. Labours shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: Labour condemns the atrocious, cowardly, and authoritarian execution of Alireza Akbari by the Iranian regime in the strongest possible terms. Our thoughts are with his family at this time of immense grief. The Iranian regime must be held accountable for its flagrant breaches of human rights and international law. All state-sanctioned death sentences must be immediately quashed. Spying Charges Iranian state media reported on Jan. 11 that Akbari had been sentenced to death on charges of spying for the UK. He was one of the most important agents of the British intelligence service in Iran who had access to some very sensitive centres in the country, Irans Intelligence Ministry stated. Akbari had fully knowingly provided information to the enemys spy service. Irans announcement of the death sentence came just hours after BBC Persian broadcasted an audio message from Akbari, in which he said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he didnt commit. I was interrogated and tortured for over 3,500 hours in 10 months. All of that were recorded on camera. By using the force of gun and making death threats, they made me confess to false and baseless claims, he said in the audio message. On Jan. 12, Irans Islamic Republic News Agency published a video that it said shows that Akbari played a role in the assassination of the countrys top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Fakhrizadeh, killed in an attack outside Tehran in 2020, was widely seen by Western intelligence as the mastermind of clandestine Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Terror State Akbari was a close ally of Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, who served as defence minister from 1997 to 2005 when Akbari was his deputy. Alicia Kearns, Conservative chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, previously speculated that the regime might have singled out Akbari because of his closeness to Shamkhani, whom she described as a moderate voice calling for discussions and dialogue in response to the current protests. She said the Iranian regime has been weaponising British nationals and industrialising hostage-taking. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (R) and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, disembark after landing at RAF Brize Norton, in England, on March 17, 2022. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Tehran has detained a number of dual and foreign nationals in recent years, including British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held in 2016 and released last year. Freshta Sharif, Amnesty International UKs individuals at risk campaign manager, said theres a longstanding pattern of British-Iranians being arrested, mistreated, and arbitrarily jailed by the Iranian authoritiesin cases sometimes amounting to state hostage-taking. Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme on Jan. 14, Kearns said the UK could expel Iranian diplomats or recall the British ambassador in retaliation for the execution. She called for a change in posture in dealing with Iran, which she branded a terror state. PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report. UK to Send Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine, PM Sunak Confirms The first British Challenger 2 main battle tanks roll off of their transport ship after arriving from Germany at Camp Commando, Kuwait, in February 2003. (WO2 Giles Penfound/MOD/Getty Images) The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, becoming the first Western power to offer main battle tanks in support of the countrys resistance against the Russian invasion, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed. Sunak made the pledge on the morning of Jan. 14 during a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked the UK for sending the right signal to other partners. Ukraine has long been asking for supplies of main battle tanks to bolster its defences against Russia, but its Western allies have been reluctant to satisfy the demand amid fears of further escalation. Last week, Western officials warned that Ukraine wouldnt be able to take back significant territory from Russia without an increase in fighting power, including tanks and other heavy armour. Sunaks formal offer follows reports that he was preparing to sign off on sending four British Army Challenger 2 tanks to eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly afterward. Downing Street hasnt yet confirmed the exact number of tanks it will send to Kyiv. A Challenger 2 tank fires during Exercise Tractable, in Salisbury, England, on March 19, 2015. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images) Seize on This Moment Following a Jan. 14 phone call between Sunak and Zelenskyy, a No. 10 spokesperson said: The leaders reflected on the current state of Russias war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues. They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. Sunak outlined the UKs ambition to intensify its support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems, the spokesperson said, noting that the two leaders welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Polands offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) shaking hands with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 19, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/Handout via PA Media) Sunak stressed that the UK government would be working intensively with international partners to deliver rapidly the kind of support which will allow Ukraine to press their advantage, win this war, and secure a lasting peace. Following the call, Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that he had thanked the UK for making decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners. The UK governments offer has been supported by the main opposition Labour Party. Labours shadow defence secretary John Healey said: Modern tanks are crucial to Ukraines efforts to win its battle against Russian aggression. The government has Labours fullest backing for military assistance to Ukraine. But he urged ministers to move beyond ad hoc announcements and set out a plan for military, economic, and diplomatic support through 2023 and beyond, so as to help reassure Ukrainians that Britain will stand with them for as long as it takes and signal to Putin that things will get worse, not better, for Russia. Intensifying Support Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for months to provide heavier weapons to bolster its defences against Russia. On Jan. 3, Zelenskyy said Russia is mobilising for a new major offensive early this year. There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western tanks, he said. So far, the Germans and the Americans have been reluctant to fulfill demands by Ukraine to send heavy Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams battle tanks. There have been concerns within NATO that supplying tanks could be regarded by the Russians as a further escalation of the conflict. But Germany, France, and the United States all indicated recently that they would provide armoured vehicles to Ukraine. The Biden administrations $2.85 billion drawdown assistance package, announced on Jan. 6, includes a shipment of M2 Bradley armoured infantry fighting vehicles. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Laura Cooper said on Jan. 6 that 50 Bradley vehicles would be fielded in Ukraine over the coming months. In addition, Germany and the United States both pledged to send Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, according to a joint statement, after a call between President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Jan. 5. The Germans also plan on delivering Marder armoured personnel carriers and training Ukrainian soldiers on how to use them. The French Defence Ministry stated on Jan. 5 that it would arrange delivery of AMX-10 RC wheeled tank destroyers to the Ukrainian military. However, the Kremlin said the deliveries of armoured vehicles to Kyiv wouldnt change the end result of the conflict. This supply will not be able to change anything, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press conference on Jan. 9. These supplies can only add to the pain of the Ukrainian people and prolong their suffering. They are not capable of stopping us from achieving the goals of the special military operation. PA Media contributed to this report. Ukrainian Officials Report Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv KYIV, UkraineA series of explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday morning and minutes later air raid sirens started to wail as an apparent missile attack on the Ukrainian capital was underway. Critical infrastructure in Kyiv was targeted, the deputy head of Ukraines presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram. An unidentified infrastructure object was hit in the city and emergency services were operating at the site of the strike, Kyivs city military administration said. Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a non-residential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far. It wasnt immediately clear whether several facilities in Kyiv were targeted or just the one that was reported hit. The Ukrainian capital hasnt been attacked with missiles since New Years night, Jan. 1. In the outlying Kyiv region, a residential building in the village of Kopyliv was hit, and windows of the houses nearby were blown out, Tymoshenko said. A total of 18 private houses were damaged in the region, according to regional Gov. Oleksii Kuleba. There are damaged roofs and windows, but no casualties, Kuleba said in a Telegram post. He added that a fire has been contained at a critical infrastructure facility in the region. Earlier on Saturday, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, the governor of the Kharkiv region reported. Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces fired two S-300 missiles at the industrial district of Kharkiv. The strikes targeted energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region, Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said. The attacks come amid conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraines embattled east. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town, a development that would mark a victory for the Kremlin after a series of setbacks on the battlefield. Ukrainian authorities and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insist the fight for Soledar continues. Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbass, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere. However, Ukraine claims its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. US Court Upholds Religious Schools Title IX Exemption The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, on Nov. 5, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP Photo) A federal court in Oregon on Thursday upheld a Title IX exception that permits religious universities to receive federal funding even if they follow religious beliefs regarding marriage, sexual identity, and gender. A group of 40 LGBT individuals filed the 2021 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to challenge an exception or loophole in Title IX that permits religious colleges to seek exemptions from the civil rights laws restriction against sex-based discrimination. Judge Ann Aiken from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found that the loophole is one narrow exception to Title IX designed by Congress to safeguard institutions controlled by a religious organization and avoid interfering with their convictions that may conflict with the regulations. Exempting religiously controlled educational institutions from Title IXand only to the extent that a particular application of Title IX would not be consistent with a specific tenet of the controlling religious organizationis substantially related to the governments objective of accommodating religious exercise, Aiken wrote in her ruling (pdf). The LGBT group, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project, the plaintiffs in the case, argued that the exemption violated the students equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution by treating them differently than other students due to their sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Failed to Prove Discriminatory Intent While the group made many claims of mistreatment at religious schools, the judge found that the group failed to prove any discriminatory motivation by Congress in enacting the Title IX exemption in question. The Court cannot conclude that Plaintiffs assertion that Congress enacted the religious exemption to permit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, is sufficient, Aiken wrote. Aiken, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, also rejected their argument that the exemption violated the First Amendments restriction on the establishment of religion by Congress, stating that they didnt prove the federal government, in contrast to schools, advanced religions. Plaintiffs provide no developed analysis or facts to shed light on those assertions or explain how Defendants have advanced religion through their own activities and influence, Aiken wrote. The U.S. Department of Justice defended the exemption but agreed that it potentially violates Title IX. The Religious Exemption Accountability Project said they were considering an appeal. Title IX Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. However, religious institutions can apply for exemptions to comply with their beliefs, even if they conflict with the provisions of Title IX. Under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance in June 2021 that interpreted sex-based discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, which are fuzzier concepts. The Biden administration did this by citing the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, which was decided in 2020. In that case, the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the workplace and uses similar language to Title IX, also applies to discrimination against gay and transgender workers. The Education Department, therefore, took the position that the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Bostock should also apply to Title IX, which covers discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding. US Sending Delegation to Cuba to Restart Talks on Law Enforcement Cuban and U.S. flags beside the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Dec. 15, 2020. (Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters) WASHINGTON/HAVANAThe Biden administration plans to send a delegation to Havana this month to restart U.S.-Cuba talks on law-enforcement issues that were halted under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. U.S. concerns about counterterrorism will be among the subjects addressed, a State Department spokesperson said. Trump placed Cuba on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism shortly before his term ended in January 2021, and the Biden administration has been reviewing this since taking office. The meeting will be the first of its kind since the law- enforcement dialogue, which was started in 2015 under former President Barack Obama, was stopped in 2018 under Trump as he rolled back his predecessors detente with Communist-ruled Cuba. President Joe Biden has begun reversing some of Trumps policies but has maintained others, insisting the Cuban regime must improve its human rights record. This type of dialogue enhances the national security of the United States through improved international law enforcement coordination, which enables the United States to better protect U.S. citizens and bring transnational criminals to justice, the State Department spokesperson said in a statement. But the official added that this dialogue does not impact the administrations continued focus on critical human rights issues in Cuba. The Cuban regime did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A street view in Havana on Jan. 10, 2023. (Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters) U.S. and Cuban officials last year held rounds of talks in Washington and Havana focused on migration as Washington sought to stem the flow of Cubans to the United States by land and sea. The talks are expected to focus on combating cybercrime, terrorist threats, and drug trafficking, among other issues, according to the source familiar with the matter. U.S. officials did not immediately respond to Reuters questions on whether the discussions were expected to include whether Cuba could be removed from the sponsors of terrorism list, which also designates Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Cuba has called the U.S. designation a slander and a false pretext to continue punishing the island nation economically. The Biden administration last May kept Cuba on a short list of countries the United States says are not cooperating fully in its fight against terrorism. The State Department spokesperson said the coming talks provides a forum to raise difficult matters and convey our concerns directly to the Cuban government. Virginia Official Suspected 6-Year-Old Had Possession of Gun Before Shooting Teacher, Says Superintendent Police tape hangs from a sign post outside Richneck Elementary School following a shooting in Newport News, Virginia, on Jan. 7, 2023. (Jay Paul/Getty Images) An official at the Virginia school where a 6-year-old student brought a 9mm pistol in a backpack and allegedly shot his teacher suspected the child possessed a firearm before the shooting transpired, but the official failed to find it in a search, according to a superintendent. During an online meeting on Thursday, the superintendent of Newport News Schools, Dr. George Parker, told parents that at least one school official was notified that the boy may have had a weapon before last weeks shooting that seriously injured Abigail Zwerner, a 25-year-old first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School. Parkers comments were first reported by WAVY-TV. The online meeting was organized for parents only, but WAVY-TV reported that the station gained access to the meeting from a parent. Newport News Superintendent of Schools George Parker makes remarks on the safety parameters currently in place at the citys schools during a press conference at the Newport News School Administration Building in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 9, 2023. (John C. Clark/AP Photo) On Friday, the superintendents comments were confirmed by Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the school district. The superintendent has shared that the students backpack was searched and nothing was found at the time, Price told The Associated Press, noting that she was not told where school administrators suspect the pistol was hidden at the time the backpack was searched. Specific details about how the school official suspected the boy carried a handgun and why it wasnt located werent immediately available. Kelly King, a spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department, told the network that sometime after the shooting, police learned through their investigation that a school employee was notified of a possible firearm. The spokesperson noted that the department was not informed about this information before the shooting occurred. Price declined to comment on Kings statement. She said that typically when school officials receive a tip about a potential weapon or other contraband in the schools, if the tip includes specific information about a particular student or a particular classroom, thats where the search starts. The Shooting On Jan. 6, police received a call shortly before 2 p.m. that a teacher had been shot at Richneck Elementary School. Responding officers arrived at the school building just five minutes after the initial call and entered the classroom about 10 seconds later. When they entered the room, they found a 6-year-old child that was being physically restrained by a school employee, said Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said. The child became a little combative; actually struck the school employee that was restraining him, and officers then took control of him and escorted him out of the building, placed him in a police car with an officer inside and outside of that vehicle. Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones listens to Police Chief Steve Drew as he gives an update on a school shooting during a press conference in the Newport News School Administration Building in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 9, 2023. (John C. Clark/AP Photo) At 2:06 p.m., medics arrived at the school; they were cleared to enter the school a minute later. They reached the injured teacher by 2:09 p.m., and two minutes later Zwerner was transported to a local hospital for treatment. On Monday, Drew told reporters that investigators had interviewed the 6-year-old boy and his mother at police headquarters after the incident and determined the firearm was legally purchased in York County. Its unclear how the boy gained access to the weapon. Virginia law prohibits leaving a loaded gun where it is accessible to a child under 14, treating it as a misdemeanor. Drew also confirmed Monday that Zwerners condition has improved after initially being hospitalized on Jan. 6 with a life-threatening injury. Abigail wanted me to tell you all that she is in stable condition and she is thankful for the thoughts and prayers, the police chief said. Meanwhile, Newport News School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law announced during a meeting on Thursday that security will be enhanced at schools in the entire district. Changes will include metal detectors at all schools, which will first be installed at Richneck Elementary School. Caden Pearson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News A startup which plans to produce at-home male fertility tests first developed at the University of Virginia has announced a $1.4 million investment in a new Albemarle County facility that will bring 31 jobs to the area. PS-Fertility is preparing to market a technology developed at UVa that tests for the presence of biomarkers on sperm cells necessary for fertilization. This makes it possible to get a fuller picture of a mans fertility, according to the firm. We anticipate launching our companys advanced testing platform to measure and analyze male fertility levels in the very near future, CEO Kevin Combs said in a statement announcing the news Wednesday. The company plans to rent out a space at 3030 Vision Lane in Albemarle County, where a self-storage facility is now located. The site will serve as PS-Fertilitys headquarters, where workers will put together test kits, PS-Fertility said. It will also house a test kit assembly operation and a diagnostic laboratory, according to the company. PS-Fertility is a homegrown success story, said Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Wednesdays statement. We look forward to supporting the companys next chapter of growth in Albemarle County. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Albemarle County to secure the project for Virginia and will support PS-Fertilitys job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, according to the statement. The program should help the company recruit and train workers, the statement said. Our community is a hub for biotech innovation, incubating insights born at UVa into industries serving patients across the country and around the world, Democratic Del. Sally Hudson, who represents in the county in the General Assembly, said in the statement. Our public partners should continue doing all we can to support local innovators like PS-Fertility as they grow their work where it all began. PS-Fertility did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Progress. Whatever Happened to Investigations Into 2021 Church Arsons? Recent act of arson in Alberta raises spectre of 2021 church fires Firefighters put out hot spots at what remains of St. Jean Baptiste Parish Catholic Church in Morinville, Alta., after a fire on June 30, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson) In the wake of a church-burning on New Years Eve in rural Alberta, The Epoch Times followed up with police on the status of investigations into the fire as well as the torching of multiple churches in Canada in the summer of 2021. The fire investigator has determined that arson was the cause of a blaze that destroyed St. Joseph Lutheran Church near the village of Hay Lakes, just north of Camrose and about 50 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, late on Dec. 31, burning it to the ground. Camrose RCMP Cpl. Kevin Krebs says plain-clothes officers are doing interviews and collecting witness statements. Hopefully we can find somebody thats responsible for that fire. Arsons are very hard to solve. Quite often the evidence that would normally be left around for another type of crime is destroyed by the fire, he said. Krebs said its unclear whether the fire was related to a spate of church fires that occurred in the summer of 2021. The fires followed news of the apparent discovery of unmarked graves found near a residential school in Kamloops, B.C., in May 2021. Krebs said arson cases get special attention because of the damage they do to lives and property. Theyre very high on our priority list of solving. Thats why we put the resources to them as hard as we can to see where we can lead. Sometimes information comes along from a source, or some evidence is gathered that, all of a sudden, leads us in the right direction. So thats what were hoping for. The Epoch Times contacted police forces across Canada to learn the status of investigations into church fires that occurred after May 2021. Most have not resulted in charges or convictions. Some remain officially open, while others have closed but could reopen if new evidence comes to light. Past Cases Resulting in Charges On July 9, 2021, Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church, located in the Kehewin Cree Nation in northeastern Alberta was destroyed by arson. The building had been vacant for years and was slated for demolition. The next day, the RCMP announced the arrest and release of a young offender in connection with the incident. He was later convicted. Ashes and debris is all that remains after a fire at the former Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church near Orolow, Sask., Thursday, July 8, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Kayle Neis) The St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey, B.C., was the target of two incidents of arson, the first on July 14, 2021, and the second five days later, which destroyed the church. Kathleen Panek, then 35 years old, with no fixed address, was charged on Aug. 26, 2021, and later charged with two counts of arson in connection with the incidents and later sentenced. A publication ban on further proceedings was issued on Oct. 14, 2021, but it is known that a bail hearing was held on April 8, 2022. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Catholic Church at Fort Chipewyan, northeastern Alberta, was burned to the ground in the early hours of Aug. 25, 2022. Fort Chipewyan residents Raymond Ahyasou-Cardinal and August Tanner Marcel were charged with arson. Open, With No Arrests In the early hours of June 21, 2021, RCMP in Penticton, south central B.C., found the Sacred Heart Church on Penticton Indian Band territory in flames. The church was built around 1911. The same morning, RCMP in Oliver, B.C., a 40-minute drive away, were notified that St. Gregorys Church was on fire on Osoyoos Indian Band land. Both churches were destroyed and the fires were treated as suspicious. At 1:15 a.m. on June 26, 2021, a call to the RCMP in New Hazelton, northwestern B.C., reported a fire at the entrance of St. Pauls Anglican Church in Gitwangak, a vacated building over a century old. Minimal damage was sustained before the fire department put out the blaze. However, the same church was set on fire and burned down on the evening of July 1. On June 26, 2021, two other churches in the Penticton area were destroyed in suspicious fires: the St. Anns Catholic Church on Upper Similkameen Indian Band land and the Chopaka Catholic Church on Lower Similkameen Indian Band land. The historic St. Jean Baptiste Parish church in Morinville, Alberta, 34 kilometres north of Edmonton, was burned down in the early hours of June 30, 2021. An incendiary device was thrown through the window of St. Patrick Co-Cathedral in Yellowknife the night of July 1, 2021, resulting in moderate damage. Yellowknife RCMP Cpl. Matt Halstead told The Epoch Times the suspect is a male aged 25 to 35 years old. Theres footage in the neighbourhood that showed a person of interest walking down the street. Unfortunately, the quality of that video and the still shot were able to get was in such a low quality, we werent able to actually identify the person. So, the investigation isnt active, but its not closed either, Halstead said. A fire at House of Prayer Alliance Church in Calgary on July 4, 2021, caused external damage and interior smoke damage. Police said at the time the fire was intentionally set. No arrests have been made, no charges have been laid, and its still very much active and ongoing, Leah Brownridge, communications adviser from Calgary Police Service, told The Epoch Times Solved, But Not Arson The Abbotsford Police Department (APD) in B.C. had been looking for a male suspect in his 30s following a July 21, 2021, fire at Central Heights Church. However, Sgt. Paul Walker of the APD told The Epoch Times, This file from 2021 has been concluded and was determined to be accidental in nature and not an arson. Closed Without Arrests In the following cases from 2021, investigations have been closed without arrests. Siksika First Nation Catholic Church, built on reserve land, was set on fire in the early hours of June 28, 2021. The fire investigator confirmed arson to be the cause. St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Indian Brook, Nova Scotia, was damaged by fire on June 30, which police deemed suspicious. Corporal Chris Marshall said by email that the investigation has since been concluded due to a lack of evidence. No arrests were made. Should new evidence or information be received, the investigation will be reopened. Workers cover damaged siding after a fire at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Indian Brook, N.S., on June 30, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan) RCMP in Tofino, B.C., on Vancouver Island, were alerted just after 4 a.m. on July 2, 2021, that the communitys 100-year-old St. Columba Anglican Church was in flames. Fire crews limited damage to one side of the church. On July 3, arsonists threw Molotov cocktails through the windows of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Peace River, northwestern Alberta. Minimal damage occurred before firefighters put out the flames. Trinity United Church in Prince George, B.C., was set on fire July 4, 2021, sometime before 2:25 a.m. Fire crews put out a small blaze on the exterior of the building. On July 20, 2021, Prince George RCMP were told a man was lighting some material on fire near the back doors of St. Michaels Anglican Church. Six days later, someone placed two containers of gasoline near St Marys Parish church and lit them on fire. A one-litre container was lit on fire and thrown at the building, and setting the side of the church on fire, but evening rain put out the fire. Both cases were closed without a suspect being identified. Others The Epoch Times reached out to authorities regarding the following fires from 2021, but the status of their investigations was not shared before publication time. On July 8, 2021, the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church near Redberry Lake, Sask., burned to the ground in a fire the RCMP deemed suspicious. Two church fires occurred in Saint Johns, Ont., in the Niagara Region in 2021 on the Six Nations Indian Reserve. On June 12, the 200-year-old St. Johns Anglican Church was doused with gasoline and set on fire. Around 2 a.m. on July 5, someone set the roof above the Johnsfield Baptist Church entrance on fire. It was put out with a bucket of water by someone living in the lower level of the church. Woman Driving Across Border Finds 2 Unwanted Riders Inside Her Trunk A road sign directs drivers to the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 6, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) SAN DIEGOA woman allegedly discovered two people hiding inside her trunk Jan. 12 in Sorrento Valley. Shortly before 5 a.m., a woman was driving into the U.S. from Tijuana, Mexico for work when she heard noises coming from the back of her vehicle, according to San Diego police. Police said the woman pulled over and opened her trunk to find a man and a woman inside. The pair, believed to be in their 50s, then fled the scene, according to the department. It was unclear when and how the suspects entered the womans trunk. The police said the woman was cooperating with law enforcement. Having thoroughly gone through the letter of our dear father pa Olusegun Obasanjo, one will deduce sensitive information that can engineer us to progress as a nation in this country. What I like most in his letter is that he thoroughly examined Peter Obi from his own perspective not because of the place he comes from. Furthermore, chief Obasanjos perspective is above the spirit of regionalism or tribalism. Another salient point that one can deduce from the letter and action of chief Obasanjo is that, it shows a sense of belongings and his action would make the southerners feel that they belong to Nigeria and still see Nigerians as one. If perhaps, chief Obasanjo endorsed anybody from his own tribe, the northerners endorse anybody from their own tribe and the southerners endorse their candidate from their own tribe; are we going to say that we are the same and there is unity in Nigeria? The fact is that Obasanjo could not force anybody to vote for Peter Obi. He expressed his own view according to his own personal assessment and perception. We should note that the stand of Obasanjo in his assessment of Obi is quite above political gimmick. It is a pity that many of our politicians are being enveloped by political tantalization which is one of the bedrock of problems that face Nigerians. Whoever has decided to fight corruption and ensure unity must have been a political saint and egalitarian. That is another salient fact I deduce from his letter. It is crystal clear that pa Obasanjo is somebody that stands for unity of the country without fear or prejudice. I say kudos to him in that perspective. As regards his own view about all the presidential aspirants, he is a man of knowledge and experience of life. Nobody can cow him on that. It is very significant to note that these people went to him. Why In the first instance, did they go to him? It was because they thought that he is a man of intelligence and political guru despite his age. Although I am not a politician, it is imperative that I should write articles when it is necessary. Therefore the controversial reactions of many people on Obasanjos letter do not hold water and they are of no substance to be reckoned with. I was surprised that some people said that he could not win in his own ward. This statement denotes a gross inability to see beyond their nose. The facts that Obasanjo could not win in his own ward does not mean that he is not more influential than any person in his ward and state. For deep understanding of this, now let us go briefly into the word of God. I am not comparing chief Obasanjo with Jesus Christ but I just want to borrow a leaf from the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, which says a prophet has no respect or dignity in his own village. Why did Jesus Christ in his own great knowledge say this? It is an indication that the failure of Obasanjo in his ward does not denote that Obasanjos popularity; status and personality should not be reckoned with on the security, economic and political issues in this country. Let us be careful of the choice of words or sentence when we have any issue against him or any elderly state man. I am not supporting Obasanjo, but I see Obasanjo as our father even if his letter affects us, we should know how to address such an issue. We should also note that the palm of a lion is much greater than a whole cat. One thing I want you to know for God sake is that I am not a politician but I want my country to be in peace, harmony and unity. For verification, try to read one of my articles titled the omen is still unacceptable published by the Nigerian voice. Surely, the objective of any patriotic Nigerian should be peace, harmony and unity. The controversial letter could not force me to vote for Peter Obi because I would rather vote according to the dictate of my conscience. I am a Nigerian; I have had enough experience to deduce facts from any drum being drummed. My dear people or fellow Nigerians, let us leave our father Obasanjo alone and face front. If there is anybody that is affected by his letter I appeal to such a person that once he/she is sure of his/her personality there is nothing for him/her to fear. So may God bless us. Bile is bitter but truth is bitterer than bile. Great Nigerian! Great Africa! Ajayi Alade-ola Olasupo Email:[email protected] Phone number: 08072947605 /08127650966 American arrested in Phuket on US stock manipulation charges PHUKET: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) of the Royal Thai Police jointly arrested an American man wanted by the US authorities for orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme. The 54-year-old man was apprehended at a hotel near Surin beach in Phuket. crimepolice By The Phuket News Saturday 14 January 2023, 05:22PM American national Peter Coker Jr was arrested in Phuket in connection with the 100 million USD New Jersey deli scheme. Photo: CSD The arrest was announced by the CSD today (Jan 14). In a publication on the CSDs official Facebook page the suspect is named as "Mr Peter Jr", but the details of the case clearly indicate that the man is Peter Coker Jr who made headlines in the US media last year in connection to what CNBC called a 100 million USD New Jersey deli scheme. Mr Coker was wanted on a US arrest warrant and listed on the Interpols red list since late last year. His father Peter Coker Sr and business partner James Patten had been arrested in the USA before that. According to the announcement by the US Attorneys Office on Sept 26 last year, Mr Coker Sr, Mr Coker Jr and Mr Patten had been charged in a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices. Patten had been additionally charged with four counts of manipulation of securities, four counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. American prosecutors believe that the trio artificially inflated the market price of Hometown International Inc at OTC Link Alternative Trading System up to 100mn USD despite the fact it had only a small-town New Jersey deli to its name. A similar trick was played with securities of E-Waste Corp, also traded at OTC Markteplace in the US. From 2014 through September 2022, Patten, Coker Sr, and Coker Jr conspired to enrich themselves through a scheme to manipulate securities prices via a pattern of coordinated trading, which injected inaccurate information into the marketplace, creating false impressions of supply and demand for these securities, the US Attorneys Office said in Sept 26 statement. Patten, Coker Sr, and Coker Jr took steps to gain control of both entities [Hometown International Inc and E-Waste Corp] management and stock with the ultimate intention of entering reverse mergers, a transaction through which an existing public company merges with a private operating company. A successful reverse merger would allow the defendants to sell shares of each entity at a significant profit, American authorities explained further. The scheme artificially inflated Hometown Internationals stock by 939% and E-Wastes stock by 19,900%, illegally enriching the three suspects. According to the US laws, securities fraud and manipulation of securities prices counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a 5mn USD fine. Conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices are punishable with up to five years in prison and a 250,000 USD fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense whichever is greatest. Mr Cocker Jr the only of the trio who was not arrested in the USA last year fled to Thailand, but the US authorities managed to track him down. Royal Thai Police did not reveal how it had been done. The FBI representatives in Bangkok then contacted their Thai colleagues who arrested the suspect in Phuket on Jan 11. It is also unclear what assitance (if any) was provided by local Phuket polce, as none of Phuket official information channels reported the case yet. No news after Day 6 of search for missing diver PHUKET: Despite hopes fading, Phuket search and rescue teams continued yesterday (Jan 13) their efforts to locate missing 46-year-old Romanian national Sebastian Emil Somesan, who disappeared during a dive to unblock his boats anchor last Sunday (Jan 8). Safetymarine By The Phuket News Saturday 14 January 2023, 08:00AM Day 6 of the operation started yesterday with a meeting of representatives from relevant agencies and organisations at the search command centre set up at Ya Nui Beach, near Nai Harn. The gathering was chaired by Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos and Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam. The parties agreed to continue their efforts and keep searching for Mr Somesan using aquabikes, speedboats and rubber dinghies. While the search effort was ongoing, officials visited Koh Kaew Noi island to offer food to Buddhist monks and pay homage to Buddhas footprint at Koh Kaew Phitsadan Temple in a merit-making ceremony. Vice Governor Anupap also joined the activity. Despite all the efforts, the operation to locate Mr Somesan proved fruitless on Day 3 of the search. Phuket expat Sebastian Emil Somesan was on a diving trip with a Romanian and a Thai friend on Sunday (Jan 8). When the trio went to leave the area, they became aware that the boat anchor had caught on a rock on the seabed and Mr Somesan dived down to free the anchor. The man failed to resurface. Joining the search efforts have been lifeguards, defense volunteers, rescue workers, officers from Rawai Municipality, Marine Police and personnel from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command as well as local divers. Thailand get vital away goals in Hanoi FOOTBALL: Two away goals ensure Thailand hold a slender advantage in their bid to become back-to-back champions after a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Asean Football Federation final in Hanoi on Friday night (Jan 13). Saturday 14 January 2023, 09:37AM Do Duy Manh of Vietnam and Poramet Arjvirai of Thailand vie for the ball during the first leg of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 final at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on Friday night. Photo: AFP A 24th-minute strike from Nguyen Tien Linh moving him level with Teerasil Dangda in the race for the top scorer award sent Vietnam into the break with a narrow lead before goals from Poramet Arjvirai and Sarach Yooyen put Thailand in control, reports the Bangkok Post. Just when it seemed that the tie was leaning decisively in Thailands favour, substitute Vu Van Thanh struck in the 88th minute to set up a thrilling second leg at Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok on Monday (Jan 16). Thailand had surprised the hosts by resting three key starters, including the tournaments all-time leading scorer Teerasil, as well as switching their tactical approach but with neither team taking too many early risks it was a tense opening spell. Midway through the half, though, things sprang to life as a surging run down the right from Que Ngoc Hai saw the central defender deliver a delightful cross that was met by a diving Tien Linh. The timing of his run left defender Kritsada Kaman flat footed and the powerful forward made no mistake when through on goal to fire Vietnam ahead, to the delight of the crowd at My Dinh Stadium. Rocked by the goal, Thailand looked to respond immediately with Dang Van Lam alert to deny Peeradon Chamratsamee in the 37th minute before only the crossbar stopped the visitors from pulling level in the 43rd minute as Theerathon Bunmathan smashed a free-kick from the top of the box off the frame of the goal. Vietnam took that narrow lead to the break but three minutes after the restart it evaporated as a lofted ball from deep from Theerathon caught the usually alert Vietnamese defence napping with Poramet controlling the ball, cutting inside and firing home between defender and keeper to make it 1-1. A simple, deflected, cross almost caught out the visiting keeper Kampol Pathomakkakul shortly afterwards before Thailand then rocked the home crowd with a second goal. Another delightful, first-time, ball from the assist king Theerathon released Sarach who was through on goal and made no mistake, rifling past Van Lam at his near post to make it 2-1 in the 63rd minute. Just as it appeared as though Thailand would hold that decisive advantage, Vietnam struck late on to keep their title hopes well and truly alive. An 88th-minute corner from the left wasnt dealt with by Thailand with the ball finding its way to substitute Van Thanh who smashed home through a raft of bodies from well outside of the box to complete the dramatic 2-2 draw and leave everything to play for in Bangkok on Monday. Tuhao case report sent to prosecutors, cases against Immigration to follow BANGKOK: Police forwarded their investigation report to prosecutors on Friday (Jan 13) concerning a narcotics and money laundering case brought against businessman and suspected crime boss Chaiyanat Tuhao Kornchayanant and scores of other suspects. crimeChinesepoliceimmigrationcorruption By Bangkok Post Saturday 14 January 2023, 09:28AM The 27,000-page Tuhao case report has been sent to prosecutors. Photo: Royal Thai Police / Facebook Signed off by national police chief Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, the report comprises close to 27,000 pages including material pertaining to the confiscation of assets worth more B5.3 billion, reports Bangkok Post. The assets seized include luxury houses, hotels, expensive vehicles and several Phuket businesses mostly targeting Chinese tourists. Gen Damrongsak, who is in charge of the investigation, said 444 witnesses have been questioned and their statements were included in the report, which named 43 suspects 38 individuals and five legal entities. Of the 38 suspects, 20 have been arrested while the other 18 are still at large, he said. "Im very confident the report contains solid evidence to prove all of the suspects guilty in court," Gen Damrongsak said. Royal Thai Police adds on its Facebook page that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha pays special attention to this case and wants it to be concluded as fast as possible. The police report on Facebook also quotes Kosonlawat Inthuchanyong, deputy spokesman of the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG). He asked the public to be confident in the investigaion. In two separate stories posted on Jan 13, Bangkok Post reported Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, saying part of the investigation focusing on potential corruption among Immigration Bureau police is now also complete. "All these suspects, including high-ranking commanding officers and immigration station chiefs, will be summoned to answer charges next week," Gen Surachate said. The investigative committee found clear proof of offences such as renewal of visas for Chinese nationals through foundations, visa applications by schools or falsification of signatures of a deputy governor. Investigators found some Immigration Bureau officers were owners of foundations that hired agents to falsify documents, said Gen Surachate without disclosing more details. The national chief has ordered drastic action against all of the officers involved, he said. Police are expected to summon all of the accused officers, ranging from commanders and station heads to officers at the operational level, to hear the charges next week, he added. Today A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by increasing clouds with showers developing this afternoon. High 44F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Tonight Rain and snow showers this evening. Then becoming partly cloudy overnight. Low 27F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 50%. Tomorrow A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Junior; Bergel struck out eight and allowed only five hits as Wheeler defeated Griswold in its season opener. Bergel walked just one batter and allowed two earned runs. CAMI BROWN, Stonington, Softball, Junior; Brown finished 11 for 16 in four games for the Bears. Brown doubled four times, tripled twice and drove in nine runs. CASEY MACERA, Westerly, Girls Lacrosse, Freshman, Macera scored five goals in a Division III win against Rocky Hill. Westerly ended a 15-game losing streak with the victory. ADAM CARPENTER, Chariho, Baseball, Junior; Carpenter pitched a two-hitter in his varsity debut as the Chargers beat East Providence. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the sixth. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. Vote View Results The lender sardonically known as the 'Totally Shambolic Bank' is set to block a controversial bonus for the former boss who presided over a disastrous IT meltdown. Millions of TSB customers were locked out of their accounts for weeks in 2018 after a botched IT upgrade. Former chief executive Paul Pester quit with a 1.7million pay-off the same year but an extra amount was deferred pending the outcome of both a Slaughter & May investigation in 2019 and a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority. Signing off: Millions of TSB customers were locked out of their accounts for weeks in 2018 after a botched IT upgrade The TSB board will decide in the next few weeks what, if anything, Pester and other executives who have since left the bank will receive. But sources say that, in the wake of a 49million fine by the FCA last month and the damning verdict by both probes, any payment could be seen as a 'reward for failure'. Burberry resisting pressure over director Burberry is resisting shareholder pressure to remove the boss of Danone from his role as an independent director at the luxury fashion house. The trench coat maestros got a bloody nose at July's annual meeting when a third of votes were cast against reelecting Antoine de Saint-Affrique. Irked investors were concerned he did not have enough time for Burberry alongside his day job at the French food giant turning around the Actimel and Alpro owner. But Burberry isn't budging. In a statement last week, it said it had spoken to shareholders but believes he has 'capacity to devote sufficient time' to his duties. Those thinking 'quelle surprise' can at least turn their attention to a third-quarter trading update, due on Wednesday. Has Hoyle missed out on The Works deal? Could Dean Hoyle, former chairman of The Works, have missed out on a cracking deal at the discount retailer? The Card Factory founder and Huddersfield Town FC chairman sold out of the firm last week, having owned 16.75 per cent of it with his wife Janet until October when they began selling off their stake. In December alone, the pair flogged 5 per cent of the group. But did they move too quickly, with all but one deal coming before a 36 per cent rally that began in January? Ouch. Fresnillo marked down on climate policy Silver may be a critical material for the green revolution, but one of the London Stock Exchange's biggest miners has been marked down for its climate change policies. Fresnillo was booted out of the FTSE4Good index a list of the bourse's most environmentally and socially robust firms at a review last month. Housebuilder Galliford Try was also deleted though it appears this was a technicality and it is set to rejoin. Fresnillo and Galliford were replaced by Tyman and Plus500. But Fresnillo was still boasting of the stamp of approval on its website this weekend. It has been alerted by this column... Contributor: Patrick Tooher Concern: Business Secretary Grant Shapps New Government powers to block foreign takeovers have been branded 'toothless' after Ministers halted only a tiny number of deals in the first year. The National Security and Investment Act 2021 is supposed to provide protection against predators targeting British firms in 17 'sensitive' sectors, including nuclear, artificial intelligence, defence and energy. But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that just five deals were blocked out of the hundreds that were screened. The law also gives Ministers powers to impose legally binding conditions on buyers in order to safeguard jobs and research in the UK. However, this happened in just nine cases. The revelations come as controversy mounts over the sale of Cambridge-based semiconductor company Flusso to Sierchi, a Shanghai investment vehicle. Shortly after the acquisition in August, Flusso appointed two Shanghai-based directors to its board. The deal was given a green light by the Government despite Flusso being involved in precisely the kind of high-tech activity which Ministers want to encourage and amid fears over Beijing gaining dominance in the sector. Tory MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the influential Foreign Affairs Select Committee, claims Flusso was sold by 'stealth.' Unusually, when the deal was announced last summer, Flusso did not disclose the buyer's identity. The South China Morning Post says Sierchi is ultimately part-owned by the Chinese Government. But Flusso chief executive Andrea De Luca told UK Tech News that Sierchi does not hold any ties to the Chinese Government, adding that the buyer did notify Whitehall officials. Kearns sent a scathing letter to Business Secretary Grant Shapps last week. She wrote: 'In waving through this transaction, we are granting the Chinese Communist Party direct access to one of our leading tech start-ups in an area of vital strategic performance. 'I must stress that having a UK company leading on the design and selling of flow sensors key to consumer and industrial products produced by world-leading companies being taken over by a Chinese entity represents a significant economic and national security concern.' One senior source from the British semiconductor industry described the Flusso deal as 'bewildering.' The National Security and Investment Act was introduced in January 2022 after swoops by US predators on British defence and aerospace companies, including Cobham and Ultra Electronics, raised fears about threats to national security. The Act means that, for the first time, bids for companies of all sizes in critical industries are automatically screened for national security threats. In the past, the Government would only intervene in large takeovers. Deals that have been thwarted include the sale of microchip maker Newport Wafer Fab. It had been sold to the Chinese in 2021 for about 63million without any scrutiny. However, the takeover by Nexperia, a Netherlands company backed by Beijing, was subsequently overturned. The Flusso deal is understood to have been 'scrutinised and cleared' under the NSI Act in June. A Government source told The Mail on Sunday that it was 'unlikely' it would be looked at again. 'At the moment, there are no grounds to call it back in.' Independent aerospace analyst Francis Tusa slammed the law as ineffective. 'If the UK's starting point is still to say 'yes' to virtually all takeovers, then the Act is absolutely toothless,' he said. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who chairs Parliament's Defence Committee, said the Government must clearly define which industries it needs to protect 'rather than looking at it on a case-by-case basis'. He said: 'I really don't believe the penny's dropped at just how exposed Britain has become.' Although the Government has disclosed the number of deals blocked last year, it has not yet revealed how many were investigated. Annual figures will be released in spring. So far, it has been announced that in the first three months of 2022, more than 220 potential takeovers were screened, and of those, just 17 were subjected to a full investigation. No blocks or conditions were attached to any. The Business Department said the Government only intervenes in 'a small minority' of deals. Triumph Motorcycles has reported record sales as the iconic British manufacturer shrugged off the effects of the pandemic. Turnover at the business, based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, leapt by a quarter to 774million and profits doubled to 93million, according to results for the year ending June 2022. The company responsible for putting Hollywood legends Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando and Daniel Craig on two wheels sold 89,143 motorcycles globally. Classic: Steve McQueen in the 1963 Second World War epic The Great Escape Triumph is owned by the British billionaire John Bloor and is part of his 2.2billion housebuilding to construction services group Bloor Investments. Bloor, who donated 150,000 to the Conservative party in 2021, rescued the celebrated Triumph brand four decades ago. He has since poured more than 80million into the firm. His son, Nick, now runs Triumph. The motorcycle firm's latest accounts revealed that almost 90 per cent of its bikes were shipped overseas, with Triumph enjoying growing popularity in Asia. Triumph's most expensive motorcycle, the Rocket 3 GT Chrome, costs 23,595 and can reach 60mph in less than three seconds. In the 1963 Second World War epic The Great Escape, McQueen's motorcycle used for the famous attempted jump over the German border into Switzerland was a Triumph with minor modifications aimed at making it look a little more like a BMW. Boasting more than 25million customers in over 200 countries and a valuation of 27billion, online bank Revolut has been the toast of the fintech scene in recent years. With celebrity promotions involving heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua and YouTube stars Sidemen, it has grown quickly since its launch in 2015. But the City is on alert after the London-based financial 'super app' failed to file its latest annual accounts on time. Promotion: Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua is one of the celebrities backing Revolut Revolut became the UK's most valuable privately-owned tech firm in a 650million funding round in 2021 winning backing from top investor Masayoshi Son's Softbank and New York's Tiger Global. That put its valuation on a similar level to that of established banks such as Barclays and NatWest. Moscow-born founder Nikolay Storonsky, 38, was last year estimated to have a net worth of 5.2billion. High-profile names brought on board include City grandee Martin Gilbert, who is chairman, and ex-Labour Minister Kitty Ussher, who is chief economist at the Institute of Directors. Revolut started life as an app to cut the cost of sending money abroad. But, even then, Storonsky made clear he had far grander ambitions. Today, it offers payments services, crypto trading, savings accounts and stock trading services. In November, it announced plans to move into Brazil, India and New Zealand. But the prize still just out of Revolut's grasp is a UK banking licence two years after it applied for one through a process involving intense scrutiny. Its smaller peers, Starling and Monzo, acquired a licence in 18 months. At the moment, Revolut has a licence in Lithuania, opening access to the European Union. A UK licence would mean deposits are covered by Britain's Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects sums up to 85,000. It would also assist its efforts to gain similar accreditations in other markets, such as the US. Last autumn, Storonsky said the application was 'going very well', adding, 'We're almost there'. The fact that auditors BDO have not signed off on its accounts is likely to be a source of frustration at what could be a critical juncture. Revolut last filed accounts for the year ending 2020 in June 2021. There have been hints that the greater scrutiny of audit firms is causing the hold-up rather than any major concern about Revolut. But as Gary Greenwood, banking analyst at Shore Capital, put it: 'You have to be very concerned about the prospects of any company that fails to file accounts on time. It certainly won't help their hopes of being granted a UK banking licence.' BDO said it did not comment on specific audits, but added: 'Delays can happen for a number of reasons and, as part of our public interest duty to provide an appropriate level of challenge to the companies we audit, we do not sign off accounts until we're fully satisfied with the information and evidence provided.' The accounts are expected to be filed by the end of January. Revolut said: 'Our accounts are finalised and we expect to confirm the previously reported news we are profitable.' Matalan founder John Hargreaves is poised to lose control of the clothing giant he set up almost 40 years ago. Invesco, Man GLG, Napier Park and Tresidor will seize the chain tomorrow. They have agreed to wipe 250million off the company's debt and inject up to 100 million in funds, securing its future. Struggle: Matalan has 230 stores in the UK and still attracts more than 1billion sales a year The weight of debt had already forced the former market stall trader to step down as chairman last year. He has since battled to maintain his ownership of the business. It has 230 stores in the UK and still attracts more than 1billion sales a year despite fierce competition from Primark, Asda and Tesco. The Hargreaves family took a 250million dividend in 2010 after saddling the business with a 500million loan. By 2015, there were already warnings signs it had taken on too much debt. Monaco-based mogul Hargreaves opened his first Matalan in 1985. He had a stint on the stock market before taking it private again in 2006. Small businesses on fixed-rate energy deals face a sudden, crippling surge in their bills when the Government's current Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends in April. Many could go out of business. Thousands of businesses signed up to fixed-rate deals last year when the cost of energy was soaring at record highs. They hoped they were protecting themselves against the uncertainty of future price rises. The relief scheme, introduced in October last year, helped to curb costs by effectively capping the price of gas and electricity. For example, a business that fixed at 75p per kilowatt hour (kWh) has been paying 21.1p per kWh thanks to the cap. Unhappy hour: This pub, run by Mick and Claire Sugg, inset, sometimes closes early to cut costs But last week the Government announced that from April, the cap will be replaced by a new scheme called the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which amounts to a much less generous discount on energy bills. As a result, a business that has fixed at 75p per kWh will be paying 73p per kWh from April a discount of just 2p per kWh. Unlike households, businesses that sign up to a fixed-rate deal are locked in and cannot shop round for a better deal if wholesale prices fall. Growing numbers of small business owners are considering whether to shut up shop altogether. The Butchers Arms pub in Sonning Common, Berkshire, is closing next month due to the rising costs. Its energy bill has already risen from 20,000 to 60,000 a year and would soar even higher once the price cap is replaced by the new discount scheme in April. Gavin Mansfield, a business development manager for Brakspear brewery and pub company, for which The Butchers Arms is a tenant, says he has never known it so bad in his 33 years working in the industry. 'Some pubs will see bills increase by three or four times,' he says. 'Most are on fixed contracts and cannot switch suppliers, so they're stuck. I don't know why the Government hasn't put a proper cap in place or enabled commercial premises to switch if they can get a better deal.' Pubs are likely to be particularly hard hit by the reduced energy bill support, due to their tight margins and high energy costs. Under the current scheme, a pub could receive up to 3,100 a month in support, depending on energy use. Under the new scheme they will get just 190 a month, according to Treasury estimates. Mick and Claire Sugg run The Hare & Hounds a neighbouring pub to The Butchers Arms. They are managing to keep the pub open by closing early when there are just a few customers and by not turning on kitchen equipment, such as fryers, unless there are advance bookings for food. But they, too, will face an even greater struggle from April. 'If I signed up to an energy contract today, even if prices go down there would be no way out,' says Mick. 'Pubs are closing all around us because of the situation I've never known anything like it.' Small businesses on variable tariffs are better placed, as wholesale prices have fallen considerably in recent weeks. They are paying around 17.25p per kWh for electricity and 5.71p per kWh for gas. However, if wholesale prices rise again, these businesses will be very exposed. The new discount amounts to around just 2p per kWh on electricity and 0.7p per kWh on gas, and would only kick in if wholesale prices start to escalate. Threat: Abdul Majid is facing energy bills of 6,000 a month The discount remains static regardless of how high wholesale prices soar, so small businesses will once again have direct exposure to the volatile energy market caused by Putin's war with Ukraine. The Government has set aside 5.5billion for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which will last 12 months, down from the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme which has cost around 18billion. Paul Wilson, policy director for the Federation of Small Businesses, says the switch from a price cap to a discount will cripple small businesses. 'We will definitely see more businesses close, and if energy prices go back up to the high levels we've seen before, the number of closures will be much higher,' he says. 'We're moving from a scheme that gives quite a high degree of certainty over the price that businesses are going to have to pay for electricity and gas, to one where you might get a very limited discount, and only in circumstances when the price you are paying goes over a certain threshold.' Abdul Majid, from Bellshill near Glasgow, has run his successful post office and convenience store Baba's Kitchen for 14 years and was awarded the MBE for services to charity and the community. He worries about what will happen when his energy bills are exposed to the wholesale markets. His bills have already gone up from 2,000 a month to 3,500 and he has been told they will rise further to 6,000 by April. 'The frightening thing is that my business is being threatened by something which is totally out of my control,' he says. 'I feel like I'm being held to ransom by the energy companies and while I should get some benefit from the discount scheme, I'm still looking at a large increase, which will impact on the business, my household finances and potentially the community.' Gardai are appealing to those who used a Dublin Bus service to come forward to help their investigation into the death of a woman aged in her 40s. The womans body was discovered in an apartment at Royal Canal Park on Friday night. A man aged in his 50s was arrested as part of the investigation remains in custody at Finglas Garda Station. A preliminary report of the post-mortem results has been given to the investigating team, though the details are not being released for operational reasons. As part of the investigation, Gardai are appealing to those who were travelling on the 120 Dublin Bus route on Friday morning going from Rathbourne Avenue to Merrion Road to come forward. A 120 bus departed Rathbourne Avenue at approximately 8.30am and travelled to Spindrift Avenue in Royal Canal Park, where Gardai said an incident took place. An appeal has been issued to anyone who was travelling on this bus, or to anyone who was in the vicinity of Spindrift Avenue, between 8.15am and 9am to contact An Garda Siochana. Video footage from the bus or at any of the locations is also being requested. The scene remained sealed off on Saturday night as a forensic and technical examination was carried out. A Senior Investigating Officer has been appointed to the case and a Garda Family Liaison Officer continues to work with the womans family. Anyone with information is asked to contact gardai in Cabra on 01 6667400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. [January 13, 2023] Russell Investments Canada Limited Announces Quarterly Distributions for Exchange Traded Fund Series Russell Investments Canada Limited ("Russell Investments Canada") today announced cash distributions for the ETF Series of certain mutual funds ("ETF Series") for the months of January, February, and March. Unitholders of record of the ETF Series, as of the Record Date, will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on the Payment Date. Details of the per-unit cash distribution amount are as follows: Fund Name Ticker Symbol Cash Distribution per Unit ($) CUSIP ISIN Record Date Payment Date Exchange Russell Investments Fixed Income Pool RIFI $0.059 78249T103 CA78249T1030 January 23, 2023 January 26, 2023 TSX February 22, 2023 February 27, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 27, 2023 Russell Investments Global Infrastructure Pool RIIN $0.070 78250R103 CA78250R1038 January 23, 2023 January 26, 2023 TSX February 22, 2023 February 27, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 27, 2023 Russell Investments Real Assets RIRA $0.066 78250P107 CA78250P1071 January 23, 2023 January 26, 2023 TSX February 22, 2023 February 27, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 27, 2023 The Manager, Russell Investments Canada, administers and manages the ETF Series. About Russell Investments Canada Limited Russell Investments Canada Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Russell Investments Group, Ltd. Established in 1985, Russell Investments Canada Limited has its head office in Toronto. About Russell Investments Russell Investments is a leading global investment solutions firm providing a wide range of investment capabilities to institutional investors, financial intermediaries, and individual investors around the world. Building on an 86-year legacy of continuous innovation to deliver exceptional value to clients, Russell Investments works every day to improve the financial security of its clients. The firm has CA$376.9 billion in assets under management (as of 9/30/2022) for clients in 31 countries. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Russell Investments has offices in 19 cities around the world, including New York, London, Toronto, Tokyo, and Shanghai. For more information, please visit www.russellinvestments.com/ca. Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or dissemination in the United States. Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with an investment in the ETF Series Units. Investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other important information are contained in the prospectus. Please read the prospectus and ETF Facts carefully before investing. The ETF Series Units are not guaranteed, their value may change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Certain statements included in this news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as or similar to, "expects", "anticipates", "believes" or negative versions thereof. Forward looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are inherently subject to, among other things, risk, uncertainties and assumptions about economic factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated. We encourage you to consider these and other factors carefully before making any investment decisions and we urge you to avoid placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Russell Investments has no specific intention of updating any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For a summary of the risks of an investment in the fund, please see the specific risks of mutual funds section of the prospectus. Units of ETF Series trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination. Income tax considerations for investors are contained in the prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Copyright Russell Investments Canada Limited 2022. All rights reserved. Frank Russell Company is the owner of the Russell trademarks contained in this material and all trademark rights related to the Russell trademarks, which the members of the Russell Investments group of companies are permitted to use under license from Frank Russell Company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005382/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 13, 2023] JourneyTEAM Selected for Bob Scott's VAR Stars 2022 Bob Scott's VAR Stars award is given to 100 organizations honored for their accomplishments in the midmarket financial software world. DRAPER, Utah, Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JourneyTEAM has been awarded as one of Bob Scott's VAR Stars for 2022. This award recognizes 100 organizations honored for their accomplishments in the field of midmarket financial software. Those selected for the top 100 VAR Stars are not determined based on revenue, but rather on factors of growth, industry leadership, and innovation. JourneyTEAM has grown significantly within its ERP expertise over the last year, as they have been able to help over 92 customers implement an ERP system or gain the support needed to successfully adopt to get the most out of their ERP system. Greg Crandall, JourneyTEAM's ERP director, says of Bob Scott's Top 100 Var Stars award: "JourneyTEAM is honored to be selected as a Top 100 VAR again in 2022. We will continue to prioritize helping companies grow by ensuring they have the right financial processes and technologies in place. We look forward to creating long-term relationships with the clients we serve for any ERP needs available within the Microsoft platform." Bob Scott has been informing the financial softwae community for over 30 years, and his recognitions have been greatly regarded as trusted and influential. "Each year, 100 VAR Stars are picked from the best organizations that market financial software. It is always an honor to recognize those who contribute to the development of our business," Bob Scott said. JourneyTEAM strives to align with Bob's focus on business development by helping customers improve financial processes thanks to their ERP. JourneyTEAM achieves this by analyzing customers' business needs and areas of growth first and then determining which technology is right to fill those gaps. JourneyTEAM's ERP consultants have deep expertise in legacy on-prem solutions and modern cloud solutions such as Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain. JourneyTEAM consultants know the difference between the two, and can help customers determine the right ERP solution or their business. JourneyTEAM is honored to have been recognized in the VAR Star top 100 list for several years running and will continue to help customers grow within the ERP space. Give your business the foundation it needs to grow by implementing an effective ERP solution. Journeyteam.com Moriah Spainhower Content Manager JourneyTEAM 8015659199 "This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com." View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/journeyteam-selected-for-bob-scotts-var-stars-2022-301721738.html SOURCE JourneyTEAM [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 14, 2023] Multichain launched a boost bribe for $multiBTC LPs, offering further rewards SINGAPORE, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Additional incentives from Multichain: Several Defi activities built on multiBTC offer competitive APY at leading yield platforms on Ethereum. Multichain also launched a boost bribe for LPs, offering further rewards in $MULTI. The bribe was live for two weeks till 5th January 2023, which increased the liquidity of the pools over $2 million. Second session has been launched on stakeDAO . Do not miss out this voting (Jan 1219) and claim the juicy rewards. Multichain is on a mission to interconnect every blockchain ecosystem existing in Defi. We have pioneered cutting-edge cross-chain bridge and router technologies to achieve this goal. Today, we take this mission a step further by introducing one of the most important coins in Defi to the Ethereum ecosystem, Bitcoin. What is multiBTC? With faster transaction times, the ability to access smart contracts and Dapps, or the convenience of using a particular blockchain ecosystem, cryptocurrency users own wrapped tokens for various reasons. multiBTC is another such wrapped token that brings the best of the two most used blockchain ecosystems together. The main aspect that sets multiBTC apart from others, is that multiBTC can still be redeemed even in the worst case of the cross-chain bridge suspension, meaning we will still offer support until nothing is left. The Bitcoin network is a primitive blockchain that records account balances and lacks smart contracts functionality, which means it doesn't support defi applications directly. Therefore, we cannot bring defi to Bitcoin; however, we can bring Bitcoin to defi by representingBTC as an ERC-20 token. How does multiBTC work? multiBTC is an ERC-20 token issued by the Multichain protocol that is pegged to the value of Bitcoin. This means that 1 multiBTC is always equal to 1 BTC. multiBTC allows users to take advantage of the features and capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain, such as smart contracts, while still being able to hold and trade Bitcoin. The peg between multiBTC and Bitcoin is maintained with the help of smart contracts on Ethereum and HTLC (Hashed Time Locked Contract) on the Bitcoin network. The whole process is completely decentralized and automated. - Contract address on Ethereum 0x66eFF5221ca926636224650Fd3B9c497FF828F7D - Contract address on Bitcoin 1918DgsaJCsRF5E5rTp2AsE5XyFTF95tTQ *Note: The "1918Dgsa" address on Bitcoin is the Collection Address. Deposits will only be gathered to the Collection Address when more than 8 deposits from separate users' BTC deposit addresses come in. How to obtain multiBTC? multiBTC is not listed on centralized exchanges yet. However, users can get their hands on multiBTC in a few easy steps Mint multiBTC via Multichain Multichain allows users to mint their multiBTC with their BTC holdings in the Bitcoin network. This can be done with the help of the Multichain router , which connects Bitcoin and Ethereum networks. It's also possible to anticipate multiBTC expansion to the multi-chain ecosystem in the near future. Convert other ERC-20 tokens to multiBTC Suppose the user wishes to use their ERC-20 tokens to buy BTC. They can do so using the decentralized multiBTC-based liquidity pools live on Dapps in the Ethereum ecosystem. For instance Curve , which listed multiBTC on December 18th 2022 in a pool, is further compounded on Convex , Beefy , and Concentrator . Benefits of using multiBTC multiBTC offers several benefits for its users Ease of use The process of minting and burning mulitBTC is done on the Multichain router with hassle-free steps, requiring minimal effort from users. In contrast, using other wrapping protocols like WBTC requires several steps and technical know-how to execute. The process of minting and burning mulitBTC is done on the Multichain router with hassle-free steps, requiring minimal effort from users. In contrast, using other wrapping protocols like WBTC requires several steps and technical know-how to execute. Low fees multiBTC holders bridge back to the Bitcoin network with 0 fees, bridge BTC to Ethereum with 0.1 % fee, min. Fee 0.001 multiBTC, max. Fee 0.01 multiBTC. This is lower than many bridge protocols, like RenBTC, which charges 0.2% multiBTC holders bridge back to the network with 0 fees, bridge BTC to with 0.1 % fee, min. Fee 0.001 multiBTC, max. Fee 0.01 multiBTC. This is lower than many bridge protocols, like RenBTC, which charges 0.2% Increased liquidity multiBTC improves the liquidity of wrapped Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain and makes it easier to trade it on different platforms and markets. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multichain-launched-a-boost-bribe-for-multibtc-lps-offering-further-rewards-301721806.html SOURCE Multichain [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Right now we share follow-up on all manner of crime reporting as locals use guns & stones to inflict nearly unspeakable damage on one another. Check TKC news gathering . . . Kansas City woman injured by rock that crashed through her windshield speaks out KANSAS CITY, Mo - A Kansas City, Missouri, woman is out of the hospital and speaking out for the first time after she was hit in the head with a rock that crashed through her windshield. Eva Kearney, 27, is still putting the pieces together hoping to figure out what happened to her the night of Dec. Kansas City, Missouri, police identify teenage homicide victim dropped off at hospital Kansas City, Missouri police are investigating a homicide after they say a victim was dropped off at a hospital Sunday night.Police have identified a 16-year-old, Amir Moore, as the victim.Authorities believe the homicide happened in the area of E. 77th Terrace and The Paseo. Just after 8 p.m. on Jan. Suspected road rage led to deadly shooting on I-435 in Lenexa LENEXA, Kan. - Police in Johnson County are investigating a suspected case of road rage that turned deadly. Now investigators are asking for the public's help to find answers. A Lenexa police spokesperson said 59-year-old Michael Bohnsack was killed as he drove along southbound Interstate 435 near the K-10 interchange. Kansas City suspect accused of shooting, killing man in botched fentanyl deal at Independence gas station KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Missouri, man is accused of shooting and killing another man in a botched fentanyl drug deal at an Independence gas station on New Year's Day. Daqunne E. Green, 24, was charged with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of Christopher Wright. Road rage is common on KC-area roads. What should you do if faced with a violent driver? A 59-year-old Leavenworth man was found fatally shot in Lenexa Thursday in what police believe may have been a road rage incident. Master Police Officer Danny Chavez of Lenexa Police said officers are following up on tips of an exchange between the victim and another vehicle, and are investigating the death as a homicide. Police identify man with gunshot wound found dead inside crashed vehicle on I-435 near K-10 Lenexa, Kansas police are investigating a possible road rage death.Early Thursday morning, on southbound I-435 near the K-10 Highway interchange, a crash investigation turned into something more.On Jan. 12, 2023, at approximately 5:45 a.m., officers responded to the report of a single vehicle off the roadway.When Lenexa police arrived, a white Jeep Grand Cherokee was located crashed into a light pole in a nearby ditch. Clay County man charged for fleeing traffic stop with 5-year-old child inside car KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Lawson, Missouri man is facing child endangerment charges after allegedly speeding away from a traffic stop and crashing his vehicle with an unsecured 5-year-old child inside. The Clay County Sheriff's Office reports 24-year-old David A. Strohm has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest. Sheriff's office says skeletal remains found by a mushroom hunter in April 2022 have been identified as a young woman The Ray County, Missouri, Sheriff's Office released the identity of the human remains found in a rural area last year.Authorities said a person hunting for mushrooms found skeletal remains that were believed to be human on April 27, 2022. Man charged in deadly New Year's Day shooting in Independence KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 28-year-old Kansas City, Missouri man has been charged in connection to a deadly shooting on New Year's Day in Independence. Jackson County prosecutors on Friday charged Daqunne E. Green with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Black leaders criticize police naming 'witness' in Excelsior Springs kidnapping case Black leaders in Kansas City said they were unhappy with a police bulletin this week that named a possible witness in an ongoing rape and kidnapping case that has already angered many across the metro area. Northwest Missouri man found guilty for role in Jan. 6 riots KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Polo, Missouri, man was found guilty Friday by a federal judge for his role in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol. , federal prosecutors charged Lloyd Casimiro Cruz, Jr. with entering and remaining in a restricted building and picketing in a Capitol building. Man awarded $1m after spending 17 years in prison for crime committed by his doppleganger Most of us have probably wondered if we've got doppelganger at some point, but after reading this story, you'll be wishing you didn't. This is because one man was awarded $1 million in compensation after being forced to serve 17 years behind bars for a crime that his doppelganger committed. Developing . . . Sure, reefer madness might spike social ills like listening to jazz, frantically doing the Charleston or the munchies. However . . . Recent Missouri marijuana legalization has also sparked a near manic rush to tax weed consumers from local municipalities. Check the roundup . . . These cities have already approved putting a 3% recreational marijuana sales tax on the April 4 ballot: Kansas City, Raytown, Liberty, Grandview, Belton, Independence, Lee's Summit, North Kansas City Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Here's what was REALLY the top story in Missouri this week . . . MISSOURI LADY POLITICOS LOSE THE RIGHT TO BARE ARMS!!! In a sense . . . And given that new rules wouldn't allow hottie Allison (featured above) to go to work despite her very pro looks. More to the point . . . The modern world earned a chuckle at the expense of the Show-Me State after mostly Republican white dudes flexed on their female colleagues in a manner that might confirm a great deal of complaints about so-called gender equity. Credit to our TKC blog community which suggested that new rules should also require fat dudes to wear jackets that actually fit around their guts and are able to be buttoned. Here's the best overview of the dress code crackdown . . . The dress code amendment was passed in a voice vote and the rules package was later adopted by the GOP-controlled legislature in a 105-51 vote, but not without pushback and debate from House Democrats. Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if its appropriate or not? Democratic state Rep. Ashley Aune proclaimed from the House floor. Republicans altered their amendment to include cardigans after Democratic state Rep. Raychel Proudie criticized the impact requiring blazers could have on pregnant women. Democratic state Rep. Peter Merideth refused to vote on the amendment, telling his colleagues on the floor, I dont think Im qualified to say whats appropriate or not appropriate for women and I think that is a really dangerous road for us all to go down. Yall had a conniption fit the last two years when we talked about maybe, maybe wearing masks in a pandemic to keep each other safer. How dare the government tell you what you have to wear over your face? Well, I know some governments require women to wear things over their face, but here, oh, its OK because were just talking about how many layers they have to have over their shoulders, Merideth added. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Missouri lawmakers adopt stricter dress code for women in state House | CNN Politics Lawmakers in the Missouri House of Representatives this week adopted a stricter dress code for women as part of a new rules package, and now requires them to cover their shoulders by wearing a jacket like a blazer, cardigan or knit blazer. Missouri Republicans Ban Female Lawmakers From Sporting Bare Arms Missouri lawmakers, fresh off stripping women of abortion rights last year, turned their attention to another pressing matter when they returned to the state Capitol this week: women's bare arms. In its first session of the year on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives tightened its dress code for women (but not men) to require female lawmakers to cover their arms. Rep. 'This is beyond belief': Outrage after Missouri GOP makes dress code change that only affects women The Republicans controlling the Missouri state House have come under heavy fire after they began their new session by tightening a part of the dress code in a way that only affects women. The updated code required women to wear a blazer in the House chamber before it was modified to only require women to cover their arms, meaning that jackets and cardigans will also be allowed. Developing . . . Like it or not . . . Trust and faith are important in our every day life. Consider . . . 12th & Oak confronts a lawsuit regarding ALLEGED encouragement to lie by the city manager. And given that pending court case . . . We notice very little trust in KCMO from our neighbors. Consider this recent update on a longstanding debate . . . Raymore Mayor Kris Turnbow on Friday announced a new lobbying effort with state legislators in Jefferson City to halt any landfill by a private developer for the land just north of Raymore city limits . . . The land in question sits in Kansas City, Missouri. A spokeswoman for city manager Brian Platt said the citys position on a potential landfill had not changed since last November, when Platt said, We arent doing a landfill anywhere in Kansas City." Turnbow isnt convinced, saying city leaders in Kansas City have been radio silent since a resolution passed by Raymores city council denouncing the potential landfill site and asking Kansas Citys city council to do the same. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . The Prime Minister says legislation will soon be brought to Parliament to allow for business President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked all Ukrainian defenders and praised the paratroopers and soldiers who are holding their positions in Soledar and inflicting significant losses on the enemy. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his video address to the nation, Ukrinform reports. I want to especially mention the paratroopers of the 77th separate airmobile brigade, who together with the fighters of the 46th separate airmobile brigade in Soledar hold their positions and inflict significant losses on the enemy. Thank you, guys! Zelensky said. The President reminded that he held a regular meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief regarding the situation on the battlefield. Of course, the top issue is Soledar, Bakhmut, the struggle for the Donetsk direction in general. We have analyzed in detail what decisions are needed, what reinforcements are needed, what steps should be taken by commanders in the coming days. We also discussed the situation with the supply of weapons and ammunition to the troops, relevant interaction with our partners, Zelensky said. As reported, Russian forces are focusing their main efforts on attempts to capture Donetsk region within the administrative border, continuing to advance in the Bakhmut direction. The fiercest fighting continues in the areas of Soledar, Paraskoviivka, Bakhmut and Klishchiivka. iy The Russian forces are attempting to capture Soledar town because they want to gain control over the road to Bakhmut, which the invaders have been unsuccessfully trying to seize for several months. Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov said this in an interview with BBC, Ukrinform reports. According to Reznikov, the Russian forces are trying to capture this town in order to gain control over the road between Soledar and Bakhmut, along which they will be able to relocate their equipment and units to Bakhmut. They stopped near Bakhmut and took some of their units away from it to Soledar, Reznikov noted. He reminded that the Russians have been trying to capture Bakhmut for more than four months, but they have no success. Therefore, they seek to launch a powerful attack with the help of Wagner Group mercenaries, airborne assault units and other units. At the same time, the minister emphasized that Ukrainian defenders continue to hold their positions. The situation is very difficult but under control, Reznikov said. When asked about the losses, he said that the losses of the Defense Forces of Ukraine were much lower than those of the enemy, stressing that approximately 500 Russian troops are killed and wounded every day. As reported by Ukrinform, the General Staff said that the enemy struck 11 settlements in the Bakhmut direction. Battles for Soledar are ongoing. Photo: open sources iy Russia has already lost about 114,660 troops in Ukraine (+530 over the past day). The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Between February 24, 2022 and January 14, 2023, the enemys total combat losses included also 3,104 tanks (+6 over the past day), 6,173 armored fighting vehicles (+6), 2,090 artillery systems (+4), 437 multiple launch rocket systems, 219 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+1), 286 aircraft, 276 helicopters, 4,846 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+13), 17 warships/boats, 1,867 unmanned aerial vehicles (+2), 186 special equipment units (+2). A total of 723 enemy cruise missiles were shot down. The data are yet to be updated. A reminder that, on January 13, 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled enemy attacks near 14 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. mk The number of injured as a result of Russias attack on an apartment block in Dnipro city has risen to almost 64 people, including 12 children. "As of 20:40, 35 people (including six children) were rescued. Five people (including one child) were killed, 64 people (including 14 children) were injured," the State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on Facebook. Fire is put out in the rubble. Damaged and surviving parts of the house are inspected. Psychologists of the State Emergency Service work at the scene. Assistance was provided to 32 people. Two heating points are set up. The search for people under the rubble is underway. In total, more than 340 people and 67 units of equipment were involved in the works. In addition, 4 canine teams, 20 rescuers, and 4 units of equipment of the Mobile Rapid Response Rescue Center of the State Emergency Service arrived from Kyiv. As reported, the Russians hit an apartment block in Dnipro city, destroying completely one section. People are under the rubble. The rescue operation is ongoing. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine ol Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit Ukraine next week to ensure a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts at all the countrys nuclear power facilities. This is said in a statement published on the agencys website, Ukrinform reports. The Director General will travel to the South Ukraine and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) as well as to the Chornobyl site to launch the missions consisting of two IAEA experts at each of the facilities, the statement says. It is noted that the IAEA already has a permanent presence of up to four experts at Ukraines largest NPP, Zaporizhzhia, and a two-member team will also be stationed at the Khmelnytskyi NPP in the coming days. According to Grossi, IAEA nuclear safety and security experts will monitor the situation at the plants, assess their equipment and other needs, provide technical support and advice, and report their findings to IAEA headquarters. In total, the IAEA will have around 11-12 experts present in the country at any given time. The IAEA Director General will also meet next week senior Ukrainian government officials in the capital Kyiv on his proposal to set up a nuclear safety and security protection zone around Zaporizhzhia (ZNPP), where the IAEA has been present for more than four months. I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible. My consultations with Ukraine and Russia are making progress, albeit not as fast as they should. I remain hopeful that we will be able to agree and implement the zone soon, Director General Grossi said. As reported, in December, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi held negotiations in Moscow regarding the creation of a safety zone around the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. On March 4, the Zaporizhzhia NPP was seized by the Russian military. Since then, the Russians have been placing military equipment and ammunition in the plants territory and shelling the surrounding area. Currently, all six power units of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP do not function, their activation is blocked by the invaders. ZNPP continues to consume about 100 MW for its own needs from Ukraines energy system. Photo: D. Calma/IAEA iy Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova has called on the UN member states to support Ukraines Peace Formula Plan, which was initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova at the UN Security Council meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Dzhaparova noted that the Peace Plan consists of 10 points that can bring back security and justice not only to Ukraine but the entire world. Ukraines Peace Formula Plan is based on the objectives and principles of the UN Charter and is intended to ensure security across all aspects: food, radiation and nuclear energy, energy, countering ecocide and preventing the recurrence of aggression in the future. At the same time, Dzhaparova expressed regret that Russia was still taking the seat of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which used to be occupied by the Soviet Union. Dzhaparova reiterated Ukraines position in this regard: the legal grounds of Russias presence in the UN Security Council are more than questionable, if not completely absent. Additionally, Dzhaparova stressed the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia in order to destroy its war machine. The aggressor state has already noticed the effect of sanctions: the invading army is running out of modern weapons and ammunition. According to Dzhaparova, for the final defeat of Russia and the victory of democracy, it is necessary to increase sanctions in those sectors that are economically important to Russia, namely to introduce a full oil and gas embargo and disconnect Russian banks from the global financial system. mk These days, an international meeting of ombudsmen from different countries is taking place in Ankara which could give Ukraine specific cases of the release of civilians and soldiers from Russian captivity. The Turkish side acts as a mediator in the process, the way it acted in the negotiations on the conclusion and extension of the "grain initiative" and the release of the Azov Regiment commanders. Turkiye explains its non-adherence to the sanctions against the Russian Federation by its role as a mediator, tirelessly continuing to insist on ceasefire and peace negotiations, offering its territory for such talks. Ukraines stance is well-known: any peace negotiations are possible after the 1991 borders are restored. In the exclusive interview with Ukrinform, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Turkiye Vasyl Bodnar talks about the transformation of Turkiye's approach to peace, the operation of the "grain corridor", the ways to counter the export of grain stolen in Ukraine, the possible impact of the Turkiye election results on bilateral relations, the construction of Bayraktar drone production plant, Turkiye's position on sanctions, and the prospects of creating a gas hub. TURKIYE INSISTS ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS IN ATTEMPT TO FIND WAYS TO DIALOGUE - Mr. Ambassador, the highest-level political figures of Turkiye insist on the inevitability of peace negotiations, the desire to "soften relations" and so on. What is the reason for this rhetoric and do they really believe its real, in particular against the background of the clear stance of Kyiv: no peace without complete de-occupation? - Since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkiye has been making considerable efforts for a peaceful settlement of the ongoing war. This approach was demonstrated during the organization of negotiations in Istanbul in March 2022, it is followed in Ankara and now in communication at the level of heads of state and authorized persons. It all started with approaches about humanitarian truces, "peace above everything", but now Turkiye's position clearly shows the need to observe the principle of Ukraines territorial integrity. The latest statements by the official representatives of Turkiye clearly indicate an understanding of the need to liberate all Ukrainian territories. In this context, a proposal was voiced that Russia should be the first to initiate a ceasefire, which could become a basis for the further withdrawal of troops from the territory of Ukraine. This is an attempt to find ways to dialogue, but in no way to impose some positions. This is one of the proposals of the mediator. - At Christmas, the Russian side demonstrated what it means by "ceasefire"... - We saw very well that the "Christmas offer" from the Russian Federation had nothing to do with the truce since the shelling continued and Russia did not observe the ceasefire regime it had announced. It was an attempt to create a media image: we offer, and the Ukrainian side refuses. In fact, this is not the case, our condition is clear: the liberation of Ukrainian territories, the ceasefire, and then we start negotiations. And we will not give up this position, the Turkish side understands this very well and takes it into account when searching for ways to convince the Russian authorities. Turkiye sees this process in stages: ceasefire and withdrawal of troops. In our view, the ceasefire is impossible because Russia will definitely try to deceive both us and Turkiye as a mediator, use this time to strengthen its positions, and then refuse to withdraw troops. Therefore, we perceive this as a stage proposal before reaching a decision on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine. Of course, this does not mean that the Russian side will immediately agree to such conditions and will be ready to implement everything. "GRAIN AGREEMENT" COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED AND EXTENDED WITHOUT PARTICIPATION OF TURKIYE - Ankara calls the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative one of the biggest successes of the Turkish mediation between Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, Russia threatened not to extend it after 120 days, and now it is slowing down the passage of ships by all means, in particular, through its representatives in the coordination center. How can the issue of speeding up the inspection of ships be resolved? - It should be underscored that the agreement could never have been concluded and extended without the participation of Turkiye. We remember how clear and focused the position of the Turkish side was on the extension of the agreement when Russia tried to withdraw from it after the attack on the Black Sea Fleet. Currently, the Russian side is really slowing down inspections of the ships due to the insufficient number of inspection teams that can enter the ships. We suggested that their number should be increased. Both the Turkish side and the UN are supportive, while the Russian side is holding back. The only option here is strengthened pressure from negotiators on the Russian side to increase the number of these inspection groups and speed up the passage of ships through the straits. The Russian side is not interested because it does not participate in this grain initiative with ships, grain, or anything else. Their representatives are only in the joint coordination center. We are trying to ensure that the ships can export a much larger range of products, preferably without restrictions, and that the Russian side cannot slow down or interrupt this maritime communication. On the other hand, we understand that Russia can terminate the operation of this corridor by using its naval or air forces. Therefore, it is now important for us to use what we have and put pressure on the Russian side through intermediaries to increase the number of inspection teams. - Observers of traffic through the Bosphorus point out that Russia continues to export allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain through the Bosphorus to Syria, and transports military cargoes, disguising them as civilian. Is there a mechanism to stop this traffic? - In fact, in this case, the Turkish side has no direct influence on these ships since the Montreux Convention regulates the regime of the straits and does not provide for the right to stop civilian ships without appropriate grounds. The reason to stop them may be the illegal transportation of goods or the transportation of goods that threaten the security of the Republic of Turkiye. If the documents for a ship and its cargo are legal, then the Turkish side has no mechanisms to stop the passage of these ships. Moreover, the Turkish side has not joined the sanctions since 2014, and thus any restrictions on conventional commercial vessels cannot be applied in the Black Sea straits. We work with our other partners who can, through insurance companies, shipping companies, international organizations, try to influence the countries receiving the grain to prevent them from entering their ports. Currently, most European ports are closed for Russian ships. The small volumes that Russia tries to transport do not meet its export needs and do not provide surplus profits from the sale of agricultural products and fertilizers. Although there is no way to physically block this movement, we track each such ship, inform the Turkish side and our partners about its movement, and call for measures to be taken. - Last July, a ship from occupied Berdiansk anchored near the Turkish coast with a cargo of stolen grain. Zhibek Zholy ship was released despite the request of the Ukrainian side to arrest it. Were there other similar cases and how did the Turkish side explain the release of Zhibek Zholy? - As for this ship, the situation is somewhat different, and the main argument of the Turkish side is that Zhibek Zholy did not enter a port, remaining anchored in territorial waters. In connection with our appeals and requests, a decision was made to send it back. Of course, it caused an outcry but we got over this situation and we hope that there will be no repetitions. What made it unique is that it was a ship from the port of Berdiansk, which was occupied in 2022, and it was tried to be unloaded in the port of Samsun with Ukrainian documents. This was a direct violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine as documents from the occupied port were tried to be presented as legal. We were not completely satisfied with the Turkish side's decision regarding this ship. However, the work continued, and thanks to the joint efforts of the Ukrainian and Turkish parties, progress was made in the prevention of ships with stolen Ukrainian grain from entering the ports of Turkiye. - Currently, Turkiye and Russia intend to process Russian grain in Turkiye and send it in the form of flour to underdeveloped African countries. Can Russia try to arrange the shipment of grain stolen in Ukraine in this way? - Now we have means of control, law enforcement agencies collect information on each ship. We established communication between the Ministry of Justice of Turkiye and our Prosecutor Generals Office on the cases that we have already recorded. And we keep monitoring. If ships depart from Sevastopol or Kerch to the port of "Kavkaz" and receive Russian documents there, we will react to this, we will try to prevent our grain from entering Turkish ports under the guise of Russian. The Turkish side feels the sensitivity of this issue and is convinced that the situations that took place in the summer will not recur. RUNWAY WAS TECHNICALLY PREPARED AND AIR FORCE WAS NOTIFIED FOR SECRET DEPARTURE OF TURKISH AIRCRAFT FROM BORYSPIL - Two Turkish cargo aircraft, which were at the Boryspil airport since the beginning of Russias large-scale invasion of Ukraine, returned to Turkiye. How was it made possible? - This is the result of the interaction between the defense ministries of the two states. There had already been attempts to take those aircraft out, but there were certain circumstances (security or technical). I know that security corridors were agreed upon since the airspace over Ukraine is controlled by our air defense forces. First, the necessary engineering and technical works were carried out at the airport so that the planes could take off. Second, the time was agreed upon and the air defense units were notified of the passage of the aircraft. Third, it was a secret that was only revealed when the aircraft arrived. This demonstrates the successful work of the ministries of defense and special services that conducted this operation, the level of trust between the defense departments of our countries. I think we will find out the details after the war. - Another success of Turkiye as a mediator is the release of Azov Regiment commanders who will stay in Turkiye until the end of the war. How do they feel, what do they do, how is their health? - They feel good, but of course, they are eager to go into action. I cannot say much for safety reasons, but we hope that the time will come and they will return home, will promote rebuilding the defense potential of Ukraine, will play their role in the restoration of our state, and certainly, in the investigation into the crimes committed by the Russian Federation. Of course, their experience is one of the most valuable and unique. They performed many heroic deeds during the defense of Mariupol, survived terrible captivity. They are a legend that inspires Ukrainians. - Is there hope for other exchanges? - Exchanges are ongoing, a special center was created to coordinate this work. It's a difficult story because the Russian Federation does not value its service members. Therefore, they do not always agree to the exchanges we offer. They do not yet support our all-for-all exchange offer. Turkiye is ready to provide assistance. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets is currently visiting Ankara, he has already met with the Turkish ombudsman and the Russian ombudswoman. PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TURKIYE WILL NOT CHANGE APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS WITH UKRAINE - Currently, the main attention in Turkiyes media landscape is focused on upcoming elections which will take place this year. Can the election results affect UkraineTurkiye relations and in what way? - Attention to the elections is natural, and it is not surprising that pre-election rhetoric in Turkiye is more focused on internal than external issues. Our task is to maintain the existing level of strategic partnership. I do not see any signs that could indicate changes in any approach to the development of cooperation with Ukraine. Fortunately, none of the political forces in the political struggle uses the topic of Ukraine to somehow question the existing level of interaction between Ukraine and Turkiye. The elections will end, but the interests will remain. The interests of strategic cooperation are always relevant as they are based on practical things: increasing trade, strengthening defense capabilities, enhancing cultural exchange, etc. These are mutual interests. We must also pay tribute to President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has made many efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership with Ukraine. His role is one of the key ones. We will see after the elections what will be the vision of other political forces on the development of relations with Ukraine. - The USA provides Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems as part of a new aid package. These are the systems that Turkiye was never able to get from the US and had to purchase Russian S-400. Could the transfer of Patriot systems affect our relations with Turkiye? - These are unrelated things. We managed to get our systems into the tenth month of the war. People are dying here, infrastructure is suffering. We have a terrible war. Many countries would like to have Patriot systems. Turkiye has a Patriot air defense system battery located in the south. The decision to purchase S-400 is their decision, its use is their business. Strengthening air defense is relevant for many countries, and the example of how Ukrainian air defense forces protect our sky with outdated means is the experience that could be interesting for the Turkish side in the future. And Turkiye's use of various systems, including domestic ones, is a field for cooperation, not competition. BAYKAR FACTORY WILL BE BUILT IN UKRAINE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION IS ONGOING - Despite the war, Baykar company declared its intention to build a plant for the production of Bayraktar drones in Ukraine. At what stage is this project now? Is construction currently frozen, is it planned after the war, or have works already begun? - The plant will definitely be built and the works are definitely not frozen. About a month ago, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine completed the ratification of the agreement on the establishment of this plant. This agreement must be ratified by the Turkish side, then ratification documents must be exchanged for the agreement to enter into force. This is the formal side of the matter. Baykar Makina already created an enterprise, bought land, prepared communications, designed a plant and a research and training center. Unfortunately, the war made adjustments to the original plans for the plant. So far, the pace planned for preparing project documentation, obtaining licenses, and ratifying the agreement is maintained, even taking into account the ongoing hostilities. It is clear that this is a defense industry facility, there is a threat that it may come under a missile attack. And the aggressor state warned about that. According to preliminary calculations, the plant should be built and the first drones should come off the conveyors within two years. - The Motor Sich sign appeared in the center of Ankara. Has the company opened its office in Turkiye? - Yes, the premises for the office were chosen in the first half of the year, and they did it relying on strategic cooperation with Turkiye. This office should work towards strengthening ties and cooperation. The Turkish market is attractive for Motor Sich and other enterprises of our defense industry. I hope that the new management of the company will adhere to the pro-Ukrainian position and have more opportunities to implement projects for the benefit of Ukraine and in the interests of its defense. TURKIYE CAN BECOME A GAS HUB BUT NOT FOR RUSSIAN GAS SUPPLIES - Turkiye is currently actively working to create an energy hub in its territory. What are the prospects of this project, in particular for replacing Russian gas in the European market? - If we look at the sources of energy supplies to Turkiye, they are already quite diversified. The option of creating such a hub is theoretically possible and can be profitable. For Ukraine, this can also be a positive story as it will be an additional route for energy supply to us... Either through the straits or through the existing Trans-Balkan gas pipeline. If we are talking about the expansion of the Russian gas supply network, there are many questions since Turkiye is already almost 50% dependent on Russian gas. The EU already decided not to buy more gas from Russia than they currently receive. Therefore, without EU consent to receive this gas, it will not be sold anywhere. Second, for the successful implementation of this plan, two threads of the gas pipeline need to be completed in addition to the two existing ones on TurkStream. Third, Western companies, which have the experience and technology and which laid the first two threads at the bottom of the Black Sea, are unlikely to dare to do it now. The fourth issue is funding. To implement such a project and develop the infrastructure, billions in investments are needed. If, for example, the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline or gas from the Persian Gulf region is involved, then many countries will be interested in this. If we are talking only about Russian gas, it seems to me that it will be difficult to fully implement this project at least until the war ends and Russia is held to account. - Turkiye has not joined the sanctions, justifying it with its role as a mediator. The West praises the success of the mediation but does not praise the rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow. If put on the scales, what Turkiyes position is more attractive and advantageous for Ukraine? - We have been discussing the issue of sanctions with the Turkish side since the beginning of the aggression in 2014. Turkiye has a clear position that they will join only the sanctions adopted by the UN. The Turkish side adheres to this position even amid the full-scale invasion. Of course, it would be better for Ukraine if Turkiye joined the sanctions. On the other hand, Turkiye has its own policy and we respect their position. Of course, we always discuss topics that concern and interest us. From the Turkish side's point of view, joining the sanctions will make it impossible to mediate or use opportunities for political dialogue. And this is one of the main arguments why the Turkish side reserves the right not to join the sanctions. At the same time, there is a clear position that by not joining the sanctions, the Turkish side will not contribute to the circumvention of the sanctions. The issue is sensitive, we continue the discussion so that our interests are also taken into account. Turkiye does not stand aside: the straits were closed in accordance with the Montreux Convention, the airspace for Russian flights to Syria was also closed, insurance restrictions were introduced, etc. Turkiye stands by the fact that the sanctions are primarily harmful to it, as well as to its mediation. The dialogue on this and other issues is actively ongoing, just like the joint development of our bilateral relations. Olha Budnyk, Ankara. Ukraine handed over a list of 800 wounded soldiers to Russia for possible repatriation. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, said this during the nationwide news telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Speaking of the third round of negotiations with Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova, he said that the issue of repatriation of seriously wounded service members had been discussed among other things. According to Lubinets, there was a moment during the negotiations when they opened the Geneva Conventions, compared different options in different languages, and came to the conclusion that the prisoners of war, who are considered seriously wounded, should be handed over under the repatriation procedure. "That is, it is not about a quantitative exchange, but rather about repatriation, without any conditions, to each of the parties. This initiative was voiced for the first time. And we gave the list of the Ukrainian army members who, in our opinion, are wounded and seriously wounded. These are almost 800 wounded soldiers," the official said. He added that the Ukrainian side received a similar list from the Russians and handed it over to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. "Our task is to get the list, hand it over, and then a decision will be made. But I believe that this is a positive step when the Russian side at least supported our initiative. And then we'll see what happens," the Ombudsman said. Lubinets noted that he does not know what the Russian side's motives are: "It seems to me that, first of all, they also want to get their prisoners of war back. And, second, the time has probably come when, perhaps, the Russian side wants to show that they comply with the Geneva Conventions. At least, perhaps, they will fulfill them in this part and tell that they have always obeyed them." As reported, according to Lubinets, from the list of missing Ukrainian soldiers, which our state handed over to the Russian side, 23 defenders turned out to be alive. ol | By School of Law Staff This year, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law commemorates the 50th anniversary of the law schools renowned Clinical Law Program, one of the first programs of its kind in the nation. The yearlong celebration will include the January investiture of the programs co-director, Leigh Goodmark, JD, as the Marjorie Cook Professor of Law and a March symposium focused on the role of law school clinics in helping reduce prison populations. An event next fall will explore the future of clinics in legal education. The Clinical Law Program has flourished since the early 1970s, as has the law schools national reputation for the breadth, diversity, and impact of its clinical courses, and for the excellence of the clinical faculty. A primary reason students cite for attending Maryland Carey Law is the opportunity to begin making a difference before they graduate. Alumni also laud their clinic experiences for providing the skills and tools to hit the ground running when they began practicing after graduation. My first time in court is one I will never forget, says Isabella Datillo, Class of 2024, a student in the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic. Without the clinical program, I would not have gotten such robust, real-life legal training that also allowed me to help a member of our community. Honoring the Past The Clinical Law Program at Maryland Carey Law has grown from one clinic in 1973 to the 18 offered today. Its roots reach back to the civil rights and legal services movements, which fueled scholars and students desire to address Baltimores severe lack of access to justice for disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Establishing clinics enabled the law school to tackle that need while building experiential learning, driven by sound theory and doctrine, into law students training. Peter Smith, notable for having argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1969 landmark case Shapiro v. Thompson, which ended residency requirements for welfare, directed the first clinic, giving students the chance to represent children in Baltimores juvenile court. From that propitious start, the program took off, expanding in the next two decades with the leadership of faculty including E. Clinton Bamberger Jr.; Brenda Bratton Blom, JD, PhD; Karen Czapanskiy, JD; Susan Leviton, JD 72; Michael Millemann, JD; Joan OSullivan; Deborah Weimer, JD; and Roger Wolf. They and others launched clinics in areas such as disability rights, health, elder law, bankruptcy, consumer protection, environmental law, and mediation, as well as one of the first AIDS legal clinics in the country and a groundbreaking interdisciplinary law and social work clinic. From the beginning, our law school has been a recognized leader in clinical education and ahead of the curves in developing a comprehensive clinical program, requiring our students to take at least one experiential course, and integrating theory and practice, said Millemann, a former program director and a leader in creating the program. "We have had the full support of six deans and all faculties since 1973, and great clinic leadership. We have only gotten better over the decades. Continued Growth A turning point came in 1988, when then-U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin, JD 67, and others led the charge for the Maryland General Assembly to allocate funds to expand the Clinical Law Program to enable the law school to guarantee a clinical experience for all full-time day students. Today, what is known as the Cardin Requirement makes clinic participation a graduation prerequisite for most students. I am proud to have played a part in establishing experiential learning as a requirement in my alma maters curriculum," says Cardin, now a U.S. senator. "The Clinical Law Program at Maryland Carey Law is a leading force in providing access to justice for the people of Maryland. That influx of support ignited further growth, and, in the next two-plus decades, many faculty joined the ranks, including Barbara Bezdek, JD; Richard Boldt, JD; Patricia Campbell, JD, MA; Douglas Colbert, JD; Jerry Deise; Deborah Eisenberg, JD; Sara Gold, JD; Leigh Goodmark, JD; Toby Treem Guerin, JD; Kathleen Hoke, JD; Sherrilyn Ifill; Tom Perez; Michael Pinard, JD; Rena Steinzor, JD; Maureen Sweeney, JD; Ellen Weber; Beverly Winstead; and Maryland Carey Laws current dean, Renee McDonald Hutchins, JD, who went on to co-direct the program in the 2010s with Pinard. These scholars launched or reinvigorated clinics in areas including immigration, public health, tax, gender violence, juvenile justice, post-conviction and sentencing, and re-entry. Through the years, the Clinical Law Program also has benefited from the expertise of practicing attorneys. Adjuncts bring their deep knowledge and expertise to clinics and have allowed the law school to expand the breadth of clinical offerings. The Clinical Law Program is the beating heart of our law school, Hutchins says. The work of our clinics represents our deep commitment to providing access to justice in our city and to the integration of theory and practice woven into the curriculum. By the Clinical Law Programs 30th anniversary, the faculty had grown to 25. Today, more than 35 faculty and staff supervise 150 students providing around 75,000 hours of free legal services to the community each year. During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, that work continued largely through Zoom, email, and phone communication. Our students dove into work created by the pandemic," Goodmark says. We filed lawsuits to try to get our incarcerated clients who were particularly vulnerable to the virus released and to address pandemic-related employment discrimination. We developed guidance for low-income people on what court closures would mean for them. We helped low-income taxpayers file for stimulus funding. Looking Forward Recently, Maryland Carey Law has enhanced the Clinical Law Program with dynamic new faculty, including Seema Kakade, JD; Lila Meadows, JD, MHS; Aadhithi Padmanabhan, JD; and Maneka Sinha, JD. Their clinics are focused on environmental law, justice for victims of crime, appellate immigration, and criminal defense. And while the law school continues to prioritize new and reimagined clinics, a strong trend in the past five years has been clinic collaborations such as the Eviction Prevention Project, which draws from specialties in multiple clinics to meet a specific need. These recent innovations recognize that injustice and oppression individual and collective cut across systems and institutions, Pinard says. Reflecting on our Clinical Law Program in its 50th year, we know that we must coordinate our efforts and expertise to not only respond to our clients myriad legal and non-legal issues, but also to work with communities to uproot and dismantle the systems and institutions that wreak havoc on individuals, families, and communities in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. Deepening our collaborations is one mandate of many moving forward. The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Citslinc International to make a trip to Greece available to chamber members and others in the community who would like to visit there. A local preview of the trip will be held 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Chamber office for those interested in potentially making the trip. For more information, call the Chamber at 850-482-8060. Travel dates are Oct. 14-22, with departure from Atlanta International Airport in Georgia. The nine-day, eight-night trip includes round-trip international airfare from the airport in Atlanta, lodging at luxury hotels, airport taxes throughout the trip, breakfast and lunch each day, all intra-city air and land transportation, English-speaking tour guides, and admission to all attractions. The cost and arrangements for getting to Atlanta and back home from there are not included. The price of the trip is $3,399 per person for Chamber members and $3,499 for non-members. The travelers will visit the cities of Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Peloponnese. Theyll be able to see Panathenaic Stadium, the Zappeion and Temple of Olympian Zues, Acropolis Museum, have a ferry boat ride to the island of Mykonos, known for its windmills and jet set lifestyle, where they can lounge on the beach, visit cafes, galleries and more. Theyll be able to explore the whitewashed towns of Fira and Oia, visit Syntagma Square, Ancient Agora of Athens and Theatro Technis Karolos Koun, drive along the coast to Peloponnese and along the way stop at Canal of Corinth, Ancient Theater of Epidaurus; the archaeological site of Mycenae; Gate of Lions and Atreus King Tomb. According to a Chamber press release, Jackson County Chamber CEO Tiffany Garling made the trip last September when she was invited to participate as part of a delegation of Chamber CEOs from around the U.S. It was truly a remarkable experience, Garling was quoted as saying. Being there and observing first hand their economy, culture and history in the birth place of democracy exposes you to opportunities that would not be considered otherwise. Their agriculture was reminiscent of some of the crops we have in Jackson County. The cultural tours were simply breathtaking. Robert W. 'Wes' Wheeler Jr. Named Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office Director Christopher Wray has named Robert W. Wes Wheeler Jr. as the special agent in charge of the Chicago Field Office. Mr. Wheeler most recently served as the chief of staff to the executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Wheeler joined the FBI in 1999 as a special agent and was assigned to the Sherman Resident Agency (RA) in Texas, a satellite of the Dallas Field Office. Mr. Wheeler worked a wide variety of criminal matters in Sherman. In 2002, he was assigned counterterrorism duties in the Plano RA of the Dallas Field Office and also served with the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force. In 2006, Mr. Wheeler joined the protection detail for the U.S. attorney general and transferred to Washington. In 2007, Mr. Wheeler began teaching new agents as an instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He also deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, for several months in late 2009 to work kidnapping matters as a member of the Major Crimes Task Force. Mr. Wheeler joined the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices Section of the Critical Incident Response Group at FBI Headquarters as a team leader in 2012. He was promoted to chief of the Counter-IED Readiness Unit in CIRG in 2015 and also served as the chief of the National Explosives Task Force. Mr. Wheeler was promoted in 2017 to supervisory special agent over the National Capital Response Squad in the Washington Field Office (WFO). In 2018, he led a WFO international terrorism squad focused on the continental United States and Middle East-based threats. He was promoted in 2020 to WFOs assistant special agent in charge of the Mission Services Division, covering workforce development, applicants, security, and special inquiry background investigations. In 2021, Mr. Wheeler returned to Headquarters as a section chief in the International Operations Division, focusing on global readiness and legal attache operations in Europe, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia. He became chief of staff in the Cyber, Criminal, Response, and Services Branch in 2022. Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Wheeler was a special agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This story has been published on: 2023-01-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Azernews Ayya Lmahamad In an exclusive interview with Azernews, Palestinian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Nasser Abdul Kareem spoke about the current state of Azerbaijani-Palestine relations, the most significant points in the history of relations between the two countries, the opening of Azerbaijan's representative office in Palestine, as well as about the prospects and potential fields of cooperation development. Q: Mr. Ambassador, could you please tell us about the history of Palestine-Azerbaijani relations? A: Our relations go way back in history. Even long before the restoration of independence, relations between the two peoples and their leaders were characterized by a strong affinity, as their shared values and culture formed the basis for the bonds that bound them throughout history while sharing similar challenges. When Azerbaijan restored its independence, Palestine was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan. One must mention the good relations between the two late leaders Yasser Arafat and Ilham Aliyev, and that hundreds of Palestinian students have graduated from Azerbaijani universities since last century. Q: What is your assessment of the current state of Azerbaijani-Palestine relations? A: In the last decade, the relations under the guidance of both Presidents Mahmoud Abbas and Ilham Aliyev have reached a higher level of cooperation, coordination, and development, signing multiple agreements in different fields, providing unwavering support to each other on the world stage, becoming a good example of friendship and solidarity. Q: As last year marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Palestine, in your opinion what were the most significant points in the history of relations between the two countries? A: There are many, but the ones that come instantly to mind are President Abbas's visit to Azerbaijan and his meeting with President Aliyev in 2011, where they stood next to each other declaring resolute fraternal support to each other. Opening the Palestinian Embassy in Azerbaijan in 2011 is another landmark; and finally, the decision to open Azerbaijans Diplomatic Representation in Palestine is further proof of the strength of our bilateral relations, and Azerbaijans unyielding support to Palestines cause of independence with East-Jerusalem as its capital. Q: Recently, Azerbaijan announced the establishment of the countrys representative office in Palestine. In your opinion, how this will help in developing the relations between the two countries? A: It is another important milestone in our relations and an embodiment of the will and commitment to developing them further to higher planes. It will enhance coordination and brings people-to-people contacts closer. Hoping the day is not far when Azerbaijan opens its Embassy in the Capital of the Palestine, East Jerusalem. Q: What are the prospects and potential fields of cooperation development between Azerbaijan and Palestine? A: We already work, coordinate, and cooperate closely with each other politically in international organizations, such as the UN, OIC, and the Non-Aligned Movement currently chaired by Azerbaijan. In education, you would see many Palestinian students studying at Azerbaijans universities; it can be developed by increasing cooperation between the universities in both countries. The spheres of commerce and tourism have not reached the aspired potential yet, but there are good prospects to enhance and increase the exchange volume between our countries. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall appeared to walk back statements made earlier in the week about prosecuting women for taking abortion pills in a recent interview with a Montgomery television station. On Wednesday evening, WSFA published an interview with Marshall where he said law enforcement would not go after women who take abortion pills, but could pursue charges against people who provide the medications. Alabamas abortion law, the Human Life Protection Act, makes it illegal to perform an abortion but the law can not be used against women receiving abortions. Again, not targeting the woman herself, but in fact, targeting those providers to induce the abortion, Marshall told WSFA. There is a very specific provision in the law the legislator passed just a few years ago that specifically exempts the woman from criminal prosecution. It does target those who are providers Earlier in the week Marshall released a statement following federal changes that could make it easier for some women to obtain medications misoprostol and mifepristone that are often used in early abortions. Marshall initially said in an emailed statement that law enforcement and prosecutors could rely on an older state statute, the chemical endangerment law that has been used to prosecute women who use illegal drugs during pregnancy. The Human Life Protection Act targets abortion providers, exempting women upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to be performed from liability under the law, Marshall told Al.com on Tuesday in an email. It does not provide an across-the-board exemption from all criminal laws, including the chemical-endangerment law which the Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed protects unborn children. Lawmakers passed the chemical endangerment law in 2006 to protect young children from meth lab fumes. Prosecutors soon began using it against women who use drugs during pregnancy and justices on the Alabama Supreme Court upheld those cases in 2013. In 2016, lawmakers amended the law so it couldnt be used against women who use legally prescribed medications. Alabama Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) took to Twitter Tuesday to challenge the legal basis for using chemical endangerment charges against women who lawfully obtained prescriptions for abortion pills. A spokesman for the attorney general did not respond to emails or phone calls from AL.com on Thursday and Friday seeking clarification about Marshalls position. (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Jan, 2023) ABU DHABI, 14th January, 2023 (WAM) On behalf of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President-Designate of the 28th Session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), addressed the 13th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly. Delivering his remarks, Dr. Al Jaber reaffirmed the UAEs full support in advancing IRENAs mission and said the UAE will continue to be its closest partner and strongest advocate. He noted that no sector offers as much potential as renewable energy and never has IRENAs mission been more important than in the crucial years ahead of us. Since its foundation, IRENA has paved the way for the extraordinary growth in renewable energy capacity that we have seen worldwide. IRENA has been at the forefront of this growth, guiding supportive policies and encouraging new technologies that have led to lowered costs. Last year, renewables accounted for 81% of all new energy capacity. And the sector is now on course to expand more in the next five years, than over the last twenty years combined. With wind and solar now the most affordable new energy sources, the economic case has already been proven. Over the next seven years, we will need to more than triple renewable generating capacity worldwide. The world must move much faster than ever before. And IRENA has a critical role to play in leading that global acceleration across all sectors, all regions and all communities, Dr. Al Jaber said. To meet the scale and pace of change, IRENA will need to adapt and innovate, according to Dr. Al Jaber. He cited the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform (ETAF), which was launched on the sidelines of COP 26, as a good example of this and noted that the UAE has already committed to $400 million in initial funding to support the platform which is helping to target funding for emerging economies. Dr. Al Jaber went on to share insights on how the UAE is reaping the benefits of being an early mover in renewable energy. Seventeen years ago, we launched a plan to explore its potential, and the benefits soon became clear. We have built the worlds largest and lowest cost solar arrays that are fundamental to our net zero development pathway. We have also invested $50 billion in renewable energy, on six continents around the world. Through these investments we have seen that you can be pro-climate and pro-growth. Throughout this journey, IRENA has been a supportive guide and continues to show the way. We aim to leverage IRENAs partnership and support for the benefit of the world at COP 28. Working hand-in-hand with IRENA, the UAE will champion innovation and ambition to transition global energy systems. We will propose transformative solutions that are based on science and fact, backed by policy, and endorsed by industry. In short, we will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of inclusive climate progress, Dr. Al Jaber said. Concluding his remarks, Dr. Al Jaber extended an open invitation for partnership and collaboration to create a paradigm shift for tangible progress and help ensure that COP 28 UAE delivers the needed climate transformation. The IRENA Assembly brings together Heads of State/Government, Ministers and energy decision-makers among its Membership and States-in-Accession, as well as multilateral organisations, global stakeholders and private actors to take stock of operational plans and policies and highlight the concerted action undertaken to implement the energy transition across countries, regions, and the world. New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jan, 2023 ) :A once-powerful Mexican government minister who oversaw his country's war on drug trafficking goes on trial in New York on Tuesday, himself charged with facilitating the smuggling of narcotics. Genaro Garcia Luna is accused of taking huge bribes to allow the notorious Sinaloa cartel to smuggle cocaine when he was public security minister during Felipe Calderon's 2006-2012 presidency. The 54-year-old is the highest-ranking Mexican official to be charged in New York federal prosecutors' extensive pursuit of alleged drug traffickers from Central and South America and their ministerial accomplices. Ex-Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who headed Sinaloa, is currently serving a life sentence in the United States after being convicted by a jury in Brooklyn in 2019. Notorious Colombian drug lord Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as "Otoniel," is awaiting trial in the same district, while former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez has denied drug trafficking charges filed by prosecutors in Manhattan. Garcia Luna was detained in Texas in December 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to five counts that carry possible sentences of between 10 years and life in prison. US prosecutors accuse Garcia Luna of accepting millions of Dollars in bribes to look the other way as Guzman's cartel shipped tons of drugs into the United States between 2001 and 2012. The US government alleges that Garcia Luna became a member of Sinaloa around January 2001 when he was working in police intelligence. Prosecutors say that in exchange for millions of dollars, he agreed not to interfere with drug shipments, tipped off traffickers about law enforcement operations, targeted rival cartel members for arrest and placed other corrupt officials in positions of power. A former Sinaloa member told Guzman's trial that he had delivered suitcases containing at least $6 million in cash to Garcia Luna at a restaurant in 2005, 2006 and 2007. - 'Awards' - Garcia Luna, a mechanical engineer by training, headed Mexico's now-renamed Federal Investigation Agency, tasked with fighting corruption and organized crime, between 2001 and 2005. Then, under Calderon, who launched a crackdown on Mexico's drug gangs during his six-year presidency, Garcia Luna was public security minister, with control of the federal police. Garcia Luna's defense team have indicated that they will argue that their client was actually helping the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Attorney Cesar de Castro has asked the judge to be allowed to present evidence that Garcia Luna had meetings with US government officials and received "commendations and awards... for his efforts combating the Mexican drug cartels." Cuban-Mexican investigative journalist Peniley Ramirez, who has written a book and made a podcast about Garcia Luna, says "not enough has been said about how much the DEA knew" about his alleged activities. "Why did the US government continue to trust him and for so many years despite the fact that there were many clues that something was wrong?" she told AFP. Ramirez thinks the fact Garcia Luna moved to Miami in 2012 after Calderon left office shows "he had reason to believe that nothing was ever going to happen to him."Garcia Luna is also accused of lying when he applied for US citizenship in 2018. The trial is expected to last several weeks. Florence, Italy, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jan, 2023 ) :Using gentle, circular motions, an art restorer gently cleans the painting of a half-nude woman that was censored more than 300 years ago by a prudish descendant of Michelangelo. The piece by Artemisia Gentileschi, the Italian Baroque's trailblazing woman artist, is undergoing a months-long restoration to rediscover her original vision, hidden for centuries under a thick layer of strategically placed paint. While the restorers consider it too risky to remove the drapery and veil later painted on to cover the figure's breasts and loins, diagnostic imaging will provide a glimpse of the original nude as Artemisia intended. London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :Three women and a seven-year-old girl were on Saturday injured in a suspected drive-by shooting, police said, following a requiem mass for a mother and daughter in London. Mourners ran screaming from the scene outside a Roman Catholic church in the capital as gunshots rang out. "Initial enquiries suggest the shots were fired from a moving vehicle which was then driven away from the scene," London's Met Police said in a statement as they launched an urgent appeal for witnesses. The priest who conducted the service, Father Jeremy Trood, told the PA news agency it had been a requiem mass for Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother, who both died within a month of each other in November. The younger woman had succumbed to leukaemia while her mother died after suffering a blood clot on arrival from Heathrow from Colombia, the MyLondon news website reported. "I heard this almighty bang and I thought this was not normal, and the next minute everyone was screaming and shouting," a neighbour told PA. The three women hurt in the incident, near to the busy Euston train station, were aged 41, 48, 54. One of them had sustained potentially "life changing" injuries, the Met statement said, adding that the lives of the other two were not in danger. The condition of the seven-year-old girl was not yet known, police added. A witness told MyLondon the shots occurred as mourners who had attended the mass watched doves being released afterwards. Police have launched an investigation Pakistan Peoples Party has established a Local Bodies Election Cell at Media Cell Bilawal House to monitor local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad Divisions, collect complaints from Party candidates and inform the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) instantly for redressal KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jan, 2023 ) :Pakistan Peoples Party has established a Local Bodies Election Cell at Media Cell Bilawal House to monitor local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad Divisions, collect complaints from Party candidates and inform the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) instantly for redressal. Senator Taj Haider will head the Election Cell and his Phone: 0302-2248840 Party leaders and candidates from the two Divisions are advised to instantly contact the election cell on the following numbers in case of any complaint about the polling process up to the counting and results. Email tajhaider1@gmail.com and Media Cell Bilawal House 0213-5823197-8. Richard Sauber, Special Counsel to the US President, said on Saturday that another trove of classified government documents was discovered in President Joe Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) Richard Sauber, Special Counsel to the US President, said on Saturday that another trove of classified government documents was discovered in President Joe Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware. "Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department. While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages," Sauber said in a statement. On Monday, US media reported that the president's personal attorneys discovered the first batch of 10 classified documents pertaining to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom at a Biden think-tank office, prompting a Federal probe into the matter. A second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of the Biden residence in Wilmington, Delaware, while another one-page document was found in an adjacent room. A change in the way Alabama sets execution dates for inmates sitting on death row was approved Thursday by the states highest court, allowing for an execution warrant to be issued for a time frame rather than a single day. The Alabama Supreme Court on Thursday approved a rule change allowing the governor to choose the timing of an execution, according to the courts order published Friday. The new rule reads in part: The supreme court shall at the appropriate time enter an order authorizing the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to carry out the inmates sentence of death within a time frame set by the governor, which time frame shall not begin less than 30 days from the date of the order... Prior to the courts order, the rule had read like this: The supreme court shall at the appropriate time enter an order fixing a date of execution, not less than 30 days from the date of the order... Gov. Kay Iveys communications director Gina Maiola released a statement on Friday morning. I view this as a win for justice, she said. As we initially interpret the order, it secures an extended time frame, which was a primary request of the governors. Our team plans to put our heads together with ADOC officials to more closely review the order. We remain in discussion with ADOCs team as the execution procedure review process continues, and we look forward to the resolution in the near future. The Alabama Attorney Generals Office declined to comment or clarify the rule change. Prior to the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling, execution warrants in the state were only valid for the day noted on the court order. The rule change goes into effect immediately. There hasnt been an execution set in Alabama since Kenneth Smiths execution was called off just before midnight on Nov. 17, 2022. The state called off the lethal injection after not being able to find veins to start the intravenous lines needed for the three-drug cocktail, which had to be done before midnight when the execution warrant expired. Another execution that of Alan Miller was called off in September for similar reasons. There are currently 166 inmates sitting on Alabama Death Row. On Nov. 21, Ivey ordered a halt to all executions in Alabama and said the Alabama Attorney Generals Office wouldnt be seeking new execution dates from the state supreme court while a top-to-bottom internal review of the process was ongoing. For the sake of the victims and their families, weve got to get this right, said Ivey in a press release announcing the moratorium. I dont buy for a second the narrative being pushed by activists that these issues are the fault of the folks at Corrections or anyone in law enforcement, for that matter. I believe that legal tactics and criminals hijacking the system are at play here. Later, Ivey penned a letter to the Alabama Supreme Court asking the justices to change the states longstanding rule that executions are restricted by court order to a single day. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said about the governors announcement, theres only two parties involved in setting an execution in Alabama. Thats me as attorney general and our Alabama Supreme Court. (@FahadShabbir) MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) The Attorney General's Office of Brazil has asked the country's Supreme Court to probe former President Jair Bolsonaro as part of an investigation into the incitement and organization of riots that led to the temporary seizure of government buildings in the capital city of Brasilia. "The Attorney General of the Republic asked the Federal Supreme Court to include representation against former President Jair Bolsonaro in process 4.291, which investigates the instigation and intellectual authorship of anti-democratic acts that resulted in episodes of vandalism and violence in Brasilia last Sunday," a Friday statement from the prosecutor's office says. The statement specified that the Attorney General's request is based on the fact that on January 10, Bolsonaro published a video on social media (from the United States), questioning the results of the presidential election in Brazil, although the video was deleted shortly after. Bolsonaro lost the presidential election in Brazil in October and left for the United States in late December. He did not participate in the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 1. Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the National Congress building, as well as Palacio do Planalto, one of the official palaces of the Presidency, and the Supreme Court building in Brasilia on January 8. Police managed to regain control of the vandalized buildings on the same day. Brazil's federal police said on Wednesday that over 1,840 participants in the anti-government protests had been detained. (@FahadShabbir) CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) Egypt is ready to cooperate with countries across the world to host an international grain supply and storage center and, thus, mitigate the impact of the global food crisis, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Friday. "The Minister expressed Egypt's readiness to work with the international community to host a global grain supply and storage center, thereby contributing to the fight against the global food crisis," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. Shoukry made the statement earlier in the day at the virtual summit Voice of the Global South, which was attended by countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Egyptian top diplomat also confirmed Cairo's support for the goals of the G20 Agricultural Working Group to create a roadmap for food security and climate-smart agriculture, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry added. World leaders and international organizations have been raising concerns over an imminent and large-scale food crisis since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, citing disruptions in supply chains and derailed crops production in one of the largest grain producer in the world. The fears are driven by the fact that Ukraine and Russia account for an estimated 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower. In July 2022, Ukraine and Russia signed a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to unblock shipments of grain, food, and fertilizer in the Black Sea despite hostilities. The agreement was initially set to expire on November 19, with a possibility of extension if signatories consent. It was extended for 120 days on November 17. Despite these arrangements, Moscow has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and end up in Europe. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not believe a "worst-case scenario" of armed conflict will happen in the Greece-Turkey relations, he said on Saturday following controversial statements made by the Turkish leadership ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not believe a "worst-case scenario" of armed conflict will happen in the Greece-Turkey relations, he said on Saturday following controversial statements made by the Turkish leadership. "No, I do not believe that we will have a 'hot episode.' I am concerned about Turkey's increased rhetoric. I urge Turkey to realize that turning foreign policy into a tool for intraparty use is not the right strategy," Mitsotakis told a news conference in the city of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, when asked if a "worst-case scenario" in bilateral relations is possible. The prime minister noted that Greece is ready to negotiate and resolve under international law "the only disagreement" with Turkey, which concerns the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. "I hope that we have seen a crescendo of rhetoric with all these statements, that they will 'come one night to Greece,' and now the tone will be lowered," Mitsotakis said. The prime minister added that Greece will not be told "how to exercise its sovereignty and its sovereign rights." Mitsotakis also noted that Greece needs to "strengthen its armed forces" as well as containment projects such as the 25-mile fence near the Evros River crossing at the border with Turkey,the construction of which has proven effective. In late December, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Athens against expanding its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea. The minister, referring to Ankara's casus belli, said the Turkish parliament's 1995 decision on the issue was unambiguous and remained in force. Ankara has previously stated that it would consider the expansion of Greek waters as a reason for war. Turkey believes that if Greece extends its territorial waters from the current 6 miles to 12 miles, it would practically cut off Turkish waters and deprive Turkey of access to international waters, and the country would be trapped in its territorial waters. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated several times that the Turks "may come suddenly one night" if Greek provocations continue. At the same time, Greece has reportedly been pressuring the US not to sell upgraded F-16 combat aircraft to Turkey, citing its own security concerns. In response, Erdogan has refused to communicate with Mitsotakis, accusing him of violating the agreements reached. Turkey and Greece have been at odds for decades, with the risk of an armed conflict arising several times since 2020. The disputed issues include competing territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in the region of the Aegean Sea, the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus, and the delimitation of maritime borders. Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of deploying weapons on the Aegean islands in violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. No military base of the United States is going to be created in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) No military base of the United States is going to be created in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday. In October 2021, the United States inked a defense agreement with Greece, receiving access to several new military bases, including the port of Alexandroupolis and a military camp next to it. "No. How the US could use it (the port), is clearly defined in the bilateral defense cooperation agreement," Mitsotakis said, answering a question whether a US base would be created in Alexandroupolis similar to the one the US already has on the Greek island of Crete. The Greek prime minister noted that the port is of strategic importance to the country and the region, with the potential to become a part of a land corridor to the Black Sea that could be an alternative to the Bosphorus strait. Media reported that the port was being used to transfer large amounts of Western military equipment to Ukraine, with Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos saying last year that it could be also used to send troops to Eastern Europe and Ukraine. Western countries have been ramping up their military support for Kiev since February 24, when Russia began a military operation in Ukraine following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian officials have repeatedly said that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for the Russian military. ULAANBAATAR (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai on Saturday proposed a constitutional reform under which Mongolia would transition from the semi-presidential to a traditional parliamentary republic. Mongolia's current constitution was adopted in 1992 establishing a multi-party political system in the country. According to the document, Mongolia is a semi-presidential republic, with the executive power equally shared between the president, who is elected directly by people, and the prime minister, who is elected by the parliament. "The 1992 constitution has fulfilled its historic role of a peaceful social transition. Achievements and mistakes over the past 30 years are connected with the constitution. Now we have to objectively assess the past 30 years and determine how we will live the next 30 years," the prime minister told a public conference, as quoted by the Mpress news website. Oyun-Erdene proposed considering a constitutional reform and a transition to a parliamentary republic in this regard, stating that these measures are necessary for improving the policy-making process hampered due to occasional disagreements between the president and the prime minister. The head of the Mongolian government noted that there are also other ways to implement changes without a complete constitutional overhaul, such as introducing amendments to select clauses of the country's basic law. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Saturday summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in London over the execution in Iran of former Deputy Defense Minister and UK-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Saturday summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in London over the execution in Iran of former Deputy Defense Minister and UK-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari. Iranian media reported Saturday that the Iranian authorities executed Akbari on charges of spying on behalf of the UK intelligence. Earlier in the week, Cleverly urged the Iranian government to overturn Akbari's death sentence, calling the decision politically motivated and demonstrating disregard for human life. "The execution of British-Iranian Alireza Akbari is a barbaric act that deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. Through this politically motivated act, the Iranian regime has once again shown its callous disregard for human life. This will not stand unchallenged and we will be summoning the Iranian Charge d'Affaires to make clear our disgust at Iran's actions. Our thoughts are with Mr Akbari's family," Cleverly said in a statement. Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the execution of Akbari in Iran, calling it a "callous and cowardly act." UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) The ported "Ten-Points" peace plan of Ukrainian President Zelensky has nothing to do with reality, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia said on Friday. "They come up with all kinds of extravagant ideas, including the ten-points peace plan, which has nothing to do with reality," Nebenzia said. The Russian Ambassador was referencing to a plan proposed last year at the G20 in Bali, by Zelensky. By Torie Doll, University Communications and Marketing Growing up near Kennedy Space Station, Andrea Coloma always dreamed of working for NASA one day not as an engineer or astronaut but as a graphic designer. Fast forward to today, she just finished illustrating an educational childrens book for NASAs Space Communication and Navigation program (SCaN), thanks in part to a series of internships with NASA. Created during her fifth and final internship, the childrens book highlights SCaNs role in the recent Artemis I mission, which successfully splashed down to Earth on Dec. 11. The imagery is not approved for release, but NASA plans to publish the book this year. As a second-generation immigrant from Ecuador, Coloma was nervous to tell her parents about her desire to pursue a career in art because of the stereotype that it is not financially stable. I felt like I needed proof that I could do it, so I went on LinkedIn and started messaging graphic designers from companies that I admired, Coloma said. Molly Kearns, digital media specialist for SCaN at NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, responded to the message and organized a meeting between Coloma and a couple of graphic designers at NASA. The conversation led to Coloma being offered a SCaN Internship Project shadowing position on the Policy and Strategic Communications team where she spent the summer creating an illustration spread for its newsletter. This was my first dip into the professional world of design, and I learned so much throughout this experience, Coloma said. The experience at NASA was proof enough of a successful career as an artist for Coloma because she promptly enrolled in the graphic arts program on the USF St. Petersburg campus in the fall of 2021. Colomas relationship with NASA continued with a virtual animation internship on the Orion Communications team at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. This internship was a great challenge because I had not animated before, Coloma said. I used the two days before my interview for the position to learn how to animate and show that I had the potential to learn. After completing her first internship with the team, Coloma was asked to return the next semester for an additional internship session. Over the course of these two internship sessions, she was tasked with creating three, one-minute childrens animation videos that explain how NASAs Orion spacecraft would use a distant retrograde orbit during Artemis I, the first of NASAs historic Artemis missions, which will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon by 2025. At the same time, Coloma was adjusting to being away from home for the first time and balancing the responsibilities of her first year in college. Her internship concluded with witnessing the Space Launch System rocket roll out for launch and the development of future Orion capsules. When summer rolled around again, it was full circle for Coloma when she was invited back to the Policy and Strategic Communications team to illustrate not just one page of its internship newsletter, but the entire product. My favorite part was creating a style for the whole newsletter and executing it, Coloma said. It was amazing working with the team because they gave me so much creative freedom to steer the newsletter in the way I wanted. Then Coloma stayed on the team into the fall to create the childrens book. We are so proud of Andrea and the work she has accomplished over the last year and a half as our intern. It has been so rewarding to watch her technical and professional skills evolve over the last year, Kearns said. Coloma plans to keep in touch with her connections at NASA for future internship opportunities, feedback on her work and advice on her career. Inspired by her internships, Coloma plans to continue to shape her career in the direction of impacting the world around her through design. Previous Slide 1 Slide 2 Slide 3 Next An illustration of a rocket and information about SCaN students An illustration of three kinds of satellites. An illustration of satellite networks in space. Imagery and video courtesy of Andrea Coloma and NASA. Nguyen Tien Son, political head of Zone 7 Military School, speaks at a press conference to dismiss information spread on social media that a student was raped at the school's Center for National Defense and Security Training, January 12, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van A Ho Chi Minh City university has denied rumors that one of its female students was raped during a mandatory military retreat. Social media was ablaze Wednesday night with news that a female student from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) was raped while undergoing military classes at the Center for National Defense and Security Training at the Zone 7 Military School. A video circulated online captured the sounds of people screaming in the night, to which various rumors became attached. The most resilient rumor was that the screams were the sound of a woman being raped in the barracks, which at that time were occupied by students from the university on a school-mandated retreat for the fundamentals of military training, which is common practice at Vietnamese colleges. At around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, the center issued a statement declaring that the information online about the video was untrue, stating that the images and sounds had been "distorted with bad intentions." "During group activities, there had been internal, personal disputes between two female students," the statement read. "Due to their inability to regulate their emotions, one student exhibited screaming and wailing. The incident has been resolved by management employees, without any consequence." The center reported that all activities and military training programs would continue as scheduled. A HUFLIT representative on Wednesday also said the information spread on social media was "severely untrue." The school has asked authorities to step in, identify whoever was responsible for spreading the false info, and deal with them in accordance with the law. At a Thursday press meeting, Nguyen Tien Son, the political head of Zone 7 Military School, said that on Tuesday night, a student discovered that they had lost VND1.4 million. Other students then accused a particular female member of their cohort of stealing. The accused student then rushed outside without saying anything. Once outside, she began screaming and crying because she believed she'd been falsely accused. Another female student in the opposite building began to record the incident with her camera phone and posted the video online without specifying exactly what had happened, Son said. After hearing the screams, one of the facility's managers brought the distraught student to an office to calm her down and call her family to come pick her up, he said. Son said the video clip was circulated online Wednesday night, along with many rumors. The school has discussed the matter with the student who recorded the video, and she has rectified the matter on her personal account. "On Thursday morning, we gathered all the head students of each room to hear the girls rectification of information," said Son, adding that many other people online also attributed other unrelated images to the incident at the school. The Center for National Defense and Security Training at Zone 7 Military School, located in HCMCs outlying District 12, is currently organizing military education classes for students at HUFLIT, as assigned by the Ministry of National Defense. The Archdiocese of Delhi hosts an encounter of around 300 religious leaders to show solidarity with Christians in India who are currently being asked to renounce their faith or leave their homes. By Francesca Merlo Nearly 300 leaders of various religions have gathered in New Delhi to show solidarity with Christians who have been forced to leave their homes in the central indian state of Chhattisgarh. During the moment of reflection, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and Baha'i believers lit candles and prayed together, asking the Indian government to intervene and put a stop to the violence against Christians, who have been targeted because they refuse to renounce their faith. Ecumenical meeting The meeting was organised by the Commission for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Delhi, and took place on 8 January in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Attacks against Christians, taking place mainly in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh, are being perpetrated by non-Christians, supported by nationalist groups as they pressure Christians there to return to their traditional animist practices. Almost 18 villages in Narayanpur and 15 villages in Kondagaon have been attacked. An estimated 1,000 people have been displaced due to the attacks and social pressure in the region, which began in the second week of December. Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi assured the victims of the Church's support, and called on the local authorities and the federal government to take immediate action to bring the situation under control. Each religious leader present at the prayer meeting also spoke out, urging respect for other faiths. Largest wave of attacks since 2021 The region has faced the largest wave of attacks on Indian Christians on record in 2021, and is one of many states in the country to have passed anti-conversion laws. According to a local Christian leader, the attackers often tell the Adivasis, or indigenous Christians, that if they want to remain Christians, they must leave their villages or continue to be attacked. After a lull, violence broke out again on 2 January when a mob of about 50 people entered the Sacred Heart Church in Narayanpur and desecrated the altar, crucifix and statues. So far, 11 people have been arrested by the police in four separate cases. We publish an excerpt of Pope Francis' interview published online on Friday by Comboni missionaries in Spain in 'Mundo Negro' magazine. The 30-minute interview took place on 15 December at the Vatican with the magazine's director, Fr. Jaume Calvera, Editor-in-Chief ,Fr.Javier Farinas Martin, and Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. Q: Holy Father, you became a Jesuit, among other reasons, to go to Japan as a missionary... Yes, that is true. Q: What has stayed with you since that time? I think I have always been interested in the peripheries. I look at the peripheries from the inside, not only because they interest me intellectually. And that is what stays with me, to go beyond the frontiers. Q: You have said that "Africa never ceases to surprise." How much of this surprise do you think can be attributed to the missionaries you have met? What surprises me most about missionaries is their ability to put themselves on the ground, respect cultures and contribute to their development. They do not uproot the people, on the contrary. When I see missionaries, and there are always some who do not succeed, I note that Catholic missionary outreach does not proselytise, but proclaims the Gospel according to the culture of each place. This is Catholicism, respect for cultures. There is no Catholic culture as such; yes, there is Catholic thought, but every culture is rooted in what is Catholic, and this is already experienced in the very action of the Holy Spirit on the morning of Pentecost. This is very clear. Catholicism is not uniformity, it is harmony, a harmony of differences. And this harmony is created by the Holy Spirit. A missionary goes forth, respects what is found in each place, and helps to create harmony, but (he or she) does not proselytise ideologically or religiously, much less with a colonialistic mindset. Some aberrations have occurred on other continents, for example the serious problem of the schools in Canada that I visited and spoke about. Missionary work must respect the culture of the people, living within that context and doing this service. Q: The Second Vatican Council sixty years ago offered extraordinary missionary momentum. Has the understanding of mission changed much since then? Thank God, yes. Historians say that it takes 100 years for a Council to be fully implemented, so it is only half way through. Many things have changed in the Church, many things for the better ... There are two interesting signs: the initial imprudent enthusiasm of the Council has already disappeared, I am thinking of the liturgical effervescence, which is almost non-existent. And anti-conciliar resistance is emerging that had never been seen before, something that is typical of any process of maturation. But so much has changed... On the missionary side, respect for cultures and inculturation of the Gospel are values that blossomed as an indirect consequence of the Council. Faith is inculturated and the Gospel takes on the culture of its people, allowing for an evangelization of culture. Q: Is mission outreach necessarily one of dialogue? Of course it is. Today there is much more awareness of dialogue, and those who do not know how to dialogue do not mature, grow and will not be able to leave any impact on society. Dialogue is fundamental. Q: Are we still very focused on the number of Catholics? Statistics are useful, but we should not put our hopes in them. I ask myself: in whom do I place my hope? And I ask everyone: in whom do you place your hope, in your organization, in your sociological ability to bring people together, or in the power of the Gospel? Q: From 31 January to 5 February you will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan ... In July (the journey) had to be suspended because of my knee problem ... In South Sudan I will go together, on the same (official) level, with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and we are working very well together. The Democratic Republic of Congo ... it's like a fortress, a bastion of inspiration. You only have to look here in Rome at the Congolese community, which is led by a nun, Sister Rita, a woman who teaches at the university, but who commands as if she were a bishop ... I have celebrated Mass here in the Congolese rite and it is a community that is very close to me. I have been looking forward to this trip, wishing it to be as soon as possible. South Sudan is a suffering community. (Even) Congo is suffering at this time due to armed conflict, that is why I am not going to Goma, since it is not possible due to the fighting. It's not that I'm not going because I'm afraid, but with this (volatile) atmosphere and seeing what is happening...we have to take care of people. Q: You mentioning human and existential peripheries brings to mind the African continent. Are these two peripheries inseparable? Africa is unique... (but) there is something we must denounce: there is a collective unconscious idea...that says Africa is to be exploited. History tells us this, with independence halfway: they give them economic independence from the ground up, but they keep the subsoil to exploit, we see the exploitation of other countries taking their resources. Q: What are the riches of the continent that we do not see? We only see material wealth, which is why historically it has only been sought and exploited. Today we see that many world powers are going there for plunder, it is true, and they do not see the intelligence, the greatness, the art of the people. Q: While insisting on the war in Ukraine, you reiterate that we must not forget other conflicts that remain hidden, some of them in Africa ... This is obvious. I said that we now realize that this is a world war because it is right next door ... One of the biggest problems is the production of weapons. Someone once told me that if we stopped producing weapons for a year, world hunger would end. An industry that kills... Q: When we talk about the exploitation of the African continent, we are talking about natural resources and people. What are we missing when we build fences and put up obstacles to stop or impede their arrival? And when we put up barbed wires to prevent them from escaping ... It is a crime. It is a crime. And those countries that have a demographic index at its lowest, that need people, that have empty cities and don't know how to manage the integration of migrants. Migrants must be welcomed, accompanied, promoted and integrated. If they are not integrated, that is bad ... But there's a great European injustice, isn't there? Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, and even Malta are the countries that are receiving most migrants. And what is happening in Italy where despite the current government's migration policy being, let's say in a nice way, restrictive, the country has always opened its doors to save the people that Europe does not welcome. These countries have to deal with everything and are faced with the dilemma of whether to send them back where they risk being killed or dying, or to do what they can... This is a serious problem. The European Union does not accompany them. (Working translation of the original interview in Spanish) As the Church in Cuba celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul IIs historic visit to the island nation on 21-25 January 1998, Pope Francis sends a letter encouraging Cubans to continue walking together in faithful hope to build a better future. By Lisa Zengarini Pope Francis has sent a letter to Cardinal Juan de la Caridad Garcia Rodriguez of San Cristobal de La Habana, the Bishops and the People of God of Cuba. He conveyed his blessings and closeness to the Cuban Church, as it marks the 25th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul IIs Apostolic Journey to the country, on 21-25 January 1998. The message was consigned by Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect Emeritus of the former Congregation for Clergy, who at the time was the Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba, and has been invited to the celebrations. Cuban Christian roots have flourished Recalling the words addressed by St. John Paul II to the youth of Cuba on 23 January 1998, Pope Francis encouraged the Cuban faithful to continue building the future of their nation with hope and determination." He also urged them to return to their Christian roots and identity so as to build a future of ever greater dignity and freedom. The Pope noted that those roots have grown and flourished in the testimony of many Cubans working every day for others, and especially for the most needy. Continue walking together The Pope then thanked the Cuban people for their example of collaboration and mutual help that unites them and reveals the spirit that characterizes the Cuban people: "openness, hospitality and supportiveness". Continue walking together in hope, knowing that always, and especially in the midst of adversity and suffering, Jesus and His Most Holy Mother accompany you, help you carry the cross and console you with the joy of the resurrection. Citing the Servant of God Felix Varela Morales, a Cuban priest and philosopher, as a testimony of the "need to take root in goodness and the fruitfulness of this effort, Pope Francis concluded his letter by inviting the Cuban people to continue to go deeper into their roots with courage and responsibility, and to bear their fruits united in faith, hope and charity. A military-backed court in Myanmar has reportedly sentenced 112 Rohingya Muslim refugees to jail terms after they were caught traveling outside refugee camps, as the entire group was on its way to Malaysia. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on January 10 that the Bogale township court sentenced the group of Bengalis a pejorative the authorities in the country use to identify Rohingyas to two to five years imprisonment on January 6 for traveling without legal documents. The court gave jail terms of two years to five children who were under 13. Seven children older than 13 were sentenced to three years. The rest 53 men and 47 women were sentenced to five years imprisonment, according to the report. The group of 112 was arrested from around the shores of Bogale township in the southern Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar by the Ayeyarwady Region Police Force on December 20, after they had landed from motorboats, the state media reported. Fleeing persecution Upwards of 1 million Rohingya Muslims live in congested shanty colonies of Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, after fleeing persecution and violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. In Coxs Bazar, the Rohingyas live in prison-like conditions, with little opportunity for education or livelihood. Refugees from Bangladesh have for years sought to go to work and live in Malaysia. Using boats operated by human traffickers from Bangladesh, Rohingyas have traveled to Malaysia for many years along illegal sea routes. Activist groups tracking the movement of Rohingyas report that in recent years many refugees from Bangladesh cross over to Myanmar during the first leg of their illegal journey to Malaysia. With the help of the traffickers, some among them traverse the entire stretch of the journey to Malaysia by land. Some others choose a mixed land-and-sea route to sneak into Malaysia. However, it is not clear if all members of the group of 112 who were arrested in Bogale township and jailed came from Coxs Bazar or if some in the group were from Rohingya villages or camps inside Myanmar. According to Coxs Bazar-based Rohingya activist Mohammad Hossain, at least 5,000 Rohingya from Bangladesh entered Myanmar in the past two years, aiming to finally make it to Malaysia. More than half of them were somehow arrested in Myanmar, and now all of them are in custody there. After being intercepted by police in Myanmar, sometimes traffickers pay bribes and manage to get the Rohingyas freed. But in situations where bribes do not come into play for several reasons, Malaysia-bound Rohingyas are ending up in jails in Myanmar, Hossain told VOA. In Myanmar, the members of the community have not been regarded as citizens for decades. They have no way to get travel documents like passports or visas. So, they resort to illegal routes to enter Malaysia. By sending stateless Rohingyas to jail for not possessing official travel documents, Myanmar is giving them extremely unjustified punishments. 'The latest victims' Daniel Sullivan, senior advocate for Human Rights at Refugees International, said the Rohingya who are being sent to jail for traveling without proper documents are just the latest victims of the genocidal policies of the military junta in Myanmar. It is the conditions placed on the Rohingya by the junta in Myanmar, including the denial of their citizenship, that has forced them into this predicament. The million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, while out of the direct line of fire of the military junta, are also facing dire conditions incentivizing them to risk dangerous journeys by sea, Sullivan told VOA. Concerted global pressure in the form of targeted sanctions [including on oil and gas and aviation fuel], an arms embargo, and support for accountability measures is urgently needed to get at the root of the crisis affecting the Rohingya and so many other people of Myanmar. The Myanmar authorities action to imprison Rohingya for not having identity documents is appalling and outrageous, Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, told VOA. It is precisely the Myanmar government systematically denying the Rohingya access to official recognition and citizenship in the first place for which they are not in possession of identity documents. Furthermore, jailing children for simply accompanying their family on a voyage is so heartless and cruel that it really defies description, Robertson said. Whats clear is the Myanmar junta doesnt view the Rohingya as being truly human, which is something incoming ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] chair Indonesia should be considering as it considers how to approach Myanmar to compel the restoration of democracy and respect for human rights," he said. At least 15 people were killed and more than 50 injured in three bombings Saturday in the central Hirshabelle state of Somalia, according to officials. In Bulobarde town, some 220 kilometers north of Mogadishu, a suicide car bomb has killed at least 11 people, witnesses and medical officials said. A suicide bomber driving an SUV vehicle laden with explosives came under fire from security forces before reaching his goal, but detonated explosives near a police station and the base of the African Union peacekeepers from Djibouti, multiple witnesses told Voice of America. At least 11 people were killed in the blast and more than 50 injured 30 of them in critical condition, Yusuf Isaq Mumin, a medical official in the town, told VOA. We are now sending those critically injured to Mogadishu since the local hospital has not the capacity to handle their cases here. Attack in Jalalaqsi Meanwhile, a powerful car bomb exploded near a Somali military checkpoint in Jalalaqsi town, some 160 kilometers north of Mogadishu, when soldiers operating the checkpoint intercepted an explosives-laden vehicle. Another one went off almost simultaneously nearby when security officials shot the driver of the vehicle. A vehicle driven by a suicide bomber detonated near the checkpoint. Another suicide bomber detonated a vehicle at a location close to a school. I saw the dead bodies of at least four people with my eyes, but the number could be higher, Mire Hussein Siyad, former deputy district commissioner of Jalalaqsi, told VOA. According to witnesses, the checkpoint is near local government buildings and a military base belonging to African Union peacekeepers from Djibouti. Both the towns of Jalalaqsi and Bulobarde are important trading and farming towns located along the banks of the Shabelle River, and they also are the second- and third-biggest towns in Hiran province. Towns focal point of campaign The towns have been under al-Shabab isolation for more than 10 years and recently have been the focal point of efforts to mobilize the local population against al-Shabab amid an ongoing Somali military campaign to defeat militants who followed Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds declaration of a total war against the al-Qaida-linked militants shortly after being elected last year. Al-Shabab has threatened violence against clans mobilizing against them in the past. In October of last year, similar terrorist attacks that targeted bridges in those towns killed at least 21 people. Hussein Dhaqane in Beldeweyn, Somalia, contributed to this report. Thousands of opponents of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stormed the seats of power in Brazil's capital Sunday, fired up by anti-communist rhetoric and misinformation about election fraud. Here's what we know. Rioters arrested In all, the Federal Police detained 1,843 people after the riots. Most of them were taken from an encampment outside the army headquarters in the capital, where they had been protesting for two months, clamoring for the military to prevent Lula's inauguration, which went ahead Jan. 1. According to the latest update by the Federal Police, 1,159 remained under arrest Wednesday after 684, many of them old or ill, parents of young children and homeless people, were released to await trial in freedom. Police from the district of Brasilia arrested another 209 on the day of the uprising. Charges against the rioters include terrorism, criminal association, involvement in an attack against the democratic state, participation in an attempted coup d'etat and incitement to crime. Countering claims of mistreatment, the police said hundreds of detainees received three meals and a snack every day and had access to medical care. More than 430 were seen by doctors and 33 taken to health facilities. Justice Minister Flavio Dino said Friday court appearances have started, without providing details. Top officials The Supreme Court has issued arrest warrants for Brasilia security chief Anderson Torres, a former Bolsonaro justice minister, for alleged "collusion" with the rioters. Torres, who is in the United States, has until Monday to hand himself over or face extradition proceedings. Already in custody is Fabio Augusto, who led the military police in Brasilia and, like Torres, was fired after the uprising. The Supreme Court has also ordered an inquiry into the conduct of Brasilia governor Ibaneis Rocha and his interim public security secretary Fernando de Sousa Oliveira. Rocha was relieved of his duties for 90 days. Lula and Dino have said the violence could not have happened without collusion from members of the security forces. An investigation is under way. Financiers The attorney general's office has identified 52 individuals and seven companies suspected of having helped pay for the uprising. According to national broadcaster TV Globo, the suspects included leaders in the pro-Bolsonaro agro-business sector. They are thought to have paid for the food and transport of rioters who arrived in Brasilia from several regions of the country on about 100 passenger buses. Investigations are ongoing to track down other masterminds and financiers. Damage The extent of the damage has yet to be determined in monetary terms, but many of the items trashed when rioters broke into the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court are irreplaceable parts of Brazil's cultural heritage. The buildings, all designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer, were damaged, including smashed windows, broken furniture, burned and scratched floors and walls burnt, and facades scarred by anti-Lula graffiti. The capital is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. In an initial report of damage, Brazil's Iphan heritage institute documented a seemingly never-ending trail of destruction. Most of the building damage was reversible, it said, but individual items may not be salvageable. Among the most iconic items damaged were the modernist canvas As Mulatas painted by Di Cavalcanti, and the sculpture A Justica by Alfredo Ceschiatti. Many paintings, busts, statues, ceramic vases and pieces of antique furniture were also defaced. UNESCO has offered its help in restoring damaged artworks. Driving force Bolsonaro had done his best on the campaign trail to raise the specter of communism under leftist Lula, who served two previous presidential terms from 2003-10. He also hammered repeatedly on Lula's graft conviction, which has been overturned. Long before the election, Bolsonaro sought to cast doubt, without showing any evidence, on the credibility of Brazil's internationally hailed electoral system. When he did lose, millions were left fearful of Lula and the left, and distrustful of his victory. "All we want is freedom," one arrested rioter told AFP. Experts say disinformation, much of it spread by Bolsonaro himself, was in large part responsible for the radicalization of the anti-Lula faction in Brazil. The Brazilian prosecutor-general's office on Friday asked the Supreme Court to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation into who incited the January 8 riot in the nation's capital. As the basis for their request, prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts cited a video Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot, according to a statement. The video claimed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his October 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines, and never conceded. Prosecutors argued that, although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it. He has taken up residence in the United States, in an Orlando, Florida, suburb, since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the January 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor. Some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa. Seeking power behind scenes Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm Brazil's Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who paid to transport rioters to the capital and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur. Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's former justice minister who became the federal district's security chief on January 2, and was in the U.S. on the day of the riot. The Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Torres' arrest this week and has opened an investigation into his actions, which he characterized as "neglect and collusion." In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said that Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest. The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, and he must return within three days or Brazil will request his extradition, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said Friday. "If by next week his appearance hasn't been confirmed, of course we will use mechanisms of international legal cooperation. We will trigger procedures next week to carry out his extradition," Dino said. Torres has denied wrongdoing and said Tuesday on Twitter that he would interrupt his vacation to return to Brazil and present his defense. Three days later, that has yet to occur. The minister pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found during a search of Torres' home a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law. But the document "will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events," Dino said, adding that Torres will need to tell police who drafted it. By failing to initiate a probe against the document's author or report its existence, Torres at very least could be charged with dereliction of duty, said Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors. Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him. Dino told reporters that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro. The federal district's former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot. Russia launched another massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities on Saturday. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Ladyzhyn, Burshtyn, Lviv region, Khmelnytsky and other cities were targets of terrorists. Civilian objects are everywhere! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. At least nine people were killed and 64 were wounded, among them children, in the southeastern city of Dnipro. A Russian missile strike there destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Infrastructure was also damaged in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa regions, as well as in Kharkiv and Kyiv. Targeting civilians and critical infrastructure across Ukraine has been a consistent tactic by Russia against its neighbor. According to the Geneva Conventions, targeting vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime. Zelenskyy said the death toll in Dnipro is expected to increase. Debris clearance is still ongoing and will continue throughout the night. It's not yet known how many people are under the rubble. Unfortunately, the death toll is growing every hour, he said. My condolences to relatives and friends. Local authorities reported that Ukraines air defense downed Russian missiles in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraines top military commander said his forces shot down 21 of the 33 cruise missiles Russia fired. The strikes caused emergency blackouts in multiple regions, such as the Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv Ukraine's second-largest city in the countrys northeast. In the western Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said there might be interruptions in the power and water supply because of missile damage. Another energy facility was hit in the western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, according to Governor Svitlana Onyschuk. A fire broke out at the site following the attack, Onyschuk said, adding there were no casualties. Earlier, Odesa authorities said the missiles were launched from air and sea, while Southern Operational Command reported that five Russian missile carriers with a total of 36 Kalibr cruise missiles were detected in the Black Sea. During the attack, a defiant Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyys chief of staff, said, We will fight back." In the countrys Donbas, fighting continues to rage around Soledar, with Russia claiming to have captured the town and Hanna Malyar, Ukraines deputy defense minister, saying: fierce battles for Soledar are continuing. Zelenskyy reiterated his pleas for more weapons from the West. What is needed for this? Those weapons that are in the warehouses of our partners and that our troops are so waiting for, he said. No amount of persuasion or just passing the time will stop the terrorists, who are methodically killing our people with missiles, drones bought in Iran, their own artillery, tanks and mortars. The whole world knows what can stop and how it's possible to stop those who sow death, he said. A few hours after Saturdays missile strikes, Britain promised to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help the country repel Russias invasion. It was not immediately clear how many tanks it will send. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Zelenskyy spoke on Saturday. After their phone call, Zelenskyy turned to Twitter to thank the prime minister for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners. Also Saturday, the British Defense Ministry posted an analysis of a deployment Wednesday of at least 10 vessels of Russias Black Sea Fleet often referred to as the BSF from the Novorossiysk Naval Facility. Given the type and number of vessels putting to sea at the same time, the activity is likely a fleet dispersal in response to a specific threat to Novorossiysk that Russia believes it has identified, the ministry said via Twitter. It is unlikely that the deployment signifies preparation of unusual maritime-launched cruise-missile strikes, the post said. It is highly unlikely that the fleet is preparing for amphibious assault operations. The BSF largely remains fixed by perceived threats from Ukraine and continues to prioritize force protection over offensive or patrol operations. Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and The Associated Press. As China grapples with a massive surge of coronavirus infections, a new study by a Chinese university estimates the virus has infected some 900 million people in the country to date. China has stopped publishing daily COVID statistics following the end of its zero-COVID policy. The government claims the total number of dead since the beginning of the pandemic is around 5,200, but many health experts consider that a vast undercount. The Peking University study says roughly 64% of all people in China are estimated to have been infected, and those numbers are expected to rise during the travel-heavy Lunar New Year. At a time of surging infections, Chinese social media networks this week have featured robust discussion of a ruling by health authorities that a treatment for COVID, the drug Paxlovid, will not be covered by the countrys basic medical insurance after March 31. The National Medical Insurance Administration of China issued a statement on its official website on January 8 saying that it had failed to negotiate the inclusion of the drug Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir Combination Package (Paxlovid) for the treatment of COVID into the medical insurance catalog because of high prices quoted by the drugs U.S.-based producer, Pfizer. China-based social media have seen expressions of disappointment about the limited availability of drugs to combat COVID. For now, Paxlovid is still covered by Chinese health insurance, but the rising number of infections has kept it in short supply. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla revealed at J.P. Morgan's health care conference in San Francisco, California, on January 9 that talks with China on future pricing for the treatment had broken off after China had asked for a lower price than Pfizer is charging for most lower middle-income countries. "They are the second-highest economy in the world and I don't think that they should pay less than El Salvador," Bourla said, according to Reuters. Some health experts say Paxlovid not being covered by health insurance will disproportionately impact China's low-income patients and the medical system in China's rural areas. Lawrence Gostin, director of the ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, told VOA Mandarin, Most of China's population has no natural immunity to COVID, and a low vaccination rate. For that reason, an effective treatment like Paxlovid is vital for Chinese citizens and especially for the elderly and vulnerable. Gostin added, Paxlovid is not only important just for vulnerable patients. It is also important for the government. Because Paxlovid can keep people out of the hospital, it can lessen the intense burdens on the health system. Reaction on social media has been blunt. "It's hard to say whether people's lives are worth 2,000 yuan in their eyes, but at least it's not worth paying more than what a small South American country is paying," a netizen posted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Some netizens faulted China's official zero-COVID policy, saying it consumed vast financial resources over the last three years. A netizen wrote on Weibo, "The money spent on nucleic acid testing in the past three years is enough to get everyone in the country a box (of Paxlovid)." People have used social media to exchange information on how to get Paxlovid prescriptions from doctors at private hospitals and via online shopping platforms. On the black market, the price of each box of Paxlovid has increased to more than $1400 (10,000 yuan). The Financial Times recently reported that Paxlovid has become one of the first choices for gift-giving among some Chinese elites. Neither the Chinese government nor Pfizer disclosed pricing offers or bids from the stalled negotiations. Some Chinese media reported that Pfizers offer was around 600 yuan (about U.S. $89) for each course of the drug, but the state-owned financial media Caixin quoted insiders as saying that Pfizer did not significantly reduce the price below 1,890 yuan (about U.S. $280) currently charged to Chinese hospitals. The U.S. government is spending about $530 for each five-day course of Paxlovid. Pfizer allows drugmakers around the world to make cheap versions of Paxlovid for some 95 poorer countries. Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. Colombias president is seeking to suspend arrest orders against some of the countrys biggest criminal suspects, including at least one individual wanted in the U.S. on narcotics charges, as part of an ambitious plan to dismantle armed groups that have long dominated the countryside. The request to suspend the arrest orders against eight members of the so-called Gulf Clan was made by President Gustavo Petros peace commissioner in a letter dated Jan. 11 to Colombias chief prosecutor. Among those on the list are Jobanis Villadiego, also known by his alias Bad Boy, who was indicted in Brooklyn federal court in 2015 alongside Dairo Antonio Usuga, then leader of the Gulf Clan and at the time Colombias most wanted fugitive. A copy of the letter was provided to The Associated Press by someone close to U.S. law enforcement on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters at the heart of more than two decades of U.S.-Colombia anti-narcotics cooperation. Colombias top law enforcement authority on Friday said there was no legal basis for Petros request. In a seven-page rebuttal shared with the media, the chief prosecutors office said such requests could only be made against members of politically motivated armed groups whereas the Gulf Clan which emerged from the ashes of Colombias right-wing paramilitary movement was a purely criminal enterprise. The Gulf Clan is accused of being Colombias largest drug trafficking organization, responsible for sending as much as 20 metric tons of cocaine each month to the U.S. and Europe. Conservative former President Ivan Duque last year extradited Usuga to the U.S., calling him the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world and likening him to the feared Pablo Escobar, who terrorized much of Colombia before his death in the 1990s. Usuga pleaded not guilty upon his arrival to the U.S. and is currently awaiting trial. Petro has taken a different approach from his law-and-order predecessor. Since his historic election last year, the former leftist guerrilla has been pushing a plan for total peace that would include negotiating not only with that countrys last main rebel group, the National Liberation Army, but also armed gangs like the Gulf Clan that continue to dominate and hold back development in Colombias long neglected countryside. Hes also proposed shielding from extradition those willing to lay down their weapons and renounce criminal activity, a move that is bound to test a longstanding law enforcement alliance with Washington. Under Duque, Colombia extradited more than 500 people to the U.S. Villadiego is wanted in the U.S. on multiple drug trafficking charges and in Colombia faces additional charges for homicide and forced recruitment of minors to commit criminal acts. Like his former boss Usuga, he was a member of the right-wing United Self Defense Forces of Colombia who renounced violence as part of a 2004 peace deal. But he later returned to a life of crime as one of Usugas top lieutenants in the Gulf Clan. New York Times lists Ha Giang among 52 destinations to visit this year Boat ride is available on the emerald Nho Que River at the foot of Ma Pi Leng Pass in Ha Giang Province. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Ha Giang Province on the northern border with China ranks 25th in New York Timess list of 52 best places to travel in 2023. "The several-day loop by motorbike through the Ha Giang highlands in northern Vietnam is not for the timid," the U.S. newspaper said. It takes around six hours to reach Hanoi and the Ha Giang loop takes three to five days depending on the weather. But it is not an easy trip for amateur travelers due to its twisting, narrow roads and dangerous mountain passes that have claimed the lives of many motorbike riders, including foreigners. New York Times suggested hiring a guide from QT Motorbikes and Tours to explore the diverse cultures of ethnic minorities such as the Hmong and Tay. "Road improvement projects and new high-end accommodations have made the loop more accessible and inviting." It advised tourists to take a boat ride on the emerald Nho Que River through the canyon at Ma Pi Leng Pass. The local tourism boom in recent years has seen many motorbike rental services spring up across Ha Giang. Foreigners only need to leave their passports and pay around VND150,000 ($6.40) a day to rent a vehicle. London tops this years New York Times list, followed by Japans Morioka and the U.S.s Monument Valley. Other Asian representatives in the list are Bhutan, Kerala in India, Fukuoka in Japan, Flores in Indonesia, and Taipei in Taiwan. Czech voters are going to the polls again Saturday in the first round of voting to elect a new president, with billionaire populist and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis and retired army general Petr Pavel seen as the frontrunners. The two men lead an eight-candidate field. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote which, polls indicate, is the likely outcome there will be a second round of voting in two weeks. Polls indicate a very close contest between the 68-year-Babis and the 61-year-old Pavel. The top three Babis is the leading opposition candidate, and Czech political analyst and writer Jiri Pehe describes him as an oligarch populist who, he said, flirts with the political orientation of Hungarian President Viktor Orban. Orban, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, comes under frequent criticism from the European Union, which has accused him of stifling democratic institutions. Pavel, a former chair of NATOs military committee, has received the endorsement of the government. He and the third-ranked candidate, who according to most polls is 44-year-old economics professor Danuse Nerudova, are seen as the most pro-Western, pro-democratic candidates. Nerudova would also be the first woman to hold the office of president. Issues affecting race Political analyst Pehe, who leads New York University's academic center in Prague, told VOA the war in Ukraine is likely to play a significant role in the elections, as it has raised security and foreign policy concerns to a higher level than they otherwise would be in the election. This is likely to favor Pavel, Pehe believes, because of his extensive military and international experience. The political analyst said Pavel has been an enthusiastic supporter of Ukraine as the country defends itself from Russian attacks, while Babis has been more ambiguous. Pehe said polls indicate the economy is a major issue for Czech voters, which could help Babis, as he has stressed domestic issues over aid to Ukraine. But Pehe added that the voters want to see the Czech Republic maintain strong ties with the West and NATO, which will once again help Pavel. Recent Gallup polling shared with VOA shows that approval of EU leadership has risen to 49% in the country, the highest level recorded in 13 years. Approval of Russian leadership, meanwhile, is at a 13-year low of 5%. Corruption is also a major concern of Czech voters, according to the 2022 Gallup polling. It showed that 74% of the public believe that corruption is widespread in the government, a belief that has been fairly consistent since 2006. On the positive side, 65% of respondents told Gallup they are confident in the honesty of elections. The winner of the election will take over from current President Milos Zeman, who is completing his second term. Pehe said Zeman became a divisive figure who was quite pro-Russia and China when he attempted to over-step his presidential powers as designated by the nations constitution. In the Czech government, the president is elected by the popular vote and appoints the prime minister, but the job is otherwise a largely ceremonial post. Myroslava Gongadze reported from Warsaw. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. England will ban a range of single-use plastic items such as cutlery, plates and bowls starting in October to limit soaring plastic pollution, Britain's environment department said Saturday. The decision follows a public consultation by the government in which 95% of respondents were in favor of the bans, the department said in a statement. "We all know the absolutely devastating impacts that plastic can have on our environment and wildlife," Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said. "These new single-use plastics bans will continue our vital work to protect the environment." Most plastics can remain intact for centuries and damage oceans, rivers and land where millions of tons end up as waste each year. The United Nations says decades of overuse of single-use plastics has caused a "global environmental catastrophe." The government said it is estimated England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery, most of which are plastic, a year as well as 721 million such plates, but only 10% end up being recycled. England's ban will also include single-use plastic trays, balloon sticks and some types of polystyrene cups and food containers. A ban on supplying plastic straws and stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds came into force in England in 2020. Anti-plastic campaign group A Plastic Planet welcomed the latest bans but called for further limitations, especially on sachets. "The plastic sachet, the ultimate symbol of our grab and go, convenience-addicted lifestyle, should be the next target ... 855 billion sachets are used annually, never to be recycled," Sian Sutherland, the group's co-founder, said. The British government said it was also considering limiting the use of other commonly littered and "problematic" plastic items, including wet wipes, tobacco filters and sachets. Governments worldwide are clamping down on the use of single-use plastic to varying degrees, and a global survey last year found three in four people want single-use plastics to be banned as soon as possible. An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that asks whether tech firms can be held liable for damages related to algorithmically generated content recommendations has the ability to upend the internet, according to a brief filed by Google this week. The case, Gonzalez v. Google LLC, is a long-awaited opportunity for the high court to weigh in on interpretations of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. A provision of federal law that has come under fire from across the political spectrum, Section 230 shields technology firms from liability for content published by third parties on their platforms, but also allows those same firms to curate or bar certain content. The case arises from a complaint by Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter was killed in an attack by members of the terror group ISIS in Paris in 2015. Gonzales argues that Google helped ISIS recruit members because YouTube, the online video hosting service owned by Google, used a video recommendation algorithm that suggested videos published by ISIS to individuals who displayed interest in the group. Gonzalezs complaint argues that by recommending content, YouTube went beyond simply providing a platform for ISIS videos, and should therefore be held accountable for their effects. Dystopia warning The case has garnered the attention of a multitude of interested parties, including free speech advocates who want tech firms liability shield left largely intact. Others argue that because tech firms take affirmative steps to keep certain content off their platforms, their claims to be simple conduits of information ring hollow, and that they should therefore be liable for the material they publish. In its brief, Google painted a dire picture of what might happen if the latter interpretation were to prevail, arguing that it would turn the internet into a dystopia where providers would face legal pressure to censor any objectionable content. Some might comply; others might seek to evade liability by shutting their eyes and leaving up everything, no matter how objectionable. Not everyone shares Googles concern. Actually all it would do is make it so that Google and other tech companies have to follow the law just like everybody else, Megan Iorio, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told VOA. Things are not so great on the internet for certain groups of people right now because of Section 230, said Iorio, whose organization filed a friend of the court brief in the case. Section 230 makes it so that tech companies don't have to respond when somebody tells them that non-consensual pornography has been posted on their site and keeps on proliferating. They don't have to take down other things that a court has found violate the person's privacy rights. So you know, to [say] that returning Section 230 to its original understanding is going to create a hellscape is hyperbolic. Unpredictable effects Experts said the Supreme Court might try to chart a narrow course that leaves some protections intact for tech firms, but allows liability for recommendations. However, because of the prevalence of algorithmic recommendations on the internet, the only available method to organize the dizzying array of content available online, any ruling that affects them could have a significant impact. It has pretty profound implications, because with tech regulation and tech law, things can have unintended consequences, John Villasenor, a professor of engineering and law and director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy, told VOA. The challenge is that even a narrow ruling, for example, holding that targeted recommendations are not protected, would have all sorts of very complicated downstream consequences, Villasenor said. If it's the case that targeted recommendations aren't protected under the liability shield, then is it also true that search results that are in some sense customized to a particular user are also unprotected? 26 words The key language in Section 230 has been called, the 26 words that created the internet. That section reads as follows: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher of or speaker of information provided by another information content provider. At the time the law was drafted in the 1990s, people around the world were flocking to an internet that was still in its infancy. It was an open question whether an internet platform that gave individual third parties the ability to post content on them, such as a bulletin board service, was legally liable for that content. Recognizing that a patchwork of state-level libel and defamation laws could leave developing internet companies exposed to crippling lawsuits, Congress drafted language meant to shield them. That protection is credited by many for the fact that U.S. tech firms, particularly in Silicon Valley, rose to dominance on the internet in the 21st century. Because of the global reach of U.S. technology firms, the ruling in Gonzalez v. Google LLC is likely to echo far beyond the United States when it is handed down. Legal groundwork The groundwork for the Supreme Courts decision to take the case was laid in 2020, when Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in response to an appeal that, in an appropriate case, we should consider whether the text of this increasingly important statute aligns with the current state of immunity enjoyed by internet platforms. That statement by Thomas, arguably the courts most conservative member, heartened many on the right who are concerned that Big Tech firms enjoy too much cultural power in the U.S., including the ability to deny a platform to individuals with whose views they disagree. Gonzalez v. Google LLC is remarkable in that many cases that make it to the Supreme Court do so in part because lower courts have issued conflicting decisions, requiring an authoritative ruling from the high court to provide legal clarity. Gonzalezs case, however, has been dismissed by two lower courts, both of which held that Section 230 rendered Google immune from the suit. Conservative concerns Politicians have been calling for reform of Section 230 for years, with both Republicans and Democrats joining the chorus, though frequently for different reasons. Former President Donald Trump regularly railed against large technology firms, threatening to use the federal government to rein them in, especially when he believed that they were preventing him or his supporters from getting their messages out to the public. His concern became particularly intense during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when technology firms began working to limit the spread of social media accounts that featured misinformation about the virus and the safety of vaccinations. Trump was eventually kicked off Twitter and Facebook after using those platforms to spread false claims about the 2020 presidential election, which he lost, and to help organize a rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Major figures in the Republican Party are active in the Gonzalez case. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Texas Senator Ted Cruz have both submitted briefs in the case urging the court to crack down on Google and large tech firms in general. Confident in their ability to dodge liability, platforms have not been shy about restricting access and removing content based on the politics of the speaker, an issue that has persistently arisen as Big Tech companies censor and remove content espousing conservative political views, Cruz writes. Biden calls for reform Section 230 criticism has come from both sides of the aisle. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden published an essay in The Wall Street Journal urging Democrats and Republicans to come together to pass strong bipartisan legislation to hold Big Tech accountable. Biden argues for a number of reforms, including improved privacy protections for individuals, especially children, and more robust competition, but he leaves little doubt about what he sees as a need for Section 230 reform. [W]e need Big Tech companies to take responsibility for the content they spread and the algorithms they use, he writes. Thats why Ive long said we must fundamentally reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech companies from legal responsibility for content posted on their sites. After the safe return of two Mexican journalists kidnapped in a stronghold of a drug cartel, concerns focus on their colleague who is still missing. An operation involving the military and National Guard led to the release of Jesus Pintor Alegre and Fernando Moreno Villegas this week, the Guerrero state prosecutor's office said. The status of their colleague Alan Garcia Aguilar is unclear. All three disappeared more than two weeks ago in southern Guerrero state, one of Mexico's most violent regions. "Since it became aware of the disappearance, this office started an operation in coordination with personnel from the Army and the National Guard and State Public Security in various points of the region, which influenced the fact that the probable perpetrators released these people," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. The journalists work for the news website Escenario Calentano, which regularly publishes stories about the Familia Michoacana drug cartel, which operates in the region. Earlier this week a chilling video of Moreno and Garcia was posted on social media, showing them chained hand and foot. In the 41-second clip, Moreno stated that they were "paying the consequences of the publications against those people in the region of Tierra Caliente and Guerrero of Mexico." A message, possibly from the kidnappers, accompanies the video and says in part, " ... so that they see it is true, we are going to publish this video from their page." Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a journalist, with killings, threats and kidnappings common. Media watchdogs say the country saw its most deadly year on record last year for journalists, with UNESCO recording 19 killings. Hours after Pintor was released, he called on Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, to change the country's policy to tackle the endemic problem of kidnapping by drug gangs of journalists and human rights activists. " 'Hugs, not bullets' does not work, and the population lives in a state of barbarism, totally unprotected," Pintor told Radio Formula, a local station. The president's "hugs, not bullets" policy has involved tackling the social causes of drug violence and reducing the military presence on the streets. It has been widely criticized because it has not resulted in a decline in murders related to drugs gangs. Pintor said he was kidnapped on the morning of December 27. Individuals blindfolded him and put him in a vehicle. From there he was driven to an unknown destination and questioned about his work for the website. Moreno and Garcia were kidnapped separately. Pintor said he was released without explanation near the Cuirio River near Coyuca de Catalan. Journalists from the state of Guerrero appealed for their colleagues' safe release in a letter to the heads of the federal and state governments, the Attorney General's Office and the National and State and Human Rights Commission. The state's human rights commission and international rights groups also made appeals for the authorities to "find the journalists immediately" and to provide protection for relatives and other media workers in the region. Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexico representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which had called for their release, said Friday that he was still trying to reach the families of the journalists. Victims being released "is a pretty unusual situation in terms of journalists being kidnapped in Mexico. Usually, the outcome is not such good news," he told VOA. "This seems to have happened because of the local and international media attention which this case attracted. But we cannot say this means that the outcome in other cases will also be the same. This was a very local situation." Paula Saucedo, of the media rights group Article 19, told VOA that the website the journalists worked on mainly reported stories about the Familia Michoacana drug cartel. "It is a very dangerous area where they work. It is not somewhere where much reliable information comes out because of the security situation and the organized crime," she added. Balbina Flores, of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, told Agence France-Presse that the region where the kidnapping took place is a dangerous area "controlled almost 100% by the Familia Michoacana cartel." Vicente Calderon, a journalist based in Tijuana state who has worked on stories about challenges for the press, including for VOA, said media professionals are at risk in many parts of the country. "Here in Tijuana, where I am, there's a lot of people fleeing that state due to the lack of security," he told VOA. Two well-known journalists were killed in Tijuana in January 2022. Human Rights Watch World Report for 2023, published Thursday, found Mexico remained one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and that authorities did little to track down those who attack them. "Authorities routinely fail to investigate crimes against journalists adequately. The federal special prosecutor's office to investigate crimes against journalists had opened 1,552 investigations and obtained 32 convictions, including seven for homicide, from its creation in 2010 to September 2022," the report said. Last month, one of the country's best-known television news presenters said that he had survived an apparent assassination attempt in Mexico City. Ciro Gomez Leyva said two people on a motorbike shot at him while he was traveling in his armored vehicle, but he escaped unharmed. Authorities in Mexico City announced this week that 11 suspected gang members had been arrested in connection with the attack on Gomez. Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse. Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinian men during a military raid in the occupied West Bank early Saturday, while a third Palestinian died of wounds sustained in a separate Israeli raid nearly two weeks earlier, according to Palestinian medical officials. The military said its soldiers opened fire in the village of Jaba after gunmen in a passing vehicle shot at them. They said that soldiers later confiscated an M-16 rifle from the vehicle. The bloodshed raised the number of Palestinians killed in fighting with the Israelis to 11 this year, as deadly fighting in the area from 2022 shows no signs of slowing in the new year. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the men as Ezzeddin Hamamrah, 24, and Amjad Khleleyah, 23. Jaba is south of Jenin, a town in the northern West Bank that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in nearly a year of violence. The Health Ministry also said Samer al-Jaabari, 19, died from wounds he sustained on Jan. 2 in fighting west of Jenin. Al-Jaabari was injured when Israeli troops stormed a village to demolish the homes of two Palestinian gunmen who had killed an Israeli soldier during a firefight in September. Two Palestinians, including a gunman, were killed during confrontations with Israeli forces that day. Israel ramped up its military raids last spring after a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis killed 19 people. Israel says the operations are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see them as further entrenchment of Israel's 55-year, open-ended occupation of land they seek for their future state. Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 2022, Israeli rights group B'Tselem reported, making last year the deadliest since 2004. Israel says most of the dead were militants. But Palestinian stone-throwers, youths protesting the incursions and and others not involved in confrontations also have been killed. Palestinian attacks, meanwhile, killed a total of 31 people last year, according to Israeli figures. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians want for their future independent state. Israel has since settled 500,000 people in about 130 settlements across the West Bank, which the Palestinians and much of the international community view as an obstacle to peace. Key dates related to the discovery of classified documents tied to President Joe Biden, based on statements from the White House, the president, his attorneys, and Attorney General Merrick Garland: Jan. 20, 2017: Biden's two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end. Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington. Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president. Nov. 2, 2022: Biden's personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close Biden's office in the Penn Biden Center. They notify the National Archives. Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents. Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents. Nov. 8, 2022: Midterm elections. November-December 2022: Bidens lawyers search the presidents homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency. Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled. Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter. Dec. 20, 2022: Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that a second batch of classified documents has been discovered in the garage at Biden's Wilmington home. The FBI goes to Biden's home in Wilmington and secures the documents. Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted. Jan. 9, 2023: CBS News, followed by other news organizations, reveals the discovery of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The White House acknowledges that a small number of Obama-Biden administration records, including some with classified markings, were found at the center. It makes no mention of the documents found in Wilmington. Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a news conference in Mexico City, he says he was surprised to learn that there were any documents in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington. Jan. 11, 2023: Biden's lawyers complete their search of Biden's residences, find one additional classified document in the president's personal library in Wilmington. NBC News and other news organizations reveal a second batch of documents has been found at a location other than the Penn Biden Center. Jan. 12: 2023: Bidens lawyer informs Lausch that an additional classified document has been found. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, reveals publicly for the first time that documents were found in Biden's Wilmington garage and one document was found in an adjacent room. Garland announces that he has appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, to serve as special counsel. Jan. 14: 2023: The White House reveals that Biden's lawyers found more classified documents at his home than previously known. Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Bidens private library. Sauber said Bidens personal lawyers, who did not have security clearances, stopped their search after finding the first page Wednesday evening. Sauber found the remaining material Thursday as he was facilitating their retrieval by the Justice Department. Jan. 19, 2023: A frustrated Biden said there is no there there when he was persistently questioned about the discovery of the documents. We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place, Biden said to reporters who questioned him during a tour of the damage from storms in California. We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department. Biden said he was fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly. I think youre going to find theres nothing there, he said. Theres no there there. Jan. 21, 2023: Biden's attorneys say the FBI searched Bidens home in Wilmington, Delaware, and located additional documents with classified markings and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes. The search lasted nearly 13 hours. The FBI took six items that contained documents with classified markings, said Bob Bauer, the presidents personal lawyer. The items spanned Bidens time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while the notes dated to his time as vice president, he said. : This story may be triggering for some readers. Lakota from reservations across South Dakota gathered at the Wounded Knee Cemetery on the Pine Ridge Reservation to commemorate ancestors massacred by the U.S. Cavalry in 1890. On top of 2-foot snowdrifts at the cemetery on December 29, 2022, lay a collection of cardboard boxes containing artifacts and items of clothing believed to have been ripped from the victims bodies. After years of negotiations, the items were returned to the Lakota by a small museum in Barre, Massachusetts. Museum records show only that a traveling shoe salesman from Barre acquired the items on a trip West in 1891 and donated them to the Barre Museum a few years later. Now on the cold December day, spiritual leaders Richard Moves Camp, an Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, and Ivan Looking Horse, a Miniconjou from the Cheyenne River Reservation, led the gathering in prayer and a ritual feeding of the spirits. Later, dozens of Lakota gathered in the warmth of a nearby school where they shared family histories of the massacre, viewed photos of the returned artifacts, and honored the dead. VOA spent weeks digging through historic records and newspaper accounts to find out more. Background In the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, the U.S. government set aside 233,000 square kilometers west of the Missouri River for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes, collectively known as the Sioux. When Lieutenant General George Custer and his 7th Cavalry confirmed there was gold in the Black Hills of that area, prospectors rushed in. By 1875, the Bureau of Indian Affairs ordered the tribes to move. When they resisted, the U.S. government sent in troops, setting off armed conflict that would see Custer defeated. By 1889, the various bands of Lakota were consigned to separate reservations, with their old ways of life forbidden and the buffalo, which had sustained them for thousands of years, gone. Subsisting on inadequate government rations of beef, they looked for a miracle. The ghost dance In 1890, the Lakota heard about a Paiute man in Nevada who had a vision while cutting wood for his white employer. He fell and died, and God lifted him to heaven. There, he saw white and Native people, made young again, dancing, gambling, playing ball and having all kinds of sports. That vision sparked the Ghost Dance, based on beliefs that if men were good, worked hard, didnt fight and danced for five nights in succession, God would bring the dead back to life and restore to the Indians their former ways of life. White men would vanish, but details werent clear. To learn more, the Lakota sent Miniconjou chief Kicking Bear and a Sicangu Lakota from The Rosebud Agency named Short Bull to Nevada. They didnt all speak English, said Ernie LaPointe, the closest living direct descendant of Chief Sitting Bull. So, they had to speak with hand signals. The message that the duo brought back from Nevada lost something in the translation. They told the Indians that they had been up near Salt Lake, Utah, to visit the new Messiah, U.S. agent at Pine Ridge Daniel Royer telegrammed Washington, and they were told by him that a new Earth would be formed and would pass over this one, burying the whites beneath. It was Kicking Bear and Short Bull who conjured up this story that if Indians wore these ghost shirts, that a white man's bullets would never hurt them, said LaPointe. He believes the men got the idea from Mormon colonists in Nevada, who wore white temple garments to protect them against temptation and spiritual evil. Within weeks, hundreds gathered to dance. Some Indian agents and military officials viewed it as a harmless diversion; others believed the tribes were gearing up for insurrection. Royer again telegrammed Washington: Indians are dancing in the snow and are wild and crazy. We need protection, and we need it now. The White House answered by sending in several thousand troops. Tipping point Indian agent James McLaughlin believed Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull was the high priest and chief instigator of the Messiah craze. He visited Sitting Bull at his cabin near the Grand River and asked him to stop the absurd craze. Sitting Bull refused. My great grandfather knew that his ghost dance was not a Lakota sacred ceremony. But he had to give his hope to his people, so he allowed them to do this, LaPointe said. Sitting Bull decided to violate a travel ban and go to Pine Ridge to confer with Chief Red Cloud about easing tensions. McLaughlin sent tribal police to arrest Sitting Bull on December 16. In the melee that ensued, Sitting Bull was shot dead. A massacre Sitting Bulls half-brother Hupah Gleska, more commonly known as Si Tanka ("Big Foot"), leader of the Miniconjou Lakota, was at the time camped at the Cheyenne River Agency, 160 kilometers to the north. He thought the government was going to come after him, said Michael He Crow, an Oglala Lakota and descendant of Big Foot. He felt that he was going to be the next one to die because he had a lot of influence among the people there. Big Foot and several hundred followers set out for Pine Ridge, but the Army intercepted them and forced them to camp at the tiny village of Wounded Knee. On December 29, the Army ordered the Lakota to disarm. "The men and women were separated," said He Crow. "Most of the men were sitting in a council circle and were the first ones killed. And the ones running were mostly women." What happened to spark the massacre that followed? Some say it was when the medicine man, Yellow Bird, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it up into the air. He was praying and crying, a Hohwoju Lakota survivor named Alice Ghost Horse/Kills the Enemy/War Bonnet would later tell her son. He was saying to the eagles that he wanted to die instead of his people. He picked up some dirt from the fireplace and threw it in the air and said this is the way he wanted to go back to dust. Others tell a different story. When they were taking the guns away from them, there was a man that was deaf, He Crow said. They were trying to tell him to put his gun in the middle of the pile, but he held on to the gun and told them, This is the only thing I have to keep food on the table and stay alive. And you're taking this away from me? The gun went off as officers tried to wrestle it away, said He Crow. And thats when the Army began firing revolving cannons and rifles. It was chaos, Violet Catches, a Hohwoju Lakota from the Cheyenne River Reservation, said. Her grandfather Leon Holy, then around 12, was one of five children who survived the massacre. As many as 300 Lakota men, women and children died that day; some who were tracked as far as 3 kilometers from the site. Official accounts say the massacre took 20 minutes, but Ghost Horse/Kills the Enemy/War Bonnet said the shooting didnt stop until after sunset. They would be buried in a mass pit several days later, but not before they were picked clean of their weapons and belongings, including the ghost shirts on their backs. Authorities in Somalia say they have seized a weapons cache allegedly buried by al-Shabab militants at a house in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, during a joint operation. A statement from the countrys National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, said Saturday that a joint elite team from Somalia's Intelligence Agency and Mogadishu regional police carried out an operation in the capital, Mogadishu, on Friday that led to the seizure of weapons allegedly buried by al-Shabab militants. The brief statement did not give further details of the seized weapons but did say that during the operation, security forces arrested a suspected al-Shabab member from the raided house in the Dharkenley district and that an investigation is underway. An official with NISA, however, told VOA on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the operation, that the seized content included improvised firearms, bombs, rounds of ammunition, and other explosives. The security forces raid Friday night on a house in Mogadishu is part of an ongoing government campaign to defeat al-Shabab and prevent terrorist attacks they carry out across the country. On Friday, the deputy mayor of Mogadishu for security and politics, Mohamed Ahmed Diriye Yabooh, said the city will see relentless operations by security forces, including a house-to-house search for al-Shabab members hiding among civilians. "The people of Mogadishu should know that the security forces will begin operations in which they would search every house in the city so that the Khawariij, [renegades] who are attempting to live among us will no longer be able to do so," said Mohamed Ahmed Diriye. The deputy mayors statement comes just days after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appealed to Somali citizens to help his government flush out members of the al-Shabab extremist group he described as "bedbugs." For the past several months, security experts and community leaders in Mogadishu have been calling on government security agencies to step up their operations in the capital to avert what they called pending al-Shabab terror attacks. The Somali president declared a total war against the al-Qaida-linked militants shortly after being elected last year. Working with local clan fighters, the government has claimed multiple military victories against al-Shabab in the past six months, retaking towns and villages in Hirshabelle state that had been controlled for years by the militants. In those military operations supported by its international partners, the government claimed about 2,000 al-Shabab fighters were killed. VOA could not independently verify the governments claimed death toll. Meanwhile, al-Shabab has continued its attacks since Mohamud was elected president. It carried out two attacks a week ago on government forces in Somalias central region of Hiran over two days, killing more than 43 people, including senior military officers. A twin car bombing in Mogadishu last October killed at least 120 people. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday authorized adding former President Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation into who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation's capital, as part of a broader crackdown to hold responsible parties to account. According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-general's office, which cited a video that Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts argued earlier Friday that although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it. Legal analysts consulted by The Associated Press said investigating Bolsonaro was overdue and justified. Bolsonaro's positioning, in general, is being investigated as an incitement method. The fact that the video was published after the attacks doesn't mean he wasn't involved previously in inciting the acts, said Georges Abboud, a constitutional law professor at Sao Paulo's Pontifical Catholic University. Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his Oct. 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded. He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the Jan. 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor, and some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa. Following the justice's decision late Friday, Bolsonaro's lawyer Frederick Wassef said in a statement that the former president vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and destruction from Jan. 8, but blamed supposed infiltrators of the protest -- something his far-right backers have also claimed. The statement also said Bolsonaro never had any relationship or participation with these spontaneous social movements. Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who summoned rioters to the capital or paid to transport them, and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur. Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's former justice minister, who became the federal district's security chief on Jan. 2, and was in the U.S. on the day of the riot. De Moraes has opened an investigation into Torres' actions, which he characterized as neglect and collusion. In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest. The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, who returned to Brazil early Saturday and was taken into custody, the Federal Police said in a statement. Torres has denied wrongdoing. Justice Minister Flavio Dino pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres' home: a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law. But the document will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events, Dino said, adding that Torres will need to inform police who drafted it. By failing to initiate a probe against the document's author or report its existence, Torres at the very least could be charged with dereliction of duty, said Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors. Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him. Dino told reporters Friday morning that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro. The federal district's former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot. Also Friday night, the popular social media accounts of several prominent right-wing figures were suspended in Brazil in response to a court order, which journalist Glenn Greenwald obtained and detailed on a live social media broadcast. The order, also issued by Justice de Moraes, was directed at six social media platforms and established a two-hour deadline to block the accounts or face fines. The accounts belong to a digital influencer, a YouTuber recently elected federal lawmaker, a podcast host in the mold of Joe Rogan, and an evangelical pastor and senator-elect, among others. Ukraines capital was hit with a series of explosions Saturday. Officials said critical infrastructure was hit in Kyiv but did not reveal what was damaged. Explosions were heard in the citys Dniprovskyi district, and fragments of a missile are reported to have fallen on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district. Also Saturday, the British Defense Ministry posted an analysis of a deployment Wednesday of at least 10 vessels of Russias Black Sea Fleet (BSF) from the Novorossiysk Naval Facility. The ministry posted on Twitter, Given the type and number of vessels putting to sea at the same time, the activity is likely a fleet dispersal in response to a specific threat to Novorossiysk that Russia believes it has identified. It is unlikely that the deployment signifies preparation of unusual maritime-launched cruise-missile strikes, the post said. It is highly unlikely that the fleet is preparing for amphibious assault operations. The BSF largely remains fixed by perceived threats from Ukraine, and continues to prioritize force protection over offensive or patrol operations. The fate of Soledar in Ukraines Donbas region is hanging in the balance as Russia claimed Friday that its forces had seized the salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine and Ukraine saying the fighting continues. If Moscows claims bear out, it would be Russias first big battlefield gain after multiple military setbacks. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraines eastern military command, told Reuters that Soledar had not yet been captured. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the situation in the town, which has become one of the bloodiest battlegrounds of the entire war, now in its 11th month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Friday that fighting continued in the town as well as in other parts of Ukraines eastern Donetsk region. The tough battle for Donetsk continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our state continues, he said. CNN was also reporting Friday that units of the Ukrainian military insisted the battle is ongoing. Local battles continue in the city, the 46th Airmobile Brigade said Friday on Telegram. Orcs [Russians] are pressing from the outskirts to the center. Apparently, they are trying to bring down to the center those of our units who did not have time to leave the city. You will not succeed, Russians. Ukrainian officials said Thursday more than 500 civilians were trapped inside Soledar, including 15 children. If Soledars capture is achieved, military experts say it would allow Russian forces, and the mercenary Wagner Group helming the operation, to more readily target nearby Bakhmut. The fighting in the area reportedly also has spurred infighting between Russias defense establishment and the Wagners multimillionaire leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to Reuters, he has criticized the failings of the regular Russian army, and he issued a premature claim earlier this week that Soledar had already fallen. Prigozhin has also complained that Russias Defense Ministry has not given the Wagner Group credit for its fight in Soledar. On Friday evening, the ministry changed course and issued a statement acknowledging the groups role. "As for the direct storming of Soledar's city quarters occupied by the armed forces of Ukraine, this combat task was successfully accomplished by the courageous and selfless actions of volunteers from the Wagner assault detachments," Russias Defense Ministry said. The cracks within the Russian military command have widened after a reshuffle in military leadership earlier this week, when Russias Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov was placed in direct charge of Russias forces in Ukraine. Some analysts said the move was a slapping down of Prigozhin, while also lining up Gerasimov as the fall guy if the war continues to go badly for Russia. Within Russia, victory in Soledar could boost the power of ultra-nationalist Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group of fighters-for-hire, including convicts recruited from prison with promises of pardons, has focused on the fight in that region. Zelenskyy remarked Friday during his nightly address on how Russias invasion of Ukraine, now on its 324th day, reportedly is eroding the Russian military establishment. They are already gnawing among themselves over who should be credited with some tactical advance. It's a clear signal of failure for the enemy. And it's another incentive for all of us to put more pressure on the occupier and to inflict heavier losses on the enemy, he said. A phone conversation Friday between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba centered on continuing robust security and economic assistance before the February anniversary of Russias unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine and beyond. The top U.S. diplomat emphasized the United States enduring and unflinching support for Ukraine, as underscored by recent provisions of advanced air defense equipment and armored vehicles from U.S. inventories. Finland has joined Poland in saying it could send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a Western coalition apparently being assembled to supply them. France also is hoping to deliver AMX 10-RC light-combat tanks to Ukraine in two months' time, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. A Russian foreign ministry official said Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine on the side of Russia. Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine in February 2022, but the border area is now heavily flooded making an imminent attack from there unlikely. Ukraines central security agency announced Friday that it is holding counter-sabotage exercises along a section of the Ukrainian border with Belarus. Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and The Associated Press. The Biden administration is nearing deals with two Pacific Island nations to extend ties that are considered critical to maintaining balance in the U.S.-China rivalry for influence in a region where the Chinese are rapidly expanding their economic, diplomatic and military clout. This week, the U.S. signed memorandums of understanding with the Marshall Islands and Palau that administration officials hope will pave the way for the quick completion of broader agreements that will govern the islands' relations with Washington for the next two decades. Those ties grant the U.S. unique military and other security rights on the islands in return for substantial aid. The administration believes that extending those so-called Compacts of Free Association agreements will be key to efforts to retain American power and blunt Chinese assertiveness throughout the Indo-Pacific. The memorandums signed this week lay out the amounts of money that the federal government will provide to the Marshall Islands and Palau if their compacts are successfully renegotiated. Negotiations on a similar memorandum with a third compact country, Micronesia, are ongoing. The current 20-year compacts with the Marshall Islands and Micronesia expire this year; the current compact with Palau expires in 2024 but administration officials said they believe all three can be renewed and signed by mid- to late-spring. Officials would not discuss specifics of the amounts of money involved because the deals arent yet legally binding and must still be reviewed and approved by Congress as part of the budget process. A Micronesian news outlet, Marianas Variety, reported Thursday that the Marshall Islands will receive $700 million over four years under the memorandum that it signed. But that amount would cover only one-fifth of a 20-year compact extension and does not include the amount Palau would receive. Joe Yun, Biden's special presidential envoy for compact negotiations, said the amounts will be far greater than what the U.S. had provided in the past. Islanders have long complained that the previous compacts they signed did not adequately address their needs or long-term environmental and health issues caused by U.S. nuclear testing in the 1950s and '60s. Lawmakers had expressed concern dating back to 2021 that the administration was not giving enough attention to the matter. Yun, who signed the memorandums with representatives of the Marshalls and Palau on Tuesday and Wednesday in Los Angeles, said the Marshall Islands would be compensated for such damage and would be given control over how that money is spent. Yun said it would pay nuclear-affected communities' health, welfare and development and noted that the U.S. had committed to building a new hospital as well as a museum in the Marshalls to preserve the memory and legacy of their role, notably in the Pacific theater during WWII. This week's signings clear the way for individual federal agencies including the Postal Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service to negotiate their own agreements with the Marshalls and Palau, which will then become part of the broader compacts. Along with the federal money, those agencies provide their services to the islands. In return, the U.S. is given unique military and national security basing rights and privileges in an area where China is increasingly flexing its muscles. Yun said China did not come up specifically in the negotiations, but it was a major element in all sides' discussions. The threat from China is unstated but there is no question that China is a factor, Yun said. Not only does China have a large and growing economic presence in the region, but the Marshall Islands and Palau both recognize Taiwan diplomatically. They are coming under Chinese pressure, he said. China has steadily poached allies from Taiwan in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands in 2019. The U.S. announced plans last year to reopen an embassy in the Solomon Islands, which has signed a security agreement with China. Since World War II, the U.S. has treated the Marshall Islands, along with Micronesia and Palau, much like territories. On the Marshall Islands, the U.S. has developed military, intelligence and aerospace facilities in a region where China is particularly active. In turn, U.S. money and jobs have benefited the islands economy. And many islanders have taken advantage of their ability to live and work in the U.S., moving in the thousands to Arkansas, Guam, Hawaii, Oregon and Oklahoma. Alou Diallo says he was drinking tea with his family one morning last month when groups of white soldiers invaded his village in central Mali, setting fire to houses and gunning down people suspected of being Islamic extremists. He scrambled to safety in the bush, but his son was shot and wounded while fleeing, then was finished off as he lay on the ground. I watched my 16-year-old son die, Diallo told The Associated Press in Mali's capital, Bamako, where he lives in a makeshift camp for displaced people. As he recounted that awful Saturday in his village of Bamguel, the 47-year-old former cattle breeder made no attempt to hide the anger toward the troops, which he believed to be Russian mercenaries, who turned his world upside down. I really want peace to return and things to go back to normal, he said. "Here in Bamako, I live a life I didnt choose. Its been more than a year since hundreds of fighters from the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian military contractor, began working alongside Malis armed forces to try to stem a decadelong insurgency by Islamic extremists in the West African country, Western officials say. But since the mercenaries arrived, diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say indiscriminate violence against civilians has grown, the extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have only gotten stronger, and theres concern the Russian presence will further destabilize the already-troubled region. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared with about 500 in the previous 12 months, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nongovernmental organization. At least a third of those deaths recorded last year were from attacks involving the Wagner Group, according to the data compiled by ACLED. They are killing civilians, and by their very presence, giving Malian security forces a green light to act on their worst inclinations, said Michael Shurkin, senior fellow at Atlantic Council and director of global programs at the consultancy group 14 North Strategies. Military contractors from Wagner, which was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been bolstering Moscow's forces during its invasion of Ukraine. But experts say they also operate in a handful of African countries. Ever since Mali's military seized power in two coups starting in 2020, a junta led by Col. Assimi Goita has had tense relations with the international community. France sent troops to Mali in 2013 to help its former colony drive Islamic militants from northern areas of the country but withdrew them in August as relations frayed and anti-French sentiment grew in the population. The West says Mali is increasingly looking to Moscow for security, although the junta says it has only invited in military trainers. Alassane Maiga, head of communications for the junta, insisted that Wagner was not operating in the country. Asked about the attacks on civilians, Maiga said Malis government protects its citizens and their property. The armys protection and security missions are carried out with respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, he said. The Wagner Group did not respond to requests for comment. At a U.N. Security Council debate Tuesday, Russias deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva rejected attempts from abroad to besmirch Russian assistance to Mali, where Moscow has a bilateral agreement to assist the transitional government. She did not mention the Wagner Group. Up to 1,000 mercenaries have been deployed and the Wagner Group is being paid nearly $11 million a month to provide security and training, according to a report by the U.S. Military Academys Combating Terrorism Center, which studies extremist violence. The report said Wagners forces are struggling to make significant gains, with jihadi violence increasing. During the rainy season between June and September when fighting usually subsides, there were over 90 attacks against civilians and the military by an al-Qaida linked extremist group, compared with six in the same period a year earlier, it said, and an August assault on a barracks by an Islamic State-linked group killed at least 42 Malian soldiers. In the bloodiest attack, Human Rights Watch said Malis army and foreign troops suspected to be Russian rounded up and killed an estimated 300 men in the town of Moura in March. Some were believed to be Islamic extremists, but most were civilians. The investigation cited 27 people, including witnesses, traders, community leaders, diplomats and security analysts. Malis Defense Ministry reported a similar incident at the time but said it had killed 203 terrorists and arrested 51 others. There are broad reports of human rights abuses across the region where they are working, U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said of the Wagner mercenaries. And we worry that these forces are not interested in the safety and security of the people of Mali but, instead, are interested in enriching themselves and strip-mining the country and are making the terrorism situation worse. Samuel Ramani, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank, said Russia is not very credible at counterterrorism in Africa. What weve seen repeatedly is that Russia and the Wagner Group forces are much better at strengthening the hold of authoritarian regimes in power than actually combating rebels and terrorist groups, Ramani said, citing their limited knowledge of the terrain, strained relationships with low-ranking officers and a rigid command and control structure. Many Malians accuse the military and the white soldiers working with them of arbitrary arrests of civilians herding cattle, farming or going to market. Most of them are ethnic Fulani who are increasingly targeted by security forces suspecting them of supporting the Islamic militants. Rights groups say these alleged abuses aid the extremists, who capitalize on public grievances for use as a recruiting tool. A 29-year-old cattle herder named Hamidou said he was arrested at his home in Douentza village in central Mali with two other people in November and accused of being an Islamic militant. He was locked in a room where he was bound, beaten and interrogated by white soldiers. We were severely beaten daily. We didnt think wed survive, said Hamidou, who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisal, adding that most of those detained were ethnic Fulani, like him. From the day Wagner came to Mali until today, arbitrary arrests and killings of Fulani civilians have been increasing tremendously. The AP was unable to verify his account independently but a human rights researcher who also asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal said he saw the scars on Hamidous back and forehead after his release. Thousands of United Nations peacekeeping troops have been in Mali for nearly a decade to protect civilians from violence, but Malis government has constrained their ability to operate, and countries such as Benin, Germany, Sweden, Ivory Coast and the United Kingdom have announced troop withdrawals, according to the International Crisis Group. Nuland, the U.S. diplomat, said the Wagner Group has encouraged the junta to deny the peacekeepers access to areas where it has a mandate to investigate abuses. At least one administrator at the Virginia school where a 6-year-old boy shot a teacher last week was aware the boy might have had a gun, but no weapon was found when the boy's backpack was searched before the shooting, school officials said Friday. Superintendent George Parker told parents at Richneck Elementary School during a virtual meeting Thursday that a school administrator learned the boy might have had a gun, according to Michelle Price, a spokesperson for Newport News Public Schools. Virginia's WAVY-TV first reported the information. The administrator has not been identified, nor is it clear how the person learned the boy might have had a gun. Once alerted, school officials searched the boy's backpack but did not find the gun. Why the gun was not ultimately found at the time has not been explained. The shooting took place about 2-1/2 hours after the boy's backpack was searched. Teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot a week ago by the young student. Police hailed the teacher as a hero earlier this week for managing to evacuate students from her classroom even after she had been shot. Police said Friday that Zwerner's last known condition was stable. The boy who shot Zwerner was in the custody of the Newport News Department of Human Services, police said. Police said the investigation was continuing and that once it was complete, they would present the findings to the commonwealth's attorney in Newport News, who would make any decision regarding possible charges against the boy's mother. The mother legally purchased the 9 mm Taurus handgun, police have said, but could face misdemeanor charges if it's found she did not properly secure the weapon in her home. The boy took the handgun from his home, placed it in his backpack and removed it while Zwerner was teaching class, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said earlier this week. The boy pointed the gun at the teacher and fired once. Zwerner was shot through the hand and into the chest. After the shot, another woman who works at the school rushed into the classroom and held the boy down while Zwerner escorted the estimated 16 to 20 students out, Drew said. When the police arrived, they found the gun on the floor. Parker previously told reporters the school was unprepared for a 6-year-old bringing a gun to school and firing it, saying this marked only the third time since 1970 that a child age 6 or younger had discharged a weapon at a U.S. school. The Newport News school board announced Thursday that metal detectors would be installed in every school in the city following the shooting. Police in Thailand said they have detained three South Korean nationals for overstaying their visas and will send them home. Thai police received a request from the Police Consulate of the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok to extradite the three men. The South Koreans are wanted in their homeland on fraud charges, Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat Sajjapan, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told the Bangkok Post on Friday. The detained South Koreans are believed to have worked in the textile industry in South Korea. They were charged with fraud before fleeing to Thailand on tourist visas to avoid prosecution. One of the trio was arrested in early December for overstaying his visa. His case is being processed in court. The other two entered Thailand on July 25 and August 3 respectively, and their tourist visas expired at the end of October. Police detained the two on January 10. Overstaying for 90 days or more is a serious offense in Thailand, where offending tourists face deportation or being banned from reentering the Southeast Asian country. Travelers from South Korean currently enjoy a 90-day visa exemption upon entering Thailand. Thailand received 11 million foreign visitors last year, making its tourism industry among the fastest to recover in Southeast Asia following the pandemic. The Thai government is targeting 25 million foreign arrivals this year. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share The one part of Speaker Vote Week that received rave reviews was C-SPANs wall-to-wall coverage, with cameras showing live scenes of lawmakers interacting on the House floor. Normally, when the House is in session it controls the cameras that feed into C-SPAN and other news outlets. But without a speaker in place to set House rules, C-SPANs cameras were able to roam, capturing all kinds of interesting and entertaining activity. Things reverted to normal this week, with the House-run cameras firmly fixed on whoever was speaking along with the occasional wide shot of the chamber during votes. But there is some interest in changing this. Five Democrats have proposed allowing C-SPAN to control its own feed of the House. Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz whose heated argument with Kevin McCarthy and almost-altercation with Alabama Republican Mike Rogers during the speaker vote was captured by the nonprofit cable network also supports the idea. As someone who watches several orders of magnitude more House and Senate proceedings than the average US citizen, Im not against allowing C-SPAN free range. It was interesting last week to see the expressions on McCarthys face and to observe Democrats as spectators of the GOP drama. Advertisement C-SPAN cameras also allowed us to see the newly elected, truth-impaired congressman George Santos sitting isolated at the beginning of the week and then trying to interact with his fellow Republicans before finally seeming to make a friend of Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. And most of all, viewers got to see first-hand some of the drama and arm-twisting over the five days it took to elect a speaker. But I wont be surprised if the majority of Republicans knock down the C-SPAN proposal, just as Democrats have done whenever it was their decision. And I cant say Ill blame them. We wouldnt be losing much to have the House cameras focused on the podium. Most of the time, roving cameras would reveal little beyond a handful of representatives engaging in debate in the front of the chamber while most seats on the floor remain empty. Advertisement That would look bad for the House. But it would be worse if members felt compelled because of the cameras to come to the floor just to listen to each other talk. As Woodrow Wilson wrote (when he was a political scientist, and before he became a terrible president), Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work. Thats still true today. Modern political scientists would add to committee rooms what takes place in the offices of members and party leaders. That is where the real work of legislating and oversight happens. Congressional representation also requires hours and hours of conversations with advocacy groups and individual voters in both Washington and in countless meetings in home districts. Ever since televised coverage of Congress started (in 1979 for the House, the year C-SPAN was created, and in 1986 for the Senate) there has been concern that politicians playing to the cameras would change how Congress operated, and not for the better. For the most part, those fears have proved to be overblown. The main change (other than better grooming among politicians) has been that a series of House lawmakers, from Newt Gingrich in the early days of C-SPAN to former Representative Louie Gohmert more recently, have made names for themselves by giving drawn-out speeches to empty House chambers.(1) Advertisement That said, there are already more than enough incentives for members of the House to be show horses rather than workhorses. And giving speeches at least has some value even when the audience is small. But encouraging members of Congress to engage in attention-grabbing antics while camping out on the House floor isnt in the best interest of democracy. There are other risks. Will members of both parties be reluctant to even casually chat with lawmakers from the other party for fear they would have to explain it to their supporters back home? Will some viewers see the empty chamber as evidence that lazy politicians are avoiding their responsibilities? On balance, I would still prefer to invite the cameras in, and let the chips fall where they may. But Im not a party leader responsible for having members of my conference make a good impression. I expect McCarthy, like past speakers of both parties, to leave things as they are. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: Republicans Are Finally Breaking Out of the Fox News Bubble: Joshua Green The Document That Separates Biden and Trump: Jonathan Bernstein Republicans in Congress Have an Ethics Problem: Julianna Goldman (1) Gingrich used those speeches, including an episode in which Speaker Tip ONeill ordered the House cameras to reveal that Gingrich was speaking to an empty chamber, to get attention that helped him eventually lead the House Republicans. Gohmert was less successful, with his House career ending in an also-ran attempt to defeat Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a 2022 primary. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Peru, a country thats used to political turmoil, has seen its worst outbreak of violence in years following the ouster and arrest of leftist President Pedro Castillo. Over the next five weeks, 40 of the protesters seeking his reinstatement were killed and one policeman burned to death. Behind the crisis lie both a deep urban-rural divide and a fragmented political system in which a string of presidents have faced impeachment, jail time for corruption or both. Many of the indigenous groups now blocking roads and seeking to take over airports saw Castillo as a rare voice speaking on their behalf. 1. What happened to Castillo? A politically inexperienced former teacher representing a small radical-left party, Peru Libre, Castillo narrowly scraped into office in elections in 2021. In his short time in office, he was hobbled by his own missteps and stiff opposition from a congress dominated by conservatives. Accusations of corruption triggered two failed impeachment votes. On Dec. 7, just before a third impeachment trial was to begin, Castillo ordered Perus congress dissolved and said he would rule by decree for nine months before convening an assembly to write a new constitution. The reaction was swift: the police and the military refused to obey Castillos decision, most of his cabinet immediately quit, the constitutional court called his announcement a coup, the number of lawmakers backing his impeachment soared and he was voted out office within hours. Castillo was arrested as he tried to flee to the Mexican embassy. Advertisement 2. Who took over? Castillos vice president, Dina Boluarte, a lawyer also elected on Peru Libres ticket, was sworn in the same afternoon to become Perus first female president. While Castillo had governed with help at times from the center and more moderate left, Boluarte has found backing within the fragmented right-wing parties that together hold a majority in congress. 3. How did the protests start? Unrest began almost as soon as Castillo was deposed, with trucks being used to block highways. The protests have been centered in Andean cities in the Peruvian south, with particularly violent clashes in Ayacucho and Juliaca. Their airports, as well as those in the larger cities of Cuzco and Arequipa, have been repeatedly closed due to demonstrators seeking to take them over. The crowds were united in demanding Boluartes resignation but split over whether they wanted Castillo reinstated or new elections. Advertisement 4. What was the response? Boluarte declared a nationwide state of emergency in Peru in December, suspending some civil liberties such as the right to assembly. She sent the military in to try to quash protests. The result has been at least 40 deaths, including 17 killed in a single protest in Juliaca on Jan. 9. Perus attorney general has opened an investigation into the actions of Boluarte and the ministers in charge of law enforcement for potential charges of genocide and homicide. Boluarte has rebuffed calls to resign, saying that would not solve anything: The next in line for the presidency is the head of congress, Jose Williams Zapata, a former head of Perus armed forces and a member of the right-wing party Avanza Pais. His ascension would likely keep the protests afloat. 5. What has the legislature done? Advertisement It agreed to Boluartes request to move general elections up from 2026 to 2024. Lawmakers also confirmed Boluartes cabinet, a key test for any fledgling administration, which gives her some breathing room to govern in the short term, despite the violent strife. The earlier election date, however, has not been enough to appease protesters in Perus impoverished rural south, where Castillo had his strongest backing. Many there approve of Castillos attempt to dissolve congress and want both Boluarte and the legislature out as soon as possible. 6. Is political consensus possible in Peru? If it is, it wouldnt be easy to achieve, based on recent trends. Boluarte is Perus fifth president in less than three years. Two of those presidents were forced out through impeachment while a third resigned while facing massive protests. It has been a while since an elected president finished his term in Peru. The last one was Ollanta Humala, who governed between 2011 and 2016. Congress is also not a beacon of stability. Its website currently lists 14 different blocs in the unicameral body of 130 lawmakers, including one bloc made up of lawmakers that are not aligned with any party. Creating a majority means wrangling multiple small blocs together, generally briefly. Advertisement 7. What will happen to Castillo? Castillo has been put in pre-trial detention for 18 months while prosecutors investigate him for allegedly mounting a rebellion, among other things, charges he denies. Spending time behind bars is not unusual for Peruvian presidents. Since 1985, all six Peruvian presidents who were elected through a popular vote in that time period are either currently in jail, have spent some time in jail or have faced an arrest warrant. In fact, Castillo is currently detained in the same facility as former President Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced for corruption and human rights violations. 8. How divided is Peru on these events? A December poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, a think tank, showed that only 27% of Peruvians were in agreement over Boluarte taking over as president. Business confidence, however, has soared according to monthly polls carried out by the central bank. Boluarte has appointed a cabinet with social conservatives and moderate technocrats, angering the left, and has emphasized her displeasure with the economic costs of protests, which has particularly affected agribusiness and mining. Advertisement 9. Whats behind the strife? The unrest also underscores Perus significant rural-urban divide. While Lima, the capital, has seen some protests they have been centered in the rural Andes, Perus poorest region overall, where poverty rates hit 44% in 2021, according to the countrys statistics agency. That is twice as high as the rate in the urban coast, which includes Lima. Peru is the worlds No. 2 copper producer, with its mineral wealth concentrated in the Andes. But the country continues to struggle to transform mining taxes into significant progress for its nearby rural populations. The pandemic also undid some progress and 2022 saw a spike in protests against mining operations centered on complaints about wealth redistribution. 10. What has been the reaction in Latin America? Four countries led by left-wing presidents Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico publicly backed Castillo. Mexico went as far as granting asylum to Castillos wife and children, prompting Peru to declare their ambassador as persona non grata. Castillos wife, Lilia Paredes, is the subject of a criminal investigation. More recently, Boluarte banned former Bolivian President Evo Morales from entering Peru, alleging that he was behind some of the unrest against her administration. The Conservative-led governments of Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Uruguay, along with left-leaning Chile and the US, recognize the Boluarte administration. Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva both wished Boluarte luck and regretted Castillos ouster. --With assistance from Stephan Kueffner. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share According to news reports, the six-year-old accused of shooting a teacher at a Newport News, Virginia, elementary school is unlikely to be charged with a crime. That decision highlights something thats long been true: We just dont know what to do about violence by small children. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The existence of violence by children, though rare, inverts the simplest fact of life: We adults are here to protect children. We are not supposed to have to protect people from children. Every act of violence committed by a small child is part tragedy, part horror. And looking at other incidents involving children under the age of 10, criminal prosecution has almost always been judged inappropriate. (One note: In what follows, I am discussing only child killers whose victims died, unlike the teacher shot in Newport News, who is reported to be recovering.) Lets begin in 1866, when British papers reported the sad case of a five-and-a-half-year-old British boy named Samuel Case whose sister died after he struck her head with a brick. No charges were filed. The authorities deferred instead to the common-law principle holding that a child under seven cannot be criminally responsible. Advertisement Sometimes, when a very young child commits a violent act, we hold one of the adults around him responsible. In 1993, six-year-old Dedrick Owens of Morris Township, Michigan, shot and killed a classmate. Although Michigan, like Virginia, specifies no minimum age of criminal responsibility, Owens was not charged. The uncle who owned the gun pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to prison. As far as Ive been able to determine, only one child as young as the accused Newport News shooter has ever been actually tried for murder. In May of 1929, six-year-old Carl Newton Mahan of Paintsville, Kentucky, used his fathers gun to shoot and kill a playmate after an argument reportedly over a bit of iron both boys hoped to sell to a junk dealer. Within days of the crime, a local jury convicted the child of manslaughter. The nation was horrified. When the judge sentenced Mahan to 15 years in the reformatory (to discipline his vicious tendencies), an outcry ensued. Critics argued that the parents, not the child, should be on trial. Clarence Darrow declared: Theyll be trying cats, dogs and pigs next. Others compared the outcome to earlier eras when small children had been hanged. The boys sentence was swiftly overturned on appeal. Advertisement Mahans case, like nearly every one on record, involves a child who kills another: a sibling, a classmate, a friend. But sometimes the victims are adults. The most notorious recent example is the case of Christian Romero, the 8-year-old Arizona boy who in 2008 was accused of using a .22 caliber rifle to kill his father and another man, a family friend. In exchange for the prosecutions promise to drop the charge of murdering his father, the boy pled guilty to negligent homicide for killing the second man. After a long debate over what should be done with the boy, he was left in the custody of his mother under intense probation and psychiatric care. For very young killers, treatment has long been seen as preferable to imprisonment. In 1925, seven-year-old Alsa Thompson confessed to having poisoned several people, including her nanny (whod died the year before) and her sisters. Psychiatrists who examined the child determined that although some of the stories were fabrications, others were likely true. One expert testified that Alsa was a menace to society. Eventually she was placed under the supervision of persons versed in the nursing of weakening minds back to health. Whats clear in sifting through these reports is that in addition to not knowing how to respond to such events, weve also long struggled to know how to prevent them. Lets circle back to Carl Mahan, the six-year-old convicted of manslaughter in Kentucky in 1929. Across the country, editors wondered what would make a child do such a thing. As if in answer, the Associated Press reported grimly that the boys family did not go to church. Or was there some malign outside influence? Even back then, people blamed growing delinquency on Hollywood, but the boys father assured reporters that Carl had never attended the picture shows. Advertisement Nowadays, our response to such crimes often tends to align with our policy preferences. The problem is too many guns. No, its the collapse of the nuclear family. No, its violent music and video games. No, its in the genes. I dont know what the answer is. But as we struggle to find one, lets remember that the horror of Newport News is nothing new and although they almost always create a huge media firestorm, such events are quite rare. Such cases captivate us and disturb us. Were horrified that a small child can kill, yet also repulsed by the idea that a small child would face trial not to mention imprisonment. Im certainly not trying to suggest that violence by children is a phenomenon we have no choice but to accept. But lets recognize that weve been seeking an answer for a long, long time.(1) Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: One Simple Way to Reduce Gun Violence Among Children: Francis Wilkinson The US Is Making Progress on Gun Safety. Keep Pushing: The Editors Can Mass Shootings Be Foiled?: Sarah Green Carmichael (1) Although many observers have recently discussed the case of a six-year-old named Retta McCabe who supposedly committed an 1897 murder in Troy, New York, Im skeptical (for reasons too detailed to get into here) that the crime took place. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Yale University, he is author, most recently, of Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down Americas Most Powerful Mobster. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky by his decree put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on energy security. Corresponding document No. 18/2023 was published on the website of the head of state on Friday. "In accordance with Article 107 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I decree to put into effect the decision of the NSDC of Ukraine dated January 13, 2023 On the status of implementation of the decisions of the NSDC of Ukraine on energy security and urgent measures to ensure the operation of the national economy during the autumn-winter period of 2022/23 in a special period," the document says. The said decision of the NSDC of Ukraine is also published on the President's website, however, most of its paragraphs contain classified information for official use, as evidenced by the corresponding stamp. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Minorities occupy a special place in liberal democracies, their rights safeguarded by institutions from the tyranny of the majority. Several of the worlds leading democracies are now grappling with quite a different phenomenon, however what might be called a tyranny of the minority. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In the United States, not only did an incompetent demagogue become president, he emboldened fringe figures who now control the Republican Party and hold hostage one chamber of Congress. The governing Conservative Party in Britain, likewise, is being pushed further and further to the right by a minority of ideologues on Europe in particular. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new government in Israel cannot function without support from far-right ministers who would have been dismissed as dangerous fanatics just a few years ago. These minorities views diverge from those held by most of their fellow citizens, which tend toward the middle-of-the-road. Yet, to a greater or lesser degree, the radicals now dictate policy for their nations as a whole. Advertisement Old or malfunctioning electoral rules are partly to blame. Party leaders or candidates in the US and the UK are chosen by a small subset of voters, often noisier and more radical than the mainstream. In the US, the archaic Electoral College gives so much power to small rural states that presidents can be elected without winning a majority of the popular vote. Also, in de facto two-party states, the main parties used to act as sponges, absorbing extremists and rendering them relatively harmless. This no longer appears to be the case in the US and the UK, where the authority of moderate elites has been diminished. Israeli politics are hampered by a complicated system of proportional representation, which can mean and now does mean that a large conservative bloc such as Netanyahus Likud cannot govern without support from smaller extremist parties. The main problem, however, is a paradoxical combination of too much and too little ideology. Ideologues in the US, Israel and the UK have come to the fore by making deals with leaders who dont believe in anything much. Donald Trump may be a dangerous narcissist, for instance, but he never had any coherent political ideas apart from wanting to be president. Advertisement In the UK, Boris Johnson exploited Brexit fanatics to become prime minister, even though he was an agnostic on that issue. It is hard to know what exactly Rep. Kevin McCarthy, an erstwhile moderate, now believes, but he bent a knee to the most radical fringe of the GOP just to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. Netanyahu, too, was so eager to become prime minister again that he handed important posts to extremists. Major political parties once stood for clear political and economic interests. Progressive parties, whose leaders often emerged from trade unions, represented the interests of industrial workers. Conservatives stood for big business and the settled middle class. One side wanted a larger role for the state, the other side a smaller one. Cultural issues, to do with race or sexuality, played a relatively minor role, to be paid lip service at best. Since the end of the Cold War, however, progressives and conservatives have largely converged in a broad consensus about globalization, international finance and liberal free trade. As the old ideological battles over economic interests became increasingly irrelevant, fights over cultural, national and racial identities began to take their place. Advertisement Instead of clear interests, politics now appeal more and more to peoples emotions, about what it means to be British (or English), or American, or Jewish, or White, gay, transgender or Black. When those emotions involve existential fears of losing status to outsiders, or immigrants, or ethnic and religious minorities, extremist appeals become much more potent. This is why former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a privileged moderate who lacked firm convictions, felt he needed to give way to Brexit fanatics, why Israel now has a national security minister who was once convicted of inciting racial hatred, and why the Republican Party is still in thrall to a man whose hardcore followers believe in international conspiracies involving socialist pedophiles who want to replace the White population in America with criminal immigrants. It is difficult to see how such radicalism can be tempered in the short term. Changing the way party leaders and presidents are elected would be a start, but there is little prospect of that happening. A return to focusing on economic interests rather than culture, race and identity would certainly help. The electoral success of Democratic candidates in the midterm elections who paid special attention to local economic problems bore this out. Advertisement The Republicans at this moment appear to have little to say apart from stirring up nationalist feelings and fighting against wokeism, which is all the more reason for Democrats to temper their own tendency towards identitarianism. Britain will have to wait for a possible change of government in two years time to take the sting out Tory extremism. It is hard to see any solution to the existential rages in Israel, which is precisely why the lunatics have taken over the asylum. The rise of the radicals did not take place overnight; neither will their fall. More From Bloomberg Opinion: US House Republicans Have an Ethics Problem: Julianna Goldman First the US, Then Brazil. Where Next?: Eduardo Porter US and British Conservatives Are Frozen in Failure: Clive Crook This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Ian Buruma is professor of human rights at Bard College. His latest book is The Churchill Complex. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Silicon Valley is Americas innovation capital, but lenient remote work policies and a spate of layoffs have fueled an exodus of workers and cleared the way for rising investment in other tech hubs, especially Austin and Miami. Three residents of Kherson region were injured as a result of shelling by Russian occupiers over the past day on January 13, head of Kherson Regional Military Administration Yaroslav Yanushevych said. "Over the past day, as a result of the shelling of the Russian army, three residents of Kherson region received injuries of varying severity, there were no fatalities," Yanushevych wrote on Telegram on Saturday morning. According to him, the occupiers shelled the territory of Kherson region 66 times over the past day, including 19 times the regional center of Kherson. "Peaceful towns and villages of the region were shelled with various types of weapons: artillery, MLRS, mortars and tanks. The Russians fired at Kherson 19 times. Residential buildings were damaged by enemy shells," Yanushevych said. Waterford club and FAI Junior Cup Champions Villa FC will be looking to add to their trophy cabinet this weekend when they head to Northern Ireland in the All-Ireland Presidents Junior Cup final. Villa FC are set to face Northern Ireland's Junior Cup Champions Coalisland FC in the fixture which pits the FAI & IFA Junior Cup Champions against each other to decide the All-Ireland Junior Cup Champions. The competition, which was founded in 2018, saw Ireland's Fairview Rangers claim the title last year in an entertaining final at Tallaght Stadium against Willowbank FC after a penalty shoot-out victory. Villa FC secured the FAI Junior Cup with a 1-0 win over Pike Rovers at Turner's Cross last year and Coad admitted the title has been huge for the club. "It's definitely had a real impact on the club, the perception of the club and the interest of the club has increased, even things like the social media following has gone up so winning the competition has had a real impact," said Villa FC manager Conor Coad. "It has changed probably the mindset of teams when they face us as well. Being the Champions puts a target on your backs so teams who we face now are definitely more motivated against us to get a result. "It has meant we've had to go up a gear ourselves and the players have put in a huge effort to maintain our standards." Luckily for Coad, because of the connection the players have with the club, the vast majority of the squad has remained together. "We've been able to keep 90-95% of the squad together and we've made a couple of additions to the squad to cover a couple of injuries," Coad continued. "The squad has mainly been able to stay together which is a real positive because of the connection the players have with the club. It's a good group and the players and their families feel a real connection so it's definitely helped us in that regard." Villa FC will be missing James Kennedy for the final at the weekend who suffered a long-term ACL injury with the squad set to travel up to Armagh on Saturday for the match. Determined to add to the trophy cabinet, Coad has been able to get some information on the weekend's opposition which should help in their quest to be the first Waterford club to win the competition. "There are one or two games available but obviously, at this level, it is one of them where getting information on the opposition is quite difficult," admitted Coad. "I've been able to speak to a few contacts to get a bit of information on the team which will be helpful but look, we know it is going to be a difficult game as it's a final and we've got to be right for it. "We've trained well this week and the preparation has been good before we travel up on Saturday and we're determined to win. It's a competition and the motivation is high because we want to be the first team from Waterford to win the cup." Competition: All Ireland President's Junior Cup Final Fixture: Coalisland FC vs Villa FC (Waterford) Date: Saturday, January 14 KO: 2pm Venue: Armagh City FC, Holm Park, Armagh Kyiv: Russia has claimed that its forces captured the fiercely contested salt-mining town of Soledar in what would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of setbacks in its war in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the fight for the town continued. Moscow has painted the battles for Soledar and nearby Bakhmut as key to capturing the entire eastern region of the Donbas and also as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere. But that cuts both ways, and Ukraine has said its fierce defence of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. Ukrainian soldiers on their positions in the frontline near Soledar, Donetsk region. Credit: AP Western officials and analysts say the two towns importance after months of bloody fighting is more symbolic than strategic. Since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Moscow has prioritised taking full control of the Donbas a region made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, where it has backed a separatist insurgency since 2014. Russia has seized most of Luhansk, but about half of Donetsk remains under Ukraines control. Rio de Janeiro: Brazils Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into former president Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended in the storming of the countrys three seats of power by his supporters in Brasilia. Public figures who continue to cowardly conspire against democracy trying to establish a state of exception will be held accountable, said Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters outside the home where hes staying in a resort community near Disney World in Kissimmee, Florida, the day before the riots. Credit: Thomas Simonetti/Washington Post According to the text of his ruling, Moraes granted the request from the Prosecutor-Generals office, which cited a video Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasnt voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and the electoral authority. Prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts argued earlier that, although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot and deleted it the next day, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, if the security situation allows, Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova has said. Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, she said, but its still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come, Dzhaparova said in an interview with The Associated Press. If Zelensky does come to the U.N., it would be only his second trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. Dzhaparova also said that Ukraine would like the Assembly to adopt one of the two resolutions on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion. In his turn, Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Serhiy Kyslytsia said the General Assembly had already scheduled a high-level debate on the war on February 23, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on February 24. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the tough battle for Donbas continues. The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our country continues. Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our troops the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defense and security forces are defending the state, he said in his video address on Friday. He thanked every soldier, sergeant, officer of brigades and other army units who are bravely and staunchly performing their tasks. I thank the fighters of the Kraken unit for their decisive actions to destroy the enemy near Soledar! Thanks to the soldiers of the International Legion of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense and the Shaman unit, who are bravely defending Bakhmut! Zelensky also said. According to Zelensky, they are already gnawing in Russia among themselves over who should be credited with some tactical advance. It's a clear signal of failure for the enemy. And it's another incentive for all of us to put more pressure on the occupier and to inflict heavier losses on the enemy. The President also highlighted the employees of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. Those whose work is usually completely invisible. And about whom few people talk. But they really bring closer very important decisions of partners for Ukraine, for our defenders, Zelensky said. I thank all the personnel of the Security Service of Ukraine, whose results in the fight, in particular, against collaborators and saboteurs, society sees, he said in conclusion. By Sabina Mamadli Chief Development Officer at Hungarian Wizz Air Group Owain Jones and Azerbaijan's Digital Development and Transport Deputy Minister Rahman Hummatov discussed issues of cooperation in the field of aviation, Azernews reports. The meeting was also attended by Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Tamas Torma. The sides exchanged views on the possibility of increasing the number of Wizz Air flights to the airports of Baku and regions of Azerbaijan. Detailed information on the work carried out in the country in the field of aviation was provided. The Hungarian delegation expressed interest in increasing the number of flights to Azerbaijan. The diplomatic relations between the two nations were established on November 27, 1992. The Hungarian embassy in Azerbaijan was established in January 2009, while the embassy of Azerbaijan was opened in Hungary in September 2004. Around 50 documents have been signed between the two countries. Azerbaijan and Hungary have also had fruitful cooperation with international and regional organizations. Hungary signed a strategic partnership agreement with Azerbaijan on November 11, 2014. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Hungary amounted to $38.8 million in 2020, with export amounting to $1 million and imports to $37.7 million. In addition, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $2.5 million in January 2021. As Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its one year anniversary, the fighting continues with no end in sight, head of UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs updated the Security Council Rosemary DiCarlo said. But all wars end, and so too will this one. Ukraine, Russia, the world cannot afford for this war to continue. The Secretary-General is ready to assist the parties to end this senseless, unjustified conflict on the basis of the UN Charter and international law, DiCarlo said, speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council dedicated to the war in Ukraine. The UN Deputy Secretary General stressed that during the New Year and Christmas holidays, the Russian army continued to strike at key cities of Ukraine. And the attacks continued, despite the announcement of a possible cessation of hostilities in connection with the Orthodox Christmas. DiCarlo said that the ground fighting has intensified, especially in Donetsk region, and in areas of active hostilities, such as Bakhmut and Soledar, there are merciless battles that pose a great threat to the remaining civilians. She noted that in Bakhmut alone, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 22 killed and 72 wounded civilians since the beginning of December. The UN Deputy Secretary General added he war forced millions of people to leave their homes. She said they highly appreciate the generosity of the countries that had sheltered about 7.9 million people seeking protection in Europe, adding that they call for further efforts to ensure equal access to rights and services for refugees in national systems. According to her, an assessment is currently being carried out aimed at identifying the most important needs for the restoration of Ukraine's damaged energy infrastructure, while data collection is 90% complete. According to the UN, since February 24 last year, almost 14 million people have received assistance from more than 740 partners, including 1 million people in areas temporarily beyond the control of the government of Ukraine. DiCarlo stressed that the humanitarian response is hampered by serious access restrictions, especially in the eastern areas under Russian control. In accordance with international humanitarian law, the parties must facilitate the rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to all civilians in need. She also noted that OHCHR continues to document information about serious human rights violations. The UN Deputy Secretary General said that since February 24, OHCHR had documented more than 90 cases of war-related sexual violence, which can be divided into two categories: the majority as a method of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, mainly against men; and sexual violence related to rape, including group rape, of women and girls in areas under the control of Russia. She drew attention to the importance of bringing to justice all those responsible for human rights violations. NWS Weather Alert NOTE: This information is provided by the National Weather Service. Forecast may differ from local information provided by our own 69News Meteorologists ...ELEVATED RISK OF WILDFIRE SPREAD THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING... A combination of low relative humidity, westerly breezes, and dry fine fuels will lead to an elevated risk for fire spread with any potential fire starts Thursday afternoon and evening across eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the eastern shores of Maryland. Minimum relative humidity values this afternoon will range from 22 to 26 percent across the region. Winds will be somewhat lighter and not as gusty as the past couple of days. However, this afternoon into early evening west winds will still be sustained 8 to 12 mph, and a brief gust to 20 mph cannot be ruled out. Fine fuels in the form of dry or dead vegetation will be quite dry as well, and conducive to fire starts and fairly quick fire spread. This is particularly true in areas that have not received hardly any rainfall in the last 10 days, across much of Pennsylvania to northern and central New Jersey. Residents are urged to exercise caution if handling any potential ignition source, including machinery, cigarettes, and matches. Be sure to properly discard all smoking materials. Any dry grasses, dead leaves, and other tree litter that ignite will have the potential to spread fire quickly. For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions, and wildfire prevention and eduction, please visit your state's forestry or environmental protection website. LIMERICK TWP., Pa. - Ten days since the disappearance of Jennifer Brown, friends and neighbors are trying to keep the 43-year-old in the front of people's minds. They say they plan to go to different shopping plazas in Limerick Township Saturday and put flyers on people's cars. They tell 69 News they just want to bring Jennifer Brown home - for them, for Brown's young son, Noah, and Brown's family. "Without a doubt, we feel helpless right now, and Noah needs his mom," said Ellen Friend of Limerick Township. Friend is a close friend and neighbor of 43-year-old Brown, the Montgomery County woman who never arrived to pick up her son Jan. 3. "Until she comes home, I think everyone in the neighborhood is like, 'where is she?'" added Friend. Friday, investigators wearing plain clothes were spotted at Pioneer Crossing Landfill in Exeter Township. It's where sources tell our partner station WPVI that they were combing through trash for clues related to Brown's disappearance. Friend says they've also been spotted in their townhouse community in Limerick Township, but people there have not heard much about the case. "Obviously, they're not coming in with whatever township police, so there is definitely still some activity, which I think is good. They're not making it obvious for everyone to see," Friend said. "It just makes me think about the other case in Idaho where they kept things close to heart." Whatever officials had hopes of finding at the landfill Friend believes is a step in the right direction. "I'm remaining optimistic maybe they're looking for just pieces of information, just anything positive," said Friend. Friend says she is also keeping high hopes that Brown will be found. "I love to listen to my gut, sometimes. I don't want to listen to my gut. I want Jennifer safe and sound, and we definitely want Jennifer back home. Of course, as each day goes by, unfortunately, different 'what if' scenarios go through your head. For the sake of her son, he needs his mom. We need our normal again - whatever normal may or may not be," said Friend. It's a very tight-knit block where Brown lives. Neighbors tell 69 News they have been on edge and much more vigilant. As they, and the public, await further details from investigators, they say they are keeping an eye on each other's homes and cars. STROUDSBURG, Pa. - 69 News is learning new details from the Pennsylvania public defender who represented the Monroe County man accused of killing four Idaho college students. "I actually hung up on my office one time because I did not believe that they were telling me the truth," said Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar. LaBar was just as shocked as everyone else when the quadruple Idaho murder suspect was arrested in the Poconos. His office called back, and over the next five days, he spent four hours talking with Bryan Kohberger. "The first thing I said to him was 'Bryan, don't tell me anything about the case. I don't want to know any of the facts and circumstances,'" said LaBar. That's because LaBar was only representing Kohberger during the extradition process. "I'm obviously informing Mr. Kohberger: these are the allegations only, you're presumed innocent until proven otherwise, and that's the most important thing, because you don't want to be judged in a court of public opinion, even though you're going to be," said LaBar. He described Kohberger as calm and educated. LaBar is no longer involved, now that the 28-year-old is back in Latah County, Idaho. As for the affidavit outlining the accusations against Kohberger, LaBar said, "it certainly was a strong circumstantial case, but I believe that individually taken, the evidence could be attacked." Though he admitted, he couldn't answer why Kohberger's DNA would be on the knife sheath if he wasn't involved. "Does mental illness or mental awareness play a role in what happened here and what's going to happen moving forward?" asked 69 News Reporter Priscilla Liguori. "I haven't seen any evidence that I believe that Mr. Kohberger had any type of mental illness or disease or defect," said LaBar. Liguori said, "We've talked with people who went to Pleasant Valley with Bryan Kohberger and/or his sisters. We've talked with people who went to Northampton Community College and DeSales with him, and everyone who grew up with him, in a sense, says he came from a very nice, normal family. How are they doing?" "They understand the situation that he's alleged to have committed these murders, and they understand that there's four families suffering loss of their loved ones. They pray every day," said LaBar. "It's very difficult for them." "They believe in the process, but are you able to say if his family thinks he's guilty or not?" asked Liguori. "I actually told them not to comment on it," said LaBar. "You know, they'll let it play out, unfold in court." The victims' families have said they'd be in court throughout the proceedings. LaBar says Kohberger's family plans to attend the preliminary hearing June 26. That's where more evidence is expected to be presented, and witnesses may speak. "Obviously, the American criminal justice system isn't perfect," said LaBar. "It has its flaws, but it is the best system in the world, in my opinion, and the basis of that, the foundation of that, is the presumption of innocence and it's the Commonwealth in Pennsylvania, in Idaho, it's the prosecution's job to prove someone actually committed the crime." Hungary does not intend to provide its territory for the supply of Leopard 2 tanks by NATO countries to Ukraine, because it does not want to endanger ethnic Hungarians living in Zakarpattia region of Ukraine, head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Hungary Gergely Gulyas said at a briefing on Friday. "Regarding the issue of political voices lobbying for war, that they demand Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine, the head of the chancellery said: Hungary has a special geopolitical position and the ability to defend national interests. According to him, Hungary could supply weapons to Ukraine only through Zakarpattia, where more than one hundred thousand Hungarians still live. The head of the chancellery stressed that the government's goal is to protect Zakarpattia from war for as long as possible," the Hungarian publication Hirado says publishing a video of the briefing on its website. Gulyas also noted that the governments of each NATO member state independently decide how much they want to support Ukraine. However, if a NATO member state intervenes in the war, this, according to him, will lead to the outbreak of World War III. DUNMORE Minnijean Brown Trickey looked forward to attending Little Rock Central High School. With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down segregation in schools in 1954, Trickey could enroll in the school only 10 blocks from her home. She could walk to school with her friends, instead of attending a school on the other side of town. Though she lived in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s, her family and the Black community largely protected the 15-year-old from hatred and racism. She never expected what awaited she and eight other Black students on Sept. 3, 1957. An angry mob and the Arkansas National Guard prevented the students, called the Little Rock Nine, from entering the school. On the first day, let me tell you, everything I had ever believed about goodness, everything I had ever believed or had been taught to believe about my country, shattered, said Trickey, who spoke at Penn State Scranton on Friday as part of the campus Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. There was a mob of people who were screaming death, hatred. Speaking to more than 150 school staff, students and local residents, Trickey encouraged the audience members to learn as much as they could, appreciate complexities and not let anyone else define their comfort zones. The Little Rock Nine finally had their first day of school on Sept. 25, 1957, after President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered units of the Armys 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock and federalized the Arkansas National Guard. Trickey, now 81 and a resident of Canada, endured taunting, threats and harassment daily. Many white students became silent witnesses, wanting to help the nine Black students but afraid of retaliation. She faced suspension when she stood up for herself, dropping chili on boys after they refused to let her pass to her seat in the cafeteria. In February 1958, a girl hit Trickey in the back of the head with a purse filled with combination locks. Trickey called her white trash and was expelled. After her expulsion, students passed around cards that read, One down, eight to go. Trickey finished high school in New York City, living with social psychologists, whose work had been used in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. She went on to pursue a career committed to peacemaking, environmental issues, developing youth leadership and social justice advocacy. She served in the Clinton Administration as deputy assistant secretary for workforce diversity at the Department of the Interior and is the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. From the moment Trickey and her classmates had been met by the mob, she told herself that she would spend the rest of her life trying to ensure no one else had to endure such hatred. She called the Little Rock crisis not Black history, but American history that students need to learn about. Civil rights should be seen as human rights, she said. There is nothing more frightening than a group of people who have lost their minds, she said. People wanted to kill nine teenagers. She encouraged those in the audience to speak to others, understand their stories and fight for what is right. There is so much to know, she said, directing her comments to the students in the audience. Read as much as you can. You can do anything. Students left Fridays event feeling inspired and motivated. If no one else is going to do something, you do it yourself, Dunmore resident Raj Gandhi, 19, said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Rishi Sunak and thanked him for providing military support to the Ukrainian side. Always strong support of the UK is always impenetrable and ready for challenges. In the conversation with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, I thanked for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also sent the right signal to other partners, Zelensky said on Telegram on Saturday. Earlier, Sky news reported that the British authorities are considering sending Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, which are the main battle tanks of the British ground forces. On Wednesday, the Financial Times, citing a representative of the British government, reported that Sunak asked Defense Minister Ben Wallace to work with partners in order to resolve the issue of sending further aid to Ukraine, including tanks, as soon as possible. FT says that in this case, the United Kingdom will be the first state to supply Ukraine with modern combat tanks. British media reported on Saturday that Sunak had agreed to send Ukraine a company of tanks, and four vehicles in the near future. A tank company in the NATO armies is armed with 12 to 15 combat vehicles. Mackenzie Zibrowski has shown resilience to finish school while going through chemotherapy treatment multiple times during her schooling in Houston. And now, the Houston High School senior is set to graduate this spring and continue her education at Western Technical College in La Crosse. In first grade, Zibrowski had to miss some school after breaking both her hips and worked to get caught back up. Having two different surgeries, she was able to finish grade school on time. In fifth grade, after finding a tumor growing in her brain, she struggled to be both working on school and going through treatment. I went through chemo so it was harder to go through school, said Zibrowski. It was a challenge. I have had a couple of challenges while going to school. Then, in her last two years of high school, Zibrowski started having vision problems and doctors noticed a tumor optic nerve becoming active again. Which meant starting chemotherapy again. Right now, school hasnt been too hard but Ive been back on chemo. At first, it was harder but now its not as hard because Im taking a pill form of chemo. Which means, Im not gone from school too much, said Zibrowski. Ive had to do more work [for school] and have tried to do more than I need. But there have been challenges. Zibrowski is a part of the Houston Honor Society. But one challenge, she said, was friends and feeling like she doesnt have any. Although she has meant friends through her medical experience. Im just on that club. But having friends has been kind of hard because, I guess, people in my grade dont really want to do much with me since fifth grade, said Zibrowski. Otherwise, I have other friends that I see once in a while. They dont mind doing stuff with me because weve experienced pretty much the same stuff. It has made it easier. Zibrowksi also volunteers her time through Houston at the Houston Hollidazzle, the school summer lunch program Meet Up and Eat Up, and at the local library. I do like helping out in the community, said Zibrowski. I also, depending on the weather, like swimming, fishing, camping, and spending time with my dog. Although being in school and finishing school has been tough, Zibrowski is excited to be graduating and starting the next chapter of her education. Her plans have taken inspiration from her only struggles throughout school, she said. Two residents of the town of Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, were killed and three were injured as a result of the shelling of the town by Russian occupiers on Saturday, said non-factional MP of Ukraine Musa Magomedov. "Massive shelling of Avdiyivka. Orcs purposefully target crowded places: the city market, the area of the Lafar store and the former Rubin cinema. It is already tentatively known about two dead and three wounded," Magomedov wrote on Telegram. Three candidates are vying for two spots on the Cambria-Friesland School Board. Incumbents Tim Hendrickson and Denise A. Bancroft-Hart will be joined on the April 4 ballot by newcomer April Doucette. Denise A. Bancroft-Hart Bancroft-Hart was initially elected to the school board in 2011 and currently serves as president. She graduated from Cambria-Friesland High School, later pursuing a degree at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County. She resides in Springvale, where she and her husband raised four Cambria-Friesland graduates of their own. She began a career in payroll, bookkeeping and tax preparation at an accounting firm in 2009. Additionally, she has served as the treasurer of her township for the last 20 years. Throughout her school board career, her goals have remained consistent, she said. If re-elected, she says, she plans to continue to make decisions that reflect the wishes of the people I serve and most importantly, serve the needs of our students. I feel the school is the heart and soul of the community, and am grateful for the opportunity to make decisions that allow the school and community to continue to thrive. April Doucette While she may be a newcomer to the board, Doucette is a familiar face in the area. A Cambria-Friesland graduate, Doucette currently resides in Cambria, where she says she and her husband Cody are very involved, contributing to various clubs and events. For the past 21 years, shes worked in health care and currently holds a leadership role. Her experience in the industry has centered around patient care and insurance. School board membership, she says, is something shes spent many years considering. Ive thought about running for a board seat for a number of years; its not a decision I took lightly, she said. I feel like my time is now. If elected, her goal would be to add a fresh perspective to various topics of debate, she said. She describes herself as an out-of-the-box type of thinker, and adds that she wont shy away from asking difficult questions and sharing unpopular points of view for the betterment of those impacted by board decisions. Our school is a fundamental piece of our small community, she said. Its crucial that our board and administration make the best decisions. I want to be a part of that, collaborating for something thats important to everyone. Tim Hendrickson Tim Hendrickson did not respond to email requests for comment. He is a returning board member up for reelection. He currently resides in Cambria. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during a video call discussed with the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), former U.S. National Security Adviser, Ambassador Michael McFaul the continuation of the sanctions policy and the action plan of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions headed by them for the current year. As reported on the website of the head of the Ukrainian state on Saturday, the head of the President's Office also announced support for the initiative to hold a sanctions summit in Kyiv with the participation of representatives of partner countries, which will be a powerful signal of readiness to increase sanctions pressure. "The NSDC of Ukraine has already started applying sanctions against propagandists and we discussed the importance of introducing retaliatory restrictions by partners, in particular the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, and others. Because it looks rather strange when some famous Russians criticize the United States but own property in Miami and travel there," Yermak said. According to Yermak, the next sanctions package should include increased pressure on the financial and banking sectors of the aggressor country, as well as the introduction of sanctions against Rosatom and persons involved in the attacks on Ukraine's nuclear power plants. "I also consider it very important and will be grateful for it if we develop a special sanctions package, which will involve blocking visas for Russians. I think it will be very effective, especially if it affects all Russian military personnel involved in the war in Ukraine and members of their families," the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said. Speaking about the work plan for 2023, Yermak and McFaul agreed on the importance of using the expertise of the International Working Group in the process of drafting legislation in Congress. First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, who also participated in the call, proposed expanding the approach to the development of sanctions policy and applying restrictive measures not only to separate individuals or legal entities but also to sectors of the economy. It is, in particular, about the continuation of sanctions pressure on the financial sector, the defense industry, and the introduction of sanctions against the IT industry, whose representatives participated in cyber attacks on Ukrainian public institutions and coordinated kamikaze drone strikes on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine. Svyrydenko also emphasized the importance of closer coordination of partner countries with Ukraine in the issue of the application of sanctions and more active implementation of restrictions mirroring those implemented by the NSDC by partners. The parties agreed to discuss these and other issues during a Yermak-McFaul group video conference scheduled for next week. Lawmakers in the Missouri House of Representatives this week adopted a stricter dress code for women in the State House. The Missouri State Capitol is seen here September 16, 2022, in Jefferson City. Last weeks publication of an online interactive map by Thames Water confirms that water companies are responsible for huge and continuing levels of raw sewage pollution across the UK. Screenshot of Thames Water of online CSO Event map, January 9, 2023 [Photo: screenshot/thameswater.co.uk] It has taken decades of campaigning by environmental groups such as The Rivers Trust, Fish Legal and Surfers Against Sewage to force even this limited admission from the UKs largest water company. What to do about the pollution, though, is still being kicked into the long grass. At the current rates of underinvestment, it will take hundreds of years to upgrade the sewerage system to anything like the requirements of a modern civilised society. Thames Waters map shows information about its Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), which are supposed to act as emergency valves during periods of intense rainfall. They enable water companies to discharge millions of litres of untreated sewage and wastewater into rivers and onto beaches, which they claim would otherwise overwhelm the sewerage system and flood peoples houses. A typical Combined Sewer Overflow [Photo by Courtesy of The Rivers Trust] The map is startling. At the time of writing around one third of Thames Waters CSOs (identified by an exclamation mark) had polluted the environment within the last 48 hours and another third (double exclamation mark) were still discharging. Even among the remaining third of CSOs that have a green light, a substantial number reveal a history of pollution on further scrutiny. For continuous pollution of a watercourse the current record goes to the storm overflow in the village of Marsh Gibbon, close to the city of Oxford. Raw sewage has been discharging from it for over 500 hours since December 19. Local Windrush Against Sewage Pollution campaigner Ashley Smith told reporters, It shows the extent to which Thames Water is reliant on being able to use our rivers and streams as toilets to deal with problems caused largely by underinvestment and profiteering. Pollution from Marsh Gibbon is not a recent anomaly. As far back as 1990 the National Rivers Authority (forerunner of todays Environment Agency-EA) identified the CSO as responsible for the poor quality of local streams and one of a swathe of sites requiring investment. And it is not just Thames Water at fault. Last year The Rivers Trust published another map which includes the location of tens of thousands of CSOs across the country, advising people they should Avoid entering the water immediately downstream of these discharges and avoid the overflows... especially after it has been raining. Large Combined Sewer Overflow. [Photo by Courtesy of Fish Legal] Campaign group Surfers against Sewage has gone further, exposing how water companies resort to dry spills during which they dump untreated sewage even when there hasnt been any rain. Forced to carry out its own research last year, the group discovered that companies failed to report a staggering 103 sewage overflows onto beaches for a period of more than two weeks during last summer, and that 44 sewage overflows were left completely unmonitored. The revelations led the EA to warn people not to swim at numerous bathing sites because of high bacteria levels. At the same time Emma Howard Boyd, head of the EAs Performance department, declared that there had been no sustained trend for improvement for several years in total incident numbers, lamenting that only 56 percent of serious incidents were self-reported by the water companies which is concerning given their impact on the environment, and that most of their environmental performance ratings had been downgraded. That the UKs CSO-based sewerage system is unfit for purpose is made clear by Boyd and countless official reports by regulators and parliamentary committees, including a recent report of the Environmental Audit Committee headed, Chemical cocktail of sewage, slurry and plastic polluting English rivers puts public health and nature at risk. Map which includes the location of Combined Sewer Overflows [Photo by Courtesy of The Rivers Trust] Yet none address the fundamental issue. Private ownership and the profit systems domination of the basic right to water and a clean environment has been a social, environmental and economic catastrophe for millions, while the companies and their shareholders have profited. When the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher privatised the water industry in 1989 it wrote off all its debts and granted indemnity for CSO discharges, in order to satisfy the financial markets which were reluctant to invest, fearing potential criminal liabilities. The Tories claimed that bureaucratism and inefficiency would be done away with through the introduction of competition, which would provide a massive injection of cash for investment. The exact opposite happened. A Wild West-style rampage took place in which the previously state-owned water assets fell into the hands of bank consortiums, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds committed to extracting every last penny from customers and workers, while splashing out on dividends. Professor David Hall, an expert on Englands water industry from Greenwich University, recently explained how the companies have borrowed large amounts of money, building up a large pile of debt and large annual bill for interest. This debt has not been taken on to finance investment, but to finance the payment of dividends. Since privatisation dividends worth 65 billion have been paid out, while debt has risen from zero to 54 billion. At the same time, according to The Rivers Trust, Since 1991 water companies have failed to treat sewage effectually as required by the Water Industry Act 1991 and the [financial] regulator OFWAT has singularly failed to use the powers granted to them to enforce that duty over the last 30 years. The Environment Agency has also been systematically defunded and disempowered to act. Since the UK left the European Union the government has attempted to scrap hundreds of environment laws. It introduced an amendment to the 2021 Environment Bill in opposition to a clause that sought progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage. Screenshot of report of a paper on water quality in rivers by Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee [Photo: UK Parliament] After decades of services run by private water companies, England and Wales have some of the worst water quality in Europe, with only 14 percent of rivers rated in good ecological health. A major part of the responsibility lies with the Labour Party and the trade unions. The Labour government of Tony Blair (1997-2007) denounced opposition to Tory privatisation as rigid dogma and hailed global finance, communication and the media as liberating and modernising forces. After a century of antagonism, economic efficiency and social justice are finally working in partnership together, Blair told the 1999 Labour Party conference. Last year, current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ditched plans to nationalise the water sector. Since privatisation, the unions have pursued a partnership agreement with the employers, claiming it was the best way to achieve job security, better wages and conditions. Instead workers have faced constant reorganisations, job cuts, declining wages, outsourcing and downgrading. The Socialist Equality Party advocates a fundamental restructuring of the economy to place the needs of working people and society before corporate profit and the accumulation of private wealth. A socialist policy for water supply and sanitation would involve reorganising the water companies based on rational international planning and cooperation, so that all the worlds inhabitants would receive the most basic necessity of life and health. This week, the United Kingdom and Poland announced that they intend to send main battle tanks to fight Russia in Ukraine, opening the way for Germany and the United States to make similar announcements. For the first time since Operation Barbarossa 80 years ago, German-made tanks will cross the Polish border to take part in a shooting war against Russia. This is, without a doubt, the most reckless and escalatory measure taken by the US and NATO to date. Abrams battle tanks stand on rail cars in Lithuania, near the Russian border, in 2019. [AP Photo] Tanks are offensive, not defensive, weapons. They are used to break through enemy entrenchments, with the aim of capturing territory. Ukrainian officials have made clear that Western tanks are key to the achievement of their goals in the war, including the reconquest of the Crimean Peninsula held by Russia since 2014. The United States is training hundreds of Ukrainian forces in armored warfare at its base in Bavaria, Germany, carrying out exercises with NATO armored vehicles. The tanks and their crews will leave Germany and enter Ukraine through Poland, where they will be thrown against the Russian front. Modern tanks need vast logistics networks to arm and support them. A single M1 Abrams tank consumes 60 gallons of fuel per hour when deployed. These tanks will require a massive train of logistics personnel, many of them likely to come from the armed forces of NATO countries. Not only the tanks, but their logistics and supply trains will become targets. Each Leopard 2 tank costs approximately $15 million. The protection of these weapons systems, not to mention the troops that will service and supply them, will become a vital military necessity for NATO. The US and NATO have staked their credibility on the outcome of the war, which is evermore explicitly defined as the military defeat and dismemberment of Russia. The logic of the conflict requires, therefore, an ever greater esacalation. With its armored columns and supply lines threatened by Russian weapons and airpower, either inside Ukraine or over the Polish border, the creation of a no-fly zone will again be mooted in the American press as a vital necessity to protect the commitment that has already been made. This would mean that, in the name of defending its military assets, US and NATO pilots and SAM operators would be engaged in shooting down Russian warplanes, kicking off a direct shooting war between the US and NATO. This is the prospect for which the American and European population is being signed up, without their knowledge, by governments that promised to avoid World War III and nuclear Armageddon. In an expression of the reckless and provocative character of NATOs actions, the New York Times wrote, Over the last few weeks, one barrier after another has fallen, as the United States and its allies take on more risk to defend Ukraine. In a lead editorial advocating sending main battle tanks to Ukraine, The Economist wrote: Another worry is that, if Russia is pushed too far or too fast, its president, Vladimir Putin, could escalate and, in the worst case, even trigger a nuclear war. These are not baseless fears. The Economist argues for sending tanks despite the danger. If Mr. Putin concludes that his nuclear threats won him this victory, it would set a terrible precedent. It adds, Yielding to Mr Putins nuclear threats today sets up more perilous stand-offs tomorrow. The imperialist war planners assume that they can intensify their engagement in the war without a Russian response. But if Washington isnt afraid of the consequences of nuclear war, why do its war planners seem to believe the Kremlin will be? In fact, The Economists argument applies with greater force to the Russian side than to NATO, because it is the Kremlin, and not Washington or Berlin, that is confronted with the prospect of regime-change. If The Economist editorial board were on the Russian side, what would it be saying? If NATO concludes that military escalation won it a victory, it would set a terrible precedent. After all, yielding to NATOs escalation today sets up more perilous stand-offs tomorrow. This, in other words, is an argument for Russia to respond to NATOs escalation by launching an attack on NATO or a nuclear attack on Ukrainian forces. The more the US and NATO escalate, the less reason for Russia to avoid escalating. During the Cold War, virtually the entire US political establishment, with the exception of the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, accepted the doctrine of mutually assured destruction. This doctrine held that certain actions were impermissible for the United States, because the risk of provoking a nuclear response from the Soviet Union was an unacceptable threat. Now, the mantra in every major newspaper is that NATO and the United States cannot be deterred from carrying out policies that could lead to nuclear war. It is like saying that one should not be deterred from jumping out of a building by the thought of hitting the ground. Washingtons entire strategy is irrational, like all plans for world conquest in the past. But this irrational policy is driven by social and economic interests. The more the present global conflict develops, the clearer the fact that this war, like the two world wars of the 20th century, can be understood not by who fired the first shot, but by much deeper social causes. The reactionary Russian invasion of Ukraine was provoked with the aim of instigating a conflict that would lead to the dismemberment of Russia. Beyond naked geopolitical interests, the American ruling class confronts an array of economic, social and political crises for which it has no solution. It believes that, through a desperate gambit to conquer Russia, it can somehow stave off the crisis gripping American social and political life. And even as it escalates the war in Europe, the United States is turning the Pacific Ocean into a tinderbox, supporting the rearmament of Japan and the arming of Taiwan in preparation for a conflict with China. The plans for this global conflagration are being hatched behind the backs of the working class of the United States and the entire world. The US and NATO powers are lying about their intentions and hiding the consequences of their actions. This conspiracy extends to every major political party in the United States and Europe, all of which have lined up behind the war effort. None of them is saying clearly what the consequences will be and how many millions of lives they are prepared to sacrifice. The rapid escalation of the war in the first two weeks of the new year confirms the warnings made by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in its December 10 rally, For a Mass Movement of Youth and Students to Stop the War in Ukraine! In his concluding remarks to the rally, WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North explained: The outcome of this process, unless stopped by the working class, will be a global cataclysm on a scale that dwarfs the violence of the past. Since the outbreak of the war, the potential use of nuclear weapons has been normalized in political discourse. The situation cannot be left in the hands of the capitalist ruling elites and their political parties. If catastrophe is to be averted, the working class must intervene, connecting the fight against war with the fight against inequality, expoitation and the capitalist system. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Rishi Sunak, during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced his intention to supply Challenger 2 tanks and artillery systems to the Ukrainian side, the British government said on its website on Saturday. The Prime Minister outlined the UKs ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems. The Prime Minister and President Zelensky welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Polands offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks, the message reads. The Prime Minister stressed that he and the whole UK Government would be working intensively with international partners to deliver rapidly the kind of support which will allow Ukraine to press their advantage, win this war and secure a lasting peace. According to the message, the leaders reflected on the current state of Russias war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues. They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, the government said. Two recent events expose the growing threat to the working class posed by far-right elements within the Canadian Armed Forces: a fascistic rant given by one of Canadas top generals, and threats made by disgruntled military veterans against the life of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Both incidents reflect the increasing self-confidence of fascistic forces in Canada, which lack a broad base of popular support, but enjoy backing from powerful elements within the ruling elite and state apparatus. On November 9, at arguably the most important military social event of the year, retired Lt. General Michel Maisonneuve received the Vimy Award, which the Conference of Defence Industries Institute bestows annually on a Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of Canada and the preservation of (its) democratic values. In the form of his acceptance speechand before Trudeaus national security adviser, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and much of the top ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the arms industryGeneral Maisonneuve delivered a fascistic Make Canada Great Again diatribe. Even more significant was the audience reaction. Maisonneuves denunciations of the elected government and the working class, were, from all reports, greeted with a standing ovation by the assembled CAF officer corps. Among the chief proponents of the notwithstanding clause is Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who supported the far-right "Freedom" Convoy's menacing occupation of Ottawa and its demands for the scrapping of all anti-COVID public health measures. [AP Photo/Arthur Mola/Invision/AP] Maisonneuve denounced the social elements which allegedly stand in the way of Canadas renewed greatnessfirst-year graduates of woke journalism schools and workers relying on endless subsidies and handouts, who are not taking personal responsibility for their actions. The General decried the toppling of statues, referring to the removal of statues of Canadas first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, who directed a genocidal campaign to dispossess First Nations people of their lands so as to open them up for capitalist development. Other than our troops, the only recent figures for whom Maisonneuve had praise were Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II, and Ukraines President and NATO puppet war leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Canada, bemoaned Maisonneuve, lacks a great leader such as Zelensky. To him, Maisonneuve offered up the fascist salute, Slava Ukraini! or Glory to Ukraine, crafted and championed by the Nazi collaborationist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. In the manner of a typical fascist stab in the back speech, Maisonneuve accused the Trudeau government, if not the civilian population as a whole, of betraying the military. He declared that the Canadian Armed Forces are under-resourced and lack state-of-the-art tools for taking to the world stage and seeking alliances. This is coded language for providing military support to US imperialisms wars and strategic offensives around the world, which are raising an ever growing danger of a global conflagration with Russia and China. Maisonneuves claim that civilian authorities are letting down the military and thereby putting the country at risk is one of the most notorious leitmotifs of far-right and fascist movements throughout history, including Hitlers Nazis. Intimating that the public fails to properly appreciate the sacrifices the military makes on its behalf, Maisonneuve lamented, The idea of serving in our armed forces is getting little traction. The officer corps enthusiastic response to Maisonneuves speech underscores that he articulated the sentiments of broad sections of the military-security establishment. Much of the military top brass regard the Trudeau governments domestic, military and foreign policies with disdain. They believe it is insufficiently politically and financially committed to the projection of imperialist power abroad; view its identity-politics-based diversity agenda and promotion of the myth of Canada as a peacekeeping nation as threats to military discipline and morale; and are angered by its pursuit of sexual assault and misconduct allegations against more than a dozen top-rank officers. They would like to see the establishment of a more explicitly right-wing and authoritarian regime to more ruthlessly defend Canadian imperialist interests against its geopolitical rivals abroad and the working class at home. The support broad sections of the political elite, state security services and corporate media gave the far-right Freedom Convoy as it menacingly occupied downtown Ottawa last year underscored that Canadas ruling class, like its counterparts internationally, is breaking with traditional democratic forms of rule. If the Convoy, which was instigated and led by far-right and fascist activists, many of them independent truckers and other small business people or military veterans and retired police, could come to play such a prominent role in national political life, it was because it was built up and incited by the official opposition Conservatives, the hard-right premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and right-wing media outlets like the National Post and Toronto Sun. They used the Convoy as a battering ram to overcome the widespread public support for anti-COVID-19 public health measures. By whipping up a far-right extra-parliamentary movement they also sought to push the Trudeau government further right, destabilize it and if possible precipitate its collapse. Ultimately, under mounting pressure from the Biden administration, international investors and big business to end the Convoy supporters blockading of critical cross-border trade routes, the Trudeau government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act, thereby granting the state and its police and security agencies sweeping powers of repression. While these powers were initially turned against the far-right occupiers of downtown Ottawa, they can and will be used in the future against working class opposition to the ruling elites class-war agenda of military aggression abroad and attacks on wages and public spending at home. In his acceptance speech, Maisonneuve gave vent to his outrage over the Trudeau governments dispersal of the Convoy. Saying perhaps more than he intended, Maisonneuve commented, Can you imagine a military leader labelling half of his command as deplorables, fringe radicals or less-thans and then expect them to fight as one? The insinuation is that large parts of the Canadian military supported the Convoy. The Trudeau government, which relies on backing from the social democrats of the New Democratic Party to retain power, responded to Maisonneuves tirade with an embarrassed silence. Defence Minister Anita Anand offered only a single critical comment, which was buried in the press. Under Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces played a major role in training and reorganizing Ukraines military to prepare for war with Russia. This included helping integrate fascist militia like the Azov battalion. [Photo: Canadian Department of Defence] The fact that the fascistic filth spewed forth by Maisonneuve has a growing constituency within Canadas military, including its officer corps, is a damning indictment of the policies pursued by successive governments, the Trudeau Liberals included, in support of Canadian imperialisms global predatory ambitions. Three decades of wars and military interventions, including in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Haiti, Libya, Syria, Iraq and now Ukraine, have created a substantial pool of bloodied, battle-hardened and disgruntled soldiers and officers. In the regular performance of their duties, many of these will have participated in war crimes, including torture and civilian killings. The most disoriented have been primed to throw in their lot with a fascist movement. More significantly, as the entire political establishment rallies behind the US-NATO war with Russia, there is a growing recognition throughout the ruling elite that more authoritarian forms of rule will be required to squeeze the financial resources out of the working class that Canadian imperialism needs to fund its war machine. Already, the Liberal government has committed to spending over half a trillion dollars over the next two decades to fund new weapons and weapons systems, including new fleets of F-35 fighter jets, warships and armed drones. Meanwhile, health care is collapsing across the country, as a growing number of patients die while waiting for care in overwhelmed emergency rooms, and public education is subject to brutal austerity. In Ukraine, Canada and the Trudeau government have been openly allied with fascists for years. As part of its Ukraine military training mission, Operation UNIFIER, the CAF helped supervise the integration of the Azov battalion and other fascist paramilitary units into the Ukrainian Armed Forces and National Guard. This campaign to create a powerful Ukrainian army, based on celebrating the fascist political tradition of the OUN, which participated in the Nazi Holocaust in Ukraine, was crucial to preparing NATOs war against Russia. Canadian imperialism has long been instrumental in promoting the Ukrainian far-right. It provided a safe haven for thousands of OUN fighters following World War II, whitewashed their crimes and assisted them in disseminating their nationalist-fascist ideology. The alliance between the Ukrainian far-right and the Canadian state is documented in last years WSWS series Canadian imperialisms fascist friends. These imperialist operations have fostered growing support within the military for far-right politics. One group expressing this development is the misnamed Veterans for Freedom (V4F), which agitated against anti-COVID public health measures. Last month it hosted a Veterans Round-Table: Coping Strategies for a Canadian Commie Christmas in which participants chatted about the need to take-out Trudeau. In the YouTube video, Retired Naval Officer Andrew MaGillivray described secret insubordination by members of Canadian Armed Forces elite Special Forces unit JTF2, who are assigned to protect Trudeau. They allegedly keep an enlarged photo of themselves posing with Trudeau in their ready room, which shows Trudeau smiling and the two soldiers with shitty looks. This prompted Afghan veteran Shaun Arntsen to muse: Makes me wonder whats going through their heads. I mean, why arent they fucking doing anything? They see everything through the back door, Theyre the Praetorian Guard its how Caesar got taken out. Arntsens suggestion that the troops should either assassinate Trudeau or carry out a military coup was met with approval by other round-table participants. There is ample precedent and reason to fear an attempt on the prime ministers life from the military. On July 2, 2020, CAF reservist Corey Hurren crashed a truck laden with heavy weapons through the gates of Rideau Hall, where Trudeau was temporarily residing, in an assassination attempt. The Liberal government and Canadian state covered up the attack. They refused to even characterize it as a failed attack on Trudeaus life, dismissing it as an isolated incident perpetrated by a disoriented individual. In fact, Hurren was a long-standing proponent of far-right conspiracy theories and was on active duty when he was detained. The Ontario Provincial Police has alleged that Daniel Bulford, an RCMP sniper and intelligence officer who served on Trudeaus security detail, leaked the Prime Ministers schedule to his far-right allies, before resigning from the force in late 2021 to protest the federal governments COVID vaccine mandate. Bulford was subsequently a leading figure in the Freedom Convoys security operations. The increasing assertiveness of fascistic elements within the military and state apparatus in Canada is part of an international phenomenon rooted in the global capitalist crisis. In the United States, ex-President Donald Trump and key collaborators within the Republican Party and state apparatus remain free more than two years after attempting a fascist coup on January 6, 2021, to prevent president-elect Biden from assuming office. Last week, a copycat operation was attempted by the supporters of far-right Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia. Military generals in France and Spain have openly speculated about launching military coups and massacring large portions of the population, while in Germany numerous far-right terrorist networks have intimate ties with the armed forces and state intelligence agencies. On Thursday, Brazils new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party (PT) disclosed details about the reactions of his government and the military to the January 8 attack on the seats of power in Brasilia by fascist supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during breakfast with journalists at the Planalto Palace on Thursday, January 13, 2023. [Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agencia Brasil] [Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agencia Brasil] At a press conference, Lula presented the disturbing conclusion that, had he agreed to call for a Law and Order Assurance (GLO) operation as proposed by his defense minister, Jose Mucio Monteiro Filho, then yes, the coup that people wanted was going to happen. Lula ceases to be the government so that some general can take over the government. The invasion of the buildings housing the three branches of the Brazilian government last Sunday represented both the culmination of the offensive by Bolsonaro and his civilian and military allies to promote a coup to overturn the election, and the first episode in a new political stage of the developing fascist movement in Brazil. The nearly 5,000 fascist demonstrators who, after leaving the gates of the Army Headquarters, stormed the buildings of the Praca dos Tres Poderes (Three Powers Plaza), were not demanding a review of the results of the allegedly rigged elections, that would declare Bolsonaro the victor. Rather, they called their demonstration a seizure of power by the people, and demanded an intervention by the Armed Forces that would inaugurate a new dictatorial military regime in Brazil. Lulas remarks Thursday exposed a concrete path through which the goals of these fascist forces could have been realized. On Sunday afternoon, while Bolsonaros supporters were still occupying government offices, Defense Minister Mucio, meeting with Army Commander Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda, telephoned Lula and proposed imposing a GLO. According to media reports, the commander claimed to have 2,500 troops on standby to intervene in Brasilia. Lula, who was 800 km from the capital, responded testily to the possibility of the Army acting to contain the coup plotters by means of a GLO, reported Folha de Sao Paulo. The GLO is a legal device that allows the Brazilian president, confronting a disturbance of public order in which the exhaustion of the instruments provided by the constitution has been supposedly reached, to call for an operation conducted by the Armed Forces. The increasing use of GLO missions, especially under previous PT governments, has been one of the channels for the militarys re-emergence as a principal actor in the Brazilian political sphere. As Lulas admitted in his press conference, in the GLO proposed by Mucio and Arruda, it would have been impossible to differentiate the commanders of the military operation from the very Agents of Public Order Disruption that it was purportedly meant to suppress. There were many people from the Military Police conniving, there were many people from the Armed Forces inside conniving, Lula stated. He continued: I am convinced that the door of the Presidential Palace was opened so that people could enter, because there is no broken door... In the videos I have seen, I saw Army soldiers talking to the invaders, I saw soldiers singing along with the invaders. In another serious admission, Lula described how the military, after having allowed the invaders of government offices to return to the encampment at the gates of the Army headquarters, prevented the enforcement of an arrest order against the protesters on Sunday night. The president said that while two tanks were used to protect the fascist encampment from police action, the general called me saying president, it is very dangerous to enter the encampment at night, there are too many people, a disaster could happen. Metropoles, having spoken with Lulas ministers, reported that government officials believe that, during the early hours of the morning, the military removed reserve soldiers and their families from the encampment, preventing them from being arrested. Among the notable participants in the camp, the newspaper highlights, were relatives of Gen. Eduardo Villas Boas, who had posted photos from the scene. Villas Boas was appointed Army commander in 2015 by President Dilma Rousseff of the PT, who had presented him as a legalist. In the aftermath, the general gained prominence by breaking the militarys relative silence in Brazilian political life and speaking out against granting a writ of habeas corpus that would allow Lula, imprisoned for corruption, to run in the 2018 elections against Bolsonaro. While contesting the election in which he was defeated, Bolsonaro had private meetings with Villas Boas, a political mentor throughout his government. In November, the general spoke publicly in support of the population [that] continues to gather at the doors of the barracks asking the Armed Forces for help. He warned that the medias attempts to isolate the demonstrations would create yet another factor of dissatisfaction, and concluded: History teaches that people who fight for freedom will never be defeated. The facts presented by the Brazilian president on Thursday lead to inevitable conclusions. First, the fascist action that occurred in Brasilia last Sunday was not merely a spontaneous attack organized by a group of extremists. It was carefully engineered in collaboration with forces and individuals high up in the military and the state. Second, the military forces involved in this conspiracy sought to use the episode as leverage to expand their political power over the state. Third, this episode did not signify a defeat for the fascist forces that promoted it. They remain lodged in positions of power and will continue their preparations for an authoritarian coup. These conclusions are fearfully avoided by the PT and the political forces that support it. While they see the real threats posed to Lulas government, their response is a desperate attempt to appease and negotiate with the forces actively seeking a coup detat. Despite acknowledging that his defense minister had advised him in practice to abdicate power and deliver it into the hands of the generals, Lula has insisted that Mucio remain in office. He is being kept there in an attempt to forge a permanent bridge between the government and the military coup plotters. Even though it refused to impose a GLO in response to the fascist assault in Brasilia, the PT government depends more and more directly on the protection of the military. O Estado de Sao Paulo reported Wednesday that faced with the call for a new Bolsonarista protest to take back power... officials of the Lula government are already admitting to asking the Armed Forces for help in protecting public buildings in Brasilia. In an act of remarkable cowardice, Lulas justice minister on Friday held a ceremony honoring the agents who acted in the repression of the acts of vandalism in the Praca dos Tres Poderes on Sunday the 8th, reported the Estado. Minister Flavio Dino, who governed Maranhao in name of the Maoist Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), pathetically pleaded with the coup plotters: For the love of God, the election of 2022 is over, definitely understand this. Lulas first two weeks in power confirm the assessment made by the Socialist Equality Group in Brazil (GSI) about the reactionary political role assigned to the PT government. On the eve of the elections, the GSI declared: From the point of view of the ruling class, such a left-wing government will represent only an interregnum, during which better preparations can be made for the implementation of an outright dictatorship against the working class of the kind that Bolsonaro advocates today. The record of Lula and the PT, particularly their response to current dictatorial threats, leaves no doubt that they will make every concession to the coup plotters. The efforts by the PT and its pseudo-left allies in the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) to convince the Brazilian working class and youth that it was possible to confront the threats of fascism through a broad front of the bourgeoisie against Bolsonaro have been exposed as an absolute fraud. The turn by the Brazilian ruling class to fascism and other forms of political reaction is a response to the development of the contradictions of capitalism and the potential of an explosion of the class struggle. This bourgeois reaction can only be fought through a struggle for an independent working class political movement against capitalism, which means a direct confrontation with the PT government. United Auto Workers President Ray Curry and longtime UAW bureaucrat Shawn Fain took part in an online debate Thursday night timed to coincide with the start of voting in the runoff election for UAW president. The runoff is going forward despite the fact that the UAW Monitor has yet to certify the results of the first round due to the outstanding protest over massive voter suppression on the part of the UAW apparatus filed by Will Lehman, a Mack Trucks worker and presidential candidate himself. Lehman has demanded that all candidates in the first round be placed on the runoff ballot and that all UAW members be given proper notice and the full opportunity to vote. The excluded candidates are Lehman, Brian Keller, a Stellantis employee, and Mark Gibson, a local president at Detroit Diesel. The debate was a fiasco, serving to underscore the fraudulent nature of the runoff election that gives workers the choice between two handpicked candidates of the UAW apparatus. The lack of legitimacy of both Curry and ostensible challenger Fain overshadowed the debate. UAW presidential debate January 12, 2023 (screenshot) The debate was hardly publicized. There was not even a notice on the UAW website and was viewed live by less than 1,000 attendees. Underscoring the fear of all factions of the UAW apparatus of the rank-and-file membership, commenting was disabled before and during the event. The debate moderator, former New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse, ignored a question submitted by Lehman over the legitimacy of the elections first round, marked by historic low voter turnout. Both candidates completely evaded the question of voter suppression, expressed in the fact that less than 10 percent of eligible UAW members voted. Nonetheless, the question of voter suppression was the elephant in the room that could not be ignored. For his part, Fain pointed to the fact that 62 percent did not vote for Curry in the first round, while Curry replied by noting that he received 600 more votes than Fain, hardly a ringing endorsement. What neither mentioned is the fact that each candidate received the vote of less than 4 percent of the eligible UAW members. Both bureaucrats correctly pointed out that their opponent was a longtime supporter of the corrupt UAW apparatus that has overseen betrayal after betrayal and the devastating decline in the living standards of autoworkers, once the highest paid industrial workers in America. Curry oozed bureaucratic complacency and self-satisfaction, while Fain was the picture of blandness and conformity. An air of unreality pervaded the debate. Both men attempted to present themselves as reformers, but neither could document a single instance where he actually opposed the UAW apparatus. Fain noted that Curry had been handpicked by Gary Jones for the position of secretary treasurer. Soon afterwards Jones was indicted and convicted for stealing UAW funds. Curry pointed out that Fain had been an employee at the Chrysler National Training Center, which had prominently figured in the UAW corruption scandal, with union staff members pocketing illegal payouts from company executives aimed at keeping them fat, dumb and happy. Both candidates avoided making any specific pledges or policy proposals. Fain declared, Its time we put corporate America on notice that our members deserve their fair share, and were coming for it. Curry for his part declared, I have been leading the charge since leaving the military, bringing vision, integrity, wealth of experience. This type of meaningless corporate-speakalways patronizing in its nationalist toneis commonplace in elections for public office. Currys absurd claim that there is no ongoing corruption in the UAW was belied by the conviction last year of the former financial secretary of Local 412 for embezzling $2.1 million in union funds, including during the period when Curry was in charge of union finances as secretary treasurer. In fact, the UAW Monitor released a report last summer that Ray Curry and the UAW International Executive Board had obstructed investigations into ongoing criminal activities, including embezzlement. When asked about their stand on the question of a 30-hour workweek at 40-hours pay, both Curry and Fain simply ignored the question. They both likewise evaded commenting on the horrific sexual abuse scandal at Ford Chicago Assembly and Chicago Stamping that involved harassment of female workers by both management and local UAW officials. Citing supposed wins under his administration, Curry pointed to the strike settlement at John Deere in 2021 without mentioning that workers there had voted down several sellout contracts negotiated by the UAW. In response to a question about the idling (closure) next month of the Stellantis Belvidere Assembly Plant, impacting more than 1,300 workers, Fain stated that he would take action without detailing any specific policy or proposal. Curry boasted that he had discussed the fate of Belvidere with Stellantis officials and President Biden on the floor of the international auto show in Detroit last September, prior to Stellantis announcement of the closure. After the debate, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press featured short articles with almost identical headlines, both absurdly claiming the two candidates offered competing visions. Responding to the refusal of both candidates to address the question of voter suppression, a worker at Stellantis Warren Truck Plant outside Detroit said, There is no way in the world you can say, with the first time in history to elect our leader, we just turned away. You would have to be stupid to believe that. They took no accountability for it last night. It was more about them and less about the people. Adding, You could see how tight-lipped they got with the questions. They danced around a lot of it. They didnt speak about the tier system, anything that immediately matters to us. It came out that last year they passed a motion to give $20,000 early retirement payment to themselves. How can you do that when people are on strike? That is robbery. They should be taken to jail. Anybody who has a lick of common sense can see what happened. It was a control thing. Will Lehman issued the following statement in response to the debate: There is a reason the Monitor and the UAW excluded me and other independent candidates from this debate: Everyone decided that the rank and file would have no say whatsoever in the debate in this run-off. First of all, this is an illegitimate election because neither Fain nor Curry could win 40,000 votes from 1.1 million members. The debate between Curry and Fain was a beauty pageant between the two ugly representatives of the UAW bureaucracy. Thats what the Monitor and the UAW wanted from Day One, which is why they are proceeding to a run-off despite 9 percent turnout in the first round. Ray Curry said everyones got the right to vote in the first round, and neither Fain nor New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse questioned him. The Monitor still hasnt even responded to my formal protest, which was the product of evidence submitted by over 100 UAW members from more than 50 locals. My campaign is not over. Contracts representing hundreds of thousands of UAW members are expiring this year, and the struggle by 48,000 University of California workers shows we are ready to fight. To defend our economic interests as a class, we must defend our democratic rights, which is why I am calling for the formation of rank-and-file committees to demand a new election in which the entire membership is actually informed that an election is taking place and to prepare for the struggles ahead. Residents walk past a burning roadblock set up by anti-government protesters in Desaguadero, Peru, on the border with Bolivia, Friday, January 13, 2023. [AP Photo/Juan Karita] Mass unrest continued in Peru this week following the massacre of 17 persons on Monday by Peruvian police in the southeastern Andean city of Juliaca. Police opened fire in response to demonstrators attempting to take over the Juliaca international airport. An informal nationwide strike originally broke out in mid-December, when former president Pedro Castillo was deposed and jailed, and his vice president Dina Boluarte installed in his stead. In response, the government declared a nationwide state of emergency, deploying 140,000 soldiers to the streets, in an attempt to crush the protests. The death toll now stands at upwards of 50. Many protests have been centered in the Puno region, which borders on Lake Titicaca, and has a largely indigenous population. Repression from security forces in Puno city, the most important commercial city of the Southern Andes, has been the most violent. Reportedly, 25,000 indigenous Aymaras have arrived at Puno city to protest. On Wednesday, a three-day curfew was ordered in Puno city. In an effort to defuse the protests, the regional government of Puno has declared Boluarte and her prime minister Alberto Otarola personas non grata, as well as the ministers of the Interior, Victor Rojas; Defense, Jose Luis Chavez; the general of the Puno National Police, Pablo Villanueva Yana; and the general of the Army brigade in Puno, Manuel Alarcon. The Cusco daily newspaper El Sol reported this week that a mobilization of 20,000 Quechua-speaking locals is expected to take over this Andean city in the province to the north of Puno, which is a major tourism center. Protesters from the provinces of Canchis, Canas, Acompayo and Quispicanchi also have gathered in Cusco to demand the resignation of Boluarte. Overall, mobilizations intensified in 31 provinces of 12 regions in response to the Juliaca massacre and prior repression. Protests and highway blockades against Boluarte and in support of Castillo have now extended to 41 provinces. Thousands also protested in the capital Lima on Wednesday, resulting in dozens of arrests. There have been widespread calls among many groups leading protests to stage a mass march on the capital. On Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner in Peru called upon security forces to comply with human rights standards and guarantee that force is only used when strictly necessary and, in such case, fully respecting the principles of legality, precaution and proportionality. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced that it will visit Peru this week to investigate the military and police violence. Also on Wednesday, Perus Attorney General Patricia Benavides opened an investigation against Boluarte and her closest circle of power: Prime Minister Otarola, Minister of the Interior Rojas, Defense Minister Chavez, and Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Jose Tello, for the alleged crimes of genocide, qualified homicide and serious injuries in relation to the 46 deaths and hundreds of injuries suffered thus far in the December and January protests. Brushing this off, late at night on Wednesday, the plenary session of the Congress, dominated by the far right, approved Boluartes cabinet chaired by Otarola. This can only fuel the indignation of the population. Foreign investors, including the giant mining enterprises that dominate the Peruvian economy, are increasingly nervous that the protests can get out of hand and shut down production. On Wednesday, The Guardian warned that Perus broken political system will inevitably drive down foreign investmentwhich the economy is heavily reliant onand the situation could get even worse. At a Thursday press conference, Dominic Perrottet, the premier of New South Wales (NSW) admitted that he had worn a Nazi uniform to his own 21st birthday party in 2003. Less than three months out from a state election, the revelation has cast doubts on Perrottets political future. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet (right) with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. [AP Photo/Rick Rycroft] As is always the case with official political scandals, there is no question that intense backroom conflicts and unstated agendas are at play. It seems clear that Perrottets hand was forced by factional rivals within the Liberal Party. The Liberal-National Coalition, in NSW and nationally, has been engulfed by factional warfare for an extended period. The crisis has been intensified by a series of major electoral defeats, which have posed a question mark over the very viability of the Coalition, one of the key political mechanisms of Australian capitalism. In the course of the Coalitions decade-long rule in NSW, two of its premiers have been ousted via scandals. In 2014, Barry OFarrell was forced to resign. His removal was associated with a push for intensified budget austerity. In 2021, Gladys Berejiklian was compelled to step-down, clearing the way for Perrottets installation and an acceleration of the profit-driven lifting of all COVID safety measures. OFarrells supposed indiscretion was having failed to declare his receipt of a gifted bottle of wine. Berejiklian was targeted over what was, at worst, pork barrelling. Both scandals were entirely manufactured. The same cannot be said of Perrottets predicament. That the premier of NSW, one of the most powerful political positions in the country, once donned the uniform of the Third Reich, whatever his exact motive, is a politically disturbing and unprecedented revelation. Perrottets press conference raised more questions than answers. He had worn the uniform because he was naive At that age in my life I just did not understand the gravity and the hurt of what that uniform means to people. The incident had been a terrible mistake. Perrottet insisted that he was no longer the person I was when I was 21. Through his journey, he had subsequently become a very passionate supporter of the Jewish people. The professions of total historical ignorance were undermined by a Daily Telegraph report that Perrottet had approached a Jewish guest at the party and offered to remove the uniform. An article in the Guardian noted: There are not many people out there who would feel comfortable being held to the standards of our 21-year-old selves. And yet, in 2003, even at 21, Perrottet was no political neophyte. He was already president of the Young Liberals at the University of Sydney, and had gained a reputation, along with his brothers, as a formidable opponent in the cut-throat world of campus politics The birthday party was attended by various Young Liberals, some of whom would go on to prominent state and federal political careers like Perrottet. Within the NSW Liberal Party, moreover, fascism and Nazism were not merely distant historical questions. During the 1970s and 80s, a far-right faction had developed within the party, around Lyenko Urbanchich. His supporters successfully prevented Urbanchich from being expelled from the party in the early 80s, after revelations that he had functioned as the propagandist for a Nazi Slovenian military organisation during World War II. In 2003, a number of those who had collaborated with Urbanchich remained prominent in NSW Liberal politics. Perrottet stated that he has carried the uniform incident as a burden for decades, but has learnt from the mistake. Those lessons have purportedly helped shape his political life. Perrottet, however, has pursued a political career on the far right of the official establishment. In 2015, as state treasurer, he branded Mount Druitt, an impoverished working-class Sydney suburb with a large migrant population, as a tangle of pathologies. The area was characterised by welfare dependency, along with delinquency, dysfunction, crime. This was the result, not of sweeping job cuts and the protracted government assault on social programs, but family breakdown. Perrottet denounced the left for throwing money at welfare. In 2016, Perrottet hailed the election of US President Donald Trump. The career politician declared that it was a victory for people who have been taken for granted by the elites in the political establishment for too long. Perrottet wrote, in part, If you stand for free speech, you are not a bigot If you support stronger borders, you are not a racist If you love your country, you are not an extremist. People who held these values were being subjected to persecution from the left. Trumps accession signalled a turn by sections of the ruling elite, internationally, towards fascistic forms of rule. This is a response to rising social opposition from the working class, and is inextricably linked to the agenda of war and austerity which capitalist governments around the world are implementing. As part of this program, a far-right milieu, including Nazi supporters, has been fomented. It played a key role in Trumps attempted fascist coup of January 6, 2021. In Australia, a similar process has been evident, with senior figures in the Liberal Party at times seeking to transform the Coalition into an alt-right Trump-style movement. A small right-wing layer has been developed and promoted, associated with hostility to COVID safety measures, including vaccinations. Perrottets signature measure as premier was to spearhead the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, which had limited illness and deaths for the first two years of the pandemic. This program, which has clear eugenicist undertones, resulted in as many as 25,000 deaths last year. The reopening, which had the character of a conspiracy against the population, was presided over by a triumvirate of Perrottet, former Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews. The latter has collaborated particularly closely with Perrottet, as has Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since his election last May, underscoring the completely bipartisan character of the profits before lives program. Perrottets lengthy political career and his key role in national politics indicate that the uniform incident was likely widely known in official circles, where dirt files are the norm, certainly within the Liberal Party and possibly in Labor. It has surfaced now, not as the result of any newfound concern over fascism and the Holocaust. Instead, the crisis is another marker of the breakdown of the two-party system. In the lead-up to the state election, the NSW Coalition is at war with itself. Many have suggested that Perrottets opponents in a centre-right faction were likely involved in forcing the disclosure. Other reports have indicated that elements of Perrottets own right-wing faction may have been involved, after the premier shot down some of their preselection proposals in a bid to keep a lid on all-out factional warfare. The political issues in the disputes are murky. They are, however, inevitably related to the broader context. The Coalition was routed in the May federal election, suffering its worst result since the 1940s, driven by swings against the Liberals. This was one component of a broader breakdown of support for the two-party system, driven by mounting popular discontent. There are growing fears that the Liberals, widely despised especially by younger sections of the population, are simply unelectable. At the same time, Perrottets government has been faced with another manifestation of the discontent in the form of the sharp growth of the class struggle. Despite the attempts of the corporatised trade union bureaucracy to isolate and suppress these struggles, Perrottet has been unable as yet to impose wage-cutting industrial agreements on the states nurses, teachers and rail workers. This is doubtless provoking frustrations within the Coalition and the ruling elite itself. An editorial in the Australian this morning bemoaned the latest scandal as another expression of entrenched dysfunction within the Liberal Party. The Murdoch-owned paper largely praised the record of the states Coalition governments, especially in limiting and then overturning COVID safety measures. It warned, however, that the scandal and the factional brawling were a serious concern when the state would be best served by two strong major parties engaged in the battle of policy and ideas. In other words, the ruling class fears that the episode could further deepen the crisis of the two-party system. One who received the message was NSW Labor leader Chris Minns. This morning he praised Perrottets sincere and heartfelt apology and said that he would not press for the Liberal premiers resignation. Minns has marched in lockstep with the conservative government on every substantive question, from the lifting of COVID restrictions to the need for austerity attacks on the working class. This is the second of a two-part article. Part one can be read here. Many researchers investigating the germicidal qualities of ultraviolet radiation in schools were unable to reproduce the data that Drs. Mildred and William Wells had obtained, often achieving mixed results, leading to apprehension about accepting those conclusions. These problems were predominately due to the erroneous design of these later studies, which did not take into account the activity of children in other shared spaces for hours where UV radiation was not utilized, like school buses, that exposed them to measles. At the same time, the advent of vaccines and antibiotics drove the incidence of these diseases down, leading public health experts to dismiss the benefits of disinfecting the air. Additionally, health concerns over exposure to ultraviolet light, the need for continuous irradiation and questions over its germicidal properties contributed to essentially abandoning the technology and forgetting about it. Throughout the rest of the 20th century and up until the COVID-19 pandemic, the conceptions advanced by Charles Chapin remained dominant, erroneously stressing the predominance of contact infection rather than airborne transmission. Foremost in promoting Chapins conceptions was public health officer Dr. Alexander Langmuir, who served in the US Army during World War II working to prevent infectious diseases among soldiers. The experience of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which spread like wildfire through the barracks and the battlefields, left an indelible impression on the military organizations. Langmuir and other military researchers failed to recognize in their studies on airborne infection the physical laws that governed the spread and exposure to infectious pathogens. As Dr. Jimenez and colleagues wrote on Langmuirs investigation of airborne infections, They viewed the world through the lens of Chapins theories. Here, it is worth quoting Jimenez in full: However, Langmuirs work renewed interest in the physics of airborne infection, as he concluded that weapons of airborne disease can be created, which became a topic of intense interest during the cold war. Based on studies of occupational exposure, he learned that aerosols smaller than five microns can penetrate deeply into the lung, all the way into the alveolar region. Infectious disease aerobiology was extensively developed during this period as part of the US and Soviet Union bioweapons programs. However, most of the work remained classified even after the weapons were banned, and thus that body of work had little influence on the general medical and infection control communities. In 1945, William Wells, in an article titled Sanitary Ventilation by Radiant Disinfection, lamented: The ultimate goal of sanitation set by Lemuel Shattuck a century ago is to guarantee to members of society the same freedom from communicable disease enjoyed by isolated individuals. Water purification, milk pasteurization, and pure food administration during the present century have added several years to the expectancy of life at birth. Does the control of respiratory infection by sanitary ventilation seem more difficult to sanitary science that the conquest of intestinal and insect-borne parasites seemed at the turn of the century? In 1954, William Wells recruited his former student Richard L. Riley, an expert in lung physiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, to study the transmission route of tuberculosis (TB) at Baltimores veterans hospitals where it was disproportionately infecting the patients. At the time, TB was a major global scourge killing millions annually without any effective treatment. Dr. Richard Riley holding a photo of Dr. William Wells. [Photo by Dr. Ed Nardell] Many in the medical community continued to conceive of TB transmission via droplets, even though Chapin himself had acquiesced to describing it as a uniquely airborne disease. Wells formulated the idea that if the route of spread was determined, then appropriate measures could be taken to prevent the disease. After gaining permission from hospital administrators, Wells and Riley proceeded to build an air-tight ventilation system on top of one of the veterans hospitals that was connected to a tuberculosis ward. Some 150 guinea pigs, ideal TB animal models because of the array of respiratory symptoms they could produce, were placed in the exposure chamber far removed from the patients. A second group of guinea pigs acting as controls were exposed to similar air. However, the air ducts were irradiated with UVC lamps that killed the TB bacilli. While around three guinea pigs per month in the untreated air contracted TB, none of those breathing in irradiated air were infected. The researchers had not only proven the airborne nature of TB, but they also recognized that the tried-and-true contact tracing used in person-to-person contact was impossible for airborne transmission as one person could infect far more people, and the links between infected and contacts were difficult to establish. Most importantly, they showed that ultraviolet radiation can disinfect the air in a room sufficiently to prevent infections. In 1955, Wells was to publish his authoritative Airborne Contagion and Air Hygiene: an ecological study of droplet infections. Near the end of his life, Wells suffered from prostate cancer that metastasized to his spine, leaving him an invalid. Before his own death in 2001, Riley wrote on the occasion, Wells died in 1963 after months of physical restraint. Thus ended the career of a truly mad genius who gave us the droplet nucleus hypothesis and changed our thinking about aerial transmission of infection. He never saw the final confirmation [of the studys publication]. To my eternal shame, his name was not included among the authors of the final paper. Riley would go on to assume the chair of the Department of Environmental Medicine from 1960 to 1977, while warning of the dangers posed by airborne diseases. As Bloomberg School historian Karen Kruse Thomas noted, Riley also patented UVC technology for air purification systems that were installed in health care facilities, factories and even NASA space capsules. He devoted a significant part of his work on the study of indoor air circulations and room conditions on the efficacy of UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation). This became known as upper-room UVGI because of the location of the irradiation equipment, usually in ceiling fixtures. Many of the current standards set for air exchanges and power required for these lamps are based on his calculations and experiments. Graphic shows the effectiveness of UV germicidal irradiation in a room with an infectious person. By the 1980s, the emergence of the HIV pandemic and rise in antibiotic-resistant TB led to renewed interest in UVGI. Dr. Edward Nardell, Harvard professor in the Departments of Environmental Health and Immunology and Infectious Diseases, working as a TB control officer with the Boston City Health Department, became interested in airborne infection and its control when an outbreak of drug-resistant TB occurred in a large homeless shelter in Boston in 1983. On pondering how to stop the TB transmission, Nardell recalled a lecture he attended given by Riley on the use of UVGI. During that lecture, Riley explained that unlike UV light from the sun, the wavelength of UVGI (258 nm) did not have long-term severe side effects though it could cause mild skin or eye irritation. Dr. Ed Nardell at World Health Organization Webinar on UV. Source WHO Webinar. [Photo: World Health Organization] Nardell decided to contact Riley to help him with the homeless shelter. This led to an 18-year-long collaboration during Rileys retirement, in which the pair studied and wrote extensively on UV air disinfection. Nardell spent the better part of his professional career working in countries (predominately South Africa) where the incidence of TB is high, and the only practical solutions are air disinfection through upper-room UVGI. In high-income countries, the standard form of air purification remains the use of advanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units, particularly in office buildings, factories, hospitals and schools. As Nardell has noted on several occasions, the principles of bringing fresh air into a room and filtering it with HVAC systems remain not as effective in combatting airborne pathogens as compared to UV radiation, which can do equivalents of multiple air exchanges compared to HVAC systems. However, Nardell also observed, Lighting experts may know about UV, but theyre not involved in public health issues. This technology is not taught to engineers, so it really has fallen between disciplines, and a lot of people dont know about it. Nardell has since developed the first international post-graduate course for engineers, architects and public health workers on design and engineering strategies to prevent airborne infections. In March 2021, he authored an important review in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology on why air disinfection with germicidal UV for airborne infection control, specifically COVID-19, was essential. He also collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and was the lead speaker on a webinar conducted by the international health agency on UV technology in December 2021. Far-UVC at 222 nm: The sweet spot? The use of Far-UVC, specifically at the 222 nm wavelength for disinfecting indoor spaces, is recent, encompassing the last two decades of work in this field. A more extensive discussion on the current state of knowledge of Far-UVC radiation is available in a comprehensive White Paper written by the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) Task Force. It was recently posted and linked here, with summaries of the mechanisms for disinfection, safety profile with regards to skin and cornea exposure, as well as consideration of ozone production with these units. Much of the work confirming the safety of continuous Far-UVC technology was conducted in the last decade by the team led by Drs. Manuela Buonanno, David Welch and David Brenner at the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. In particular, as discussed by Dr. Brenner during a TED talk in 2017, the impetus for the work was the death of a close colleague from sepsis caused by a virulent antibacterial-resistant pathogen. According to Brenner, he wanted to investigate the potential UVC offered in reducing the burden of infections acquired in health care systems. Unlike UVGI, which uses 258 nm wavelengths and is considered potentially harmful to the skin and eyes of people and requires careful placement, filtered Far-UVC at 222 nm can be used to disinfect the air throughout occupied rooms. To place this in perspective, Dr. Ewan Eadie of the National Health Service of Scotland, remarked, Far-UV exposure for 30,000 hours or 3.5 years is equivalent to 10 minutes in the sun. Electromagnetic spectrum and their penetration into the human skin layers. [Photo: International Ultraviolet Association] The UV radiation at these wavelengths is nearly completely absorbed in the stratum corneum (dead skin layers) and tear-film layer of the eyes and unable to cause any damage or mutation to regenerating cells. Penetration of UV wavelengths into the human eye. [Photo: International Ultraviolet Association] At the same time the radiation can easily penetrate the minute structures of viruses (influenza, tuberculosis, measles and coronaviruses) and bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), specifically their genetic molecules and the proteins that make up the structure of these pathogens. As the figure below shows, there is higher protein absorption at the 222 nm wavelength compared to 254 nm. DNA and Protein absorption by UVC 222 nm and 254 nm. [Photo by ACS Photonics 2022, 9, 5, 1513-1521. / CC BY 4.0 In 2018, Buoanno, Welch and Brenner also published a report in Nature that because Far-UVC could efficiently inactivate bacteria without the concerns for skin cancer and cataract development with conventional UVC light sources, it could be used to eliminate airborne pathogens. They showed that low-dose rates of Far-UVC inactivated more than 95 percent of aerosolized H1N1 influenza virus. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recognition by many scientists that airborne transmission was the dominant mode of infection prompted Brenner and his group at Columbia University to investigate the rationale for Far-UVC light at 222 nm against airborne human coronaviruses, similar in size to SARS-CoV-2 but implicated in causing common colds. Using chambers to create a working model of two aerosolized human coronaviruses, they were able to inactivate 99.9 percent of all viral particles within 25 minutes using a low-dose rate (within current regulatory dose limits) of Far-UVC. The most recent evidence for the benefit of Far-UVC at 222 nm was the publication in Nature of a collaborative proof of concept study conducted by Columbia University, University of St. Andrews, Scotland and the National Health Service of Scotland in March 2022. Using a room-sized chamber that allowed three Air-Changes-per-Hour (ACH) and five filtered Far-UVC lamps, they continuously released aerosolized staphylococcus aureus into the space and conducted samplings of the air. Percentage of viable airborne Staph aureus relative to exposure time to Far-UVC light. [Photo by Nature March 2022 report on Far-UVC / CC BY 4.0 The figure above using five lamps at levels set by the current American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit values can reduce the pathogen load in the room by 98.4 percent in minutes, an equivalent of around 180 air exchanges per hour. Notably, the ACGIH raised their threshold limits in January 2022 for skin and eye exposure to 222 nm radiation based on updated safety analysis. As Dr. David Brenner noted in his commentary on the study: [The equivalent ACH = eACH] numbers are significantly larger than are achievable with most other air-cleaning technologies. The bottom line is that particularly for highly transmissible viruses such as the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the higher the eACH that can be achieved, the more protection the room occupants will receive from disease transmission. Given that a virus is smaller than a bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, the authors have noted that the effect against a SARS-CoV-2-like virus would result in even higher clearance of the pathogen. One aspect that lighting engineers and radiation scientists need to consider and address is the production of ozone molecules, or as Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez called it, indoor smog. In a study published in December 2022, the authors explained that 222 nm light can directly produce small amounts of such pollutants, and indoor spaces with UV lamps must be adequately ventilated to keep concentrations below set standards. They cautioned that the ozone production can oxidize volatile organic compounds indoors, and these factors need to be accounted for and studied further in terms of cost-benefit analysis. It is also important to note that Far-UVC lamps require that the light generated be filtered, meaning that these lamps can produce additional wavelengths of light besides 222 nm. The lower wavelengths can contribute to higher ozone generation and the higher wavelengths may cause biologic harm, as previously discussed, so the construction and use of these devices must be carefully regulated and monitored. It is also necessary to train workers in the maintenance and upkeep of these instruments and building of floor plans to incorporate them. A thorough review of ozone generation by ultraviolet lamps is provided for interested readers here by Holger Claus, the vice president of technology at Ushio America Inc., with a Masters degree and Ph.D. in lighting from the Technical University Ilmenau in Germany. He is also a member of IUVA Task Force and reviewed his findings at length in their White Paper linked again here [section: Ozone generation by Far UVC Lamps]. Who is using Far-UVC? On several recent occasions, photographs of White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha giving lectures with Far-UVC devices in the background have circulated widely on social media. However, at the recent White House Indoor Air Summit held on October 11, 2022, neither Jha nor any other speaker delved into the technology, other than a brief reference under the heading of New Technologies. One must ask why, if Dr. Jha depends on this technology so much, did he choose to remain silent on it? White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha speaking at an event with multiple UV lamps disinfecting the air. [Photo: Joey Fox/@joeyfox85 via Twitter] While these devices have only recently appeared in public, the White House was informed about the potential benefits of Far-UVC technology more than two years ago at the very beginning of the pandemic. On June 1, 2020, a paper co-authored by Dr. Nardell was published in JAMA Network. It noted, An April 2, 2020, expert consultation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy concluded that available studies are consistent with the potential aerosol spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), not only through coughing and sneezing, but by normal breathing. They added that if recommendations for the use of face covering by the public and N95 respirators for health care workers were being considered, should not air disinfection be deployed in intensive care units, emergency departments, waiting rooms, and ambulatory clinics? This approach may be especially important to prevent spread from asymptomatic persons with infection, who may be sources of transmission in selected public settings. The report emphasized the limitations of obtaining adequate air exchanges with ventilation alone and underscored the important benefits of using upper-room UVGI. They provided historical evidence for airborne transmission, noting the transmission of SARS-CoV-1 on airplanes and in apartment buildings in 2003, laboratory evidence of aerosol spread of influenza, and the infamous Washington state choir rehearsal super-spreader event. [As an aside, it appears likely that former President Trumps gaffe at the April 23, 2020 televised COVID-19 briefing, when he made remarks to the effect that people could inject themselves with disinfectants and UV lights to ward off COVID-19, was brought on by a complete misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the content of Dr. Nardells letter.] During the WHO webinar in December 2021, Nardell reiterated his concerns: Natural ventilation is unreliable and mechanical ventilation [HVAC] and room air cleaners are flow-limited. It is important to compare air disinfection strategies in terms of equivalent Air Changes per Hour (eACH). The CDC recommends 6-12 ACH but it has to do with the infectiousness of [the pathogen]. The greater the infectiousness, the greater the eACH needed for protection. UV is efficient because it treats a large volume of air at once. Whole room Far UV, importantly, treats the air immediately around occupants and does it safely. Over 5 million people have died from COVID, and many more are left with serious or debilitating consequences. It is unlikely that anyone has ever suffered any serious medical consequences of UVC exposure properly deployed for air disinfection. Even at this point in the pandemic, the WHO has not admitted that the coronavirus is airborne and only a whisper of it was made in late December 2021 under growing public pressure and the unprecedented spread of the Omicron variant. Flying under the radar of public consciousness and media scrutiny, in August 2020, in the pre-vaccine phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Defense (DOD) reported that the Arkansas Air National Guards 189th Airlift Wing, in coordination with their innovation team, was installing 50 Far-UVC lights throughout their campus. P.J. Piper, CEO of Missouri-based Far UV Technologies and David Brenner were on the project. A field engineer installs a UV light in the Arkansas Air National Guards 189th Operations Group ceiling at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., July 16, 2020. [Photo: Air Force Master Sgt. Jessica Roles, Arkansas Air National Guard] A follow-up report more than a year later in October 2021 noted that approximately 175 cutting-edge 222-nm ultraviolet lights had been installed since the project had been initiated. The report also noted that due to the success of reducing the spread of COVID, the UV lights were quickly adopted by other wings around the Air Force as well as the Pentagon and internationally. These lights were also placed in government vehicles. The article published in the 189th Airlift Wing then proceeds to make the important connection that placing such lights in buses and classrooms would be a step forward in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. It quotes Major Justin Fitzpatrick stating: I think we as a wing did an excellent job being the pioneers for large-scale Far UV installations. We worked through the challenges, became subject-matter experts, helped other units implement the light installation and now we have the opportunity to share this critical technology with the school systems, our kids and families are part of when they need it most. This represents our first real offensive weapon against the airborne spread of COVID-19 and pathogens. Meanwhile, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, President Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and then-White House COVID Response Coordinator Jeff Zients all remained silent on airborne transmission. Just months prior, Biden lied directly to a second grader at a CNN town hall, saying, Youre not likely to be able to be exposed to something and spread it to mommy or daddy. Thus, while officials covered up the science of airborne transmission, behind the scenes they knew full well the benefits of cleaning indoor air. For the vast majority of the American and world population, schools and public buildings, including health care systems, remain unprotected and continue to be vectors for the spread of COVID-19. Conclusion As historians look back on the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the fundamental issues that they will have to reckon with is the paradox that from the very beginning of the pandemic every tool that could be used to eradicate the virus was in our possession. Due to the mass infection policies implemented by capitalist governments throughout the world, SARS-CoV-2 has become entrenched in many animal reservoirs, making the eradication of the virus far more complex. Still, the global elimination of the virus among human populations remains entirely within reach and must be upheld as the goal of scientists, public health professionals and workers internationally. The tools to fight the pandemic include an array of technologies whose deployment must be coordinated globally: vaccines, mass testing, rigorous contact tracing, the isolation of infected patients and quarantining of exposed people, and high quality N95 or better respirators. Mankind has also established pathways and countermeasures to treat and manage patients afflicted with COVID-19. Central to any effort to stop the pandemic is the understanding of the airborne nature of viral transmission and the need to clean the air in all indoor spaces, through the improvement of ventilation to bring in fresh air, filtration of the air with HEPA filters, and disinfection through UV irradiation. The combination of these measures, particularly in densely-occupied and critical facilities like hospitals, would drastically reduce the spread of COVID-19 and numerous other pathogens. Despite the existence of these tools, world leaders responsible for protecting the lives and welfare of their populations have allowed millions of people to perish and hundreds of millions more to suffer the long-term consequences of their infections. The pandemic has revealed the contempt of the ruling elites for the working class. Every day, countless people continue to die or be sickened needlessly while the capacity to end the pandemic remains at the ready. This reality raises the fundamental point that it is not just the physical properties of the coronavirus that give it such strength and persistence. Rather, it is the policies derived from the capitalist social order that subject the population to the repeated dangers posed by the virus. In order to end the pandemic, it is necessary to address the politics that prevent an effective strategy for these pressing concerns. It takes more than simply acknowledging that respiratory pathogens are airborne. In order to harness the entire cumulative knowledge that human scientific inquiry has acquired, a fundamental restructuring of society along socialist lines must be undertaken. The trillions of dollars squandered on war and the personal enrichment of the financial oligarchy must be reallocated towards infrastructure investments to ensure that every indoor space is provided with clean air, in order to save millions of lives. Such funds must also be applied to further research into making UV and other new technologies even cleaner and more efficient. Real-life clinical trials, such as those begun by Wells, are needed to ensure the practical, society-wide utilization of the technology. Going forward, the fight for a socialist public health program will remain a critical component of the class struggle led by the international working class, in alliance with scientists and progressive layers of the middle class. The cognition of the material world and our ability to fashion it to our purpose, based on scientific understanding, is precisely what is at stake. We have to fight for the air we breathe. Concluded The World Socialist Web Site is publishing a statement of support for workers at the Pampas pastry and bread factory in Melbourne from the Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee. A four-week strike at Pampas was ended by the United Workers Union (UWU) leadership on December 16, with the union declaring a historic win. In fact, the 4.5 percent nominal pay rise contained in the proposed enterprise agreement is a substantial wage cut in real terms and falls far short of the 8 percent initially demanded by workers. The ballot on the proposed agreement, which concludes next Tuesday, is being conducted in an entirely anti-democratic manner, with votes to be counted by union officials and management, who are equally determined to ram the deal through. **** The Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee (HWRFC) extends our full support and solidarity to Pampas workers, in your struggle for decent wages and working conditions. Your fight is part of a growing wave of strikes and protests by workers across Australia and internationally. NSW nurses protesting during a one-day strike on March 31, 2022. [Photo: WSWS] Last year, in NSW, public sector nurses and midwives went on strike five times. Nurses are fighting against a real wage cut and for nurse-to-patient ratios, under conditions of crippling workloads and widespread staff shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses are determined to fight, but their action has been isolated and limited by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA), which has ended each strike without workers demands being met. Workers are beginning to recognise that to take forward their fight, they must organise independently of the union leadership. Last year at Lifehouse, a Cancer treatment centre in Sydney, nurses wrote an open letter to the nurses union, demanding that the union endorse a no vote on an enterprise agreement that would slash real wages, and do little to improve working conditions. Nurses decisively voted down the Lifehouse agreement by 68 percent in September, but the union leadership has continued to work with management to impose a rotten deal. In December, the NSWNMA declared in an email that members had won a pay rise of 3 percentthe same offer that nurses had already rejected. The HWRFC has supported the nurses campaign for a no vote as an important first step toward breaking out of the stranglehold of the NSWNMA bureaucracy and taking matters into their own hands. It is only through the formation of independent rank-and-file committees that workers can develop their own demands and initiatives based on what is actually needed, not what management and the union bureaucrats say is affordable, and link up their struggles with those of other workers. We urge Pampas workers to vote no to the UWU-management agreement and form a rank-and-file committee to discuss and develop a campaign for secure jobs, a real wage increase and improved working conditions. The HWRFC is ready to join you in this struggle and pledges to inform health workers widely about your fight and mobilise support for you. US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks at the White House yesterday, capping off meetings this week between top-level US and Japanese officials all with one overriding aim: to strengthen closer military collaboration and accelerate joint preparations for war against China. President Joe Biden meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the White House, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Washington. [AP Photo/Evan Vucci] A joint statement released after the White House talks declared that cooperation between the two countries was unprecedented in the face of growing challenges, then proceeded to denounce China for actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order, along with Russia for the war in Ukraine and North Korea for its provocations. Kishida thanked the US for its involvement in regional security in the Indo-Pacific amid the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history. Biden hailed what he called a remarkable moment in the US-Japan alliance and praised the Kishida governments decision last month to double its military budget and boost its offensive capacity. He declared that the US was fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the defence of Japan using all means, including nuclear weapons. The statement and comments are premised on a lie: that the US and its allies are simply responding to Russian and Chinese provocations and aggression. In reality, the US and Japan are basing themselves on the same modus operandi in Asia as the US and its NATO allies have carried out in Europe: goading Moscow into a war in Ukraine designed to weaken and dismember Russia. Both Washington and Tokyo are deliberately undermining the basis for diplomatic ties with Chinathe One China policy under which the two countries have in the past de facto recognised Beijing as the legitimate government of all China, including Taiwan. By boosting ties with Taipei, and thereby encouraging it to declare formal independence from China, the US and Japan are goading Beijing to reassert its control of the strategic island militarily. The US-led war on Russia in Ukraine is the opening phase and preparation for conflict against China, which American imperialism openly declares is the greatest threat to its global domination. The accusation incessantly repeated that China undermines the international rules-based order refers to the post-World War II order in which the US dictated the rules. The US is aiming to shore up its global position by securing control over the vast natural resources and labour reserves of the Eurasian land mass. Biden alluded to the global sweep of US ambitions when he declared: We also recognize that the challenges we face transcend geography. United across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we have stood together in firm opposition to Russias unjust and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine The significance of the US-Japanese talks has been underscored by other top American officials. Following 2+2 meeting between top US and Japanese defence and foreign affairs officials on Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin declared that 2023 was an inflection point for our national security and defense strategies aligning closer than ever. US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel told the Washington Post that Biden and Kishida were working to shrink the distance between the trans-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific into a single strategic sphere in what is probably one of the biggest developments that the two leaders have produced. Transforming Asia, Europe and North America into a single strategic sphere only has one possible meaningit is the strategic preparation for world war and, moreover, a conflict that has already begun in Ukraine. Details of the talks in Washington that have been released only confirm the rapid escalation of war planning in the Indo-Pacific. Biden, Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were all full of praise for Japans aggressive remilitarisation announced last month, which blatantly breaches the so-called pacifist clause of its post-war constitution. Japan is stepping up big time and doing so in lock step with the United States, partners in the Indo-Pacific, and in Europe, Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, enthused. Kishidas right-wing, ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been pushing for decades to remove the legal and constitutional constraints on the military, is exploiting the threat posed by China to undermine widespread anti-war opposition at home. Doubling the military budget ends the longstanding restriction on military spending to 1 percent of GDP. Acquiring 400 to 500 US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles worth $US38 billion over the next five years and other nakedly offensive weaponry overturns the pretence that Japans military might is purely defensive. The US-Japan 2+2 talks this week opened the door for far closer military collaboration, planning and preparation. The joint statement declared that given a severely contested environment, US forces in Japan should be strengthened with more versatile, resilient, and mobile forces with increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, anti-ship, and transportation capabilities. The build-up is focussed on Japans southwestern islands, which are close to Taiwan and opposite the Chinese mainland. The joint statement agreed to bolster bilateral training and exercises in these islands, on which the Japanese military has already been stationing missiles. The large US bases on Okinawa, also part of Japans southern island chain, are to be restructured and boosted with the establishment of a Littoral Regiment of 2,000 troops, the Marine Corps most advanced unit, by 2025. Austin declared that the regiment, which has advanced intelligence and surveillance capacities as well as being armed with anti-ship missiles, would contribute in a major way to the joint military build-up. Currently there are 18,000 US Marines on Okinawa as part of the 54,000 American military personnel stationed on bases throughout Japan. The US is to station MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for missile attacks on ground targets, at the Kanoya Air Base on the southern island of Kyushu. A US Army company of around 300 soldiers and 13 vessels will be deployed by mid-year to facilitate the rapid dispersal of US and Japanese troops and equipment in the event of conflict. Significantly, the US has agreed to extend its security treaty to cover attacks in space. Any attack on Japanese satellites used by the military and for its global positioning system would be used as a pretext for the US to unleash the full force of its military, including nuclear weapons. The US and Japan have also agreed to collaborate in military research, the development of critical and emerging technologies and the securing of supply chains essential to the military. At the same time, the two countries have undertaken to sharpen our shared edge on economic security including semiconductors. This signifies that Japan will support US efforts to choke off the supply of advanced computer chips and the machinery needed for their manufacture to China. The talks in Washington do mark a turning point in the descent of the US, backed by Japan, into war with China. Only a unified anti-war movement of the international working class can halt a conflict between nuclear-armed powers that threatens humanity with catastrophe. The influential and innovative London-born rock guitarist Jeff Beck died on Tuesday at a hospital near his residence in Riverhall, East Sussex in southern England. According to a Facebook post on Wednesday, Beck suddenly contracted bacterial meningitis and peacefully passed away. He was 78 years old. As one of numerous guitarists who came to international prominence during the British Invasion of the mid-1960s and beyond, Beck created a multitude of unique sounds and crafted his own playing techniques as he transitioned in and out of musical genres and styles over the decades. Jeff Beck, 1979 [Photo by Chris Hakkens / CC BY 2.0 Beck has been repeatedly listed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. As recently as 2015, a Rolling Stone panel of top guitarists and music experts listed Jeff Beck at number five behind Keith Richards (Rolling Stones), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Beck has sometimes been referred to as a guitarists guitarist because of his meticulous approach to playing and the fact that he inspired so many other noted players of the instrument during his lifetime. Rolling Stone has described him as one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock. Perhaps Jeff Beck is still best known for his 20 months as the guitarist of the acclaimed English rock band the Yardbirds (1965-66). He joined the band within days of Eric Claptons departure in March 1965 over disagreements about the direction of the group. Becks influence was immediately evident on the bands second album For Your Love, which features his guitar work on three tracks and Claptons on seven others. In contrast to Claptons strict adherence to American blues, Beck favored and encouraged the Yardbirds to move toward experimentation and a broader range of influences. With most British bands of that era moving away from the pop sounds associated with Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Chuck Berry and in the direction of an eclectic mix, Beck contributed a strong blues base combined with rockabilly, as well as Indian and Middle Eastern musical influences. By the time of the Yardbirds self-titled third album in 1966, which became semi-officially known as Roger the Engineer, Becks lead guitar playing entered never-heard-before territory. As the New York Times put it on Wednesday, Becks stinging licks and darting leads on songs like Shapes of Things and Over Under Sideways Down added an expansive element to the music that helped signal the emerging psychedelic rock revolution. The Yardbirds in 1965 Although his stint with the Yardbirds ended contentiously after a US tour in 1966he later said, every day was a hurricane in the Yardbirds Beck continued experimenting with and mastering the technology of the electric guitar. As he began a solo career, Beck used items such as the whammy bar, wah-wah peddle and fuzz box, feedback and distortion to expand the range of expression of the instrument like almost no one else. He also pioneered certain fingering techniques with both hands such as hammer-ons, thumb pluck, string bends and harmonics that at times could make the guitar sound like a human voice. He formed the Jeff Beck Group in 1967, which included vocals by Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood on rhythm guitar and various bass players and drummers over the next few years. It is a remarkable fact that the Yardbirds produced three of the most celebrated guitarists in rock music historyClapton, Page and Beck. While the first two achieved mass popularity, Beck never did. While the matter of superstardom in rock music is the result of an unpredictable mixture of corporate support, circumstances, timing and luck, it appears that Beck made a deliberate decision to move in a direction that was no guarantee of commercial or mainstream success. By taking his solo career in the direction of jazz fusion, guitar rock and strictly instrumental endeavors, Beck often continued to innovate without the elements, especially vocals, that so much of popular radio-play music depended upon. Nonetheless, he continued to receive critical praise and was awarded the Grammy Award for Rock Instrumental Performance six times and the Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992 and as a solo artist in 2009. There are many great examples of Becks electric guitar virtuosity. On his solo album Flash in 1985, there is an exceptional guitar accompaniment to Rod Stewarts vocals on People Get Ready. Jeff Beck, Truth (1968) Meanwhile, Beck has an extraordinary list of collaborations on his resume. The lengthy list of artists that he worked with includes Luciano Pavarotti, Stevie Wonder, Macy Gray, Chrissie Hynde, Joss Stone, Imelda May, Cyndi Lauper, Wynonna Judd, Buddy Guy and Johnny Depp. Jeff Becks death has elicited an outpouring of comments and tributes on social media from those who he worked with and those who admired and learned from him. Steve Hackett, former guitarist with the rock band Genesis, wrote on Facebook, He pioneered the use of guitar sonics, reverb, repeat echo, distortion, feedback and so many more things. I see him as the tonemeister One minute making the guitar sound like an unearthly voice, the next burning up the frets, but always with a great tone. His use of tremelo arm was completely off the scale, sometimes making it sound like an Indian instrument He made the electric guitar sing and he was such a powerful influence on myself and many others. Extraordinarily gifted guitarist Steve Vai wrote on Facebook, In the pantheons of guitar players, Jeff Beck was the chosen one. He left us with so much beauty and light in our music world. I cant imagine the landscape of contemporary guitar playing if he had never been here, but as everything comes and goes in this world, his contribution reshaped our imagination of what the guitar can do forever. Thank you master. You really did it and we so much appreciate you. Adrian Belew, who played with Frank Zappa and was a key member of King Crimson, wrote on Facebook, on the ground as an American teenager (now 15 years old and in my first teen band The Denems) heres how it looked: Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds before we had even heard of them! His heart was into the blues so he joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Unbeknownst to us Eric recommended his friend Jimmy Page to the band and Page recommended Jeff Beck. It would be a while yet before Clapton and Page reached our ears. from the first minute we heard Jeff there was no one else like him. HE WAS THE FIRST. Jimi Hendrix was yet to come (in 1967) as was Eric's first band Cream and eventually Jimmy Pages Led Zeppelin. Jeffs influences included the blues but ... also based on artists like The Shadows (Englands version of The Ventures) Les Paul, Chet Atkins, rockabilly guitarist Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar and Indian music. Beck worked with Roger Waters on his Amused to Death album in 1992. Water had this to say about him, Jeff Beck is a kind of genius. I feel really privileged to have been able to work with him. Hes also a really good guy and I love him. But to have spent that long in a room watching him play the guitar is a huge kind of privilege. One of the things that comes with making proper records and being able to work with people is that occasionally you get to stand in a room and watch somebody do it. First of all, Waters continued, Beck is incredibly technically gifted, in ways that the rest of us cant even begin to think about. But he also has incredible pitch. When you play a harmonic and then play a melody on a whammy bar, its quite extraordinary to listen to. He has the same incredible technique that Yehudi Menuhin, you know, or any great classical player has, because if you think about it, the way Jeff plays the guitar is a bit like the way any great violin player plays it because the intonation is so perfect and incredible. On Friday, one day after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate President Joe Bidens mishandling of classified documents, Republican-led House committees launched their own investigations. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, one of the leading supporters of Donald Trumps attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, sent a letter to Garland announcing that his committee was initiating a probe not only into Bidens actions, but also the role of Garland and the Justice Department. The Republicans have accused the Biden Justice Department of weaponizing the federal government in order to persecute Trump, his allies in Congress and the fascist insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Alluding to the fact that days before the 2022 midterm elections, the Justice Department was informed by the National Archives that Biden aides had discovered highly classified documents at a private Washington D.C. office Biden used between 2017 and 2021, Jordan wrote: It is unclear when the Department first came to learn about the existence of these documents, and whether it actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 elections. Implying a deliberate cover-up coordinated with the White House, Jordan continued: It is also unclear what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives about his mishandling of classified material. He then proceeded to denounce Garland for authorizing the August 8 raid on Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence to enforce a grand jury search warrant after Trump defied a subpoena ordering him to release hundreds of pages of classified documents he continued hold at his Florida compound. In fact, on August 8, 2022, despite the publicly available evidence of President Trumps voluntary cooperation, you personally approved the decision to seek a warrant for excessive and unprecedented access to his private residence, Jordan wrote. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., center, is joined by his picks for the Jan. 6 Select Committee after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two Republicans, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The letter demanded that Garland turn over to the committee all documents relating to his appointment of former Trump Justice Department official Robert Hur as special counsel in the Biden documents case and all other documents relating to the investigation of the matter. It gave the Justice Department a deadline of 5 p.m. on January 27 to comply with the request. Also on Friday, James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Biden White House counsels office reiterating the initiation of his committees own, separate investigation and demanding that the White House turn over all classified documents found in the Penn Biden office in Washington D.C. as well as other classified documents that were subsequently found at the presidents private residence in Wilmington, Delaware. The letter further demanded a list of all Biden aides tasked to search through the presidents documents, a complete list of locations searched, and all communications between or among the White House and the Department of Justice or NARA (National Archives) regarding classified documents retrieved Tying the documents scandal together with Republican plans to investigate alleged shady business dealings of Bidens son, Hunter Biden, with Chinese companies, the letter noted that Hunter Biden resided at the Wilmington address while engaging in international business deals with adversaries of the United States. It too set a deadline of January 27 for compliance. At a White House press briefing on Friday, Bidens press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, continued to stonewall on the scandal surrounding the documents. As on Thursday, she deflected multiple questions about both the documents themselves and the failure of the White House to inform the public about the discovery of document batches both prior to the midterm elections and on December 20. CBS News first reported the discovery of the classified documents in Bidens former private D.C. office on Monday, after which Biden acknowledged their existence and insisted the mishandling was inadvertent, and that his lawyers had immediately informed the National Archives and were collaborating fully with the Justice Department. At the same time, Jean-Pierre stressed the bipartisan achievements of the administration, pointing to the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill passed last year and the January 4 photo-op in Covington, Kentucky at which Biden posed with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, also a Republican, to tout a new bridge linking the two states being built with the help of a federal subsidy. That demonstration of bipartisan unity coincided with last weeks holdout by 20 of the most fascistic House Republicans, delaying the election of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker for 15 ballots and five days and establishing these elements, two years after the attempted coup, as the dominant force in the Republican Party. The eruption of the Biden documents scandal has only accelerated the political warfare between rival factions of the corporate-financial elite, demonstrating the uncontrollable and irreversible collapse of the traditional forms of capitalist rule in America, and the inexorable trajectory toward dictatorship and fascism on the part of the ruling class. As sharp as they are, the differences concern tactics and means, not basic class policy. In the face of a deepening economic and geo-political crisis, and, above all, a growing movement of the working class against intolerable exploitation and social inequality, all factions are united behind a policy of war against Russia and ultimately China, risking nuclear annihilation, and a war against the wages, jobs and living standards of the working class. Under these conditions, the most right-wing sections of the Republican Party set the tone and dictate the basic direction of policy, and the Democrats, as always, lurch further to the right in search of unity, above all in the prosecution of the war against Russia and preparations for war against China. In this connection, it is significant that on Friday, one day after the announcement of a special counsel to investigate Biden, the New York Times handed over the bulk of its op-ed page to a guest column by Trump acolyte and accomplice Kellyanne Conway. Having served as Trumps campaign manager in 2016 and senior counselor from 2017 to 2020, Conway is now given a platform by the unofficial organ of the Democratic Party to tout the accomplishments of Trump and provide advice on how he might mount a winning reelection campaign in 2024. In the course of the article, Conway makes only a passing reference to the violent coup launched by Trump in 2021, taking care not to criticize it. Instead, she taunts the Democrats for their cowardly refusal to jail or even prosecute any of the ringleaders of the attempted overthrow, beginning with Trump himself, who, she writes, eludes prosecution like no other public figure. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi agreed with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the need to continue joint efforts between the two countries to strengthen cooperation and solidarity among Arab nations to face growing challenges on all levels. Qatar and Bahrain announced late Wednesday that they had agreed to end a long-running diplomatic feud and re-establish relations. Egypt's exports jumped 23.3 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2022 to register $42.8 billion, the county's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said Friday. Egyptian exports reached $34.7 billion during the same period of 2021, CAPMAS reported, adding that the increase amounted to $8.1 billion. The top ten importers included Spain and Turkey with commodities worth $3.1 billion each, followed by Italy with $2.8 billion and the US with $2 billion. Saudi Arabia came in fifth place with imports worth $2 billion. Netherlands came sixth with imports worth $1.7 billion, followed by South Korea, France, and China with imports worth $1.6 billion, $1.95 billion, and $1.6 billion, respectively. Finally, the UAE came in tenth, importing Egyptian commodities worth $1.5 billion, according to CAPMAS. The top 10 commodities that Egypt exported during the period included liquefied natural gas (LNG), at a total value of $7.9 billion, fertilisers ($2.7 billion), crude oil ($2.6 billion) and petroleum products ($2.6 billion). It also included ready-made garments ($2.1 billion), plastics ($1.6 billion), fresh fruits ($1.4 billion), various doughs and prepared foods ($818.1 million), potatoes ($370.6 million) and carpets and hand-woven kilim rugs ($342.7 million). Egypt intends to reach $100 billion in annual exports by 2025. Last year, Egypt embarked on a plan to cut imports and increase exports by localising manufacturing in nine investment sectors, including wood and furniture, chemicals, and textiles. Search Keywords: Short link: By Fatima Hasanova Ukraine has thanked Azerbaijan for the provision of power generators, Azernews reports, citing a tweet from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. "Grateful to Azerbaijan for providing Ukrainian cities with generators and transformers. It is vital for restoring Ukrainian critical infrastructure damaged after the barbaric bombings carried by Russian aggressor @AzerbaijanMFA, @AzEmbUkraine," the tweet read. Azerbaijan has provided Ukraine with a total of AZN30 million ($17.6 million) worth of humanitarian assistance since the start of the war. In addition, different agencies have sent humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. About 90 Ukrainian children who have suffered serious physical harm or the loss of family members due to the conflict in the country were brought to Azerbaijan to receive medical, social, and psychological rehabilitation. On February 27 and March 12, 2022, a total of nearly 520 tons of humanitarian aid consisting of medicines, medical supplies, instruments, and equipment, as well as food products, with a total amount of AZN21.5 million (more than 11.5 million) was sent to Ukraine. On April 21, 2022, another humanitarian aid with a total weight of over 170 tons was sent to Ukraine. The aid included medicines and medical supplies worth AZN3.37 million ($1.98 million), as well as food products worth AZN1m ($590,000). Another 20 tons of humanitarian aid was dispatched to Ukraine's Dnieper back in May 2022. On July 5, 2022, at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the Ukrainian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladislav Kanevsky told the media that Azerbaijan had supplied over 1,500 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry is set to meet on Sunday with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, in Cairo, the latter's last stop of his five-leg trip to Africa. The meeting between the Egyptian and Chinese top diplomats is set to deal with means of enhancing ties in all fields as well as tackling a host of regional and international issues of mutual interest. Shoukry and Qin are set hold a press conference following their meeting, reported Egyptian state news agency MENA on Saturday. Qin is also set to hold talks with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul-Gheit, according to media reports. In December, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the first China-Arab Summit, in Saudi Arabia. El-Sisi asserted to his Chinese counterpart Cairo's keenness to boost cooperation with Beijing at all levels through the framework of the Egyptian-Chinese Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Egypts exports to China registered $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2022, compared to $1.1 billion in the same period of 2021, marking an increase of 36.7 percent, according to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) CAPMAS stated that Egypts imports from China hit $11.1 billion from January to September 2022, against $10.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2021. It said Chinas total investments in Egypt hit $563.4 million in fiscal year (FY) 2021-22, compared to $485.2 million in FY2020-21, marking an increase of 16.1 percent. The top Chinese diplomat commenced his African tour, which is his first overseas visit since his appointment as foreign minister in December, with a visit to Ethiopia on Wednesday. He attended the opening of the Chinese-built headquarters of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa. He held the eighth China-African Union Strategic Dialogue with Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat at the headquarters of the African Union in Ethiopia. Qins tour included visits to Gabon, Angola and Benin, where he held talks with several African officials. Search Keywords: Short link: Former England batter Gary Ballance enjoyed a winning start to his Zimbabwe career, hitting 30 in a low-scoring T20 victory over Ireland in Harare. Ballance, now 33, switched his allegiance to the country of his birth having last featured for England in 2017. He played 23 Tests and 16 ODIs for his adopted nation but latterly struggled with his mental health and was suspended from future selection after admitting using unacceptable language to former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq. His new chapter on the international stage began with a breezy 30, including two fours and a six, as Zimbabwe chased down a modest target with five wickets in hand. Congratulations to Gary Ballance, who is making his T20I debut for #ZIMvIRE | #VisitZimbabwe pic.twitter.com/OrvZfMA7SS Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) January 12, 2023 Ireland were bowled out for just 114 as only three players reached double figures and Gareth Delany top-scored with 24. Ross Adair was dismissed for five on debut as he stood in for the unavailable Paul Stirling. Despite also missing Josh Little to the franchise circuit, Ireland struck twice with the new ball only for Ballance and Sean Williams (34 not out) to knock off the bulk of the runs in the middle order. Harry Tector and Mark Adair finished with two apiece but Zimbabwe made it 1-0 in the three-match series with two overs unused. Meek Mill celebrated a momentous day on Thursday (Jan. 12) when he announced that outgoing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf had granted him a pardon on the 15-year-old drug and gun charges that for years bedeviled the rappers life and career. The moves means the offenses will be permanently expunged from his criminal record. Thankyall. Im only gone do more for my community on God!, Meek wrote on Instagram alongside a slightly redacted copy of the official pardon document. #newlevelsunlocked, he added. Related Lisa Marie Presle Lisa Marie Presley's Death Mourned by Questlove, LeAnn Rimes & More: 'I Hope She Is at Peace in Her 01/13/2023 01/13/2023 Over on Twitter, Meek, 35, added, I got pardoned today, Im taking things really far from being a trench baby! The pardon reads, Therefore, know ye that in consideration of the premises and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the [redacted] said Robert R. Williams (Alias: Meek Mill) born on May 6, 1987, identified [redacted] crime(s) whereof he was convicted as aforesaid, and he is thereby fully pardoned [redacted]. More from Billboard Mill (born Robert Rihmeek Williams), was convicted on drug and weapons charges in 2008 when he was 18-years-old and sentenced to 11-23 months in prison and released after serving eight months of his sentence and was later placed on probation for five years. What followed was a years-long series of legal entanglements that helped transform the rapper into an advocate for criminal justice reform. Mill was arrested again in 2012 after cops said they smelled marijuana coming from his car, then was back in court two years later on a probation violation for booking performances outside of his native Philly without a judges approval, resulting in another prison sentence. The same judge sentenced him to 90 days of house arrest in 2016 for another alleged violation for traveling outside Philly, and once more in 2017 for violating his terms of probation, netting him a two to four year sentence in state prison. Story continues In July 2019, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania granted Mills appeal, thereby overturning his 2008 conviction and ordering a new trial to be overseen by a different judge. That same year, Mill launched the non-profit REFORM Alliance, whose mission is to transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing. See a copy of the pardon document below. I got pardoned today , Im taking things really far from being a trench baby! MeekMill (@MeekMill) January 13, 2023 Click here to read the full article. Entitled How Britons can swap miserable weather for a month-long sunshine holiday in Egypt for (almost) the same cost as living at home, a report published by the mail Online suggested that Britons leave the miserable winter weather in their homeland to enjoy a warm and sunny winter weather in Egypt for a long period of time and at the same cost of living at home. The report also mentioned the efforts carried out by the Egyptian government to promote the country as one of the the best long period winter season tourist destinations. It highlighted that Egypt houses a large number of hotels and resorts that meet different tastes, especially in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada. These hotels also offer other amenities such as 'panoramic views' of the Sinai mountain range, private beachs, outdoor pools, spas and diving centres. The report also highlighted the newly operated flights and deals from several cities in Britain to Egypts different destinations. Meanwhile, the american wesbite Deseret News selected Egypt as one of five international places expected to be the most popular travel spots in 2023. The website cited Egypt's long awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) as the main reason for its choice. It went on to say that the musuem overlooks the iconic Giza Plateau which houses the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), the last surviving wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In addition, the website also listed among Egypt's landmarks Historic Cairo (home to a number of monumental edifices) and the coastal city of Alexandria. It also suggested that travellers enjoy a Nile cruise trip between Luxor and Aswan and recommended a number of restaurants and eateries offering the best in oriental and Egyptian cuisine. Search Keywords: Short link: Bolstered by a surging oil and gas industry in the state, New Mexico lawmakers and the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham aligned in recommending $9.4 billion in spending for the next fiscal year for the legislature to consider in the upcoming session starting next week. Both the executive budget recommendation from Lujan Grisham and the budget proposed by the Legislative Finance Committee entailed a 12 percent spending increase from last year, as oil and gas revenue continued to grow providing largely for an about $3.6 billion funding surplus. Priorities for the governor and committee included expansions of early childhood education, public schools and for healthcare. More:New Mexico Democrats hope to pass 'green amendment' to protect rights against pollution The governor also prioritized a $1 billion appropriation for tax rebates intended to provide economic relief to New Mexico households. She also proposed about $277 million in childcare investments, along with $220 million to extend in-classroom learning time, according to the announcement of Lujan Grishams recommendation. Another $200 million would go to establish a Rural Health Care Delivery Fund, should the governors proposal be approved by lawmakers, along with funds to provide rental assistance and mobile homelessness response teams within the Department of Health. More:Wildfires burned New Mexico last spring, prompting bill to ban burns during season The LFCs recommendations included $109 million to expand pre-kindergarten, along with $263 million in recurring and $261 million in nonrecurring to fund public schools, with its plan for public education totaling about $4.1 billion a 6.8 percent bump from the current fiscal year. The governor planned to maintain reserves of 34.9 percent of spending, while the LFCs had them at 30 percent. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks with attendees at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, June 1, 2022 in Carlsbad. This budget builds upon the immense progress and success of the last four years, continuing to improve the lives of the people of New Mexico by funding programs, policies and initiatives that we know are working, Lujan Grisham said in a statement following the release of her budget proposal. Story continues More:Energy storage pushed by New Mexico lawmakers via tax credits to boost renewable power State Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-49) said in a statement following the committees recommendation that the proposal emphasized support for New Mexicos children. Its cliche but funding todays children is funding New Mexicos future, she said. This year we have an opportunity to do more than ever to give our kids a strong start. Caution urged as Permian Basin boom supports New Mexicos spending But all that spending was tied to the states fossil fuel industry, driven by extraction in the southeast Permian Basin New Mexico shares with West Texas. More:Feds say oil and gas land sale in New Mexico will not 'noticeably' impact pollution Its the most active oilfield in the U.S., producing up to 5.5 million barrels per day (bpd) about half of the nations output. Due largely to Permian Basin production, New Mexico ranks second in the U.S. for crude oil output, following only Texas. Throughout 2022, the market for domestic oil grew as the world recovered from the COVID-19 health crisis and nations sought to limit imports from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. More:New Mexico 'ready' for federal air pollution restrictions, despite oil and gas opposition That caused U.S. oil prices to soar, and production to boom in the Permian. An LFC report last month showed New Mexico oil production increased to 1.7 million bpd as of December 2022, compared with 700,000 bpd in 2018. New Mexico also ranked second only to North Dakota in oil production per capita, the LFC noted, surpassing Alaska, Colorado and Texas, meaning the state was the second-richest in the U.S. for per-person tax revenue from fossil fuel. More:$3.8B Permian Basin midstream merger reported amid potential decline in oil production State economists did warn about potentially volatility in the energy market, known for dramatic up and down swings, meaning fiscal discipline was important even during boom times. New Mexico production, driven by activity in the Permian Basin, is expected to continue to grow, although revenues from oil production continue to be volatile, fueling a boom-and-bust budget cycle, read the LFC report. George Munoz LFC Vice Chair Sen. George Munoz (D-4) echoed those concerns but argued investments during the financial windfall could insulate New Mexico from future declines. More:Oil and gas looks to 'clean up energy' in the Permian Basin amid pollution concerns Oil and gas are always unpredictable, and a recession is still a threat, he said. However, with this level of income, we have the opportunity to set New Mexico up to never have to ride the oil and gas rollercoaster at the same time we maintain strong reserves. Lawmakers to consider environmental initiatives, using oil money The role of oil and gas in providing funds for the added spending should be remembered by lawmakers as they consider bills during the upcoming 60-day session, said Larry Behrens, spokesman for fossil fuel advocacy group Power the Future. Behrens worried policy makers would introduce measures that could seek to transition New Mexico away from fossil fuels and tighten restrictions on the industry. More:Federal methane restrictions needed, New Mexicans say, amid growing oil and gas drilling He was critical of a $4.1 million appropriation in the governors recommendation to fund climate change initiatives at the New Mexico Environment Department, along with another $5.9 million earmarked to aid in the energy transition by providing dollars to fund energy projects alternative to fossil fuels. The governor also recommended a $2 million special appropriation at NMED the agency requested to fund increases in staffing and administrative worked tied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys expected action this year to deem the Permian Basin region in violation of federal air quality standards, a move tied to ozone pollution from extraction facilities in the area. Governor Lujan Grisham has proudly said we need to transition away from fossil fuels, but she sure cant seem to transition away from spending the revenue, Behrens said. Before taxpayers foot the bill for more of the governors green pet projects, its past time for an examination on the Governors past initiatives to see if theyve delivered on her over-hyped promises. More:New Mexico congressmembers call for federal work to plug abandoned oil and gas wells Brittany Fallon, western lands policy manager at conservation group Western Resource Advocates commended the governor for seeking to provide $75 million for a Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund that provide funding to environmental restoration projects throughout the state. New Mexico is home to one of the most diverse landscapes in the U.S., yet the state has no permanent source of conservation funding, Fallon said. Thanks to dual leadership from the Governor and legislative champions, the fund is poised to infuse a meaningful amount of money into protecting and restoring the lands and waters that are vital to the cultural heritage and economic lives of New Mexicans. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil money windfall pushes New Mexico spending proposals to $9.4B The Price of Glee is full of low points, but the lowest has got to be the interview with the guy who's identified on screen as a "celebrity researcher." In episode 2 of Investigation Discovery's three-part schlockudrama, said researcher who posts video tours of landmarks related to celebrity deaths on his YouTube channel stands outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, where Glee star Cory Monteith was found dead in 2013. He repeats some of the well-known facts about Monteith's accidental overdose, and then wonders aloud: "Why did this celebrity relapse?" That dude has no idea. Nor does The Price of Glee have answers about any of the Glee-related subjects it examines with such ghoulish intensity: Monteith's overdose; Naya Rivera's drowning; Mark Salling's suicide; Melissa Benoist's experience as a survivor of domestic violence; Lea Michele's reputation for being "difficult." The program is, as expected, a tawdry and slight exercise in misery porn, a rehash of tragedy told largely by talking heads, crew members, and people who call themselves friends of the deceased. (No cast members or family members appear in the series, with the exception of Rivera's father, George Rivera.) The Price of Glee Investigation Discovery 'Glee' stars Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, and Mark Salling The first hour recaps the Glee phenomenon, which began with the show's premiere in spring 2009. Patching together news clips with shaky fan-cam footage and video from public events, The Price of Glee chronicles the cast's transformation from fresh-faced newcomers doing autograph signings at Hot Topic to international stars who literally could not go anywhere without being mobbed by screaming fans. The head of the hair department from season 3 says the cast became competitive about who could amass the most followers on social media. A psychotherapist who did not work with the cast says that sudden-onset fame can present a tremendous mental health challenge. Chris Colfer's stand-in says that Monteith, who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction since the age of 13, "wasn't always coming to set prepared." Do you need to take a shower yet? Story continues When The Price of Glee is done speculating about why Monteith lost his battle with substance use disorder Was it the show's punishing schedule? The actor's insecurities about his ability as a dancer? the series turns its attention to his costar and former girlfriend, Lea Michele. "Lea's a narcissist," sniffs a man who worked as an assistant to an executive producer in season 1. "It was about her, always," notes a set director from seasons 1 and 2. The second episode features an interview with a background player who says the actress slighted him during a lunch break. Reader, we all know Michele has never been in the running for Miss Congeniality, but The Price of Glee works overtime to paint her as a heartless shrew who demanded that everyone go back to work two weeks after Monteith's death. As creator Ryan Murphy has said many times publicly, he and the producers made the decision together after consulting with Michele. Truth is overrated; sexism is forever. The rapid-fire final hour hits several beats, including the story of Mark Salling, who died by suicide in 2018 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. The Price of Glee reminds us that Salling played bad boy Puck, a lothario who prided himself on his many sexual conquests; that the actor and Rivera had a tumultuous romantic relationship; that no one on set had any idea that Salling was so deeply troubled. "What really was going on inside of him, I'm really not sure," says Glee's key assistant location manager (seasons 1-4). Rivera's father, meanwhile, reminisces about his daughter as a driven and talented performer, one who transformed Glee's Santana from a barely supporting part into a lead role through the sheer force of her undeniable charisma. Rather than leave it there, though, producers also feel the need to interview a former coroner who did not write Rivera's autopsy report but nonetheless has "some theories" about the awful boating accident that ended her life as her toddler son watched. Cool. The Price of Glee has nothing new to tell us about any of these terribly sad events and even if it did, do we really need more information? The true tragedy of this show is that networks and streamers will continue to crank out junk like it as long as viewers continue to watch. Skipping it, however, doesn't cost a thing. Grade: D- All three episodes of The Price of Glee premiere Monday, Jan. 16, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery and Discovery+. 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: 6-Year-Old Boy Shoots His Teacher At Richneck Elementary School In Newport News, Virginia New details have emerged after a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher inside a classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. The Associated Press reported on Friday (Jan. 13) that at least one school official was informed that the child may have had a weapon before the shooting occurred. As previously reported by REVOLT, the student and educator were involved in a dispute when a single shot was fired on Jan. 6. The teacher, who was later identified as Abigail Zwerner, was wounded in the chest. The 25-year-old was in critical condition, but has since shown signs of improvement and is now listed in stable condition. The child was arrested. Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the Newport News school district, confirmed that the boys backpack was searched on that fateful day. The students book bag was searched at that point after it was reported that he may have a weapon. Nothing was found in the backpack, she said. However, two hours later, the boy wounded his teacher. Price added, Im not able to comment on whether other searches may have occurred, except for the fact that the superintendent has shared that the students backpack was searched and nothing was found at the time. Kelly King, a spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department, said the agency was not informed of a possible weapon being on campus before the near-fatal incident unfolded. Police have not disclosed where they believe the gun was hidden. They did, however, disclose that the weapon was legally purchased and belonged to the boys mother. As a result of the harrowing experience, the school district has decided to install metal detectors at each of its campuses, starting with Richneck Elementary. During a town hall hosted by Superintendent Dr. George Parker on Thursday (Jan. 12), he told parents, Weve been in contact with Uvalde in Texas, who have been very gracious in communicating with us. The Texas town was the site of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, which left two teachers and 19 students dead and 17 others injured. View the school districts latest update below. Oklahoma police have arrested the caregivers of a 4-year-old girl who was reported missing after a postal carrier found her sister wandering alone outside, as one of the suspects now faces a murder charge in connection with the child's disappearance, authorities said. Local authorities began searching for Athena Brownfield Tuesday afternoon, when the postal worker discovered her 5-year-old sister and notified police, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which is also involved in the search. Alysia Adams, 31, was arrested Thursday afternoon in Grady County, Oklahoma, on two counts of child neglect, the agency said. Her husband, Ivon Adams, 36, was taken into custody in Arizona on Thursday and is currently at the Maricopa County Jail awaiting extradition to Oklahoma on one count of murder in the first degree and one count of child neglect, it said. A spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Brook Arbeitman, told ABC News she could not release more information on the charges amid the active investigation. PHOTO: Booking photo of Alysia Adams who was arrested at the Grady County Sheriffs Office on two counts of child neglect. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) PHOTO: The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation released the booking photo for Ivon Adams. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) During a Friday court appearance in Maricopa County, Ivon Adams waived his right to an extradition hearing. "I need to get there and fight this," he told the court. The two sisters were reportedly in the couple's care when the 5-year-old was found alone outside their home in Cyril, police said. Authorities would not comment at this time on how they became the primary caregivers of the children. Meanwhile, the search for Athena continues, authorities said Friday. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Wednesday issued a missing and endangered person alert for Athena to people in a 15-mile radius of Cyril, located about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. MORE: Police seek info on mother, vehicle as search for missing 11-year-old continues Law enforcement is working to put together an exact timeline of when Athena was last seen, according to Arbeitman. PHOTO: The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released this photo of missing Athena Brownfield. (Oklahoma Highway Patrol) Her sister did not require any medical care and currently is in protective custody with the state, Arbeitman said. Story continues The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and soldiers from Fort Sill are among those assisting in the search, Arbeitman said. State troopers were conducting sonar searches of bodies of water in and around Cyril on Wednesday. Search dogs from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and drones from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs have also been employed in the search. Volunteers also helped conduct a grid search, looking in vacant houses and local waterways, police said. PHOTO: Authorities search for missing 4-year-old Athena Brownfield, of Cyril, Oklahoma. (Oklahoma Highway Patrol) Arbeitman said authorities are finding items in town that "could be relevant" and helpful to the case, though did not elaborate. "We are finding things that we hope might give us clues," she said. MORE: Police looking for missing mom after she failed to pick up son from bus stop: 'Very concerned' Trash service in the town has been suspended amid the search "in an effort to search for additional clues as to Athena's whereabouts," Arbeitman told reporters Thursday. Law enforcement is encouraging residents and businesses to share any surveillance footage they may have, including doorbell cameras, as well as to search their properties. Athena is described by authorities as being 3 feet tall and 45 pounds with light brown hair and blue eyes. Police believe she was recently wearing a butterfly hoodie. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations at 800-522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov. 2nd caregiver arrested, faces murder charge in connection with missing 4-year-old girl in Oklahoma: Police originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Prince Harry in "Harry & Meghan" on Netflix. Netflix A rift between Prince Harry and members of the British royal family was reported as early as November 2018. Tensions continued into 2022 when a royal correspondent said Prince William cut ties with Harry over his Netflix docuseries. Here's where Prince Harry currently stands with his relatives. King Charles III: Prince Harry suggested his relationship with his father is tense, but it doesn't appear Charles has shut his son out entirely. King Charles III and Prince Harry during the Queen's funeral procession in London on September 14, 2022. Getty Images King Charles III has never publicly addressed reports of a rift between himself and Prince Harry but Harry has several times. During his and Meghan's 2021 bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry said Charles stopped taking his calls before the royal couple stepped back from royal duties. He also told Winfrey that Charles cut him off financially during the summer of 2020. However, Charles and Harry have reunited a handful of times since the Sussex's departure to California, including at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September 2022. Despite the reunion, Charles remained mum about his and his son's current relationship. Instead, Charles has acknowledged his son in more subtle ways. In his first speech as king, Charles said he wanted to "express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas." Charles reportedly got emotional while meeting his granddaughter and seeing his grandson, Lilibet, and Archie, in June 2022. Harry said he and Charles had a disagreement in January 2020 during an episode of his Netflix docuseries. King Charles III, Prince William, and Prince Harry pictured in 2013. Karwai Tang/WireImage In the 2022 Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan," Harry said members of the British royal family including Charles came together for a January 2020 meeting at Sandringham House to discuss his and Meghan's desire to have their own jobs, but work in support of the monarchy. Just days earlier, Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back from royal duties. "It became very clear very quickly that that goal was not up for discussion or debate," Harry said in the docuseries. "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in." Story continues Additionally, Harry and Meghan are expected to be invited to Charles' coronation in May 2023 despite the docuseries. And in his recently released memoir, "Spare," Harry wrote that Charles didn't want to pay for Meghan to become a full-time royal. Prince William, Prince Harry, King Charles III, and Meghan Markle at Harry and Meghan's wedding at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP Harry wrote that Charles told him there wasn't enough money to support him and Meghan as full-time royals before their wedding, in "Spare." "I can't pay for anyone else. I'm already having to pay for your brother and Catherine," Charles said, according to Harry. Harry, however, suggested that Charles was more concerned about Meghan taking the limelight than the money. William, Prince of Wales: Reports of tension between William and Harry emerged in 2018. Prince Harry and Prince William on the balcony the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images William and Harry's relationship emerged as tumultuous in the last several years, with publications reporting a strain between the two brothers and their families in 2018. William and Kate Middleton now the Princess of Wales had lived alongside Harry and Meghan at Kensington Palace since May 2018, following the latter couple's wedding. However, Harry and Meghan announce they would move out of Kensington Palace and into Frogmore Cottage in November 2018. In March 2019, Harry and Meghan announced they were splitting their royal office from William and Kate. "Two years ago the idea of Harry leaving Kensington Palace was unthinkable but a lot has changed," a royal source added in a 2018 Vanity Fair report. "He wants to be his own person, not in William's shadow." William reportedly cut contact with Harry following the release of Netflix's docuseries. Prince Harry and Prince William at the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, in Kensington Palace, London on July 1, 2021. DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Reports of tension continued into June 2019, when Kensington Palace confirmed that Harry and Meghan were resigning from The Royal Foundation a charity founded by the brothers in 2009 so the couple could start a separate charity. After months of media speculation, Harry publicly confirmed the rift rumors during the October 2019 ITV documentary, "Harry and Meghan: An African Journey." Most recently, The Sunday Times' royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah said William cut all contact with Harry following claims made in "Harry & Meghan." Harry claimed that William's royal office traded stories about him and Meghan with the press. Among other claims, Harry said the tense January 2020 meeting between royal family members at Sandringham House drove a "wedge" between him and William. In episode six of the series, Harry suggested his relationship with William was also tense in 2021 regarding Jason Knauf, a former communications secretary for the Sussexes who still works for William. Knauf has been involved in reports and lawsuits against Meghan, including voluntarily providing a witness statement in the legal battle between her and the Mail on Sunday. "Sadly, there's just no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses," the Sussex's attorney said, suggesting Knauf had William's approval to go to the court. In "Spare," Harry referred to William as his "beloved brother" and "archnemesis." Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk behind the coffin during the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II. Karwai Tang/WireImage Harry reflected on his past and present relationship in the memoir, writing, "In some ways he was my mirror, in some ways he was my opposite. My beloved brother, my arch nemesis, how had that happened?" Harry also wrote that William was fairly "discouraging" of his relationship with Meghan and told Harry not to propose "too fast." He also claimed William wanted to accompany him to his therapy sessions to ensure he wasn't being "brainwashed." Camilla, Queen Consort: Camilla gave a subtle nod to Harry during a royal engagement but has otherwise remained silent. Camilla, Queen Consort, and Prince Harry during the annual Trooping The Colour ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2015. Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images Like her husband, Camilla, the Queen Consort, hasn't publicly commented on the ongoing tensions between the Sussexes and the royal family. However, royal biographer and author Angela Levin told Fox News Digital in October 2022 that Camilla was "very upset" for Charles amid the reported rift. During an interview on "60 Minutes," Harry said Camilla was "dangerous" due to her relationship with the British press. "She was the villain. She was the third person in the marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image," Harry told Anderson Cooper, referring to Camilla's publicized affair with Charles. "That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging with the British press," Harry added. "And there was open willingness on both sides to trade for information." Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales: Kate has been spotted with Harry and Prince William since the rift flared but has not publicly commented. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018, in London, England. Anwar Hussein/WireImage Kate, like other senior royal members, has avoided speaking out on the family fissure but has remained steadfast by her husband's side. Following Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April 2021, footage captured by NBC showed Harry and William walking alongside Kate. It was the first time the pair spoke in public since Harry and Meghan's bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview. In September 2022, Kate joined her husband and the Sussex family for a public reunion at Windsor Castle following Queen Elizabeth II's death. Harry shared several claims about Kate in his memoir, including that he felt as if he was losing his brother after William married Kate in April 2011. He also claimed Kate and William complained about their issues with the Sussexes to Charles and Camilla. "Spare" also offered a glimpse at the tension between Meghan and Kate, claiming Kate was upset with Meghan for saying she had "baby brain" while pregnant. Kate has not formally responded to the claims. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie: Royal experts suggest that Harry's relationships with his cousins are in better shape. Princess Beatrice, Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie During Trooping The Colour In London on June 16, 2012. Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images Much of the tabloid speculation about the royal rift focused on the "Fab Four," but Harry's cousins have also witnessed the fallout. Royal commentators like Richard Fitzwilliams have said that the Sussexes have a closer relationship with their cousins at the moment. Fitzwilliams told Express in July 2022 that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie daughters of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson have "good relations" with the Sussexes. "I suspect the York sisters' good relations with Harry and Meghan are very beneficial to the monarchy," he said, adding that the sisters can provide "healing." "It is perhaps a relief that we don't know any details, but the healing of rifts is best done quietly," Fitzwilliams added. Peter Philips, Zara Tindall, and Mike Tindall: Peter and Zara played subtle roles in the rift, while Mike had to dodge a disparaging conversation about Harry. Peter Phillips (left), Mike Tindall, and Zara Tindall (right) have not publicly commented on the rift. Samir Hussein/Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images Peter Phillips eldest son of Anne, Princess Royal has publicly remained on the fringes of the rift but made an appearance during Prince Philip's 2021 funeral. Days before the funeral, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Peter would walk between William and Harry during the procession amid media speculation about the brothers' spat. "This is a funeral and we are not going to be drawn into perceptions of drama," a statement said. It appeared Anne's daughter Zara Tindall might have played a similar role as Peter, when she shared a car with Harry following a 15-minute vigil for the late Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall in September 2022. Mail Online reported that month that the Sussexes are close with Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall. While none of the cousins have addressed the rift, Mike dodged a question about Harry during a December 2022 episode of his podcast. Doria Ragland: Doria has remained close to her daughter Meghan and, by extension, Harry. Doria Ragland in the Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan." Netflix Harry and his mother-in-law appear to have a good relationship. After proposing to Meghan in 2017, the couple appeared in a BBC interview that November where Harry called Doria "amazing." Although Doria weathered media attention during her daughter's wedding, she didn't publicly speak out about the royals until "Harry & Meghan." In episode two, Doria said she thought Harry was "the one" for Meghan after meeting him for the first time. "He was just like, six-one, handsome man with red hair," Ragland said. "Really great manners. He was just really nice." Doria's vocal criticism of her ex-husband, Thomas Markle, also shed light on her protectiveness towards Meghan and Harry. During episode three, Doria lambasted Thomas for accepting money to pose for paparazzi pictures ahead of Harry and Meghan's wedding. "I was absolutely stunned that Tom would become part of this circus," she said. "I felt sad that the media would run with this ... that he would capitalize, certainly as a parent. No. That's not what you do. That's not parenting." Thomas Markle: Unlike Doria, Thomas has lambasted Harry in the press. Thomas Markle is the father of Meghan Markle and Samantha Grant. Remarkable Friendship/YouTube While Meghan's relationship with Thomas deteriorated in recent years, it appeared that Thomas' bond with Harry struggled to take off. Thomas and Harry have never met in person, neither before the wedding nor after the eventual alleged fallout. Instead, Thomas said he's had a handful of phone conversations with Harry, including a heated exchange about Thomas' staged paparazzi photos before the couple's wedding. After Meghan reportedly cut ties with Thomas, he proceeded to speak to publications like the Daily Mail, The Sun, and Good Morning Britain. Thomas initially spoke fondly about the couple and expressed regret at missing their wedding, but he later changed his tune. "If I had one message for her it would be that I'm sorry for anything that went wrong. I'd like to put our differences behind us and get together," Thomas told The Sun in July 2018. "If I had a message for Harry, it's 'get over it.' I'm your new father-in-law." Sources around that time reported that Meghan and Harry were upset that Thomas shared details about their private conversations in public. In April 2002, he said in one of his YouTube videos that "everyone would hate' Harry and Meghan if it weren't for their PR team. Samantha Markle: Samantha has mostly taken aim at her half-sister Meghan, not Harry. Samantha Markle during an interview with GB News in August 2022. GBNews/YouTube Meghan also has a rocky relationship with Samantha Markle, her estranged half-sister who has also blasted Harry in the media. The majority of Samantha's press attacks are aimed at Meghan, including comparing her to Disney villain Cruella De Vil and criticizing her on social media. But sometimes Harry is grouped in as well. In December 2022, Samantha gave an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson in which she called Meghan and Harry's Netflix docuseries a "$100m fake news PR machine." On January 6, Samantha told TMZ that she and other Markle family members won't read Harry's memoir, "Spare," because it is "fiction" and a "money grab." Almost five years after the initial rift reports, Harry and Meghan have requested the British royal family apologize. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan." Netflix The Sunday Times reported Harry and Meghan said they want an in-person apology from the royal family following their Netflix docuseries. Members of the British royal family have not yet confirmed that reconciliation will take place. Read the original article on Insider The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is vowing to continue blocking the transfer of warplanes to Turkey unless Ankara improves its human rights record and ceases threatening U.S. regional allies. The Biden administration is considering a $20 billion transfer of 40 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and, separately, F-35 fighter jets for Greece, a development first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday and later confirmed by a person familiar with discussions who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity. Such a deal would require congressional approval and for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to end his longstanding opposition to sending fighter jets to Ankara. But in a statement Menendezs office drafted for the media and obtained ahead of time by POLITICO, the senator said he hasnt changed his mind. I strongly oppose the Biden administrations proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey, Menendez says, blasting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for continuing to undermine international law, disregard human rights and democratic norms, and engage in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies. Until Erdogan ceases his threats, improves his human rights record at home including by releasing journalists and political opposition and begins to act like a trusted ally should, I will not approve this sale, the chair continued, noting he supports the F-35 sale to Greece. A person familiar with the situation said Menendez as recently as December told the White House he was not going to support the massive transfer. A State Department spokesperson said they dont comment on potential military sales until Congress is formally notified. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the deal to sell fighter planes would be contingent on Turkey allowing Sweden and Finland to join NATO, a move Ankara has opposed since the two countries applied for membership last year. Its unclear if Turkey paving the way for their accession would lead Menendez to drop his opposition to the agreement. Story continues Another person familiar with the potential sale said the State Department discussed the deal with lawmakers as recently as this week, but there have been no decisions made about formally notifying Congress that the administration is planning to move ahead. The prospect of selling fighters to Turkey has bristled some top lawmakers in Bidens own party, who say theyre concerned about Ankara slow walking the expansion of NATO, incursions into Greek airspace and the nations drift toward authoritarianism. Defense legislation that passed the House last summer included a provision, backed mostly by Democrats, to limit F-16 sales to Turkey. The provision was dropped from a compromise bill that ultimately went to Bidens desk. While the Senate didnt adopt a provision of its own, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and others sought to block avenues to sell the fighters to Turkey. Sweden and Finland have been waiting for approval to join the NATO alliance since formally applying in May of last year. Turkey has balked at that accession, citing Swedens refusal to extradite four people Ankara says supported the attempted 2016 coup, and harboring Kurds that Turkey considered to be members of a terrorist group. Turkey has sought alternative fighter jets from the U.S. since 2019, when Washington kicked Ankara out of the multinational F-35 program for purchasing a Russian-made air defense system. COHASSET Numerous search warrants related to the search for missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe were returned to Quincy District Court on Friday, where the documents were impounded, 5 Investigates has learned. Between 10 and 20 of the documents were returned. While these files were not made public, they typically include affidavits from police officers describing why they think a crime occurred and why they should have permission to search private property in connection with that investigation. Several search efforts related to the case are known, including those at the home rented by the family and at a North Shore transfer station. Prosecutors said blood and a knife with blood were found in the basement of the home and 5 Investigates learned that a saw and rug with blood on it were found at the transfer station. Brian Walshe, the missing woman's husband, remains in custody on a charge of misleading the investigation and the couple's children are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. On Thursday WCVB learned of a police complaint filed by Ana Walshe prior to her marriage to Brian Walshe, revealing trouble between the couple as far back as the summer of 2014. Brian Walshe of Cohasset faces a Quincy Court judge charged with impeding the investigation into his wife Ana' disappearance from their home Monday January 9, 2023. Greg Derr/ The Patriot Ledger /POOL According to a public incident report filed in Washington, DC, Ana Knipp, her name from her first marriage, told Metropolitan Police Department that Brian Walshe, "made a statement over the telephone that he was going to kill [Ana] and her friend." The police incident report dated August 2, 2014, does not specifically name Brian Walshe, but police confirm to 5 Investigates' Karen Anderson that he is the person associated with that complaint. Police said that the investigation into potential offenses described as felony threats in the incident report was closed because Ana Walshe never cooperated with the investigation. No charges were ever filed. 'It can happen wherever': Cohasset residents grapple with news of missing mother as case unfolds Story continues Cohasset Police issue warning: Watch out for scams amid Ana Walshe missing mother case Linda Bucci, a former prosecutor, says the district attorney's office continues to gather all kinds of evidence and will likely present that evidence to a grand jury that will attempt to show a motive on what happened to Ana Walshe. "They have to prove that she's gone and connect her to it somehow," Bucci said. "Like, that she didn't just take a walk or is visiting somebody or ran away. So they have to prove she's dead and they have to prove that she didn't accidentally die." Prosecutors could bring a formal complaint to the district court for a murder charge or wait for that grand jury to formally indict Brian Walshe, who is currently being held on high bail after being charged with misleading a police investigation. "They have evidence," Bucci said. "They might have spoken to him. He might have given them evidence. So, they're on their way, but they're not there yet." Days of searching for evidence at the home the family rented in Cohasset came to a close on Tuesday. During that effort, prosecutors said blood and a knife were found in the basement. Additionally, the investigation has included searches of a transfer station in Peabody and a waste-to-energy facility in East Wareham. 5 Investigates learned that evidence found at the transfer station, near the home of Brian Walshe's mother, included a hacksaw and a rug with blood on it. Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer, Washington, D.C.-based real estate company Tishman Speyer. Ana Walshe of Cohasset is missing. "Police were notified around Jan. 4 by her employees in Washington, D.C., that she had not shown up for work on Jan. 4. That was the first time that (anyone) was notified that she was missing," Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said in court on Monday. "She actually had a plane ticket for Jan. 3 that she did not use and did not show up at the airport." Brian Walshe is awaiting sentencing in a federal case involving fake Andy Warhol paintings, and he is supposed to request permission to leave his home and specify the time required for each trip. His dad lived in Hull: Fight over estate of Brian Walshe's father reveals troubling accusations Prosecutors said that investigators could not substantiate his claims of getting lost on the way to his mother's home or going to two stores on Jan. 1. Brian Walshe said he was without his phone that day. Brian Walshe also reported that he only left the couple's home on Jan. 2 to get ice cream, or a smoothie for his son at Press Juice Bar in Norwell. Surveillance video obtained from Press by NewsCenter 5 shows Walshe inside the juice bar the morning of Jan. 2. However, surveillance video at Home Depot in Rockland showed him purchasing the cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and drop cloths and various kinds of tape, officials said. A police report revealed that he wore a surgical mask and gloves at the store, and used cash to pay for the purchase. Police also found that Walshe's phone traveled to Brockton and Abington, communities where he is not approved to travel. A defense attorney said her client has been "incredibly cooperative" with police. "He is not charged with murder. He's charged with misleading investigators by not saying, as I understand it, if he went to a Home Depot," Walshe's attorney said. Ana Walshe who was born in Belgrade, Serbia was working at a deluxe hotel in Lenox, when she met Brian Walshe the son of a physician who attended boarding schools and top universities in 2008. The couple married in 2015 and have three young sons together, ages 2, 4 and 6. Ana Walshe is now a dual citizen of Serbia and the United States. She still has family members who live in Serbia. Police said Ana Walshe is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion and speaks with an eastern European accent. Anyone with information about Ana Walshe's whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 extension 6108 or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com. Cohasset police have also set up a new email for tips at tips@cohassetpolice.com. WCVB is a media partner of The Patriot Ledger. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Search warrants linked to missing Cohasset woman delivered to court MARIANNA - A half dozen White House Boys returned to the campus of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Jackson County Friday when officials dedicated a memorial to recognize the sexual and physical abuse they suffered while wards of the state more than 50 years ago. The memorial is a white building where boys ages 6 to 18 were abused during the 100-plus years the school served as a reform school for children and is the product of a grassroots campaign begun 17 years ago once the school-age victims reached retirement age. The facility was closed in 2011. Photos of victims of abuse are displayed during a press conference held by Sen. Darryl Rouson and Rep. Tracie Davis with survivors from the former Dozier School for Boys and the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee at the Capitol Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. In 2017, the Florida Legislature apologized to the survivors for the lack of supervision at Dozier that enabled the beatings and rapes they endured and the deaths of their classmates. Lawmakers also approved the construction of two monuments, one in Marianna, where Dozier was located, and another at the State Capitol. More: An apologyLegislature to White House Boys: Were sorry . . . atrocities should never occur again A dedication ceremony was held for the Dozier School for Boys Memorial in Marianna, Florida on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Patrick Gillespie, a Department of Management Deputy Secretary, unveiled the Jackson County memorial and told the White House Boys and about 90 onlookers, it provides a place to reflect and educate the public on the schools history and for us to learn from it. The memorial includes a courtyard with sculptures in a circular display, next to the one-story concrete white house. Orlando sculptor Frank Castelluccio posed for photographs in the courtyard with Dozier survivors and their family members before the ceremony began. Orlando sculptor Frank Castelluccio, to the right, poses with Gene Luker and other White House Boys and family members at the memorial dedication for the victims of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Jackson County Life-size statues of adolescent boys stand in line facing a bed upon which is a leather strap used to administer the beatings. Behind and off to the side of the bed is an industrial fan the abuse occurred in what was a converted milking stall leading away from the blood-stained bed two boys help a third walk. You did a really good job, thats pretty amazing, 78-year-old Gene Luker told Castelluccio about the replica beating bed he created. Story continues A room where boys who attended the Dozier School for Boys were beaten and abused. A dedication ceremony was held for the Dozier School for Boys Memorial in Marianna, Florida on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. I wasnt trying to make it look pretty. I was trying to make it look realistic. Were trying to tell a story here, explained Castelluccio. The Dozier story isnt a pretty one. More:Dozier School for Boys survivors want state to pay Opinion:'The Nickel Boys': A searing reminder of Dozier school horrors and what's not unthinkable | George Will Dozier School's undoing Luker was held there from 1956 1959. According to him and others the beatings occurred on Saturday mornings. Theyd beat you for low grades. Not for low grades for arithmetic or spelling. It might be for spitting on the sidewalk, looking at an employee wrong, not answering quick enough when asked a question, said 85-year-old Claude Robinson. Robinson was held at Dozier in 1953. He talked while giving a tour of the White House beating rooms. Stories about abuse at Dozier had circulated for years and were mostly dismissed until former students formed the White House Boys Survivors Organization in 2005. They demanded the State of Florida acknowledge what it permitted to happen to them. The 300-member group elected Jerry Cooper, the quarterback of their 1961 high school football team, president and he and others started calling lawmakers and the media to tell their story. Cooper was lashed 136 times with the strap, and threatened with five years in prison if he did not play for the football team. He passed away in 2022. The mental damage they suffered. Ive talked to their widows and families. I know about the trickle-down effects, said Coopers widow Babs. Nightmares and unmarked graves She held Jerrys White House Boys ballcap at the lectern while she spoke. Babs Cooper speaks at a dedication ceremony that was held for the Dozier School for Boys Memorial in Marianna, Florida on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Babs told of a nightmare Jerry had the night he died last May, he was going back to that bed and strap, and yelling the name of the man who had beaten him 61 years ago. More:Jerry Cooper, who fought for White House Boys abused at Dozier school, dies at 76 We have to move forward. We can't change history. But we can certainly work and help love each other and never let it happen again, said Babs. In 2009, the White House Boys convinced then-Gov. Charlie Crist to look into their allegations. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found two dozen unmarked graves but no evidence to substantiate the White House Boys stories. But the findings did lead the state to close the facility and piqued the interests of University of South Florida anthropologists who brought ground penetrating sonar and excavation techniques to the investigation. USF researchers found 55 unmarked graves 29 more than FDLE had. Many were located in the woods under trees, and in the brush along an old road less than 200 yards from a property known as Boot Hill Cemetery. The randomness of the burials, with remains at different depths and angles, was taken as confirmation of the survivors stories. USF anthropologists presented a report to the Florida Cabinet in 2016 that showed most of the deaths were caused by illness, but others were the result of beatings, gunfire, and drowning and there was a correlation between attempted escapes and mortality of the children. It is believed that the bodies of more than 100 boys are in unmarked graves. There is no paperwork documenting what happened to many of the deceased. Senator asks for compensation for 'my guys' We have names. One-hundred-eight-five guys that were here, but never shown leaving. One-hundred-eighty-five children coming in, but not leaving. We dont know what happened to them, said Luker. Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, delivered the dedications keynote address. She referred to the White House Boys as my guys, and has sponsored legislation to provide financial compensation to the victims every year since 2017. Well likely never know the full extent of the shame written in history with the blood of countless children, said Davis, stopping five times to collect herself in a span of two minutes. Florida Senator Tracie Davis speaks at a dedication ceremony that was held for the Dozier School for Boys Memorial in Marianna, Florida on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. This is very hard to stand here in front of you guys to talk about this unveiling, said Davis. Davis pledged to continue to sponsor legislation to provide compensation, identify recovered remains, and to find the remains of others buried on what was the 1,400-acre Dozier campus. Luker and the other White House Boys thanked the state and Jackson County for the ceremony. I was 12 when I came here. They could do anything they wanted to us. How do you get justice? Everybodys dead, said Luker. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Memorial unveiled on former grounds of Dozier School for Boys Russia Ukraine War Emergency workers arrive at a residential area hit during a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 31, 2022. Credit - Roman HrytsynaAP Russia claimed Friday to have completed its capture of the town Soledar in eastern Ukraine Friday after months of fighting in a brutal offensive that would hand the Kremlin its first significant battlefield gain since July after a wave of military setbacks. Ukraine insists that the fighting was far from over. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described the phase of the war as being difficult, but the conflict in Soledar is hot, she wrote Friday on Telegram. The enemy threw almost all the main forces in the direction of Donetsk and has maintained a high intensity of the offensive, she said. Our fighters are bravely trying to hold the defense. The battle for Soledar, a small salt-mining town, has emerged as a critical step in Moscows goal of encircling the key city of Bakhmut, a transportation hub under assault since August, and ultimately capturing the entire Donbas region. The fighting has intensified in recent weeks as the one-year anniversary of Russias unprovoked Feb. 24 invasion approaches, with Russia pummeling Soledad at the expense of steep losses to its own forces. Amid competing claims over control of the city, images geolocated by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based military research group, show Russian forces likely hold most, if not all, of Soledar, while pushing Ukrainian forces to the west. Read More: Ukraine Dismisses Russias Declaration of a Holiday Ceasefire Officials from both sides have referred to the battle as a meat grinder, with streets strewn with corpses of soldiers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week there was almost no life in Soledar and no whole walls left on any building in the mining town. This is what madness looks like, he said in a nightly video address on Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday on its Telegram channel that the private military company Wagner Group was responsible for leading the direct assault. It was a rare nod to Wagner, which is financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch sometimes called Putins Chef because he rose to power after running a catering company favored by the Kremlin. Putins shadow army is estimated to have thousands of members, including former convicts, and has acted as a mercenary force fighting on behalf of Russia in a way that allows Moscow a measure of deniability. The Wagner Group first appeared in 2014 during Russias annexation of Crimea. Story continues Capturing Soledar would be critical for Russias war aims but also Prigozhin, who has repeatedly criticized Russias Defense Ministry and its management of the Ukraine war. His group has deployed to other hot spots around the world, including Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mali, and Syria (where Wagner mercenaries fought a bloody battle with U.S. special forces in 2018). But achieving victory in Soledar will be a personal victory for Prigozhin, who feels his forces deserve more credit. He may also aspire to take control of the towns salt and gypsum mines for personal enrichment. Read More: Biden Deepens Involvement in War by Inviting Ukrainian Troops to U.S. for Weapons Training White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said theres a bit of an economic incentive for Russia to take Soledar, but any victory would be more symbolic than substantive. Even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, its not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself, Kirby told reporters Thursday at the White House. And it certainly isnt going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down. Kirby described the greater Donbas region as an open region of farmland akin to Kansas. Its crucial, he said, that the U.S. continues to provide the kinds of capabilities to Ukraine to be able to succeed in that environment. The Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which were part of the $2.85 billion military aid package announced last week, will be vital to safely transport troops around the battlefield during this grinding phase. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and committed to continuing economic and security support for Kyiv. The Secretary emphasized the United States enduring and unflinching support for Ukraine, as underscored by recent provisions of advanced air defense equipment and armored vehicles from U.S. stocks, according to the readout. Blinken told Kuleba that U.S. assistance would continue to flow in the run-up to, and beyond the first anniversary of Russias invasion. As the battle for Soledar shows, the end of the war remains nowhere in sight. WASHINGTON (AP) It's President Joe Biden's refuge from Washington a place that's part home office, part Sunday family dinner venue, a safe place for his treasured 1967 Corvette and a makeshift campaign studio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, is coming under fresh scrutiny as a repository of classified material. The White House confirmed Thursday that classified records were found in the garage of Biden's Wilmington home, as well as an adjacent room that the president later identified as his personal library. The disclosure came three days after the White House said similarly classified materials were located at Biden's former institute in Washington. The discoveries, taken together, prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland to tap a special counsel to oversee the matter. The announcement shines a brighter spotlight on Biden's Wilmington house, where he regularly spends the weekends and where he finds more freedom and a homier atmosphere than at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. I said when I was running, I wanted to be president not to live in the White House, but to be able to make the decisions about the future of the country, Biden said in February 2021, just after he took office. Living in the White House, he said, is a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things." So far in his presidency, Biden has spent part or all of 194 days in his home state of Delaware, spending most weekends in either at his Wilmington home or in Rehoboth Beach, where he owns a $2.7 million home, according to an Associated Press tally. He will head to Wilmington again this weekend. Despite an onslaught of criticism, particularly from Republicans, for regularly escaping to the state, White House officials say the time spent in Wilmington is important for a president who traveled home nightly during the 36 years he served as senator. Biden also can stand up presidential operations at home, where he regularly meets with advisers, and an aide from the National Security Council travels with the president during Wilmington weekends. Story continues Every president can work from anywhere they are, because that is how presidencies are equipped, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in February 2022, as Russia began invading Ukraine and Biden was preparing for another weekend in Wilmington. She confirmed that Biden can make secure calls from anywhere he is, yes. Biden's custom-built Wilmington home, finished in 1998, is located in the tony Greenville section of the town and abuts a lake in a neighborhood where residents are now used to Secret Service vehicles and flashing motorcade lights. It's a brief drive to his home church, St. Joseph on the Brandywine, and a branch of the upscale grocery store Wegman's opened nearby in recent months. The home is also a culmination of Biden's decades-long quest to establish the perfect family home and his self-admitted obsession with real estate. Over the years, he would purchase several homes in Delaware and later sell them at a profit. Joe has a very symmetrical eye, and if he had a million dollars he wouldn't be traveling, he would be putting it into his house, his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, said in journalist Jules Witcover's biography of the president. The book, Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption, described him as an admittedly frustrated architect. So meaningful is the home to the Bidens that when the former vice president floated the prospect of a second mortgage to pay for his ailing son Beau's expenses, then-President Barack Obama flatly refused with a force that surprised me, Biden wrote in his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad. I'll give you the money, Obama said, in Biden's retelling. I have it. You can pay me back whenever. Jill Biden has also written fondly about the home, describing its sunroom covered in family mementos, campaign paraphernalia and artwork as one of my favorite places in the world. The small room overlooks the lake behind our house, and I like to sit with my feet tucked up on the sofa, wrapped in a pashmina, grading papers there from my classes at Northern Virginia Community College, where Ive taught English and writing for the last eleven years, she wrote in her memoir, Where the Light Enters. "Its a room made for homeyness and comfort. This haven for the Bidens quickly morphed into his de facto campaign headquarters in March 2020, when Americans were suddenly homebound with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and presidential candidates ditched in-person stumping for virtual roundtables and Zoom fundraisers. Biden would keep up the at-home campaigning much longer than his opponent, Donald Trump, stirring some heartburn among Democrats and prompting mockery from Republicans that Biden was tethered to his basement. But it also allowed for an unusual glimpse into the personal home of the Bidens, as he fielded questions sitting in front of shelves stuffed with books and posted Instagram photos of him and Jill dyeing Easter eggs in their kitchen. In May 2020, Biden was speaking to the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Victory Fund from home when he was repeatedly drowned out by squawking geese. There's a pond on the other side of my property, Biden remarked. A lot of Canadian geese. If you hear them honking away, they're cheering. The White House was pressed this week to disclose a visitors' log to Biden's personal home, but it's unclear whether one even exists. Aside from family members and close advisers, there is little public knowledge about who comes in and out of Biden's home, particularly when he is handling presidential business. One exception was Sen. Joe Manchin. In October 2021, Biden personally invited the influential West Virginia Democrat, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to his home for breakfast and a tour of the property a move seen as a deeply personal gesture from a president struggling to court Manchin on the Democrats' massive social spending package that fall. Manchin would go on to extinguish those efforts two months later, and a furious White House responded that Manchin made a commitment to Biden at his home in Wilmington," portraying the senator's announcement as a personal betrayal. Now Biden's home is again becoming a bit player in a political headache for the White House. Garland said Thursday that the Justice Department was told Dec. 20 by Biden's personal lawyer that classified material was found in the president's Wilmington garage. Further, DOJ was notified Thursday that another record with classified markings was found elsewhere in the Wilmington home. Asked about the disclosures Thursday, Biden kept his comments relatively brief, saying he will speak more on this soon and that he takes classified material seriously. But Biden also wanted to make one thing about his house explicitly clear. By the way, my Corvette's in a locked garage, OK? he said. So it's not like it's sitting out in the street. ___ Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report. Egypt will send an official invitation to business tycoon Elon Musk to visit Egypt following his Tweet in which he expressed admiration for the Ancient Egyptian civilization, an Egyptian tourism official announced on Saturday. Speaking before the Tourism committee at the Egyptian House of Representatives, Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board (ETPB) chairman Amr El-Qady said that an official invitation will be extended to Musk on Sunday to visit Egypt and its landmarks at the time of his choice. The head of the Tourism Committee at the Parliament stated that she was following up on the matter with El-Qady as she considers the invitation to Musk to be an important opportunity to promote Egyptian tourism. On 12 January, the former richest man in the world expressed his admiration for the Ancient Egyptian civilization in a reply to a tweet by the @weirdterrifying Twitter account featuring a video showing a staircase inside the 2500 years-old ancient Egyptian Dendra temple in Upper Egypt. The tweet already went viral, generating 16.7 million views and over 100 thousand likes. Musk, who currently owns Twitter social media network, replied by saying that Ancient Egypt was on fire using emojis to express his admiration. Ancient Egypt was Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2023 Musks reply tweet went viral in Egypt, grabbing the attention of officials, celebs and citizens who mostly responded by calling on him to visit the country. Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat was the first official to comment on his tweet quoting him and telling him to come and visit Egypt, especially the New Grand Egyptian Museum. .@elonmusk you bet! Come join us unravel more untold stories about #AncientEgypt at the Grand Egyptian Museum #GEM with the full & never-before-seen collection of king Tutankhamun...Its an unparalleled experience & #Egypt welcomes you . https://t.co/sFYLs2CMrE Rania A. Al Mashat (@RaniaAlMashat) January 13, 2023 This is the second time Al-Mashat calls the founder of Space X to visit Egypt. In August 2020, Musk tweeted that "aliens built the pyramids obv (obviously)," before adding in another tweet that the great Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was an alien. Al-Mashat replied to Musk's tweet indirectly rebuffing his claims and inviting him to visit the Great Pyramids to check out the tombs of pyramid builders. Renowned Egyptologists Zahi Hawas rebutted Musks claims about aliens and ancient Egyptian civilization. Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003. He became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. Musk made headlines in May 2012, when SpaceX launched a rocket to send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. Not a stranger to controversies, Musk acquired the popular social media network Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion. Two days ago, the famous billionaire made it to the Guinness book of records as he officially broke the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history. Musk lost between $180 billion and $200 billion since November 2021, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stocks in recent years, according to Guinness. His fortune went from about $320 billion to $147 billion. Nevertheless, he still maintains his position as one of the richest men in the world. He is currently the second richest person in the world after French Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. Search Keywords: Short link: BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) Skittish Brazilian authorities on Wednesday spared no effort to boost security in the face of a social media flyer promoting a mega-protest to retake power in two dozen cities. Whether because of preventative measures adopted or not, the supposed uprising was a dud. Less than 10 protesters showed along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach; there were more journalists in attendance, plus 29 police vehicles. On Brasilia's esplanade surrounded by federal government buildings, authorities had designated an area for protest and stationed police and national guard troops. Just one couple showed, dressed in the same Brazil soccer jerseys that thousands of rioters wore four days earlier. We were surprised to be the only ones here today, said Eunice Carvalho, a 58-year-old housewife joined by her husband. People got scared after the imprisonments, which were excessive. Speaking to journalists in Brasilia earlier, the federal appointee who has assumed control of the capitals security said police were shutting down the main avenue to traffic, limiting pedestrian access with barricades and blocking all access to the square that was the site of Sunday's mayhem. The right to protest freely will always be respected and cannot be confused with terrorism, said the official, Ricarado Cappelli. Citing the call to protest, a Supreme Court justice ordered local authorities in cities across Brazil to prevent protesters from blocking roads or occupying public spaces and buildings. Justice Alexandre de Moraes also ordered arrests and fines for people and companies who participate or help with logistics and funding. The all-hands response and the subsequent tranquility underscored just how jumpy authorities remain after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro rampaged through Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace on Sunday, laying ruin to the governments three most important buildings. Officials arrested or detained some 1,500 people by the following morning, hundreds of whom were sent to prison. Story continues Though there is no evidence of fraud in the Oct. 30 presidential election, the protesters have claimed the true winner was far-right Bolsonaro. He has fired up his base about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines despite independent experts' assurances they are closely scrutinized. Bolsonaro also has warned his supporters that the election's leftist victor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, would impose communism. The call for a fresh uprising Wednesday sparked concern that the crackdown hadn't damped the will of radicals. Among those who vow to continue struggling is Daniel Bressan, 35, who traveled some 300 miles from the interior of Parana state to join Sunday's protest in Brasilia. He was detained by police the next morning, though he denies participating in any of the vandalism. A lot of people are going to be afraid to go to the streets and be arrested I myself fear persecution by the legal system but Im not going to stop fighting and Im not going to get discouraged, Bressan said by phone from the federal polices temporary holding center. Im ready for everything. Our freedom is worth more than our lives. Jailing rioters represents only part of the governments effort to hold people responsible, with authorities also seeking to track down those who enabled the uprising. That includes organizers who summoned protesters to the capital and paid their way as well as local security personnel accused of either standing by and allowing the destruction to occur, or even cooperating. Justice Minister Flavio Dino told local press this week that authorities have identified some of the protests financiers. He said they are based in the south and center-west regions that Bolsonaro carried in the election. Without identifying individuals, he said they are members of the agribusiness sector, local business owners and people registered to own firearms. Dino previously said the riot was apparently intended to spark a domino effect around the country. He has referred to the encampments that had been set up by Bolsonaro supporters outside military buildings to call on the armed forces to overturn election results as incubators of terrorists. Authorities cleared away the camps in Brasilia and other cities after the rioting. In November, the Supreme Court froze 43 bank accounts of people accused of having financed roadblocks that disrupted highway traffic in the wake of Lulas victory. At least 30 were in the center-west state of Mato Grosso, Brazils top soybean producer. De Moraes, the Supreme Court justice, also ordered preventative detention for the men who were serving Sunday as head of the federal districts security and military police chief, as well as searches of their residences. Both men have been fired since the rioting. Absolutely NOTHING justifies the omission and collusion of the security secretary and the military police commander, de Moraes wrote in his decision, which was made public late Tuesday. The justice also denounced the protest encampments sponsored by diverse financiers. There are strong indications that the conduct of criminal terrorists could only have occurred with the willful participation or omission which will be determined in these investigations of the aforementioned public authorities, de Moraes wrote. ___ Scarabotto reported from Rio de Janeiro. (Reuters) -Iran has executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Saturday, after sentencing the former Iranian deputy defence minister to death on charges of spying for Britain. Here are some details about Akbari and his case: - He fought during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s in the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards and had a commanding role in developing Iranian strategy in the conflict, according to an audio recording purportedly from Akbari and broadcast by BBC Persian on Jan. 11. - He served as deputy defence minister when Ali Shamkhani was minister from 1997 to 2005, part of the administration of reformist President Mohammad Khatami. He had been a close ally of Shamkhani - currently the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council - since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. - He served in other security roles including as an advisor to the Iranian navy, and led the implementation of U.N. resolution 598 that ended the Iran-Iraq war in 1988. - According to a caption in a video aired by Iran's state news agency IRNA on Thursday, Akbari moved to Britain after being briefly detained and released on bail in 2008. Reuters could not verify if Akbari had moved to Britain in 2008, or when he returned to Iran. - He was arrested in 2019. In the audio recording broadcast by BBC Persian, he said he had returned to Tehran following an invitation by a senior Iranian diplomat involved in Tehran's nuclear talks with world powers. In the recording, he said security authorities pressured judges to issue a sentence carrying the death penalty against him. "The tribunal agreed to release me on a low bail but the Intelligence Ministry stopped that. The Supreme Court voted against the death pnalty, but the Intelligence Ministry imposed its will by threatening the judge." His wife, Maryam Samadi, told BBC Persian he was put in solitary confinement for 10 months, before being moved to Tehran's Evin prison, where Iran has incarcerated other dual nationals. Story continues - In the audio recording, Akbari said he had made false confessions as a result of 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. "They would tell me: 'If you resist, we will send you to the dark cells of Evin prison where you'll face an interrogator with a whip.'" - Iranian state media broadcast a video on Thursday that they said showed that Akbari played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in a 2020 attack outside Tehran which authorities blamed at the time on Israel. In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination, but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh. - Britain, which had declared the case against Akbari as politically motivated and called for his release, condemned the execution. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it "a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people". - French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Paris on Saturday over the execution of a British-Iranian national accused of spying, expressing its indignation about the case. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Compiled by Tom Perry, Editing by Angus MacSwan) Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech on December 26, 2022 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Getty Images A former NATO commander said Putin is "scrambling" for manpower in Ukraine. "Putin will take anything. It's a sign of how difficult this fight has become for him," he said. Russia has relied on mercenaries and prisoners to bolster its ranks amid heavy losses in Ukraine. Nearly 11 months after ordering an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is "scrambling" for manpower to continue the fight, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis told MSNBC on Friday. "Putin is really scrambling to gain the manpower," Stavridis said, adding that the Russian leader is looking everywhere from prisons to homeless shelters for more personnel and even recruiting men in their 50s and 60s. "Putin will take anything. It's a sign of how difficult this fight has become for him," the former NATO commander said. It's estimated that Russia has suffered around 100,000 casualties in Ukraine, a bewildering figure in less than a year of fighting. Putin in September declared a partial military mobilization as part of an effort to address Russia's manpower problems, calling up roughly 300,000 reservists. The mobilization faced public backlash and saw tens of thousands of Russian men flee the country. Russians called up as a result of the mobilization have been sent to the front poorly equipped and with little training. Meanwhile, Russia has also sought to bolster its ranks via the help of mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group, which has also recruited prisoners to fight on the frontline. Fighters from the Wagner Group now comprise roughly 10% of Russia's ground forces in Ukraine, according to UK officials, per BBC News. A US official earlier this week told reporters that Russia was using prisoners to absorb heavy Ukrainian fire and pave the way for "better trained forces." The official said Russia was "trading individuals for bullets." Russia on Friday claimed its forces had seized Soledar, a town in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which would mark the first Russian victory in months. Ukraine pushed back on that assertion though, saying fighting was ongoing. Story continues Stavridis said that taking Soledar will give Russian forces a small morale boost but tactically is not a "terribly significant" development in the war. Soledar is not far from Bakhmut, a city of approximately 70,000 that Russia has vied to conquer for months. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington DC-based think tank that's closely tracked the war in Ukraine, in an assessment on Thursday said that the likely capture of Soledar was "not an operationally significant development" and would be unlikely to lead to "an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut." "Russian information operations have overexaggerated the importance of Soledar, which is at best a Russian Pyrrhic tactical victory," ISW said. This week, Russia announced that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, was taking over as commander of Russia's forces in Ukraine just three months after his predecessor got the job. Analysts said that the move was likely a sign that serious offensives are on the horizon but also likely politically motivated and designed to silence critics amid Russia's mounting military failures in Ukraine. Read the original article on Business Insider By Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR (Reuters) - India is reviving a network of thousands of village guards in Jammu and Kashmir, including arming some with automatic rifles, after a militant attack in the disputed region killed seven civilians earlier in January, a police official said. New Delhi has battled a decades-long armed insurgency in Kashmir, accusing arch rival Pakistan of stoking violence in the territory - an allegation that Islamabad denies. The nuclear-armed neighbours claim the Himalayan region - that includes the Muslim majority Kashmir valley and Hindu-dominated Jammu - in full but control only parts of it. Authorities reactivated an almost defunct network of 26,000 Village Defence Guards (VDGs) after militants killed seven residents of a Hindu community in a remote village in Jammu's Rajouri district on Jan. 1. "We are re-grouping and rejuvenating the VDGs who were already there," local police chief Haseeb Mughal told Reuters. "There was slackness after years of normalcy in the region and now we are training and reorganising them to prevent any such attacks. We have also provided automatic rifles to some." The Rajouri attack alarmed authorities, concerned that it could be a sign that militants were looking to expand into Jammu because of a heavy military presence in the Kashmir valley, a security official said, asking not to be named. In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government reorganised Jammu and Kashmir, then India's only Muslim-majority state, into two federally administered territories, aiming to spur development and tamp down on the bloody insurgency. Basant Raj Thakur, a VDG from Jammu's Doda area, said that he supported the move to provide automatic weapons, replacing bolt-action rifles that some guards are currently armed with. "The way the situation is developing they should provide more such weapons and training," Thakur said. VDGs receive a monthly pay of around 4,000 rupees ($49) from the local government. Story continues The push to retrain and rearm VDGs, some of whom had been accused of indulging in criminal activities, has drawn some criticism from local politicians. "Placing weapons in the hands of locals of border districts in Jammu region contradicts the government's claims of normalcy," Mehbooba Mufti, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister whose party wants more autonomy for the region, told reporters this week. ($1 = 81.6980 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Ukraines defence intelligence has stressed that Russia is preparing for a drawn-out war. Source: Ukraines Defence Intelligence on Telegram Quote: "The measures that Putin has undertaken to reorganise the economy and the military industrial complex of the Russian Federation indicate that Russias transition to martial law is currently underway. These measures aim to reinforce the capability of the Russian Armed Forces and to create favourable conditions to conduct operations planned for the very beginning of the war but unsuccessfully carried out by Russian occupation forces. The invading state is trying to deploy all military resources at its disposal to prolong the war in Ukraine. The recent appointment of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, [Valery] Gerasimov, as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian occupation forces indicates not only Russias military failures but also its preparations to continue a full-scale, long war." Previously: Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraines Minister of Defence, said in spring 2022 that Russia was preparing for a long war against Ukraine by accumulating resources and building defence fortifications in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Texas lawmakers are considering school voucher programs among other proposed legislation, and every Texan should know that this is a bad idea. Why? Because school voucher programs emerged from the Jim Crow South to maintain racial segregation and fail to raise student achievement. Voucher programs allow parents to use taxpayer money to subsidize private school education, aid that often comes in the form of private school tuition, tax credits or scholarships. Supporters of vouchers ignore research showing its shortcomings and rebranded it as a mechanism to promote parental choice. The choice that vouchers present is a farse. David DeMathews, University of Texas at Austin. No rational Texan wants to choose an education policy that does not deliver results and also defunds public education, promotes discrimination against children with disabilities and uses tax dollars to subsidize tuition for wealthy families who already send their children to private schools. Vouchers are a scam because thats exactly what will happen if passed this legislative session. Consider the Milwaukee voucher program. It has been around for about 30 years and has produced no improvements in student achievement outcomes for students receiving vouchers while harming the local district due to a loss of enrollment and funding. Voucher programs in Louisiana, New York City and Washington, D.C., also have all failed to produced improved outcomes and in some cases led to significant declines in achievement, especially for low-income students whom policymakers argue vouchers are intended to help. Vouchers also promote discrimination against students with disabilities because private schools can deny them access based on criteria unlike public schools. Consequently, public schools are left with a disproportionate number of students with disabilities who are more costly to educate and with less money to do so. The lack of oversight that comes with voucher programs increases the likelihood of financial mismanagement, fraud and school closures that hurt all students in the long term. Story continues Vouchers have failed in nearly every way, except when it comes to helping wealthy families. For example, a recent voucher program in Arizona was primarily used by wealthy families already sending their children to private schools but not by low-income families who could not afford private school tuition and transportation costs even with a voucher. Less-than-reputable individuals who have opened private schools to profit from vouchers have also benefited. The indisputable fact that vouchers have not outperformed public schools makes it difficult to understand why state policymakers have proposed voucher legislation this session such as SB 176 and HB 557. Perhaps supporters have not done their homework. Texas also has in-state groups that provide campaign support such as Defend Texas Liberty, a Christian nationalist-aligned PAC led by two West Texas billionaires, but Democrats and many rural Republicans still recognize that vouchers are a scam. Republican state Rep. Ken King recently said of vouchers: If I have anything to say about it, its dead on arrival Its horrible for rural Texas. Its horrible for all of Texas. King and other rural Republicans know that vouchers disproportionately harm smaller rural districts given the small size of public school budgets and staff in those areas. Texas does not need the powerful pushing failed policies from other states. To put it in Texas terms, vouchers are as worthless as a sidesaddle on a sow. These bills should be immediately voted down. The real choice legislators have this session is whether they will take necessary steps to invest in public education, gun reform and mental health care so that our children are not subjected to another mass shooting. This legislative session can also be about ensuring a well-prepared, well-paid and highly skilled public school teacher is in every classroom. After the school shooting in Uvalde and a record high of 43,000 teacher vacancies last year, we cannot afford to waste time and money on anything else, especially not vouchers. David DeMatthews is an associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin. This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: School voucher program would weaken education, hurt rural district A second person arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl in Oklahoma has been charged with murder, authorities said Friday. Ivon Adams, 36, was taken into custody Thursday in Arizona and was to be extradited to Oklahoma on charges of murder in the first degree and child neglect, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said. He remained jailed early Saturday in Maricopa County, jail records show. His arrest comes a day after OSBI announced his wife, Alysia Adams, 31, had been taken into custody. They have been described as caregivers for Athena Brownfield, who authorities have been searching for since Tuesday after a postal worker found her 5-year-old sister wandering alone near their home in Cyril, Oklahoma. Athena Brownfield (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via Facebook) Alysia Adams was arrested by the Grady County Sheriffs Office on two counts of child neglect, the state bureau said. The agency said Thursday that Athena's sister was found outside Alysia Adams' home. The girl is in state protective custody and did not require medical care when she was found, OSBI spokesperson Brook Arbeitman said. The agency did not provide details about Ivon and Alysia Adams' relation to the children. Arbeitman said via email that the girls had been in their care "for an extended period of time." Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued a missing endangered person alert for Athena that was sent to residents within a 15-mile radius of Cyril. The agency did not issue an Amber Alert, an emergency alert for kidnapped children that reaches a nationwide network, because there was no indication of an abduction, an agency spokesperson said. "This case did not meet the criteria in this particular guideline for issuing an AMBER alert," Sarah Stewart said in an email Friday. Penny Brownfield, Athenas paternal grandmother, said the little girls disappearance has been quite a blow. Ive just got to be strong for my children, she said by phone Friday from her home in Lawton, Oklahoma. Its affecting my children. Its really affecting my oldest son, which those are his babies, which means those are my babies, too. Story continues She said she was desperate for any information about Athenas whereabouts. Shes not just going to vanish, she said. Trash service in Cyril, a town about 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, has been postponed as investigators continue their search for clues in Athena's disappearance. Arbeitman said Thursday night that officials remain optimistic. "Were just digging for every clue, processing everything that we can to see if it can help us locate her," she said. Residents with information or security camera video that could help in the search are asked to contact the police. Athena was last known to be wearing a pink butterfly sweater and pink pants, according to a missing person poster. Arbeitman said she has "limited verbal skills." {iframely-embed-html} This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Washington The U.S. on Thursday made more than 2,000 Somali immigrants eligible for work permits and deportation deferrals under a humanitarian program President Biden has used to extend temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries beset by war, violence and other crises. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he was expanding and extending the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) program for Somali immigrants already living in the U.S. because of the "ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis" in Somalia. The easternmost country in Africa, Somalia has experienced decades of armed conflict, suffocating poverty and poor governance. In recent years, the Somali government has struggled to contain al-Shabab, a terrorist group aligned with al Qaeda that has carried out brutal attacks against civilians, including car bombings in October that killed more than 100 people. Millions of Somalis are also facing hunger fueled by droughts. The Biden administration said those conditions prevent Somalis from "returning safely" to Somalia. "Longstanding conflict, along with natural disasters and disease outbreaks, has worsened an already severe humanitarian crisis," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement Thursday. "Somalia continues to be affected by terrorism, violent crime, civil unrest, and fighting among clan militias." DHS officials said Thursday's announcement will allow roughly 430 Somalis to renew their work permits and deportation protections and open the TPS program to an additional 2,200 Somali immigrants who have been in the U.S. since Jan. 11. The program is set to run through September 2024. First established by Congress in 1990, TPS allows the federal government to shield certain immigrants from deportation and let them work in the country legally, if their home countries are plagued by armed conflict, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises. Story continues While it allows immigrants to work and live in the U.S. legally for a determined period of time if they pass background checks, TPS does not make beneficiaries eligible for permanent legal status. Departing from the policies of the Trump administration, which sought to end TPS programs, the Biden administration has used the authority broadly, invoking it to make hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Ukraine, Venezuela and other countries eligible for the temporary deportation protection. The Biden administration also recently agreed to extend the work permits and deportation protections of more than 300,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal and Honduras enrolled in TPS programs that the Trump administration moved to terminate. While federal courts blocked the Trump administration from ending those programs, they could be discontinued as early as 2024 unless the Biden administration issues another extension or creates new TPS designations for the affected countries. Pentagon releases latest UFO sightings report Ken Burns on his new photographic history of America High housing prices force many young adults to move home with parents Ukrainian officials are reporting missile attacks that hit Kyiv and Kharkiv in the early morning hours on Saturday, damaging several buildings. Oleksiy Kuleba, the leader of the Kyiv regional military administration, said in a Telegram post that explosions were heard just past 6 a.m. in the region and that a fire started at a critical infrastructure facility. He later posted that the roofs and windows of 18 private homes were damaged but said no one was hurt. Officials warned civilians to stay inside as an air alert continued. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported in a Telegram post that the fire broke out at a nonresidential facility in the citys Holosiiv district but was extinguished. He also reported explosions in the citys Dnipro district. Both officials said appropriate response teams were on the scene of the areas that were damaged. The Kyiv City Military Administration said the fire happened in a metal warehouse building with an area of 20 square meters and that its garage roof was damaged. It warned civilians in a Telegram post to stay in their homes until an air raid alarm went off. It said rocket fragments damaged two cars in the Darnytskyi district. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, tweeted that the strike probably came from ballistic missiles traveling from the north. He said these missiles are undetectable and Ukraine cannot take them down. Oleg Sinegubov, Kharkivs regional governor, posted that two S-300 missiles, a type of surface-to-air missile, hit the citys industrial district, targeting critical infrastructure and industrial facilities. He said emergency power outages were possible in the city, which is located in northeastern Ukraine. Officials also reported explosions in Zaporizhzhia, with City Council Secretary Anatoly Kurtev saying that Russia was shelling the areas where Ukrainian soldiers were positioned in two populated districts. The strikes hit as Russia is coming off its first major win of the war in months, taking control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar. The Russian defense ministry said Soledars capture will help Russian forces block Ukrainian supply routes. Russia has struggled to make gains for months after Ukraine launched a counteroffensive to retake thousands of square kilometers of territory. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alou Diallo says he was drinking tea with his family one-morning last month when groups of ``white soldiers'' invaded his village in central Mali, setting fire to houses and gunning down people suspected of being Islamic extremists. He scrambled to safety in the bush, but his son was shot and wounded while fleeing, then was finished off as he lay on the ground. ''I watched my 16-year-old son die,'' Diallo told The Associated Press in Mali's capital, Bamako, where he lives in a makeshift camp for displaced people. As he recounted that awful Saturday in his village of Bamguel, the 47-year-old former cattle breeder made no attempt to hide his anger toward the troops, which he believed to be Russian mercenaries, who turned his world upside down. ''I really want peace to return and things to go back to normal,'' he said. ''Here in Bamako, I live a life I didn't choose.'' It's been more than a year since hundreds of fighters from the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian military contractor, began working alongside Mali's armed forces to try to stem a decade-long insurgency by Islamic extremists in the West African country, Western officials say. But since the mercenaries arrived, diplomats, analysts, and human rights groups say indiscriminate violence against civilians has grown, the extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have only gotten stronger, and there's concern the Russian presence will further destabilize the already-troubled region. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared with about 500 in the previous 12 months, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nongovernmental organization. At least a third of those deaths recorded last year were from attacks involving the Wagner Group, according to the data compiled by ACLED. ''They are killing civilians, and by their very presence, giving Malian security forces a green light to act on their worst inclinations,'' said Michael Shurkin, a senior fellow at Atlantic Council and director of global programs at the consultancy group 14 North Strategies. Military contractors from Wagner, which was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been bolstering Moscow's forces during its invasion of Ukraine. But experts say they also operate in a handful of African countries. Ever since Mali's military seized power in two coups starting in 2020, a junta led by Col. Assimi Goita has had tense relations with the international community. France sent troops to Mali in 2013 to help its former colony drive Islamic militants from northern areas of the country but withdrew them in August as relations frayed and anti-French sentiment grew in the population. The West says Mali is increasingly looking to Moscow for security, although the junta says it has only invited military trainers. Alassane Maiga, head of communications for the junta, insisted that Wagner was not operating in the country. Asked about the attacks on civilians, Maiga said Mali's government protects its citizens and their property. ''The army's protection and security missions are carried out with respect for human rights and international humanitarian law,'' he said. The Wagner Group did not respond to requests for comment. At a U.N. Security Council debate on Tuesday, Russia's deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva rejected attempts from abroad ''to besmirch Russian assistance to Mali,'' where Moscow has a bilateral agreement to assist the transitional government. She did not mention the Wagner Group. Up to 1,000 mercenaries have been deployed and the Wagner Group is being paid nearly $11 million a month to provide security and training, according to a report by the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center, which studies extremist violence. The report said Wagner's forces are struggling to make significant gains, with jihadi violence increasing. During the rainy season between June and September when fighting usually subsides, there were over 90 attacks against civilians and the military by an al-Qaida-linked extremist group, compared with six in the same period a year earlier, it said, and an August assault on a barracks by an Islamic State-linked group killed at least 42 Malian soldiers. In the bloodiest attack, Human Rights Watch said Mali's army and foreign troops suspected to be Russian rounded up and killed an estimated 300 men in the town of Moura in March. Some were believed to be Islamic extremists but most were civilians. The investigation cited 27 people, including witnesses, traders, community leaders, diplomats, and security analysts. Mali's Defense Ministry reported a similar incident at the time but said it had killed 203 ''terrorists'' and arrested 51 others. ''There are broad reports of human rights abuses across the region where they are working,'' U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said of the Wagner mercenaries. ''And we worry that these forces are not interested in the safety and security of the people of Mali but, instead, are interested in enriching themselves and strip-mining the country and are making the terrorism situation worse.'' Samuel Ramani, the associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank, said Russia is not very credible at counterterrorism in Africa or more broadly. ''What we've seen repeatedly is that Russia and the Wagner Group forces are much better at strengthening the hold of authoritarian regimes in power than actually combating rebels and terrorist groups,'' Ramani said, citing their limited knowledge of the terrain, strained relationships with low-ranking officers and a rigid command and control structure. Many Malians accuse the military and the white soldiers working with them of arbitrary arrests of civilians herding cattle, farming, or going to market. Most of them are ethnic Fulani who is increasingly targeted by security forces suspecting them of supporting the Islamic militants. Rights groups say these alleged abuses aid the extremists, who capitalize on public grievances for use as a recruiting tool. A 29-year-old cattle herder named Hamidou said he was arrested at his home in Douentza village in central Mali with two other people in November and accused of being an Islamic militant. He was locked in a tiny room where he was bound, beaten, and interrogated by "white soldiers.'' ''We were severely beaten daily. We didn't think we'd survive,'' said Hamidou, who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisal, adding that most of those detained were ethnic Fulani, like him. ''From the day Wagner came to Mali until today, arbitrary arrests and killings of Fulani civilians have been increasing tremendously.'' The AP was unable to verify all of his accounts independently but a human rights researcher who also asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal said he saw the scars on Hamidou's back and forehead after his release. Thousands of United Nations peacekeeping troops have been in Mali for nearly a decade to protect civilians from violence, but Mali's government has constrained their ability to operate, and countries such as Benin, Germany, Sweden, Ivory Coast and the United Kingdom have announced troop withdrawals, according to the International Crisis Group. Nuland, the U.S. diplomat, said the Wagner Group has encouraged the junta to deny the peacekeepers access to areas where it has the mandate to investigate abuses. Security is ''becoming more difficult as Wagner forces and others take on a larger role in the country and squeeze out U.N. peacekeepers,'' she said. While many locals say they detest Wagner, they fear nothing will change until there is a new government following elections scheduled for February 2024. ''It is up to the Malians to decide what steps to follow for the return of peace in Mali,'' said Seydou Diawara, head of a political opposition group. ''Force and pressure by the international community on the military can only worsen the security and humanitarian situation.'' Search Keywords: Short link: KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A top U.N. envoy met with the Taliban-led Afghan governments higher education minister Saturday to discuss the ban on women attending universities. Markus Potzel is the first international official to meet with him since the ban was introduced last month. Taliban authorities on Dec. 20 ordered public and private universities to close for women immediately until further notice. It triggered widespread international condemnation, including from Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. Higher Education Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim has defended the ban, saying it is necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and because he believes some subjects violate Islamic principles. That ban was followed days later by a ban on Afghan women working for national and international non-governmental groups, another decision that caused global condemnation and the suspension of work by major aid agencies. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said that Potzel called for the urgent lifting of these bans in his meeting with Nadim, saying the country is entering a new period of crisis. Taliban bans on female education & work for aid agencies will harm all Afghans, the mission said. Nadim told Potzel the ministry was working for the development and improvement of Afghans, with the protection of Islamic and national values, according to information shared by ministry spokesman Ziaullah Hashmi. He said opponents were criticizing the implementation of Islamic affairs, using education as an argument to achieve their evil goals. We need to make sure there is no place for them to criticize and, at the same time, fulfill the wishes of Afghans who have made sacrifices for Islamic rule and the implementation of Sharia rules in the country, Nadim told Potzel at the meeting. He also said Afghanistan's rulers will not accept anyones demands in the form of pressure against Islamic principles. Story continues Potzel thanked Nadim for his time, saying the higher education of any country has a direct impact on the economic situation of that country, according to the ministry spokesman. The envoy promised to cooperate in the development of Afghanistans higher education and shared his plan for female education with Nadim. Potzel has also met with Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, who issued the NGO ban; Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi; Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and former President Hamid Karzai in recent days to discuss the crackdowns on women and girls. The discussions come ahead of a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 13 about Afghanistan. Nadim, a former provincial governor, police chief and military commander, was appointed minister in October by the supreme Taliban leader and previously pledged to stamp out secular schooling. He opposes female education, saying it is against Islamic and Afghan values. [Source] A woman was arrested for stabbing an 18-year-old girl in the head multiple times on a Bloomington Transit bus in Indiana. Billie R. Davis, 56, repeatedly stabbed the teen using a pocket knife while she was waiting for the bus doors to open at the intersection of West Fourth Street and the B-Line Trail at around 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police. Bloomington Police Department officers responded to the scene and the victim, who had blood flowing from her head, was rushed to the hospital. Although her medical condition is currently unavailable, she was able to speak to investigators regarding the incident. More from NextShark: Popular Italian Bed and Breakfast Posts Racist Messages About Chinese Wet Markets According to the police's review of the stabbing, footage from Bus No. 1777 showed no interaction between the two women prior to the attack. On Thursday, Davis was booked into the Monroe County Jail, where she was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and battery by means of a deadly weapon. More from NextShark: True allyship: Black man hailed hero after saving elderly Asian man from carjacking perp A passenger who witnessed the attack reportedly followed Davis off the bus and updated police on her location. Davis was arrested near the intersection of Kirkwood Avenue and South Washington Street. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Davis said she attacked the 18-year-old for being Chinese. Race was a factor in why she stabbed her, the affidavit read, according to The Herald-Times. Davis made a statement that it would be one less person to blow up our country. More from NextShark: North Korea fires ballistic missile, Japan and South Korea report, in 13th launch this year According to the affidavit, Davis had the intention to kill the teen as footage shows her unfolding her knife and stabbing the victim seven times in the head. Davis reportedly told police that she discarded the weapon before officers were able to arrest her. She is currently held without bond. Story continues Individuals with additional information in relation to the attack are asked to contact Detective Rob Shrake at 812-349-3352. More from NextShark: 5 suspects assault monk in Nashville Buddhist temple robbery Related Stories: Here's how to make your next overnight flight bearable. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images Love them or hate them, red-eye flights are a reality for many travelers flying long distances. Red-eyes depart from their origin at night and arrive at their destination in the morning and they're named for the groggy look most passengers have upon deplaning. Most red-eye flights occur when you're flying east say, from Los Angeles to New York or New York to London. But they can also happen when you're flying north or south over great distances, like between North and South America or Europe and Africa. The benefit of a red-eye flight is that it maximizes your time both at home and at your destination you're flying through the night rather than losing a day to travel. That often saves you the cost of an extra night in a hotel. Red-eyes are often cheaper than day flights, too, helping travelers save money. And in some cases, you might not even have a choice between a day flight and a night flight, as all journeys from your origin to destination will be red-eyes. UCG/Getty Images Every traveler will have their own preferences when it comes to coping with a red-eye flight, especially when factoring in variables such as whether they're in business class or a middle seat in economy, the time difference between their origin and destination, and the length of their flight. But here are a few tips that can help all travelers maximize their red-eye flight. Start adjusting to your destination's time zone before your trip. Since many red-eye flights are to destinations in different time zones, you can help beat jet lag by adjusting your sleep schedule prior to your flight. "If youre traveling somewhere for more than a few days, try adjusting your sleep and wake times a week or two before you leave to slowly get yourself closer to the destination time," Dr. Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, tells Travel + Leisure. "This can really help adjust your circadian rhythm to the new time difference." Story continues That time difference will also help dictate whether or not you should even attempt to sleep on a red-eye in some cases, if you shift your schedule enough before your trip, your red-eye might actually turn into a day flight. Of course, you might not be able to adjust your sleep habits that far in advance, given obligations like work or school. But even adjusting a few hours can help. Book the red-eye that most closely suits your sleep habits. Many routes that are flown as a red-eye offer multiple flights per day. If possible, try to match your flight with your sleep habits. For example, if you like to go to bed on the earlier side, take the 9 p.m. flight from New York to London instead of the midnight option. But if you don't plan on sleeping at all, go ahead and book that 6 p.m. departure that will have you land around midnight East Coast time (early morning in London). That way, you can get a decent "night's" sleep in a hotel bed after landing. All that said, if you're planning to adjust your sleep schedule to better match your destination's time zone, you might need to factor that timing into your booking. Pick the right seat. Generally speaking, window seats are best for sleeping on red-eye flights because you'll deal with the fewest disruptions. If you're in the aisle, you not only have to contend with getting up for your seatmates, but also run the risk of getting bumped by other passengers walking around. The only downside of the window seat is that you'll have to ask your seatmates to get up if you want to use the lavatory. Pro tip: Those extra-leg room exit row seats near the lavatory aren't always great for sleeping, either, as passengers tend to congregate there while waiting their turn. Plus, you'll have to contend with extra light in this area, though you can negate that with an eye mask. And if reclining is important to you, note that some exit row seats may have limited range, as does the last row of the plane. Pack gear that will help you sleep at night. Compassionate Eye Foundation/Steve Smith/Getty Images If you do plan to sleep on a red-eye flight, make sure to pack anything and everything that might help you slumber peacefully. "Sleeping on a plane can be difficult for many, but try using a sleep mask to block out unwanted light, noise-canceling headphones or earplugs to drown out disrupting noises and distractions, as well as a travel pillow or anything to make you feel more comfortable on the plane," says Harris. You might also want to consider packing a blanket or thick sweater to account for potentially cold cabins. On short red-eye flights, skip meal service. To maximize your sleep time on a short red-eye, forget about dinner and/or breakfast on your flight you can eat at the airport before departure or upon arrival. Some travelers go as far as attaching a "do not disturb" note to their shirt or eye mask to let flight attendants know they'd like to skip a meal. Don't drink alcohol. Jaromir Chalabala/Getty Images Some travelers swear by a glass of wine (or two or three) to help lull them to sleep, but while alcohol can make you fall asleep faster, it also frequently leads to low-quality sleep. Plus, because airplane cabins have low humidity, you'll likely feel a bit dried out on a flight, and drinking alcohol can exacerbate that dryness. Freshen up in the morning. Take a moment to freshen up after a red-eye flight to help you feel more prepared to tackle the day, despite the time difference and low-quality sleep. Pack a toothbrush, toothpaste, and face wash to create some semblance of a normal morning routine. If you don't want to spend too much time in the lavatory, you can also do this in the airport bathroom upon landing. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. Alabama was listed as a finalist to land 2024 safety Fred Gaskin III. The Florida native released his top-eight schools via Twitter recently. Gaskin III received an offer from Alabama after attending a Nick Saban Camp back in June. He has not made a trip to Tuscaloosa since then. However, he will likely take either an unofficial or official visit before making a final decision. When asked by On3s Chad Simmons, here is what Gaskin III said about Alabama: Its their commitment to excellence. Theres a standard they hold as the best of the best, so putting them in my top schools, its me saying I really like what theyre doing with their program. Over the years, theyve been the top dog for a while now. Theyre known for player development and getting guys into the NFL, and also for making better men. They are doing something right with their program. At this time, Florida is the favorite to land Gaskin III at 47.9% likelihood, according to On3s RPM. It will be interesting to see how his recruitment unfolds down the stretch. Roll Tide Wire breaks down Fred Gaskin IIIs recruiting profile. Rankings Stars Overall State Position 247 4 236 33 16 Rivals 4 94 22 8 ESPN On3 Recruiting 3 57 44 247 Composite 4 228 37 19 Vitals Hometown Ocala, Florida Projected Position Safety Height 5-10 Weight 180 Class 2024 Recruiting Landed an offer from Alabama on June 25, 2022 No visits to Alabama have been scheduled at this time. Top schools Twitter NEW 2024 4-star athlete Fred Gaskin is down to 8 schools More from @ChadSimmons_: https://t.co/XB1GAfYkGh pic.twitter.com/Dhq7hfxaI9 On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) January 11, 2023 Story originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire Keith Davis Jr. hugs his wife Kelly during a celebration following his released from custody Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Baltimore, after prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Davis was tried for the same murder four times and was awaiting a potential fifth trial when newly elected State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced his decision to dismiss the case. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) ORG XMIT: MDBAE201 A Baltimore man accused of killing a security guard in 2015 was freed and had all charges dropped against him after he stood trial four separate times for the crime, Baltimore's new top prosecutor announced Friday. Keith Davis Jr., who survived being shot multiple times by police when they arrested him, was accused of fatally shooting Kevin Jones, a security guard at the Pimlico Race Course. Davis maintained his innocence throughout the controversial case that raised questions about the conduct of police and prosecutors. "Todays dismissal is about the prosecutorial missteps of my predecessor in her pursuit of a conviction at all costs," said Baltimore States Attorney Ivan Bates, who took office this month. How Keith Davis was tried 4 times on the same charges The dismissal of charges comes as Davis was awaiting a potential fifth trial on the murder charge. Davis stood trial for armed robbery in 2016 and a jury found him not guilty on all counts except one: illegal possession of a handgun. He was charged days later with Jones' murder, with police saying his gun matched bullet casings from the shooting scene. The first murder trial in 2017 ended in a mistrial with a hung jury, Baltimore Magazine reported. A second trial in 2018 ended in a guilty verdict, which was overturned because prosecutors didn't disclose a key witness' background, according to the magazine and the website Free Keith Davis Jr. The third trial, also in 2018, ended in another mistrial. Davis was found guilty in his latest trial in 2019, but that conviction was also overturned on appeal in 2021. CURTIS FLOWERS CASE: How a Mississippi man was tried six times for the same murders It's not the only time a murder suspect has been tried multiple times on the same charges. In another recent high-profile case, Mississippi man Curtis Flowers was tried six times for the same killings of four people, with the last conviction being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was freed in 2019 after spending 23 years in prison and a judge ruled he should receive half a million dollars, the maximum compensation for someone wrongfully imprisoned in the state. Story continues Arrest and shooting by police The victim, Jones, was shot on June 7, 2015, at the Pimlico track in northeast Baltimore. Hours later, a cab driver flagged down police and said someone had tried to rob him at gunpoint. Police identified Davis as their suspect and chased him through the streets, cornering him in a garage and shooting at least 33 times at him. He was struck three times, including in the face. Jones' arrest and shooting prompted backlash, being the first shooting by police of a Black man in Baltimore since the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man whose death in police custody sparked protests in the city. Keith Davis Jr. embraces supporters as he arrives at a gathering following his released from custody Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Baltimore, after prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Davis was tried for the same murder four times and was awaiting a potential fifth trial when newly elected State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced his decision to dismiss the case. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) ORG XMIT: MDBAE202 New top attorney criticizes handling of Keith Davis case In his statement Friday, Bates said he tasked a deputy with reviewing Davis' case, excusing himself from the case because he talked about it while campaigning for his current seat. Bates' predecessor, Marilyn Mosby, lost in a Democratic primary amid federal perjury charges. "It is clear that a blatant disregard for the rules of professional responsibility and the law has permeated throughout the attempted prosecutions of Mr. Davis," said Deputy States Attorney Thomas Donnelly. After the latest conviction was overturned, prosecutors charged him with attempted murder in a different stabbing, prompting a Baltimore judge to find a presumption of vindictiveness behind the prosecution. Those charges were also dropped Friday. The judge also at one point held Mosby in contempt for violating a gag order in the case. Kevin Jones' family 'destroyed' Jones grandmother, Earlene Neals, told The Associated Press she felt blindsided and heartbroken by the news, adding that she was skeptical another suspect would ever be identified. Our family is destroyed, she told AP by phone. Kevin is getting no justice whatsoever none. Neals accused Bates of using the case for political gain. "I fully recognize the pain and anguish that repeated unsuccessful prosecutions have caused the victim's family, and I truly sympathize with them," Bates said in a statement. "Still, as States Attorney, I have a duty to ensure justice for all, not just the victim but also the accused." Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Keith Davis charges dropped after 4 trials for same Baltimore murder SELMA, Ala. As Pearlie Miller stood in front of her home in Selma, Alabama, on Friday morning, she wasnt assessing the damage done by the destructive tornado that tore through the city the day prior. An insurance adjuster had already done that for her noting the entire left side of her house was blown in and the wrought iron posts on her porch were barely supporting the roof. After taking a direct hit from the tornado, the building wouldn't be salvageable. Shed have to grab what she could and find somewhere else to stay. Cold wind whipped around her, and as she looked on at the home she had lived in with her sisters, she wasnt thinking about what was lost. She was thinking about her gratitude for her safety and that of her neighbors. Its just Gods grace, Miller said. But Selma is alive. The city is famed for its historic sites: Pettus Bridge, where the Selma-to-Montgomery march is commemorated; Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference worked with local activists during the Selma movement; and the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, founded in 1991 and opened near the bridge. EXTREME WEATHER: Tornadoes are hitting more frequently and dealing more deaths in the South Pearlie Miller talks about the damage to her home in Selma, Ala. on Friday January 13, 2023 after a storm ripped through the city on Thursday, January 12. The devastation in Selma stretches for miles in a diagonal path across the historic city. Several people sustained injuries, and at least one was serious enough to require transportation to a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital. Hundreds of homes and businesses have shattered windows and roofs in their front yards. Fallen trees and broken power lines hang over streets. At one point, 19,000 people in the area were without power. Through all of the damage, though, Selma has reported no casualties. At least nine deaths have been reported across the rest of the state. The tornado came in and divided our city. It was a devastation, Mayor James Perkins said in a news conference on Friday. Story continues JOHN LEWIS: U.S. Postal Service to honor the civil rights icon with a 2023 postage stamp Debris litters a local business that was destroyed by a tornado that passed through downtown Selma Ala., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Since the storm, the historic city garnered attention from across the country. American Red Cross set up a shelter in the local high school, members of the U.S. Congress offered help, and donations of time and cleanup efforts have poured in. The tornado spared some major historic sites associated with King, like the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, which was the starting point for the Selma-to-Montgomery marches for voting rights. But it left some exterior damage on historic homes like Sturdivant Hall and Grace Hall. The historical nature of Selma, I believe, will put the eyes of the world on our disaster, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell told the Montgomery Advertiser. Because of the name Selma, its helped us galvanize resources. I just want to make sure theyre being channeled in the proper way. Selmas downtown district is the place from which the late Amelia Boynton Robinson, a Selma voting rights strategist and civil rights movement matriarch, convinced King to get involved in the movement, hoping he would help nationalize the voting rights struggle. Its where the late Georgia congressman and voting rights icon John Lewis was beaten nearly to death by state troopers as he crossed the Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965. SEVEN DAYS OF 1961: It was the deadliest place for Black people in the US. That didnt stop these high school students from changing history Calvin Marshall volunteers with clean up efforts in Selma, Ala. on Friday January 13, 2023 after a storm ripped through the city on Thursday, January 12. Some residents, though, wonder why the history of their city is being used to leverage help why the people who lost their homes arent reason enough for others to care. Selma has a thriving history, but were in the present, Miller said. Yes, things can be lost, but we have archives where that history is preserved. Now we need to focus on our community, rebuilding and making sure everybody is OK. The historic part should just take a back seat. Standing in front of her home Friday morning, Miller turned to look at the homes of her across-the-street neighbors. One had a tree resting on top of it. The woman who lived there, she said, was entirely dependent on the care of others. When the tree fell, crushing her house, the woman was not able to get out. Millers sisters were able to call for help, and their neighbor was removed from the house unscathed. At least everyone around here is safe, Miller said. Well just start anew. Cars carefully navigate downed trees and power lines on Chestnut Blvd. in Selma, Alab., Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, after a tornado passed through the area the day before. Rescuers raced Friday to find survivors in the aftermath of a tornado-spawning storm system that barreled across parts of Georgia and Alabama. R.B. Hudson Middle School history teacher Calvin Marshall was also on Millers street Friday morning. Along with a group of his Omega Psi Phi fraternity brothers, he was walking through the neighborhood to help clear the masses of debris. Weve seen a lot of storms, but this is the worst its ever been, he said. A lot of the neighborhoods will be truly messed up here for years. Marshall plans to volunteer with cleanup for as many days or weeks his community needs him. As for the history in Selma, he said its everywhere. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, so many important people were in this community. They lived with these people, he said. Everything is a landmark in Selma, and if that gets us help, then good. Contributing: Associated Press This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Selma, Alabama, tornado spared residents, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Background: Efe Ajagba continues his comeback against unbeaten late replacement Stephen Shaw in a main event on ESPN. Ajagba is a Houston-based Nigerian who is known for his size (6-foot-6) and punching power. The 28-year-old was a fast-rising contender until he was soundly outpointed by Frank Sanchez in October 2021, which seemed to expose his limitations. He rebounded in his only fight since, a second-round knockout of Jozsef Darmos in August. Ajagba had been scheduled to face Oscar Rivas but Rivas pulled out with an eye injury. Shaw, who was scheduled to fight on the undercard, agreed to step up to face the hulking young contender on two weeks notice. Shaw has been busy, fighting three times last year. Hes coming off an eight-round shutout decision over Rydell Booker in November. However, he has taken part in only one scheduled 10-rounder and that was more than three years ago. This is by far the biggest opportunity for the 30-year-old product of St. Louis, who turned pro in 2013. Attorney Ben Crump speaks to reporters during a press conference to announce the filing of a civil lawsuit on behalf of Patrick Lyoyas family against the City of Grand Rapids and former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr at the Westin in Detroit on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. The family of a Springfield man who died Dec. 18 after being transported by two LifeStar Ambulance Service Inc. workers is retaining the services of a noted civil rights attorney who has represented the families of those killed in police brutality incidents. Ben Crump of Tallahassee, Florida-based Ben Crump Law PLLC is being retained by the family of Earl Moore Jr. It was not immediately clear who retained Crump. The ambulance workers, Peggy J. Finley, 44, and Peter J. Cadigan, 50, both of Springfield, were arrested Monday and face first-degree murder charges. Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright said acts by Finley and Cadigan, which were captured on body cameras worn by three Springfield Police Department officers, resulted in the death of Moore. In a press release, Crump said that the actions of Finley and Cadigan provided "neither care nor compassion" in their treatment of Moore. "EMS workers respond to some of the hardest moments in peoples lives, and their occupation calls for them to operate with care and compassion. Earl saw neither care nor compassion in his last moments when he was suffocating, strapped face down to a stretcher by LifeStar employees," Crump said in the release. No lawsuit has been filed at this time in Sangamon County Circuit Court. Finley and Cadigan are scheduled to make their first appearances in court at 9 a.m. Thursday. Crump is best known for representing families of those killed in police brutality cases, in particular Michael Brown and George Floyd. He has also provided his expertise to families of those killed in other civil rights incidents, such as Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery. Crump represented plaintiffs in lawsuits against the city of Flint, Michigan, over tainted water and Johnson & Johnson regarding baby powder. Crump is being joined by Bob Hilliard of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, a Texas-based trial law firm specializing in personal injury cases. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Noted civil rights attorney to represent family of Earl Moore Jr. Ford Motor Co. in June unveiled for public viewing images so rare and popular that its website crashed. Now, a batch of coveted vintage photos of the best-selling F-Series trucks has just posted online to recognize the 75th anniversary of the iconic pickup. The company hopes to avoid drama this time by doubling computer server capacity of the Ford Heritage Vault site. Less than a year old, the online archival site has triggered an unexpected response. Free access to some 9,000 images of classic Ford, Lincoln and Edsel vehicles and vintage sales brochures (including Mustang, Bronco and F-150) have attracted views and downloads from hundreds of thousands of car collectors and gearheads since going up, Ford archivist Ted Ryan told the Free Press. "We expected heavy, heavy usage and then decline," Ryan said. "Instead, we're averaging 3,000 downloads a day and 3,500 users a day." More:Ford archivist warned everyone photo release would be popular. No one believed him Since June, the archive vault has attracted visitors from 167 countries, Ryan said. This is all part of a massive effort by Ford to make its product history more accessible to people who love and appreciate the automotive industry and what it has contributed to the transportation revolution. The website includes brochures and advertising campaigns and depicts how car design and language have evolved. This photo of a 1984 Ford F-150 is part of a new treasure trove of truck images posted on the Ford archive site in January 2023 in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the F-series. The site offers free access and downloads to the public. "I have this mental image of a car club in Finland or Croatia discovering the site and sharing the URL around to its members as they dive in," Ryan said. "This is the ultimate case of word-of-mouth marketing keeping constant traffic to the site. If you build it, they will come and tell their friends to come as well." So far, most searches have been done by fans in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Argentina, India and New Zealand. More:Sold! Ford family station wagon gets record price at auction while 1966 Shelby Cobra doesn't During Thanksgiving week, the No. 1 country accessing the site was Finland. Story continues "I was stunned. Finland?" Ryan said. "That week, we averaged 3,000 downloads. America was eating turkey and not doing anything." This 1963 Ford F-100 is one of more than 50 vintage truck images that posted on the Ford archive website in January 2023 in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the F-series. Images are free and downloadable. Ford has rolled out access and new content for various countries, with the U.S. being first in June 2022. After the site launched in Britain, the company saw 500,000 searches and 125,000 downloads, Ryan said. Top Gear, Britain's bestselling car magazine, ran a story Dec. 8 that warned: "Dont blame us if you end up wasting your day trawling through a trove of classic Fords." Gearheads in South Africa, Australia, Poland, Argentina, Sweden and South Korea have responded, too. More:Ford makes classic pickup electric in surprise one-of-a-kind F-Series truck reveal Because of privacy laws in California and certain countries, Ford cannot track specifically who visits the site or which images they download, Ryan said. Concern about privacy protection initially held up the project because Ford lawyers were so concerned. But the company found a way to make content accessible and protect user privacy at the same time, Ryan said. What's new? This week, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the F-Series, the site has revamped its homepage and added historic truck images dating to 1947, along with hundreds of product brochures. This 1978 Ford F-150 Ranger is part of a collection of vintage images made public by Ford Motor Company in January 2023. The F-Series images are among thousands of images free to the public and downloadable. In 1978, Ranger was just a trim level and not yet a truck model. "We've had a great run with product photos and brochures," Ryan said. "We've filled a niche that wasnt there. And we know there was a pent-up demand for this." More:2023 Ford Super Duty engineer made dream come true after teacher laughed at it In coming months, Ford will launch more international products on the site. The team has to get the images digitized, scanned and catalogued into the archive system before going online. Currently, historical Ford photos and brochures and letters are kept in a temperature- and humidity-controlled building in Dearborn. "The number of man-hours needed would surprise you," Ryan said. "Later this year, look for concept cars and then different content, like press releases and publications." Basically, he said, every single thing a kid wants or needs for a high school paper on Ford Motor Co., "I've got them covered. We've got everyone covered." Go to https://fordheritagevault.com to find the searchable archival site. More:Ford surprised by how F-150 hybrid is changing family's life More:Artists inside Detroit home have unique truck job machines can't match Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford honors 75th anniversary of F-Series with vintage photos A strike on a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro Saturday left at least five dead and 27 injured, officials said, while the president blasted Russian "terror". "There are already five dead," Dnipropetrovsk governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on messaging app Telegram, where he posted a photo of an apartment block reduced to ruins. He added that "27 people were wounded. Among them are six children. All are in hospital." The strike hit the entrance of a nine-storey building, turning several floors into smouldering rubble. "Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by Russian terror! The world must stop this evil," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reacted on social media. "Debris clearance in Dnipro continues... we are fighting for every person, every life," Zelensky added. Ukrainians were celebrating the Old New Year on Saturday, a popular holiday on the eve of which kids traditionally are given sweets. "Festive Saturday -- and the continuation of (Russian) terror. While Ukrainian children are enjoying the sweets received yesterday -- Russia attacks residential buildings," Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska said. "Moscow proves (its) cynicism knows no bounds," Presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said, "(Russia) must be expelled from the UN Security Council right now," he added. Search Keywords: Short link: Jamaica forced a deciding game with England in their three-match series after coming from behind early on to win 61-58 at the Copper Box Arena. Jo Harten was a late withdrawal from Jess Thirlbys line-up due to an injury, with Olivia Tchine stepping in at starting goal shooter for the Roses. England, who struggled in the first quarter of their 73-52 victory in Wednesdays Manchester opener, looked far more assured in London and led 18-12 after the first 15 minutes. But Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jamaica replied in the second quarter, taking the lead for the first time and by half-time they were up 31-27. @NetballJamaica level the Vitality Netball International Series. Bring on tomorrow's decider! pic.twitter.com/ku5YjQ4aYi England Netball (@EnglandNetball) January 14, 2023 The Sunshine Girls extended their lead to 10 in the third quarter, but a few off-target balls into the circle gave England the chance to narrow the gap. They did so briefly but Jamaica soon restored their double-figure advantage, largely thanks to the steady and consistent presence of the six-foot-five Jhaniele Fowler under the post. The smaller Funmi Fadoju did her best to battle the Jamaican goal shooter, but the visitors still had the advantage after 45 minutes even after Tchines last-gasp goal made it 48-41. The Roses looked lively to begin the final period, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis with a fine long pass to set up a goal and Fadoju forcing a much-needed turnover to regain possession for her side. Vitality Roses 41-48 @NetballJamaica 7 Seven goals the difference going into the final quarter. Bring the energy, @CopperBoxArena and come on England! pic.twitter.com/BpLNhws9af England Netball (@EnglandNetball) January 14, 2023 England drew within two with just under four minutes remaining but were punished for holding the ball for over three seconds, shifting the momentum back in the Sunshine Girls favour. Jamaica seized the opportunity to extend their lead as the Roses ran out of time. The third and final game of the series will take place at the Copper Box on Sunday, with first centre pass at 2:00pm. Love Island is back, for the second time within the space of a year. The hit ITV2 reality series is returning for a run of winter episodes, with the show relocating from its usual summer location of Mallorca, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. Beginning in January, the winter edition is expected to run for a similar length of time to the regular version roughly eight weeks. This would mean that the finale will air sometime in March. As usual, viewers are invited to vote during the course of the series, with the most popular contestants ultimately landing the chance to win 50,000 in prize money. In an unprecedented move for the series, viewers will be able to vote for the first male or female bombshell to enter the villa. How do I vote? In order to vote on Love Island, you need to download the free Love Island app. The app is available for iOS (version 9+ or later) and Android (version 4.4x or later). It is the only way to vote. For a full list of the contestants appearing on this years winter Love Island, click here. The forthcoming series will also mark the debut of Maya Jama as series host, after previous presenter Laura Whitmore stepped down from the role. The 28-year-old TV and radio star is Love Islands third host after Caroline Flack, who died in 2020, and Whitmore. Love Island begins on ITV2 at 9pm on Monday 16 January on ITV2. Prince Harrys tell-all memoir Spare is being released this week In it, the duke continues his wave of allegations against the royal family. The 416-page book will see Harry telling his story with raw, unflinching honesty, publisher Penguin Random House said in a statement, adding that the book is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief, Spare, which was leaked in Spain before the official release, covers a wide range of subjects, from his fractious relationship with brother William to the struggles after his mother Dianas death in 1997. The royal first announced the lucrative multi-book deal with Penguin Random House in July 2021. Now, ahead of the books release, there is speculation about how much money the duke is making from the signing. While no figure has been officially confirmed, publisher Penguin Random House is rumoured to have paid Harry a $20m (17m) advance for Spare, the BBC reports. Meanwhile, ET Canada, has reported that Prince Harrys book deal consists of four editions, with a $35m-$40m (28m-33m) price tag. The Independent has contacted Penguin Random House for comment. The publisher has not yet confirmed how much money Prince Harry has made from the book deal. Prince Harry is expected to donate proceeds from the book sales to charity, People reports. The royal announced that a portion of the proceeds would be going to Sentebale, an organisation he founded in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help children affected by HIV in Africa. This is one of several donations I plan to make to charitable organizations, and Im grateful to be able to give back in this way for the children and communities who gravely need it, he said in a statement. In the UK, the book will cost 28 for a hardback, and 20 for the audio. The memoir accidentally went on sale in Spain last week, ahead of its official release. Spare covers a range of personal details about Harrys life and upbringing, revealing the moment he found out his mother, Diana, died, and that William and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform as fancy dress. The royal also writes that he killed 25 people during military service in Afghanistan and admits to illegal drug use. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Negativity has dogged the Kentucky basketball program since its disappointing loss to South Carolina on Tuesday. Heading into Saturday's 63-56 win over No. 5 Tennessee, Wildcats coach John Calipari did his best to insulate his players while absorbing as many bullets as possible himself. I havent lost faith in any of these guys, he said. Ive got a good team. (Friday night), I collected all the (players cell) phones and iPads and everything else. Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) over the Volunteers. The victory ended a 25-game home win streak for Tennessee (14-3, 4-1) that dated back to the end of the 2020-21 season. Kentucky led 58-50 with 3:28 left in the game. Two free throws by Santiago Vescovi and two buckets by Uros Plavsic closed the gap to two with less than a minute to play. A Wildcat turnover gave Tennessee a shot to tie or take the lead, but Zakai Zeigler and Plavsic missed down low. Both coaches made it a slugfest, said Calipari. Nobody backed down. The Wildcats showed a physical presence and dominated the Volunteers on the boards, 43-23. Tennessee came into the game leading the SEC in rebounding margin (+9.94). Our frontline's gotta do a better job rebounding, said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. On the defensive end, we have to get everyone involved. The Tennessee big man Plavsic, who scored 19 points, was the only Vol to match Kentucky's physicality. Calipari said the strategy was to focus on the Vols' perimeter play, while letting Plavsic have his way. They can beat us with 3s, said Calipari. They won't beat us with 2s. CJ Fredrick scored eight in a row and had 10 of his 13 points in the first half as Kentucky led at the break, 33-26. Vescovi, who tweaked his shooting (left) shoulder in a collision early in the game, had seven in the first half for Tennessee. He finished with 13 points. Story continues We had some uncontested looks at the rim, Barnes said. Point-blank layups youve gotta make them. POLL IMPLICATIONS During his 36 seasons as a head coach in college basketball, Rick Barnes has led his teams into the AP Top 25 a total of 299 weeks. That includes 131 weeks in the Top 10. BIG PICTURE Kentucky: Besides the frustration that comes with six losses this early in the season, the Wildcats have had to deal with injury problems. G Cason Wallace (back) and F Jacob Toppin (shoulder) have been sidelined. Both started against the Vols. Big man Oscar Tshiebwe leads the SEC with 10 double-doubles this season. Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC with 6.3 assists a game. This is his third straight year on top. John Calipari coached his 36th game against Tennessee. No other coach has led his team against the Vols in as many games. Tennessee: Senior G Santiago Vescovi has been hot lately. He came into the Kentucky game averaging 16.5 points over his last five games while shooting 60% from the field and 57% from 3-point. Zakai Ziegler, who has gotten used to his role as a point guard coming off the bench, had 27 assists in his last three games heading into Saturday. Chris Lofton (2004-08), the SECs all-time leader in 3-point baskets made (431), had his No. 5 hoisted into the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena. UP NEXT Kentucky: Hosts Georgia on Tuesday. Tennessee: Visits Mississippi State on Tuesday. ___ AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 RacingOne - Getty Images In 1973 Raymond Williams hosted the Independent 250, the first, last and only outlaw NASCAR race. It was open only to the drivers dubbed independents who had earned NASCAR points and who owned the cars they drove. The goal was to demonstrate that NASCARs purse structure was short-changing independent drivers, including Dave Marcis (pictured above, right), who often finished mid-pack due to limited budgets. Raymond Williams saw racing on NASCAR ovals as a fast way to get rich, qualifying for the 1970 Daytona 500 in a rented car with no previous racing experience. Soon, he dubbed himself Captain America with a paint scheme to match. But when he crossed swords with a bona fide American captain of industry in the form of NASCAR founder Bill France, Williams found himself on the outside looking in. After getting disenchanted with purse money along with many of his fellow independent drivers, in 1973 Williams hosted the Independent 250, the first, last and only outlaw NASCAR race. It was open only to the drivers dubbed independents who had earned NASCAR points and who owned the cars they drove. RacingOne - Getty Images The entry at the 3/8ths-mile Trico Speedway (now Orange County) near Rougemont, N.C. looked like a whos who of some of NASCARs most familiar drivers at the time: Dave Marcis (pictured at top), James Hylton, Bill Champion, J.D. McDuffie, Ed Negre, Elmo Langley, Walter Ballard, Richard Childress, Henley Gray, Bill Dennis and Cecil Gordon, among others. The goal was to demonstrate that NASCARs purse structure was short-changing independent drivers, who often finished mid-pack due to limited budgets and a lack of major sponsorship or factory affiliation. I was crying for all those people, said Williams of his motivation. I cant think of anybody in the world who works harder for more hours and makes less money than racers. Only Langley and Hylton had ever won a Grand National race among the more than 20 drivers who gathered at Williams tavern in Chapel Hill the night before the Independent 250, held on Nov. 24 following the end of the Winston Cup season. Sometimes known as strumbos who often paced themselves and their cars, the independents were ready to race. Story continues I feel like Im committed to run flat out, said Jabe Thomas, a veteran of eight Grand National seasons. I believe everybody else feels the same way. And, if thats the case, it will be the first time in years weve done that. RacingOne - Getty Images The swarm of veteran drivers on the tiny high-banked bowl indeed put on an outstanding race, according to Gerald Martin of the Raleigh News & Observer. What the crowd saw was the old-timers, Langley and Champion, careening side-by-side, lap after lap, personal pride dictating that neither give an inch. There was Ed Negre, the lumberjack from Kelso, Washington, barreling off the fourth turn, with his foot in the carburetor, his Dodge smoking and everybody wondering when it would come unglued. The eventual winner was Cecil Gordon, although there was an unresolved scoring dispute according to Marcis. Unfortunately, due to gray, overcast skies, cool weather and Williams lack of experience as a promoter, much less the absence of name drivers like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, Gordon won only $500 due to a relatively small crowd. The money doesnt concern me, said Gordon, clutching the winners trophy. I won a race today. RacingOne - Getty Images The following year, Williams leased the Trico track for an entire season, trying to get the hang of the promotion business. But rainouts and low turnouts of Late Model Sportsman entries resulted in losses. According to Fred Daniel, another local promoter, NASCAR slipped appearance money to Late Model drivers from North Carolina and southern Virginia to encourage them to race elsewhere. Williams was locking the gates at Trico for his final time after yet another rainout when a lightning bolt hit the chain link fence. That knocked the living shit out of me, he said. Lying on his back in the mud, Williams decided to quit race promotion two months before the anniversary of the Independent 250. When Marcis heard the story, he laughed and said, That was Bill France getting him right there. Members of a civic group seeking compensation from Japanese firms over forced labor during World War II and opposition lawmakers stage a rally to oppose the government's reported resolution to the issue outside the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. The banners read "Apology and compensation from Japanese war criminal companies and condemn the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean officials are considering creating a domestic fund to compensate Koreans who were enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II, as they desperately try to repair relations with Tokyo that have deteriorated in recent years over historical grievances. The plan, revealed Thursday during a public hearing organized by Seouls Foreign Ministry, was met with fierce criticism by victims and their legal representatives, who have demanded that the reparations come from Japan. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been strained since South Koreas Supreme Court in 2018 upheld lower court verdicts and ordered Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate Korean forced laborers. The companies have refused to carry out the orders and the plaintiffs have responded by pursuing legal steps aimed at forcing the companies to sell off their local assets to provide compensation, a process South Korean officials fear would cause further rupture between Seoul and Tokyo. Victims have also demanded the Japanese companies issue an apology over their ordeals. Ties between the U.S. Asian allies have long been complicated by grievances related to Japans brutal rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, when hundreds of thousands of Koreans were mobilized as forced laborers for Japanese companies or sex slaves at Tokyos wartime brothels. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who took office in May, has been eager to improve ties with Japan as they pursue stronger trilateral security cooperation with Washington in the face of the growing North Korean nuclear threat. He met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in November in Cambodia in the first bilateral summit between the countries in three years, where they expressed commitment to swiftly resolve their pending issues, which clearly referred to the forced labor dispute. During Thursdays public hearing at the National Assembly, South Korean Foreign Ministry official Seo Min-jung said her governments priority is to arrange the payments as quickly as possible, noting that many forced labor victims are already dead and most known survivors are in their 90s. Story continues She said it would be impossible to make the Japanese companies apologize on behalf of the broader forced labor issue, which has fueled mutual frustration between the countries for decades. It would be important that Japan sincerely maintains and inherits the poignant expressions of apology and remorse that it already expressed in the past, said Seo, the ministrys director of Asia and Pacific Affairs. Seo said the payments could possibly be handled by the Seoul-based Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan. Shim Kyu-sun, the foundations chair, said the payments could be funded by South Korean firms that benefited from Japanese economic assistance when the countries normalized their ties in the 1960s, including steel giant POSCO. The Japanese companies have reduced much of their economic activity in South Korea and withdrawn (many of their) assets, so its not even clear whether a liquidation process would be enough to provide compensation to the plaintiffs, said Seo. She said government officials planned to meet the victims and their family members in person to explain the payment plans and seek their consent. Lim Jae-sung, a lawyer who represented the plaintiffs in the 2018 rulings, accused the government of pushing ahead with a settlement that excessively aligns with Japans position while ignoring the voices of victims. It seems that the South Korean governments finalized plan is to use the money by South Korean companies like POSCO to allow the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan to eliminate the forced labor victims rights to receivables, Lim said. Japan doesnt take any burden at all. The 2018 rulings ordered Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi to provide around 100 to 150 million won ($80,000 to $120,000) each to 15 plaintiffs, including both survivors and relatives of deceased victims. Lim said the amount of compensation finalized by courts could eventually exceed 15 billion won ($12 million), considering that similar cases are still pending. Are you planning to raise funds amounting to 15 billion won entirely from the money of South Korean companies? Lim asked Seo, accusing the government of rushing toward a settlement that wouldnt be supported by victims or South Koreas broader public. The hearing was interrupted several times by angry audience members. Some shouted traitor at Korea University politics professor Park Hong-kyu, who participated as a panelist, after he said it was unrealistic to expect Japan to apologize and participate in the fund. A Foreign Ministry official, who requested anonymity during a background briefing to reporters, said the plan presented during the hearing wouldnt necessarily be Seouls finalized proposal to Tokyo. Todays (hearing) was not about announcing the governments finalized plan but for us to receive the opinions of diverse groups and use this as an opportunity to accelerate discussions with Japan, the official said. Japan insists all wartime compensation issues were settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing relations between the two nations that was accompanied by hundreds of millions of dollars in economic aid and loans from Tokyo to Seoul. Japan reacted furiously after the South Korean rulings in 2018 and subsequently placed export controls on chemicals vital to South Koreas semiconductor industry in 2019, citing the deterioration of trust between the countries. Seoul accused Tokyo of weaponizing trade and even threatened to terminate a military intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo, which was a major symbol of their three-way security cooperation with Washington. South Korea eventually backed off and kept the deal after being pressured by the Trump administration. Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries had refused to carry out the 2018 rulings and re-appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts ordered them to sell off their local assets to compensate the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court has yet to make a decision on whether to allow the liquidation of the companies assets to proceed. RFA/Latino Community and Lower Valley Reporter Heyo, Im Jasper. Nice to meet you. I cover a wide variety of news, but I try to focus on the Latino community and the Lower Yakima Valley. I want to sharestories and perspectives from the Yakima Valley. Im interested in economics, labor, geography and the environment, but the most important issues will always be the ones the community cares about. If you have something worth saying, Ill listen and try to write it down. Im a gosei from Northeast Los Angeles and I got my start as a student journalist and editor covering sports in the Bay Area. Im a massive soccer fan and I still love to play. I also love water in all its forms, the word copacetic and trying new things. I want to read more, and I like to cook, but Im not great at either. Have fun out there! Iran said Saturday it had executed a dual Iranian-British national who once worked for its defense ministry over spy claim for UK intelligence and summons the British ambassador in Teheran. Iran on Saturday summoned the British ambassador to Tehran, the foreign ministry said, hours after a British-Iranian dual national was executed for espionage. Former senior defence official Alireza Akbari, 61, was hanged after being convicted of "corruption on earth and harming the country's internal and external security by passing on intelligence", Iran judiciary's Mizan Online website said. It did not say when it happened. However, there were rumours he had been executed days ago. Mizan said Akbari, who had been arrested more than two years ago, had been a spy for Britain's MI6 secret intelligence agency and had received around $2 million for his services. "In response to Britain's unconventional interventions, including in the national security field of the Islamic Republic of Iran, today, Simon Shercliff, the ambassador of this country in Tehran, was summoned," the ministry said in a statement. "In this meeting, our country's protest against the acts of sabotage and acts against (Iran's) national security was reflected to the British government," it added. The statement stressed "the British government should be held accountable for establishing unconventional communications leading to an attack on (Iran's) national security." "The continuation of such illegal and criminal actions cannot be tolerated in any way; therefore, the British government must accept the consequences of the responsibility of continuing its unorthodox and interventionist approach." Iran does not recognise dual nationality for its citizens. Earlier, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "appalled", adding: "This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people." Britain said the "barbaric" hanging of Akbari, would not go unchallenged. "This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. This will not stand unchallenged," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. On Thursday, state media had reported that 61-year-old Akbari had held high positions in the country's defence establishment. His posts included "deputy minister of defence for foreign affairs" and a position in the "secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council." Akbari had also been an "advisor to the commander of the navy" as well as "heading a division at the defence ministry's research centre". In a video published by Iranian media, Akbari is seen apparently talking about his contacts with Britain. He also says he was questioned by the British about Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, assassinated in November 2020 in an attack that Tehran blames on arch-foe Israel. Akbari, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war that raged from 1980-1988, was arrested sometime between March 2019 and March 2020, state media said. Mizan, citing a statement from Iran's intelligence ministry, had said earlier this week that Akbari became a "key spy" for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, more commonly known as MI6, due to "the importance of his position". In February 2019, the official government newspaper Iran published an interview with Akbari, whom it identified as a "former deputy defence minister" during the 1997-2005 presidency of Mohammad Khatami. In early December, Iran executed four people accused of working with Israeli intelligence, Mizan said at the time. Iran hanged them four days after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentence for "their intelligence cooperation with the Zionist regime (Israel) and kidnapping", Mizan reported. Search Keywords: Short link: Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 81F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight A clear sky. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Sunny skies. High around 80F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. The Auto Expo 2023 witnessed unveiling exercises of a host of new vehicles, although only a handful of big brands were present at the motor show. In fact, some launches were also conducted at the Auto Expo, and the carmakers also showcased some of their upcoming cars. Talking of the brands, which caught a lot of limelight, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, MG, and Kia are some of them. A host of hatchbacks, SUVs, MPV, and electric cars made their public debuts at the 2023 Auto Expo, but models listed below are our top 10 picks that you should check out at the show. 2023 Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-door The countrys largest carmaker showcased the Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-door at the 2023 Auto Expo. It was certainly the most-awaited product at the show, and the Jimny is worth having a look at. An SUV with enough to go off the road and rule the streets in a city with compact dimensions is Jimny. More importantly, it can seat four with accessibility boosted with 4-doors. 2023 Tata Curvv Concept The Curvv Concept made its public debut with a turbo-petrol engine in a near-production form. The Tata Curvv Concept will go on sale in our market with both turbo-petrol engine and electric powertrains. With a scintillating exterior, embodied by the coupe-like roofline, the Curvv Concept showcases Tata Motors potential in terms of car design. Also, the Currv gets a futuristic exterior. Maruti Suzuki Fronx The Baleno-based Maruti Suzuki Fronx is a stylish SUV that broke cover at the 2023 Auto Expo. It gets a rakish roofline, rugged body cladding, upright nose, and Grand Vitara-inspired nose. The tail lamps are stylish too. With these design details and Balenos people-pleasing capabilities, the Maruti Suzuki Fronx has enough to lure Indian buyers. Tata Harrier EV With sharp design than the conventional ICE model, the Tata Harrier EV feels youthful to look at. In fact, it has touch-sensitive panels, in place of door handles. Moreover, with a dual-motor setup, the Harrier EV boasts AWD capabilities, and with a 60 kWh battery pack, it is expected to have a claimed range of around 500 km. Toyota Land Cruiser Series 300 The Land Cruiser is a full-size SUV, and it sits on the top of the ladder of Toyotas SUV portfolio. The Land Cruiser will soon go on sale in the Indian market with a price tag of roughly Rs 2 Crore, ex-showroom. It gets a diesel engine with 700 Nm of max torque, diverted to all four wheels via a 10-speed AT. The Land Cruiser Series 300 weighs nearly 3 tonnes and has a fuel tank of 110 litres. Tata Sierra EV If you are a fan of SUV, youd have once thought of buying the Tata Sierra, in case you are over 40 years of age in the year 2023. Well, the company is bringing the car back in the year 2024. It will come with both electric and petrol powertrains. Displayed at the Auto Expo 2023, is its near-production form with four doors and a rather practical dashboard. We are sure that youd certainly love the way Sierra looks. Hyundai Ioniq 6 Yes, Hyundai has launched the Ioniq 5 in the Indian market, but the company is also showcasing the Ioniq 6 electric sedan at the Indian motor show. It gets a very sporty stance with a Porsche-inspired rear-end. The Ioniq 6 boasts the lowest drag coefficient of all in the companys line-up. In fact, it can sprint from 0-100 kmph in just 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 185 kmph. Kia EV9 Concept The Kia EV9 Concept shows that brands will also introduce full-size electric SUVs in the near future. The Kia EV9 Concept has a bulky body with a length of 4,929mm, a width of 2,055mm in width and a height of 1,790mm. The Kia EV9 concept car's battery pack is 77.4 kWh in size. Comparatively speaking, the battery pack is larger than the Kia EV6's. The battery pack should give the SUV a range of about 540 kilometres. The platform will receive 800V electrical architecture with a 350 kW charge capacity. Tata Altroz iCNG & Punch iCNG Tata Motors is ready to revolutionise the business of factory-fitted CNG cars with the launch of Punch iCNG and Altroz iCNG. Showcased at the 2023 Auto Expo, these models get two 30L cylinders in the spare-wheel area of the cars. Thereby, the boot space remains unaffected, and the total capacity of the CNG cylinders is still at 60 litres. Interestingly, the spare wheel is still fitted on these models, but underneath the floor. Toyota Mirai The Union Minister for MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) - Nitin Gadkari, is seen in a Toyota Mirai these days. The sedan is powered by a fuel cell, making it an FCEV. The Mirai is powered by pressurised hydrogen and as an end product, it emits out water. Interesting, isnt it? Well, you can check it out at Toyotas pavilion at the 2023 Auto Expo. Afghanistan, under the rule of the Taliban government, has unveiled its first indigenously built supercar billed Mada 9. However, the reports suggest that the car is not a production-ready model and is still a prototype developed after over five years of work on the car. The development work of the supercar was carried out by a team of engineers from Kabul's Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute (ATVI) and ENTOP. The videos of the car posted on social media handles are going crazy viral on the internet. One of the videos on Twitter got over 1.2 million views showing the Mada 9 supercar prototype surrounded by people looking at the car and checking out its design. Some of the people in the video seem like Taliban officials who can be heard appreciating the car. Also read: Tesla Model S, Y, 3 get CHEAPER in US, Europe as sales take a hit, affecting growth The brand new car, with Afghanistan as its origin country, is powered by a Japanese engine of a Toyota Corolla, as revealed by Ghulam Haider Shahamat, head of ATVI, in a statement to Tolo News. The official did not reveal the exact specifications of the car. However, he mentioned that the engine has been tuned to propel the car to high speed. He also revealed that they have intentions of making the electric version of the car as well. (@soldier2017kg) January 12, 2023 Abdul Baqi Haqqani, the Taliban's Higher Education Minister, said yesterday at the ENTOP headquarters that the car will demonstrate the Taliban government's dedication to offering "religious and modern sciences for its people." According to Mohammad Riza Ahmadi, CEO of ENTOP (the automobile maker), the supercar would "convey the value of knowledge to the people," which will improve Afghanistan's reputation abroad. The car's launch date has not yet been made public. But according to Riza, the vehicle would initially set out for Afghanistan, and "one day it will go globally." New Delhi: Utsav Naik is one such talent who, as a lead actor, will soon be seen in his upcoming drama, thriller, and comedy debut film 'Aagantuk,' starring Hiten Kumaar and Netri Trivedi. The film, directed by Naiteek Ravval, will be released in theatres on February 17, 2023. Utsav, a native of Kachholi village in Gujarat's Navsari district, is ecstatic about his big screen debut and believes that his debut film 'Aagantuk' is the fulfilment of his wishes and dreams. The actor expressed his excitement about his debut in the Gujarati film industry, saying, "It was my wish and manifestation to have Naitik Ravval as the director of my debut film. "I am overjoyed that Naitik sir is directing Aagantuk and that I'm playing a major part in the film. During the rehearsal, a newcomer to the world of film is likely to be nervous. Interestingly, Utsav Naik faced the cameras with ease, During the one-on-one rehearsal with Naitik Ravval. I recall doing one-on-one rehearsals with Naitik sir during the film's pre-production. He was telling me in-depth information about the character I'm playing in the film. I was also rehearsing with senior actor Hiten Kumaar. I was so at ease that I don't recall faltering or giving incorrect takes during the shoot," Naik said. Aagantuk is a comedy, drama, and thriller film about a boy named Danish (played by Utsav Naik). The story of the film is very humorous and unique, and it will keep you glued to your seat until the end. "My reel life character is different from what I am in real life," Utsav Naik says of getting into the character of the film as a first-timer. Danish, my character in the film, has a tattoo on his neck, he keeps lighter and wears neck ornaments. Naitikbhai suggested I try contact lenses, which I did. It was simple for me to distinguish between Danish and Utsav Naik, which aided me greatly in character development." "My production team knew I was a first-timer," Naik said of the film's team members' love and affection. My co-stars, including Netri Trivedi and Hiten Kumaar sir, never made me feel it was my first film. As a first-time actor, I was never subjected to any kind of pressure. I was never nervous and was able to fully embody my character in the film. All thanks to the unending support of my team." "On the first day of the shoot, it was a difficult task in a confined space, and I was sitting in a car with Hiten Kumar sir. I was supposed to deliver a dialogue in front of senior actor Hiten Sir, who has worked in the film industry for years my age. I'm not sure what helped me or where I got my strength, but everything went smoothly and the shoot was over," Naik said. "Aaguntuk is releasing on February 17, 2023, and it is my debut film," Naik said of his excitement for the film. I am very excited to see myself on the big screen, something I have wanted to do for many years and have worked very hard for. For the first time, the entire world will see me on the big screen. Aagantuk is an amazing story full of comedy, thrills, and drama, and I hope and pray that audiences will enjoy seeing it in theatres. New Delhi: Sporting-wear manufacturing brand Adidas has lost a legal battle in the court against popular designer Thom Browne for using 4-stripes in his designs that is closely associated with Adidas trademark three-stripes logo. Adidas charged the designer for copying the companys popular trademark and demanded $867,225 as potential licensing fees. The jury in New York on Thursday rejected the accusation. This is a blow for the company as the jury allowed the New York based luxury brand onwed by the desiger Thom Browne to keep its four-striped product. Adidas sued Thom Browne for nearly $8 million in damages and profits, arguing that Thom Brownes stripes imitate its own branding, citing its Three-Stripe trademark. ALSO READ | Budget 2023: AiMeD asks increasing import duty on Chinese medical devices A brief history of Thom Browne luxury brand Thom Browne is a New York based luxury brand and is widely recognised for redefining moder tailoring. It was founded by the designer Thom Browne in 2003 in New Your Citys West village. The company has produced a wide range of products including read-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and a new frangance. Its now a global brand with over 50 stores. A Brief history of Adidas three-stripe trademark Sporting company Adidas was founded by Adi Dassler on August 18, 1949 in Germany and was registered the Adi Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik. It was the same year when Adidas registered the shoe that included 3-Stripes. Soon the 3-Stripes became the global trademark of the company. New Delhi: At a British farm combating climate change by converting cow poo into energy, what goes around, comes around. The UK-based company Bennamann has created the first tractor in the world that is entirely powered by farmyard manure as part of its efforts to decarbonize agriculture. "Fugitive methane," which would have otherwise escaped from cow dung, is captured by the 270bhp New Holland T7 tractor and transformed into biofuel. The highly potent greenhouse gas is treated and compressed to become liquid fuel in order to do this. According to Chris Mann, a co-founder of Bennamann, this technology has the potential to revolutionise emission control by removing significant amounts of methane from the atmosphere. (Also Read: Tips and Tricks: Follow THESE 5 techniques to SAVE income tax) He said that the T7 liquid methane-fueled tractor was a true first in the world and was another step toward the decarbonization of the global agricultural sector and the realisation of a circular economy. (Also Read: SPECIAL LIC plan for women: Invest Rs 58 per day in Aadhar Shila Yojana, get Rs 8 lakh upon maturity-- Check benefits, premium chart, calculator, and other details) The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that during a 20-year period, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). If the tractor performs even remotely as well as its Cornish manufacturer claims, it might challenge diesel alternatives at a time when farmers are coming under growing pressure from the UK government to reduce carbon emissions. India is a land of immense devotion and festivities, where we have a plethora of cultures and traditions. When it comes to the Hindu culture, Makar Sankranti is one significant festival dedicated to Lord Surya or the Sun God. Makar Sankranti heralds the end of winter and the start of longer days as the sun moves northward. This period is known as Uttarayan and is considered to be very auspicious. Makar Sankranti 2023: Date and timings Makar Sankranti is celebrated a day after Lohri, and it falls on Sunday, January 15, 2023. The Sankranti tithi will be at 8:57 am on January 14, according to Drik Panchang. Meanwhile, the Makar Sankranti Punya Kala will run from 7:15 am. to 5:46 pm., while the Makar Sankranti Maha Punya Kala will start at 7:15 am. and end at 9:00 pm. Makar Sankranti 2023: How it's celebrated across India The harvest festival is both a religious and seasonal celebration dedicated to Surya, whom the Hindu community considers to be the Sun God. Makar Sankranti commemorates the sun's transit into Makara (Capricorn) raashi (zodiac sign), and the festival is widely observed in the Indian Subcontinent as well as by Hindus worldwide. Makar Sankranti is celebrated differently in different parts of India. So let's have a look: In Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana celebrated as Makar Sankranti, on this auspicious day, all brothers visit their married sisters and bring them warm clothes and sweets. Married women show their affection and respect for their in-laws by giving them shawls, sweets, clothes, and other items. Families congregate in one location to celebrate the festival. Makar Sankranti is known as the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu. This festival is held for four days in a row, with each day having a different meaning. People clean and declutter their homes, as well as decorate them, on the first day. Aside from that, they wear new, colourful clothes while discarding the old ones. This festival is known as Uttarayan in Gujarat, and the state is well-known for its International Kite Flying Festival. After finishing their morning prayers, people gather on their terraces with colourful kites. The festival has begun! During the kite flying festival, you can hear people shouting "Kai Po Che" to the losing team. Aside from that, people eat delicacies like chikki, which is made of sesame seeds and peanuts, and Undhiyu, which is made of winter vegetables. In Assam, it is celebrated as Bihu and marks the start of the Assamese New Year. People dress in traditional attire such as dhoti, gamosa, and saadar mekhela on this day. They also sing traditional folk songs and dance to celebrate. In Uttarakhand, Makar Sankranti is known as Gughuti, or the festival of welcoming migratory birds. People feed Khichdi and other food items as a charity and organise donation camps. In addition, flour and jaggery are used to make sweets, which are then deep-fried in various shapes. Children then offer these sweets to the crows. In addition, the crows are fed Puri, Vade, and Puwe. Locals believe that the child who is the first to feed a crow is the luckiest. Magha Saaji is celebrated as Makar Sankranti in Himachal Pradesh. Sankranti is known as Saaji in India, and Magha is the name of the month. On this day, people bathe in the holy rivers of the area and visit temples to seek the Lord`s blessings. Apart from that, they pay visits to their friends and family and present them with sweets such as chikki, khichdi, and ghee. It is a day when many people donate to charities and make donations. The locals celebrate in the evening by singing folk songs and dancing. Also known to strengthen the bond of friendship, this festival is all about making khichdi, kite flying, sesame sweets, and coconut laddoos. Makar Sankranti marks a message, that the winter season is now clearly, leaving. Happy Makar Sankranti! New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday reiterated that crypto currencies are equivalent to gambling, as their perceived value is only make believe. Addressing a media event here, Das called for a ban on cryptos, saying there is no underlying value in it. Those supporting it call it an asset or a financial product, but there is no underlying value in it, he added. ALSO READ | Budget 2023: AiMeD asks increasing import duty on Chinese medical devices To counter the growth of cryptocurrencies, the central bank recently launched in pilot mode, its own e-rupee or central bank digital currency (CBDC). "Every asset, every financial product has to have some underlying (value) but in the case of crypto, there is no underlying value. So anything without any underlying, whose value is dependent entirely on make-believe, is nothing but 100 per cent speculation or to put it very bluntly, it is gambling," he said. ALSO READ | Anand Mahindra shares video of Laurel and Hardy dancing to Natu Natu song "Since we don`t allow gambling in our country, and if you want to allow gambling, treat it as gambling and lay down the rules for gambling. But crypto is not a financial product," Das added. He said that CBDCs are the future of money and its adoption can help save on logistic and printing costs. New Delhi: Released on 14th January 2022, Vipul Amrutlal Shah's medical thriller 'Human' is indeed one web series that stands apart from the usual once that we see on our screens. Taking a dig into the world of Pharmaceutical companies, the Shefali Shah-starrer web series steps into a process of drug testing on Humans while addressing the heart-wrenching reality of the corrupt, and deceitful world of pharma companies, hospitals, and politicians who are the main culprit of making it a torture for the helpless humans. Profoundly proved as an eye opener for the audience, the series has today completed one year of its release. 'Human' was an idea that shattered the audience with its brilliant story and its indeed a vision of the filmmaker, Vipul Amrutlal Shah to bring such interesting and never seen before content to the audience. As 'Human' completes one year today, the director and producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah said, "I think what was very clear in our heads was that we are going to go ahead and make a very honest show. We are not going to do any balancing act, we are not going to be politically correct, we are not going to leave anything unturned. So we are going to go all out, we are going to be honest and we were not going to be scared of the result. I was very sure that if we told the story with full honesty and with full integrity, it's a story which will 100 % connect with people. Also, at a point in time in your career, after doing 15-16 films of various genres, I also wanted to make something which was completely different, something that I had never done but at the same time, something that was very very important for society. So, I think Human was a perfect mix of all of these ingredients which I think is the reason why people connected with it." Ahead of this, Shefali Shah who played Dr. Gauri Nath, a stoic, soft-spoken, and reputed neurosurgeon in the web series also stepped into a very different role. The lead actress left everyone impressed with her amazing performance while garnering immense love from the audience and great reviews from critics. While marking the one year of 'Human' Shefali also added her words saying, "HUMAN completes a year and its still one of the most viewed shows and loved shows. I am just so glad I could be a part of the show which is talking about a really important thing and play a character which is always going to be the furthest away from me, and thats why its so much exciting. The show is going be there for prosperity for people to see forever. So its really something. " Human released on Disney+ Hotstar on 14th January 2022. Made under the direction of Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Mozez Singh, the series stars Shefali Shah and Kriti Kulhari in the lead. The 10 episode web series was produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Aashin Shah. Shahdol: A 90-year-old woman was raped allegedly by a motorcyclist who had offered her a lift in Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh, a police official said on Saturday. She had arrived at Shahdol railway station from Jabalpur on Thursday night to visit her kin in a village some 15 kilometres from the district headquarters, Superintendent of Police Kumar Pratik said. "She stayed overnight at the railway station and an autorickshaw driver ferried her till the main road in Antra village on Friday morning. He asked her to take another vehicle to get to her kin's place, which was some distance away from the main road," he said. "While she was waiting for a bus, an unidentified motorcyclist offered her a lift to the village, but took a detour and raped her at an isolated spot. He left her back on the main road and then fled," the SP added. Also Read: Bihar Shocker! Man rapes, kills to be sister-in-law; pours 10 kg salt to decompose body After she narrated her ordeal to her relatives, they approached police, who registered a case against the unidentified motorcyclist under Indian Penal Code provisions for rape and other offences, Pratik said. The woman has been hospitalised, while efforts were on to nab the accused, the SP added. New Delhi: The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been suspended for Saturday (January 14) after the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary,77, during the yatra due to a heart attack. The Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring told ANI, "Yatra suspended for today. Tomorrow, last rites will be held. Haven't spoken to Rahul Gandhi yet but we all feel that after last rites we'll start the Yatra. Till last rites it'll be suspended." Rahul Gandhi's press conference which was to be held on Sunday (January 15) is also cancelled as per an ANI report. According to reports, Santokh Singh was walking alongside Rahul Gandhi during the Yatra when he suddenly collapsed after suffering a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital but couldn't be revived. Rahul Gandhi and a few other Congress leaders also went to the hospital. As per ANI, the Congress MP's last rites will be performed at his village tomorrow (January 15). Several Congress leaders took to Twitter to pay their last respects to the late Congress leader. Former Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Congress MP Manish Tewari recalled his last moments with the late Santokh Singh Chaudhary who passed away this morning (January 14) during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Phillaur. Tewari, while condoling his fellow Congress member's death, said that he and Chaudhary were together in the Yatra in the morning. Manish recalled that Chaudhary had donned a black track top and the two shared a moment when their eyes met amid the crowd. He wrote on Twitter, "@SSChaudharyMP and I were together in Yatra in the morning. He was wearing a black track top. Our eyes locked and we acknowledged each other & after a while we got swept away in the crowds. He was a noble soul & a respected colleague. RIP Choudhary Sahib as everyone called him." A Congress worker shared a photo of the late Congress MP during the yatra this morning alongside Rahul Gandhi. Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh dies of heart attack during Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab's Phillaur. pic.twitter.com/5FqwK5t0yY IYCAnsari (@AbdurRa10416436) January 14, 2023 Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his grief over Singh's sudden demise and wrote on Twitter, "Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the untimely passing away of our MP, Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. His loss is a great blow to the party and organisation. In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace." New Delhi: Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died due to a suspected heart attack on Saturday morning (January 14). He was part of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ludhiana, Punjab today and experienced health issues during the yatra. He was rushed to a hospital in an ambulance, however, he passed away as per reports. As per initial reports, Chaudhary succumbed to a heart attack. The social media handle of Indian Nationa Congress also confirmed the news in a tweet. Punjab: Congress MP Sh. Santokh Singh Chaudhary passes away. pic.twitter.com/l6KLALJkaN INC TV (@INC_Television) January 14, 2023 As per reports, Rahul Gandhi had also rushed to the hospital when Congress' Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh suffered a heart attack. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been suspended for the day. #WATCH | Punjab: Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary was taken to a hospital in an ambulance in Ludhiana, during Bharat Jodo Yatra. Details awaited. (Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/upjFhgGxQk ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his grief over Singh's sudden demise and wrote on Twitter, "Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the untimely passing away of our MP, Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. His loss is a great blow to the party and organisation. In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace." Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also condoled the demise of the Congress MP. Ex-Congress leader Amarinder Singh also condoled the death of Singh, saying, " Extremely saddened to hear about the sudden demise of MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary ji due to a heart attack today. My heartfelt condolences are with his entire family in their time of grief. May Waheguru Ji grant eternal peace to the departed soul." New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids are underway at the office of AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at the Delhi Secretariat on Saturday. "Today again CBI has reached my office. They are welcome. They raided my house, raided my office, searched my locker, and even searched my village. Nothing has been found against me and nothing will be found because I have not done anything wrong. Sincerely worked for the education of the children of Delhi," tweeted Sisodia in Hindi. Last year in August, the CBI conducted a search operation at Sisodia`s Punjab National Bank locker in connection with Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 money laundering case, where according to him the CBI had found nothing. Several raids were also conducted at 21 places in Delhi and the National Capital Region including the residence of Sisodia and the premises of four public servants last year, according to a CBI official. The official said that raids were conducted in locations across 7 states. The probe was done after taking into account a report forwarded by the Chief Secretary to Delhi`s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI investigation into the matter. The excise policy was passed in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet in the middle of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Also Read: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia accuses L-G of 'conspiring against' capital's education system The Delhi government`s version is that the policy was formulated to ensure the generation of optimum revenue, and eradicate the sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in Delhi, besides improving user experience. Visuals from outside the Delhi Secretariat where CBI raids are underway at the office of Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. pic.twitter.com/ljYXURuPmV ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 Following LG`s recommendation, the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police`s Economic Offence Wing (EOW) issued a notice to Delhi`s Excise Commissioner asking him to provide all documents relating to the award of liquor licenses under the new excise policy. New Delhi: Delhi University`s Hansraj College has stopped serving non-vegetarian food to students in the canteen or hostel after the offline mode of study resumed after the Covid pandemic. Delhi University first shut down and switched to online classes in March 2020 when the national lockdown was imposed at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and resumed physical classes in February 2022. Some students said that the move by the administration is creating difficulties for south Indian students. Abhay Maurya, a second-year student of Hansraj College said, "Earlier, non-veg food used to be served, but suddenly non-veg food and eggs were stopped." "The students who have come from the south face a lot of issues because they have the habit of eating non-veg. I think that students who want to eat non-veg food should be given non-veg food," he said. Also read: DU PG Admissions 2022: Fourth round schedule RELEASED at du.ac.in- Direct link here While a third-year student said people who are vegetarians have problems if non-veg food is served. Satyanarayana, a third-year student of Hansraj College said, "If the majority of students like vegetarian food and if they only eat veg food then non-veg food is not just a category of food, but many things are a carrier with it. Any vegetarian person would not want to have their food in the same utensil as a non-veg because their emotions are attached to it. People who eat non-vegetarian food can eat vegetarian food as well, but vegetarians can only eat vegetarian food." The move is however welcomed by some students. Vivek Kumar, a third-year student of Hansraj College said, "Number of students having non-veg food in a hostel is less. People who want to eat non-veg can have it outside. Students are happy with vegetarian food." The principal of Hansraj College Prof Rama said that the administration has not received any complaints against the decision to serve vegetarian food only. "No student has reached out to me or complained about it. In Hansraj College`s canteen, non-veg food was never served. The facility of serving non-veg food was there in the hostel, but the time when Covid-19 came into our lives and changed our lifestyle and we thought that we have to focus on our health and lifestyle," Prof Rama said. She further said that the hostel committee for food must have had a word with the students before taking the decision."I don't remember when exactly the serving of non-veg food was stopped if it was either 3 years back or 4, but as the hostel has a proper committee and the committee must have had a word with the students before taking the decision and then the decision must have taken to stop serving non-veg food," Rama added. She also said that the administration takes any decision keeping the majority of students in mind. "We haven't given admission to students on a promise of serving non-veg food. Every institute has some rules," she added. Prof Rama also said that the students who want to eat non-veg food can have it outside as there is no restriction on it. (With inputs from ANI) New Delhi: The Delhi Police's special cell on Saturday recovered a body chopped into three pieces from the Bhalswa drain in north Delhi after questioning the two arrested terror suspects. The Delhi Police informed that they are identifying the deceased. Incidentally, the recovery was made near the house of the two accused, Naushad and Jagjit Singh, who were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The neighbours of the accused told mediapersons that the accused had shifted to the house around Diwali and were rarely seen outside. Jagjit Singh (29) alias Jagga alias Yaqub, a resident of Uttarakhand, and Naushad (56), a resident of Jahangirpuri, were arrested by the police on Thursday for their suspected links with terror organisations and involvement in heinous crimes. On Friday, the Special Cell had recovered two hand grenades from their rented accommodation in the Bhalswa Dairy area. "The disclosures made by the accused led the police to their rented accommodation at Shradha Nand Colony under the Bhalswa Dairy police station area. Two hand grenades were recovered from their room," said a senior police officer. Also Read: Kanjhawala Case: All four accused occupying car had consumed alcohol, reveals forensic report "Traces of human blood were also found by the forensic team," the officer said. The police said they have also recovered three pistols along with 22 bullets. The duo was been sent to 14-day police custody on Friday. Delhi Police Special Cell recovered a dead body which was chopped into three pieces from Bhalswa drain (in North Delhi) after two suspects Naushad and Jagjit Singh (arrested under UAPA) told the police. The deceased is being identified: Delhi Police ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 According to the police, Naushad is associated with Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Harkat-ul-Ansar, operating primarily in Kashmir. He has been a life convict in two cases of murder and was also sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case under the Explosives Act. Jagjit Singh is a member of the notorious Bambiha gang, the police said. "Jagjit has been getting instructions from anti-national elements based abroad. He is a parole jumper in a case of murder in Uttarakhand," the officer said. (With agency inputs) Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday, suspended the party leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy from all his posts and the primary party membership for using abusive and derogatory language against Governor R N Ravi. A DMK release by party general secretary and senior Minister Duraimurugan (Water Resources Department) said party orator Sivaji Krishnamurthy is suspended for violating party discipline and bringing disrepute to the party. The ruling party, however, did not make any reference to his abusive comments against the Governor. This came after, Krishnamoorthy sparked a controversy on Friday, with his remark against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. Addressing an event on Thursday, Krishnamoorthy said, "If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, do I not have the right to assault him? If you (Governor) do not read out the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government, then go to Kashmir, and we will send terrorists so that they`ll gun you down," Krishnamoorthy said. The outburst came after CM Stalin accused the Governor of "delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text". Congress and communist parties and other ally members protested outside Raj Bhavan against TN Governor RN Ravi on Friday over the speech row. Tamil Nadu MLA Thiru N Eramakrishnan on Wednesday moved a `Motion of Thanks` on Governor RN Ravi`s address, with a mention of the word `regret` over his action. Also Read: Tamil Nadu Guv RN Ravi just like Biharis selling panipuri in the state: DMK leader RS Bharathi On Wednesday, January 9, the Governor sparked a controversy with his statement that the name `Thamizhagam` would be more appropriate for the state. Governor Ravi`s remark during his customary address at the opening session of the House on Monday, triggered an uproar, especially from the Treasury benches. Legislators of the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress and the VCK, started raising slogans against the Governor and staged a walkout. Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan and the state unit of BJP have approached police with separate complaints, seeking action against the DMK functionary for his 'abusive and intimidatory' speech, targeting Ravi. New Delhi: The Election Commission has called the chairpersons, presidents, and general secretaries of all the national parties for a meeting to be held on January 16. The meeting pertains to the demonstration and discussion of the Remote Voting Machine. Notably, to encourage domestic migrants to exercise their franchise, ECI on December 29, informed about a prototype Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), which would enable migrant voters to vote from remote polling stations. It said the inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons behind low voter turnout. The migrant voter wouldn't be required to travel to his/her home district to exercise his/her franchise. The Commission has also invited all recognised eight national and 57 regional political parties on January 16, 2023, to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM. Also read: People in villages along disputed border with Assam can vote in Meghalaya elections: CEC Members of the EC`s Technical Expert Committee will also be present during the demonstration. The Commission has also solicited written views of recognised political parties by January 31, 2023, on various related issues including changes required in legislation, changes in administrative procedures, and voting method/RVM/technology, if any other, for the domestic migrants, the release further stated. (With inputs from ANI) Joshimath Land Subsidence Crisis: The people affected by the Joshimath landslide are extremely worried about their lives and their prime concern for them is about their future. On the other hand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is taking necessary steps to ease the burden off the displaced families. A cabinet meeting was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Uttarakhand CM Dhami for the welfare and rehabilitation of the people affected by the Joshimath land subsidence. The Uttarakhand cabinet took several decisions during the meeting. The Uttarakhand government decided to waive off the electricity and water bills of affected families for six months. It also decided to conduct a study on the carrying capacity of all towns located in the hills. The Dhami cabinet also decided to put on hold the repayment of bank loans owed by the affected people for one year. The cooperative banks will implement the one-year moratorium on repayment of loans immediately, while the state government will request the Centre to ask commercial banks to take a similar measure for the affected people in Joshimath, chief secretary SS Sandhu said. The cabinet gave in-principle approval to the construction of prefabricated houses for short-term rehabilitation of the affected people of Joshimath at identified locations in Koti Farm, Pipalkoti, Gauchar, Gaukh Selang, and Dhak villages after their survey. The cabinet decided to increase the amount being given by the state government to the affected families to pay rent from Rs 4,000 per month to Rs 5,000 per month. It also authorised the Chief Minister to increase it further on the recommendation of the District Magistrate. People in Joshimath have been complaining that Rs 4,000 for rent is too low. Each affected family staying in temporary relief camps built in hotels and residential units will be paid Rs 950 per room per day for their accommodation besides Rs 450 per head per day for expenses. Besides, they will get Rs 80 per day to buy feed for big animals and Rs 45 for small ones. Varanasi: On the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Saturday, thousands of devotees took the holy dip in river Ganga in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. As devotees flocked to the river for the holy dip on the occasion of the harvest festival, a huge crowd was seen on the Varanasi ghats queuing up to offer prayers to the sun god. To ensure that the tourists take the holy dip safely, bath kunds have been developed on floating jetties. Handicraft, ODOP, GI. Product stalls have been integrated with the tent city which will act as a sustainable economic platform for the local population. #WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Devotees take a holy dip in the river Ganga in Varanasi on the occasion of #MakarSankranti pic.twitter.com/YiLdDrgbwk ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 14, 2023 Makar Sankranti is a festival in the Hindu calendar, in which devotees make offerings to the deity Surya. The day marks the first day of the sun`s transit into the Makara, marking the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days. Makar Sankranti, which is one of the most auspicious times in the year that marks the transition of the Sun from Dakshinayan to Uttarayan. Observed on January 14 every year, the festival is known by various names in different parts of the country such as Pongal, Bihu and Maghi. Devotees in several parts of the country performed rituals at different ghats. Gujarat | Colourful kites hit markets on the occasion of Makar Sankranti festival in Vadodara (13.01) pic.twitter.com/DmfoQxLhRw January 14, 2023 #WATCH | Punjab: Devotees take a holy dip in 'Sarovar' at Golden Temple in Amritsar and offer prayers.#MakarSankranti pic.twitter.com/yaVDRJIDGd ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 #WATCH | West Bengal: Devotees and seers take a holy dip in river Ganga at Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas on the occasion of #MakarSankranti. pic.twitter.com/iacXV1BmRC ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 Uttarakhand | Devotees took a holy dip in river Ganga in Haridwar on the occassion of #MakarSankranti pic.twitter.com/yzxfMLMY1b ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 14, 2023 Uttar Pradesh | Devotees took holy dip at Sangam in Prayagraj today, on the occasion of #MakarSankranti pic.twitter.com/b9nctOJMY2 January 14, 2023 Several Hindu devotees and Naga Sadhus from different parts of the country gathered at Kolkata`s Babu Ghat to take a holy dip during Gangasagar Mela on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. New Delhi: In a letter addressed to the citizens of India, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi warned of a "palpable economic crisis brewing" in the country under the present government. He stated, "There is a palpable economic crisis brewing - joblessness among the youth, unbearable price rise, severe farm distress, and the complete corporate capture of the country's wealth. People are worried about losing their jobs, their incomes are falling further, and their dreams of a better future are shattering. There is a deep sense of hopelessness across the country." 'Daro Mat!' Rahul Gandhi writes in letter addressed to public The letter was released as the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra, a 3500 Km long journey in Jammu and Kashmir, is nearing its end. The letter will be distributed door-to-door under the party's upcoming program, Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyaan, which will take place from January 26 to March 26. The party aims to cover about 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, 6 lakh villages, and over 10 lakh polling stations to hand over this letter. Also Read: 'Not how a Tapasvi would behave': BJP mocks Rahul Gandhi for smiling while consoling Sharad Yadav's family 'Our greatness lies in our Unity in Diversity' In the letter, Rahul Gandhi urged citizens not to fear, saying, "The people of our country realize that we cannot reach our full potential unless we embrace our diversity and work shoulder to shoulder. I strongly believe that India will reject hatred. We will rise above caste, religion, language, gender, and all other differences that cause rifts in society. Our greatness lies in our Unity in Diversity. My message to each one of you - Daro Mat! Remove fear from your hearts, and hatred will vanish from within you." In addition to Rahul Gandhi's letter, a charge sheet listing the failures of the BJP government will also be handed over to citizens during the Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyaan program, according to Congress leader and general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh. He also mentioned that the letter will be written in regional languages. New Delhi: The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) on Saturday (January 14) continued its demolition drive on the illegally constructed house of Bhupendra Saran, the main accused in the paper leak of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) teachers' recruitment examination. The JDA started the demolition of the illegally constructed portion of Saran's house at around 4 pm. Talking to ANI, the Chief Enforcement Officer of JDA said that the authority is taking utmost care while demolishing the house so that no damage to adjoining properties or the legal portion of the property that is being demolished occurs. "Utmost care being taken to ensure no impact to properties of others or their own legal construction," said Chief Enforcement Officer of JDA. Rajasthan | Illegally constructed portions of the residence of RPSC paper leak's main accused Bhupendra Saran being demolished in Jaipur. "Utmost care being taken to ensure no impact to properties of others or their own legal construction," says Chief Enforcement Officer of JDA pic.twitter.com/pmS0KO8hR2 ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) January 14, 2023 Earlier, the hearing on this matter was completed in JDA`s tribunal court, which asked JDA to demolish the illegal portion of the house and keep the approved portion safe. The tribunal had given orders rejecting the petition of Saran. Saran`s lawyer also accepted in the court that he had made illegal construction. The court had directed JDA not to take action till the completion of the hearing. On Thursday, Saran`s wife Elchi Saran, his brother Gopal Saran and Gopal`s wife Indubala Saran had challenged the notice by filing two separate appeals in the tribunal court. Earlier, a petition was also filed on behalf of Saran in the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court on this count. The high court, while hearing the matter, had dismissed the petition and instructed the tribunal court to finish the matter at the earliest. Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar constituency Santokh Singh Chaudhary today died after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He was 76. Minutes before his collapse, the Chaudhary was seen walking near Rahul Gandhi in the yatra. The two-time MP was taking part in the march in Phillaur in Jalandhar where he fainted, said senior party leader Partap Singh Bajwa. Leaders from across party lines expressed condolences on the demise of the Lok Sabha MP. "Pained by the passing away of MP Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary Ji. He will be remembered for his efforts to serve the people of Punjab. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti," said PM Narendra Modi. Rajya Sabha MP and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the untimely passing away of our MP, Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. His loss is a great blow to the party and organisation. In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace." Remembering Chaudhary, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that discipline was the speciality of the leader. "Condolences on the demise of Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar Shri Santokh Singh ji. In his long public life, he was always vocal on issues of public interest. Discipline in the House was the speciality of his personality. May God give peace to the departed soul. My condolences to the family members," said Birla. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, "I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Congress Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Santokh Singh Chowdhury.. May God rest his soul in peace." Congress MP Rahul Gandhi met the family of party MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary and paid last respects in Jalandhar. "Shocked by the sudden demise of Shri Santokh Singh Chowdhary. He was a down-to-earth hardworking leader, a pious person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from Youth Congress to Member of Parliament. I express my condolences to the bereaved family," said Rahul Gandhi. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh informed that Bharat Jodo Yatra will be suspended for 24 hours as a mark of respect for Santokh Singh Choudhary, Congress MP from Jalandhar who passed away this morning. The Yatra will resume tomorrow afternoon from Khalsa College Ground, Jalandhar, he said. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan termed Chaudhary's demise heroic. "My deepest condolences to Jalandhar Constituency Member of Parliament Santokh Singh who passed away during Bharat Jodo Yatra. This is a heroic death. You Will Be Remembered Forever," said Kamal Haasan. Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar said, "The sad news of Jalandhar Member of Parliament, Shri Santokh Singh Chaudharys passing away is a personal blow to me. Hailing from a leading political family of Punjab he dedicated his life to public service. May his soul rest in peace. My heartfelt condolences to the family." New Delhi: Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed her anger over the latest statements made by Air India pee-gate accused Shankar Mishra's lawyer in court. In a shocking turn of events, Mishra has now denied 'peeing' on the woman and said that she 'peed' on herself. His lawyer argued in a Delhi court on Friday that the woman was a Kathak dancer who had a problem of "incontinence" or lack of voluntary control over urination. Shankar Mishra's big U-turn in urination case "The complainant woman's seat was blocked. It wasn`t possible for him (Mishra) to go there. The woman has a problem of incontinence. She urinated on herself. She is a Kathak dancer, 80 percent of kathak dancers have this issue," the counsel said. The Shiv Sena MP shared her views on the same and labelled Mishra and his lawyer as "perverts". She wrote on Twitter, "Hes (Shankar Mishra) truly a pervert and so is his legal team." Hes truly a pervert and so is his legal team. https://t.co/CG6jUJT8eR Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) January 13, 2023 What Shankar Mishra's lawyer said in court Shankar Mishra, who is facing accusations of urinating on a woman while on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi, has denied the allegations and suggested that the complainant may have urinated on her own seat. Also Read: 'Woman peed on her seat...': Air India 'peegate' accused Shankar Mishra tells Delhi Court In court, his lawyer raised questions about the police investigation and stated, "The seating system was such that no one could go to her seat. The passenger sitting behind the complainant did not make any such complaint." The lawyer also argued that someone else may have been responsible for the alleged incident. Know about the Air India pee-gate incident Shankar Mishra, was apprehended by Delhi police in Bengaluru on January 6, on the accusation of urinating on a 70-year-old woman while being in a drunken state on a Air India flight on November 26, 2022. A complaint was filed by the woman to Air India, which prompted Delhi police to file an FIR against him on January 4th. The charges filed against him includes sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both Mishra and the victim are not from Delhi. Mishra was also terminated from his employment by financial services company Wells Fargo as a result of this incident. New Delhi: The autopsy report of the bones of Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly killed by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawalla, has revealed that her body was chopped into 35 pieces with a saw-like object, Delhi Police said on Saturday. On January 4, the police said samples of hair and bones recovered by them from a forest area in South Delhi`s Mehrauli matched with Shraddha`s. A mitochondrial DNA report of the samples found in the forest area of Mehrauli and sent for testing at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting Diagnostic (CDFD) in Hyderabad matched with that of the victim`s father and brother, the Delhi Police said. The recent development in the case is believed to be extremely significant as it will enable the police to file a chargesheet against Aaftab. Earlier the police had concerns about not having scientific proof of the chopping of Shraddha`s body, the weapon used for the purpose was unknown. However, that was before AIIMS, Delhi released its autopsy report of the bone samples believed to be Shraddha`s. The police are now set to file a chargesheet in the Saket Court against the accused, along with the 164 recorded statements of the witnesses, including over 50 friends of Shraddha. Doctors in AIIMS Delhi found `extremely thin lines` at the corners of the studied bones, suggesting that her body was chopped with a saw-like sharp object, the police said. It is alleged that after chopping Shraddha`s body, Aaftab bought a refrigerator to preserve the chopped pieces before disposing of the remains at different locations in and around Delhi, at night-time over the next 18 days. Earlier, the police accused Aaftab of giving misleading answers to questions. During preliminary investigation, Shraddha`s last location was found to be in Delhi, and the case was accordingly transferred to Delhi Police. Shraddha`s father had even claimed a `love jihad` angle to the crime. During the investigation, it was found that Aaftab and Shraddha had moved into a rented apartment in the Chhattarpur Pahadi area. Over the course of its investigation, the police traced Aftab and nabbed him. Chennai: DMK Organizational Secretary RS Bharathi has sparked a fresh controversy by saying that North Indians sell panipuri in Tamil Nadu and the Governor is also like them. He also compared the Governor to a migrant worker from Bihar and said that he would not have left without being beaten had Jayalalitha been alive. "I had earlier stated that those who sell Soan papdi and Panipuri don`t know the pride of Tamil Nadu. I said this in a meeting. I came to know that many have come from Bihar and I think the Governor (RN Ravi) has similarly come by train," DMK leader Bharathi said in a public meeting here on Monday evening. The outburst came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin had accused the Governor of "delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text. "Bharathi questioned why the Governor deviated from the speech." There is an old saying in villages, `don`t count the leaves (banana leaves used as plates for feast), if you are asked to pick it`...Governor`s job is similar to picking up leaves," the DMK leader said. Bharathi said, "The address is like the food on the leaves... You (Governor) are a cook. You should have cooked and left it at that... if you plan to keep something, the person who is eating will he be quiet ?.. I`m not boasting. If it was Jayalalithaa`s rule, he (Governor) would have been attacked and that party men also would not be quiet." Also Read: DMK leader asks Tamil Nadu Guv to go to Kashmir, says will send terrorist to kill him; BJP demands action On Monday, the Tamil Nadu assembly also saw unprecedented scenes, when Governor Ravi walked out in a rush following the adoption of a resolution moved by Chief Minister Stalin which sought to expunge, from house records, whatever the Governor spoke outside the customary government-prepared address. Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinian men during a military raid in the occupied West Bank early Saturday, while a third Palestinian died of wounds sustained in a separate Israeli raid nearly two weeks earlier, according to Palestinian medical officials. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the men as Ezzeddin Hamamrah, 24, and Amjad Khleleyah, 23. Jaba is south of Jenin, a town in the northern West Bank that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in nearly a year. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli soldiers opened fire at a car near the Jaba intersection and then pursued it until nearby Fandakoumieh village where the soldiers continued to open fire at the car killing its two passengers, Hamamrah and Khleleyah, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. The Israeli army claimed its soldiers opened fire in the village of Jaba after gunmen in a passing vehicle shot at them. They said that soldiers later confiscated an M-16 rifle from the vehicle. Israel had earlier set up a checkpoint at the Jaba intersection, leading to clashes with local residents. The soldiers opened fire at the residents hitting one in the leg. A third Palestinian, 19-year-old Yazen Samer Jaabari, died of his injuries after he was shot by Israeli forces earlier this month in Jenin. Al-Jaabari was injured when Israeli troops stormed a village to demolish the homes of two Palestinian on January 2 in the village of Kafr Dan, near Jenin, in which two other Palestinians were killed, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh Saturday called for providing international protection for the Palestinian people, reported Wafa. The latest deaths bring up to 12 the toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli army gunfire since the start of the year, including three minors. Nearly 224 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces in 2022, including more than 150 of the fatalities were in the West Bank, making 2022 the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in 18 years. according to Palestinian Health Ministrys statistics. Israel says the operations are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. But Palestinian stone-throwers, youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations also have been killed. The Palestinians see the deadly attacks as the further entrenchment of Israel's 55-year, open-ended occupation of their land. Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians want for their future independent state. Israel has since settled 500,000 people in about 130 settlements across the West Bank, which the Palestinians and much of the international community view as an obstacle to peace. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: The Supreme Court has struck down an Income Tax provision of exclusion of Sikkimese women from exemption under Section 10(26AAA) Income Tax Act, 1961. if they marry non-Sikkimese persons. The apex court said that excluding a Sikkimese woman merely because she marries a non-Sikkimese is totally discriminatory and thus unconstitutional. Delivering the judgement, the apex court noted that a woman is not a chattel and has her own identity. It said that merely the fact of being married to a non-Sikkimese cannot take away that identity. The verdict was delivered by a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna observed. The bench noted that there is no disqualification for a Sikkim man, who marries a non-Sikkimese after 01.04.2008. According to LiveLaw, the top court verdict extended the exemption under Section 10(26AAA) of the 1961 provision even to persons of Indian origin residing in Sikkim as on April 26, 1975, when the state merged with India. With this verdict, the Supreme Court virtually extended the tax exemption net to almost 95 percent population in Sikkim. The earlier Income Tax exemption used to apply to only those residents who had the Sikkim Subjects Certificate or their descendants who became Indian Citizens vide the Sikkim Citizenship Amendment Order, 1989. According to a Hindustan Times report, the two categories consisted of the Bhutia Lepchas, Sherpas and Nepalis who form about 94.6% of Sikkim's population. Those who approached the court are old settlers, who were domiciled in Sikkim on the date of its merger with India. They are just 1 percent of the population. The petitioners have contended that Provision to Section 10(26AAA) of the Act, 1961 excluding the Sikkimese women from the exempted category if they marry non-Sikkimese after 01.04.2008 is discriminatory and unconstitutional. New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the Armed Forces on the 7th Armed Forces Veterans Day (January 14) during a rally in Dehradun. In his speech at the event, he said that the Bravehearts of the country have shown "indomitable courage and valour" to "protect the unity, integrity & sovereignty of the country." He stated that his head bows with reverence when he is among the Armed Forces. As quoted by ANI, he said, "When I reach among the bravehearts of the country like you, my head bows with reverence. Visuals of your bravery & sacrifice keep flashing in front of my eyes. You have protected the borders of our country & maintained its unity & integrity." Speaking on how the country looks after the welfare of the Army Veterans, he said, "There's a dedicated dept in Ministry of Defence for welfare of veterans. You're assets of our nation. Pension, medical & other facilities that the country gives you are small ways of showing respect to you. Several steps taken by govt for welfare of veterans." Whenever this country has needed, the bravehearts of Uttarakhand have displayed their indomitable courage & valour to protect the unity, integrity & sovereignty of the country:Defence Minister at Shaurya Sthal War Memorial in Dehradun on the occasion of Armed Forces Veterans' Day pic.twitter.com/BPT5z62BaG ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2023 To pay homage to the supreme sacrifice and dedicated service of our Armed Forces, a Shaurya Sthal developed by Uttarakhand War Memorial Trust was dedicated to the Armed Forces on Veterans' Day. During the event, veterans will be felicitated with medals, souvenirs, and recognition certificates. Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, and the three service chiefs -- Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar -- laid wreaths at the National War Memorial on the occasion of Armed Forces Veterans Day. The first Armed Forces Veterans Day was celebrated on January 14, 2016, and it was decided to commemorate this day every year by hosting events in honour of the ex-servicemen and their families. New Delhi: On the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, film, theatre, and OTT star Aahana Kumra recalls the resplendent festivities that were once a beautiful part of her childhood. The actor who stars in Zee Theatre's contemporary classic 'Sir Sir Sarla', says, "As a child growing up in Uttar Pradesh, I remember my family marking this day as Lohri. We would fly kites together, eat a lot of gajak, til laddoos, and roasted groundnuts and there was such joy and wonder in the air." Now that she lives in Mumbai, she enjoys the mix of cultures in the city and says " When I first came to Mumbai, I lived in a neighbourhood where Makar Sankranti was celebrated with gusto. The city has such a great sense of community and even kite flying is a lovely, shared experience. Some of the fondest memories of my formative years include holding the 'manjha' and watching colourful kites battling each other in the sky. Till date, I try my hand at kite flying on Makar Sankranti no matter how busy I may be." New Delhi: Social media influencer Uorfi Javed was summoned by the Mumbai Police to record her statement in connection with a complaint lodged by Maharashtra BJP Vice-President Chitra Wagh, alleging 'public indecency', here on Saturday. Javed, along with one of her associates, went to the Amboli police station, where her statement was recorded, an officer said. Coming out in support of Javed, feminist and Bhumata Ranragini Brigade (BRB) chief Trupti Desai said that in India, everybody enjoys the right to sport any attire and nobody can question it. The development came a day after Javed, through her lawyer Nitin Satpute, lodged a police complaint against Wagh, accusing her of making threats and criminal intimidation to cause harm to her, and demanded preventive and chapter proceedings against Wagh for continuously disrupting peace in the society with her threats. Since the past over a week, Wagh and Javed have been embroiled in a brawl on the media with the BJP leader taking strong umbrage at the actress' photos and posts 'displaying' her body. In her complaint, Wagh has said that nobody can imagine how the right to conduct, and freedom of thought given by the Constitution would be manifested in such a subversive manner. She said if Javed wants to show her body, she can do it behind the four walls as her conduct is fuelling 'perversity' in society. Hitting back, Javed said she (Wagh) is the same lady who had called for the arrest of Sanjay Rathod (now with the ruling Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena), but after her husband faced certain problems, she joined the BJP. Javed claimed that now they (Wagh and Rathod) are supposed to be good friends, adding: "I am also going to join the BJP and then we shall be good friend too." At one point, Javed poked Wagh by calling her 'Chitrua', compared her to a 'mother-in-law' as the latter fumed and virtually shouted threats at Javed during her media briefings. Referring to allegations in some quarters that Wagh was 'targeting' Javed as she is a Muslim, Wagh had vociferously denied the claims, saying she was only concerned about public decency and etiquettes, and vowed to continue her campaign undeterred. "Uorfi Javed is supposed to be a bold persons. There are others too, like Kangana Ranaut, Mallika Sherawat or Deepika Padukone... Why are they not booked? Javed is being targeted by the BJP just because she is a Muslim, and now she will be called by the police, false complaints will be lodged against her and she will be harassed in other ways as well," Desai said in a statement. The BRB chief warned that if Javed is being deliberately targeted by the BJP and the police, or if her rights are violated, "all the women of the state will stand up to support Javed". Javed's photos and videos in certain types of outfits have generated huge buzz on social media. New Delhi: Actress Disha Patani once again turned heads with her outing wearing a baby pink short skater skirt with a sexy white top. The gorgeous star was accompanied by her rumoured boyfriend Aleksandar Alex Ilic. The duo was spotted on a date night and headed to Mizu in Bandra, Mumbai. Paps were quick to click the good-looking couple heading for dinner. While fans speculate whether the two are dating or not, Disha Patani and Aleksandar Alex Ilic have known each other for long and are close friends. Rumours about their affair began after Disha was spotted with him on multiple occasions and around the same time her break-up reports with Tiger Shroff gained ground. Neither Disha nor Tiger have commented on their current relationship status as yet. Aleksandar Alex Ilic, who is also an aspiring actor-model is actress's trainer as well. In fact, Aleksandar in one of his recent interviews revealed that he and Disha were flatmates when they were new in showbiz. He told Etimes, "We used to live together back in 2015. At that time, she was also with the same agency. Disha, me and a couple of other models were flatmates. We connected really quickly. Fitness is something that we both are passionate about and that helped us bond. So, we started going to the gym together, had lunches and dinners together. Spent a lot of time in the house together. We became close friends. Disha has been like family to me," he said. Disha was last seen in 'Ek Villain Returns' co-starring John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria. She will be next seen in Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone starrer 'Project K.' NEW DELHI: Apart from his dashing look and physical appearance of a Greek God, Hrithik Roshan is a bonafide fitness freak and this is no big secret. The actor, who made his debut with 'Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai', has only aged backwards ever since and has given younger actors a run for their money. His social media account is filled with workout regimes, and photos showing his ripped muscles and toned abs. While he continues to make his fans drool over him, he recently left them concerned after he was captured by the paparazzi outside a hospital in Mumbai. Hrithik Roshan was clicked outside a Mumbai hospital on January 12. As per TOI, the actor had been to a bone marrow transplant clinic for a check-up. He was clad in a casual t-shirt and pants along with a hoodie and a cap. For the unversed, Hrithik underwent a successful brain surgery to remove a two-month-old blood clot, after he had suffered head injuries while shooting for his 2014 release 'Bang Bang'. (Hrithik Roshan spotted outside bone-marrow transplant clinic in Mumbai, pic courtesy: Viral Bhayani) Last seen in 'Vedha Vikram', Hrithik is currently filming for Siddharth Anands directorial film Fighter alongside Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. The action-thriller is slated for release on January 25, 2024. The film will show both Hrithik and Deepika as Air Force pilots. The film will also feature Akshay Oberoi and Karan Singh Grover in pivotal roles. NEW DELHI: Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi, who earlier made headlines for being in a relationship with actress Sushmita Sen, is on 24x7 external oxygen support. The London-based entrepreneur's health deteriorated after he contracted COVID-19 twice in two weeks and deep pneumonia. The 59-year old took to social media to give updates about his health, saying that he was airlifted to London from Mexico after three weeks of confinement. Soon after he shared details of his health, several celebrities, netizens dropped comments on his post. Meanwhile, his rumoured girlfriend Sushmita Sen's brother Rajeev Sen also reacted to the post on his health update and wished him a speedy recovery. He penned down, "Wishing you a speedy recovery Lalit. Stay Strong". Lalit Modi left netizens suprised after he announced his relationship with actress Sushmita Sen in July 2022. He made the revelation, while sharing a series of pictures on his social media accounts, and also called Sushmita his 'better half'. He also mentioned Sushmita in his bio and changed his Instagram profile photo. On the other hand, Sushmita never confirmed or denied the relationship and so far, has maintained a dignified silence. A few months after announcing the relationship, Lalit removed his Instagram profile photo with Sushmita and had also changed his bio, leading to breakup rumours. Few days back, he shared his photo from an airport and stated that he was beinf airlifted from Mexico to London, and added that he still needs time to recover. "With my two saviours. The two doctors seriously for three weeks monitored me, treated me 24/7. One Mexico City-based, whose care I was under and the second my London doctor, who specifically flew in to Mexico City to accompany me back to London. I have no words to describe how they sacrificed their time etc. to get me out. Still need time to recover. Currently on 24/7 external oxygen. I was, I thought, touch and go. But my children and friends and my close friend @harish_salve_ who were all with me for two out of my three weeks, fully by my side. They are all my family and part of me. God bless. Jai hind," he wrote. New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh has announced to restore the old pension scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh employees. The state joins the league of states which have opted for the old penison scheme (OPS) instead of new pension scheme (NPS). The development came after Himachal Pradesh governments cabinet led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday decided to roll out OPS in the state. However, employees will have the option to choose between OPS and NPS. Congress had promised to restore to old pension scheme (OPS) in the manifesto during the elections. Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab are others states where the Old pension scheme (OPS) have rolled out by the state governments for their government employees. Chattisgarh and Rajasthan both have been led by Congress. ALSO READ | Cryptocurrencies are equivalent to gambling: RBI Governor Chhattisgarh govt asks employees to choose between OPS and NPS Chhattisgarh government has announced to give all government employees an option to choose between the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the New Pension Scheme (NPS). The state government has also stated that all government employees who are appointed after April 2022 will fall under the old pension scheme. Rajasthan govt reverts to OPS Earlier, Rajasthan govt had announced to return to old pension scheme restrospectively from April 1, 2023. The state chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that the state had successfully implemented the Old Pension scheme (OPS) for the employees. Gehlot even asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement the scheme in the whole country. Punjab Govt gives nod for OPS Last year in November, the AAP government approved the implementation of the Old pension scheme (OPS). The step would benefit more than 1.75 lakh government employees and pensioners. India is set to get its eighth Vande Bharat Express train between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the semi-high-speed train on the new route on January 15 via video conferencing. This will make it the second of these trains in Southern India and the first one in the region. Before the ceremony, Railway Ministry shared pictures of the train showing the interiors of the train. The Railway Ministry shared the pictures of the train on Twitter with the caption saying, "All set to serve the people of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh!" They added, "Catch glimpses of the 8th Vande Bharat Express soon to be flagged off by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi." Also read: Indian Railways to begin 'Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra' between Ayodhya and Janakpur under Bharat Gaurav; Check dates here This will be the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be introduced by Indian Railways and will be the first one connecting the two Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km. It will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal, and Secunderabad stations in Telangana. All set to serve the people of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh! Catch glimpses of the 8th Vande Bharat Express soon to be flagged off by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/csDOMvwBxE Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) January 14, 2023 Before this, the last Vande Bharat train was flagged off in West Bengal, which became the first train in east India. The government also has plans to launch a new Vande Bharat train between the national capital Delhi and Jaipur. The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities and will provide a faster, more comfortable, and more convenient travel experience to rail users. The launching of the prestigious train in Telangana holds significance as the state goes to polls later this year and the BJP is keen to establish itself as a political option to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which has been in power there since the state`s inception in 2014. With inputs from IANS The year 2022 has been significantly better for the commercial real estate sector. However, the fate of the Indian commercial real estate sector hangs in a fine balance in 2023 amid the forecast of the global recession. Though the Indian CRE sector is slated to witness some new launches, will that be enough to support fundamental growth? Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Group, said that the forecast for the Indian CRE sector is cloudy with chances of sunshine. "A global recession would have several direct and considerable repercussions on the Indian commercial office market. This sector depends heavily on expansion by domestic and international corporates. Currently, 70% of offices in this country are occupied by foreign companies who focus on cost advantages like sub-dollar rentals for good quality Grade A offices. However, from H2'22 onwards, the pall of a threatening recession in the US caused many RFPs (Request for Proposals) to be deferred as the large global corporates wanted a better perspective on the future before leasing new offices," said Puri. Harsh Vardhan Patodia, President, CREDAI, said that despite the macroeconomic challenges, the outlook for commercial real estate in 2023 is still positive. In India, 16 new malls are expected to open in Tier 1 and 2 cities in 2023, with a similar number expected in 2024, and participants expect E-Commerce and Physical Shopping to coexist. From the standpoint of rental growth, the markets in Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai, and Pune continue to appear strong. The Indian economy is expected to grow at a better rate than most other economies of the world and thus, the demand across segments is expected to rise," opined Patodia. Nikhil Rathi, CEO & Founder Web Werks Data Center, said that the demand for data centre real estate is expected to rise by 15-18 million square feet by 2025. "The country's data centres are expected to exceed 2,500 megawatts between 2021 and 2025, fueling the emergence of new smaller edge data centres around the world. Investments in data centres, with a prominent presence in cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and Noida, are encouraging India's commercial real estate sector," he said. Manoj Gaur, President CREDAI-NCR, said that even though large-format segments like malls would continue to thrive in 2023, medium and small-format spaces such as high streets and SCOs (shopping-cum-office complexes) will see unprecedented traction. Developers are also upbeat about the performance of CRE in 2023. Aman Trehan, Executive Director, Trehan Iris, said that the phenomenal boost in the demand and supply of Grade A quality retail space is driven by the increased investment inflow, economic growth, rapid urbanization, changing consumer preferences, and positive market sentiments. He said if the current pace continues, one can expect a record year for retail leasing ahead. While the IMF and World Bank have said that recession will hit the world towards the second half of 2023, they have also maintained that it will only have some spillover impact on India. Till then, the commercial real estate sector has every right to look towards the silver lining in the cloud. Hundreds of Tunisians marched Saturday after opponents of President Kais Saied called for protests over a worsening economic crisis. "The people want what you don't want. Down with Saied," chanted the activists, including supporters of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party. Ennahdha had dominated parliament until Saied launched a dramatic power grab on July 25, 2021, sacking the government and freezing parliament before appointing a new cabinet and ruling by decree. The military takeover "has brought us famine and poverty. Yesterday the grocer gave me just one kilo of macaroni and a can of milk," said Nouha, a woman at one protest. "How can I feed my family of 13 people with that?" the 50-year-old housewife lamented. Saturday's protests were staged in the capital Tunis by two different opposition groups and were held far apart with a heavy police presence to avoid any unrest. They were held against a backdrop of deepening political divisions on the 12th anniversary of the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The biggest opposition force, the National Salvation Front (FSN) which includes Ennahdha, was kept about one kilometer from left-wing party activists gathered in front of the municipal theatre. The Interior Ministry called on all groups authorized to organize demonstrations to respect the preset itinerary and timing and ensure that there's no violence, urging protesters to respect restrictions and not to provoke clashes with security forces. Another march attended by hundreds of people was led by Abir Moussi of the anti-Islamist opposition Free Destourian Party, in the south of Carthage, where the presidential palace is located. Tunisians who largely supported Saied's takeover have become increasingly fed up with the economic crisis. The state, which is heavily in debt, has found it difficult to import basic goods, and there are chronic shortages of staples such as coffee, milk and sugar. Saied, who was elected in 2019, has curbed the independence of the judiciary and weakened parliament's powers. In a referendum in July last year, Tunisian voters approved a constitution that hands broad executive powers to the president. Saied, who spearheaded the project and wrote the text himself, made full use of the mandate in September, changing the electoral law to diminish the role of political parties. In an apparent response to criticism, Saied on Friday paid a surprise visit to the Bourguiba avenue and went through the capital's historic district, the medina. He called for caution against "intruders and renegades'' who could mix with protesters to provoke clashes. The Jan. 14 anniversary has been abolished as an official commemoration date by Saied, who instead declared Dec. 17 as the "revolution day.'' Tunisia's uprising began on Dec. 17, 2010, when a desperate fruit vendor set himself on fire, unleashing pent-up anger and frustration among his compatriots, who staged protests that spread nationwide and led to the revolution. Search Keywords: Short link: Islamabad: The Pakistan National Assembly Secretariat has banned the entry of YouTubers, TikTokers and other social media influencers into its premises, ARY News reported. The decision has been taken after an incident of misbehaviour with lawmakers by some unauthorised YouTuber/social media influencers at Gate No 1 of Parliament House on December 23 last year, as per the ARY News report. Furthermore, the Pakistan National Assembly Secretariat has decided to permit the entry of only those reporters, journalists and media personnel associated with Accredited Media Organizations along with a valid registration card of a concerned media organisation. Social media influencers who wish to cover the proceedings of the National Assembly need to accredit themselves with PID and must have a valid session card for entering the Parliament House, as per the news report. The Press Reporters Association was informed about the incident, Dawn reported. However, the Press Reporters Association distanced itself from YouTubers and social media influencers and stressed that they were only responsible for its members. Press Reporters Association Secretary General Asif Bashir Chaudhry said that they did not back any kind of ban on citizen journalists, Dawn reported. Chaudhry stressed that PRA believed that every citizen of Pakistan enjoyed right to freedom and not only journalists. Also Read: Cash-strapped Pakistan receives international aid of over USD 8 billion for flood disaster relief Earlier in April last year, Karachi police arrested fake cops in police uniforms who had counterfeit employment cards in New Karachi Industrial Area, ARY News reported. The fake cops were identified after suspicious cops were stopped for a snap-checking. In the investigation, police found that all the men were TikTokers and were roaming around in police uniforms for recording videos for social media, as per the ARY News report. The arrested men in the case included Umaish, Usama and Mehdi. The accused men had also installed Sindh police number plates on their motorcycles and also had fake police cards. According to police, they used to record videos in college and in the area. Azerbaijani Presidents Special Representative for Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan Districts Vahid Hajiyev has held a meeting with public representatives of liberated Jabrayil District at the executive authorities of the district, Azernews reports. The head of the district executive authorities, Kamal Hasanov, and representatives of the district intelligentsia also attended the meeting. During the meeting, the memory of martyrs was honored with a minute of silence. Further, Hajiyev spoke about the ongoing construction and restoration work in the district, projects in the pipeline, villages to be built, and infrastructure projects. The Eastern Zangazur economic region was established by a presidential decree on July 7, 2021. Climate activist Greta Thunberg condemned moves to demolish a German village to make way for a coal mine expansion as police clashed with demonstrators at the site on Saturday. Crowds of activists marched on the hamlet of Luetzerath in western Germany, waving banners, chanting and accompanied by a brass band. On the sidelines, there were tense standoffs and scuffles in the pouring rain, between some protesters and police. Luetzerath -- deserted for some time by its original inhabitants -- is being razed to make way for the extension of the adjacent open-cast coal mine, one of the largest in Europe, operated by energy firm RWE. Thunberg marched at the front of a procession of demonstrators who converged on the village, showing support for activists occupying it in protest. "That the German government is making deals and compromises with fossil fuel companies such as RWE, is shameful," she said from a podium. "Germany, as one of the biggest polluters in the world, has an enormous responsibility," she added. AFP saw some protesters clash with police trying to move the march away from Luetzerath, which has been fenced off. Local media reported stones being thrown at police and one protester was seen with a head injury, as ambulance sirens sounded near the protest site. Police said activists had smashed protective barriers near the huge coal mine and entered the mine site. "The police barriers have been broken," the police tweeted. "To the people in front of Luetzerath: get out of this area immediately." "Some people have entered the mine. Move away from the danger zone immediately!" Final stages of evacuation In an operation launched earlier this week, hundreds of police have been removing activists from the hamlet. In just a few days, a large part of the protesters' camp has been cleared by police, and its occupants evacuated. German press, quoting the police, reported that around 470 activists had been removed from the village since the beginning of the evacuation. But between 20 and 40 were still holed up in the contested village late Friday, a spokeswoman for the protest movement said. Officials said they were entering the final stages of evacuating the activists. Demolition works were progressing slowly on those buildings that had been emptied, while surrounding trees had been felled as part of the clearance. The village has become a symbol of resistance to fossil fuels. Energy crisis Police reinforcements have come from across the country to participate in the forced evacuation. Meanwhile AFP saw protesters arriving in buses, holding banners with slogans including "Stop coal" and "Luetzerath lives!" Organisers said 35,000 people attended the demonstration. In the village, many of the activists have built structures high up in the trees, while others have climbed to the top of abandoned buildings and barns. Activists said they had also dug a tunnel under the hamlet in a bid to complicate the evacuation effort. The movement has been supported by protest actions across Germany. On Friday, masked activists set fire to bins and painted slogans on the offices of the Greens in Berlin. The party -- part of Germany's ruling coalition with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats and the liberal FDP -- has come under heavy criticism from activists who accuse it of betrayal. Following the energy crisis set off by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government has brought old coal power plants back online. Officials also signed a compromise deal with RWE that made way for the demolition of Luetzerath but spared five nearby villages. The energy firm also agreed to stop producing electricity with coal in western Germany by 2030, eight years earlier than previously planned. Chancellor Scholz on Saturday inaugurated a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at the northern port of Lubmin, on the Baltic coast. The plant is another part of the German plan to compensate for the loss of Russian gas imports. Search Keywords: Short link: European countries will eventually resume higher imports of Russian gas, Qatar's energy minister and gas company CEO predicted on Saturday, warning that market volatility could last for years. Russian gas exports to Europe plunged after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine but Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, head of QatarEnergy, said the situation could change in the future. "The Europeans today are saying there's no way we're going back" to Russian gas, he told the Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi. "We're all blessed to have to be able to forget and to forgive. And I think things get mended with time... they learn from that situation and probably have a much bigger diversity. "But Russian gas is going back, in my view, to Europe." Gas exports by Russian energy giant Gazprom to the European Union and Switzerland fell by 55 percent last year, the company said this month. Europe was previously Gazprom's main export market but supplies were drastically reduced because of sanctions following the Ukraine invasion last February. A mild winter has spared European countries from having to plunder their gas stockpiles, but Kaabi warned it would be harder this year to replenish back-up supplies. "Luckily they haven't had a very high demand for gas due to the warmer weather. The issue is what's going to happen when they want to replenish their storages this coming year, and there isn't much gas coming into the market until '25, '26, '27," he said. "So I think it's going to be a volatile situation for some time." Search Keywords: Short link: Some people look at safety from a superficial perspective, believing it means feeling secure against crimes or having to do with the security of the state. However, US psychologist Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs may explain the feeling of safety best, saying that it comes right after physiological needs like the need for food, drink, warmth, and air. Needless to say, the feeling of safety differs from one person to another based on their social, intellectual, and psychological make up. It has also been shown that feeling unsafe can result in psychological disturbances such as depression, frustration, or violent tendencies. Mohamed Al-Banna, a mental health specialist in Cairo, said that the need to feel safe is an integral psychological component of the human being. Safety, he added, may be felt in the form of safe housing, financial security, medical insurance, and other things and is a natural human need. Heba Adel, a consultant psychiatrist and addiction management specialist, concurred. Safety falls into the second tier of Maslows hierarchy of needs, she said, and as much as it may differ from one person to another, some people can tolerate more pressure and change in life than others before their feelings of safety are challenged. Al-Banna also mentioned psychological flexibility and steadfastness, which, like the feeling of safety, can vary from one person to another. A human beings ability, or lack of ability, to adapt to feelings of insecurity may lead to psychological problems and hormonal disturbances in the brain, he said. This is when psychological illnesses come to the surface, with psychological and biological illnesses then being the two sides of the same coin. Flexibility refers to an individuals ability to adapt to or deal with changes in a positive manner, such as changes in financial, social, or medical status without falling apart or constantly worrying, he said. Steadfastness, meanwhile, depends on a persons ability to fight the urge to break or be in denial, such as when losing a loved one. The real problem, in the absence of a sense of security, is that some people may end up suffering from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, or phobias. But they can work on themselves to increase their sense of safety. The feeling of insecurity also affects individual and collective behaviour in society. Al-Banna explained that individual behaviour describes how an individual thinks, what he prefers, and how he behaves and deals with others. Collective behaviour, on the other hand, descibes the characteristics a group of people share. Some communities are known for their generosity, their sense of humour, or orderly way of doing things, for example. In the absence of a sense of security, chaotic forms of individual behaviour may take over, such as people racing to obtain what is not theirs or the dissemination of selfishness, hypocrisy, dishonesty, and the lack of belonging. Societies that do not feel safe are prone to violence, crime, and other ills, Al-Banna said. On a social level, a lack of safety leads to low rates of marriage and the prevalence of divorce. Economically, it can affect peoples ability to work and be productive. Another threat posed by the lack of security is the feeling of not belonging, which can manifest itself in the feeling of not belonging to a family or homeland. Al-Banna said that some people may choose to emigrate because they do not feel safe at home, perhaps due to the absence of a good education or medical insurance. In short, the lack of safety generates feelings of a lack of love and belonging. A SPECTRUM: Adel said that otherwise normal people may also suffer from frustration as a result of a feeling of insecurity, often a result of a sense of injustice and the inability to meet their needs. Some individuals do not have the ability to control themselves, and they may deal with frustration in a way that harms others, leading them to act violently, whether physically or verbally, with those around them. Some mental and psychological problems can also lead to mistaken feelings of insecurity, Adel said. This is the result of an increase in the secretion of the neurotransmitter dopamine in certain areas of the brain that then leads to a disturbance in brain chemistry and can result in delusions or aggression and violence towards oneself and others. Among illnesses of this sort is schizophrenia, in which an individual may feel that conspiracies are being plotted against him, that he is constantly being watched and threatened by others, and that he is even threatened with death. He may exaggerate normal acts by others, seeing them instead as part of plots orchestrated against him and making him feel more unsafe. Anxiety and tension can also lead to insecurity, Adel said. In such cases, individuals will be pessimistic, will always expect the worst, and will believe that they are not able to carry out their normal tasks and responsibilities, whether on the material or the moral level. This will then exacerbate feelings of insecurity. Al-Banna said that it is difficult to treat individuals who cannot feel safe, and if security is absent in the wider society and the community faces many societal, economic, and moral problems, individuals may also not be able to meet their needs and perform their duties. The state has a major role to play in encouraging the collective feeling of security. Besides its role in maintaining security on the domestic front, it also has social responsibilities to perform, such as delivering good quality education, making available health insurance, maintaining peoples rights, and fighting against discrimination, Al-Banna said. When divorce rates in Malaysia grew, the state intervened even though divorce is considered to be a form of individual behaviour specific to a husband and a wife, for example. The Malaysian government added marriage counselling and relationships education in schools. After the initiative was launched, divorce rates decreased significantly in the country. Al-Banna added that government initiatives of this sort can help to provide people with a sense of security and that the Egyptian government has launched initiatives to reduce drug use and help people with special needs. These can help people to feel that they belong and are a part of society, increasing their sense of security. Adel said that feelings of insecurity can lead to mental illness. She said that individuals should work on disposing of their negative emotions by developing themselves in areas where they may feel insecure. Medical treatment can be recommended when feelings of insecurity lead to psychological illness under the supervision of psychiatrists. A version of this article appears in print in the 12 January, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Mosquitoes that transmit dengue and other viruses have evolved growing resistance to insecticides in parts of Asia, and novel ways to control them are desperately needed, new research warns. Health authorities commonly fog mosquito-infested areas with clouds of insecticide, and resistance has long been a concern, but the scale of the problem was not well understood. Japanese scientist Shinji Kasai and his team examined mosquitos from several countries in Asia as well as Ghana and found a series of mutations had made some virtually impervious to popular pyrethroid-based chemicals like permethrin. "In Cambodia, more than 90 per cent of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have the combination of mutations that results in an extremely high level of resistance," Kasai told AFP. He found some mosquito strains had 1,000-fold resistance, compared to the 100-fold seen previously. That meant insecticide levels that would normally kill almost 100 per cent of mosquitoes in a sample killed only around seven per cent of the insects. Even a dose 10 times stronger killed just 30 per cent of the super-resistant mosquitoes. "The resistance level that we found in mosquitos in Cambodia and Vietnam is totally different," said Kasai, director of the Department of Medical Entomology at Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Search Keywords: Short link: People who do not get enough sleep often see themselves as older than they really are, while those who sleep well feel young, according to a study. A team of researchers tried to gauge people's subjective perception of their age and its relationship with sleep by asking 2,349 people how old they feel and comparing their responses with their sleeping patterns over a four-week period. Some 17 percent said they felt older than their actual age, and this became more pronounced among people who did not get enough sleep, especially among women over 50. Lack of sleep leads to drowsiness in the daytime, a reduced ability to focus due to fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and reduced perception. Yoon Chang-ho at Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang, who led the study, said, "People who consider themselves to be younger than they actually are more likely to have positive behavior, attitudes and perceptions leading to better sleep." The findings were published in the latest edition of the Journal of Sleep Medicine. KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2023 - 19:06 | Sports Former sekiwake Okinoumi announced his retirement from competition Saturday after pulling out of the ongoing New Year Grand Sumo Tournament. The 37-year-old withdrew Friday from the 15-day meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan, where he was competing as a No. 12 maegashira, after opening with five straight losses. He will remain attached to the Hakkaku sumo stable as an instructor, taking on the elder name Kimigahama. "For several years, I relied on mental strength to overcome my inability to wrestle my own style of sumo, but it recently became too exhausting," he said. "I received a lot of support and met a lot of people (through sumo). I really have no regrets." A native of Shimane Prefecture, Okinoumi began competing out of high school in 2005 and debuted in the elite makuuchi division in March 2010. Known for his 190-centimeter height and good looks, he became particularly popular among sumo's young women fans. He was promoted to sekiwake in March 2015, becoming the first wrestler from his western Japan prefecture to attain sumo's third-highest rank in 121 years. He contested 75 tournaments in the top division, including eight as a member of the distinguished "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna. Related coverage: Sumo: Takakeisho beats Abi, creating 8-way logjam atop leaderboard Sumo: Takayasu, Okinoumi withdraw from New Year meet A native of Shimane Prefecture, Okinoumi began competing out of high school in 2005 and debuted in the elite makuuchi division in March 2010. Known for his 190-centimeter height and good looks, he became particularly popular among sumo's young women fans. He was promoted to sekiwake in March 2015, becoming the first wrestler from his western Japan prefecture to attain sumo's third-highest rank in 121 years. He contested 75 tournaments in the top division, including eight as a member of the distinguished "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna. KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2023 - 21:03 | All, World Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called Saturday on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to die by "seppuku," a ritualistic suicide by disembowelment, after he and U.S. President Joe Biden warned Russia against using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. The deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council called a joint statement in which the Japanese and U.S. leaders made the warning a "horrible shame" and said he would not "even comment on the paranoia regarding our state's nuclear plans," Tass news agency reported, citing his Telegram channel. Kishida can only "wash off" his shame by disemboweling himself at a meeting of his Cabinet ministers, Medvedev said, adding that the prime minister ignored that the United States is the only country to use nuclear weapons and Japan its victim. In the statement issued after their meeting in Washington on Friday, Kishida and Biden said, "We state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way." They also said they are firmly opposed to Russia's "unjust and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine," adding that Japan and the United States will continue imposing sanctions on Moscow and provide "unwavering support" for Kyiv. Related coverage: China's Xi urges Russia to exercise restraint over Ukraine Japan lower house raps Russia's Ukraine invasion in "strongest terms" By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2023 - 09:59 | All, Japan Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's weeklong trip to Europe and North America laid the groundwork for tackling China-Taiwan tensions ahead of May's Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. Kishida agreed with his French, Italian, British, Canadian and U.S. counterparts that their nations will expand security ties after Tokyo made a major shift in its defense policy in December in the face of China's widening military presence in the Asia-Pacific. With approval ratings for his Cabinet nearing what is widely seen as the "danger level" of 30 percent due to several scandals and gaffes by ministers, the premier's diplomatic activities may contribute to improving his popularity, observers said. But some pundits say Kishida, a self-proclaimed dove, should not attempt to leverage the Taiwan issue to prop up his domestic fortunes, as any challenge to China in tandem with the G-7 will hurt Sino-Japanese relations, in turn destabilizing the regional security environment. Beijing and self-ruled democratic Taipei have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as the result of a civil war. Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is "an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community," according to a joint statement released after their summit in Washington on Friday. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunified with the mainland. President Xi Jinping, who secured an unprecedented third, five-year term as head of the ruling Communist Party in October, has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Beijing has lambasted Japan, the United States and other G-7 members for striving to build an "anti-China" alliance in Asia and establish an Asian version of NATO. The G-7 allies have been also trying to reinforce economic cooperation to end reliance on China in the global supply chain, promoting the division of the world into two groups -- Western democratic countries and what they call autocratic nations. Kishida, a veteran lawmaker representing a constituency in Hiroshima, is scheduled to host the G-7 summit to be held for three days from May 19 in the western Japan city devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in August 1945. At the gathering, Kishida is set to pitch his vision of a world without nuclear weapons amid fears that Russia might use an atomic device against Ukraine in the ongoing war. He also will look to demonstrate the G7's commitment to rejecting any attempt to change the status quo by force. In December, Japan pledged to obtain enemy base strike capabilities under the war-renouncing Constitution to deter attacks on its territory and almost double its annual defense spending to about 2 percent of gross domestic product over the next five years, on par with NATO members. The decision came after China carried out large-scale military drills near Taiwan in early August in retaliation for the visit to the island by former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the then third-highest-ranking official in the country. Some ballistic missiles fired from China fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone, prompting Kishida to "become seriously wary of Beijing's military threat" and "more eager to receive support from the G-7 states," a diplomatic source said. Stephen Nagy, senior associate professor at International Christian University in Tokyo, said, "Japan continues to walk a fine line in terms of its economic relations with China and its serious security concerns," which have "only deepened" under Xi's rule. Around four months before the summit in Hiroshima, Kishida's meeting with the G-7 leaders has strengthened Japan's reputation as a "security partner that shares similar concerns about China and the fate of Taiwan," Nagy said. On the domestic political front, Nagy said, "Japanese leaders benefit from proactive foreign policy achievements as it is one of the only areas where the public can expect to see change." "Enhanced security cooperation commitments, the international stage and Kishida being seen as a leader accepted by other G-7 leaders may give him a temporary boost in approval," he added. In a survey by Kyodo News in December, the support rate for Kishida's Cabinet stood at 33.1 percent, the lowest level since he took office in October 2021, while it topped 60 percent shortly after his ruling party's victory in the upper house election in July. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, said Japan's hosting of the G-7 summit this year would provide a window of opportunity for the nation to review its diplomatic strategy toward China. "There are no signs that China is willing to make any significant concessions on key issues such as Taiwan and the disputed Senkaku Islands," administrated by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, in the East China Sea, Kingston said. "Kishida has bolstered deterrence with his recent initiatives, so it might be a good time to hit the reset button on diplomacy. He may be irritating China but Beijing has also been provocative so diplomacy is necessary to dial down the recriminations," he added. Other foreign experts, however, warn that in order to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Kishida should refrain from meddling in the Taiwan issue unless Japan is prepared to take responsibility in case of a contingency surrounding the island. Victor Teo, a former research fellow at the University of Cambridge, said Kishida's move is "unnerving" Beijing, as Xi might believe Japan is "actively trying to split Taiwan from China." "If Japan has Taiwan's interests at heart, I think the best thing to do is work to mend ties with China and distance" itself from Taiwan, said the political scientist who specializes in international relations in the Indo-Pacific region. "Giving Taiwan false hope that Tokyo would commit to help Taiwan at all costs in the event of a military incursion is actually not very responsible," he said. As for Kishida, Teo also cast doubt on the prime minister's political maneuvering, touching on his abrupt proposal to raise taxes to finance an envisioned expansion of Japan's defense spending, which has already increased public distrust of his government. The buildup of defense capabilities "requires money, and this extraction of funds from taxpayers is unlikely to make him more popular," he said. Related coverage: Kishida, Biden vow to boost Japan defense capabilities, eyeing Taiwan By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Jan 15, 2023 - 02:58 | All, World Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Saturday to pitch his vision of a world without nuclear weapons at the Group of Seven summit to be held in Hiroshima in May, amid fears that Russia might use an atomic device against Ukraine in the ongoing war. Kishida's remarks came after he held talks with his French, Italian, British, Canadian and U.S. counterparts earlier this week during a weeklong trip to five of the G-7 countries in Europe and North America in the run-up to the gathering in the western Japan city. The world should "not make light of the history" in which no nuclear weapons have been used over the past 77 years, said Kishida, elected from a Hiroshima constituency, in comments at a press conference in Washington. He added that the G-7 will confirm its commitment to upholding "the international order based on the rule of law" at the upcoming summit in the city devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in August 1945. On Friday, Kishida met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. The two leaders agreed that Japan and the United States will deepen security ties and join hands to secure semiconductor supply chains to counter China's economic clout in the region. Tokyo and Washington "will try to strengthen the bilateral alliance and bolster cooperation in fields ranging from the economy to technology," Kishida said. He emphasized that "semiconductors are key materials for economic security," adding that Japan will consider its approach to the issue alongside allies including the United States, with an eye on China's rise in the Indo-Pacific region. Kishida, however, did not elaborate on whether Japan will impose export controls on semiconductors against China, a move recently implemented by the United States. As for Japan's relations with its neighbors, Kishida said he has no clear plan so far to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G-7 summit, while vowing to maintain communication with South Korea in a bid to improve ties. Tokyo has been at odds with Beijing over Taiwan. Japan-South Korea relations, meanwhile, soured to the worst level in decades under President Yoon Suk Yeol's predecessor, Moon Jae In, due largely to a dispute over wartime labor. Kishida said Japan will aim to build "constructive and stable" ties with China, but will also continue urging the country's leadership to "take responsible action" as an Asian power. Communist-led China and self-ruled democratic Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as the result of a civil war. Beijing regards the island a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Kishida and Biden agreed Friday to develop Japan's defense capabilities, reaffirming the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. In December, Japan decided to almost double its defense spending over the next five years and to acquire enemy base strike capabilities to deter attacks on its territory, in the face of growing military threats from its neighbors such as China. The Kishida administration is planning to raise taxes to finance measures for Japan's major shift in its defense policy under the war-renouncing Constitution, which has increased public distrust of his government. "I would like to thoroughly explain to the public through parliamentary debates with opposition parties" about the tax hikes, Kishida said. Related coverage: Kishida, Biden vow to boost Japan defense capabilities, eyeing Taiwan FOCUS: Japan PM's trip tackles China-Taiwan tensions ahead of G7 summit Russia's ex-president Medvedev calls for Japan PM's ritual suicide KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2023 - 23:00 | World, All, Coronavirus Chinese health authorities reported Saturday nearly 60,000 deaths related to COVID-19 in just over a month, amid growing international criticism that Beijing's official data do not reflect the reality on the ground. Between Dec. 8 last year and Thursday, the COVID-related death toll reached 59,938, according to China's National Health Commission. Beijing significantly relaxed its antivirus measures on Dec. 7, in an abrupt departure from its "zero-COVID" policy involving lockdowns and isolation measures. The newly released death toll does not include those who died at home. On average, the daily count topped 1,600, but it was far lower than the 21,300 estimated by British medical research firm Airfinity Ltd. as of Friday. The Chinese government had only reported several daily COVID-19 deaths based on its policy of excluding from the country's official death count people with chronic illnesses who die from deteriorating health following a coronavirus infection. Of the 59,938 deaths, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to the virus infection, while 54,435 resulted from underlining issues complicated by COVID-19 contraction, the health authorities said. The average age at the time of death was 80.3 years, with about 90.1 percent aged 65 years and above, and about 56.5 percent aged 80 and older, according to state-run media. The number of people seeking treatment at fever clinics in China peaked on Dec. 23 at about 2.87 million, and the figure has since been in continuous decline, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped releasing the daily number of new COVID-19 infections and deaths, with the latest figures posted on its website referring to data as of last Sunday. The World Health Organization has repeatedly expressed concerns about underreporting of China's COVID-19 death count. A number of countries have tightened their border controls targeting those traveling from China amid a lack of credible data and fears that a new virus variant could emerge in the Asian country. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged China "to report adequate transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data regarding the spread" of the coronavirus in a joint statement released Friday following their talks in Washington. A study by Peking University has estimated cumulative COVID-19 infections in China had reached some 900 million as of last Wednesday, with the figure accounting for 64 percent of the country's population of about 1.4 billion, according to a Chinese media report. Related coverage: China suspends visa issuance to Japanese, South Korean travelers Japan starts requiring negative COVID tests for travelers from China China expects 2.1 billion trips during New Year holiday season By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen discussed further prospects for the current multilateral cooperation during a phone call on January 13, Azernews reports per the ministry. Once Bayramov congratulated his colleague on his appointment and wished him success in his work, the sides hailed the events and mutual visits held in 2022 on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan-Israel diplomatic relations. The officials noted the long history of bilateral relations and emphasized the contribution of Azerbaijan's Jewish community to their development. Further, the activities of the Joint Commission between Azerbaijan and Israel, the development of relations in economy, education, trade, tourism, high technologies, and other areas were mulled. The ministers expressed confidence that the opening of Azerbaijan's trade and tourism representations in Israel, and the establishment of embassies would make a significant contribution to the advancement of bilateral collaboration. Bayramov briefed his interlocutor on the regional situation and on the reconstruction work carried out by Azerbaijan in the post-Karabakh conflict period. He also highly commended the support of Israeli companies in this process. Azerbaijan and Israel have been expanding bilateral cooperation over years. Cooperation between the two countries is based not only on economic partnership but also on traditional historical and cultural roots, as well as mutual respect and trust. During the 44-day Second Karabakh War, Israel was among the first countries to express support for Azerbaijan's just position and territorial integrity. In addition, Israeli companies are involved in the restoration and reconstruction process in Azerbaijan's liberated territories. In 2021, the two countries' trade turnover totaled $928.4 million. Lis Cuesta Peraza (R), wife of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez and director of Events of Cuba's Ministry of Culture, and Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui attend the opening ceremony of the International Culinary Workshop Cuba Sabe 2023 in Havana, Cuba, Jan. 12, 2023. The event kicked off Thursday in Havana, with China designated as the guest of honor country. Running through Saturday, the event held in the five-star Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel features seminars, lectures on Chinese tea ceremonies and a Chinese custom exhibition, among other activities. (Xinhua/Zhu Wanjun) HAVANA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Culinary Workshop Cuba Sabe 2023 kicked off Thursday in Havana, with China designated as the guest of honor country. Running through Saturday, the event held in the five-star Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel features seminars, lectures on Chinese tea ceremonies and a Chinese custom exhibition, among other activities. Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui said that this workshop would help promote the diversity of Chinese cuisine. "The rich variety of Chinese food is clear proof of the vivid daily life of the Chinese people," he said while addressing the audience during the opening ceremony. It came just days after the Chinese community on the island began Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Sonia Virgen Perez, head of Cuba's National Council of Cultural Heritage, said that Chinese food recipes have been trendy in the Caribbean nation with the fast growth of Chinese restaurants over the past few years. "The contribution of Chinese migrants to Cuban cuisine is fundamental," she said. In 1847, some Chinese immigrants first stepped on Cuban soil, starting their integration into local society. After 175 years, the Chinese community has become an inseparable part of this Latin American country. "The Chinese influence in Cuban cuisine is undisputable," said Yrmina Eng, a senior professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Havana. "More research should be done on the topic." A Chinese chef (L) cooks at the International Culinary Workshop Cuba Sabe 2023 in Havana, Cuba, Jan. 12, 2023. The event kicked off Thursday in Havana, with China designated as the guest of honor country. Running through Saturday, the event held in the five-star Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel features seminars, lectures on Chinese tea ceremonies and a Chinese custom exhibition, among other activities. (Xinhua/Zhu Wanjun) A Chinese chef (1st L) cooks at the International Culinary Workshop Cuba Sabe 2023 in Havana, Cuba, Jan. 12, 2023. The event kicked off Thursday in Havana, with China designated as the guest of honor country. Running through Saturday, the event held in the five-star Iberostar Grand Packard Hotel features seminars, lectures on Chinese tea ceremonies and a Chinese custom exhibition, among other activities. (Xinhua/Zhu Wanjun) HOUSTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- It has been more than three days since over 70 prisoners began a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices across the south central U.S. state Texas, the Texas Tribune reported on Friday. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has confirmed at least 72 of them are still starving themselves, according to the report. "Our protest will remain peaceful and spans all races and religions to improve the conditions for all within the confines of the TDCJ," the report cited a press release from the prisoners as saying, adding that it was "compiled by independent activist Brittany Robertson from messages she received from six striking men at three prisons." The prisoners plan to continue their strike over the holiday weekend unless prison officials meet with a committee of members of different gangs who want to negotiate, said the report. "Thousands of prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in Texas. In November, more than 500 prisoners had been in isolation for more than a decade," said the report. The dam of the Upper Marsyangdi A Hydropower Project, funded and operated by a Chinese company, is pictured in Lamjung, Nepal on Nov. 8, 2022. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) Nepal is ready to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, enhance political trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, said Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari. KATHMANDU, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday voiced readiness to work with China to maintain regional peace and stability, promote prosperity and development in the region, and advance the building of a community with shared future for mankind. Bhandari, while receiving here the credentials presented by new Chinese Ambassador Chen Song, spoke of the close and cordial ties between Nepal and China as traditional and friendly neighbors, saying fruitful results have been achieved in practical cooperation in all fields. Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari participates in a parade to mark the National Unity Day in Kathmandu, Nepal on Jan. 11, 2023. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua) The Nepali side appreciates the support and help offered by the Chinese government and people, including supporting Nepal in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, the president said, stressing that Nepal has always firmly upheld the one-China policy and will never allow any forces to use Nepal's territory to oppose China. Nepal is ready to work with China to actively implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, enhance political trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to create a better future for the people of the two countries and advance bilateral ties to be as towering and majestic as the Himalayas, Bhandari said. Photo taken on July 23, 2019 shows the Swayambhunath Stupa, also known as the Monkey temple, on the hill of Halchowk in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma) For his part, Chen noted that the two countries have advanced and deepened good-neighborly and friendly relations based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence since the establishment of diplomatic relations. The China-Nepal relationship was lifted to a strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity in 2019, thus opening up new prospects for the friendly ties, Chen said. China is ready to work with Nepal to enhance high-level exchanges, consolidate strategic mutual trust and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for the development and prosperity of the two countries, Chen said. Chen arrived in Nepal for his new office last Sunday. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's ongoing visit to Africa will further strengthen China-Africa cooperation in various fields, a Ghanaian expert has said. Produced by Xinhua Global Service A team of representatives from the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) inspects on the first grain-laden ship leaving Ukraine on the northwestern entrance of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkiye, Aug. 3, 2022. (Turkish Defense Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) "Despite the challenging context, the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to make a difference, including by helping bring global food prices down," Rosemary DiCarlo said, noting that the Food and Agriculture Organization reports a continued decline of its Food Price Index. UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The deal on the export of grain and fertilizers from Black Sea ports continues to make a difference, as indicated in the lowering of global food prices, a senior United Nations official said Friday. With the Russia-Ukraine conflict approaching its one-year anniversary, there is "no end in sight to the fighting or the suffering," Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, told a Security Council meeting on Ukraine. "Despite the challenging context, the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to make a difference, including by helping bring global food prices down," she said, noting that the Food and Agriculture Organization reports a continued decline of its Food Price Index. On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, due to expire on Nov. 19, was extended for another 120 days. More than 17 million metric tons of foodstuffs have now been moved under the deal, reaching, or on the way to, some 43 countries, DiCarlo said. Roughly 20 percent of the total is for countries categorized by the World Bank as low-income or lower-middle-income economies, she added. "The United Nations also continues its engagement with all stakeholders to remove remaining obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports, including ammonia. These exports are key to keep prices down and mitigate food insecurity, and we urge all concerned to work to that end," said DiCarlo. TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Former Iranian deputy defense minister Alireza Akbari was executed on charges of "espionage against the country," the Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported on Saturday. Akbari was charged with "espionage on behalf of Britain," "corruption on earth" -- a term used by Iranian authorities to refer to a range of offenses including those related to violating Islamic codes -- and "acting against the country's internal and external security," the report said. According to the indictment issued against him, Akbari had "acted against Iran's national security through spying on behalf of and cooperating with the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI6, and had held numerous meetings with enemies' intelligence officers in different countries. His anti-Iran actions had "caused severe and extensive disruption in the country's public order," read the indictment. Mizan added Akbari had received 1.8 million euros (1.95 million U.S. dollars), 256,000 British pounds (313,100 U.S. dollars) and 50,000 U.S. dollars in return for spying for the SIS. In a statement published on its website on Wednesday, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said Akbari had penetrated the country's sensitive strategic centers, collected important data, and sent them to the SIS deliberately. It described Akbari as one of "the most important" agents of SIS, owing to his important position and access to sensitive data, adding that he was identified and arrested after a lengthy process. This aerial photo taken on Jan. 9, 2023 shows Wangden inspecting power transmission lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) This aerial photo taken in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province shows sunlight shining on the Meili Snow Mountain on Jan. 9, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Wangden inspects power transmission lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 9, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao) Wangden prepares equipment before inspecting power lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 8, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Wangden (R) inspects power lines for a hotel with his colleague Zhang Jincheng in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 9, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Wangden (L) and his colleague Zhang Jincheng inspect power transmission lines on a mountain in Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 9, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao) Wangden (R) and his colleague Zhang Jincheng use a drone to inspect power transmission lines in Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 10, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Wangden prepares equipment before inspecting power lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 8, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao) This aerial photo taken on Jan. 9, 2023 shows Wangden driving to Yubeng Village to inspect power transmission lines in Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Wangden (L) and his colleague Zhang Jincheng use a drone to inspect power transmission lines in Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 10, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao) Wangden inspects power lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 8, 2023. Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village. In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way. The harsh natural environment makes maintaining Yubeng's electricity supply extremely difficult. During the 2020 Spring Festival, Wangden led his team into the mountain to repair the electricity supply equipment that had been damaged by continuous wind and snow. Because of the extreme weather, this mission left a lasting impression on him. Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) Photo taken on Jan. 4, 2023 shows a group of young people listening to their instructors at Shaolin Temple in Lusaka, Zambia. The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in Lusaka, is known for its Chinese cultural activities including martial arts programs. (Photo by Lillian Banda/Xinhua) LUSAKA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever Shaolin Temple in Zambia, located in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, is known for its Chinese cultural activities including martial arts programs. The place is a hive of activity particularly on weekends and holidays as people from different walks of life come through to get a glimpse of the Chinese culture. For residents of Ngwerere compound, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Lusaka, the Shaolin Temple is a symbol of hope for young and less privileged people. The Ngwerere compound, just a stone's throw away from the Shaolin Temple grounds, is a low-income community that grapples with challenges including the lack of access to education and recreational facilities for young people. "We are very happy to have the Shaolin Temple close by. Many young people will benefit from the education and skills programs being offered at the Temple," said Andrew Miti, the Ngwerere compound chairperson. Miti mentioned that a good number of parents in the Ngwerere compound were unable to provide food for their families or meet their children's needs because they lacked resources. He lauded Shaolin Temple management for providing education, food and shelter to indigent children, stating that the discipline and sound values embedded in the programs would help improve the lives of young people from the Ngwerere compound and other poorer areas. Shaolin Temple programs coordinator Yan Ming said his team was overwhelmed with requests from parents seeking to have their children take part in programs offered at the Temple. Yan revealed that there are currently 27 boys aged six to 16 years from very vulnerable backgrounds receiving education support, food and shelter at the Temple. The children, he said, come from different parts of Lusaka. "We are trying to see how best we can help the vulnerable children currently in our care before taking in more," he explained. Interactions with ordinary residents of the Ngwerere compound revealed that they were excited to have a place nearby where youth can be trained to be both responsible and productive citizens. "The only recreational spaces available in this compound are bars and liquor stores. As a result, most young people have been compelled to engage in illicit activities," lamented Eunice Musonda. Eighteen-year-old Musonda hailing from Ngwerere remained optimistic that the Shaolin Temple's youth-friendly programs would not only ensure youth have a better future but also help curtail juvenile delinquency in the Ngwerere compound. Clever Malambo, 27, echoed Musonda's thoughts and said that the Shaolin Temple in Zambia is serving as a beacon of hope for many young people in the Ngwerere compound and beyond. "I am certain that the programs offered at this Temple will inspire many youths to dream big and to achieve a lot in life," Malambo said. People bid goodbye to each other with a hug in Irpin, Ukraine, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Diego Herrera/Xinhua) The current situation in Ukraine is a result of the deep-seated security imbalance in Europe, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, told a Security Council briefing on Ukraine, noting that only when parties concerned overcome differences and sit down at the negotiation table, can a fundamental solution be found to end the conflict and rebuild the European security architecture. UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's envoy to the United Nations on Friday called on the international community to create conditions for dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and to redouble efforts to open up new prospects for peace in the new year. The current situation in Ukraine is a result of the deep-seated security imbalance in Europe, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, told a Security Council briefing on Ukraine, noting that only when parties concerned overcome differences and sit down at the negotiation table, can a fundamental solution be found to end the conflict and rebuild the European security architecture. The international community, in particular countries with major influence on the current situation, should encourage Russia and Ukraine to engage in dialogue and help open the door to a political solution of the crisis, he added. The envoy warned that escalating sanctions or providing weapons will only make the situation more difficult and may even provoke more confrontations and exacerbate the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs. Continued international humanitarian assistance is indispensable to help conflict-affected people survive the winter, he said, stressing that it is imperative now to help Ukraine repair damaged energy infrastructure as soon as possible. Russia's 36-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Christmas should be welcomed, Zhang said, expressing the hope that in the future there will be more similar ceasefire initiatives, "so as to create conditions for a comprehensive ceasefire." He also urged all military operations that could affect the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to be stopped immediately. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency in maintaining communication with Russia and Ukraine over the Zaporizhzhia plant in order to reach a mutually acceptable and viable arrangement at an early date, Zhang said. Speaking of the spillover effects of the crisis, the envoy noted that the artificial disruption of the global industrial chain and supply chain by unilateral sanctions cannot be ignored. Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic, monetary and trade policies to avoid negative spillover effects that exacerbate the economic and livelihood difficulties of developing countries, not to mention using the world economy as a political tool or weapon, thereby undermining the hard-won momentum of recovery, he said. "At the beginning of the new year, all parties should take new actions to actively open up new prospects for peace," Zhang said. "China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial position, and make constructive efforts in its own way." In recent years, Jiangxia District in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province has honored grassroots role models to carry forward the virtue of selfless dedication. Among those honored was Shu Fumin, a committed Party member in his 90s, who has spent his pension fund to finance 87 students from poor families, helping them realize their dreams of receiving university education. Shu was recently awarded as one of the grassroots role models of 2022. Jiangxia District has honored many role models like Shu. They include a village Party secretary who devotes himself to the rural vitalization, an ordinary postman who dedicated nearly 30 years to helping the elderly people voluntarily in his spare time, and a rural doctor who has been riding a motorcycle to deliver medicines to villagers. Their deeds have moved millions of netizens. In recent years, more and more people in Jiangxia District join the action of "helping those in need." Azerbaijani Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov has appointed a new head for the Main Public Security Department under the ministry, Azernews reports. Deputy Head of the Baku City Main Police Department, Maj-Gen Sardar Safarov, was relieved of his post and appointed Head of the Main Public Security Department of the Interior Ministry. The former Head of the Main Public Security Department of the Interior Ministry, Maj-Gen Oktay Karimov, was previously relieved from his post and appointed a deputy interior minister. Nshamba Muzungu, the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company Public Relations Manager, is interviewed with Xinhua in Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 10, 2023. The Kafue Bulk Water Supply project, the project co-financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and the Zambian government, has helped improve water supply and sanitation to about 500,000 people in the Zambian capital. (Xinhua/Martin Mbangweta) LUSAKA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Beauty Nakalumbi, a resident of Matero, a sprawling densely-populated residential area in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, is now a happy woman in as far as fetching water is concerned. Nanyangwe, like many other residents of the area, used to wake up as early as 4:00 a.m. to fetch water, sometimes covering a long distance. But this is now not the case anymore following the commissioning of the first phase of the Kafue Bulk Water Supply project in July last year. The 150 million U.S. dollars project co-financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and the Zambian government, has helped improve water supply and sanitation to about 500,000 people in the Zambian capital. The commissioning of the project has added an additional 50 million liters of water per day. "We are happy that the situation has now improved. We now have water 24 hours, unlike in the past," she told Xinhua in an interview. She added that the improved water supply has enabled her to have time to do other things unlike in the past when she would spend hours scouting for water. She said the area is now experiencing a constant supply of water and thanked the Chinese government for supporting the project, adding that the Asian nation should not stop rendering support to Zambia. Her views have been supported by another resident Anna Mwape who expressed gratitude that the project has changed the water situation in the area. She said residents used to cross roads and risked being hit by vehicles as they moved from place to place to fetch water. "We want to thank this government for this project as well as the Chinese government for the support." Nshamba Muzungu, the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company Public Relations Manager, said the Kafue Bulk Water Supply project was a flagship project meant to improve water production and supply. "And so we are pleased obviously to hear that the people in these communities are testifying that there is increased water supply in their communities and really for us as a utility, we are happy to hear that," he said. He however said the current water production still falls short to meet the total water demand in the city and hoped that discussions for phase two of the project could be concluded. According to him, the total demand for water in the Zambian capital stands at about 400 million liters per day but the current production is only 270 million liters per day. He commended the Chinese government for partnering with Zambia in the construction of the project and that the results show that it was a good project because of the impact on the communities. Executives of foreign-invested businesses in Shanghai have expressed confidence in the city's economic prospects in 2023. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Juele calls his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele chops up firewood at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Dalinma, Juele's cousin, cooks roasted meat for dinner in a traditional Ewenki tent at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 11, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele smells a piece of tree bark at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Dalinma, Juele's cousin, cooks kebabs in a traditional Ewenki tent at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 11, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Ren Junchuan) Juele feeds his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele feeds his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele boils milk tea in a tent before dawn at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows Juele with his family at a new relocation community in Aoluguya Ewenki Township, Genhe City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele bakes meat on a stove in a tent at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Ren Junchuan) This photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows Juele with his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele calls his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows Juele with his family at a new relocation community in Aoluguya Ewenki Township, Genhe City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele feeds his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele and his cousin Dalinma prepare to get some water at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Dalinma, Juele's cousin, cooks roasted meat for dinner in a traditional Ewenki tent at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 11, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele looks for his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele finally finds his reindeer after two hours of search at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) This photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows Juele with his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows a traditional Ewenki tent at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows Juele with his kid at a new relocation community in Aoluguya Ewenki Township in Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Ren Junchuan) Dalinma, Juele's cousin, takes care of a sick reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele feeds his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele looks for his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele checks a kind of moss growing on trees, one of the favorite foods of reindeer, at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Dalinma, Juele's cousin, prepares to feed a sick reindeer at a temporary herding station at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) This aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows a temporary herding station deep in the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Juele drinks water at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele washes his hands with snow before feeding his reindeer at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) Juele calls his dogs in front of a mobile lodge, preparing to look for his reindeers, at the Jinhe forest range near Genhe City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jan. 12, 2023. Every two or three days, Juele Bulituotian will head for the Jinhe forest range about 80 kilometers from Genhe City. That's where the 39-year-old Aoluguya Ewenki herder, wearing a traditional fur coat, will find his foraging reindeer. Instead of keeping reindeer in a barn, Ewenki herders let the animals live in the forest and check on them every couple of days. Juele owns over 60 reindeer. He will call his reindeer in the Ewenki language and wait for his reindeer to respond. To him, the jingles of deer bells sound like heaven, which mean his reindeer are around, safe and sound. "I need to make sure my reindeer are not too far away, nor threatened by the predators in the forest." said Juele. The Aoluguya Ewenki people, known as "the last hunting tribe in China," are the only ethnic minority group in China that raises reindeer. Before moving into the house provided free of charge by the local government, Juele spent his childhood in the deep forest with his mom. He once worked in Beijing, capital of China, after graduating from school, but every time he sat alone, the jingles from home echoed in his mind. He eventually returned to Aoluguya, his hometown, in 2015 and began to raise reindeer. Life in the forest is hard and lonely, let alone the extreme coldness one needs to suffer. In winter, temperatures in Aoluguya could drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius, but for Aoluguya Ewenki herders like Juele, life must go on. At the end of 2022, Juele spent over eight hours every day in the snowy forest, looking for his reindeer. After nine days of search, he finally found his herd on New Year's Day. "To me, that's the best New Year gift, which also means 2023 will be an auspicious year," Juele said. According to Juele, the life of the Aoluguya Ewenki people has improved a lot in recent years thanks to the local government. New homes were provided to them for free, and mobile lodges were built in the forests for them to keep warm as well. Besides, the government has been making every effort to promote tourism, hoping to boost incomes for the Ewenkis. "I already make a good living on reindeer breeding and tourism," Juele said. However, he is looking forward to the summer, when more tourists can be expected after the impact of COVID-19 lessens. "The tourism here is going to recover at that time, that's for sure," said Juele with confidence. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 59,938 deaths related to COVID-19 occurred in medical institutions nationwide from Dec. 8, 2022 to Jan. 12, 2023, a health official said on Saturday. A total of 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19, and 54,435 died of underlying issues complicated by COVID-19 infection, said Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission, at a press conference held by the State Council joint COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism. The average age at the time of death was 80.3 years, with about 90.1 percent aged 65 years and above, and about 56.5 percent aged 80 and above, Jiao said. BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of people seeking treatment at fever clinics in China peaked on Dec. 23, 2022 at about 2.87 million, and the figure has since been in continuous decline, a health official said on Saturday. People seeking treatment at general outpatient departments totaled nearly 9.14 million on Jan. 12, basically returning to the pre-epidemic level, said Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission, at a press conference held by the State Council joint COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism. Regular medical services at hospitals are recovering gradually, Jiao said. A pastry chef takes out finished rabbit-inspired steamed buns in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 13, 2023. A pastry workshop in Luoyang has introduced rabbit-inspired steamed buns in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Year of the Rabbit. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows rabbit-inspired steamed buns made by a pastry workshop in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. A pastry workshop in Luoyang has introduced rabbit-inspired steamed buns in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Year of the Rabbit. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) A pastry chef demonstrates rabbit-inspired steamed buns in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 13, 2023. A pastry workshop in Luoyang has introduced rabbit-inspired steamed buns in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Year of the Rabbit. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) This photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows rabbit-inspired steamed buns made by a pastry workshop in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province. A pastry workshop in Luoyang has introduced rabbit-inspired steamed buns in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Year of the Rabbit. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) JINAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Shandong Province, one of the country's major economic powerhouses, set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of over 5 percent for 2023, according to the first session of the 14th People's Congress of Shandong. Shandong's 2022 GDP is estimated at 8.7 trillion yuan (about 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars), up about 5.4 percent, according to a government work report delivered at the session on Friday. The province's import and export volume exceeded 3 trillion yuan in 2022, and its actual utilization of foreign investment nearly doubled from five years ago. The province also set goals for other major economic indicators in 2023, including the per capita disposable income growth of residents at over 5 percent, a surveyed urban unemployment rate of within 5.5 percent, and a consumer price index growth of about 3 percent. In 2023, Shandong will encourage consumption and expand domestic demand, promote major industrial projects, and focus on green, low-carbon and high-quality development. According to the report, the province will also promote the advanced manufacturing industry and modern industrial system, upgrade industries like steel, chemicals, non-ferrous metals and light textiles, and further the development of the intelligent home appliances, rail transportation equipment and power equipment sectors. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (3rd R) and his visiting Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (3rd L) attend a joint press conference in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 14, 2023. Faisal Mekdad on Saturday said that Turkiye should show "absolute positiveness," mainly by ending its occupation of Syrian territories, in order to restore its relations with Syria. Mekdad made the remarks at a joint press conference with his visiting Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Syrian capital of Damascus following Amir-Abdollahian's meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) DAMASCUS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad on Saturday said that Turkiye should show "absolute positiveness," mainly by ending its occupation of Syrian territories, in order to restore its relations with Syria. Mekdad made the remarks at a joint press conference with his visiting Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Syrian capital of Damascus following Amir-Abdollahian's meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We urge the other concerned parties to practice absolute positiveness in this regard because the talks cannot succeed in having normal relations without ending the occupation, ending terrorism, and restoring the relations to the previous fundamentals before the crises," Mekdad told reporters when asked about the current talks between Syria and Turkiye. Mekdad said that the relations between Syria and Turkiye were normal before the eruption of the Syrian crisis in 2011, noting the Syrian side is exerting all efforts to end terrorism which "led to disrupting the ties with Turkiye." Mekdad added that the possibility of a meeting between leaders of Syria and Turkiye relies on removing the elements that led to the current situation, including ending the Turkish occupation of Syrian areas and halting the Turkish support to the rebel groups in northern Syria. For his part, Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran fully supports Syria's stances and decisions, deeming any dialogue between Syria and Turkiye as a positive step for both countries and the entire region. In Dec. 2022, defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkiye discussed in Moscow solutions to the Syrian crisis, the issue of refugees, and collective efforts aimed at combatting extremist groups in Syria. The meeting was the first publicly announced encounter between officials of Syria and Turkiye since the Syrian crisis started in 2011. Beninese President Patrice Talon (R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Cotonou, Benin, Jan. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) COTONOU, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Beninese President Patrice Talon on Friday met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Cotonou, the largest city of Benin. Talon asked Qin to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying the visit of the new Chinese foreign minister to Benin during his first official African tour, which came shortly after the 50th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Benin, has demonstrated the friendly and close ties between the two countries. Benin cherishes China's long-term support and assistance, Talon said, adding that Benin, though small in size, stands on the side of truth, equality and justice, and will continue to be a steadfast and reliable friend of China. China has found the right development path and made achievements that impressed the whole world, achievements that have deeply inspired all the developing countries, the president said. He said Benin looks forward to learning from China's experience, deepening and expanding practical cooperation with China, and accelerating national development and revitalization. Qin, for his part, conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Talon, noting that over the past half a century, China and Benin have always respected each other and treated each other as equals. China appreciates Benin's understanding and support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns, and stands ready to continue as a sincere partner of Benin with mutual political trust and forge ahead together in development, Qin said. He said China is looking forward to jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), so as to continuously push China-Benin relations to new levels. Beijing encourages more capable and reputable Chinese companies to invest in Benin, and hopes that Benin will safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese institutions and personnel, Qin said. He said that China has always adhered to the leadership of the Communist Party of China in its reforms and development, stayed committed to independence, and never simply copied the models of any other countries. China is willing to strengthen experience-sharing on state governance with Benin, and support its pursuit of a development path suited to Benin's national realities, Qin said. He said China will continue to work in solidarity with African countries, including Benin, to achieve common development based on the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation and in line with the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and a commitment to the greater good and shared interests. During the visit, Qin also held talks with his Beninese counterpart, Aurelien Agbenonci, and signed documents on cooperation in such fields as people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (L) holds talks with his Beninese counterpart Aurelien Agbenonci in Cotonou, Benin, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) By Sabina Mammadli For 34-day back-to-back, the strong and vigorous picketing of the Lachin road by Azerbaijani youth, eco-activists, and NGO representatives in protest at the illegal mining of natural resources in areas under the temporary control of the Russian peacekeepers has been going on irrespective of freezing cold in the area, Azernews reports. Vehicles constantly pass through the road unhindered in defiance of the ongoing claims by Armenians and their patrons, who with blatant misrepresentation of facts are uselessly trying to sell their bogus narrative on the alleged blockade. Thus, five supply vehicles of the Russian peacekeepers and four passenger cars of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have driven along the Lachin-Khankandi road passing near Shusha without any problems by the time this report was written. The failure of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to prevent the illicit exploitation of natural resources in Karabakh has resulted in the ongoing protest on the major road that passes by Shusha. As a result of the December 3 and 7, 2022, talks with the Russian peacekeeping command, a delegation comprising specialists from the Ministries of Economy, Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold Company was to conduct a preliminary monitoring of the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in Karabakh, where peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, as well as related environmental and other problems. However, due to the inaction of the peacekeepers, the monitoring did not take place and resulted in the continuous protest of the Azerbaijani eco-activists, thus paving the way for the birth of a new movement. GABORONE, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has discovered the new Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, said a government official in a press release issued on Friday. "Only one case of the Omicron sublineage XBB.1.5 has so far been detected in Botswana," said Malepa Dibonwa, the acting spokesperson in Botswana's Ministry of Health. The new subvariant is a result of mutations of the already existing Omicron variant, which is dominant in Botswana and the rest of the world, Dibonwa said. He warned that the new strain is easily transmitted and urged people to get vaccinated, avoid overcrowding indoors, and wear masks whenever possible. Those who are suffering from the disease should seek medical attention, he said. Earlier this month, Botswana reported a single COVID-19 death, the southern African country's first in four months after the detection of new subvariants of the COVID-19 Omicron variant -- BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 -- early last month. PHNOM PENH, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Saturday highlighted Cambodia-China close ties, saying that such relations had provided great tangible benefits to the kingdom's development. During an annual gathering with journalists in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said the bilateral ties are solid as this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and China. "The Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, which took effect (on Jan. 1, 2022), has further promoted trade and cooperation between our two countries," he said. He said that the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, a community with a shared future between Cambodia and China, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the ironclad friendship have laid a solid foundation for all-round and long-term cooperation between the two countries. He also underlined the importance of the Cambodia-China joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few years, saying that it had injected fresh vitality into the relationship between the two countries. COLOMBO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Forty-six Sri Lankans attempting to illegally migrate to France's overseas island La Reunion by sea have been captured, the Sri Lankan navy said on Saturday. Those people set out aboard a fishing trawler from Negombo, a coastal town outside Colombo, in December last year and were apprehended on Friday night, the navy said in a statement. The group comprised 43 men including the crew of the fishing vessel, two women and one boy, and they will be handed over to the country's Criminal Investigations Department for further investigations, said the navy. MANILA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has ordered government agencies to step up the fight against "rampant smuggling" in the country, the presidential communications office (PCO) said Saturday. In a statement, the PCO said Marcos wants reform in the bureaucracy to curb smuggling, lower logistics costs and ensure ease of doing business as his administration works to prop up investments and business activity in the country. During a recent meeting, Marcos said that government agencies must do something particularly to address rampant smuggling. "To be brutally frank about it, we have a system, but they are not working. The smuggling here in this country is absolutely rampant. So it does not matter to me how many systems we have in place; they do not work," Marcos said. "So we really have to find something else. We cannot continue to depend on these systems, which have already proven quite ineffective," he added, stressing the need to fix the systems now in place. He also said issues on the ease of doing business and the inefficiency of the country's airports and seaports are the major complaints that he is receiving from the business sector. Marcos urged concerned agencies to be more innovative, stressing the government has to delineate functions or establish new agencies if necessary. KABUL, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Police in Afghanistan's capital Kabul city have arrested eight criminals including a murderer, reported the state-run Bakhtar news agency on Saturday. The alleged killer, according to the state-controlled media outlet, who had murdered his wife two months ago, was located and captured from Police District 21 very recently. Another seven criminals, suspected of being involved in theft and robbery, were apprehended on Friday. Similarly, police have arrested nine people on charge of involvement in criminal activities including drug trafficking from the northern Balkh province over the past week. The Taliban-run caretaker administration has vowed to crack down on outlaws and criminal elements elsewhere in Afghanistan to stabilize peace and security in the war-torn country. NEW DELHI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and over 20 others injured Saturday during a stampede on the occasion of a religious festival in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, officials said. The stampede occurred on a bridge in Cuttack district, about 28 km north of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. A 55-year-old woman devotee was killed and over 20 injured in the stampede, which happened as devotees were walking over the narrow bridge, an official said. Around 200,000 people including women and children congregated in the afternoon to visit a funfair organized on Makar Sankranti Day as well as to pay their obeisance at a local temple, media reports said. The authorities ordered a probe into the accident and banned the entry of devotees into the temple. PRAGUE, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Czech presidential election will progress to a second-round vote in a fortnight's time as former Prime Minister Andrej Babis and retired general Petr Pavel were leading in the first round. Both Babis and Pavel were predicted to win considerable votes in relevant polls. They were almost neck-and-neck with 35.47 percent and 34.9 percent of the vote respectively, according to official results when ballots from over 95 percent of precincts were counted. Voter turnout was over 68 percent in the first round held from Friday to Saturday, which was about six percentage points higher than in the first round of the 2018 election. Babis, the head of the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) party, is a Slovak-born businessman and one of the wealthiest Czechs. He served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021. Pavel is a retired army general and has served as former head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee. He is one of three candidates endorsed by the ruling coalition government. The second round is scheduled for Jan. 27-28. Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) PARIS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- French post office, La Poste, on Saturday issued two stamps to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, which starts on Jan. 22. Speaking at the launching ceremony, Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye said that 2023 is the year of the Rabbit, and the rabbit is an animal of incredible cuteness, well-behaved, gentle and quick-witted. The rabbit represents the positive energy of the Chinese people who can overcome difficulties and improve themselves, Lu noted, adding that the Sino-French relations will surely write a new chapter and make rapid progress in the new year. It has been 19 years since La Poste issued its first Chinese zodiac stamps, Philippe Wahl, president and chief executive officer of La Poste said. Wahl said that by issuing Chinese zodiac stamps to celebrate the Chinese New Year, La Poste was paying sincere tribute to the Chinese culture. Featuring a crouching rabbit on a pink background, one stamp applies to the domestic mail service in France with a face value of 1.16 euro (1.26 U.S. dollar). The other, a rabbit looking up on the background of the moon, applies to the international mail service with a denomination of 1.8 euro. The stamps, designed by Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, are marked with "The Year of The Rabbit" characters in both Chinese and French. Since 2005, the French post office has been celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year each year by issuing stamps featuring the year's zodiac animal. The twelve animals, representing the Chinese Zodiac to record the years and reflect people's attributes, are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong displays the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) The Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps, designed by Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, are seen during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) A customer poses for a photo with Chinese artist Chen Jianghong (R), designer of the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps, during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong displays the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) Manila: Dina Gakula Odo did not bring any branded Emirati chocolates or scented soaps as gifts when she visited her family in the Philippines last month; Instead, she came up with something that her fans now pretty much value as onions. Odo, an office assistant at a Dubai hypermarket, has joined a large number of other Filipino expats in the UAE who are reinventing the pasalubong concept by packing their luggage full of the staple, which now costs $12 per Kilogram. "It's really very expensive here. Because of its price, it's like gold now." It costs only 3 dirhams (or 80 cents) per kilogram in Dubai. Also Read: US offers $10 million for the "mastermind" of the 2019 hotel siege in Kenya The price of onions, often used in many local dishes, has more than quadrupled in the past four months, and the Philippine government has been issuing warnings about dwindling supplies since August. After parliamentarians presented a resolution against the illegal onion trade, the government also launched an investigation into grower associations. The purchase of more than 21,000 metric tons of the vegetable was authorized this week by President Ferdinand Marcos to immediately deal with the situation, and it is estimated to arrive in the Philippines by the end of January. Also Read: A Somali leader exhorts people to remove the "bedbugs" of Al-Shabab But right now, 1kg of onions is still three times as expensive as 1kg of meat, and Filipinos living abroad are organizing to support their families. According to April Manuel, who also works in Dubai, onions are "very handy and portable," and she suggests that everyone bring them when they move back home. He further said, 'Now the family will be happy with onion and not chocolate. Some, like Mitzi Pangniban, a dental assistant who has lived in Dubai for the past 16 years, recently wished she could buy more onions when hosting her mother-in-law, and refrained from packing chocolate in her luggage for the first time. Also Read: Greek court dismisses allegations of spying against migrant rescuers He said, "I packed 2 kilos of it to take home; it is about 6 dirhams." I should have made it 4 kilos. New Delhi: The 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan was celebrated with great fanfare last week. On the second day of the ceremony, the Chief Guest was the President of Suriname Chandrika Prasad Santokhi. PM Narendra Modi also mentioned him in Mann Ki Baat as such Indian-Americans, who are making India proud by living abroad. Santokhi said during an interview that the whole world needs a country like India, which always plays a leading role in resolving disputes and becomes the voice of the South in a big platform like G-20. He also reiterated his support for India's permanent membership in the United Nations (UN). President Chandrika Prasad Santokhi said in an interview that India is now very important as the President of G20, not only for G20 members but also for many other countries that do not have seats and cannot raise their voices on such a big stage. He said that PM Modi has started a very good strategy to involve all of us in this. Chandrika Prasad Santokhi further said, 'My country supports India's membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).' He said India has shown its capability and strength to the world in the field of peaceful resolution of many issues. India has shown the world that it is the world's largest democracy. President Chandrika Prasad Santokhi has said that in the field of leadership, we have seen that India has always historically walked on the path of peace and dialogue. And at this time when there is turmoil and conflict between us, you have to look for such a leader. He said that Corona and the subsequent Russo-Ukraine war have changed the international situation. After the Corona epidemic, the economy of many countries collapsed. At the same time, India has stood strong. "I think PM Modi is the right person to lead the country at such a time.'' Man started 'masturbating' at another woman's door and then... Women's IPL: Eight franchises in race to bid for owning teams Caste politics dominates MP, FIR lodged against Karni Sena in Gwalior Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva presented her credentials to French President Emmanuel Macron, Azernews reports. Macron, in turn, congratulated the ambassador on her recent appointment and wished her success in the professional activity. "I had the pleasure of presenting the Letters of Credence to His Excellency Mr. President of the French Republic E.Macron. Bilateral relations of Azerbaijan and France, as well as the regional situation, were briefly mentioned. Thanks to Protocol @francediplo for a kind welcome," Abdullayeva tweeted. File image: Presidents Office, Sheetal Niwas Nepal has had a number of prime ministers since 2008 when the country adopted a federal democratic system of government. These prime ministers have come from various political parties and have held office for varying lengths of time not exceeding three years at maximum by CPN-UML chairman and former PM KP Sharma Oli. Various pre and post-electoral alliances have failed to deliver as of now and it is always an interesting topic to discuss the potential implications and considerations surrounding a move to the directly elected presidential system of governance in Nepal. PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal is faced with the difficult decision and question of whether or not to support a shift to the presidential system of government as his party, the CPN-Maoist Centre, has been advocating for this, albeit not so strongly. Dahal has been described as both an insidious and crafty leader who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, as well as a gentle and pragmatic leader who is able to appease opposing factions and gain the support of the media. In the past, Dahal has expressed interest in becoming the first president of Nepal but has faced ridicule and a lack of support for this proposal. It remains to be seen how Dahal will reconcile these conflicting aspects of his leadership style as he considers the potential consequences of the presidential system for Nepal. It would definitely be a shock if the prime minister tables a constitution amendment proposal any day soon with the current tight political scenario. But, still, whether Nepal should adopt the directly elected presidential system is still a matter of debate, and a lot of discussions are required before reaching a conclusion. Forces to look at President Bidya Devi Bhandari holds a meeting with leaders of various parties, in Kathmandu, on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Photo: PMs Secretariat Besides the Maoist Centre, the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal and a few other political forces have expressed support for the directly elected presidential form of government and the fully proportional electoral system in order to promote political stability in Nepal. However, these proposals have not been met with support from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, the two biggest political forces in the country. It would be interesting to see how the proposed grand communist merger functions and how this issue gets positioned. New power held by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and its positioning and practice would be interesting in matters related to amendments to the constitution. Also, the activity of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) would be interesting as the house progress and agenda progressed. Nepal has consistently seen and witnessed significant political debate over the proposal to shift to the presidential system of government, especially during elections. The current system, which includes a parliament and a prime minister, has faced criticism for its lack of stability and efficiency, leading some to argue that the presidential system would be a more effective solution. However, others argue that such a change would have significant consequences and may not address the root causes of Nepals political challenges. This has become a valid debate with the recent case of the dissolution of the five-party alliance led by the Nepali Congress and the recently reformed coalition among major communist forces. The question of political stability One of the main arguments made by proponents of the presidential system is that it would bring stability and efficiency to the government by allowing the president to make decisions without interference from other branches of the government. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister is dependent on the support of legislators and may be forced to compromise on key policy decisions in order to maintain their position. A president, on the other hand, would be able to make decisions independently and more easily implement their agenda. This would directly influence a nations progress or distress based on the quality of the leader and leadership proposition with bureaucracy. Additionally, some proponents argue that the presidential system would better reflect the will of the people, as the president is directly elected by the public rather than chosen by legislators. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister is not directly elected by the people and may not have a strong mandate to govern. A president, on the other hand, would have a direct mandate from the public and would be more accountable to voters. However, there are also strong arguments against the adoption of the presidential system in Nepal. Opponents argue that such a system could lead to an overly powerful executive branch and a weaker legislature, potentially undermining the checks and balances that are necessary for a healthy democracy. Picpedia In the presidential system, the president has the ability to veto legislation and may be less accountable to the legislature than a prime minister in the parliamentary system. Another concern is that the presidential system could lead to a more divisive political climate as the president would be directly representing a particular political party or ideology. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister is typically chosen from the party that holds the most seats in the legislature and must work with other parties in order to govern effectively. A president, on the other hand, maybe more likely to prioritise the interests of their own party over the needs of the country as a whole. In order to adopt the presidential system in Nepal, the constitution would need to be amended. This process would involve the House of Representatives and would likely require a significant amount of time and political negotiation. There may also be challenges in obtaining the necessary support from other branches of government and the public. The major question is whether PM Dahal manages to bring communist forces together in the agenda of the presidential system and table the amendment proposal. Other impacts If Nepal were to shift to the presidential system, it could have significant consequences for the balance of power between branches of government, the distribution of resources, and the representation of different groups within society. The stability and effectiveness of the government could be impacted as could the broader political climate in the country. Ultimately, the decision of whether to adopt the presidential system in Nepal is a complex one, with valid arguments on both sides. It is important for the government and the people of Nepal to carefully consider the potential pros and cons of such a move before making a decision that could have significant consequences for the future of the country. In the context of Nepals political landscape, it is possible that a referendum could be held to gauge public support for a particular issue or proposal, such as the adoption of the presidential system of governance or the restoration of a monarchy or the continuation of the parliamentary system. But, we are yet to see how the newly formed government plans its honeymoon and settles down. We searched for them and we found them! We tested the 6 best male pills for the enhancement of libido and sexual performance (All 100% legal/natural/effective and non-prescription). New Rochelle, New york --News Direct-- Health Spotlight Sexual health, despite the rapid development of the world, remains a taboo subject for many men. However, sexual health is a key parameter of a generally healthier life (emotional, pathological, psychological, and spiritual). However, problems with a man's sexual performance - especially as the years go by become increasingly common. 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Max Performer The most significant benefits harder erections than ever enhancement of penis size (length and width) increased sexual energy/mood/desire more and better sex more frequent and intense orgasms improved sexual performance improved fitness and endurance increased sensitivity & arousal Max Performer - Composition Horny Goat Weed 1000 mg Maca 1000 mg Cordyceps 1000 mg Korean Red Ginseng 1000 mg Bioperine 15 mg Selenium 120 mcg 218% of RDD (Recommended Daily Dose) Zinc 24 mg 240% of RDD Pantothenic Acid 40 mg 666% of RDD Pyridoxine HCl 10 mg 714% of RDD Iron 14 mg 100% of RDD Niacin 32 mg 200% of RDD Riboflavin 10 mg 714% of RDD Cyanocobalamin 10 mg 400% of RDD Company data Communication SILVER BLADE NUTRITION LIMITED 20-22 Wenlock Road London N1 7GU United Kingdom Click Here to Visit the Official Website #4. Semenoll | Massive sperm and fertility enhancement Click Here to Visit the Official Website Overview Semenoll is the next 100% natural dietary supplement on our list of best male enhancement products for 2023. We easily singled it out among dozens of supplements, mainly because of the many positive reviews received from its users. We highly recommend it. We like it because it is a product with a "clean" formula. For having no age limit. For being "pure", friendly to the organism and not causing any side effects. Its super-enhanced composition offers a multitude of benefits and not only in relation to men's sexual health. For showing immediately visible benefits. Semenoll can work positively for every man. It is the ideal choice for every man after the critical age of 35 to 40 and for every man wishing to boost his sexual performance and fertility. Why should I select it? 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Semenoll The most significant benefits enhanced libido improved erectile function high levels of sexual energy improved sperm quality enhanced sperm volume and richer ejaculations improved control of the decisive moment of ejaculation enhanced fertility more explosive ejaculation stronger climax improved satisfaction Semenoll Composition Tribulus Terrestris Extract 1,107 mg Maca Root Extract 900 mg Muira Puama Extract 45 mg Pumpkin Seed Extract 22.5 mg L-Arginine 44.6 mg L-Lysine 36 mg Zinc 9 mg|90.4 % of RDD Recommended Daily Dose) Company data Communication WOLFSON BRANDS (UK) LIMITED 12 Payne Street Glasgow G4 0LF United Kingdom support@semenoll.com Click Here to Visit the Official Website #5. Semenax | The number one selection for rich and explosive ejaculations Click Here to Visit the Official Website Overview Semenax is not one of the dozens of supplements making promises, without being able to keep them. It does not belong to this category. 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It is a supplement exclusively designed to provide every man (regardless of age) with inexhaustible sexual energy, improved sexual performance, enhanced vitality and energy. With one of the most powerful formulas found on the legal market - a formula of seventeen (17) valuable nutrients - it works as an "ally" for the male organism in general while stimulating the sexual power and the male reproductive system in the most natural way. Semenax The most significant benefits strengthens a man's sexual health stimulates libido increases seminal fluids by 70% increases prostate fluid by 25% increases seminal plasma increases the fluid of the bulbourethral gland (so the semen has a better texture) longer and more explosive orgasms arousal increases and satisfaction escalates ejaculation is "richer" and more impressive fertility is enhanced better control of your orgasms Semenax - Composition Vitamin E (as dl-tocopherol acetate) 60 IU 200 % of DV Zinc Aspartate (20 % elemental Zinc) 30 mg of 40 % of DV Butea Superba (root) 500 mg L-Carnitine 500 mg Maca (root) 400 mg Pine Bark Extract 300 mg L-Arginine HCl 250 mg L-Lysine 250 mg Catuaba (bark) 200 mg Epimedium Sagittatum (leaf) 150 mg Muira Puama (bark) 100 mg Hawthorne (berry) 50 mg Cranberry Extract (seed) 50 mg Tribulus Terrestris (vine) 50 mg Avena Sativa Extract (seed) 50 mg Sarsaparilla (root) 50 mg Swedish Flower (pollen) 50 mg Company data Communication Leading Edge Health INC. 300-1095 McKenzie Avenue Victoria BC V8P 2L5 Leading Edge Health Ltd 171 Arch. Makariou III Ave Vanezis Business Center Office 401 3027 Limassol Cyprus North America Toll-Free Phone: 1-866-621-6886 International Phone: 1-604-677-5365 Europe Phone: +49-408-740-9646 Click Here to Visit the Official Website #6. Prosolution Plus | The top selection for improving erectile function and fighting premature ejaculation Click Here to Visit the Official Website Overview Prosolution Plus is the sixth of the best natural male sexual health enhancement supplement presented in this article/review and not by accident. Customers/users of this natural men's health supplement (sexual and general) talk about significant visible benefits within a short period: increased arousal and erotic mood, better erection quality as well as greater sexual drive and improved performance. Besides, even doctors recommend Prosolution Plus for the treatment of premature ejaculation and other sexual dysfunctions. According to a recent study published in The American Journal of Therapeutics - Prosolution Plus with a powerful blend of herbs, vitamins, minerals and nutrients - offers men of all ages the unquenchable masculinity of their youth, unbridled sex drive and unmatched sexual performance so desired. Why should I select it? Prosolution Plus is a nutritional supplement even supported/recommended by the medical community. It is not a medicinal product, but it practically helps to strengthen male sexual health and ensures real and visible benefits. It does not require a medical prescription for its use. It does not cause any side effects. It works with the main goal of strengthening the male organism, preventing/fighting various sexual dysfunctions and surely enhancing the male's sexual performance. All the ingredients in Prosolution Plus are natural and backed by scientific evidence. Backed by clinical studies and approved by doctors, the Prosolution Plus pill is not going to let you down, or leave you "exposed". Prosolution Plus The most significant benefits strengthens erections (every time) enhances physical endurance and strength improves aerobic performance prevents premature ejaculation increases libido improves erectile performance boosts self-confidence Prosolution Plus - Composition Withania Somnifera (root) 240 mg Asparagus adscendens (root) 200 mg Asphaltum exudate 150 mg Curculigo orchioides (root) 100 mg Tribulus Terrestris (fruit) 100 mg Mucuna Pruriens (seed) 100 mg Asteracantha longifolia (whole plant) 80 mg Company data Communication Leading Edge Health INC. 300-1095 McKenzie Avenue Victoria BC V8P 2L5 Leading Edge Health Ltd 171 Arch. Makariou III Ave Vanezis Business Center Office 401 3027 Limassol Cyprus North America Toll-Free: +1-866-261-6886 International: +1-604-677-5365 Email: help@prosolutionplus.today Click Here to Visit the Official Website Can I purchase male enhancement pills from Amazon? Is it safe? Yes. On Amazon, you can find some nutritional supplements. However, supplement companies advise that the purchase of their products be done - for greater safety - ONLY through their official websites. Even Amazon, which is one of the largest and most trusted e-commerce sites - cannot guarantee you the quality of the products it promotes. Do male enhancement pills constitute a treatment for sexual dysfunction? In no case can any nutritional supplement replace medical treatment. In the event that the doctor diagnoses a problem and prescribes pharmaceutical treatment, it is important to follow the treatment indicated by the attending physician. Therefore, although these natural supplements aim to improve a man's overall and sexual health, they are not an appropriate treatment for serious medical conditions. However, they can play a catalytic role in the prevention of various sexual problems and dysfunctions, as well as help to deal with them (when they are at an early stage). You should never forget that early treatment and prevention is your best "weapon" to ensure your sexual health at any age. Content Disclaimer: The information does not constitute advice or an offer to buy. Any purchase made from the above press release is made at your own risk. Consult an expert advisor/health professional before any such purchase. Any purchase made from this link is subject to the final terms and conditions of the websites selling as mentioned in the above as source. The Advertising Agency and its downstream distribution partners do not take any responsibility directly or indirectly. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the company this news is about. Advertising and Marketing by: This content was marketed by Brandingbyexperts.com on behalf of their client. For queries reach out support@brandingbyexperts.com Contact Details Brandingbyexperts.com Mark +1 440-316-4079 support@brandingbyexperts.com Company Website https://healthspotlight.us View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/6-best-male-enhancement-pills-for-sex-to-remember-2023-371468295 Two Chinese state airlines announced on Friday they would delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), adding to a list of state-owned companies withdrawing from US capital markets amid tightened scrutiny by Washington. China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines said they would voluntarily delist and deregister their American depositary receipts (ADRs) and underlying H shares under the United States Securities Exchange Act, according to separate filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday evening. The two companies were the only Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) listed on the NYSE as of September 30, 2022, according to a table compiled by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an American government agency. 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. Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Bloomberg> The delistings of two of China's three largest carriers confirmed earlier expectation by analysts that more SOEs would be exiting the world's largest capital market. Both airlines said they had already submitted their delisting proposals to the NYSE, citing reasons echoing those named by five other SOEs - namely oil giant Sinopec, its entity Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical and PetroChina, China Life Insurance and Aluminum Corporation of China - when they announced their voluntary removal from the NYSE in August last year. Those considerations included the limited trading volume of the companies' ADRs as compared with the global trading volume of their H shares, the considerable costs of maintaining the listings of the shares in the US and related obligations, and the fact that they had never utilised the NYSE for any follow-on financing after listings in the US. Story continues The stock exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong are strong enough to support the companies' financing needs, the carriers also said. China Southern Airlines aircraft parked at Urumqi airport, in China's western Xinjiang region. Photo: AFP alt=China Southern Airlines aircraft parked at Urumqi airport, in China's western Xinjiang region. Photo: AFP> Analysts believe that Beijing has been making decisions on which SOEs should leave US markets, although China's securities watchdog said in August that the delistings of the five SOEs were part of normal market activities and are decisions taken by the companies based on their business needs. The US Securities and Exchanges Commission, the country's financial market regulator, had been progressively adding companies to a list of entities deemed liable to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. The law provides for the expulsion of companies as early as this year if they do not comply with US auditing oversight after three consecutive years. A China Eastern Airlines counter at the Beijing Daxing International Airport. Photo: Reuters alt=A China Eastern Airlines counter at the Beijing Daxing International Airport. Photo: Reuters> The risk of Chinese firms being expelled from the NYSE eased after the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in December said it was able to have access to inspect the audit firms servicing mainland Chinese firms listed in the US. However, the PCAOB also stressed that its announcement "should not be misconstrued in any way as a clean bill of health for firms in mainland China and Hong Kong". The delistings of both airlines are expected to be effective on February 2 the earliest. China Eastern Airlines said the actions of shareholders and independent third parties will determine whether its ADSs will be traded on the over-the-counter market thereafter, "without the company's involvement". 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 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. A federal judge has denied Elon Musks request to move his upcoming trial against a group of Tesla shareholders to Texas, according to Bloomberg (via The Verge). On January 7th, less than two weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin on the 17th, Musks legal team asked to move proceedings out of California, claiming a substantial portion of the potential jury pool in San Francisco was likely to hold a bias against the billionaire, in part due to the ongoing layoffs at Twitter. The upcoming civil trial stems from a class action lawsuit related to false and misleading statements Musk made in 2018 when he said he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. Musks funding secured tweet drew the attention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, eventually leading to a $40 million settlement. The shareholders involved in the suit allege Musks tweet affected Teslas stock price. Theyre asking the court to order Musk to stop his public campaign to present a contradictory and false narrative of the episode. They say he should also be accountable for potential damages. The group won an early victory last spring when District Judge Edward Chen concluded Musk had recklessly made the statements with knowledge as to their falsity. Of the approximately 200 candidates the court is considering for the jury, 82 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Musk in a pre-trial questionnaire. Ahead of the recent hearing, Alex Spiro, Musks lawyer, said the sheet showed not only that a vast majority of potential jurors hold ill-will toward Mr. Musk. but that they are not afraid to declare it proudly and vividly to the court. However, Judge Chen didnt buy Spiros argument. Alluding to the recently concluded Theranos trial, Chen said a fellow judge in a nearby courthouse was able to assemble an unbiased jury to decide whether Elizabeth Holmes was guilty of criminal charges. He also dismissed the idea of moving the case to Texas, noting Teslas main office was located in California when Tesla shareholders sued Musk. Musk's lawyers had argued he wouldn't be able to get a fair trial in San Francisco because too many potential jurors there would be biased against him after he took over Twitter, which is based there, and promptly laid off half of its staff. Win McNamee/Getty Images A judge denied Elon Musk's request to move his securities fraud trial from San Francisco to Texas. Musk's lawyers had claimed too many potential jurors would be biased against him after he took over San Francisco-based Twitter and promptly laid off half of its staff. In a hearing Friday, the presiding judge disagreed, saying Musk "does have a lot of fans out there." Elon Musk has lost his bid to move his upcoming securities fraud trial to Texas from San Francisco over concerns of a potentially biased jury. Musk's legal team recently asked to move the trial out of San Francisco, arguing that too many potential jurors would be biased against Musk after he recently took over Twitter and laid off half of its staff. In a motion filed last Friday, Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that a "substantial portion of the jury pool in this District is likely to hold a personal and material bias against Mr. Musk as a result of recent layoffs at one of his companies as individual prospective jurors or their friends and relatives may have been personally impacted. Spiro claimed such bias was compounded by "negative and inflammatory local publicity" around Musk's management of Twitter and that it would have made it impossible for Musk to get a fair trial in the city. He petitioned for the trial to take place in Texas instead; Musk moved Tesla's headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas in 2021. In a hearing Friday, US District Judge Edward Chen rejected the relocation request. "The proof is in the pudding," Chen said, according to Bloomberg. "Mr. Musk does have a lot of fans out there." After Musk's legal team asked to move the trial, lawyers for the Tesla shareholders in the case responded by poking fun at Musk. "What they refer to as 'biased' coverage is, in fact, factual reporting about his management of Twitter, Inc., and has no bearing on the jury's ability to render a fair verdict," attorneys Adam Apton and Adam McCall wrote. "If 'negative' attention was all that was required to disqualify a jury pool, Musk would effectively be untriable before a jury given his knack for attracting 'negative' coverage." Story continues The shareholder's attorneys added that out of roughly 200 prospective jurors, only two or three said they knew someone who worked for Twitter. The shareholders' class-action lawsuit concerns a 2018 tweet from Musk in which he said he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and had "funding secured" to do so. When no such deal happened, Musk paid a $20 million fine and settled fraud charges with the SEC, which accused him of making "false and misleading statements." As part of the settlement, he neither admitted nor denied the allegations, but he resigned as chairman of the electric car company. The upcoming trial will determine if Musk's tweets affected Tesla's stock, if the company or its board of directors should be held liable, and if investors are entitled to damages. Musk, his legal team, and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Inflation contiunes to raise concerns in Toronto Negotiators from all corners of the food industry are close to finalizing a code of conduct that Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said could be implemented by the end of 2023. I think its going to go forward, Bibeau said. The federal government received a draft of the code late last year, the product of more than a year of negotiations between industry groups representing farmers, food processors, independent grocers and national retail chains. If it comes into force as proposed, the new set of rules could mute the power of the countrys grocery oligopoly, which for years has been accused of bullying food producers into paying hefty fees and fines to be able to get products on shelves. Im confident that yes, we will see the code of conduct put in place this year, Bibeau said. Weve made a lot of progress. In 2020, the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers an influential body known as the FPT tasked Bibeau, as well as Quebec Agriculture Minister Andre Lamontagne to look into controversial fees and fines in the grocery sector. Half a year later, the ministers issued a report that found the five largest grocery chains in Canada had become so big they control about 80 per cent of total sales that they could make unreasonable demands, such as $1,000 penalties for late deliveries and payments of more than $100,000 to list a new product on shelves. Suppliers would have little choice but to pay, or risk losing a major customer. After the report came out, Lamontagne was blunt. He said publicly that the industry needed to fix the problems on its own, or the government would step in. We suggest they make (the deadline), otherwise well have to be more involved, he said in an interview at the time. Since then, a handful of industry associations have going back and forth with a government-appointed mediator, as part of a steering committee trying to hash out a code of conduct similar to the one used in the United Kingdom. But as recently as the summer, talks appeared to be going nowhere. The committee had blown past two government deadlines, and was suggesting that Lamontagne might have to make good on his threat if they couldnt reach a consensus my the end of 2022. Story continues In November, however, the committee delivered a draft code of conduct to government. In a statement on Jan. 13, Lamontagnes office described the draft as a complete proposal, which includes a plan to create an independent adjudication office to enforce the rules. The foundation looks very good, Lamontagne said in an interview, adding that he hopes the code could be implemented by the summer. Lets say before the end of the year. But Im positive that it could be earlier than later. Lamontagne and Bibeau presented the draft to their counterparts from the provinces and territories at an FPT meeting on Jan. 13. After the meeting, the two issued a joint-statement that said the committee had made substantial progress. Lamontagne and Bibeau also said they will encourage players in the industry to voluntarily sign on to follow the code of conduct, so it can be swiftly implemented. In an interview, Bibeau declined to speculate on how the government might react if some of the major chains refuse to adhere to the code. I dont want to go there, she said. Email: jedmiston@postmedia.com | Twitter: FILE PHOTO: The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department's top antitrust official recently won approval from the department to oversee investigations involving Google parent Alphabet Inc, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the decision to allow Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust, to oversee matters involving the search engine and advertising company. The Justice Department and Google declined to comment on Friday. In November 2021, Google asked the Justice Department to consider requiring Kanter to recuse himself because of his work for a long list of Google critics like Yelp Inc, which Alphabet described as "vociferously advocating for an antitrust case against Google for years." Bloomberg News reported in May that Kanter had been barred from working on Google investigations as the department considered whether he was required to be recused. On Wednesday, Google argued a U.S. judge should toss out a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against it, saying agreements it made with Apple Inc and others to make Google the default search engine do not bar smartphone makers from promoting rivals. The case is set to go to trial in September. If Google loses, it could be forced to spin off key assets. In December, Google asked a court to throw out both the antitrust case that the Justice Department filed in 2020 along with 11 states as well as a related complaint brought by 35 states led by Colorado. The Justice Department's October 2020 lawsuit alleges Google violated antitrust law in how it maintained dominance in search and search advertising. For example, it pointed to billions of dollars that Google paid annually to Apple, LG Electronics Inc and others to ensure Google search was the default on their devices. Google faces additional allegations of antitrust violations from dozens of states. The lawsuit filed by Colorado and others, which was also filed in 2020, also alleges that Google illegally limits rivals' ability to operate its Search Ads 360 tool, used by advertisers to manage online marketing campaigns. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) BARTLESVILLE, Okla., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Four more African countries have been added to the list of the world's most dangerous and difficult places to follow Christ. Since 1997, The Voice of the Martyrs has tracked persecution of Christians and designated nations or areas where followers of Christ regularly face persecution as either restricted or hostile in their annual Global Prayer Guide. VOM added four African countries to their list of the world's most dangerous and difficult places to follow Christ. The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) added and designated Benin , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Mozambique and Niger as "hostile" nations in their annual 2023 Global Prayer Guide. The VOM 2023 Global Prayer Guide is designed to equip and encourage Christians to pray more specifically by providing in-depth information about the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. The VOM 2023 Global Prayer Guide is free and available to anyone who requests a copy at www.persecution.com/prayerguide . Since 1997, VOM has tracked persecution of Christians and designated nations or areas where followers of Christ regularly face persecution as either "restricted" or "hostile" in their annual prayer resource. Benin, a small country bordering western Nigeria, is considered the birthplace of voodoo. The country is about 30 percent Christian, but Christianity is viewed by many in the north as a threat to their traditional beliefs. The church in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is under immense pressure. Islamist groups severely persecute Christians there, raiding villages, destroying churches and brutally killing hundreds of believers. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. It's also one of the most dangerous because an Islamic insurgency that started in 2019 continues to create chaos and instability in the northern province of Cabo Del Gado. In Niger, radical Islamists from countries that surround the nationsuch as Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria are attacking Christians inside the country with increasing frequency. "The first thing that persecuted Christians ask Christians in free nations to do for them is to PRAY. With this newly updated VOM Global Prayer Guide, every Christian can be equipped to pray with a real understanding of the needs and specific ways to pray," said Nettleton. Story continues VOM offers other prayer resources as well, including the new VOM app for iOS and Android which gives users a daily reminder to pray and a specific prayer request for that day. About The Voice of the Martyrs Founded in 1967, VOM is a nonprofit, interdenominational missions organization serving persecuted Christians in the world's most difficult and dangerous places to follow Christ. For more information, visit VOM.org . Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-voice-of-the-martyrs-2023-global-prayer-guide-says-four-african-nations-hostile-to-the-gospel-301721322.html SOURCE The Voice of the Martyrs By Trend President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev touched on a number of foreign and domestic policy issues, in a recent interview to local TV channels. Speaking of the position of France towards Azerbaijan, the head of state noted that the OSCE Minsk Group, and France in particular, are trying hard to impede the resolution of issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia. "That is, neither peace nor war, the issue should remain frozen and Armenians should de facto live there. Time will pass, generations will change, Azerbaijanis will forget, and among other things, the theses of contacts between these people and the strengthening of cooperation with Armenia were thrown around, suggesting that, yes, we should reconcile, we should be friends. We did not come to terms with that, and I think the main reason for such an anti-Azerbaijani position is that we have prevented their plans and they could not save Armenia, which they took under their protection," President Ilham Aliyev said. Everyone is aware of the unfair prejudice of France against Azerbaijan. The resolutions adopted by the French National Assembly and Senate against Azerbaijan, the corresponding custom articles in the French media are a clear example of this. France co-chaired the OSCE Minsk Group, in the recent past, on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. But in this case, the country simply gave a false appearance of making some efforts in this direction. In fact, France took a pro-Armenian position, and even after the second Karabakh war, which ended with the victory of Azerbaijan, France, which once had to work to solve the Karabakh issue and show neutrality, has been pursuing a biased policy against Azerbaijan. Another crucial point is the decision to send the EU mission to Armenia, to the regions bordering Azerbaijan, adopted in at the Prague meeting of the Azerbaijani, French, EU Council, and Armenian leaders. Although the mission was supposed to be short term, France said it would extend the terms. It is clear that France, by taking these steps, attempts to restore its lost authority and influence in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan, showing goodwill, allowed the French president to participate in the Prague meeting, but France could not appreciate this. France's recent moves serve two purposes Macron's desire to increase his declining influence in the South Caucasus and his attempts to please the Armenian diaspora, which cannot accept the new reality created following the second Karabakh war. However, apparently, Macron has no idea of the real situation in the South Caucasus. No one will be allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan, and France, acting as "Armenia's savior", will have to eventually realize this. I have been reading a biography of George Muller to my children as part of our homeschool lessons. George Muller, born in 1805 in Germany, is remembered as a man of great faith who dedicated his life in service to God. George was born to an unbelieving father, and by his own admission, he grew up a thief and a liar. He embraced a wild lifestyle of parties and intoxication that landed him in prison when he was 16 years old. When he was 20 years old, he was invited to a Bible study. It was in the midst of the Bible reading, hymn singing and sermon giving that the work of Gods grace and salvation began in his heart. George spent the rest of his life serving the Lord as a preacher, missionary and as the head of the Scripture Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad. The Institute had five main purposes, the fifth being to board, clothe and Scripturally educate destitute children who have lost both parents by death. George built five large orphan houses and cared for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. When he first started, there were accommodations for just 3,600 orphans in England. Most lived a bleak existence on the streets or in the workhouse. His work was such an inspiration to others that at the time of his death at least 100,000 orphans were cared for throughout England. The most impressive aspect of Georges orphan care was the way in which he depended upon prayer to provide all that they needed. George never once asked anyone for money. He simply told people the plans that God had laid upon his heart and prayed that God would supply all of their needs. There are countless stories of miraculous provision for the orphans. For instance, one morning the headmistress came to George to tell him that it had finally happened. They did not have anything to feed the orphans for breakfast. He told her to bring all the children into the dining hall anyway. As they stood behind their seats, he explained that they did not know where their breakfast was going to come from, but that they were going to thank God for it in advance. Not long after the children were seated there was a knock at the door. It was a baker carrying a large tray of bread. He explained that he could not sleep the night before because he felt as if he was supposed to get up and bake bread for the orphanage. A few moments later, while the children were enjoying their bread, there was another knock on the door. This time it was the milkman. He explained that the wheel of his cart had broken and that he needed to unload the milk before he could fix it. He offered the milk to the orphanage free of charge. What an incredible answer to prayer! I have learned so much from reading this book to my children. First, I have been inspired to pray more often and with greater boldness. Not only that, I have been challenged to go deeper in my study of Gods word. It is said that George read his Bible 200 times over the course of his life. I believe that one of the reasons Georges prayers were so successful is because he intimately knew the will of God through the study of His word. Finally, I have learned the importance of sharing stories of great men and woman of faith with our children. A few days ago, my oldest was dealing with some anxieties that were causing her a headache. As I was putting her to bed that night she said, Mom, I prayed that God would take away my fear. I believe that he will answer my prayer because I prayed with faith just like George Muller did. I had never thought to pray like that before until we read his book. It is my prayer that all of my children heed Mullers plea to all believers: My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, . . . to call upon Him in the day of trouble. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you. For the second time in three months, a Fredericksburg-area program that provides mental health care is closing due to lack of staff. But this closing is temporary. The Sunshine Lady House for Mental Health Wellness & Recovery will close Feb. 7 and should reopen within six months after officials focus on finding more help, according to the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. RACSB has treated 5,313 patients an average of more than 310 per year at Sunshine Lady House since the program opened in 2007 at a home in downtown Fredericksburg. Patients who were in the middle of a psychiatric crisis were able to receive up to 15 days of treatment which included 24-hour supervision, art therapy, group sessions, counseling and more. But a significant shortage of staff, particularly nurses, licensed therapists and qualified mental health professionals, has impacted the programs ability to continue, according to a news release. By closing temporarily, RACSB Director Joe Wickens hopes the agency can focus on recruiting, hiring and training staff, then reopen. Officials with Fredericksburg Counseling Services Inc. faced similar staff shortages in recent years and announced their closure in December because it couldnt find people to run the program. The clinic had been in operation for 60 years. Interns who needed to work under certified therapists to complete their training would provide counseling to low-income and uninsured residents at the free clinic. But it got to the point that FCSI had trouble finding therapists to oversee the program, said Catherine Jennings, FCSIs board chair. Mental health providers are just not out there, she said in mid-November. A lot of them are just gone, retired, just burned out. Its everywhere. Staffing issues arent unique to the Fredericksburg area but are part of a nationwide shortage, particularly among those in behavioral health, which typically addresses mental-health issues in combination with substance use disorders. Even before COVID-19 hit, there werent enough psychiatrists nationwide to treat those with mental illnesses, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The pandemic has made things even worse. Within a few years, the country will be short between 14,280 and 31,109 psychiatrists, and psychologists, social workers and others will be overextended as well, according to the AAMC story. Many crisis stabilization units in Virginia closed during COVID-19, but RACSB was able to remain open, according to the news release. However, as staffing problems continued, so did regulatory requirements, meaning the program now needs more employees to provide residential crisis services which include 24-hour nursing, round-the-clock admissions, psychiatric assessments, counseling and more, the RACSB stated. During the months the Sunshine Lady House is closed, those who need treatment will be referred to the Wellness Recovery Center in Charlottesville and Arbor House in Harrisonburg. Sunshine Lady House employees will be reassigned to other RACSB programs. Doris Buffett, the late Fredericksburg philanthropist, gave $2 million to the RACSB to open the house and help those in crisis. The money also was used to provide long-term housing for those with mental illness. That program will not be affected by the temporary closure, according to the RACSB. Resuming services at the Sunshine Lady House is a top priority, said Amy Jindra, director of community support services for the RACSB. We know the community relies on Sunshine Lady House, she said, and we look forward to continuing that tradition as soon as possible. - Updated: Sunday, Jan. 15, 7:45 p.m. The City of Fremont saw a dramatic increase in legal costs to process public records requests from 2021 to 2022, with a nearly 18% increase in legal fees to deal with requests from the public. In 2021, the city spent $70,890 in legal fees for public records request reviews to the law firm Adams & Sullivan of Papillion. In 2022, the costs for that work on public records rose to $83,450. The total number of public records requests made to the city in 2021 was 111 while in 2022, the number of public records requests increased to 148. The highest monetary cost for public records requests in 2021 was the month of August, with $14,240 spent on the work. A total of 10 public records requests were made that month, which was the fourth highest total of any month that year behind December (16), September (13) and November (12). In 2022, the highest cost month was November, with $14,950 spent on the records legal work. There were 29 total public records requests made in November 2022, the highest of any month that year. December 2022 came in second place last year with 17 public records requests. After Fremont Ward 4 City Council Member Sally Ganem questioned, on Jan. 10, the rising costs of legal fees for processing public records requests, the Fremont Tribune sought data on public record requests to the city via two public records requests. The Tribune made the two public records requests on Jan. 12, and received a response along with the documents requested on Friday, Jan. 13, from Attorney Molly Miller of Adams & Sullivan. The data revealed the number of public records requests made to the city in 2021 and 2022, who made the requests and how much the city spent each month of those two years on legal fees to process, review and possibly redact the records being sought by the public. According to public documents reviewed by the Fremont Tribune, the top four entities, groups or people making public requests included representatives of out-of-state and in-state businesses as well as local elected officials and citizens of Fremont. The most public records requests made in 2021 and 2022 were from two men David Mineer and Braden Mineer a father-son team whose family owns the Utah-based business constructionmonitor.com. The firm is described as a construction industry journalistic newsletter online that provides building permit data to assorted facets of the building industry nationwide. The Tribune contacted David Mineer on Friday, Jan. 13, to inquire about his requests. He said his company founded in the late 1980s by his father is a newspaper type publication that gathers very specific public data, mainly building permits, from hundreds of communities across the nation and then provides that information online in a news format for construction industry officials. We are more like a newspaper, we have subscribers. We publish building permit information, David Mineer said. Sometimes, cities just send us the building permit information without making a records request. But, some cities make us submit a public records request for each request. We have legal counsel that works with us in every state. Mineer said the information is used by construction companies, other businesses involved in construction and also public utilities seeking information on upcoming housing and commercial developments. The two men made a total of 24 public records requests over the two years reviewed. David Mineer made 17 records requests while his son, Braden Mineer, made seven requests. Their company, constructionmonitor.com, was listed as making one request with no name attached. Local Fremont resident and animal rights activist Rachel Rae Tuff made the second most records requests in the two-year period, with a total of 14 public records requests. Her mother, Theresa Macrander made two requests about the same issues animal control documents. A man named Bryan Macrander, with the same address as Tuff, made one request. Tuff is the owner of pet mortuary Paws on the Bridge and a co-founder of non-profit Grants Wishes, also known as Fremont Pets Alive. That group advocates for law enforcement to investigate animal cruelty more frequently than they believe currently happens. A lot of it is my requests for animal control reports, how the Dodge County Humane Society was operating. There was a huge controversy about how the Human Society was working, Tuff explained of her records requests. Ive been denied (in seeking records) a couple of times. It is disappointing. (Sally) Ganem needs to see what the city is doing for actual requests. There wasnt a lot of transparency in the past. The fourth highest total of records requests 11 were made by former Ward 4 City Council Member Brad Yerger and his wife, Gloria Yerger. Brad Yerger made eight records requests in the two-year span, while his wife made three requests. Yerger said he made public records requests to the city as an elected council member, because he said city staff and lawyers refused to give him pertinent city documents and information he wanted to make informed decisions on behalf his constituents. I was turned down for information that was asking for as a seated council member. I believe that city code allows city council members to ask staff as well as legal to get information or answer questions to be an effective council person, he said. I was told on more than one occasion by city legal (staff) that if I wanted to get that information, I had to put in a data request, and I did. I was surprised at it myself and quite disappointed to be directed to do it that way, rather than make a phone call or send an email (to staff). Yerger, who lost his bid for re-election in November 2022, said he believes the public has a right to know what the city is doing, and that requesting public records for information is another tool, he and other citizens have in keeping city leaders and staff accountable to the public. Since his election defeat, Yerger has continued to attend city council meetings and speak out against what he believes are issues that need to be changed in regard to agendas and resolutions before the council. Certainly my role is different now, Yerger said. I am an active citizen and taxpayer of Fremont. The third highest total of records requests in the last two years, according to a review by the Fremont Tribune, was 12, made by a real estate professional based in Bellevue, Stephanie Svajgl, whose Linkedin.com web biography describes her as a real estate consultant with a firm called Eleven Talents of Omaha. Attempts to contact Svajgl were unsuccessful, however one of her business associates Adam Olson of Sower Investment Partners of Omaha told the Fremont Tribune he was familiar with Svajgls work in the real estate industry and would attempt to contact her on behalf of the Tribunes requests for comments on her public records requests. Others who made public records requests in the past two years included former city council member Susan Jacobus, who made six requests; Ward 2 Council Member Glen Ellis, with one request; Ganem, who made one request; Fremont City Clerk Tyler Ficken, who made one request; and newly elected Ward 1 Council Member Paul Von Behren, who made three requests as a private citizen. Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said in an interview with the Fremont Tribune that the city must and will comply with all legal public records requests. He also said public records are a vital part of American democratic governance and the rights of the public. Obviously, public records requests and requesting information from your government is an important right for the citizens and just in our democracy in general. It is something we are always happy to comply with and that we will comply with, Spellerberg said. But, to make aware, this does cost the city money. This is not a free service. Over two years, it was over $150,000 in legal fees to gather all this information. It does represent a significant amount of money. We will, as a city, always do our best to get records in a timely manner and fulfill the requests. Spellerberg said he does not want to discourage public records requests. However, he said the public should be aware of the monetary costs to taxpayers the requests cost the city, and he said if there are ways to get around a request to save financial resources, he hopes citizens would consider that avenue for acquiring information. I would ask the public, if you have questions or certain information that you want to know or inquire about, you can contact your council member and work through them to get the accurate information and to try to save on some of these (legal) costs, he added. Anyone who wants to make a request can do so, and we will comply. But, it is good to be aware of (the costs). Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Midland University has announced the addition of Anna OReilly as its new annual giving 0fficer. OReilly joins Midland after spending the past three years as escrow officer at Dodge County Title & Escrow Co. Im excited to be able to do work Im passionate about, and work with a purpose, OReilly said in a press release. I want to find people who are passionate about Midland, and what Midland stands for, and have them excited about wanting to give financially to help students. Laura Robinett, vice president for institutional advancement, is confident that OReillys experience and skills will be an outstanding fit for Midland. We are thrilled to have Anna join our advancement team, Robinett said. Anna has a passion for nonprofit work, and wants to be a part of impacting students at Midland. Her variety of experiences and skills will help round out our team, and I know she will find success connecting with alumni and growing support for Midland University. OReilly earned her B.A. in Psychology and Management Studies from St. Olaf College in Minnesota in 2015 before gaining her Masters of Business Administration from Midland in 2018. OReillys previous experiences have involved a variety of opportunities, including work in marketing, human resources, and being a team leader. She believes those career paths have prepared her for the new challenges that await. Anna and her husband, Matt, live in Fremont and have two young children, Charlotte and Logan. Saturday HomeStore open, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart-to-heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fremont Eagles Club open, noon to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. Fremont Area Veterans Coalition Bingo Night, 5-11 p.m., Tin Lizzy Tavern, 1682 E. 23rd St., Fremont. The cost is $10 per person. Bingo sheets will be $1. Food will be provided. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Jessie Benton Fremont Family Soup Supper, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Izaak Walton Park, 2560 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Chili, chicken noodle, ham and bean and possibly more soups will be offered. Meals also will include a sandwich, coffee or juice, and dessert. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children. The price will include 20 free games of bingo. Everyone is welcome to attend. Spiritual 12-Step Recovery Program, 7 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous The Lie is Dead meeting, 8 p.m., LifeHouse, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Sunday Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity meeting, 10:30 a.m., LifeHouse, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont Fremont Eagles Club open, noon to 6 p.m., 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Monday TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. Lightkeepers Womens Group, 10 a.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. There will not be a trustees meeting. Planning Commission meeting, 5 p.m., Fremont Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave., Fremont. The meeting is open to the public. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Celebrate Recovery, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road. Fresh Hope Mental Health Support Group, 7 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. The Unknown Man Of Shandigor 1967 Written and directed by Jean-Louis Roy. A Swiss spy film originally titled L'inconnu de Shandigor about a scientist who creates an invention that can incapacitate atomic bombs. That's Daniel Emilfork, he plays the baddie Herbert Von Krantz. He's created the bomb stopper and he's a mad mad scientist. He holds up in a big house with his daughter Sylvaine and an albino assistant called Yvan. Herb keeps everything locked up and he watches over the property with his surveillance cameras. There's also an unseen and under used creature living in his pool. Occasionally someone stops by the pool to throw bits of dry ice into the water. Disappointingly we never see the creature. Several countries have spies watching him. Sylvaine runs off and is kidnapped by one of the spy groups. She spends a lot of time running around places with Gaudi architecture with one of the spy guys. It's an odd film, someone commented it was shot like a Berman film and I could se that. One of the two reviews on the IMDb said: The Unknown Man of Shandigor is far more whimsical than any James Bond film. Yet, it is neither a parody nor a satire of spy films. It is just a bizarre take on one. I would compare this film to Alphaville in the way the film is a delirious style piece. It even shares one actor from the Godard film, the always welcomed Howard Vernon. I might also mention Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter, director Seijun Suzuki's two takes on the yakuza film from the same time period as The Unknown Man of Shandigor. It's an unusual film, not for everyone. I liked it well enough and I am tempted to pick up a copy. The Liquidator 1965 Based on the novel of the same name by John Gardner, screenplay by Peter Yeldham, directed by Jack Cardiff. Not a series I ever read. I think I've only read the first of Gardner's James Bond sequels. Like a Bond movie it opens with a big song. Shirley Bassey's alright singing wise and the music by Lalo Schifrin isn't that bad. The problem is the poor lyrics, not good. Rod Taylor is Boysie Oakes, he saved the life of a man called Mostyn, played by Trevor Howard, in Paris during World War 2. He killed a German soldier who was about to shoot Mostyn. He killed that man by a lucky accident but Mostyn didn't see that, he just saw the dead Nazi. Years later Mostyn is a Colonel in British Intelligence. He's given a project by his boss, played by Wilfred Hyde-White, who wants Mostyn to eliminate security leaks in the agency with deadly force. It's a totally secret and illegal operation but Trevor goes ahead with the project. He hires Boysie thinking he's a stone cold killer. Tempted by the spy game, the fancy car, the ladies and the lavish apartment Boysie goes along with the program until he learns he's going to be an assassin. Boysie wants to quit but Mostyn has him over a barrel and he can't resign. Boysie doesn't want to kill people, he fails in his attempt on that lady in the hat. Boysie wants keep his lavish lifestyle, so he does the next best thing, he farms out the killing to Griffin, played by Eric Sykes, a freelance professional assassin. It all works well enough for a while but Boysie is a bit of a rule breaker and he wants to get closer to Mostyn's secretary Iris, Jill St John plays her and she's a handful. The problem that keeps cropping up is there are rules about spy's dating the agency civilian staff. Serious rules that could get rule breakers 10 years in prison. Despite that Boysie and Iris take a trip to the Cote d'Azur on the French Riviera. They get tumbled before the plane leaves the runway and Mostyn is on their trail. Meanwhile in France a secret plan to kill the Duke Of Edinburgh is formulating. Boysie is set up by a fake agent and believes his story about a training exercise. The baddies really have another goal, they want to steal the new test plane that the Duke was to inspect, they nearly get away with it before Boysie finally comes through. I don't think it's humorous enough to be a spy spoof, it's more a thriller with a dark comedic core. People commenting on the IMDb and reviews can't seem to agree on what it is. Boysie doesn't want to kill people but he's OK with Griffin doing the job. Daniel Emilfork, Krantz in the first film tonight, has a small role as a spy. I enjoyed it most of the time. It moves along fairly well until the last act when it starts to lag a bit. It's 104 mins could have been cut by 10 mins and it would have tightened it up nicely. I picked up a copy from Amazon for a tenner and I'm not sad about that. I'd watch it again. Exponential Impact, an organization that seeks to develop the best possible entrepreneurs, opened applications for its 2023 accelerator program, the organization announced this week. The accelerator starts in March and is meant to support startups by helping them cultivate long-term growth personally and professionally during a two-week, mentor-driven program, a news release from Exponential Impact (XI) said. Technology startups can apply through Jan. 31 for either the START cohort, aimed at pre-customer startups preparing to launch their product, or the SCALE cohort, designed for companies with a proven product in the marketplace with established customers ready to level-up their business, the release said. "We are excited to announce the launch of XIs 2023 Accelerator," Vance Brown, executive director for Exponential Impact, said. "The Accelerator not only offers next-level programming with exposure to elite business leaders. XI takes a holistic approach to all its programs to ensure founders have camaraderie and community on their entrepreneurial journey." Startups chosen for the program will receive one-on-on mentoring, participate in weekly speaker sessions, and have access co-working spaces, among other perks. Sign Up for Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Selected startups will have the chance to pitch at a final Demo Day, the release said. Colorado-based high-tech founders seeking resources, mentorship, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs can learn more and apply at exponentialimpact.com/apply. Applications are due by Jan. 31. The Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade that helps small businesses, switched hosting agencies earlier this week, a release from the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation announced. Previously, the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center (SBDC) was hosted by El Paso County until the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC applied to become the new host for the center. As host, the Chamber & EDC will facilitate opportunities for relationship-building, develop intentional partnerships within the community, and secure match funding required for the Small Business Administration Grant that supply SBDCs. Supporting businesses of all sizes is at the crux of what we do and we are excited to amplify the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Centers expertise to best serve small businesses in the Pikes Peak region, Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and chief executive office of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, said in the release. The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC looks forward to championing the SBDC and its resources to benefit small businesses in Teller County and El Paso County, a big win in the spirit of regionalism. As a regional small business advocate, the Pikes Peak SBDCs goal is to assist small businesses with free, confidential consulting or no-cost training programs and is among 14 other SBDCs statewide. Sign Up for Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. SBDC Centers across the state recognize that small businesses are the backbone of Colorado communities, Nikki Maloney, interim state director for the Colorado SBDC Network and Director of Business Support at the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, said in the release. The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC shares that belief, and were pleased they will serve as host and help the Pikes Peak SBDC continue its good work to help small businesses in El Paso and Teller countries thrive. The Pikes Peak SBDC is housed at Catalyst Campus for Technology & Innovation and is seeking an executive director. The role will be posted on the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and Pikes Peak SBDC website, the release said. El Paso and Teller County small businesses interested in learning more about the services the Pikes Peak SBDC provides can visit https://pikespeaksbdc.org/. Forty Years Ago This Week: Democratic Party infighting erupted over the appointment of a new Denver district attorney when former Denver state Rep. Miller Hudson, who was a candidate for chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, called out former state party chair David Fogel for his public criticism of Norm Early. Early had recently been appointed as Denver district attorney after Dale Tooley resigned from the office to run for Denver mayor. Hudson called Fogels remarks unfounded and just plain dumb for a former party chairman to make public. Fogels decision to publicly criticize Norm Early and the other candidates for district attorney as politically unsophisticated only points to the fact that the lack of political sophistication resides in the chairmans office, not at the district attorneys, Hudson said. David is such a political neophyte himself that he doesnt appreciate the brilliant political campaign Norm waged to secure the governors endorsement. Norm was an active, effective Democratic captain long before most of us knew who Dave Fogel was. Hudson pointed out that it was not the district attorneys job to get himself elected but rather the Democratic Partys responsibility. Dave may think that the public wants the slickest politician in the D.A.s office, but I doubt it, Hudson said. I think most people want the best possible attorney in the office. But Fogel pushed back, telling The Colorado Statesman that not only were his remarks misconstrued but they were also outdated. I had nothing but kind things to say about Norm Early, Fogel said. What I told the governor was that he couldnt go wrong with either of the two finalists. Fogel also clarified that his comment about Early being a political neophyte was made before Early was appointed and he was just trying to come up with the ideal candidate one more politically involved. Regarding Hudsons comments, Fogel said that he was not running against Hudson for the chairmanship but rather Denver Democratic vice chairman Bill DeGroot. He said that if Hudson managed to fulfill his prediction of gaining 75-80% of the vote, it would represent the biggest victory margin in the history off the party. It would be astounding. Id be dazzled. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Thirty Years Ago: In the East Hall of Denvers Union Station, members of several Native American tribes performed a feather blessing ceremony and burned sweetgrass to celebrate the elevation of the first Native American to the United States Senate in 60 years. Chris Mulick of Kogovsek Associates put together the event in honor of U.S. Sen.-elect Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Union Station saw nearly 700 well-wishers convene to congratulate Campbell. Most of the members of Colorados Congressional Delegation attended, including retiring Sen. Tim Worth, who acted as master of ceremonies, and Colorado Supreme Court Justice Byron White, who administered the oath of office. Several representatives from the Utes, Southern Utes, Mountain Utes and the Navajo-Hopi attended as well. In other news, one of the first items on the El Paso County Republican Partys meeting agenda was the eventual purging of several precinct leaders who had promoted or supported non-GOP candidates in the previous election, like Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, U.S. Sen.-elect Ben Nighthorse Campbell who two years later would switch his registration to Republican and state Rep. Daphne Greenwood, D-Colorado Springs. According to party rules, office holders were required to support the slate of GOP candidates or risk being removed. Although no names were publicly mentioned, they were rumored to consist of several party heavy-weights whod supported Campbell over Terry Considine and Greenwood in favor of Vitor Motte. Meeting attendees were encouraged to submit names of defectors who would then be entitled to a hearing in 30 days or had the opportunity to resign. Two El Paso County Republicans whod supported Perot quietly resigned but no party members ever took the opportunity to anonymously report any other names. Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette. By Trend The Secretariat of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is seriously concerned about the illegal exploitation by Armenia and criminal elements, of natural resources in the Karabakh economic zone of Azerbaijan which triggered peaceful protests of civil society representatives. It condemns such a breach of international law leading to grave environmental impacts, Trend reports citing the statement by the Secretariat of the Organization of Turkic States concerning illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Karabakh economic zone of Azerbaijan. "The illegal exploitation of Azerbaijans natural resources and their trafficking to Armenia, along with illegal presence of remnants of Armenias armed forces and implantation of mines in the territory of Azerbaijan, undermine the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the basis of recognition of and respect for each others sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders, and does not serve reaching peace and stability in the region," said the statement. The Secretariat calls for immediate termination of the above-mentioned illegal actions, and supports all efforts by Azerbaijan in this regard. "The Secretariat of the OTS also supports the peaceful protests of the eco-activists and NGO representatives in the Lachin-Khankendi road of Azerbaijan. It endorses the peace agenda initiated by Azerbaijan for the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia," said the statement. Colorado Springs firefighters quickly extinguished a fire that burned two mobile homes in southeast Colorado Springs Friday night. Shortly after 8 p.m., the Fire Department tweeted that crews were on the scene of a fire at 2825 Preakness Way, near Hancock Expressway and Powers Boulevard. Firefighters at the scene reported that two mobile homes were on fire. In an update tweeted roughly 20 minutes later, the department said that the fire had been extinguished, and that no injuries were reported. On Friday night, the American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming tweeted that volunteers were assisting in the "multi family" fire. The City of Englewood Public Library is closed temporarily after testing showed methamphetamine contamination in exhaust vents, according to a news release. On Jan. 6, the City of Englewood tested its restrooms and other surfaces in the Public Library and the restrooms on the second floor of its Civic Center, according to a City statement. The city received test results on Wednesday showing levels of methamphetamine contamination above state thresholds, according to the release. Other spaces in the library also tested positive for lower contamination levels and will receive specialized cleaning. The city temporarily closed the library, north Civic Center lobby and second floor restrooms pending a remediation plan. "The health and safety of our staff, residents and patrons is of the utmost importance to all of us at the City of Englewood," City Manager Shawn Lewis said in the release. "The test results we received today are troubling, and we immediately began working to remediate affected spaces with the goal of reopening the library as soon as possible." The city is following guidance from public health officials and remediation specialists to respond to the situation. The incident comes a month after Boulder's Public Main Library closed for cleaning after testing of methamphetamine residue found in its restroom air ducts, according to a City of Boulder news release. The "higher than acceptable" levels of methamphetamine residue found air ducts left the Boulder Library closed while officials conducted environmental testing and cleaning toward the end of December. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Denver Public Library Director of Communications and Community Engagement Erika Martinez told The Denver Gazette library officials have been in communication with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, which is working on addressing these issues. "(The DDPHE) along with other city agencies and industrial hygiene and mitigation firms are currently working on a protocol for sound assessment and more specific cleaning measures to address possible contamination from illicit substances in city facilities, including the library," Martinez said. According to the department, the health risks related to methamphetamine residue are very low, Martinez said, with higher risk coming from the production of methamphetamine rather than secondhand exposure. "We have a full crew that cleans our bathrooms daily and throughout the day as needed using industry standard products for commercial buildings that we began using at the start of the pandemic," Martinez said. "Our bathrooms are monitored throughout the day by staff. These are all standard procedures we've been following all along." This trend is part of a broader issue surrounding methamphetamine in Colorado. In 2021, meth contributed to 734 overdose deaths in Colorado, according to the Harm Reduction Action Center in Denver. That's nearly double the number of residents who died by homicide that year, and it's more than 10 times the meth death toll from 2011. More people died from meth overdoses in 2021 than in those tied to heroin, cocaine, prescription pills and alcohol combined. Experts said meth alone does not explain why overdoses have surged as much as they have. The primary reason, every person interviewed for a previous Denver Gazette story said, is fentanyl. Of the 734 meth overdoses in 2021, 317 involved fentanyl, more than double the number from 2020, according to state data. Colorado Springs police detained four Mitchell High School students on Friday following an incident involving a BB gun, according to police. At about 12 p.m., Mitchell staff received a report that four males had been seen near campus, handling what appeared to be a handgun, police said. The tipster showed a photo of the males to the staff and security, who confirmed the teens were Mitchell students and began removing them from class. One student broke away from security and ran out of the building toward an apartment complex near Galley Road and Murray Boulevard, where he was seen jumping a fence to gain entry, officials said. An officer caught the youth as he entered one of the buildings. The handgun, which turned out to be a BB pistol, was recovered near the fence at the apartment complex. Mitchell High School was placed in a secure status during the search for the students, but resumed as normal after they were found, according to District 11 spokeswoman Devra Ashby. There was no threat to the school, she said. Police said an investigation is ongoing and charges are pending. The National Western Stock Show gives city slickers a chance to rub elbows with real ranchers, cowboys and rural lifestyle representatives. Once a year, they dust off their cowboy hats which they likely bought in the 1980s when the movie Urban Cowboy popularized ranch wear. Now its the popular television show Yellowstone bringing Western wear back. The Gazette compiled tips, tricks and observations from experts and attendees at the Stock Show, which runs through Jan. 22 at the National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver. Heres what we learned about the clothing it takes to fit in or not. From Kim Green, of The Mills Hollywood Cowgirl: There are several pieces of fashion advice for a womans closet. Fringe: Whether its a handbag, a scarf, a vest, or even a wedding dress, fringe is back and especially hot in Western wear. Dig out that piece of fringe in your closet and show it off, Green said. According to People Magazine searches for fringe dress outfits are up by 225%. Hair-on-hide: Called hair-on hide, the term translates to slapping a square of cowhide on anything. Spotted, course fur trim adds a Western touch to belts, cowboy hats, boots and purses. We even spied a cowhide flyswatter to keep the pests away on hot, lazy days. For more, visit Hair-on Hide Fly Swatter Cattle Kate. A unique twist on the household flyswatter, this hair-on hide is cut into a horse head shape to fight those pesky insects. Comes on a sturdy metal wire handle. The Hair-on hide will vary in color. Makes a great gift! Made in Idaho. Aztec patterns: A show of color on an accessory can brighten an otherwise subtle Western look. Turquoise: Turquoise never went out of style as a Western accessory, and vintage rings worn on two-three fingers of each hand is especially chic. So are silver-framed squash blossom necklaces worn over a dark turtleneck, the bigger the gem the better. Cowboy hats: For Green, and many other Western wear watchers, headwear is essential. The cowboy hat says it all, she said. The statement is in the shape and its in the material its made out of. A person can show up at the National Western Stock Show in the most expensive boots and jeans, but a wilted straw hat from a dime store with a cheap band will out you as an imposter. Says Green: Dont come to the stock show in the type of straw hat youd wear to a country music festival. Legwear donts Do not wear leggings. They are not pants. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Do NOT drag out the brightly colored Wranglers, which were in fashion 20 years ago. According to Western aficionado Green, they were all the rage at the turn of the 21st century, but they are a beacon for uncool in 2023. Legwear dos Some things never change, and jeans are still the most acceptable legwear but you have to know which brand is the coolest. An informal poll showed that who makes the jean is crucial. Of the three most popular stock show jeans, according to the anecdotal poll, Levis, Cinch and Wrangler are the most-worn brands and there was an overall preference for either Wrangler or Cinch (caveat: Cinch is a major sponsor of Denvers National Western Stock Show). The Gazette compiled some valuable Western wear advice from Steve Weil, the third-generation owner and president of Rockmount Ranch Wear Manufacturing Co. Rockmounts shirts are worn by rock stars and wranglers alike. Theyre also featured on the aforementioned Yellowstone show along with Rockmounts custom silk scarves and snap shirts. Weils three most valuable Western wear tips Never wear a hat with more character than you have. Dont look like all buckle and no cattle. Go with fabrics youre comfortable wearing anytime and anywhere. Polyester is a bad start, said Weil. Weil reminds us that the cowboy boot is a defining clothing article which can make or break your authenticity as a cowboy or girl. There are boots made that were made 20 years ago that should never see the pavement, he said. No silver tips. Weil said that every year, Colorado politicians drag out their old Western wear that doesn't "pass the test. Unfortunately, he would not divulge names, but he did say its shameful some of the clothes politicians drag out of their closets this time of year. Some of these guys need to get with the program, said Weil, whose grandfather Jack Weil lived to 107 and worked most days of his life. The Rockmount store is downtown at 1626 Wazee St., Denver. Of course, not everyone gives a darn about how they look at the Stock Show. Emily and Stephanie Gillis were not embarrassed to admit they did not fit in with their city sunglasses, tiny over-the-shoulder zipper bags and open-toed shoes. Said Emily: Were just here for the yarn. Instead of saying, How are you in casual passing, try saying, Its nice to see you. Because 90% of people go through their day feeling unseen, said David Galvan, a Colorado Springs-based national mental health and suicide prevention trainer. Next time you come across someone who seems lonely, connect with them, even if its just making eye contact and smiling. Because isolation, feelings of hopelessness and a lack of connection with others can lead to thoughts of suicide, said experts at Fridays Suicide Prevention Summit of El Paso County. Hope and social connection are the ethos of how we will prevent suicide in our community, Galvan said. The reality is if were going to talk about connectedness, we must look for people who are hurting, people who are alone and people who nobody knows. Between those who are thinking about taking their lives, those who are worried about someone, people who know someone who died by suicide and those who have experience with suicide, over half of the community has been impacted by suicide in some way, Galvan said. What if a virus was affecting half of a community, he asked about 200 summit attendees from various sectors. The same kind of mass mobilization and response that would be deployed needs to happen with suicide, speakers said, and involve every resident, not just those who work in the field. Weve got limited resources, we need to collaboratively, collectively and holistically go full throttle, said El Paso County Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly, whos also the countys chief medical examiner. After remaining flat for three years, deaths by suicide in El Paso County increased in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Coroners Office. Kelly estimates that 193 died by suicide last year, pending late November and December autopsy reports. If the number holds, it would signify a jump from the 176 deaths in 2021, 178 in 2020 and 180 in 2019. The majority of people who take their lives have jobs and are out and about in the world but have a background of depression, substance abuse or social stressors, Kelly said. When a dramatic event happens, such as a breakup with a spouse, a DUI arrest, job loss or other personal mishap, that spirals them almost immediately into a suicidal act, he said. Certain categories have seen vast improvements, including children ages 17 and under. Teen suicide in El Paso County reached an all-time high in 2015 with 15 deaths, a number that was repeated in 2020. But last year and in 2021, just four children ages 17 and younger took their lives each year, according to coroners reports. In a very human way, tragedy made us take action, said Cass Walton, executive director of Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention and co-chair of the Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County. In response, representatives from schools, hospitals, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, parent groups and others came together to try to figure it out. Increasing awareness of the issue, training anyone who wanted to learn how to recognize the signs and respond, recruiting youths to work with their peers in distress and rallying trusted adults to be ready to assist students have worked, Walton said. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. If we put the same kind of effort toward other demographics, I think well have success, she said. Suicide is complex, Kelly said, and often not a crisis type of scenario but a building of depression and desperation that arises out of unexpected and unwanted change. Populations most at risk include youths, seniors, military veterans, LGBTQ+ people and men, who more likely to kill themselves than women, summit speakers said. In 2021, the average age at death by suicide in El Paso County was 44 years old, statistics show. In 2022, males constituted 74% of suicide cases, Kelly said. Overall 60% of completed suicides last year involved a gun and 19% were by hanging, he said. Firearms are the most lethal means of suicide, said Fountain Police Chief Chris Heberer, who also co-chairs The Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County. Herberer advocates for gun owners using cable gun locks, safes and biometrics to secure guns at home, or removing them temporarily from a home if a loved one is displaying suicidal tendencies. Suicide fatalities of military active-duty and veterans also improved last year, to comprise 22% of suicides countywide, Kelly said, which is close to historic numbers yet still unacceptable. The marked decline from 30% in 2021 is likely attributable to prevention efforts such as Next Chapter, speakers said. The community wellness collaborative for veterans and their families was born out of state legislation and lets clients decide what they need and when, said Damian McCabe, a behavioral health specialist with UCHealth. Were flipping the script you get to drive how you access care, and were going to respect that. You tell us when you want to come in and what you need first, he said. If I start telling a veteran what I think they need instead of what they think they need, Im never going to see them again. Increasing strong protective factors, such as having trusted people to talk to, building resiliency for handling adversity in a healthy way, reducing bullying and preventing discrimination, decreases mental health struggles, violence, substance abuse and other reactions that may prompt thoughts of suicide for LGBTQ+ people, said Liss Smith, spokesperson for Inside Out Youth Services, which serves LGBTQ+ teens and young adults. The goal of The Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County is to reduce the suicide rate by 20% by 2024. Walton, of Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention, said she thinks thats attainable. But we need your help, she said. We need our whole community doing something every day. I see the possibility of impact. I know everyone in this room has the power to save a life. A recording of the summit will be posted by Jan. 20, according to organizers. A new nationwide suicide and crisis hotline is available 24/7 by dialing 988 from any phone. Contact the writer: 719-476-1656. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Multiple Fort Carson soldiers got into a fight, leaving one man with a knife cut to the arm. Around 1 a.m. Saturday, police responded to the area of Pikes Peak and Cascade as people were leaving the downtown Colorado Springs bars. Officers found several men assigned to different units at Fort Carson in a fight. One man was laying in the street with a severe cut to his arm from a knife. He was taken to the hospital. Read more at KKTV.com. Hong Kong: CE welcomes new liaison chief Chief Executive John Lee today welcomed Zheng Yanxiong on his new posts as Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and National Security Adviser to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong SAR. Mr Lee issued a statement on Mr Zheng's appointment by the State Council. He noted that Mr Zheng became the first Head of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR in July 2020 and led the office in performing its mandate of safeguarding national security in accordance with the law, effectively coordinating with the Hong Kong SAR Committee on National Security, as well as overseeing and guiding the city's work in safeguarding national security. I have every confidence that Mr Zheng will lead the LOCPG in continuing to support the Hong Kong SAR Government's governance in accordance with the law, and to work together in fully, faithfully and resolutely implementing the principles of 'one country, two systems' and 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' with a high degree of autonomy. The Chief Executive also said he is fully confident that Mr Zheng will continue to maintain the Hong Kong SAR's constitutional order as stipulated in the Constitution and the Basic Law and implement the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong". As Hong Kong embarks on the critical period of breaking new ground and leaping forward, he is sure that Mr Zheng will continue to cooperate with the Hong Kong SAR Government in supporting the promotion of Hong Kong's integration into national development and making greater contribution to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Meanwhile, the State Council announced the removal of Luo Huining as the LOCPG Director, National Security Adviser to the committee and Deputy Director of its Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office. Mr Lee, together with the Hong Kong SAR Government, expressed their gratitude to Mr Luo for his devotion and effort in performing his duties as LOCPG Director as well as his contribution to the Hong Kong SAR. On the important issues of safeguarding national security and the Hong Kong SAR's constitutional order, Mr Luo has always adhered to the 'one country, two systems' principle, ensuring the accurate understanding of all sectors of Hong Kong in the central authorities' overall jurisdiction over the Hong Kong SAR. Since the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR Committee on National Security in accordance with the law, Mr Luo has been serving as its National Security Adviser, as appointed by the Central People's Government, to ensure the effective implementation of the National Security Law in the Hong Kong SAR. Mr Luo has played an important role in the process of Hong Kong's major transition from chaos to order and advancement to the crucial stage of prosperity. The Chief Executive also expressed his respect to Mr Luo who led the LOCPG in fully supporting Hong Kong's anti-epidemic work when the city was faced with severe challenges brought by the COVID-19 epidemic, coordinating and uniting all walks of life in implementing support measures to fight the epidemic together. This story has been published on: 2023-01-14. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN Yashar Aliyev addressed the Security Council during discussions on "Advancing the rule of law to maintain international peace and security", Trend reports. While delivering a speech, the Azerbaijani diplomat noted that the UN was established to prevent wars and human suffering by complying with the international law of its members. "As one well-known scholar said, the UN Charter is a constitution that defines and restricts the UN's activity, is a multilateral treaty, with fixed rights and obligations of member states, and is the basis for the set up of this organization. Even though these functions are universal and binding, they can sometimes be disregarded, which results in infringing upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, a further armed conflict escalation, intolerance based on national identity, and terrorist and separatist threats," he said. Aliyev noted that upon joining the UN in May 1992, Azerbaijan had already faced armed aggression from Armenia for several years now, based on fictional ethnic nationalism, falsified historical narratives, and baseless territorial claims. Despite its commitment to support the UN Charter principles, including the principle of pacific settlement of disputes, Armenia occupied a large part of sovereign Azerbaijan for almost 30 years. The effects of the aggression are shocking: tens of thousands of people died, an ethnic-cleansing policy was carried out against over 700,000 Azerbaijanis, hundreds of cities, towns, and villages were destroyed, huge damage was caused to the cultural and religious heritage of Azerbaijan, and the environment. Armenia ignored the requirements established in resolutions 822, 853, 874, and 884, unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council in 1993, and the OSCE mediation didn't promote the settlement of the conflict through negotiations. The lack of an adequate response from the relevant international institutions, double standards, and discrimination in respect of generally recognized obligations, paved the way for Armenia to continue its position. The resumption of battles in the 2020 fall was the logical outcome of the UN's long-term silence on Armenian atrocities. Armenia's direct attacks on Azerbaijani settlements resulted in numerous civilian injuries and severe damage to civilian infrastructure. Acting exclusively on its sovereign territory, Azerbaijan has taken decisive measures to protect its people and liberate the occupied territories, in full compliance with the UN Charter and international law. Aliyev noted that following the second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan primarily pays attention to the recovery of liberated lands, to the safe return of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homeland, and to ensure a high standard of their living. In this regard, the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions have been created by the Presidential Decree of July 7, 2021. Large-scale reconstruction work is currently underway in liberated districts. To ensure responsibility for violations of international law, Azerbaijan filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, several individuals who committed war crimes were prosecuted and punished. In the meantime, Azerbaijan initiated the normalization process of interstate relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries within internationally recognized borders. The Azerbaijani diplomat underscored that Armenia's bias is an integral part of Yerevan's long-term policy, conducted against the backdrop of many years of gross violations of international law. It is paradoxical that Armenia, which committed aggression against Azerbaijan, carried out mass ethnic cleansing during the first Karabakh War, and committed other crimes against humanity now refer to the UN Charter and International Law. However, it would be naive to believe that Armenia has supposedly realized the need to observe principles of civilized behavior, and abandoned the deeply rooted racial hatred and superiority. Aliyev stressed that Armenia should observe its international obligations, completely withdraw its armed forces and illegal armed formations from Azerbaijan's territory, put an end to territorial claims and illegal activities, stop landmine terrorism, clarify the fate of thousands of missing Azerbaijanis, compensate caused damage to Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people, as well as hold direct negotiations in order to find diplomatic solutions on interstate relations as soon as possible. "Support for bilateral and fruitful talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan is more important for the entire international community than ever. The chance to establish sustainable peace should not be missed," he stressed. By Trend Following the 2023 action plan approved by the defense minister, training-methodological sessions were held with military lawyers of the Azerbaijani Army, main departments, and officers of the Legal Department, Trend reports citing the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. First, the memory of the National Leader of our people Heydar Aliyev and fallen servicemen who died for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were honored with observing a minute's silence. During the training-methodological sessions, thoughts expressed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev about the Azerbaijani Army in his recent interview with local TV channels were brought to the military personnel's attention. The sessions discussed the work carried out to further strengthen military discipline, prevent law violations, and teach military personnel the basics, norms, and principles of international humanitarian law, as well as the importance of their application during an armed conflict. The tasks assigned in this direction for the current year were also discussed. Reports on more effective organization of legal training in military units, education of servicemen in terms of law, and other topics were also heard. The work to be done in the Azerbaijan Army in the sphere of law within the framework of the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" was discussed. During the training-methodological sessions, held to improve the participants knowledge and skills in organizing legal training, as well as study the requirements of legislation and guidance documents, participants certain questions were answered. A new housing housing program will spend $40 million on constructing affordable homes throughout the state focused on innovative housing structures, such as modular and 3D-printed homes. The Colorado's new Innovative Housing Incentive Program, announced by Gov. Jared Polis on Friday, is expected to help create up to 5,000 high-quality, low-cost housing units over the next approximately five years, he said. "Transformative programs like this ensure there is housing for every budget in our communities, which is increasingly important as our state grows," Polis said. "This will support our teachers, health care providers, and other critical industry workers to access housing near where they work, helping ease workforce shortages. I look forward to exciting housing projects and the progress that will come from this exciting innovation." Homelessness has spiraled out of control in Colorado in the past several years, and the debate over what caused that explosion and how to address it rages on. The new program will offer grants, loans and per unit incentives to Colorado-based, innovative housing manufacturers with 500 employees or less. This includes providing reimbursements of up to $450,000 for operating expenses, $50,000 bonus awards for producing affordable housing, up to $6,000 per built unit cash incentives and factory development loans. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Modular, manufactured and kit housing can be produced more efficiently and at a lower cost than traditional housing, lowering costs for homebuyers and for local governments and organizations looking to provide rentals for low- and middle-income households, officials said. The program is meant to provide short-term support to innovative housing manufacturers to respond to supply chain constraints and narrowing margins. Chief justice tells legislature about accomplishments, planned reforms to judiciary The program was created by passage of House Bill 22-1282 in May. "This innovative program creates new manufacturing jobs while at the same time increasing our supply of housing, helping to solve one of the greatest challenges we face here in Colorado," said Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, who co-sponsored the bill. "Every Coloradan should be able to live where they work. Expanding the availability of this kind of housing will help improve our economy while keeping Colorado affordable." Applications for the program's grants and per unit incentives are being accepted on a rolling basis. Applications for loans will open early this year. More information about the Innovative Housing Incentive Program is available online at oedit.colorado.gov/innovative-housing-incentive-program. Jared Polis was sworn in for his second term as governor of Colorado on Jan. 10, marking four years since he entered office with the promise of creating a Colorado for all. Far from being the states most prominent leader as he is today, Polis stood in front of the Capitol on Jan. 8, 2019, and vowed to spend the next four years changing Colorado for the better, declaring now, we will get to work. Of course, nobody could have anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended peoples lives, and, to some extent, derailed leaders best laid plans. So, with Polis second inaugural address in the books, how did the promises of his first address hold up? No. 1: We get to work building an education system that provides every child with the education they need to unlock the bright future they deserve beginning with high-quality early childhood education. During his State of the State address two days after his first inauguration, Polis identified providing free, full-day kindergarten as his top priority to accomplish in the year following his election. He quickly succeeded, signing a bill for state-funded full-day kindergarten in May 2019, and implementing the program the following August. Polis also vowed to expand free preschool to 8,000 additional Colorado children and later pledged that Colorado would have universal preschool access for 4-year-olds by the end of his first term in 2023. While only 5,000 preschool slots were freed up by the end of his first legislative session, Polis gradually made progress toward his loftier goal of universal preschool. In 2020, Colorado voters approved a tax on tobacco and nicotine products to help fund the universal preschool program. In 2022, Polis signed a bill establishing the universal preschool program, though it is only expected to provide 10 hours of free preschool per week to all 4-year-old children in Colorado. Enrollment for the program is scheduled to start on Jan. 17. Some of Polis other early promises around education included offering student loan relief for teachers, increasing transparency and protections in the student loan process and investing in student mental health all of which have been addressed in legislation in recent years. No. 2: We get to work building a health care system that ensures families dont have to choose between losing their homes and losing their health care. Within the broad goal of health care reform, Polis started with three policy proposals: Import low-cost prescription drugs from Canada, establish a reinsurance program to reduce health insurance premiums, and empower the Division of Insurance to protect and support consumers facing high health care costs in rural and mountain communities. The latter two goals were achieved in the 2019 legislative session, while the state is still working toward the Canadian Drug Importation Program. After passing initial legislation to establish the program in 2019, the state most recently submitted a proposal to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, seeking approval to import prescription drugs from Canada. In a similar vein, Polis called for a paid family and medical leave program for Coloradans. He signed a study on the Family Medical Leave Insurance Program into law in 2019, then received voter approval in 2020. All Colorado employers are now required to contribute to the program as of Jan. 1 of this year. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Polis also began his first term aiming to get a grip on the opioid epidemic, lamenting the more than 550 Coloradans who died from opioid overdoses in 2017. Though he did not name specific policy proposals, Polis vowed to work across the aisle on addiction prevention and treatment. While Colorado has since funded and created numerous programs targeting addiction, the opioid epidemic has only worsened in the last four years. In 2021, more than 900 Coloradans died from overdoses involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl, making up nearly half of the 1,881 total drug overdose deaths that year. No. 3: We get to work building an economy where Coloradans from all backgrounds have the opportunity to pursue good-paying, fulfilling careers and pay less in taxes. Polis has made some strides toward lowering taxes, including ending income tax on Social Security payments, eliminating sales tax on diapers, and gradually cutting income and property taxes. He has also openly supported efforts to reduce the state income tax to zero which has resulted in two successful ballot measures reducing the state income tax rate in 2020 and 2022. Last week, Polis proposed spending $900 million to fight escalating property taxes in his 2023-24 budget plan, which has yet to be approved by the Legislature. Property owners face a sharp increase in property taxes expected to be in the billions of dollars unless the state more aggressively intervenes to help them. Also specified in his economic goals was expanding broadband access throughout the state to provide residents with better access to education and work opportunities. Polis recently kicked this effort into high gear, releasing a plan in October to connect 99% of Colorado households to high-speed internet in the next five years. During this time, Colorado is expected to invest between $400 million and $700 million of federal funds in broadband. In December, the federal government approved Colorados plan to invest $170.8 million in broadband infrastructure, connecting 18,000 new households and businesses. Other specific policy promises included capping the vendor fee for retailers and identifying funding to upgrade Colorados roads, highways and public transit systems. Polis signed legislation to achieve these goals in 2019 and 2021, respectively. However, in making these changes Polis also increased the vendor fee from 3% to 4%, and established a 2 cents-per-gallon fee on gasoline to help fund a $5.4 billion, 10-year plan to improve roads and transit projects. No. 4: We get to work protecting our precious air, water and land and making sure that every Colorado family can live a great Colorado life with clean air and cheap, abundant renewable energy. One of Polis primary campaign issues was transitioning Colorado to 100% renewable energy by 2040. In July, the state announced that it was well on its way to achieving that goal in response to a biannual progress report. The report found that the state had invested nearly $270 million in the first half of 2022 on electric school buses, air quality monitoring and enforcement, clean air and decarbonization grants, eBike rebates and programs, building electrification, green rebuilding after disasters, geothermal energy, free transit fares during ozone season, aerial monitoring of industrial emissions sources and expanded public transit. Last winter, Colorado agreed to develop a regional clean hydrogen hub with New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and Polis new budget proposal includes $120 million in clean energy tax credits. In his first State of the State address, Polis lumped industrial hemp in with his climate and land priorities, saying he wanted to make Colorado the national leader in industrial hemp production. In 2021, both Polis and the Colorado Hemp Association declared that goal met, with Polis saying Colorado leads the nation in industrial hemp acreage and the trade association saying Colorado leads in industrial hemp production. That same year, Colorado received federal approval for its management plan for its hemp industry, granting the state autonomy to regulate the crop. Lastly, Polis committed to identifying a funding source for the Colorado Water Plan created by Polis predecessor John Hickenlooper in 2015 to serve as the states framework for solving its water challenges. While Polis did sign legislation to partially fund the plan, the state under Polis has never fully funded the Water Plan, under which it is supposed to set aside $100 million a year starting in 2020. In addition, Colorado has continued to struggle with drought conditions in recent years, particularly along the Colorado River Basin. CENTRAL CITY A Central City woman was arrested Wednesday after she was reportedly caught on surveillance footage lighting her own restaurant on fire. She made a fraudulent insurance claim two days later, according to a criminal complaint. Heidi Renee Liegl, 43, is charged with first-degree arson and insurance fraud, both felonies. Liegl is the owner of the Stove House Restaurant at 2 Al Waterhouse Ave. in Central City. The Linn County Sheriff's Office responded to a fire at the restaurant on Saturday at about 11:30 a.m. The Central City Fire Department, Coggon Fire Department, Alburnett Fire Department, Center Point Ambulance Service and Marion Fire Department responded, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the State Fire Marshal's Division assisted the Linn County Sheriff's Office with the investigation of the fire, which determined the fire was set intentionally by Liegl. According to the criminal complaint, Liegl was going through financial difficulties and owed the property owners two months of rent. She had reportedly been served eviction notices the day before the fire. Photos: Casino Assault, Jan. 3, 2021 010321ho-casino-still-1 010321ho-casino-still-2 010321ho-casino-still-3 010321ho-casino-still-4 Gov. Kim Reynolds, in her inauguration speech Friday, asked Democrats to reconsider their choice to push the Iowa caucuses from the first-in-the-nation spot. As a Republican, it benefits my party for Democrats to turn away from Iowa, Reynolds said. As an American, it pains me to see. Reynolds was sworn in for her second full term as governor at the Community Choice Convention Center in Des Moines, joined by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg and Republican legislative leaders. The governor looked ahead in her speech specifically, to Iowas role in the 2024 presidential election. Republican presidential hopefuls have already spent the past several months making trips to Iowa as they consider announcing a bid in the upcoming election cycle. To my fellow Republicans: Welcome back! Reynolds said. Iowans look forward to hosting you over the next year; to having you in their living rooms and to having real conversations. We take this opportunity and we know it is an opportunity very seriously. We hope you do too. While the Republican presidential nomination cycle will proceed as normal, Iowa may not play as large of a role in the Democrats process. The Democratic National Committee is in the process of revising the nominating calendar. In December, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee granted conditional waivers to South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan for holding their primaries early. The plan drops Iowa from its traditional status as the first caucus in the nation. Iowa Democrats have protested the decision, and said they will hold their caucus first, following state law, regardless of the DNC calendar. Iowa Democratic Chair Ross Wilburn asked again for national Democrats to reconsider after Georgia and New Hampshire missed a key deadline, but the national committee chairs said they remain committed to the proposed calendar. Reynolds joined Iowa Democrats calls in her inaugural speech. To the national Democrats, to President Biden, I say this: Reconsider, she said. Come back to Iowa, and you wont regret it. While she called for Democrats to return to Iowa, she also said Iowas recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic was because of her administrations and state legislators courage and sense to swim against the current on school and business policies. She said she was proud of what Iowa Republicans have accomplished, making Iowa a place where children and parents come before special interests, where life is protected, and work is rewarded. In this years Condition of the State address, Reynolds said she plans to focus on parental rights with her private school scholarship legislation. She also proposed to support abortion alternatives through $1.5 million additional funding to a program that aids nonprofit organizations that offer maternal health care and counseling for people facing an unexpected pregnancy. She said these actions show why Iowa should continue to play an important role on the national stage. So, as the world descends upon Iowa over this next year, lets show them who we are; lets show them why were first, Reynolds said. Because what America wants right now, what it needs more than anything else, is exactly what weve always valued. Real people, connected and safe communities, and the freedom to flourish. Close Mason City firefighters Brad Meyer (L) and Craig Warner wash a truck as part of the station's weekly maintenance. Members of the Mason City police and fire departments respond to a medical call. Members of Mason City Fire and Ambulance's Third Battalion have breakfast together while on a 24-hour shift. Officer Steve Klemas of the Mason City Police Department tags evidence bags after returning from the scene of an investigation. Officers working the third shift at the Mason City Police Department are briefed by Chief Jeff Brinkley before heading out on their respective patrols. Mason City Police Officers respond to a harassment call. Dispatcher Mallory Dempsey enters information into a call during a night shift at the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office. Cerro Gordo County Deputy Mitch Kruse returns to his vehicle after checking on a driver whose truck had no brake lights. A cross hangs inside Cerro Gordo County Deputy Tami Cavett's vehicle while she is on duty. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Tami Cavett checks in with a resident while making daily rounds through rural towns within the county. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Jensen speaks to a resident in Clear Lake. Lt. Neil Maki makes breakfast for the Third Battalion of the Mason City Fire Department. PHOTOS - First responders Mason City firefighters Brad Meyer (L) and Craig Warner wash a truck as part of the station's weekly maintenance. Members of the Mason City police and fire departments respond to a medical call. Members of Mason City Fire and Ambulance's Third Battalion have breakfast together while on a 24-hour shift. Officer Steve Klemas of the Mason City Police Department tags evidence bags after returning from the scene of an investigation. Officers working the third shift at the Mason City Police Department are briefed by Chief Jeff Brinkley before heading out on their respective patrols. Mason City Police Officers respond to a harassment call. Dispatcher Mallory Dempsey enters information into a call during a night shift at the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office. Cerro Gordo County Deputy Mitch Kruse returns to his vehicle after checking on a driver whose truck had no brake lights. A cross hangs inside Cerro Gordo County Deputy Tami Cavett's vehicle while she is on duty. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Tami Cavett checks in with a resident while making daily rounds through rural towns within the county. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Jensen speaks to a resident in Clear Lake. Lt. Neil Maki makes breakfast for the Third Battalion of the Mason City Fire Department. Recruitment has continued to be a challenge for the Iowa National Guard a lingering effect of the coronavirus pandemic, Maj. Gen. Ben Corell said in his annual Condition of the Guard address last week. The number one challenge to readiness has become strength in our ability to recruit and retain quality soldiers and airmen, said Corell, who leads the state National Guard as its adjutant general. As we exit the COVID-19 era, national economic, educational, societal trends have increased competition for talent, which has decreased the incentive to serve in our military. Last year was the worst for U.S. military recruiting in about five decades, he said. Corell addressed a joint meeting of the Iowa Legislature Thursday to give his Condition of the Guard address at the Iowa State Capitol. The Iowa Army National Guard, which accounts for the bulk of service members in the state, is authorized to have more than 6,800 members and is operating at about 98% of that total, said Capt. Kevin Waldron, a Guard spokesperson. Thats down from about 102% two years ago but is still relatively high. In 2016 it was 91%, according to state records. The Guard is allowed to exceed 100% to buoy against the losses of service members who retire or complete their contracts. Were at about 98%, which still absolutely means that we can serve the people of Iowa, serve any kind of mission that were asked to do, Waldron said. So we are not seeing it as a significant crisis. Guard members provide assistance during disasters and emergencies in Iowa and can be deployed abroad for combat and other missions. About 240 soldiers were deployed last year to strengthen NATOs presence in Poland, which borders war-torn Ukraine. Early in the pandemic, soldiers staffed COVID-19 testing sites and transported test samples, among other tasks. About 200 Guard members helped clear debris in Linn County from the 2020 derecho. The Iowa National Guard is composed of the Iowa Army National Guard and the Iowa Air National Guard and has about 9,000 members. More than two-thirds of them serve part time usually one weekend each month and have other full-time jobs or are students. The pandemic had an immediate impact on Guard recruitment when schools were closed. That limited the contact recruitment officers could have with high school students who were nearing graduation a key source of new recruits, Waldron said. We are actively working on getting back into schools after COVID-19 restrictions, he said. Corell, in his Thursday address, urged state lawmakers to continue to support the Guards service scholarships, which provide college tuition assistance for its members. He said the scholarships are an important incentive to recruit and retain service members. The Guards annual report shows that service scholarship payments in 2022 totaled nearly $6 million for about 1,000 people. Corell recounted his own career with the Guard and said the tuition assistance enabled him to get a bachelors degree in business management 16 years after he graduated high school. With now 37 years of service in the Iowa National Guard, coming from a financially challenged rural Iowa kid with no college education, no real direction in my life, I stand before today you as a general officer, the holder of a masters degree, selected by our governor to serve as the 27th adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, Corell said. The Guard seeks to build a new $20 million armory on the south side of West Des Moines to train its 2,400 soldiers who live in or near the metro area. Construction of the facility is expected to begin this year and be complete in 2025. Corell said the federal government is paying 75% of that cost, and the state will pay 25%. For the first time in months, Danville and Pittsylvania County have shifted into the high community level for COVID-19, bringing back the recommendation for face masks in public spaces. Coupled with a steady caseload of infections, it drives home one simple fact: the coronavirus hasnt gone anywhere. And the flu while not raging as it was last month is still around. We want people to enjoy living, so there is no need to obsess over it, but these viruses are still out there, Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer for Sovah Health, told the Register & Bee on Friday. Remember there are things you can do to protect yourself and those you love. At the top of that list for Gunn-Nolan is to stay home when sick. What I mean is, dont go to the store if you are ill, she said. Dont go to work if you are ill. Dont send a sick child to school. It just takes one person in a crowd to spread a virus to many, especially when cold weather drives most people inside. Even if someone shows just slight symptoms like having a cough or runny nose testing is the best course of action, she said. Even if that test is negative, consider a mask while your symptoms persist, she recommended. COVID-19 has taken a toll on hundreds throughout our community, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, said Friday. Everyone should continue to remain concerned until we see these deaths reach the lowest possible level as a result of this virus. The local mask recommendation surfaces from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions calculation of community levels: low, medium and high. Danville and Pittsylvania County joined the list of 65 localities in Virginia with high community levels, encompassing more than 3 million residents, according to the University of Virginias Biocomplexity Institute. Based on their individual health and risk factors, residents may decide that they want to add additional mitigation measures to their COVID-19 prevention practices, said health department epidemiologist Krysta McKenna Luzynski. For masks, CDC specifically recommends a well-fitting version like N95 or KN95. UVa reported that while weekly cases remained high, they appear to have plateaued in Virginia. Another encouraging sign is the somewhat slowing of the number of patients in statewide hospitals. Locally, Sovah Health-Danville was treating about a dozen people for COVID-19 on Friday, the same as about a week again. The largest worry for complications are associated with people 65 and older and those who may have pre-existing medical issues like high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease, according to Linda M. Scarborough, a spokesperson with the Virginia Department of Health. It is also important to note that young, healthy people can also become very ill or develop complications from COVID-19, Luzynski wrote in an email to the Register & Bee. Gunn-Nolan echoed the rising concern about people in their 20s and 30s developing problems. For example, some young residents are discharged from the hospital and still have to have oxygen. Variants The predicted surge of illnesses comes as no surprise to local experts whove seen the same situation for the last two years. We see this every year at this time a post-holiday bump, Gunn-Nolan said. And just like last year, an altered version of the coronavirus is making its round. Subvariants XBB and XBB.1.5 offspring of the omicron version that produced record-breaking cases last winter are dominant and growing in Virginia, UVa reported Friday. UVa this week paused projections on COVID-19 as scientists work on genomic surveillance and short-term forecasts. Previously, the organization suggested the peak of this winters surge would arrive this week, but locally the elevated rates may linger a while longer. Despite the holidays being over, we are expecting to continue to see a spike in the COVID-19 cases as crowds continue to gather for Super Bowl parties and other events next month, Spillmann said. Hopefully by March we will begin to see the numbers decrease once again. The new variants may be compounding the forecasts. There are no signs so far the strains cause more severe illnesses, but they can infect people who had prior immunity. Simply put, even someone who recently suffered a bout with COVID-19 could be come sick again. Vaccines When asked why vaccination rates are sharply lower than than other time during the pandemic, Scarborough pointed to misinformation in addition to pandemic fatigue. In the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, more than 62% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Luzynski reported. When just looking people 65 and older, that figure jumps to more than 82%. Some people may believe that they have enough protection with just the primary series or with having been previously infected with COVID-19, she said. But, thats no longer the case. Thats why she suggests residents call their local health department for bivalent vaccine, the latest shot that targets not only the original strain of COVID-19, but the omicron versions also. This new vaccine will offer the most protection against serious illness and hospitalization from the latest variants of COVID-19, Luzynski said. Gunn-Nolan said residents around the region have simply gotten weary of hearing about COVID-19 and vaccines, also citing pandemic fatigue as a reason for low uptake on boosters. Vaccines continue to be a means of decreasing your risk of death from flu or COVID-19 they are still vital here, she said. Even those who are vaccinated can still get sick, but it can make a difference whether you are hospitalized or not or even between life and death, Spillmann stressed, also noting being up-to-date on vaccines keeps others safe. Just keep in mind that you can get the virus anywhere and being vaccinated can make the difference, he said. Officials from the River District Association and the City of Danville joined other area leaders and residents Friday afternoon in celebrating the expansion of The Brick Running and Tri Store, which specializes in the sale of shoes, apparel, equipment and nutrition to walkers, runners and triathletes. Located at 410 Main St., Adam Jones opened the store 10 years ago. The Bricks new expanded upstairs provides additional retail space for expanded service and product offerings related to bike sales and gear, as well as bike repair and a common community space for group gatherings where relationships and friendships can be forged through the love of physical activity. As a cardiologist, I cannot stress enough the many benefits of physical activity, Danville Vice Mayor Dr. Gary Miller said. Adam and his staff are ready to assist you with meeting your goals. On behalf of the City Council, City staff, and all citizens of Danville, I congratulate Adam on growing his business in Danville. Jones was awarded funds from the River District Associations Dream Launch Pitch Competition to assist with the expansion. It is essential to continue to support entrepreneurs that wish to successfully open and/or grow their businesses for the long-term economic diversification and success of our community said Diana Schwartz, executive director of the River District Association. The Brick expansion is a great example of a very successful existing business that is able to grow and serve even more customers, highlighting how important successful collaborations are for our community overall. The building is owned by the Industrial Development Authority, which assisted in the expansion. The Brick, 410 Main Street, is expanding in the River District. That means business is good, and this is a sign of success, said Neal Morris, IDA board chairman. The IDA is always happy when we participate in the success of our businesses! The Danville Office of Economic Development & Tourism recruits and retains businesses for the Danville area. The office provides information on available sites and buildings, incentives and other financial resources and offers a website designed for the business community at www.discoverdanville.com. The River District Association was organized in 1999 as the Downtown Danville Association. In May 2015, the organization was renamed the River District Association to complement the citys River District brand and is an accredited Virginia and National Main Street Community. More information about the River District Association can be found at www.riverdistrictassociation.com. The Industrial Development Authority works in cooperation with the city and its economic development office to promote and facilitate redevelopment activities in the River District by the purchase, renovation, and subsequent lease or sale of real estate sites throughout the district. By Trend Trend News Agency presents an overview of the most important events in 2022 in the industrial sector of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan shows stability and sustained growth amidst global market instability, global price shocks and uncertainty. According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the gross domestic product (GDP) of Uzbekistan per capita of $9,478 in 2022. Vehicle production Uzbekistans UzAuto Motors company has exceeded the annual production plan, and therefore the consumption of components with chips, planned for 2022, also increased. At the beginning of this year, the company planned to produce 280,000 cars, which is 21 percent more than in 2021. Due to increased demand for Chevrolet cars the company managed to increase its planned production for 2022 to 340 thousand cars, which will already exceed last year's volume by 44 percent. UzAuto Motors has rolled out 290,000 vehicles from January to November 2022. Meanwhile, this year, Uzbekistan prepared the strategy for the development of the electric car industry. Uzavtosanoat has signed a memorandum with the Chinese BYD Auto Industry manufacturer of electric vehicles. Within the framework of the memorandum, the companies agreed to cooperate in the production of electric vehicles. The document was the first step toward the development of the production of electric vehicles in Uzbekistan. Bus production As for buses, Uzbekistan significantly increased bus production from January through November 2022. According to the State Statistics Committee, Uzbekistan produced a total of 1,125 buses along 11M2022. Meanwhile, the growth rate compared to the corresponding period in 2021 amounted to 32.8 percent. Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan cooperation in cotton industry PAHTAMASH (Uzbek manufacturer of cotton-cleaning equipment) expressed willingness to build a plant in Azerbaijan. In particular, the company was interested in equipping plants in liberated from Armenian occupation territories of Azerbaijan, as well as modernizing Azerbaijans existing plants. Uzbek PAHTAMASH planned to train Azerbaijani specialists in order to increase cotton production. Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan discussed cooperation matters in the field of cotton production. Following the discussions, PAHTAMASH and Azerbaijans Azernagro LLC signed a contract for $726,000 and planned to more than double its value, up to about $2 million. Meanwhile, Uzbek manufacturer has been cooperating with Azerbaijan since 2016-2017. Azerbaijani companies such as MKT Production Commerce LLC, Azerpambiq LLC, P-Aqro LLC, as well as Azernagro LLC are partners of PAHTAMASH. Furthermore, PAHTAMASH products are also supplied to Turkiye, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and other cotton-growing countries. In the nearest future, Uzbek manufacturer plans to supply equipment through Azerbaijan to new markets. Production of synthetic jet fuel from synthesis gas of Uzbekistan The Uzbekistan GTL complex (UzGTL) started production of synthetic jet fuel in 2022. A sample taken from the first batch of synthetic kerosene produced at the GTL plant was sent to the SGS laboratories in Estonia, Belgium, and France for analysis in order to obtain a certificate of conformity. The Uzbekistan GTL plant has received endorsement from the international organizations IATA, ASTM International, and Def Stan, and is granted permission to use GTL kerosene as a synthetic component for aviation fuel. The Uzbekistan GTL complex intends to produce import-substituting oil products and hydrocarbons with a total value of $1 billion per year. Furthermore, this year, UzGTL has started the production of synthetic diesel products, the first of a series of end products from its advanced gas-to-liquids process. Textile industry Uzbekistan has planned to create an institute for the textile industry in the Namangan region in 2022. The project is being developed jointly with the municipality of the Namangan region. It is planned that the Institute of Textile Industry will be created on the basis of the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology. At the same time, Turkiyes Akca Holding expressed willingness to launch a $250 million textile complex in Uzbekistan. It is planned to launch manufacturing of products from yarn, terry towels, home textiles, knitwear, military uniforms, linen, dyed fabric, and other textile products oriented to the markets of the USA, Europe, Brazil, Canada, and other countries. As a result, 12,000-15,000 new jobs will be created. Uzbek side expressed its readiness to provide comprehensive assistance at all stages of the project, as well as in the process of developing new investment initiatives. Meanwhile, supplies of textile products from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan from January through November 2022 amounted to $457.9 million, which is an increase of 29.2 percent over the same period in 2021 ($354.5 million). Statistics of industrial production in 11M2022 The value of industrial production in Uzbekistan from January through November 2022 amounted to $43.1 billion, which is an increase of 22.5 percent compared to the same period of 2021 $35.2 billion. The value of production of the mining industry for the corresponding period amounted to $4.2 billion, which is an increase of 22.9 percent compared to the same period last year ($3.4 billion). During this period the value of production in the manufacturing industry increased by 22.8 percent compared to the same period in 2021 ($29.1 billion), reaching $35.7 billion. From January through November 2022 the value of production in the field of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning reached $2.9 billion. More in Electric aircraft allows Ohio farmers to fly over their land, and more of today's top videos (5 of 7) REIDSVILLE Rob Ramey, a leader at Project Lost Sheep, recently spoke to the Reidsville Kiwanis Club about the problem of human trafficking in the United States and in Rockingham County. He explained that his agency monitors the crimes and that North Carolina ranks 9th in the U.S. for sex trafficking and Rockingham County is not free of the tragic problem. Worldwide, India has the highest incidence of human trafficking crimes, followed by China, Ramey said. The United States is seeing its problem with trafficking grow rapidly, Ramey said, explaining that people as young as 12, both female and male, are prey to traffickers. These youths may have either been abandoned, run away from home, or turned to drugs, making them ideal targets for criminals seeking to exploit them for money. Traffickers typically promise such young people money and material goods, grooming them to feel beholden to the predators and do what they demand. Such traffickers force their victims to labor with 80% being assaulted physically, sexually, and verbally. The traffickers send victims to work in the sex industry, placing them at truck stops, hotels or through residential escort services. Other victims may be forced to be photographed for pornography, Ramey said. Human trafficking is known as the silent crime as victims so often do not want to talk about it. This shame makes it hard to identify the perpetrators. Ramey said there are some ways to identify potential victims if you observe them closely. They often appear unkempt, shy, and isolated from others. If you suspect someone fits such a profile, notify police and give them as much information as you can about a suspected victim. For further information, email PROJECTLOSTSHEEP.ORG or call 336-649-3020. The Kiwanis Club meets each Thursday at noon at the Main Street Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Reidsville. Visitors are welcome. In recognition of this day, and in honor of his memory, words from and about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: If we are wrong, then the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer and never came down to earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie. And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. King in Montgomery, Ala., at the start of the bus boycott, Dec. 5, 1955. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negros great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cant agree with your methods of direct action; who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a more convenient season. Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. in Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 1963. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. in his I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Aug. 28, 1963. At this point I should make it clear that while I have tried in these last few minutes to give a voice to the voiceless on Vietnam and to understand the arguments of those who are called enemy, I am as deeply concerned about our troops there as anything else. For it occurs to me that what we are submitting them to in Vietnam is not simply the brutalizing process that goes on in any war where armies face each other and seek to destroy. We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. Before long they must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy and the secure while we create hell for the poor. at Riverside Church in New York, April 4, 1967. Sen. Bobby Kennedy told a black crowd in Indianapolis of Kings slaying: I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee. For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. There were riots nationwide that night, but not in Indianapolis. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles a few months later. A 37-year-old Helena man is charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal mischief after being accused of breaking into and stealing from a business. A deputy was dispatched to a business on North Montana Avenue for a report of a burglary on Dec. 14. The business owner stated that someone forced entry into the business, causing damage estimated at $1,500. Court documents say the suspect then removed all cash and checks from the register, which was estimated to be somewhere between $500 to $5,000. On Dec. 20, the business owner contacted authorities with security video of the incident. The video showed a man wearing a dark colored Quicksilver brand hooded sweatshirt and a stocking hat. The man approached the building and covered his face before using a tire iron to force the door open, according to court reports. The suspect went right to the cash register and forced it open. He was wearing gloves but removed one when grabbing the cash and checks, revealing an oval shaped tattoo on the back of his left hand, said officials. On Dec. 28, the owner informed the deputy that a former employee of the business had a similar tattoo. The suspect, Kodie Matthew Vincent Baker, is on probation for theft and criminal endangerment. The deputy viewed photos of Baker, and the tattoos matched, according to court reports. A probation officer informed the deputy that Baker was at work on Dec. 29. The deputy located Baker, and he denied all accusations and stated that he didnt own a Quicksilver brand hooded sweatshirt. Probation and parole authorized a search of Bakers residence. A hooded sweatshirt was located that matched the one worn in the video footage. The deputy was able to contact Baker by phone but wasnt able to locate him. On Jan. 12, other deputies had contact with Baker on an unrelated incident. They were aware of Baker being investigated and placed him under arrest. All are presumed innocent until proven guilty. 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 As the second week of the legislative session drew to a close Friday, the issue of abortion came to the forefront with a rally in the Capitol Rotunda and one of the first bills on the topic to be heard in a committee hearing next week. The annual Montana State March for Life is organized by Pro-Life Helena. This year Republican elected officials who spoke at the event all celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer and expressed frustration at whats known as the Armstrong ruling in Montana, a 1999 decision by the state Supreme Court that found the Montana Constitutional right to privacy upholds access to pre-viability abortions in the state. Abortion is a national tragedy and unfortunately its a Montana tragedy, Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen said. Knudsen has asked the Montana Supreme Court to overturn Armstrong, and reiterated his argument for that Friday, telling the crowd that while part of the ruling was rooted in the Montana Constitution, another leg of it rested on the Roe decision. Since Roe has fallen, he said, the court needs to revisit its order. At the rally, he squarely went after the judiciary, saying theyve wrongly sided with those challenging abortion legislation from 2021 as unconstitutional. Abortionists seem to have judges here in Montana and in their pocket, Knudsen said. He pointed to three bills from the 2021 session that are under a preliminary injunction following an order from a judge in Yellowstone County, along with a 2013 case thats still under a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement of a parental notice act approved by voters and a parental consent law passed by lawmakers two years later. We are pressuring them on the Supreme Court to do that very thing, Knudsen said. At the end of the day, abortion is just a money-making scheme for abortionists and for businesses like Planned Parenthood. In speaking to the crowd, Gov. Greg Gianforte said that for the previous 16 years under Democratic administrations before his 2020 election, the voices and legislation on limiting abortion access were defeated by the veto pen. Not anymore, Gianforte said. He said that advocating against abortion is not enough but that people at the rally also needed to support children and families. Taking care of families and young mothers is the next chapter, Gianforte said. He pointed to his proposed budget lawmakers are considering now and a $1,200 permanent tax credit for families earning less than $50,000 with children under the age of 6 and adoption tax credits of up to $7,500 for children from and adopted in Montana. Next week lawmakers will hear the first of several abortion bills coming this session, with Senate Bill 154 from Sen. Keith Regier. It would define that the right to privacy does not include the right to abortion. It wouldn't change the state Constitution but put that into statute. State Rep. Amy Regier, the senators daughter, also has a bill that is the same as last sessions that's under injunction to require the option, but not mandate, that a pregnant person be notified of the opportunity to view an ultrasound or hear a fetus heartbeat. Legislative records also show one GOP lawmaker has requested a bill be drafted to limit access to abortion in all cases, except if the life of the mother is at risk and without provisions for rape or incest. It has yet to be introduced. Across the aisle, Democrats have a slew of bills to preserve access to abortion care. That incudes a bill that would codify the Armstrong decision, another that would ensure health care decisions happen only between a person and their doctor and another that would protect those receiving care at health care facilities from harassment. They also have bills focused on reproductive health more broadly, including parity for access to menstrual products. While lawmakers on budget committees examine the fiscal needs of the embattled state-run psychiatric facility, a bill introduced Friday is perhaps the most significant policy bill aimed at resolving issues at the Montana State Hospital. Rep. Jennifer Carlson, R-Manhattan, is the sponsor of House Bill 29, a bipartisan solution developed over the last year by the Interim Children, Families, Health and Human Services Committee. The bill would create a transition review committee to oversee the migration of dementia patients to other settings. The Spratt Unit, where geriatric residents have been housed, would be repurposed for other uses. The state hospital lost its federal certification and the funding that came along with it nearly a year ago after inspectors found repeated failures to maintain basic health and safety protocols. Carlson, a staunch Republican, took a leading role in advancing solutions to the facility's failures, which will come with a considerable price tag this session. The facility has for years admitted dementia and Alzheimer's patients who have been committed there by district court judges despite the facility's own policy that forbids those admissions. The Montana State Hospital is intended to provide care for people with severe mental disorders who are a danger to themselves or others, but has effectively become a safety net for patients with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. "We must stop putting those people in the most restrictive place in the state that is not meeting their most basic needs," Carlson told the House Human Services Committee on Friday. "We are a civil society. We care for vulnerable people. We do it well and it costs money, but we have to do a good job." Important variables remain, however, about where these patients would go, and what infrastructure will be in place by the proposed mid-2025 deadline to transition them out of Warm Springs. The bill intends to transfer patients to community services, and one provision is a directive to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to provide first priority for admissions to nursing homes for geriatric patients at the Montana State Hospital. Nursing homes are not in an ideal place, however, to accept new patients. Eleven have closed in the last year, advocates told lawmakers this week. And when beds are available, the Medicaid reimbursement rate is short of the true cost of services, meaning nursing homes cannot afford to staff the facilities and maintain necessary levels of care. DPHHS, which oversees the state hospital and other health care facilities run by the state, opposed the bills, although chief facilities director William Evo said that opposition stood largely on technicalities. The two-year timeline to implement the transition is "too rigid" to accomplish the bill's transfer goals and mandates discharges without consideration for patient needs. "We absolutely understand the intent of this bill and do want to partner with you," Evo told the committee. Longtime health care advocates who supported the bill, however, said the timeline was important. Rose Hughes, executive director of the Montana Health Care Association, said the mid-2025 deadline was in fact a safety valve for the Legislature that year to adjust the deadline if the committee's work did not follow expectations. "What I find is, when you pass a bill like this, you are telling the agency 'This is important to us, focus on it,' because the agency could have been doing this all along," Hughes said. Alvarez & Marsal, a consulting firm DPHHS contracted with last year to stabilize the state's health care facilities, recommended last week that those patients are transferred to another state facility. Carlson took issue with the state's fiscal analysts who, despite the bill's intention of moving patients to community-based nursing home facilities, projected the cost of the transferring patients to the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown at up to $4.5 million by 2027. Carlson contended it would cost under $1 million for the state to instead pay to close the gap between the Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing homes and the actual cost of services. There are 10 patients who currently match the criteria to be transferred out of Montana State Hospital, Carlson said. "If there were 50 people that fit this category currently living in the Montana State Hospital under secure facility arrangement not receiving the least restrictive most appropriate care I would advocate that we spend that money," Carlson said. By Trend Internet connectivity has been established between Turkiye and Armenia, Trend reports via the Turkish TRT Haber channel. In order to visit Armenia, Turkish citizens used to get a visa from Yerevan's diplomatic missions in Georgia. "Previously, Armenia shut down the internet access for all Turkiye. Now the connection has been established. Consular affairs are also going very well. Some humanitarian steps are also being taken," it was said. DECATUR State politics were at the center of debate during Thursdays Macon County Board meeting. But unlike at the state level, Republicans dominate locally. And Macon County Republicans harnessed their 12-3 majority on the county board to take a hard stance against what one board member called sweeping legislation and divisive language from Illinois Democrats. We are already facing two new sweeping legislations that have centralizing authority in leading us to what I would determine is a constitutional crisis, said newly elected board member Edward Yoder, a Republican from District 4, during board member comments. Yoder went on to criticize Gov. J.B. Pritzkers inaugural address earlier this week, accusing Pritzker of using divisive language like extremist, right-winger, anti-vaxxer and hate. Yoder said he hopes Illinois legislators will soon recognize their actions are upsetting Illinois citizens and aim for constructive Illinois legislation thats not agenda-driven. Of primary concern to Yoder and other Republican board members was HB5471, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which Pritzker signed into law this week. The law requires current owners of assault weapons to register their firearms with the state and bans future sales of various semi-automatic firearms classified as assault weapons. In a partisan vote, the board approved a resolution formally stating the countys opposition to the assault weapons ban. That measure was brought forth out of the Operations and Personnel Committee, where a formal opposition to the assault weapons ban was being discussed before the legislation had passed and been signed into law, according to Democratic board member Karl Coleman, who represents District 1. The boards action directly aligned with Macon County Sheriff Jim Root, who had released a statement earlier in the day which he declared he would not enforce the law. Legislators passed the law knowing that it infringes upon your inalienable right to keep and bear arms for the defense of life, liberty and property, Roots statement read. I, along with many others, believe HB5471 is a clear violation of my oath and both Constitutions Im sworn to protect, Root continued. I am supported by the Macon County Board who previously passed 2018 Resolution G-4926-11-18 opposing similar legislation. In standing together against the assault weapons ban, Root and the Macon County Board joined several other Central Illinois county sheriffs who oppose the new law. Yoder said he thought it was important for board members to address the legislation. Well, it sends a message back to the legislators that our constituents within the district are upset. They don't feel like they're being represented, Yoder said. I've had several folks contact me to say they were in support of the resolution. I've had no one contact me saying they're not in support of the resolution. During public comments on the resolution, Decatur resident Dan Cooley said HB5471 took away constitutional rights. It does nothing to solve crime, Cooley said. As far as how its been presented, there's nothing in there to protect the schoolchildren, theres nothing in there (that) protects the community. It strictly takes away the ability of folks to own firearms as their Second Amendment right. Any Democratic opposition can be effectively silenced by the Republican majority. All Republicans voted in favor of the anti-assault weapons ban resolution. Democrats Coleman and Vivian Goodman, who represents District 1, voted present and no, respectively. In another vote reflecting Republicans dominance, board members voted along party lines to keep cannabis dispensaries out of unincorporated parts of Macon County. The board passed a resolution extending the sunset date of the cannabis business establishment ordinance of the Macon County Code for another year, meaning all facilities for cannabis except for dispensaries are allowed in the countys unincorporated areas until 2024. Coleman called the measure redundant and unproductive. As we know, there is not likely to be a cannabis dispensary put in an unincorporated part of the county, Coleman said. Extending the ban on dispensaries means taking away economic opportunities, he said. In other action, board members also voted through a new rules package that will reduce the number of board committees and the number of members on those committees. In December, Assistant States Attorney Mike Baggett advised board members that the boards committee structure was not designed for a 15-member board. Committees were due for a restructuring after the boards downsizing from seven districts with 21 seats to five districts with 15 seats, he said. We're not going to be changing dramatically what the county board's been doing, Baggett said at the December meeting. We want to keep with historical precedent in terms of the way we operate. We don't want to make huge changes there. Coleman criticized the new rules, arguing that they dramatically consolidate power for the majority caucus by requiring fewer members of the opposing party on a given committee. The board voted to approve the appointment of Marsha Webb, an EMS instructor with experience working for Decatur ambulance services, to an open position on the Macon County Board of Health. The Macon County Board will hold its next full meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 on the fifth floor of the Macon County Office Building. Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term When the Democrats get their act together during a legislative lame duck session, they can really pass a lot of stuff in short order. Weve seen it before. Two years ago, the Democrats passed a huge amount of important legislation, including the SAFE-T Act, in just a few days. Except maybe for the assault weapons ban, which is proving unpopular with county sheriffs who believe they have the right to personally interpret the Constitution, nothing quite that intensely controversial passed during this years lame duck session. Both chambers also passed a bill to protect out-of-state abortion providers who travel to Illinois, which has since been signed into law. The bill also protects non-Illinois physicians and parents of children who travel here for gender affirming care. And both chambers gave the governor a big win with the passage of his $500 million Large Business Attraction Fund. There are hopes that the governor can use at least some of that money to persuade Stellantis to transform its about to be closed Belvidere plant to one that makes electric vehicles. The coverage of those three bills will likely overshadow some other bills of note: SB208: I think this bill could have more impact on the day-to-day lives of struggling working people than maybe anything else Ive ever seen passed in Illinois. All workers at private companies will now qualify for five paid leave days per year, no questions asked. Just try missing a couple of days pay on a budget with absolutely no wiggle room. It can be a disaster. And now, some, or even much of that pain will be avoided. The states top business groups, led by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, have been negotiating this bill for years, mainly in an attempt to preempt Chicago from passing a more generous plan. But the final bill allows the city and other home rule units to pass more expansive benefit laws and the groups were neutral. All props to sponsors Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and Sen. Kimberly Lightford for getting this thing across the finish line with the help of the two Democratic legislative leaders and the governor and organized labor. Some Republicans even voted for it in the House. I really cant believe this all came together. HB1563: The legislature approved a bill a few years ago which required all state jobs with no specific location requirements to be relocated to Sangamon County. Newly created jobs had to be located in the state capitals county as well. But both lame duck chambers significantly loosened those requirements. HB969: The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability revised this fiscal years revenue outlook upward by a whopping $4.9 billion last November. The belief is that this money is one-time only, so the governor and the Democratic legislative leaders have proposed using most of that cash to pay down bills, build up the Rainy Day Fund, create a business attraction fund, etc. But legislators are spending creatures and they all have priorities, so the pressure to add bigtime dollars into the states base spending is undoubtedly intense, which could cause a fiscal disaster if/and/or when revenues fall. One solution is to divert some of that extra cash into one-time spending for members, including capital projects. The idea would be to placate legislators without putting future pressure on the state budget. So, the new supplemental appropriations bill has a ton of one-time local and Democratic priority spending, like $5 million to the Hate Crimes and Bias Incident and Response Fund, $162 million for costs associated with care and services provided to asylum seekers that the city has sought, $1 million to the Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition for the South Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force, $10 million to the Office of the State Appellate Defender for all costs associated with pretrial release, $500K to the Peoria Civic Center for audience building seed, $75 million for housing programs, $4 million for East St. Louis home renovation grants, $11 million for construction of an East St. Louis trauma recovery center, $9 million to community colleges and universities to administer the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act, etc., etc., etc. Several churches will receive state funds as well. Not everyone was happy. Just $12.5 million was appropriated to community-based services for persons with developmental disabilities, when advocates wanted at least $30 million. And theres a danger that a few of these one-time grants could create future spending pressure. Casa Central, a Latino social service agency, is getting $500K for ongoing operating expenses as is the Peoria Riverfront Museum and others. But its not really a huge amount. Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term Vote now until noon on April 20th to support the businesses that you think are the best in the New Braunfels area. The rats are coming! The rats are coming! No, its not a tagline from a cheap nature-run-amok movie currently playing on Pluto (the streaming service, not the dwarf planet on the edge of our solar system), but a terrifying forewarning I received by email. The subject line read Experts warning for North Carolina households over rat invasion, as cold period drives them into homes. If true, I suspect readers in neighboring South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia arent off the hook when it comes to the Great Southeastern Rat Invasion. Rodents tend not to respect state lines. The frightening email came from The Pest Dude, which sounds like the guy no one wanted sitting behind them in high school math class. I swear, Ronnie, if you hit the back of my chair once more, I am going to beat the absolute $#@& out of you in study hall. Instead, The Pest Dude (pestdude.com) is Zachary Smith from California, not Ronnie from 10th grade. According to his website, he is the trusted source for DIY pest control rather than an annoying punk who is going to get whats coming to him in study hall. Rodents, above all other pests, are a public health concern as they can cause considerable damage to both residential and business premises, Smith/Pest Dude said. Not only can they damage the structures of both residential and business properties, but they can also significantly affect a business reputation. That is true. No one wants to stop by Mamaw Berties House of Hotcakes and Travel Plaza for a late breakfast only to see an 8-pound Norway rat stuffing a dollar in the jukebox to play another Eric Church song. Thats sure to get a bad Yelp review. As temperatures continue to drop, were seeing increase in service calls as rats continue looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter, The Pest Dude said. While most of us may associate rats with sewers and holes in the ground, brown rats are very nimble climbers, and can be found in attics and inside walls. What can we do to stop this plague upon our homes and businesses? The Pest Dude offers seven tips, plus I have some added advice. Seal entry points to your home. (In fact, I advise including doors and windows, covering them with thick, plastic sheeting and industrial-grade caulk, entering and exiting only through the chimney. In case there is no chimney, seal the house completely and move away.) Trim all trees at least 3 feet away from the roof line. (Trees more than 3 feet away provide perfect sniper cover to pick off the rats one at a time as they try to enter the house.) Check your vents. (Especially to make sure neighbors you have angered have not placed Welcome Rats signs above them.) Clean up debris piles. (Who dumped all that trash in my yard? Ronnie, you son-of-a ...) Clean up rats favorite food such as fruits. (I was surprised to learn rats liked fruit. Years of watching cheap nature-run-amok movies suggested they preferred human flesh, especially those that escaped from clandestine government labs after growth serum experiments.) Introduce natural predators. (A pack of rabid wolverines should do the trick. They may not get rid of the rats, but youll have a lot more to worry about than something skittering around the attic chewing on those old Billy Joel albums in the milk crate.) Try repellents or hazing. (Hazing works well. Make the rats chug beer then paddle them and send them running through the quad in their underwear. Theyll either stay out of your house or join the frat.) So, in conclusion, the rats are coming. Good luck, everyone (except you, Ronnie.) " " The real Davy Crockett, ca. 1836. Heritage Images/Getty Images Later in his life, Davy Crockett adopted the motto, "Be sure you're right, then go ahead" [source: Smithsonian]. He was true to this independent ideal from an early age. At 12, he ran away from his first job of driving cattle after it became clear it was merely indentured servitude. His dramatic escape entailed a two-hour, 7-mile nighttime run in knee-deep snow. And he chose work over school, generally. But Crockett was proud of the life he made for himself without the benefit of a formal education. He wore his lack of schooling like a badge of honor. Davy Crockett Books During his lifetime, Crockett's frontiersmanship became legendary. The book and play "Lion of the West" and other popular books chronicled his life. These biographies were fantastic, absurd accounts of Crockett's wilderness prowess. And when one was written by an author who falsely attributed the "autobiography" to Crockett himself (ostensibly to boost sales), Davy's endearing reputation as a teller of tall tales was secured. Crockett eventually did write his autobiography, which also spun some unbelievable yarns. In one chapter, Crockett describes how he killed 105 bears in one year [source: Crockett]. Advertisement Bear hunting was seminally integrated into Crockett's image. The "Ballad of Davy Crockett" (the theme song of the Disney series) mentions that Davy "kilt him a b'ar when he was only three." While this is likely not the case, it captures the essence of his larger-than-life reputation. American Frontiersman At a time when American expansion was meeting resistance from American Indians, Crockett was also regarded as a "brave Indian fighter." As a member of the Tennessee militia during the Creek Indian War, Crockett participated in a massacre of an American Indian village in Alabama, in retribution for a previous raid by the tribe [source: TSHA]. He also fought in the War of 1812 against the British. In 1817, he entered local politics in Lawrence County, Tennessee, fighting for land rights for poor settlers. Davy Crockett in Politics In 1829 he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives [source: History]. He ran with the Whig Party, a political party that adopted traditionalist conservatism. At some point, Crockett changed his views toward American Indians. As a congressman for Tennessee, he came to oppose President Andrew Jackson's land-use policies. The president's ideas for securing new settlements included the forced removal of American Indians from their tribal lands. Crockett was so vehemently opposed to American Indian removal and land grabbing that he lost his re-election bid to Congress in 1831. However, he was re-elected in 1833. In 1835, he lost his Congressional seat again and left politics for good, but not before telling newspapers, "I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not, they might go to hell, and I would go to Texas" [source: Texas State Library]. And so he did. He was so caught up in the Texas revolutionary spirit as the former Mexican state struggled for independence (and intrigued by the promise of money from land speculation that a free republic eventually promised), that he volunteered to serve as a member of the rebel militia fighting the Mexican Army there. How Did Davy Crockett Die? Crockett died in Texas the next year during the famous 1836 siege at the Alamo, but his death only brought him more glory. He's been portrayed in depictions of the battle using his trusty musket "Old Betsy" as a club, dealing blows to Mexican soldiers. His soldiering was called into question later from firsthand accounts that told of Crockett being captured rather than dying amid a rubble of Mexican corpses. But when the diary of a Mexican solider who had fought at the Alamo was discovered in 1975, Crockett's valiant reputation was supported by the soldier's words: Crockett had been a rallying figure for the doomed men at the fort before he was brutally executed at the hands of the Mexicans upon his capture [source: PBS]. Advertisement Originally Published: May 5, 2008 " " An illustration of one of Frederick Ruysch's dioramas featuring fetal skeletons and preserved tissue. Note the handkerchief. Image courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine During the Dark and Medieval Ages, the Catholic Church countered scientific inquiry with painful death. With the dawn of the Age of Exploration, rational thought began to emerge from the shadows. The world opened up along oversea trade routes, and merchants returned to Europe from strange and eldritch lands with impressive relics. These were prized by early scientists, who collected the items, forming the first wunderkammern. Looking in on these wunderkammern was fashionable among Europe's wealthy classes. But to those who amassed the items, wunderkammern were far more than passing fancies. Each item in these collections presented an opportunity to explore and catalog one more piece of the world. Advertisement Some artifacts were more dubious than others. One may have found a mummy's hand situated next to a reputed mermaid's hand. And their arrangement within the cabinet or room followed no aesthetic pattern. Instead, the items were tucked away wherever each fit. As a result, macabre juxtapositions often emerged, like a perfectly symmetrical dried starfish book-ended by a syphilis-ravaged skull and a fetish (an idol representing a god) from some equatorial cult. Other collections were of a medical nature; anatomical oddities like conjoined twins were highly prized, as were abnormalities like human skulls with horns. Some collections were thematic, with many types of a similar artifact that were used as bases for comparison. Peter the Great's cabinet of curiosity featured scores of teeth he'd personally pulled -- he considered himself a dentist [source: Slate]. Wunderkammern were in vogue in Europe and provided Peter with a perfect opportunity to slake his natural thirst for knowledge while introducing an occidental appeal to his nation. Peter was interested in bringing Russia out of cultural isolation and into a more Eurocentric society. A government under constant threat of usurpation kept him busy, and he had to purchase others' collections rather than collect his own novelties. He had a standing order for his merchants and military to bring back any items of interest for his wunderkammer. He invested in two collections that had achieved considerable prominence. One was that of Dutch scientist Frederik Ruysch. His wunderkammer was a spectacle, indeed. It was as much a statement on life and death as it was about the demystification of anatomy. Ruysch developed techniques for preserving tissue, and he used his methods to create amazing works of art. He often featured fetal skeletons in woodland scenes. Closer inspection reveals the trees and other flora -- the "woodland landscape" -- to be intricate constructions of veins and arteries. The handkerchiefs into which some skeletons wept over the folly of life were flayed brain tissue [source: Gould]. Peter also purchased the collection of another Dutchman, Albertus Seba. He sold the contents of his wunderkammer to Peter in 1717 for 15,000 guilders [source: Towbridge Gallery]. Seba's contribution to Peter's collection consisted largely of exotic animal specimens, for which the Dutchman traded medicine to sailors. Preserved items like squid, poisonous toads and butterflies were shipped from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg. Although these exhibits sound morbid and strange, there was a purpose behind them. To Peter, the study of abnormal specimens meant dispelling popular myths about the involvement of the devil in the development of what the peasantry considered to be "monsters" [source: Kunstkamera]. As a result, a major part of Peter's collection consisted of pickled fetuses and sections of the human body. This part of the wunderkammer extended to the animal kingdom, as well. It included a two-headed sheep and a four-legged rooster [source: British Library]. The contributions to human understanding that Peter's and others' collections of oddities generated is incalculable. But wunderkammern also left behind other traces over the centuries. Find out about the legacy of wunderkammern on the next page. West Point, N.Y.- Donte McKinney took the title on high bar with a career-high score of 13.95. Cooper Giles earned the event title on pommel horse with a score of 14.10, and Taylor Christopulos put up a 14.70 on vault, good for the title. Nebraska claimed three event titles for the first day of competition.took the title on high bar with a career-high score of 13.95.earned the event title on pommel horse with a score of 14.10, andput up a 14.70 on vault, good for the title. Rotation One Asher Cohen led the lineup scoring a 12.35. Sophomores Joey Pepe and Travis Wong followed notching a 12.70 and 13.60, respectively. James Friedman earned a 13.80 while senior Liam Doherty-Herwitz anchored the squad with a career-high 14.00. The Big Red finished the event with a 66.45 team score. The Huskers began the night on parallel bars where freshmanled the lineup scoring a 12.35. Sophomoresandfollowed notching a 12.70 and 13.60, respectively.earned a 13.80 while senioranchored the squad with a career-high 14.00. The Big Red finished the event with a 66.45 team score. Rotation Two Donte McKinney highlighted the event after scoring a 13.95, tying his career-high, taking the event title. Taylor Christopulos followed notching a 13.45. Joey Pepe scored a 12.35 and Toby Liang earned an 11.35. Sophomore Zac Tiderman put down a 13.05 for the Big Red in his first Husker debut. Moving onto high bar,highlighted the event after scoring a 13.95, tying his career-high, taking the event title.followed notching a 13.45.scored a 12.35 andearned an 11.35. Sophomoreput down a 13.05 for the Big Red in his first Husker debut. Rotation Three Nathan York posted a 12.75 as lead-off in the event. Chris Hiser earned a 12.50. Moritz Mueller notched a solid 13.90 for Nebraska. Toby Liang and Taylor Christopulos earned a score of 12.60 and 12.30 to conclude the third event of the night. Moving onto floor, freshmanposted a 12.75 as lead-off in the event.earned a 12.50.notched a solid 13.90 for Nebraska.andearned a score of 12.60 and 12.30 to conclude the third event of the night. Cooper Giles impressed with strength by putting up a 14.10 coming off of a season-ending injury last season, good for the event title. James Friedman and Nathan York both earned a score of 12.70. Travis Wong notched a 13.20 and Taylor Christopulos anchored the Big Red with a 13.10 on horse. NU maintained their momentum after moving to the fourth rotation on pommel horse whereimpressed with strength by putting up a 14.10 coming off of a season-ending injury last season, good for the event title.andboth earned a score of 12.70.notched a 13.20 andanchored the Big Red with a 13.10 on horse. Rotation Five Chris Hiser , impressed with a career-high 14.25 to build momentum for the Huskers. Asher Cohen followed with a 12.65, and James Friedman with a 13.70. Liam Doherty-Herwitz registered a career-high 13.85, and Mo Mueller concluded the event with a 13.50, also a career-high for the senior. Nebraska transitioned to rings for the fifth rotation. Previous 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year,, impressed with a career-high 14.25 to build momentum for the Huskers.followed with a 12.65, andwith a 13.70.registered a career-high 13.85, and Mo Mueller concluded the event with a 13.50, also a career-high for the senior. Rotation Six Taylor Christopulos displayed his talent for the event notching a 14.70 to lead the squad, good for the event title. Liam Doherty-Herwitz put up a 14.45 for the Big Red. Donte McKinney scored a 13.70. Chris Hiser earned a 13.85 and James Friedman concluded vault with a 14.20 to end the first day of competition. NU showed vault for rotation six.displayed his talent for the event notching a 14.70 to lead the squad, good for the event title.put up a 14.45 for the Big Red.scored a 13.70.earned a 13.85 andconcluded vault with a 14.20 to end the first day of competition. Battling a fellow Big Ten competitor throughout the meet, Nebraska took second place with a score of 399.300 behind Penn State's 407.600 to conclude the West Point Open. Navy followed in third with 394.500, with Army scoring 390.150 and Springfield earning 361.750 respectively. Up Next The Huskers travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. to compete in the Rocky Mountain Open next weekend, Jan. 21. The competition is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. CT. Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet. Nebraska battled in their first meet of the 2023 season competing against Penn State, Army, Navy, and Springfield in the West Point Open where they claimed second place on the first day of team competition. The Huskers ended with a final team score of 399.300. The first Turan Book Festival, which will run until January 15, invites you to read and listen to valuable publications about the history, traditions, and future of the Great Turan idea. The first and only mobile book app in Azerbaijan Audiokitab rose a great interest at the festival, which is attended by many of the countrys leading publishing houses, online bookstores, and sales centers. Technological innovations remove possible limitations for those interested in science and reading. The presentation of classic and modern artistic examples from world literature, scientific literature, and textbooks performed by professional actors has made the Audiokitab application very popular. The Audiokitab mobile application, which allows listening to thousands of books for a nominal subscription fee, is represented at the Turan Book Festival by the three-volume Golden Book of the Turk, the collection of lectures History of Turkish Peoples and bestsellers of famous Turkish authors. Among meetings held within the framework of the festival, the meeting organized by Audiokitab with historian Karam Mammadov was met with great interest. The mobile applications director, Ahliman Arshadli, said that since 2015, the Audiokitab mobile application has participated in dozens of book fairs with its audiobooks available in three languages. The main mission of Audiokitab is to be useful for the most diverse groups of society interested in books, especially children. Moreover, it tries to continuously develop the charity line by meeting the needs of the visually impaired for books. "All this serves the task of replacing one another with generations that know their historical roots, modern, educated, and broad-minded. Turanism is an idea of ??global significance not only for Azerbaijan and Turkic-speaking countries but even for the whole world. In this sense, being a participant in the first Turan festival is a moral responsibility and a great honor. The book festival, which starts with the motto "The future of Turan is in the book", is a mark of respect for the spirit of the intellectuals - great thinkers, who were sent to distant exiles, imprisoned, and subjected to merciless torture just for saying and writing the word `Turan'..." It is possible to follow the course of the festival held with the support of the Science and Education Ministry, the DOST Agency, and the Baku Center of the Yunus Emre Institute, at the Passage-1901 exhibition hall, on the Instagram page. The program includes discussions with Dr. Sadik Cetin, Prof. Dr. Ilyas Topsakal, Prof Adalat Tahirzada, etc., presentations of new publications, autograph sessions with authors, and master classes for children. The first Turan festival provides an opportunity to communicate directly with those who explore the roots of the Ottoman period, the period of the republic, and Turkic culture. WINSTON-SALEM The citys oldest radio station, WSJS at 600 on the AM dial, has been off the air since earlier this week after vandals destroyed the last of three working radio towers on a 44-acre tract off Robinhood Road, according to Stu Epperson Jr., the president of the Christian broadcasting company that owns the station. Winston-Salem police are investigating the vandalism of the towers operated by Truth Broadcasting Co. and located in the 4800 block of Robinhood Road, Epperson said. Epperson said the first of the three towers fell days before Christmas, taking out 101.5 FM. Another tower was destroyed late last week, taking out WSJS. Epperson said staffers were able to execute a patch to put the 600 AM signal onto the last of the remaining towers on the property, but vandals took down that one earlier this week, he said. We are working on a couple Band-Aid solutions to get back on the air, Epperson said Thursday. We are a 24-7 service that people depend on for news, talk, weather and inspiration. We are getting calls from everyone. The ones who cant hear us want their AM radio back. WSJS began broadcasting in April 1930. The Truth Network, which was founded in 2000, is owned and operated by the Truth Broadcasting Corp., according to its website. It broadcasts predominantly preaching and teaching on Christian and Bible based topics in North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa and Utah. On Tuesday, Epperson posted a picture on his Facebook page showing him with his head down as he sat on a fallen radio antenna frame. He called it one of the toughest days of my broadcasting life, noting that law enforcement authorities are working on the case, and asking people to pray for the conversion of the person responsible for the damage. At first Epperson thought the damage was weather-related, but as the towers kept falling he realized it was actually criminal activity, Epperson said. During all of my years, we have never had this type of attack and violent action taken against us, he said. They destroyed FCC-licensed towers. Its a major federal crime. Its very bad. Kira Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Winston-Salem Police Department, said the vandalism case is an active, ongoing investigation, but added that police would not be revealing further information at present. Epperson said he doesnt know how much the towers were worth or how much money it will take to replace them, but determining that cost is one of the tasks ahead, he said. The towers were insured, Epperson said. The FBI is aware of a radio station tower vandalism investigation in Winston-Salem, said Shelley Lynch, a FBI spokeswoman in Charlotte. If during the course of the local investigation by the Winston-Salem Police Department, a federal crime comes to light, the FBI is prepared to investigate, she said. Under federal law, anyone convicted of damaging or destroying the property of any radio station can be fined or imprisoned for 10 years. Truth Broadcasting acquired WSJS from Curtis Media Group last year. Epperson said that there was a fourth tower on the site when it was owned by Curtis Media, but that it came down before the sale. Now, Epperson is wondering if that, too, was an earlier act of vandalism. The property off Robinhood Road is owned by 4870 Robinhood Road TRTORV LLC, a company formed by Truth Broadcasting, Roanoke Vinton Radio Inc. and TOV Corporation. Eppersons father, Stuart Epperson Sr., is president of Roanoke Vinton, and Todd DeNeui is president of TOV Corporation. On Jan. 3, the owners of the towers property obtained a rezoning of the property for a residential mix of 156 apartments, 14 twin homes and 178 units of senior housing. While the plans called for the eventual removal of the three towers as the new development took shape, Epperson said that would have happened in an orderly way. We needed those towers to broadcast, he said. If and when they would come down, that is a controlled process, handled very deliberately, safely and legally, under the authorization of the FCC. Two opponents of the rezoning spoke during the public hearing but said their objection was not to the development as such but to city requirements that the new development connect to other nearby developments. One speaker, Cliff Orgnon whose house is near the towers property, told council members during the hearing that he had personally watched one of the towers falling down on Dec. 21. Listeners can still access Truth Broadcastings radio signal at 103.FM in Winston-Salem, 104.9 FM in High Point and 93.7 FM in Greensboro, Epperson said. The local vandalism doesnt affect his companys operations outside of Winston-Salem, he said. The radio station is evaluating how the loss of its broadcast signal is affecting its advertising revenue, Epperson said. No layoffs have occurred among the companys 40 employees in Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Greensboro, he said. However, the vandalism has prevented the radio station from a making a positive difference in our community, Epperson said. This is our hometown, and this is a big hit. We have a couple challenges. Epperson and the staff at the radio station are grateful for the support and prayers that they have receive from the community, he said. Epperson is urging anyone with information about the vandalism to call the Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700. SHELBYVILLE A Shelby County man has been found guilty of multiple counts of child sexual assault, Shelby County State's Attorney Nichole Kroncke announced Friday. A Shelby County jury on Friday found Chris Williams, 56, of Tower Hill, guilty of four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child after almost two hours of deliberation. Williams was remanded to the Shelby County Jail shortly after the verdicts were announced. Williams had been charged with committing four acts of sexual penetration upon a seven-year-old child on two separate dates in October and November of 2020 at his residence in Tower Hill. According to a release from Kroncke's office, Williams testified during his trial and denied the charges. The state argued Williams intentionally "lured" children to his lakeside home for overnight visits by offering access to recreational vehicles and activities, Kroncke said, only to sexually assault the children as they slept. Williams will be sentenced on March 10 at 10 a.m. and is facing a potential sentence of 24 to 120 years in prison, to be served at 85%. He will also be subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender. MATTOON Babies and toddlers have become a regular sight this semester at the Mattoon school district's LIFT regional high school vocational training center. LIFT has opened its new Little Leaders day care after receiving the needed license from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The day care is now providing real-world training opportunities for certified high school students in the childcare program there. "We are open for business. We are really excited. It's been a long time coming, and it really is a joy to serve the families," LIFT Director McLain Schaefer said during a presentation to the Mattoon school board Tuesday night. Schaefer said Little Leaders, on the ground floor of the LIFT building at 121 S. 17th St. downtown, has the capacity to serve 21 babies and toddlers. He said the current headcount is 19 and an application for a 20th child has been filed. LIFT also has started the spring semester with its high school student enrollment growing by 18 additional students to 110. Schaefer added that the roster of schools served there has grown to 12 with the addition of Effingham and Shelbyville. "We are excited to welcome student representatives from those two communities for the first time," Schaefer said, noting later that LIFT is still just in its second semester of existence. LIFT opened last fall in a former Consolidated Communications office building. The center offers a variety of vocational training programs at no charge to Mattoon students and through tuition for students from out of the district. Schaefer said LIFT will host 165 prospective students from 10 schools on Jan. 20 during its inaugural Exploration Day. He said they will get to try hands-on activities in their interest areas, such as creating music videos, programming computers, building electric motors and making appetizers. "That suggestion actually came from our student leadership group, who usually runs our tours," Schaefer said, noting the group wanted to find a way to get visiting students more engaged with LIFT. On Wednesday, student leadership group member Audrey Summers of Shelbyville was among those taking members of the Mattoon Rotary Club on a tour. Summers, who is interested in working in human resources and social media management, said she has enrolled in the Leadership Institute program at LIFT and also wanted to get involved in other ways there. "I think you get out of LIFT what you put into it," Summers said. The Rotarians met in the culinary program dining room on the sixth floor and were served desserts prepared by students. Facilitator Matthew Jacobs said the program's ultimate goal is to use this space to open a student-operated eatery that would be Coles County's only rooftop restaurant. Schaefer said Tuesday night that LIFT students have received 167 certifications or credentials so far. He also noted that the IT students are halfway through completing their CISCO Certified Network Associate certification. "They have got a really tough semester ahead, but once they complete that certification it's a very valuable certificate to the tune of an average salary starting at $90,00 a year for a high school graduate," Schaefer said. "It's a really incredible opportunity for those IT students." Collection: LIFT vocational training center opens for classes Robot in class First group of students Training equipment Robotics student LIFT atrium MATTOON Arland D. Williams Jr. Elementary School students have been learning to play leading roles there while also learning about the heroism of the school's namesake. Principal Mike Shaffer said those lessons were on display as students helped prepare and carry out the activities on Friday for the school's annual Arland D. Williams Jr. Day. "We are really working hard to get many of our kids planning and actually running and emceeing these types of events," Shaffer said, noting that student involvement in the annual Veterans Day assembly has also grown. Friday's event honored the Mattoon native who repeatedly passed a helicopter rope to the five other surviving passengers on Air Florida Flight 90 after it crashed on Jan. 13, 1982 into the Potomac River at Washington, D.C. Williams, a 46-year-old federal bank examiner, died in the icy water, but helped save the lives of the others. The school's memorial event took place on the 41st anniversary of the crash. "Arland Williams actually gave his life so others could stay alive," said fifth-grader Bryn Overton. She and her sister, fourth-grader Bridget, honored the school's namesake on Friday by playing Arland Williams' piano, which his family donated to the school years before. The two sisters performed in the cafeteria as many of their classmates gathered for lunch. Bridget said she also has accepted the school's call for students to serve by joining the Tech Team. She said this group helps fellow students with their technology needs, including creating posters that share tips for using their Chromebooks. The school's lobby has long been home to a bust of Arland Williams, and now also has a new memorial mural created by the Lake Land College print shop. During Friday's memorial event, classes throughout the school also watched a student-created video about Arland Williams and worked on related writing projects. Third-grade teacher Lindsay Ames was among those asking her student to write about people from their own lives that they consider to be heroes and why they feel that way. Student Dior Abrams responded that her dad is her hero because he pulled her from the path of a car that was going to hit her. This was the type of response that Shaffer was hoping for on Arland D. Williams Jr. Day. "What we are hoping students will take away from today is what traits make up a hero," Shaffer said. "I am hoping they will be able to walk away from it today knowing there are everyday heroes who live around them," Shaffer said. PHOTOS: Images of Air Florida Flight 90 crash in January 1982 PLANE CRASH RESCUE Air Florida Crash Airplane Crash Airplane Crash Airplane Crash Air Florida Crash Air Florida Airplane Crash Air Florida Jet Wreckage 1982 Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 aviation; crash; disaster; Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 aviation; crash; disaster; Air Florida Crash Kelly Duncan Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 Air Florida 90 Crash in DC 1982 Sheri Barthelmess Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 Air Florida 90 Crash in D.C. 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 Crash State of the Union 5 Things A Winston-Salem man died Saturday after he was hit in the head by a limb while trimming a large tree in the city's southeastern section, authorities said. Winston-Salem police responded at 1:47 pm. to the 1400 block of Belleauwood Street to help Winston-Salem firefighters who were attempting to rescue the man. Ricardo Busto, 36, was working with another man about 30 feet up in the tree , police said. A limb then struck Busto in his head, seriously injuring him. The other man held Busto in place until firefighters arrived, police said. Firefighters lowered Busto to the ground where they discovered he had died from his injuries. Anyone with information about this incident can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727 2800 or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook. The Text-A-Tip program at 336-276-1717 allows people to text tips, photos and videos to the police. Q: We all know how dangerous the job of a fireman is when a fire breaks out. Fortunately, most days there are no fires to fight. What do firemen do in a typically quiet 8-hour day when there are no fires to fight? J.L. Answer: Tabetha Childress, the community relations specialist for the Winston-Salem Fire Department, said firefighters have a lot of responsibilities. Fighting fires requires ongoing intense training and equipment testing/preparation, she said. Firefighters are also first responders. When not on fire calls, we are still responding to medical calls for assistance which could be a car accident and or a person in need. Firefighters complete routine checks of fire hydrants. The men and women firefighters also proudly provide services to our community and schools such as, fire education, smoke alarm checks, and community programming. Theres rarely room for a dull moment in a 24-hour shift. I would like to encourage your readers to follow us on twitter @cityofwsfire for a glimpse of happenings in WS Fire, Childress said. DMV warns about scam The N.C Division of Motor Vehicles is warning that scammers are targeting North Carolina residents by claiming to be from the Department of Transportation and telling the victim to click on a link to pay an alleged driving violation. Customers are encouraged to be aware of any emails from an individual or individuals using the address notice@penalty-gov-us claiming to be from the Traffic Division of the Department of Transportation. The email includes a link to make a payment for a fine, the agency said on its website. Wayne Goodwin, the NCDMV commissioner, said that NCDOT and NCDMV wont ask for violation payments by sending emails to residents. All notifications to customers concerning such violations would be on official letterhead or forms through regular mail, Godwin said. Godwin said when searching for bona fide DMV services and information, consumers should pay attention to the following: Some websites exist that contain DMV information and forms, but they are not officially approved websites. Web searches may return results with other websites, but only the official state DMV website ends in .gov. Beware of third-party websites offering forms or other information that could be out-of-date or erroneous. While not illegal, many of the sites are for profit and ask users to pay for forms. Many sites exist to obtain your information for future marketing, or worse, for using your personal information in fraudulent activities. If you provide payment information on a third-party website, beware that your payment card information may be stolen. Check the Terms and Conditions page of the website, where the site states that it is not affiliated with any state government agency. Always remember to look for a website that contains .gov in its address to assure you are receiving accurate governmental information. Go to the official NCDMV website www.MyNCDMV.gov. Hawthorne Road detour The southbound lanes of Hawthorne Road will be detoured to the left and to the right onto Academy Street on Monday and Tuesday so workers from the City of Winston-Salem can remove trees. A woman and a male teenager were wounded Saturday in drive-by shootings in eastern Winston-Salem, authorities said. Winston-Salem police responded at 3:27 p.m. to simultaneous shooting calls in the 800 block of Rich Avenue and the 1600 block of Mount Zion Place, police said. When officers arrived on Rich Avenue, they found a 55-year-old woman who had been shot in her back while she was standing on the sidewalk, police said. Afterward, the suspect SUV traveled around the corner where its occupants shot a 18-year-old male teenager in his left upper leg while he was walking in the 1600 block of Mount Zion Place, police said. Both victims were taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for treatment for their non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers found the suspect SUV shortly after the gunfire, but the vehicle was unoccupied, police said. There is no suspect information at this time, police said. No further details were immediately available. Anyone with information regarding these shootings can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook. The Text-A-Tip program at 336-276-1717 allows people to text tips, photos and videos to the police. Three men were wounded, one critically, in a drive-by shooting Friday in the northeastern part of the city, authorities said. Winston-Salem police were dispatched about 1:40 p.m. to the scene in the 2500 block of Ladeara Crest Lane. When officers arrived, they found Lavon Boston, 20, of CE Gray Drive, Jucoby Demetruis Blair, 22, of East 25th Street, and Javon Edmon, 20, of Countryside Drive with gunshot wounds, police said. The three men were taken to a local hospital, police said. Boston sustained multiple wounds, and was in critical but stable condition, police said. Blair and Edmon suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators were told that the three men were walking in the 2500 block of Ladeara Crest Lane when an unknown white vehicle drove by, and someone began shooting at them. The vehicle then left the scene, police said. Police had no further suspect information, said Kira Boyd, a police spokeswoman. Officers gathered evidence at the scene, and more than 10 police cars were parked along Ladeara Crest Lane and 25th Street. A group of 11 people, including children, gathered on the sidewalk. One of those onlookers said he was trying to find out what had happened. Another man said he saw one of the victims. The man declined to speak with a Journal reporter and left the scene. A woman approached an officer at the scene, telling him that her grandson had been shot, and that she wanted to go to her granddaughters home within the LaDeara Crest apartment complex. The officer then escorted the woman to a home within the complex. Another woman said she heard eight gunshots during the incident, and she later saw two victims when she opened her back door. I hope they are OK, said the woman who declined to give her name to a reporter because police are looking for suspects connected with the shootings. Crime has increased in the area, the woman said. Many apartment residents, including herself, often hear gunfire, she said. Anyone with information about this incident can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook. The Text-A-Tip program allows people to text tips, photos and videos to the police. UMR Inc. has joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC in protesting the decision by the State Health Plans board of trustees to choose Aetna for its 2025-27 contract for third-party administrative services. UMR, a wholly owned subsidiary of national insurer UnitedHealthcare, submitted its formal protest Friday, a day after Blue Cross NC took the same expected step. It is requesting a stay on the awarding of the contract until a full and fair analysis of the cost proposals is conducted. UMR said such an analysis would demonstrate that there has been an improper contract award. According to the SHPs request for proposal, its board can accept the protest and schedule a meeting with Blue Cross BC and/or UMR within a 30-day period, or take up to 10 days to reject the protest. The SHP is North Carolinas largest purchaser of medical and pharmaceutical services. It covers nearly 740,000 teachers, state employees, legislators, retirees and their dependents, Blue Cross NC has held the administrative contract with the SHP since the early 1980s. Both Blue Cross NC and UMR said the SHP and state Treasurer Dale Folwell informed them of the decision on Dec. 14 following a unanimous vote by the SHPs board, Folwell announced Jan. 4 the awarding of the contract to Aetna which has a renewal option for two, one-year terms. Folwell has responded to the Blue Cross NC and UMR protests with similar statements, saying that we welcome the opportunity to engage in a factual, thoughtful and transparent review of the State Health Plans contracting process for third-party administration services going into effect two years from now. We developed a process where all parties had a fair chance to win the contract. Folwell said in his response to the Blue Cross NC protest that just like Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has the right to point fingers at everyone else for losing the contract after 44 years, the State Health Plan, (its) board of trustees, professional staff and I all have a duty to seek the best financial value and member service for those that teach, protect and serve, as well as taxpayers like them. UMR stance UMR claimed in its protest filing that the SHP did not comply with request-for-proposal-evaluation and scoring criteria in concluding that Aetna had the highest and best final evaluation. It claimed the SHP failed to conduct a comprehensive, fair and impartial evaluation as required by state law. That included that the SHPs network cost analysis was fundamentally and inherently flawed because the self-reported discounts do not match real world data available ... but not utilized. UMR said that awarding Aetna the three-year contract would result in the SHPs costs going up at least $500 million during that period, rather than decreasing by $145 million as the SHP board and Folwell have estimated. As a result of selecting Aetna, UMR says the SHPs decision was not made based on the bid that was the most advantageous and represented the best value to the state. Blue Cross NC stance A meeting to discuss the decision was held by Blue Cross NC and the SHP on Dec. 16. The simplistic request for proposal, or bid process, represented a significant departure from the State Health Plans previous procurement and contracting process, Blue Cross NC said. Blue Cross NC said it submitted public records requests on Dec. 15 and Dec. 20. It said the SHP has not committed to a specific timeline for response. The protest highlights the limited information and distorted scoring system used during the decision-making process. Additionally, Blue Cross NC bid the lowest administrative fee of any bidder. State Health Plan members are more than customers; they are our neighbors, our friends and our family, said Dr. Tunde Sotunde, president and chief executive of Blue Cross NC. We have filed this protest to ensure the best outcome for them, for taxpayers and for our state. Aetna response Aetna said it will have nearly 600 employees assigned to work on this transition with SHP Director Sam Watts. Jim Bostian, Aetnas president for N.C., said the insurer submitted an aggressive proposal affirming the State Health Plans commitment to high-quality and affordable health benefits. The people who teach, protect and serve North Carolina deserve a health benefits administrator that leads with customer service, quality care and affordability. Aetna intends to deliver it to them. The hundreds of Aetna employees dedicated to this seamless transition will continue their work without distraction. We will continue to work to bring more providers into the network that can offer the high-quality care that state employees deserve, Bostian said. SHP motives The treasurers office said that the administrative contract oversees health care spending of more than $17.5 billion over five years. The new contract reflects a partnership that focuses on transparency and lower costs, with the potential administrative cost savings over the course of the contract equaling $140 million, according to the news release. Folwell said in announcing the transition that Blue Cross NCs chairman Ned Curran and Sotunde have assured me that they will finish strong for the next two years. Their comments this morning (Jan. 4) is evidence that statements and promises dont matter. Folwell said that partnering with Aetna, which already employs more than 10,000 people in North Carolina, will create a lot of new opportunities for the (SHP) and the members we serve. A change of this magnitude is a great opportunity for a fresh perspective, and we look forward to working closely with Aetna to create new ways to provide price transparency, increase access and quality, while lowering the cost of health care for those who teach, protect and serve, and taxpayers like them. SHP members are expected to begin receiving more information regarding the changes in 2024 prior to open enrollment for the 2025 benefit year. In the backdrop of the UAE Governments `Net Zero by 2050 energy strategy and the hosting of COP28 in Abu Dhabi in 2023, Abu Dhabi-based German Gulf Engineering Consultants (GGEC) has joined hands with the UAE University to offer an energy management and audit training programme and internship to young Emirati nationals. As part of the programme Energy Voices 2023 a campaign to promote the use of refillable water bottles will also be rolled out simultaneously to instill the responsibility of sustainability among young nationals for a carbon-neutral future. Under this initiative, students across five universities in Abu Dhabi will be provided with re-fillable water bottles to support the UAE Governments endeavor to ban single-use plastics. On the programme, Dr Saud Muhammad AlMarzooqi, the Acting Associate Professor for Students Affairs, UAE University, said: "Winning the hosting rights for the global climate summit, COP28, in 2023, adds yet another positive angle to the strategic goal of the internship and energy training program for Emirati nationals. The program perfectly fits into the UAEs youth participation in climate change, energy saving measures, and focus on renewables." Under the programme, paid internship will be provided to 50 selected Emirati students from five universities of both genders along with the training in energy management and audit. Certificates of accomplishment will be issued to students at a grand award ceremony at the completion of the programme." The CSR initiative by GGEC - Energy Voices 2023 - also fits into the context of the next 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) which will be hosted by the UUAE at the Dubai Expo City. Energy Voices 2023 is also supported by the Abu Dhabi University, Zayed University, Adnoc and key private partners. "All participants in the training, our partners and those who are associated with the Energy Voices will commit to use refillable water bottles and stop using single-use plastics," said Sunilan Menothuparambil, the Managing Director of GGEC, adding that specially designed reusable bottles have been procured and will be distributed to all stakeholders in the training and climate change awareness campaign. "Our programme will also include promoting a ten-point action on saving energy across themes such as - save energy at home, walk, bike or take public transport, eat more vegetables, control travel urge, stop food wastage, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle, shift from conventional to renewable energy, support eco-friendly products, go electric and promote planet-friendliness," he stated. This will also promote the UN SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing and contributing in its own way to the UAEs Net Zero by 2050 goal. he added. "Probably, this is the first time an integrated and comprehensive climate change and energy management programme and internship has been offered in the UAE. Energy Voice 2023 is also unique with state entities joining hands with private sector to advance the cause of sustainability. This shows the wider adoption of UAEs Net Zero strategy commitment and how private sector players are keen to advance this cause," noted Menothuparambil. The focus of the training will include effective energy audit, energy management practices in the real estate sector, energy conservation in buildings, tools and techniques to be energy efficient, as well as on efficient operations and management. Apart from current students, all national and expatriate can also enroll for the programme. To man up means to demonstrate toughness or courage when faced with a difficult situation. Thats precisely what men need to do. Face up to a changing world and redefine what it is to be a man. In his recent book Of Boys and Men, Brookings Institution scholar Richard V. Reeves details how American men face a crisis of enormous proportions. The evidence is abundant. Three of every four who die of suicide or drug overdoses, deaths of despair, are men. Men face a widening gap in higher education and a diminishing portion of the labor market. Women now constitute nearly 60% of university students and, more telling, graduate at 50%, while men complete their college education at a disappointing 33%. At every level, high school, associate degree, four-year and post-graduate level, men graduate at a lower percentage than women. Women, freed from former societal constraints, show greater ambition, motivation and initiative. Opportunities are more gender-neutral, and women are stepping up to the full range of positions while many men are not. They appear stuck in antiquated stereotypes. Men are taught to withhold their emotions, stoically tolerate pain and be tough on the outside. Its been a bar that measures manhood. Its an outdated measure in a society where women have advanced into new fields while men seem adrift, unable to see the full range of possibilities. Make America Great Again, attractive to a wide swath of American men, can be seen as a wish to return to the male dominance of the past. The expansion and growth of womens roles have left many men uneasy. Legislation against transgender people, sex-neutral bathrooms in our public schools, violence against gays and the growth of militia groups reflect men unhappy with changing gender definitions. Historically, masculinity has been built on three pillars: provide, protect and procreate. When families are smaller, the conventional picture of a male is a thing of the past. When women come to compete or outproduce men economically, the traditional definition of manhood is obsolete. When male protection is rarely needed, the definition of maleness is outmoded. Jobs dominated by men just two or three decades ago are now open to both sexes. Women entering virtually every occupation during the last 50 years support that fact. Veterinarians, pharmacists, psychologists and physicians are among the most high-profile careers, and the tip of the iceberg of womens infusion into previously male-dominated professions. Meanwhile, elementary school teachers, flight attendants and nurses are in demand, with solid-paying careers that many men refuse to enter because of masculine stereotypes. Its not because of a lack of male capability but because men fear the stigma of femininity. We have endured centuries prohibiting women from fulfilling their talents because of prejudice against their gender. Now men limit their opportunities because of self-inflicted attitudes beliefs that its not manly to show empathy, caring and emotional vulnerability. Such characteristics are plentiful among men, but we need to accept them as qualities of strong, wholly masculine men. Man up today still means demonstrating toughness or courage when faced with a difficult situation. But todays difficult situation is to abandon outdated stereotypes and for men to embrace and employ all their healthy qualities. It is time for men to break the shackles of a narrow definition of masculinity that confines their emotions and even limits their longevity. Women are living, on average, about six years longer than men. In less than 100 years, women in most Western societies have expanded their nations culture, science and leadership, with talents suppressed for centuries. We cant put womens gains back in the bottle. Nor should we want to. Were the better for it. Wake up, men. Its time to recognize that expanding the definition of manliness to include empathy, caring and emotional vulnerability will make us healthier and ultimately stronger. Many of us were mesmerized in watching some or most of the 15 votes required to elect a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. I cant remember which round it was when it hit me that North Carolina has been here before. Our state was breaking the shackles of one-party political domination on the way to party parity. Our first sign of this was perhaps 1988, when Democrat Joe Mavretic formed a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to oust Liston Ramsey from eight years as N.C. House speaker. Republican voter registrations grew steadily and in the 1994 Newt Gingrich-led Revolution, not only did the GOP capture the Congress, but it also won the plurality in the N.C. House, electing Republican Harold Brubaker as speaker. It would be another 15 years before Republicans took control of our legislature in both chambers. While it was fascinating to watch the House finally elect Kevin McCarthy on the 15th ballot, it was nothing compared to the intrigue we witnessed in the Tarheel state in 2003. In the November 2002 election, voters elected 61 Republicans and 59 Democrats to the N.C. House. The closeness of that election was fascinating, but the drama grew more memorable when it was suddenly announced that Republican Rep. Michael Decker, who many of us remember lived in a motorhome parked at the legislative building, declared he was switching his registration and would become a Democrat, thus giving both parties 60 members. The news rippled through the Capital City, causing all sorts of speculation as to what prompted this decision. Suddenly, North Carolina had a 60-60 House membership. Who would become speaker? After the 2003 session began and after about a week of voting, no one tallied the 61 votes needed to win the speakership outright. The intrigue continued when the two parties agreed to a strange power-sharing arrangement. For two years, the Republican speaker presided one day of sessions; the Democrat wielded the gavel on the next day. Years later we learned the rest of the story. Speaker Jim Black had delivered $25,000 in cash in a paper bag to Decker in an IHOP bathroom as pay ent for Decker to switch parties. When it all came to light, Black went to prison. It isnt surprising that the 2003 session wasnt very productive; Democrats regained the majority two years later. What took so many votes to name a speaker this year? McCarthy met with serious opposition and was blocked by the House Freedom Caucus. Formed in 2015, with one of its founders being North Carolinian Mark Meadows, this ultra-conservative group of about 40 Republicans is known for disruption, contention and a willingness to stop anything or anyone they oppose. Even though they have just over 15% of Republican House membership, this hardline bloc votes together. They forced the resignations of two former Republican House speakers. One of them, John Boehner, said, They cant tell you what they are for. They can tell you everything they are against. They are anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. It was the Freedom Caucus members who held out and forced so many votes. Only when they had demonstrated their power and maneuvered to vote present was McCarthy elected. But he and all other Republican House members recognize who holds the real power. One pundit remarked that McCarthy shouldnt order new drapes; he might not be around long enough to hang them. The message is clear. Dont look for much legislation in this just-convened 188th session of Congress. Even if Republicans can somehow wrangle the votes to approve a measure, it is unlikely to be approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate. The smart money is saying little will get done over the next two years. There are serious issues facing us right now. A budget, the debt ceiling, immigration, climate change and any number of crises beg resolution. Above all, we need unity, not further divisiveness and uncivil partisanship. But if the recent election of the House speaker is any indicator of what to expect, it is probably too much to hope for consensus instead of chaos and contention. Remember, weve been here before. Knowing if you're being paid fairly for the work you do is a mystery shrouded in a lack of information. That may be changing, though, and pay transparency may be the catalyst. It's a growing trend for companies to reveal what a job opening or current position pays whether voluntarily, or because governments mandate it. NAVIGATING SALARY RANGES So far, about a dozen states and municipalities have mandated access to salary information, including California, Colorado, Washington and New York City. Companies in the jurisdictions are generally required to post salary ranges indicating the minimum and maximum pay. Rules vary: Sometimes only job applicants must be told, while other times current employees can also request information about their pay range. Roberta Matuson, president of Matuson Consulting in Boston, consults with companies looking for top-tier talent. She believes pay transparency "is a step in the right direction." "Knowledge is power. So, you know, if you have no idea that you can possibly earn more money, then you wouldn't even ask for it," Matuson says. IS THIS THE END OF SALARY NEGOTIATION? Pay transparency won't eliminate salary negotiation, says Lexi Clarke, vice president of people at Payscale, a national provider of compensation data and services. Instead, Clarke says it will encourage discussions of current and future pay expectations. It will help employees and candidates "understand what their expectations should be, and where (salary) boundaries are and where there might be flexibility. It levels the playing field between employers and candidates to have a more open and transparent conversation," she says. And Lulu Seikaly, a senior corporate attorney with Payscale, notes that as current laws stand, employers aren't prevented from offering pay higher than a range that is posted for a position, as long as the company can provide objective reasoning for the exception. In the past, companies would often base salary offers on what an individual earned in their previous jobs, Seikaly says. "A lot of states have banned that now." If a potential employer asks for your salary history, Matuson says, "I wouldn't refuse to answer; I would say, 'Well, tell me what you're offering for this position.' I would just turn the question around." WILL PAY GAPS BE ELIMINATED? Pay transparency reveals salary ranges, but does it narrow gender and ethnicity pay gaps? It may be too early to tell. However, Payscale's Clarke says that organizations that are more open about salaries often have a well-defined compensation structure and are less likely to have pay inequities. She predicts how the gender pay gap might narrow: "Women's salaries will increase to where they should be some overpaid men's salaries may slightly decrease, to be more in line with where they should be." Read the full story, plus more of this week's top financial news: A Lincoln man who has presented himself as a professional dog trainer has been sued repeatedly over his business practices and was criminally charged in December with two misdemeanors over the alleged mistreatment of animals at his facility, according to court filings. City prosecutors charged Willie Dove Sr. with animal cruelty and animal neglect Dec. 5 more than a month after a Lincoln woman reported the 40-year-old to the city's Animal Control Department and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture following an injury her dog allegedly suffered at Dove's facility, said Steve Beal, the city's Animal Control director. The woman had boarded her 2-year-old corgi-Jack Russell mix at the east Lincoln business, Dove's Dog Academy & More, and took the dog to the vet following its boarding stay because of eye problems the dog was suffering, according to the complaint filed with the ag department. A veterinarian determined the dog had been strangled, according to the complaint, obtained through a public records request. The subsequent citation marked the first time Dove's dealings as a purported dog trainer led to criminal charges in Nebraska, according to state court records but former customers have been raising alarm over his conduct with animals and business practices for more than two years. A woman sued Dove in small claims court in December 2020 for $910 relating to her dealings with his previous business, Dove Dog Academy, which Dove operated in Waverly, according to court records. It's unclear exactly why Dove owed the woman, Melinda Howell, more than $900. Attempts to contact Howell were unsuccessful. Through his attorney, Sarah Newell, Dove declined to be interviewed for this story, instead offering a written statement. "Because litigation is pending, Mr. Dove unfortunately cannot comment in detail about these allegations, but he very much cares about his clients and their satisfaction," Newell said. "He continues to work diligently to provide quality service, he denies these charges, and we are working with veterinary professionals to provide broader insight into these allegations." Dove didn't appear at the small claims hearing Jan. 28, 2021, leading Judge Laurie Yardley to award a default judgment to Howell for the $910 she sought plus $56 in additional costs, according to court records. Dove didn't pay the sum, according to the filings. The court ordered the amount garnished from his paycheck at an Omaha funeral home. That January 2021 ruling would not mark the last time Yardley sided against Dove in a small claims case. The judge did so again in April 2022, after Dove sued a former client, Sheri Dempsey, for $1,338. In the filing, Dove accused Dempsey of pulling her dog from his training program "knowing she still owed a balance ... without any warning or notification" to Dove. Dempsey describes the ordeal differently. She had hired Dove in February to train her husky, Huli, in a two-week program that Dove indicated would feature near-constant one-on-one training involving Dove, who claimed to be a certified dog trainer, Dempsey told the Journal Star. But red flags began to pop up for Dempsey less than a week into the program, she recalled. Dove didn't interact with Huli when he first picked the dog up from Dempsey's house, she said. He didn't ask for vet info, food or a husky-grade harness before asking Dempsey to walk Huli to his car herself, she said. He called Dempsey an hour after he left her house and said he had lost Huli when he opened his car door in Omaha, said Dempsey, who drove there to help search for the dog, ultimately turning Huli back over to Dove when they found him. The next day, Dove called to say he was turning Huli's training over to a business partner, who Dempsey later learned was only paid to walk the dog for 20 minutes a few times per day, she said. "I'm like, 'What the hell is going on here?'" Dempsey recalled. "I'm starting to realize I've been bamboozled." Dempsey took Huli back from Dove's then facility at an office space at 70th and O streets where Dove was never licensed to board dogs, according to ag department records and took him home, terrified, covered in feces and, still, untrained, Dempsey said. "My dog has never been the same," said Dempsey, who also took the matter to police on suspicion of fraud in a complaint that went nowhere. "My dog is scared to death of everybody, other than my daughter and I." In the counter claim she filed against Dove, Dempsey accused the businessman of falsely presenting himself "as a certified dog trainer and breeder, but instead left my dog in a kennel for over 15 hours (overnight)." At an April 20 hearing in the small claims case, Yardley found Dove had misrepresented the services he would provide and ordered him to pay Dempsey $1,338 the amount she had paid upfront for the training plus interest. Dempsey said Dove hasn't paid. Dove's Dog Academy was sued again in small claims court last week by a third former client, Brandi Dunning, who is seeking more than $2,500 from Dove after her Staffordshire terrier, Izzy, was diagnosed with contagious pinkeye and an ear infection after a week at Dove's facility, Dunning alleged in the filing. Dunning had paid Dove $2,557 for a three-week boarding and training program that began Dec. 21, but after a week, she visited the academy to check on Izzy following a series of puzzling phone calls and text exchanges with Dove and his staff. "Upon entering, we were met with an overwhelming smell of dog urine," she said in the filing. "Once we were finally allowed to see our dog, she had on her collar, a shock collar and a gentle leader. "She looked very scared and sick." Dunning took Izzy to a vet and ultimately never returned her to Dove's facility, she said. She also filed a complaint against Dove's operation with the Better Business Bureau, where at least five customers have filed complaints against Dove in the past three years, according to the organization's website. In response to one complaint in January 2022, Dove threatened legal action against the complaining party for "slander." Dove appears to have taken steps to conceal prior complaints against his businesses and conduct from future prospective customers. He has made slight changes to his business's name multiple times in the past three years, according to licensing records and court filings. Previous names include Dove Dog Academy, Dove's Heavenly Dog Academy and Dove's Dog Academy. Dove's business has also recorded a run-in with the state Department of Labor, which issued a $500 citation against him last year over a wage complaint, according to department records. And, despite the repeated claims filed against him and last month's criminal charges, Dove has so far continued operations, avoiding any licensing troubles with the Department of Agriculture or the city. Department of Agriculture Inspector Rick Herchenbach twice checked in on Dove's training location in Waverly in 2020 and 2021 but never found any violations, according to inspection reports. But when Dove opened shop at 237 S. 70th St. sometime in 2021, his facility was never inspected nor licensed, according to the list of inspections completed in Lincoln that year. Dove moved to his current location at 6800 P St. in June 2022, but didn't seek a license to board animals until late September, when Herchenbach surveyed his new facility and ordered Dove to fix a hole in the wall and develop a written emergency vet care plan, according to his report. By the time Herchenbach checked back in on Dove in early October, neither issue had been remedied, the inspector wrote in his report. Still, Dove who had six dogs housed at his facility during that visit was allowed to keep operating. Herchenbach gave the academy an "acceptable" rating on his third visit to the P Street facility in late October. But the inspector had to return to the business less than three weeks later following the reported injury to a dog in late October. "Emergency vet plan is needed," he wrote in November, highlighting the same issue noted in the September report that Dove had failed to comply. The vet plan isn't mentioned as either compliant or non-compliant in Herchenbach's Oct. 24 report, the only visit that yielded an "acceptable" rating, according to the records. Reached by phone, Herchenbach referred questions to the ag department's public information office. Christin Kamm, the department's communications director, said investigators couldn't comment on the status of Dove's license because of an ongoing investigation. Dove's business appeared to have been closed, at least temporarily, by Thursday afternoon. No one answered or returned a phone call at the academy Friday and Dove posted a message on the business's Facebook account Thursday night thanking customers who had supported him. "I know we can't meet everyone's expectations and everyone's needs, but with that being said, for those who are 100% committed and put in the time and effort, man, it's been a blessing and an honor and privilege to work with you guys," he said, in part. Dove did not indicate in the video whether the business had closed. In response to specific questions over whether inspectors had shut the facility down, Kamm said she could not comment, again citing the ongoing investigation. Beal, the head of Animal Control, said that whether the business remained in operation was entirely under the purview of the Department of Agriculture. The only license the city might issue a dog boarding operation is a grooming permit, Beal said. "If he truly is doing pet grooming, then he has to have a permit for that, and he doesn't have one right now," Beal said. "So we're still involved in that aspect of this whole thing. Because he cannot operate a pet grooming business without having that permit from us." An automated phone menu that plays for Dove's Dog Academy & More listed four services as of Friday: professional dog training, certified dog walking, certified pet-sitting and grooming. SIOUX CITY, Iowa Superintendent Paul Gausman, who joined Lincoln Public Schools in July, is suing his former school district and several of its school board members who voted in November to submit an ethics complaint against him. The lawsuit filed in Iowa's Woodbury County District Court on Wednesday claims Sioux City school board members Dan Greenwell, Jan George, Taylor Goodvin and Bob Michaelson violated the state's open meetings laws. Board members, the suit alleges, held illegal meetings citing the wrong Iowa code sections in order to avoid notifying Gausman or the public of their discussion of him and the board decision to file a complaint against him with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. Board members identified in the lawsuit declined to comment, although Greenwell, the board's president, said "the district was advised by counsel preceding all closed meetings." Gausman led the Sioux City Community School District for 14 years and left the district in June for the job in Lincoln. In a statement to the Journal Star on Saturday, Gausman said he is not able to comment on pending litigation. Don Mayhew, Lincoln Board of Education president, also declined to comment on the lawsuit but noted Gausman's work at LPS. The Lincoln Board of Education recently conducted the state-required mid-year evaluation of Dr. Gausman during his first year as superintendent," Mayhew said in a statement Saturday. "As we presented a summary of Dr. Gausmans mid-year evaluation at the Jan. 10 regular meeting, we recognized and applauded his work in the first six months as the Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools. Dr. Gausman continues to have my confidence and support. In his lawsuit, Gausman is seeking the removal of the four Sioux City school board members, as well as monetary damages and attorney fees. He is also asking the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to dismiss the complaints against him filed by both the district and Greenwell personally. Gausman claims the four individuals recklessly and knowingly participated in the violations of the Open Meetings Act, according to the lawsuit. School board members Perla Alarcon-Flory, Monique Scarlett and Bernie Scolaro, as well as former school board member Julie Albert, were in attendance at certain meetings but were not named in the lawsuit. The suit claims Jan. 24, 2022, when Gausman was a candidate for the Lincoln job, and Nov. 30, 2022, months after he began work in Lincoln, the Sioux City board held special meetings and closed sessions to discuss Gausman and his professional qualifications. Both the open and closed session was designed to avoid giving Dr. Gausman, his supporters and the public, notice of the Boards intentions to meet to discuss filing a complaint against Dr. Gausman with the (Iowa Board of Educational Examiners,) according to the lawsuit. On Jan. 24, 2022, the board cited the Iowa Code stating the closed session was to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individuals reputation, according to the lawsuit. The code section specifically states that the individual being reviewed must request the closed session, as well as meet other requirements Gausman claims did not occur. On Nov. 30, 2022, the board held another special meeting and closed session apparently to discuss Gausman, citing a different code section stating the meeting was to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential. That code section specifically states the board is only allowed to discuss the confidential record, and Gausman claims it went beyond that. He also alleges the board again discussed his professional competency, job performance and the possible filing of a complaint with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. After the closed session ended and the board went into open session, Goodvin made a motion to direct Greenwell to file the complaint. Scarlett and Scolaro abstained from the vote, and Alarcon-Flory was not present. The motion did not state who the complaint was being filed against. Greenwell filed the complaint Dec. 2, 2022. The complaint claims Gausman attempted to bribe Michaelson and George on Nov. 17, 2021, before their official swearing-in on Nov. 22. Greenwell, in the letter sent to the Iowa Board of Education Examiners, claimed it was an attempt to solicit their support to reelect Alarcon-Flory to board president. Dr. Gausman directly offered to allow Mr. Michaelson (board member-elect) and Mr. George (board member-elect) to make any of their desired changes in school operations, programs, activities, and other matters in exchange for their vote for Ms. Alarcon-Flory as president of the board, Greenwell said in the letter. Greenwell claims the conversation took place at a public place in Des Moines, Iowa, with Gausman, Michaelson, George and Alarcon-Flory present. Greenwell states the pair objected to Gausmans offer multiple times. Ms. Alarcon-Flory remained silent regarding the bribery offer during the discussions at the table, he said in the letter. Greenwells letter claims Gausman admitted to the bribery at a meeting Jan. 27, 2022, with Greenwell and Goodvin present, as well as in a separate discussion with Scarlett. The letter to the examiner's office also claims Gausman disclosed confidential closed board meeting information to Sioux City staff members. It states Gausman acquired information from the closed session from Alarcon-Flory and shared it with members of the administrative team. The complaint is pending and is meritless and made false claims, according to the lawsuit. Asked if the Lincoln school board was aware of the allegations of bribery when interviewing Gausman, Connie Duncan, who was board president at the time, said she could not comment because it's a pending legal matter. The lawsuit also states Greenwell himself filed a complaint against Gausman on Aug. 1, 2022, with the same claims in a similarly worded letter, without board support. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners requires complaints to be from a district. Gausman, a Nebraska native and graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was named one of four finalists to be LPS superintendent in January of last year and interviewed in Lincoln on Feb. 4. He was hired later that month and began work in Lincoln last summer. Greenwell, before being elected to the school board in 2019, had been vocal in his pushback on educational stands pushed by Gausman in Sioux City. After being elected to the board, he continued to be a critic. Gausman is requesting the recording and minutes of the Nov. 30, 2022, meeting. The lawsuit claims he previously filed a Freedom of Information Act request to acquire the Nov. 30 recording but was denied by Greenwell in a Jan. 5 email. Gausman claims the board must be in agreement to deny those records and no meeting was held. Journal Star reporter Zach Hammack contributed to this story. Photos: Sioux City superintendent Paul Gausman through the years Dr. Paul Gausman 2015 Tri-State Governors' Conference 2016 Weight Loss Challenge final Dr. Paul Gausman Dr. Paul Gausman Branstad Bullying Panel Branstad Bullying Panel Bryant Elementary First Day Bryant Elementary community meeting Career Academy expansion Dr. Paul Gausman Dr. Paul Gausman Christensen teacher of the year Gov. Culver speaks in Sioux City concerning John Morrell Dr. Paul Gausman East Graduation Dr. Paul Gausman Dr. Paul Gausman First day of school 2017 First day of school 2017 Home favorite things Paul Gausman Dr. Paul Gausman Martin Luther King Jr. rememberance Dr. Paul Gausman New teacher training Dr. Paul Gausman Paul Gausman Paul Gausman Editorial Board Paul Gausman Editorial Board North High science addition Dr. Paul Gausman Sioux City School District Administration Offices School Board Bryant Elementary School Board Bryant Elementary Sioux City schools staff meeting Sioux City schools staff meeting Sioux City schools staff meeting School replacement meeting School replacement meeting School replacement meeting Sioux City virtual school Sioux City virtual school 1 Sioux City School Board Spalding Park School Spalding Park School Sunnyside Elementary Blue Ribbon Sioux City teacher of the year Jamey Bryce Walk to school day Sioux City West High School Graduation Dr. Paul Gausman press conference Dr. Paul Gausman press conference Dr. Paul Gausman press conference Dr. Paul Gausman press conference A constitutional amendment introduced in the Nebraska Legislature on Friday would give voters the opportunity to eliminate the State Board of Education. Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston introduced LR24CA, which would eliminate the board and give the governor the power to appoint an education commissioner. If passed by the Legislature, the constitutional amendment would then go onto the 2024 ballot for voter approval. There was some confusion regarding the amendment's language Friday. At first, Albrecht claimed that her intent was not to dissolve the board, and that language included in the legislation was incorrect. An hour later, she clarified the legislation was correct, and said she was interpreting the amendment incorrectly. Currently, the State Board of Education is made up of eight elected members that appoint the education commissioner and follow the direction of the Legislature. The board has come under fire in recent years, centered around a department decision to develop health and sex education standards in a way that was both comprehensive in scope and inclusive of diverse genders and sexual orientations. Following public backlash, the department halted progress on the standards in 2021, but the department and the board still are receiving criticism. Albrecht said the issue was the main motivator behind her constitutional amendment. "They have to answer to (the Legislature)," Albrecht said. "But they're not answering to us." Under Albrecht's amendment, the governor would have the authority to appoint an education commissioner, who would oversee the entire department. The duties of the board would be distributed among the rest of the department, she said. There were 44 bills and four constitutional amendments introduced Friday. Among them were: DIRECTED HEALTH MEASURES: Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha would require city councils or county boards to approve any directed health measures recommended by public health directors under her bill (LB421). HOUSING: Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington sponsored a bill (LB424) to create a state Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer programs focused on affordable housing, workforce housing and middle missing housing. WIND TURBINES: Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordons bill (LB450) would prohibit landfill disposal of wind turbine blades or parts. U.S. 81: Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara brought a bill (LB454) authorizing the Department of Transportation to design and purchase the rights-of-way to complete a four-lane divided highway along U.S. 81 between York and Columbus, and a four-lane divided highway between Norfolk and the South Dakota border. NEWSPAPER GRANTS: The Nebraska Department of Education would be required to establish a $1.1 million grant program providing newspapers to schools and in-home schools to boost reading scores and literacy rates under a bill (LB455) introduced by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne. MOUNTAIN LIONS: Brewer also sponsored a bill (LB456) providing monetary compensation to any person whose property has been damaged by mountain lions or elk. The property owner would need to make a claim with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to be made whole. VOTING: Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue introduced a bill (LB457) requiring video surveillance at polling places and requiring ballots include serial numbers, watermarks, holographs or other features designed to prevent them from being counterfeited. INHERITANCE TAX: Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston introduced a constitutional amendment (LR23CA) that would end the collection of the inheritance tax in Nebraska. MARRIAGE: Any provisions related to marriage would be removed from the state constitution, under an amendment (LR26CA) introduced by Sen. Jen Day of Gretna. Lincoln Journal star reporter Chris Dunker contributed to this story. Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023 A Decatur man was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for having sex with an underage girl on the Omaha Indian Reservation and fathering her child. Juwan Grant, 24, pleaded guilty in August in U.S. District Court in Omaha to one count of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country. He was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in prison. Grant engaged in sexual acts with the girl, who was under age 16, in Macy in 2021 from about February through May. The girl, who gave birth in November 2021, initially denied Grant was the father. During an interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Sioux City, Iowa, the girl identified Grant as the father of her child and said he also provided her with methamphetamine and marijuana on several occasions. DNA tests have determined Grant is the child's father. There's a new attorney general in town. But Mike Hilgers is no stranger to the Capitol or state government after serving six years in the Legislature as a Lincoln senator, including two years in the challenging role of leading 48 fellow senators as speaker. There's a lot on his new desk now, including Nebraska water rights and the continuing challenge of human trafficking in the state, along with the approaching Feb. 28 U.S. Supreme Court hearing of arguments in Biden v. Nebraska, a case that will determine whether to allow the Biden administration's 2022 student loan debt relief plan to go into effect. Hilgers will be in Washington for those arguments. Nebraska is one of the lead states in challenging the Biden administration's executive action plan that would forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year. Former Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, along with attorneys general from five other states Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina filed the case, arguing that the administration exceeded its executive branch authority. "Congress didn't authorize it," Hilgers said during an interview eight days after he was sworn into office, vacating Lincoln's District 21 legislative seat with two years to go in his second term. Beau Ballard, Hilgers' former legislative aide, was chosen to fill the vacancy. Now, Hilgers is "getting to know people" in the attorney general's office, building relationships and getting up to speed on pending cases and investigations. "The train is going," he said, and decisions are being made. Hilgers said he will be focused on Nebraska water rights, as that becomes an increasingly important concern. Nebraska currently is preparing to exercise its rights under a century-old interstate compact that guaranteed access to South Platte River water flowing into the state from Colorado by already funding and preparing to build a $500 million canal system that would capture water from the river in Colorado. With storm clouds forming between the two states, a spokesperson in the Colorado governor's office has described the so-called Perkins County Canal proposal as "this canal to nowhere." Hilgers said he assumes his new role with "a good relationship" with the Legislature, although there are new members now that he needs to get to know. Some senators are "among my closest friends in life, a second family," he said. Hilgers said he "worked closely" with former Gov. Pete Ricketts as the speaker and expects to have "an outstanding working relationship" with Gov. Jim Pillen. Ricketts and he have "very similar principles," the attorney general said. "We agreed on a lot but not everything." Pillen, he said, is "a very authentic, good person" who puts his family first. Hilgers said he plans to stay alert to efforts by the Biden administration that may "try to take more power" than is granted by the Constitution. "This administration sometimes goes outside its lanes. We have to keep a close eye on the administration. It will be a primary focus in this office." Hilgers said he expects Sen. John Arch of La Vista to be a successful speaker as he begins the challenging task of managing 49 senators. "It's all about knowing the body," Hilgers said. "It's his body now." The Lincoln Journal Star's top photos from 2022 OMAHA From satellite images, the surprisingly long ice jam on the Missouri River looks like a sinewy white snake separating Nebraska and Iowa, poised over those downstream. The serpentine ribbon forms among farm fields near Blencoe, Iowa, curves west toward Blair, loops east around DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge and comes to an end near Omaha's N.P. Dodge Park and the Interstate 680 bridge. Stretching some 20 miles with intermittent gaps, the ice poses a rare low-water threat to downstream communities because it can lead to sharply lower river levels that jeopardize access to water and, should it break up too quickly, release a surge of ice that damages infrastructure in its path. The ice has been stuck in place since late December. It is thought to be the worst such ice jam on the Missouri River since February 1989, when a blockage south of Omaha caused St. Joseph, Missouri, to mandate water restrictions. Utilities serving the Omaha metro area had a scare around Christmastime when the ice jam formed. It held back water upstream, leading to about an 8-foot difference in river level above and below it. That sent the Missouri River to a record low at Omaha on Dec. 24, provisionally determined to be 4.17 feet, according to the National Weather Service. (Its record high is 40.2 feet set in 1952.) Water levels dropped so low the Omaha Public Power District took its coal-fired stations in north Omaha off line Dec. 24, and the Metropolitan Utilities District took steps to flush out ice that was blocking its intake pipes at the Florence Water Treatment Plant. Access to water became such a concern that Douglas County Commission Chair Mary Ann Borgeson, at the request of local utilities and other officials, submitted a disaster proclamation to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. Conditions began improving, and Dec. 27, OPPD resumed generating power from its coal plants. MUD spokeswoman Tracey Christensen said the agency sought the emergency declaration so that it could get expert assessment of the severity of the jam, including through aerial photography and satellite imagery, the impact of the coming weather and suggestions for potential solutions. OPPD spokeswoman Jodi Baker said the utility wanted to have help in place in case it was needed. "Protecting North Omaha Station was and remains of utmost importance due to the role it provides in generating reliable energy," she said. Both OPPD and MUD say the Omaha metro wasn't at risk of curtailed electric power or drinking water because the utilities have supplies elsewhere. However, the 11,000 residents of a riverside town in Kansas weren't as lucky. Atchison, some 150 miles south of Omaha, had to mandate water restrictions in late December when water dropped too low for its main intake pipe. For now, conditions on the river have improved and instead the concern is long-term: What will the rest of winter bring? "It's going nowhere fast," said David Pearson, hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in Valley, said of the ice jam. "There's good news in that we're slowly melting, but it's a slow process to undo something like this." The near-term forecast calls for ideal melt conditions, Pearson said. Daytime highs generally in the 40s are expected. But he said the long-term outlook hints at colder weather toward the end of January. And February has a history of bringing a harsh end to winter in this part of the country. "Melting in place is what we want," Pearson said. "There is nothing you can do right now but monitor it." But with conditions appearing dire in late December, the involved agencies, including the weather service, OPPD, MUD, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District and the Douglas County and Nebraska Emergency Management agencies discussed potential actions. The Papio NRD has experience over the years with the more ice jam-prone Platte River, where it has dynamited the ice, dusted it with dark coal ash (to speed melting) and dropped heavy weights on it. John Winkler, general manager for the Papio NRD, said the district deployed helicopter-borne vibrating weights on the Missouri River ice jam. It also put an explosives contractor on standby. The weights didn't get the job done, and it's not clear how serious discussions became in terms of explosives or coal ash. Both can pose problems and raise regulatory or liability concerns. Explosives can cause collateral damage, and coal ash contains pollutants. Once it was decided not to use explosives on the Missouri River, the NRD's involvement ended, Winkler said. Noting that the ice jam is more expansive and challenging than ones seen in the Platte River, Christensen said MUD would support the use of coal ash. She noted that the utility has been advised that coal ash is most effective beginning in mid-February when the sun is higher in the sky. "Use of coal ash would not impact water quality because treatment systems already in place would remove any contaminants," she said. For now, warmer weather has melted enough ice that water has again begun moving through the jam. OPPD says water levels are now 3 feet higher than what triggered the closure of the north Omaha power plant. However, the jam continues to slow the flow of water. Pearson said a difference of about 6 feet remains in the river above and below the ice jam. Another action that isn't considered viable is having the Corps of Engineers send a surge of water downstream from upstream dams. Eileen Williamson, spokeswoman for the corps, said a large release of water from Gavins Point Dam, located on the Nebraska-South Dakota border, could cause lake ice to collapse and create a jam above the dam. And while releasing water from the dam might dislodge the ice, she said, it also could send it surging downstream in a damaging fashion. The corps did try to get ahead of the freeze-up by increasing the amount of water being released from Gavins Point Dam, Williamson said. On Dec. 17, a week before the river dropped at Omaha, releases were increased to 14,000 cubic-feet-per-second, up from 12,000 cfs. With conditions now improved along the river, Williamson said, the corps this week began dropping releases back to 12,000 cfs. In late December, the Nebraska State Patrol and Omaha Police Department flew over the river to obtain images of the jam. Recently, a polar orbiting satellite from the European Space Agency captured images of it. And Tuesday, the parent agency of the weather service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, directed a snow plane headed to the Twin Cities to travel the length of the ice jam and capture images. The plane also carries sensors that the agency can use to analyze the ice. Unlike ice jams on the Platte River, this one isn't considered a flood threat because there is plenty of room in the river, Pearson said. Heavy runoff in the weeks ahead likely would dislodge the ice, allowing the river to flow more freely, he said. The one thing that isn't wanted, Pearson said, is a widespread winter rain in the Sioux City, Iowa, area. That could flush enough water into the river that flows would lift the jam and send it on a damaging path downstream. Reduced reservoir releases aren't to blame for the jam, Pearson said. Instead, the main reason the river is so low is the intensity of the drought below the dams, notably in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. More than 60% of the Missouri River basin is in drought, and the Corps of Engineers has gone from regulating reservoir releases based on flood worries to holding back water because of concerns about drought. Streams simply aren't feeding the normal amount of water into the river. Pearson said tributaries below Gavins Point Dam are running 10% to 50% of normal. OPPD, MUD and partner agencies continue to collaborate and monitor the river. "Conditions have improved and we are in guarded status," Christensen said. "There is still a significant amount of ice cover, which remains a potential threat." The Lincoln Journal Star's top photos from 2022 Etisalat UAE, branded as etisalat by e&, today (January 14) announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with Al Eskan Al Jamae (EAJ), a real estate development and management company, to provide enhanced Wi-Fi and a digital experience for workers at EAJ's ICAD residential city. ICAD residential city is located in the heart of Abu Dhabis industrial city and is the first group housing facility provider providing secure, sustainable and affordable housing solutions. It is developed and managed by EAJ. With this partnership, the housing complex will benefit from the implementation of an end-to-end network infrastructure that will be built from scratch with the latest in technologies. According to e&, the digital infrastructure will provide more than 58,000 workers and tenants with reliable, high-speed, unlimited Wi-Fi access and solutions in full compliance with the UAE regulatory requirements. It will also offer an on-site end-user support service, with attractive promotions and packages to support the community and blue collar workers, said the statement from the Emirati group. This partnership will further enhance the consumer experience by adding value to ICAD residents and driving the digital transformation that is becoming the foundation of modern life, it added.-TradeArabia News Service A former co-worker of Mark Jensen, the former stockbroker accused of poisoning and suffocating his wife to death in Pleasant Prairie in 1998, said Mark told him he had researched how to kill his wife on the internet. Edward Klug testified about their conversation in court during the third day of the jury re-trial of Mark Jensen Friday morning. Klug said Mark Jensen, now 63, told him about how to get rid of the problem while the two were enjoying drinks together near the end of a business conference about a month before the death of Julie Jensen. I couldnt believe that someone would talk about killing their wife, Edward Klug said. It was kind of out of the blue. Mark Jensen, who was convicted in February 2008 for the murder of 40-year-old Julie Jensen inside their Carol Beach home in Pleasant Prairie, is standing trial again in Kenosha County Circuit Court after years of appeals and battles in state and federal courts. A Kenosha County judge vacated his conviction in April 2021 after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Jensen deserved a new trial. The court found that a letter his wife wrote incriminating him in the event something should happen to her could not be used by the prosecution as it was in the first trial. In early 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court helped pave the way for the new trial when it declined to hear an appeal of the Wisconsin Supreme Courts ruling. The so-called letter from the grave in which Julie Jensen wrote that if anything happens to me that her husband would be my first suspect will not be allowed into evidence during this lengthy trial. The high-profile case has sparked headlines across the nation. Mark Jensen, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in his wifes death, remains in custody on a $1.2 million cash bond in Kenosha County. He faces life in prison. Mark Jensen, according to prosecutors, killed his wife over three days in early December 1998 by poisoning her with ethylene glycol, more commonly known as antifreeze, and then suffocating her while she lay in bed dying and gasping for air in order to be with a mistress. They allege he killed Julie Jensen out of anger over a previous affair she had with a co-worker, along with other marriage issues. They also allege he searched the internet for ways to make her death look like a suicide and terrorized her for years with strategically placed pornography, emails and phone calls. Mark Jensen, however, has maintained his innocence for decades. His attorneys have argued Julie Jensen was deeply depressed and died by suicide after framing her husband for her death. The original prosecutor, Robert Jambois, a former Kenosha County District attorney, has returned as a special prosecutor before Judge Anthony Milisauskas, now the third Kenosha County Circuit Court judge to preside over the matter. Mark Jensen is represented by a team of defense attorneys led by Bridget Krause. On Friday morning, Klug said both he and Mark Jensen were facing marital troubles in 1998, and that they began discussing their wives after dinner and drinks in a hotel lobby in St. Louis, Mo. Klug said Mark Jensen would talk about the strangest things and I had never heard anybody talk like that. It was really weird, he added. He was looking up poison. ... He said you could put it in drinks, have them drink it. Klug, who testified during the first trial of Mark Jensen some 15 years ago, said Mark Jensen told him he researched poisons and items that would be non-detectable in a normal autopsy. Edward Klug said he called his then-wife, JoAnne Klug, in the hotel after speaking with Mark Jensen and told her the troubling things he had heard from Mark Jensen. I was scared of Mark, Edward Klug said after learning of Julie Jensens death. If he killed his wife what could happen to me? Video testimony Testimony from Pleasant Prairie Police officer Ronald Kosman, who is now deceased, was also shown to the jury Friday afternoon. Kosman helped Julie Jensen investigate the troubling messages and the pornography prosecutors allege Mark Jensen sent her. Forensic pathologist The doctor and medical expert who conducted the autopsy of Julie Jensen the day after her death in 1998 testified Thursday evening. Dr. Michael Chambliss, a forensic pathologist, testified about the state of Julie Jensens corpse. Hes conducted thousands of autopsies during his career throughout Wisconsin and other states. Chambliss, who conducted the autopsy the afternoon of Dec. 4, 1998, said the manner of death was homicide. Chambliss said the cause of death was asphyxiation with the ethylene glycol found in her system as a contributing factor. Although she had no broken bones in her nose or head, the cartilage of Julie Jensens nose was pushed off to one side of her face. Chambliss called her nose distorted as if had been positioning into something long enough. The examination into Julie Jensens internal organs and rib cage also showed evidence of hemorrhages, he testified. Photos of such reported things were shown on three television screens to the jury. Prosecutors allege Mark Jensen turned Julie Jensen over in their bed and shoved her face into a pillow and suffocated her. They allege he traumatized her over many years because of an affair she engaged in and marital strife. Photos shown to the jury Thursday included Julie Jensen turned over and dead in her bed, her distorted face and nose, and autopsy photos of her ribs and heart. Special Prosecutor Robert Jambois, who successfully prosecuted Mark Jensen in 2008, warned the nine men and seven women of the jury Thursday they would see upsetting images of Julie Jensens body before and after the autopsy was conducted. None of these images were shared on the live stream television and internet feed used for broadcasters. RACINE A 22-year tradition for Racine Unified School District students had to be canceled last December due to inclement weather. About a month later, these students finally got the chance to see old friends and dance the day away. While originally planned to take place just before Christmas, about 110 students from Park, Case and Horlick high schools from the Intellectually Disabled programs had a dance party Friday at Infusinos, 3301 Washington Ave. One of the students, Jarkavian Milsap, enjoyed the day spending time with his friends and eating some pizza. He especially enjoyed the dancing, he said. While originally planned to be a Christmas-themed event with Santa Claus and character Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickenss A Christmas Carol, the event was reworked into not including them since its now past Christmas. Winterfest became just a winter-themed dance party. It was important to the kids and the staff that this annual party was rescheduled, because this is one of the few times in the year that all of the ID students from Racine Unified are together, getting to see friends now in different schools. I would like to do more of this kind of stuff, said Jamie Shufelt, special education teacher at Park. I always say although academics is important, for our kids, socialization is a key part in the whole academic realm of their education. 12 photos from RUSD's 'Winterfest' party for Intellectually Disabled students Jarkavian and his friends Busting a move Showing your moves Group Shot On the dance floor Aiden Burgess Gangs all here Keion Brisco busts a move Picture time Cinnamon Sheldon and her class Clap your hands A special visit MOUNT PLEASANT For the man who was instrumental in the development of Mount Pleasant when it was a town, family and faith were always first. His community was a tight second. It didnt matter if it was as big as fundraising to get a new church built, setting up lights in front of the Racine Zoo every year or working bingo nights at the Roma Lodge, Joseph S. Clementi put an effort into all he got involved in. Clementi, former town chairman of Mount Pleasant, died Jan. 6 at the age of 87. His sense of community and country is pretty outstanding in my mind, said Michael Clementi, one of Joes six children. Joe, holding many public office and organizational positions over the years, was an outspoken community leader, a pious man who always tried to assist his parish, and above anything, a man of his family. Family and faith were always No. 1 for Clementi, but Michael said his civic work was a close second. A family man Joe was born in Racine in 1935; his family moved to the country 13 years beforehand. After high school, Joe was a member of the United States Air Force as an airman first class from 1954 to 1958. Upon his return, Joe attended Dominican College. At Dominican, he met his wife, Joan Czosnek. Joe and Joan were married 49 years and had six children and 13 grandchildren. He was always willing to help his children and be a part of their activities, such as being a Cub Scouts den leader for his sons and making sure the family was home for dinner every night at 5:30 p.m. As their children and eventual grandchildren began growing up, it was important for Joe and Joan that the family kept close, getting together every couple months, but especially having everybody over for Christmas. When it was only Joe left in their Mount Pleasant home, the annual tradition moved to Michaels house, but if everybody got together and Joe got to make his annual ham, it still felt like Christmas to them. Joan died in 2011, and Joe never remarried. Mount Pleasant Joe started working for Mount Pleasant as a member of the Village Board in 1994, when it was considered a town. He would eventually be elected chairman for Mount Pleasant in April 1999, defeating then-incumbent Tom Melzer. He stayed in that position until 2003. Mount Pleasant was incorporated as a village in September 2003, following a referendum passed by residents. Joe was instrumental to the expansion of Mount Pleasant, encouraging the expansion of the sewer and water system to reach the interstate, thus allowing the creation of commerce along it. He was a strong advocate for developing relationships with neighboring communities and working collectively, David DeGroot, current Mount Pleasant village president, wrote in an email. He is remembered as always offering an alternate perspective to his fellow board members when discussing municipal business and being a strong supporter of Mount Pleasants incorporation into a village. We thank him for these efforts. Religious roles Ever the civic-minded individual, Joe was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 15659 in the 1960s, making his way to a fourth degree grand knight, the highest level one can become in the parish organization. Joe and his family were members of St. Lucy Catholic Church for many, many, many years as Michael put it. Joe took many roles in his time at the parish, from parish council president to organizing pizza fundraisers. He just didnt get involved, he got involved, Michael said, emphasizing the determination his father showed in everything he did. Joe was a driving force in getting St. Lucys a new church building. At the time, we were in the old school gym at that point, Michael said. He felt that we would serve our Lord better (being in a church) than having it at the gym. A hard worker Joe wore many hats. After working for almost 20 years at Case Corporation, Joe started his own consulting firm, JSC Enterprises in the early 1980s, when Joe was in his 50s. He worked as a business instructor for Gateway Technical College in the 1990s and opened doors for Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home & Crematory. He helped host bingo at Roma Lodge, and helped the Kiwanis set up the lights in front of the Racine Zoo every year he was able to. Joe was passionate about what he did and had a particular interest in Holiday of Lights at The Racine Zoo, Fred Kaste, president of the Kiwanis Club of Racine, wrote in an email. They are a separate Kiwanis group with its own board in partnership with the IBEW (electricians union) and I believe Joe served on that board as well. He was perhaps their most proficient fundraiser by helping distribute the annual Holiday of Lights ornaments to local stores and selling quite a few on his own. Kaste noted Joe had a mischievous side and enjoyed a good dare, recalling a time where he bet Mike Bishop, the former club president, that he could eat two Burger King Whopper hamburgers in under three minutes. Bishop accepted the challenge and said he would eat three if Joe could eat two. Kaste said he was amazed that Joe, who was probably 83 at the time, downed two Whoppers in just over three minutes. Bishop then ate three, not revealing in advance that his were Whopper candies, not burgers. Joe joined the Roma Lodge, 7130 Spring St., in 2000 and was a member for more than 20 years. He was always an active member of the club, Frank Bissoti, president of Roma Lodge, said in an email. He loved to work Thursday night Bingo and the ticket booths at our annual festival. He was always a pleasure to be around and always willing to lend a hand. He was proud to be a member of the Roma Lodge and he will be dearly missed. Joe contributed to his community until he knew he couldnt anymore, but its the actions he took in his years of serving his family, faith and country that Michael said made him who he was the most. He built those foundations with us, Michael said. He taught me how to be a good father, and a good husband, and I didnt even realize he was doing it. He led by example, that would be my biggest thing, Michael continued. Always by example. Photos and video from today's fall Lifestyle & Retirement Expo at the Roma Lodge TOWN OF WATERFORD On the heels of a failed incorporation effort that was designed to prevent annexations, the town could be losing a 65-acre farm to the neighboring Village of Waterford. Even more troubling to town officials, the farm owners are preparing to sell the property to a developer who is stirring concerns of over-population with plans for a residential community attracting about 150 new families. Town officials say the situation is a prime illustration of why they sought to incorporate as a village, which would have given them more authority to protect their borders against annexation. We tried. We tried, Town Board member Tim Szeklinski said. State officials rejected the towns incorporation effort in October 2021, ruling that officials had failed to meet the states standards for recreating the town as the newly conceived Village of Tichigan. Village of Waterford records show that the village received an annexation request in November 2022 from the owners of the 65-acre DeGrave family farm, located at the intersection of Big Bend Road and Kramer Road. If village officials approve the annexation request, Neumann Developments Inc. is aiming to acquire the farm and redevelop it with 88 new single-family homes and 60 multi-family apartment units. Bryan Lindgren, project manager for Neumann Developments, said the development would generate an estimated $45 million to $50 million in new taxable value for the village. Lindgren said he is optimistic that village officials will annex the property. The village has been great, he said. Weve been working with them every step of the way. Village President Don Houston said he does not expect the DeGrave family farm to create any ill feelings between the village and town. Town officials can express opposition, if they want, Houston said, and their input will be taken into consideration. The main issue, he said, is that the DeGrave family has a right to sell their farm and reap the financial benefit of the propertys value to developers. This is America, he said. Weve still got rights for our land. Located at 4620 S. Loomis Road, the farm property sits on the northern border of the Village of Waterford, straddling Loomis Road in a rectangular-shaped site just east of the Fox River. The annexation was scheduled for consideration Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Waterford Plan Commission and the Waterford Village Board. The meeting was postponed and rescheduled for Feb. 6. The Town of Waterford raised objections last November to a state agency that reviews annexations. While the state can block annexations under some circumstances, state officials quickly ruled that the DeGrave family farm is suitably contiguous with the Village of Waterford and that the village government can serve the property. Craig Friemoth, a real estate broker working for the DeGrave family, said the farm is lacking municipal water and sewer service in the town. With such utility services available in the village, the residential development can go forward as proposed if the land is annexed. The property is owned by a trust named for Albert and Martha DeGrave. Friemoth said both of the DeGraves are deceased, and none of their children want to continue farming. It just came time for them to sell off the property, he said. Racine County real estate records put the propertys fair market value at $400,000, with a yearly property tax bill of $7,200. If the annexation goes through, the village must pay the town the equivalent of five years worth of property tax revenue, or about $36,000. Town officials said they do not object to the annexation as much as they do the proposed development plan. If a farm occupied by one family suddenly is redeveloped for 150 families, officials fear overpopulation will lead to congestion and strained public services. Town Board member Teri Nicolai said she has heard from neighbors who are concerned about the residential growth. Its going to be house on house on house, Nicolai said. It just isnt fitting with the rest of the town. Szeklinski agreed, noting that the town and village share one police department, which he worries could become stretched thin with the sudden influx of 150 new families. Szeklinski, however, pointed out that state law allows town property owners to request annexation, and that town officials have little recourse. The town is at a loss right now, he said. We can object all we want. Lindgren said his Pewaukee-based development firm hopes to begin construction by summer if the annexation and development plan are approved. Similar developments take place in rural town settings with well water and septic systems instead of municipal utilities, Lindgren said. The added cost involved in such rural developments, however, would make the DeGrave farm project too expensive, he said. The Town of Waterford has been consulted about the situation, Lindgren said, but town officials cannot prevent the annexation. Theres really very little the town can do, he said. Thats the way the system was designed. One-third of food produced in the US goes to wastehere's how that impacts the environment How food waste impacts the environment Most food is wasted when it reaches consumers The annual environmental footprint of food loss and waste per person adds up 90% of food wasted in the supply chain is edible Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will appoint former state Sen. Jon Erpenbach to chair the Wisconsin Parole Commission, Evers spokesperson said Friday. Erpenbach didnt seek reelection last year after serving six Senate terms, including as Senate Democratic leader from 2003 to 2005. He also sat on the states budget-writing committee. The Parole Commission plays an incredibly important role in our criminal justice system and in making sure that system is just, fair, and constructive, Erpenbach said in a statement. The success of the Commission depends on our ability to balance the law and public safety while supporting victims, survivors, and their families and keeping dangerous individuals off of our streets. Erpenbachs role is subject to confirmation by the GOP-controlled Senate, though he can serve in the role without the Senates approval. Under his new role, Erpenbach will lead the commission as it decides whether to grant discretionary parole or early release from prison to people who committed their crimes before Dec. 31, 1999. Only 8.6%, or 1,761, of those in prison in Wisconsin were eligible for parole as of Nov. 30, according to the Department of Corrections, although DOC spokesperson John Beard last year said that calculation could include some who are also serving sentences under the current sentencing system and thus would not be eligible for parole for those post-1999 crimes. I look forward to serving the people of Wisconsin in this new role, and I want to thank Governor Evers for the opportunity to continue public service and for entrusting me with this important responsibility, Erpenbach said. He will succeed Christopher Blythe, a former assistant attorney general at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The parole commission, and specifically its former chair John Tate, came under fire last year over the commissions initial plans to parole Douglas Balsewicz, who served less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence for stabbing his wife, Johanna Balsewicz, to death. After meeting with the victims family, Evers asked Tate to reconsider Balsewiczs parole. After initial reluctance, Tate rescinded Balsewiczs parole. Despite his change of course, some Republicans called on Evers to remove Tate from office. Tate announced his resignation June 10 at Evers request. Evers replaced Tate with Blythe. I am hopeful about former Senator Erpenbachs appointment and look forward to talking with Jon about the parole board, said Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, who chairs the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. I want to hear his thoughts on how he will enhance public safety, how he intends to ensure victims are included in the process, and how he will follow the open meetings law he championed, all of which of Governor Evers previous appointees failed to do. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, had not responded to a request for comment. Erpenbach was one of 14 Senate Democrats who left Wisconsin in 2011 in what was ultimately a failed effort to stop then-Gov. Scott Walkers Act 10, which drastically limited collective bargaining for the majority of public employees and decimated the number of unions through annual recertification votes and other obstacles. He also introduced the proposal that eventually led to the states do not call list in 2001, which allows people to opt out of telemarketer calls. Born in Middleton, Erpenbach went to Middleton High School and UW-Oshkosh. Outside of serving in the Legislature, he held several other jobs, including legislative aide, radio personality, short-order cook, meatpacker and truck driver, according to his legislative bio. 1. Yes. Having a community member interview panel is an excellent opportunity for input. 2. Yes. Its good that the city will allow residents to meet the finalist at a reception. 3. No. The city should have conducted a public survey early in the process, as KISD is doing. 4. No. Residents should be able to meet candidates before a lone finalist is chosen. 5. Unsure. Its hard to know how to gauge the proper level of public involvement. Vote View Results Leading refineries, traders, logistics players and consultants from the bitumen and petrochemicals sector will be in Dubai for a key industry event, Rex Fuels & Solvex Global Conference 2023, which kick off on January 25. The new year 2023 brings together the leading Refineries, Buyers, Traders, Logistics Players and Consultants for a power packed two-days of stimulating deliberations, business development and networking on Bitumen, Petrochemicals and Petro-products sector. A two-day event, the Rex Fuels & Solvex Global Conference 2023, is said to be the biggest event for the buyers and sellers in the Middle-East, India, Africa, Russia and South-East Asia. The dynamic and evolving geopolitical developments since February 2022 has brought new challenges and thrown open new opportunities as well. The oil & gas sector is right in the middle of it, said industry experts ahead of the two-day conference being held at InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City. The price volatility and rebalancing of the supply chains worldwide has led the market players to redraw their strategies to meet the evolving business challenges, they added. Dubai occupies an increasingly pivotal role as the business hub for the region and also to the world. Rex Fuels & Solvex Global Conference 2023 brings together the leading Refineries and Oil & Gas companies from the Bitumen, Petrochemicals and Petro-products sector for an insightful two-days of presentations, panel discussions, networking and business development. The Petro-products sector has major participation from the base oils and lubricants segment. Widely acknowledged as the benchmark event of the industry, the Rex Fuels & Solvex Global Conference is into its 5th edition in Dubai. It has already received the highest ever level of confirmed participation from over 400 delegates from bitumen, petrochemicals and base oils sector, said the event organisers. India being the biggest importer of the bitumen and petrochemical products in the region has attracted the largest number of participants closely followed by the Middle East region. Delegates from Africa, Europe and South-East Asian countries have also confirmed their participation. The overall number of delegates participating in the two-day event is expected to exceed 500. The event has already attracted over 100 sponsors and 36 exhibitors till date. This includes some of the biggest refiners and buyers from the region, they stated. According to the organisers, the agenda for the event and the speakers list at the event include the top luminaries and experts from the leading Petroleum companies from the bitumen, petrochemicals and petro-products sector. This event has elicited an unprecedented level of interest with delegates confirmation already received from over 28 countries from across the globe. It is likely to be a fully sold-out event. It would be an unmatched gathering of suppliers, buyers and traders from bitumen, petrochemicals and petro-products sector. KEARNEY Nine years ago, Heather Bennett walked up to Joni Fitzpatrick in the Dome Lounge and asked if shed help form a nonprofit to rescue abandoned and mistreated dogs. The two women didnt know each other, but Fitzpatrick immediately said yes. It was, to coin a phrase, the start of a beautiful friendship. Not only for the two women, but for the 1,200 dogs that the nonprofit has aided since then. Last year alone, it handled 200 dogs. K9 Freekz Dog Rescue is Kearneys only nonprofit, foster-based rescue organization, according to its owners. Its stories are heartbreaking and rewarding. Last month, the FBI called Fitzpatrick on a Friday afternoon when it found six neglected dogs in a Grand Island home as it worked on a criminal case. When that call came in, I thought it was a joke, so I let it go to voicemail, but then something told me to call her back, Fitzpatrick said. The FBI relinquished the dogs to Fitzpatrick. One of those dogs was Banx, a cattle dog. He had parasites, an eye infection, missing fur and a yeast infection over his whole body. As he healed, his foster family fell in love with him. The family said, Hes staying with us, Fitzpatrick said. Hes the best story weve ever had. A puppy-sized startK9 Freekz Dog Rescue was formed in March 2014. It rescues homeless and unwanted dogs, including old dogs, amputees, dogs with heartworm and broken hips anything. It provides medical care, foster homes and permanent homes. No dog is ever euthanized. Since that day in the Dome Lounge, Fitzpatrick and Bennett have become best friends. I dont know Joni, but I had seen her, and I knew she loved dogs. She had helped with rescues in the past, so I went up to her and asked, Do you want to start a rescue? Bennett said. Fitzpatrick didnt know Heather, but she had a gut feeling this was the right move. They talked. They hit it off. They got started. Someone jokingly called us canine freaks, and it stuck, Fitzpatrick said. K9 Freekz wobbled a bit in its early months. We didnt have a clue what we were doing, Bennett said. The pair scoured the website, researched, perfected social media efforts and got the nonprofit on its feet. Animals come to K9 Freekz through social media, word of mouth and phone calls. This volunteer work isnt always convenient; both women also juggle families, children at home and full-time jobs, but they do it eagerly. Last Tuesday alone, Fitzpatrick had six calls. Thats normal, she shrugged. Not long ago, someone called about a little terrier mix found in the middle of a rural road outside Kearney. Nobody claimed him. We took him. He was just 10 weeks old. He slept with me last night, she said. By Wednesday, thanks to social media, she had found him a new home. Every dog that comes in first goes to a veterinarian for a check-up. Each is vaccinated, microchipped and, if it hasnt been done, spayed or neutered. People pay $125 to adopt a dog. Prior to an adoption, Fitzpatrick and Bennett require three references on the adopter from friends, employers or relatives. If prospective adopters are renters, the two women check with the landlord to be sure dogs are permitted. Were sticklers on that, Bennett said. They initially visited all prospective adopters homes, but now they require interior home pictures instead. K9 Freekz takes all kinds of dogs, including puppies, elderly dogs, bully breeds, those with medical disabilities and entire litters of dogs. If puppies are still being nursed, the mother dog comes, too. People call and say, my dog had an accidental litter. We never leave the mamma dog behind, Fitzpatrick said. In 2022, the nonprofit handled four such litters. While K9 Freekz places dogs in adoptive homes often, simply posting a picture on social media results in an adoption in just a day or two- it also has foster homes for harder to adopt dogs who need to curb disobedience, incessant barking and other habits. Foster families work with such dogs until they are ready for permanent homes. These dogs need to learn the ropes, but a lot of them have never been taught. Some have been stuck in a back yard for years and dont know any better, Fitzpatrick said. K9 Freekz also has a team of 10 to 20 transporters who take dogs to their new homes and pick up dogs that need to be rescued. Long trips are often broken into segments, with a driver passing a dog along like a runner passing a baton in a relay race. Nobody is paid. Its a lot of work, but so much fun and we meet a lot of cool people, Fitzpatrick said. Thats our goal: tT have fun along the way. Doggie dollars K9 Freekz has a four-member executive committee: Fitzpatrick, Bennett, Shena Jensen and Ami Slater. A social media team handles the website and Facebook. A promotions team seeks sponsorships and items for silent auctions. Theres also an advertising team and a foster team that oversees foster families. A lot of people, Fitzpatrick said. Its financed entirely by donations of roughly $100,000 a year. Donations come from its website. It raised nearly $33,000 in Decembers Give Where You Live fundraiser. On March 11, the nonprofit will hold a cornhole tournament at the American Legion Hall on Central Ave. It has dart tournaments. It does two online auctions a year on Facebook. Its biggest fundraiser this year will be Rocking for Rescue, a combined poker run and band concert set for May 20. Its costly, both in dollars and time. This is like a second job, said Fitzpatrick, who is the office manager at Sandhill Plastics at 119 W. 19th St. We pay for everything. If the dog is at the end of its life but is still OK, rescue pays for everything so the foster family can give the dog the best life it can have until it passes. Joy in childrens eyes Since 2014, K9 Freekz has grown beyond expectations. It has served animals throughout Nebraska, west to Colorado, east to Iowa, north to South Dakota and south to Texas. It has added two directors from Omaha to its board, too. Were had to ask for help, Fitzpatrick said. There are so many dogs that need a home. K9 Freekz also counsels pet owners, such as those debating whether to keep the dogs they adopted during the COVID-19 shutdown. Some people also are dealing with dogs that developed separation anxiety after their caregivers went back to work. I am happy that they reach out to us instead of just dumping the dog, she said. As a child, Fitzpatrick had lots of dogs, and her grandparents, who lived on a farm nearby, had sheep, horses, cattle, everything. I love animals. Ill rescue a pigeon and keep it in my back yard if I have to, she said. Right now, shes keeping a rottweiler that is at the end of its life. Its a tough case, but hes mine until he goes, she said. She believes this is her calling. After nine years with K9 Freekz, she still loves seeing the joy in childrens eyes when they meet their new pet. This work is exhausting. Rewarding. Sad. Happy. It pulls out lots of emotions, Fitzpatrick said. I cant describe the feeling I get when the family meets the dog. We have rescued 1,200 dogs in the past nine years and many of those who got dogs still keep in touch, she added. You see the worst in humanity when you see what some people have done to animals, but you see the best in humanity when you see how many step up to help. FAVE 5: Kearney Hub's Mike Konz shares his memorable stories from 2022 My selections for this years Fave 5 are a reflection of what I enjoy most about journalism in Kearney, and thats the variety of assignments I am able to pursue. During 2022 I was able to report several times on one of my favorite topics cars and the Fave 5 pick is an example of why I am interested in reporting on cars. I also enjoy reporting about people, and I feel I was extremely fortunate to interview heart transplant patient Roger Petersen and his family. They were open and honest about the experience, and they said it was humbling to think that the donor had lost their life in order for the organ transplant to occur. While reporting on the consolidation of power and irrigation districts, it was challenging to distill into simple terms what was happening so that readers could understand the significance of the transaction. In reporting improvements at Ravenna Lake, my goal was to expose a shiny jewel for camping enthusiasts, and in reporting the book ban debate, I wanted readers to know about one facet of a controversial topic. Here are the five stories I enjoyed the most in 2022. mike.konz@kearneyhub.com Carrying out a pregnancy and parenting a child is not always the healthiest, safest or most feasible choice. Whether a pregnancy was desired, unintended or forced, circumstances such as physical or emotional wellness, finances, living situation, age or personal decision may change the outcome. And while politics have complicated some of these considerations, options and help exist. Safe Haven Under Wisconsin law, a parent can leave their newborn child, if under 72 hours old, with a police officer, emergency medical worker or hospital staff member. In Minnesota, the newborn must be under seven days old. The process is anonymous and a parent will not face legal consequences. The law does not apply if there is reason to believe the child was abused or neglected, and a parent cannot be forced into what is called infant relinquishment. Safe Haven is designed to be a scrutiny-free, safe and confidential option, says Kris Hayes, social worker at Gundersen Health System. The hospital averages around two surrenders a year. It is very emotional for a parent to come to this decision there is no easy decision for anyone to make in this case, says Hayes. I want people to understand there is no judgment. Safe Haven is available to those who give birth in or outside the hospital setting. A parent may also call 911 to have the baby picked up or designate someone else to give the baby to a Safe Haven designee. The person handed the infant may not follow or try to identify the relinquisher. Wisconsin and Minnesota do not have Safe Haven baby box drop-offs. Around 134 of the boxes are installed in select states nationwide. According to Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder and CEO Monica Kelsey, 23 babies have been placed in them since 2017. Florida reported its first surrender in early January. Parents are provided information on Safe Haven, and have the option to fill out a health questionnaire and/or information about the infant such as birthdate, birth time and medical history which could be beneficial for the eventual adoptive or custodial parents. Child protective services will take the baby into custody for fostering or adoption, a process the birth parent may not be a part of, Hayes explains. If a birth parent changes their mind, they must contact their local social services department and follow many steps before a judge will ultimately decide if custody is to be reinstated. If a pregnant individual is unsure if they want to keep their child upon birth, Hayes encourages speaking to their medical provider or a social worker. It is also important to understand the specifics of the Safe Haven law in their state, as relinquishment time periods vary widely. We dont want people to be afraid to ask questions, and we dont want anyone to feel judged, says Hayes. Were here to help them and help this baby and everyone thats involved. Adoption Adoption services are available in Wisconsin to both those who are pregnant or who have recently given birth. Catholic Charities has a La Crosse office, while Lutheran Social Services has a Madison site. Other state agencies include Adoptions of Wisconsin, Adoption Choice Inc. and Bethany Christian Services. These agencies offer free support groups, resources, and assistance in making adoption plans. The birth parent faces not costs, and financial assistance for necessary resources, such as food and housing, may be available. There are an estimated one to two million families or couples on waiting lists to adopt each year, and around 135,000 children placed. Of those placed, around 15% are voluntary relinquished American babies, according to the Adoption Network. Newborns, especially those born without significant health problems, are placed the easiest. Birth parents can work with a social worker to determine whether they wish for a closed adoption with no current or future contact with the child and adoptive parents or an open adoption plan, which could vary from occasional photos to phone calls to agreed upon visits. Birth parents can be involved in selecting an adoptive family, either formulating their own match or choosing from the prospective families working with their agency. They may also designate the agency to select a family. Those who havent been working with an agency may request to do so after the baby is born, with social workers available to assist at the hospital. Birth parents may design the birth plan, such as whether they wish to see or hold the baby, if they want the adoptive parents present or who can visit. In Wisconsin, both the birth mother and father must consent to relinquishing custody of the child. The agency will assist in identifying paternity if it is in question. Generally, the child will be placed with the adoptive family shortly after being born, birth parents have 30 days before termination of parental rights occurs, meaning during that time they can choose to parent or otherwise change the adoption plan. Adoptive families must complete post placement visits and reports before legal custody is finalized in court, generally six months after initial placement. While some adoption agencies have been preparing for a rise in services following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, data from The Turnaway Study, conducted by University of California San Francisco, found that among women who are unable to obtain abortion services, over 90% of them choose to parent instead of choosing adoption. This may in part be due to lack of resources for and education about adoption. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a cosponsor of the Adoption Credit Refundability Act, stated in an article from Gray Television Washington News Bureau, Guaranteeing women health care choices protection is not at all in contradiction to also encouraging more adoption. ... We need to have a whole range of options. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is another cosponsor of the act. No cosponsors represent Wisconsin. Oriana Carey, CEO of the Wisconsin Coalition for Children, Youth & Families, shared in a statement to the Tribune that since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the organization has been monitoring the number of inquiries from expectant mothers, and to date has not seen an increase in calls or online inquiries for more information or resources. No individual should feel forced or coerced into giving up a child for adoption, and even those who make the decision to do so will experience a range of emotions, likely including grief. However, it may be the choice that ultimately brings them the most comfort, especially if they wish to have some involvement in the childs life via open adoption or want to ensure the child has a loving, stable home. It can be reassuring to know that adoptive families must undergo intensive education, background checks, home visits and financial reviews. Some agencies also require friends or other non-family relations to fill out confidential questionnaires or testimonials to attest to their ability to fulfill a childs physical and emotional needs. Birth parents can look into adoption without pressure of commitment, and Carey says the Wisconsin Coalition for Children, Youth & Families continues to be an advocate for strong, resilient and nurturing families for all children. We are and will continue to be a caring, compassionate,and informative resource for all individuals and families who want to learn more about adoption, foster care or caring for a relatives child. Pregnancy termination There are fewer locations offering safe abortions following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, with Wisconsin among the states that have halted the procedure. Planned Parenthood which never performed abortions at its La Crosse site stopped providing them in all their Wisconsin locations last summer. The nearest abortion clinics are in Minnesota and Illinois. A representative for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin told the Tribune while they did not have recent data for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, Planned Parenthood of Illinois has since June reported a 10-fold increase in patients from Wisconsin going to them for abortion services. These can include in-clinic or pill abortions. Pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS will now carry the abortion pill mifepristone, used in combination with misoprostol, where lawful. This does not include Wisconsin. The FDA regulations were modified earlier this month to allow retail drug stores to dispense the drug combination following a certification process. Previously, only hospitals, select health care providers and clinics could carry and disperse it. The drug, authorized by the FDA for safe use up to 10 weeks into pregnancy, was utilized for over 50% abortions in 2020. A prescription from a certified health care worker is required. That some people must cross state lines for abortions of any form is a concern, especially for those who dont have access to transportation or are otherwise impeded. A representative for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin told the Tribune their patient navigators receive a range of questions, with many sharing they dont have the ability to travel for a variety of reasons, so we are concerned that there may be many women who are forced to remain pregnant due to those barriers. Eliminating abortion services for an entire state will likely have health consequences. The Commonwealth Fund in December 2022 released a study finding that, compared with states where abortion is accessible, those that have banned, will be banning or have restricted abortion have fewer maternity care providers; more maternity care deserts; higher rates of maternal mortality and infant death especially among women of color higher overall death rates for women of reproductive age; and greater racial inequities across their health care systems. In abortion-restriction states in 2020 the procedure was legal in Wisconsin at that time the rate of those with no or late prenatal care was 62% greater, and the death rate 62% higher, than those in legal states. Maternal deaths in both abortion access and abortion ban states were highest among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) women. Mixed race and AIAN women also experience the highest rate of rape, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, and in Wisconsin assault or incest are not exempt from the abortion ban. In 2019, perinatal deaths were 15% higher in states without legal abortion. Prenatal screenings can identify conditions including those that may be fatal or carry a seriously adverse prognosis. For example, babies with the neural tube defect anencephaly will die either upon birth or within a few days, and trisomy 18 will also often result in death of the baby. Wisconsin does not allow termination of pregnancy due to fetal or maternal health the only exception is if the life of the mother is at stake. Finding help The National Safe Haven crisis line can be reached at 1-866-99BABY1, or visit https://shbb.org/. For information on Wisconsins Safe Haven law visit https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/cps/safehaven. For state adoption services, visit https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/adoption or https://coalitionforcyf.org/. For information on out-of-state abortion services, visit https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-wisconsin. Throwback from Tribune files: Life in the La Crosse area in the 1950s 1951: La Crosse Central High School 1951: YMCA at Seventh and Main streets 1954: Triangle Cafe 1954: Estell Tall Fashions 1954: Howards Clothes 1954: Crescent Jewelers 1954: Tom's Speedometer Shop 1954: YMCA basketball 1954: 5 and 10-cent Store fire 1955: La Crosse Beauty School 1956: Christmas shoppers in downtown La Crosse 1956: Central High School Memorial Day assembly 1957: Kroger 1957: Jackson Plaza 1957: Old Style newspaper advertisement 1958: 1st National Bank 1958: State Bank of La Crosse 1958: Heat exchanger plant 1958: American Legion parade Fave 5: State government reporter Mitchell Schmidt's most memorable stories of 2022 With nearly 300 stories over the last 12 months, it's difficult to find five articles that I'd put at the top of the list. From Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings to a high-stakes gubernatorial election, there was certainly no shortage of news this past year. Here are a few articles that stood out to me in 2022. I hope youve enjoyed reading these stories as much as Ive enjoyed writing them. Saudi Arabia's Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu has signed five agreements worth more than SR43 billion ($11.4 billion) for the establishment of key industrial projects in the cities of Ras Al Khair and Yanbu. The deals were signed on the sidelines of the International Mining Conference held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. These include one with the Red Sea Aluminum Industrial Company in connection with leasing of industrial land in Yanbu Industrial City to establish a factory project for smelting and rolling aluminium and its alloys, drawing, purifying and casting, in addition to casting non-ferrous metals, stated the Royal Commission in its statement. The project, which will come up on a 7.03 million sq m area, at an investment of SR38.168 billion, is expected to provide 5,517 job opportunities in a major boost to mining infrastructure projects through a mining ore distribution port, which is a strategic gateway to access global markets, . The second agreement was with EV Metals company (EVM) that involves the leasing of industrial land to establish a complex for the production of high-purity chemicals required for active materials in the cathode that can be recharged for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The project will come up on a 1.27 million sq m area with nearly SR3.375 billion beiong spent on it, it stated. Meanwhile, the Royal Commission in Ras Al Khair Industrial City too has signed three investment agreements at the event. The first one was with Saudi Holding Company for Conversion Industries, which includes the allocation of 157,000 sq m to establish and operate a factory for the production of aluminum foil and rolls in Ras Al Khair Industrial City, which will be an added value for its use of raw materials from Maaden. To be set up at an investment of SR1.3 billion, the project aims to serve the local and global markets and is expected to create more than 350 job opportunities, said the Royal Commission. The Royal Commission also signed an agreement with Tamouh Development and Investment Company, for setting up a new aluminium plant on a 130,000 sq m at a total investment of SR474 million. The new industrial project will see major production of high-density aluminum fluoride, and will provide more than 127 job opportunities. The third agreement was signed with the Petroleum Protection Services and Construction Company for allocation of 10,000 sq m area to establish and operate a ready-mixed concrete factory for marine uses. The new project will support the ports and marine industries sector with an investment of SR5 million and also provide 75 job opportunities.-TradeArabia News Service U.S. Military Deploys To Drag Ibero-America into NATOs Planned War against China Jan. 13, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)A paper released yesterday by Evan Ellis, the U.S. Army War Colleges resident expert on Ibero-American-Chinese relations, under the title The Strategic Role of Latin America in a Global Conflict Over Taiwan, reveals that the U.S. military has been assigned to secure the natural, infrastructural, and scientific resources of Ibero-America and the Caribbean for the U.S. in its war drive against China, and deny them to those nations and to the Belt and Road Initiative. The premise of Elliss piece, published in both Spanish and English in Seguridad y Poder Terrestre, the journal of the Peruvian Armys Center for Strategic Studies (CEEEP), is that there will be a U.S. war with China over Taiwan, probably by 2027, and that that war will be global. Therefore, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command needs to map out (anticipate) Chinese assets in other parts of the world, including the Western Hemisphere, [which] could impact the ability of the U.S. to deploy and sustain forces in the Indo-Pacific in the context of such a conflict, he writes. The threat to the other governments of the Americas is clear: U.S. war planners consider any commercial or infrastructure project which involves China to be dual-use, and therefore must be ended. Chinese diplomatic activities and people-to-people relations are windows through which China can gather intelligence and gain influence; China could potentially convince these governments to remain neutral in a U.S.-China conflict. The many infrastructure projects in the region could be used by China in the projected global conflict as intermediate staging bases for attacks against the U.S. supply of food and critical minerals, or perhaps directly against the U.S. homeland, he writes. Perus Chancay Port is among the ports and canals specifically viewed as a threat. Ellis calls it imperative that Latin American leaders and military planners anticipate how the region ... could become the subject of struggle in that conflict. It is in the interest of political leaders and others in the region to consider how military interactions with the PLA, as well as commercial projects with P.R.C.-based companies ... in strategic sectors such as ports, space and the digital domain, may indirectly contribute to the way the Chinese might look to exploit opportunities created by such projects. Denying Ibero-America cooperation with China in space is a major focus of attack. The China-CELAC space working group, the five Chinese-Brazilian weather and Earth-monitoring satellites in the CEBRES program, the Bolivian and Venezuelan satellites jointly developed and deployed with China, Argentinas deep space radar in Neuquen, Perus participation in the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, are named as targets, along with Chinese cooperation in the regions astronomical observatories. Ellis goes so far as to warn that if one or more additional countries of the region breaks relations with Taiwan and recognizes the P.R.C., that might precipitate Chinese military action to retake Taiwan. (Eight of the 14 countries which still recognize Taiwan are in this region.) Ellis worries about a new government taking power in Haiti, because in off-the-record interviews with Haiti experts in October 2022, he found that the majority of actors interested in replacing Haitis unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry, all want to recognize the P.R.C.. Perhaps that is why the Biden administration has kept the drug-tainted Henry in power to continue the ongoing genocide there. U.S. and Japan Release Bellicose Joint Statement in Biden-Kishida White House Meeting Jan. 13, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Following their meeting at the White House today, President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio issued a bellicose Joint Statement, proclaiming undying devotion to the rules-based international order and defying anyone to challenge itbut claim that China is already doing that. In statements made prior to their private meeting, Biden went out of his way to assert let me be crystal clear. The United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and more importantly to Japans defensethe defense of Japan. Kishida chimed in that Japan and the U.S. are facing the most challenging and complex security environment in recent history, which required Japan to formulate a new national defense strategy and vastly increase its defense budget. This new defense strategy is required, their joint statement explains, because of growing challenges from actions inconsistent with the rules based order by China and, of course, by North Korea. This is the context in which Biden offered the U.S.s unwavering commitment to Japans defense under Article V of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, using its full range of capabilities including nuclear (emphasis added). Article VI also applies to the Senkaku Islands (which in China are known as the Diaoyu Dao, seized by Japan in 1895). Japan, he said, has shown bold leadership in adopting a new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and Defense Buildup Program. The statement refers to some of the agreements and commitments made in the 2+2 meetings of defense and foreign ministers two days ago, adding condemnation of Russia and commitment to continue imposing sanctions on Russia while providing unwavering support for Ukraine. There is heavy emphasis on the U.S. and Japans ostensible economic leadership which is also going to uphold a free, fair and rules-based economic order through Japans presidency of the G7, the U.S. hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) this year, and the G7 summit later this year at Hiroshima, all of which is intended to demonstrate the G7s commitment to upholding the international order based on the rule of law. The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) boondoggle is presented as the vehicle through which economic, technological, energy, climate and even space goals are to be achieved. The statement asserts that the unbreakable relationship between Japan and the U.S. will also lay the basis for pulling in other nations in the region and beyond for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific and the world. With India and Australia, we will ensure the Quad continues to be a force for good. China had a few things to say about this travesty. Asked about the joint statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin replied at todays press briefing that it smacks heavily of a zero-sum Cold War mentality and contains groundless smears and attacks on China. The U.S. and Japan claim to advance regional peace and security, but what they do is find pretexts for military buildup and willful use of force. They claim to champion a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but what they do is put up various exclusionary blocs to create division and confrontation. They claim to uphold the rules-based international order, but what they do is trample on international law and the basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfere in other countries internal affairs. What they have done poses a real challenge to regional peace, security and stability. The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition, Wang said. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SATURDAY JANUARY 14, 2023 The Active Concept of Peace, Resurrect the True Mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and JFK Jan. 13, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)The Schiller Institute online symposium set for Saturday, Jan. 14, on the occasion of the national U.S. holiday weekend honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a critical intervention in a world with two fast-moving vectors: the Global NATO war drive threatening nuclear holocaust, and the counter to that, which is not simply anti-war, but is the drive for deliberate development in the interests of all humanitythe active concept of peace. Make sure to attend and spread the report back of the Jan. 14 event, at 10:00 a.m. EST, titled, Resurrect the True Mission of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Stop NATOs World War, and Dismantle the International Assassination Bureau. The international assassination bureau has been in operation for decades, as an integral part of the geopolitical world war faction. The Schiller Institute event speakers will detail the need-to-know history, with reports from specific nations, all from the point of view of mobilizing to expose and shut it down. As the invitation states, the symposium will explore how to resurrect the mission of nonviolence or nonexistence to stop thermonuclear war, a mission of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, and President John F. Kennedy. The latest dramatic expression of Global NATO is the Joint Statement released today by President Joe Biden and his guest at the White House, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. The opening of the document calls for U.S.-Japan cooperation against actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order by China, and against Russia, because it continues to wage its unjust and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The document then highlights Bidens praise for Japans bold leadership in fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities ... as illustrated in the new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and Defense Buildup Program. The statement throws in that Japan will use its current chairmanship of the Group of Seven, and alliance with the U.S. to further the economic rules-based order as well. The galloping militarization demanded by Global NATO in the Indo-Pacific, as well as in Europe, and in any other target locationas now in Ibero-Americahas reached the point of extreme danger. However, the belligerence is completely exposed for the madness it is, to those now waking up to it. A strong voice in Germany this week, warning of the nuclear war dangers, is that of Gen. Erich Vad (ret.), former security adviser (2006-2013) to Chancellor Angel Merkel. When asked about prospects in 2023, he said, There has to be a broader front for peace in Washington. And the senseless Actionism [for military support for Ukraine] in German politics must finally come to an end. Otherwise, well wake up one morning and find ourselves in the middle of the Third World War. Among other points, he slammed the media for their lies, war-promotion, and uniformity. His complete interview is in Documentation. At the same time, only a few days into the new year, there are dramatic initiatives toward a new world framework of potential development, which is the basis for lasting peace. Look at just this weeks international activities, especially in Asia and Africa. Group of 77: The rotating chairmanship was handed over Jan. 12 from Pakistan to Cuba, and the occasion at the United Nations in New York City was used by the Pakistani Ambassador to the UN and others to speak of a new world governance framework coming into existence. Ambassador Munir Akram, speaking in advance of the G77 ceremony, emphasized the necessity of establishing alternatives to the current U.S.-dominated global financial systema sentiment expressed by a growing number of developing nations. The G77 is the oldest and largest grouping, now with 134 nations, within the UN. Group of 20: In India, which holds the rotating chairmanship for the G20 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted an international event online over Jan. 12-13, attended by 120 ministers from dozens of nations, and also 10 heads of state and government, on Voices of the Global South. Stating yesterday that Indias presidency of the G20 had chosen the theme of One Earth, One Family, One Future, he said that We, the Global South, have the largest stakes in the future.... Hence, as the eight-decade-old model of global governance slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order. Without naming Britain, Modi made his point clear about the enemies of development, saying, In the last century, we supported each other in our fight against foreign rule. We can do it again in this century to create a new world order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens. Africa: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is on his five-nation visit to the continent, a 33-year-old tradition for China to make Africa the first visit by the foreign minister at the beginning of each year. In Addis Ababa, meeting with Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission Jan. 11, Qin openly stressed Chinas continued commitment for development projects. One of the highlights of the Addis Ababa visit was the ceremony inaugurating the African CDC headquarters, attended by ambassadors from AU countries to Ethiopia and the Chinese ambassador to the AU, among others. Qin said that today, our world, our times and history are changing in ways like never before. The collective rise of developing countries is irreversible. China and Africa, he continued, should oppose hegemony, bullying, highhandedness and racial discrimination, and jointly safeguard true multilateralism and promote greater democracy in international relations. Qins Jan. 10-16 tour will also include visits, in order, to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt. These activities signify humanity on the move, and give heart and courage to those dedicated to making a miracle in the United States and Europe, to bust loose the Transatlantic population from the thrall and terror of Global NATO. The reports and dialogue at the Schiller Institute Jan. 14 symposium will add to this objective, in presenting the full scope and nature of the assassination bureau network that must be brought to an end. A small but significant instance of spirit occurred this morning outside the United Nations in Manhattan. A group of mostly young American students from the Northeast held a rally, attended by international leader Diane Sare and friends, which caught the happy attention of many diplomats from around the world. The students signs declared, U.S.Out of NATO! and No War with Russia! Everyones effort counts for making miracles. Attend and spread the word on the Jan. 14 event, Resurrect the True Mission of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stop NATOs World War and Dismantle the International Assassination Bureau. Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, on Wednesday said its US operations and flights are not affected by the system outage at the Federal Aviation Administration. Etihad Airways is aware of a technical issue affecting all airline flights in North America. At present, this is not having an impact on our operation, and our flights to US destinations currently in the air and preparing to depart this evening are operating as normal, the company was quoted as saying in a WAM report. We will closely monitor the situation and alert our customers should the position change, the company added. US flights were slowly resuming departures and a ground stop was lifted after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scrambled to fix a system outage overnight that had forced a halt to all US departing flights. More than 7,300 flights were delayed and 1,100 cancelled according to the FlightAware website in the first national grounding of flights in about two decades, industry officials said. Today, we begin a series from a book by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The book is called A Princess of Mars. It is the first book in a series that Burroughs wrote about a man who travels to Mars during the last years of the 1800s. There, the man meets strange beings and sees strange sights. At first he is a captive, then a warrior, and after many battles, a prince of a royal family. The voice of John Carter was Shep ONeal. Paul Thompson produced the program. Adam Brock and Dr. Jill Robbins developed the video and supplemental materials. JOHN CARTER: I am a very old man. How old I do not know. It is possible I am a hundred, maybe more. I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men do. So far as I can remember, I have always been a man of about 30. I appear today as I did 40 years ago. Yet, I feel that I cannot go on living forever. Someday I will die the real death from which there is no escape. I do not know why I should fear death. I who have died two times and am still alive. I have never told this story. I know the human mind will not believe what it cannot understand. I cannot explain what happened to me. I can only tell of the ten years my dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave. My name is John Carter. I am from the state of Virginia. At the close of the Civil War I found myself without a home, without money and without work. I decided the best plan was to search for gold in the great deserts of the American Southwest. I spent almost a year searching for gold with another former soldier, Captain James Powell, also of Virginia. We were extremely lucky. In the winter of eighteen sixty-five we found rocks that held gold. Powell was trained as a mining engineer. He said we had uncovered over $1 million dollars worth of gold in only three months. But the work was slow with only two men and not much equipment. So we decided Powell should go to the nearest settlement to seek equipment and men to help us with the work. On March 3, 1866, Powell said good-bye. He rode his horse down the mountain toward the valley. I followed his progress for several hours. The morning Powell left was like all mornings in the deserts of the great Southwest -- clear and beautiful. Not much later I looked across the valley. I was surprised to see three riders in the same place where I had last seen my friend. After watching for some time, I decided the three riders must be hostile Indians. Powell, I knew, was well armed and an experienced soldier. But I knew he would need my aid. I found my weapons, placed a saddle on my horse and started as fast as possible down the trail taken by Powell. I followed as quickly as I could until dark. About 9 oclock the moon became very bright. I had no difficulty following Powells trail. I soon found the trail left by the three riders following Powell. I knew they were Indians. I was sure they wanted to capture Powell. Suddenly I heard shots far ahead of me. I hurried ahead as fast as I could. Soon I came to a small camp. Several hundred Apache Indians were in the center of the camp. I could see Powell on the ground. I did not even think about what to do, I just acted. I pulled out my guns and began shooting. The Apaches were surprised and fled. I forced my horse into the camp and toward Powell. I reached down and pulled him up on the horse by his belt. I urged the horse to greater speed. The Apaches by now realized that I was alone and quickly began to follow. We were soon in very rough country. The trail I chose began to rise sharply. It went up and up. I followed the trail for several hundred meters more until I came to the mouth of a large cave. It was almost morning now. I got off my horse and laid Powell on the ground. I tried to give him water. But it was no use. Powell was dead. I laid his body down and continued to the cave. I began to explore the cave. I was looking for a safe place to defend myself, or perhaps for a way out. But I became very sleepy. It was a pleasant feeling. My body became extremely heavy. I had trouble moving. Soon I had to lay down against the side of the cave. For some reason I could not move my arms or legs. I lay facing the opening of the cave. I could see part of the trail that had led me here. And now I could see the Apaches. They had found me. But I could do nothing. Within a minute one of them came into the cave. He looked at me, but he came no closer. His eyes grew wide. His mouth opened. He had a look of terror on his face. He looked behind me for moment and then fled. Suddenly I heard a low noise behind me. So could the rest of the Apaches. They all turned and fled. The sound became louder. But still I could not move. I could not turn my head to see what was behind me. All day I lay like this. I tried again to rise, and again, but still I could not move. Then I heard a sharp sound. It was like a steel wire breaking. I quickly stood up. My back was against the cave wall. I looked down. There before me lay my body. For a few moments, I stood looking at my body. I could not bring myself to touch it. I was very frightened. The sounds of the cave and the sight of my body forced me away. I slowly backed to the opening of the cave. I turned to look at the Arizona night. I could see a thousand stars. As I stood there I turned my eyes to a large red star. I could not stop looking at it. It was Mars the red planet the red god of war. It seemed to pull me near. Then, for a moment, I closed my eyes. There was an instant of extreme cold and total darkness. Suddenly I was in deep, dreamless, peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes upon a very strange land. I immediately knew then I was on Mars. Not once did I question this fact. My mind told me I was on Mars as your mind tells you that you are upon Earth. You do not question the fact, nor did I. I found myself lying on a bed of yellow colored grass that covered the land for kilometers. The time was near the middle of the day and the sun was shining full upon me. It was warm. I decided to do a little exploring. Springing to my feet, I received my first Martian surprise. The effort to stand carried me into the Martian air to the height of about one meter. I landed softly upon the ground, however, without incident. I found that I must learn to walk all over again. My muscles were used to the gravity of Earth. Mars has less gravity. My attempts to walk resulted in jumps and hops, which took me into the air. I once landed on my face. I soon learned that it took much less effort for me to move on Mars than it did on Earth. Near me was a small, low wall. Carefully, I made my way to the wall and looked over. It was filled with eggs, some already broken open. Small, green creatures were in them. They looked at me with huge red eyes. As I watched the fierce-looking creatures, I failed to hear twenty full-grown Martians coming from behind me. They had come without warning. As I turned, I saw them. One was coming at me with a huge spear, with its sharp tip pointed at my heart! Join us again next week for the next part of the Edgar Rice Burroughs story, A Princess of Mars, at VOA Learning English. Now its your turn to use these Words in This Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on your use of vocabulary and grammar. _______________________________________________________________ Quiz Quiz - A Princess of Mars Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz For Teachers This lesson plan, based on the CALLA approach, teaches the strategy of selective attention to help students understand the science fantasy story, A Princess of Mars. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story trail - n. a path through a forest, field, etc. Apache - n. a member of a Native American people of the southwestern U.S. gravity - n. the natural force that tends to cause physical things to move towards each other : the force that causes things to fall towards the Earth Martian - n. an imaginary creature in books, movies, etc., that lives on or comes from the planet Mars Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between create and do. Question Hello Learning English, I would like to ask you about the word essay. Do we say, create an essay or do an essay? Thank you for your help, Mekhpara Answer Dear Mekhpara, This is a great question, and one that we actually have not talked about. Your question is less about the word essay, and more about the choice of which verb to use, do or create. Lets look at each of these more closely. Lets start with do. Do The verb do is an irregular verb that has many uses. We use do for actions that we are required or must do and for general activities that we often repeat. I will do the dishes tonight after dinner. We also use do to show the completion or achievement of things. Is that report done? Sometimes we use do for talking about a job or for studying. What did you do at your last job? We can use do to mean produce something, like an essay or something artistic. We use it in place of more specific verbs that focus on the operative action. Using do focuses more on the general action or completion of the action. Im doing my essay this weekend, so I do not have to worry about it over spring break. Im writing my essay this weekend, so I do not have to worry about it over spring break. She did the painting in watercolors. She painted in watercolors. This brings us to create. Create To create something means to bring something new into existence. When we think of create, we think of something new that has not been produced before. To create something requires imagination, a special skill or talent, a new method, or a unique process. Heather likes to create new dances for her students. She created the recipe from just 5 simple ingredients. We can create an essay. For example, your teacher might ask you to create an essay about a problem or a solution. But think about the actions that you perform to create the essay. You might research the subject, form ideas about how to express yourself and more. Yet finally, to create an essay you must write. This is the required action and the more specific verb. So just like do is a less specific verb, here create is the less specific verb for the entire process of writing an essay. Tony is writing an essay about climate change. I wrote many essays in college. Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Mekhpara. What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com And thats Ask a Teacher. Im Faith Pirlo. Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story essay - n. a piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject irregular adj. not following the usual rules about what should be done achievement n. a thing that is completed successfully watercolors n. colored paints combined with water or a wet brush to create an effect unique adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else ingredient n. one of the things that are used to make a food, product, etc _________________________________________________________________ Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. A grilled cheese is a simple and well-loved sandwich. It is a favorite food of many American children. But food writer and professional cook Christopher Kimball urges people to add some Korean flavor into their next grilled cheese. He suggests throwing kimchi into the mix. The spicy fermented cabbage is a traditional Korean food. Cheese with kimchi may sound strange, but the combination is not new. A Korean meal called budae jigae, or army base stew, was developed during the Korean War. It is a hot pot made with American foods, such as hot dogs, baked beans and noodles, along with kimchi and American cheese. Kimball recently published the cookbook Cook What You Have, which draws on common foods to create easy, weeknight meals. Kimchi and its flavorful juices make for a much more interesting grilled cheese than what many Americans grew up eating. Kimball also suggests adding cooked meat, like ham or bacon, to turn the sandwich into a more filling meal. Here is what you need to make yourself and a few friends a kimchi grilled cheese. 70 mL of mayonnaise 15 mL of kimchi juice, plus 300 mL of kimchi, with the liquid removed and cut into small pieces 8 pieces of sandwich bread 8 slices of cheese And 4 slices of thinly cut ham or 4 slices of cooked bacon In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and kimchi juice. Spread the mixture evenly over one side of each piece of bread. Flip four of the slices to be mayonnaise side down. Then, top each piece with one slice of cheese, one slice of ham or bacon and one-quarter of the kimchi. Top each with another slice of the remaining cheese, then another slice of bread, with the mayonnaise side up. Press on the sandwiches to push the filling together. Heat up a 30-centimeter nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add two of the sandwiches and cook them for two to three minutes. Using a wide spatula, flip the sandwiches and continue cooking them on the other side, for another two to three minutes. Remove the cooked sandwiches from the pan. Cook the remaining two sandwiches in the same way. Cut each sandwich before you serve them. And lastly, enjoy! I'm Ashley Thompson. Christopher Kimball wrote this story for the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. ___________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story grilled - adj. fried or toasted on a hot surface sandwich - n. two pieces of bread with something (such as meat, peanut butter, etc.) between them fermented - adj. used to describe foods or drinks that have gone through a chemical change in which microorganisms like yeast and bacteria break down food parts and turn them into other products (including alcohol) hot pot - n. a mixture of meat and vegetables cooked together with liquid in a single pot mayonnaise - n. a thick, white sauce used especially in salads and on sandwiches and made chiefly of eggs, vegetable oil, and vinegar or lemon juice flip - v. to cause (something) to turn or turn over quickly spatula - n. a kitchen tool that has a handle which is bent upward and a wide, thin blade used for lifting and turning foods on a hot surface ___________________________________________________________________ What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. United States border agents made a record number of arrests in the South the past fiscal year, which ended in September. In an effort to deal with the situation, U.S. President Joe Biden announced new steps last week. He said border patrol agents would immediately start turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who illegally cross the border from Mexico. The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S. That effort began in October and led to a sharp drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border. Do not, do not just show up at the border, Biden said last week in his first major speech on border security. At the same time, he said the U.S. would permit up to 30,000 people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela to enter the country by air each month. Who is trying to enter the U.S. at the border? During the past fiscal year, agents arrested more than 2.2 million people at the U.S.-Mexico border. But many of those individuals had tried to cross more than once after being caught. The migrants were quickly expelled to Mexico under a COVID-established order known as Title 42. Before last year, Mexico had generally only been accepting the return of its own citizens along with migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The number of Venezuelans crossing the border fell sharply after Mexico agreed to accept expulsions of Venezuelan migrants last October. Why are people crossing? Before Title 42, migrants had been permitted to arrive at a U.S. port of entry and tell border officials they feared returning to their home country. That action would start an asylum process. Migrants seeking protection must prove they have been persecuted, or fear they will be, on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. The migrant is required to make an official asylum request to a U.S. asylum officer or in U.S. immigration court. Other migrants who arrive on U.S. soil are permitted to ask for asylum, even if they cross the border illegally and turn themselves into border agents. But winning a case that way is a long and complex process and can take years to complete. What happens to people after they cross? Migrants who cannot be expelled under Title 42 are processed under an immigration law known as Title 8. Those individuals can be detained or released in the U.S. during consideration of their cases. Asylum seekers can seek work permits as long as they attend court hearings and other immigration requirements. Last year, the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona bused thousands of migrants from the border to northern cities like New York and Washington, D.C. The governors said the action eased pressure in border communities and expressed their opposition to the policies of President Biden and Democratic lawmakers. What paths to legal immigration are available? There are a number of ways to enter the U.S. legally as an immigrant. These include being sponsored by a U.S. citizen or company, to perform a particular job or to study. But getting a visa approved can take a long time and the process is not always available to under-represented communities. The Biden administration set a goal in 2022 to resettle 125,000 refugees who registered from abroad after former President Donald Trump sharply reduced admissions during his term. But the COVID-pandemic added to existing delays and prevented the U.S. from reaching that goal. When Biden took office in 2021, he urged Congress to pass wide-reaching immigration reform. Efforts to fix what many believe is a broken immigration system have been a long-standing goal of past administrations. But lawmakers have repeatedly failed in recent years to reach an agreement to pass major new policies. Im Bryan Lynn. Reuters and The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. ____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story fiscal adj. relating to government money, especially taxes persecute v. oppress or mistreat sponsor v. to take responsibility and give financial support to another person ___________________________________________________________________ What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. During Holy Week, the Christian world commemorates a very bad week for the Jesus and his followers. PM calls for OV's efforts to bring Vietnam, world closer Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 14 hosted a reception for a delegation of overseas Vietnamese (OV) who are now in Vietnam for the "Xuan Que huong" (Homeland Spring) 2023, during which he called for their engagement in the Governments efforts to bring Vietnam closer to the world. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets overseas Vietnamese attending the "Xuan Que huong" (Homeland Spring) programme (Photo: VNA) The leader highly valued the ideas of OVs and their aspirations to make contributions to the homeland, which manifests the beautiful tradition and the spirit of the great national solidarity bloc, especially amid difficulties. Briefing the OVs on the countrys development, he underlined that Vietnam is building a rule-based socialist country, socialist democracy and socialist-oriented market economy. In the process, Vietnam takes people as the centre, the subject, motivation and goal of development, he stated. He hailed and thanked the efforts and contributions of 5.3 million-strong Vietnamese community abroad over the years, contributing to the overall development achievements of the country. Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Strategy Officer at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and former Managing Director of COVAX Facility, said she is proud to be Vietnamese. She said that Vietnams success in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the success of a massive vaccination campaign. Highlighting the success of the vaccination campaign, PM Chinh said that it enabled Vietnam to fully open its economy in late 2021 and gain many achievements in 2022 across all fields. Last year, when the pandemic was still developing complicatedly, the PM mentioned a high determination to make the way home shorter for all Vietnamese people abroad. This year, after the target was fulfilled, the Government is striving to bring Vietnam closer to the world and the world closer to Vietnam, stated the PM. To this end, it is necessary to continue to effectively implement policies and orientations of the Party and State, he said. He pointed to the need to educate younger generations on the history, culture and tradition of Vietnam, especially the Vietnamese language, while strengthening the promotion of the image of the Vietnamese nation and people, increasing the export of Vietnamese products, and boosting tourism. The Government leader called for the engagement of the OV community in the efforts. Taking the Vietnamese community abroad as an integral part of the nation, the Party and State have always paid attention to, created optimal conditions for, and supported OVs to settle down, integrate into the host society, maintain a close relationship with the homeland and actively participate in the construction and development of the country, he stated. He said he believes that Vietnamese people, both inside and outside the country, will continue to strongly develop the solidarity tradition and join hands together in realising the countrys development targets, including the goal of bringing Vietnam closer to the world and getting the world closer to Vietnam. The Government understands the goodwill and aspirations of the OV community, and will absorb their ideas and respond to their requests, he pledged. The PM wished the OV community a New Year of good health, happiness and success. The ongoing caste-based census in Bihar is considered a possible game-changer in policy-making for all the backward castes of the state. Muslims too would be the possible beneficiaries as most of them are considered to be Pasmanda (backward). Sami Ahmad | TwoCircles.net PATNA (BIHAR) The much-hyped caste census in Bihar, which began on January 7, is facing legal and political hurdles even if the backward castes pin their hopes on a new political narrative. The issue has put the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a fix as their leaders seem to be opposing each other on this issue. The caste-based census will be completed by May 2023, and the state government will spend 500 crores from its contingency fund for the exercise. The survey is estimated to cover the entire population of Bihar, which is around 14 crores, out of which nearly 17% are Muslim. Though this headcount of all the castes is said to be a possible game changer in policy-making for all the backward castes, Muslims too would be the possible beneficiary as most of them are considered to be Pasmanda (backward). The Pasmanda population is covered under 27% of reservations and it will benefit from the increase in the reservation after the caste-based survey is completed. There is a consistent demand to include the Pasmanda Muslims in Scheduled Caste (SC) category but this has been outrightly rejected by the current BJP-led government at the centre. Against this backdrop, the caste census is a big hope for this section of society. It is generally believed that backward castes constitute 55% of the population of Bihar. As of now, the reservation for them is 27%. It is expected that there would be a demand to raise this percentage after the final figures come out. That would mean breaking the ceiling of 50% reservation in government jobs and other opportunities like admission to educational institutions etc. Experts say after validating the quota for EWS (Economically Weaker Section), the Supreme Court has paved the way to breach this ceiling. Since data related to economic status would be also collected, it is also expected that information about the distribution of resources would also be revealed. That is expected to raise the demand for an equitable distribution of state resources. The discussion for this headcount was going on for many a month but after clearing the political and administrative hurdles, it is now facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court after the start of the process of caste-based headcounts first stage. On January 11, the Supreme Court of India agreed to give an urgent hearing on January 20 to the petition challenging the Bihar governments decision to conduct a caste census. The petitioner, Akhilesh Kumar hails from CM Nitish Kumars home district Nalanda, through his advocate Barun Kumar Sinha argued that census, including caste census, comes under the Union government and the state government was wrong in holding that. This PIL was mentioned before the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar answered questions about this petition and tried to clarify that the state government was not conducting any census, rather it was a caste-based survey. On the political front, Nitish Kumars party colleague Lalan Singh, the national president of Janata Dal (United) alleged that the BJP was indirectly sabotaging the process of caste census and asked if the BJP is really in favour of caste census it should then ask the central government to send the attorney general to defend the decision of caste census. 6 @NitishKumar @yadavtejashwi .1/3 Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh (@LalanSingh_1) January 11, 2023 The reason for questioning the BJP is the conflicting statements of its leaders. While ex-deputy chief minister and BJPs Rajya Sabha member wished that the BJP should be credited for this headcount, his party colleague and leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha has alleged that this process of Rs. 500 crores would widen the caste rivalry. Sinha even asked to dump this caste census and instead hold an economic census. , , pic.twitter.com/XhF9JXfu7C Vijay Kumar Sinha (@VijayKrSinhaBih) January 7, 2023 Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi was particular in stating that credit for this caste headcount should not go to the current chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as he was not in the government when the Bihar cabinet decided for caste headcount. Experts say that the BJP see Tejashwi as a possible beneficiary of the outcomes of the caste census, so he is being targeted. It may be recalled that the caste census was one of the issues that contributed to the reunion of Lalu Prasads RJD and Nitishs JD (U) which kicked out the BJP from the government in August last year. Ali Anwar, president of All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz and two times Rajya Sabha member told TwoCircles.net that caste base headcount is the only solution to the menace of communal hatred. Anwar has written a booklet titled Sampradayik Dhruvikaran Ka Yahi Ilaj, Jati Janganana Ke Liye Ho Jao Taiyar meaning Get ready for Caste Census, This is The Solution to Communal Polarisation. He also coined the slogan Dalit-Pichhda Ek Saman, Hindu ho Ya Musalman. He claimed that BJP is afraid of the caste census as it will fail their agenda of communal polarization and that is why they are opposed to it. Apart from getting benefits of an increased proportion of reservation, Muslims, and all the citizens are going to get a communal hatred-free environment by the results of this caste census, he added. Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb Wisconsins child care industry continues to face a critical staffing crisis one that is expected to get worse if federal COVID relief funding isnt replaced once it runs out. Thats according to a recent national survey of early childhood educators, which found 63.3% of Wisconsin centers are experiencing staffing shortages and that 79.8% of workers are facing burnout and exhaustion. The survey, conducted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, included responses from 1,173 Wisconsin child care providers. The survey, the results of which were released last month through the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, also indicated that 32.1% of child care center owners would consider leaving their job or closing their program in the future if economic conditions dont improve. Dane County child care providers echoed the sentiments expressed in the survey and said the money they receive from the state is merely keeping their businesses afloat. The U.S. economy loses more than $50 billion per year in revenue, wages and productivity due to persistent child care problems, according to a 2021 Brookings Institution report. Fueling the states child care staffing crisis are wages that havent kept up with the rising cost of living, as well as financial burdens and closures brought on by COVID-19, WECA said. The state was already seeing child care deserts before the pandemic, or regions where a center cant be found for miles despite major need. The average wage that child care workers make in the state is $7.50 to $13 an hour, which for a 40-hour work week puts a family of four at or below the 2022 federal poverty rate. We need to start understanding that child care is a public good, said Ruth Schmidt, WECA executive director, adding that the reports results were striking but not surprising. Moreover, 45.6% of Wisconsin survey respondents said they are serving fewer children than they would like, with 51.5% reporting longer waitlists of parents needing their facilities. Government funding The backlogs are a consequence of staffing shortages, respondents said. Meanwhile, 27.1% of state providers said their program would close without current financial supports. More than $700 million in federal pandemic relief funding has been given to providers by the state since the start of the health crisis, but it expires in 2024, Schmidt said. In Wisconsin, a majority of that funding has supported the Child Care Counts program, which provides payments to child care facilities to increase wages and offset other operating costs. WECA said it is advocating for a $300 million investment to continue the program in the states 2023-25 biennial budget. That money would keep the status quo, Schmidt said, adding that much more is needed from both the public and private sectors to help child care providers flourish, not just remain stable. It will keep (the child care industry) from further receding in our state, she said. There are some glimmers of hope: Efforts within the last year to financially stabilize the beleaguered child care industry have come from other state organizations, too, as awareness of the problem has grown. The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in 2022 implemented a program called Project Growth, which included $10 million to help businesses purchase slots for employees at regulated child care facilities, as well as $8.1 million to encourage communities across the state to address local child care workforce and resource needs over the next few years. Madison Area Technical College received a $2.9 million grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to help build capacity for child care on Madisons South Side and near other MATC campuses in the region. Ongoing struggles Brenda Fritz, owner and administrator of Academy of Little Vikings, a child care center in Mount Horeb, said she hasnt seen a resume come across her desk in months. The business opened in 2013 and has about 42 employees, Fritz said, and shes looking to hire at least five more. And because of a waitlist of 75 children and growing, Fritz said the center is eyeing an expansion. But thats not economically viable right now, she said, because of her staffing shortage. The academys waitlist extends into 2024 and includes babies that havent even been born yet, she said. The center currently cares for 165 children ages 0-12. The academy has been a recipient of Child Care Counts funding of $25,000 a month since May 2021, of which $15,000 boosts employee wages which average between $15 and $17 an hour by $500 a month. The center also gets a separate monthly Child Care Counts stipend of $10,000 to go toward operational costs, and Fritz said that money has been a good retention and stabilization tool. Fritz said she tells her staff to think of the grant money as bonuses rather than wage increases to drive home the fact that the money may soon go away. Without the grants, she said, she would have to raise tuition for families that use her center. A lot of lip service Jen Bailey, executive director of child care program Reach Dane, also receives Child Care Counts funding roughly $112,000 a month since spring 2021. The program serves 1,000 children ages 0-5 from mostly low-income families across several Dane County locations, and has 280 employees. It needs to hire 40 more, Bailey said. Currently, we have 10 classrooms that are closed due to lack of staff, Bailey said. Both providers said theyve also helped their employees get child care with Project Growth money. We pay a lot of lip service, but we dont put our money where our mouth is, Bailey said. We need to treat it like the profession it is. We are asking people to care for (children) that are in this critical development stage. Anke Boudreaus three children remember their mother a woman who dedicated her life to helping people through trauma as someone who loved deeply and gave generously. She is the ultimate gift. She showed me how to live a life with love, grace and compassion. My job is to continue with her mission in life, said her daughter, Dawn Cheney. Boudreau was killed in a car crash Sept. 26 in Ogallala, Nebraska. She was 76. In addition to being a beloved mother to her children and a grandmother to seven grandchildren, Boudreau was an active member of the Madison community who consistently championed for social equity. She volunteered for numerous organizations across Madison. Anyone who has been exposed to my mom has been inspired by my mom, said her son, Jeff Boudreau. After volunteering as a school nurse through the American Red Cross for several years, Boudreau participated in the organizations disaster relief program. Immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Boudreau spent over a month in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to aid recovery efforts. Boudreau, who grew up in Bremen, Germany, immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 with her first husband, Lynn Eugene Boudreau. When she arrived in the U.S., she didnt speak English very well and had a limited secondary education, family members said. As a young stay-at-home mother, her children remember her as resourceful, fiercely loyal and loving. My mom would move mountains to take care of us, said her son, Jack Boudreau. I think about living in Africa and really missing my guitar and then my guitar just appears on my doorstep. She managed to figure out how to ship a guitar all the way to Africa. Boudreau valued education. When Cheney, Boudreaus youngest child, started high school, Anke Boudreau decided to go back to school herself. After obtaining her GED and her associate degree, Boudreau attended UW-Milwaukee, where she received her undergraduate degree in social work. She was a firm believer in an education and that it could take you anywhere in the world, Cheney said. Following graduation, Boudreau worked as a victim witness specialist for the District Attorneys Office in Milwaukee. A few years later, Boudreau went back to school once again to receive her masters in education psychology, with an emphasis on forgiveness theory, from UW-Madison. For nearly 20 years, Boudreau volunteered as a facilitator for grief support groups at Agrace, a hospice organization. Through this work, Boudreau helped hundreds of people navigate intense grief. Jessie Shiveler, Agraces community grief manager, who worked closely with Boudreau, said that she was scheduled to co-facilitate another grief group at the end of 2022. She was just one of those really special people that connected with people and made them feel special, Shiveler said. She valued a group experience and understood what it meant for people to not feel alone in their grief. I think she probably felt really privileged to be able to support people. Along with her work with the the American Red Cross and Agrace, Boudreau volunteered frequently for the Veterans Association for many years and was an enthusiastic supporter of Occupy Madison, a local tiny housing project. Gene Cox, a shop manager for the organization, said Boudreau would often stop in to say hi. She always had a smile on her face, he said. I feel that she kind of led the neighborhood as far as not having those stereotypes about houseless people and she just treated everyone in the village with dignity and respect. Boudreaus husband, John Rosenberg, was seriously injured in the September crash and is recovering. The family has a memorial for Boudreau scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 29 at Gunderson East Funeral and Cremation Care, 5203 Monona Drive. As they prepare for her memorial, the Boudreau family is hopeful that their mothers story may encourage others to do their part in making the world a better place just like she did. All three of us have lived our lives inspired by our mother and have tried to make a difference in the world, Jeff Boudreau said. Were all my mom, right? Were all goofy young mothers with children and mouths to feed and not enough money at the end of the month, and yet we all have that capacity to dig deep and push ourselves to be the best version of ourselves. SOMERS Grace Stankes father told her not to go into nuclear engineering, saying there was no future in that field. But, almost through spite, Stanke went into it anyway. Now, as she is anticipating her bachelors degree in nuclear engineering, and holding the title of Miss America 2023, she hopes to inspire young women across the country to go into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields themselves. A total of 450 girls from Racine Unified School District middle schools attended the 10th annual Girls Empowered by Math and Science conference Thursday and were joined by Stanke, in her first appearance since winning the title. The girls, students from Gifford School, Walden III, Gilmore Fine Arts, Jersted-Agerholm school, Mitchell School, Starbuck Middle School and The R.E.A.L School spent the day living like college students at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 900 Wood Road, and attended a keynote speech by Stanke as well as a panel discussion moderated by her, and were assigned to attend different workshops that all focused on different STEM disciplines. Science isnt limited to just one thing, Stanke said. For me, I focus on nuclear energy, but there are so many ways it can affect society and continue to improve. In her speech, Stanke, 20, told a story of how she was first attracted to STEM, specifically engineering, and started competing in Miss America scholarship events as a necessity for financing after her father was diagnosed with cancer. Stanke is from Wausau and will be graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelors in nuclear engineering this spring. Jody Bloyer, RUSD chief of schools, also spoke at the event. What were going to embark on today is an event, Bloyer said. The importance of an event is what you do with it after. So make sure what you learn today, make sure what you hear today, make sure that the information that is given to you, you take and you apply it. The GEMS Conference is an inspiring event that gives middle school girls the chance to dream big and explore their passions in science, technology, engineering and math, Jeanette Brown, CEO of Girls Inc. of Southeast Wisconsin, wrote in an email. We are particularly proud to provide this opportunity to middle school girls, who are at a crucial stage in their development and decision-making process We are grateful to our sponsors and partners for their support in making this 10th year a success and empowering these girls to believe in themselves, pursue their dreams, and make a positive impact in the world. The workshop events the girls attended covered many different disciplines of STEM, from creating constellations with astrology, to making their own ice cream using chemistry. Kamiah Brown, one of the students in attendance, did an activity based on thermodynamics in a workshop she attended. Brown wants to be an architect and didnt realize how much fun she would have learning about thermodynamics. From what I saw, it was very cool, Brown said. It might be one of my (career) options. I wanna see whats out there before I choose what I want. Maria Cervantes, an eighth grader from Gifford, was assigned to a math workshop to determine if a burrito is a sandwich. Cervantes would like to study biology one day and was excited to be a part of a program like this. Cervantes also said she thinks the answer is no when asked if a burrito is a sandwich. I didnt have many female role models to look up to when I was in seventh and eighth grade, like the young girls that are here today. So having this opportunity to be that role model, to direct them to incredible role models in this community are volunteers and here today to help out, thats a powerful resource, Stanke said. I like to say the women before me that are holding c-suite positions right now removed boulders, right now Im removing rocks. Hopefully the young girls here today only have to remove pebbles as they are pursuing a career in STEM. 13 photos from the 2023 Girls Empowered by Math and Science Conference Sitting with the girls A little break Always time for a selfie Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke Young ladies Crowd shot Crowd shot Grace Stanke, Miss America 2023, speaks at the Girls Empowered by Math and Science Conference Miss America 2023 Sweet treats Checking in on a workshop Madison is considering zoning changes to encourage more housing along upcoming routes for bus rapid transit outside the core Downtown, including many properties in local and national register historic districts. The idea is to create new housing opportunities and direct development toward high-capacity bus routes, make the bus system more accessible and serve more people. But some residents, especially in historic districts, like their neighborhoods look and oppose parts of proposed zoning that will cover about 6,700 acres. The City Council on Tuesday will consider an ordinance to initiate a Transit Oriented Development Overlay District that would generally land within a quarter-mile of BRT routes, except Downtown and the UW-Madison campus. It also includes employment and retail areas between a quarter- and half-mile of routes, mainly around the ends of the initial BRT route between East Towne and West Towne, where there are concentrations of single-use, auto-oriented, retail and office buildings. We have a housing crisis here in Madison, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. Its important to add housing units in every neighborhood at the appropriate density, she said, and its important to offer good transit options that can keep the cost of living affordable. The overlay district would include parts or all of most local and national register historic districts, except the Mansion Hill and First Settlement local historic districts Downtown. Madison has long wanted to implement such transit-oriented zoning along high-frequency transit corridors, city transportation director Tom Lynch said. That will be key to the bus system, with BRT coming amid a sweeping Metro Transit system redesign. The city has had a transit-oriented development overlay district as section of the zoning code thats served as a placeholder since 2013, Lynch said. More density The key changes to the overlay district are: Allowing more residential units as a permitted use in residential, mixed-use and certain employment zoning districts. Allowing additional building height as a permitted use in some residential and mixed-use districts. Removing usable open space requirements for residential units. Removing minimum vehicle parking requirements and adding tighter maximum parking limits. A minimum two-story building height, with some exceptions, in multifamily residential, mixed-use and employment districts. Additional site design and layout rules to ensure buildings are near and easily accessible from public sidewalks. A key part of the change is allowing more density as permitted rather than conditional uses that require more review. For example, single-family districts would allow duplexes; the district that now allows multifamily projects with up to eight units could have 12 units as a permitted use; and the neighborhood mixed-use district that allows 24 units could now have 48 units as a permitted use. TOD allows for a little more density near transit corridors so that more community members can enjoy the benefits of transit without having to walk long distances, Lynch said. A bus can serve more households by traveling a block in a TOD district than it can in several blocks of traditional low-density housing. Ultimately, this means we can serve more residents, more frequently, and bring them to more places. It also incentivizes more housing, which we need throughout the city, he said. (But) one potential drawback of TOD is that it provides an incentive to develop at a slightly higher density. Some residents prefer the existing development patterns and densities would not like to see them changed. Vision evolves The original overlay district recommended by staff and the original sponsors excluded the historic districts, but an alternative proposal was introduced by the citys Transportation Policy and Planning Board to include the districts, and the alternative was recommended by the Plan Commission on a 6-1 vote. Supporters of the alternate proposal that includes historic districts thought that more housing should be incentivized throughout the city, allowing new residents to enjoy all areas of the city well served by transit and services, Lynch said. The 550 acres in the historic districts represent about 9% of the total 6,700 acres. The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation supports the general overlay district, but opposes including properties in historic districts to safeguard their important cultural and economic contributions to the citys vibrancy, the trust wrote in a letter to city officials. Smart Growth Greater Madison, which represents the development industry, and the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin support the overlay district. It would be even better if it allowed even more density along high-volume transit lines, said Bill Connors, executive director of Smart Growth Madison. Rhodes-Conway said she supported the original proposal, which excluded historic districts, and is agnostic on the version that includes them. I understand peoples concerns, she said. I think ultimately the inclusion of historic districts is probably not that significant. At this point, its up to the council. Nod to history But the attempt to include historic districts has sparked opposition. For the local historic districts in the overlay district University Heights, Third Lake Ridge and the Marquette Bungalows the citys Preservation Ordinance would continue to guide any alterations, additions or new structures, preservation planner Heather Bailey said in a memo. In the national register historic districts, which are honorary designations and not protected by the local Preservation Ordinance, the overlay district wont prevent property owners from exploring state and federal preservation tax credits, which could allow structures to be adapted to accommodate new development options in the overlay district, Bailey said. It also could increase development pressures that result in demolitions rather than adaptive reuse, she said. But there is always the possibility of creating new local historic districts, she said. Bob Klebba, a Madison Trust for Historical Preservation board member, said hes less worried about the impact on the more-protected local districts than the national register districts. He noted, for example, that the City Council overturned unanimous decisions by the Landmarks and Plan commissions to deny demolitions on the 400 block of North Lake Street that were in the Langdon Street National Register District for student housing. Klebba also voiced concern about the threat of development to older homes that are more affordable, including in the Brams Addition, Darbo-Worthington and Northport Drive neighborhoods. Some residents voiced concern about including the University Hill Farms National Register Historic District on the West Side in the overlay district at an online public informational meeting on Thursday. The University Hill Farms is emblematic of the sort of planned community designed in the mid-1950s and its designation has helped preserve its mid-20th century aesthetic, and comprises only about 3% of the proposed overlay district area, the trust said in its memo to the city. Excluding this small portion of land from the overlay will not greatly compromise the density the city wishes to promote along the BRT route, it said. It will, however, preserve this historic districts unique architectural feel and the history of urban design in Madison. EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the vote by the Plan Commission. No, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries does not want to be the next Barack Obama, though sometimes it seems as if everyone is asking. A lot of people were asking after the stemwinder of a speech that Jeffries delivered in Congress as he was briefly handed the House speakers gavel, previously held by California Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Having followed the speakers race through a staggering 15 ballots and days of stubborn gridlock, I had just about given up hope of hearing anything even faintly surprising or, heaven help us, inspirational. Democrats had little reason to celebrate the discord in GOP ranks, since the Republican Partys passions centered on how they might best block the Democrats agenda. Jeffries, voted the first House minority leader from either party, had earlier fallen only a few votes short of being elected speaker in the closely divided House. Nevertheless, Jeffries cut loose with a concession speech that was part-congratulatory, part-admonishment one of the biggest showstoppers I have seen since Obamas bracing and unifying 2004 Democratic National Convention speech on The Audacity of Hope, which became the title of his second bestselling book. Extending our hand of partnership to McCarthy, Jeffries said, We extend, and intend, to try and find common ground whenever and wherever possible on behalf of the American people. Not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as independents, but as Americans, he said, reminding me of Obamas most memorable and unifying lines from 2004: Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes, Obama intoned. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America theres the United States of America. America, divided by war and conflict overseas and back here at home, needed to hear that. Not all of us, of course. But enough of us so appreciated the fresh voice behind that message that the speech catapulted him into the national conversation and onto his path to the White House. But this is a different time and a different Democrat, as Jeffries demonstrated by launching into what many called the ABCs of Democratic Party principles aimed directly at the Republicans in his audience. House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, he said. Benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity over extremism, freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, justice over judicial overreach ... And on he went through his alphabet. By the time he got to Trumpland with maturity over Mar-a-Lago and quality-of-life issues over QAnon, some of the voices in the crowd were cheerfully sounding like an Amen chorus, while others were beginning to boo and jeer. Hey, nobody ever said politics was always going to be pretty. Twitter and other social media had a jolly time. Hakeem Jeffries is Obama 2.0, and WILL be president one day, would you support that? one Twitter user tweeted. They were not alone. But, alas, having built up your hopes (or dread), I must caution that this is not the first time Jeffries has found himself in this Whos the next Barack? spotlight. When the Washington Post asked him if he was Brooklyns Barack Obama, as one newspaper already was calling him, he downplayed the situation: There is and will only ever be one Barack Obama, who was a phenomenal president. Yet in talking about political futures, never say never or ever. I, for one, confess that I never thought Donald Trump had a chance. Until he ran. And he hasnt stopped. Mindfulness Discussion Continuing with this months theme of Finding Our Center, this weeks discussion will focus on mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is present moment awareness without judgment. This discussion will explore further what it means to be mindful and some of some of the benefits of mindfulness. Also, we will try out a few mindful practices that can be useful in our lives. Our service Sunday, January 15th will not be on ZOOM. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. Unitarian Universalists believe in the dignity of every person regardless of race, creed or none at all, immigrant status or sexual orientation. Everyone is welcome, no exceptions. We believe in justice, equality and compassion in human relations, and acceptance of one another. We are handicapped accessible in rear. Please park in the rear of the building or on the street in front or the side of the building. Child care is available. Join us at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. For further information, please call 208-613-3852, email us at mvuuf83301@yahoo.com or visit magicvalleyUU.org. When calling, please state your name in order to be connected. Ministry Fair at Ascension The Episcopal Church of the Ascension welcomes the community to celebrate Holy Communion at 9 a.m. Sunday. Masks are optional. Services are online as well as in person. To view, click on the link at episcopaltwinfalls.org or go to Ascensions YouTube channel The Episcopal Church of the AscensionTwin Falls. Following the service, a Ministry Fair will be held during fellowship time in the parish hall, with information about all programs available at Ascension and opportunity to ask questions about them. All are welcome. Ascension Episcopal Church is handicapped accessible and is located at 371 Eastland Drive N., Twin Falls. More information about Ascension can be found at ascension.episcopalidaho.org or 208-733-1248. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has included Martinsville and Henry County in a $2.9 million Virginia Eviction Reduction Pilot (VERP) program. The United Way of Henry County and Martinsville is to receive $143,000 to provide eviction prevention and diversion services through rental assistance, utility assistance, support services to complete workforce training or maintain employment and financial education courses, a release from the Governors office on Friday stated. Safe, stable housing is an essential component for strong families, said Youngkin in the release. This pilot program tests to find the most effective wrap-around support services and assistance for Virginians that face housing uncertainty. The program included 48 communities statewide with the greatest amount ($850,143) going to the counties of Gloucester, James City, Mathews, New Kent and York and includes the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg. Peer Recovery Connection Board Chair Mary Kay Berger indicated at Tuesdays City Council meeting that evictions were partly to blame for the increase in homelessness seen in the uptown area of Martinsville. I was at a meeting at New College [Institute] in August and there was a gentleman from Legal Aid and he said as of June landlords were doing evictions and that in September or October we would see a huge increase in homelessness, Berger said at the meeting. Weve had all these people showing up, and a large number of homeless people have substance abuse problems. Local United Way Executive Director Philip Wenkstern told the City Council at a regular meeting in August that Martinsville and Henry County had a huge addiction problem and the community needed to do a better job at preventing evictions. Were seeing an explosion in the last several months, Wenkstern said in August. About 40 people in Martinsville and Henry County every quarter are facing eviction. Not just rental, but owner-occupied. Landlords are very frustrated after a year and a half. Upon learning the news on Friday, Wenkstern told the Bulletin: The United Way is very excited to continue fighting for the financial stability of every individual in Martinsville and Henry County. Over the last year, we have seen a huge increase in evictions across the Commonwealth. Our community is not immune to these challenges. Wenkstern said the money will be put to good by addressing housing instability and confronting the challenges head-on. We are incredibly grateful to the Department of Housing and Community Development for this award, as well as our local partners who made its receipt possible. We look forward to continuing to work with local tenants, landlords, partnering organizations and the General District Court System throughout. Other recipients of the money include $550,000 to the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott and Wise and the cities and towns within them; $465,000 to the city of Richmond; $461,857 to the cities of Chesapeake and Portsmouth; $275,000 to Albemarle County including the city of Charlottesville and the town of Scottsville; and $200,000 to the city of Norfolk. The approach of the VERP system includes creating a collective impact model where organizations that serve as a safety net within the community collaborate to ensure households have early access to resources that stabilize their housing situations, the Governors release stated. All Virginians have a right to stable and affordable housing, said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick in the release. This funding, in tandem with the Governors Make Virginia Home plan, will help align our vision for a more prosperous future for Virginia. On Thursday, the Rotary Club of Marion honored a 13th grader and a 12th grader at McDowell Early College as the Students of the Week. The students were Rica Base and Xander Gouge. They were introduced to the club by Rotarian Steve Bush and received certificates from the club. Base is the daughter of Flordeliza and Jerry Kelly of McDowell County. She is a 13th-grade student at McDowell Early College and will graduate in May with an Associate in Science and a high school diploma. She plans to apply for the dental hygiene program at either Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College or Catawba Valley Community College in spring 2024. She has earned the Gold Presidential Award. Her extracurricular activities include the student council, where shes been active for four years. She is focusing on finishing strong academically. Her interests include hiking, knitting, reading, health and wellness. Gouge lives in Marion and is the son of Jody and Crystal Gouge. He plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and major in biology for his bachelors degree and study pharmacology for his doctorate. After college, he eventually wants to start his own pharmaceutical company. His awards and accomplishments include receiving the Biology Excellence Award, another biology award and the Presidents Award for maintaining a 3.5 GPA. He was recognized for attending the 2022 session of Governors School. His extracurricular activities include tutoring other students and is vice president of the MEC National Honor Society. He helps out with his church by being a part of the choir and serving as the churchs pianist. He helps lead Prayer at the Pole as well as teaching in Youth Devoted to Christ at his school. His interests include science, particularly in helping research and make cures for diseases. He enjoys researching and observing medical procedures. He collects rocks and odd nick nacks. 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: Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in American adults. The source of this damage may lie in the belly mainly a leaky small intestine. A novel treatment can possibly prevent or reverse this damage. Credit: University of Alabama at Birmingham The leading cause of blindness in American adults is diabetic retinopathy, progressive damage to blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Yet the source of this damage appears to lie in the bellymainly a leaky small intestine that weakens the barrier between gut bacteria and the blood system, according to a study published in the journal Circulation Research. The research blood from human subjects with Type 1 diabetes and a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes were used to explore mechanisms underlying diabetic retinopathy. The results show a way to possibly prevent, or even reverse, the eye damage. "To our knowledge, this study represents the first time that gut barrier disruption has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy and also directly links gut leakage with retinopathy severity in human subjects with Type 1 diabetes," said Maria Grant, M.D., leader of the research team and a professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Some background is useful to understand Grant's research. First, it is known that Type 1 diabetes dysregulates the systemic renin-angiotensin system, or RAS. RAS is a system of hormones and enzymes that regulates blood pressure and other metabolic changes. Besides systemic RAS, there are also local RAS networks that act in diverse tissues. One key RAS enzyme is ACE2, or angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. The loss of ACE2 in diabetes activates the vasodeleterious RAS axis and lessens the vasoprotective RAS axis. Intriguingly, in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes, feeding mice with a modified gut bacterial strain of Lactobacillus paracasei, which was engineered to produce human ACE2, protects the mice against diabetic retinopathy progression. Finally, lack of ACE2 in the gut was known to increase gut permeability and systemic inflammation. The human studies, published in Circulation Research, compared people with Type 1 diabetes versus controls. The subjects with Type 1 diabetes were further stratified into three groups: no diabetic retinopathy, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and the more serious disease called proliferative diabetic retinopathy. By measuring levels of certain immune cells and biomarkers in the blood, including gut microbial antigens, the researchers found that human subjects with retinopathy had a dysregulated systemic RAS and profound gut permeability defects that activated components of both the adaptive and innate immune response. Furthermore, increases in the severity of diabetic retinopathy were found to correlate with increased levels of gut permeability biomarkers and a gut microbial antigen. This included increased levels of angiotensin II, the RAS hormone that activates the vasodeleterious RAS axis. Using the Akita mouse-Type 1 diabetes model, researchers first gave the ACE2-producing Lactobacillus paracasei, developed by Qiuhong Li, Ph.D., from the University of Florida, to the mice orally beginning at the onset of diabetes. This probiotic treatment prevented the loss of gut epithelial ACE2 typically seen in Akita mice, and importantly, it prevented intestinal epithelial and endothelial barrier damage. It also reduced the high blood sugar levels known as hyperglycemia. When the oral ACE2-producing Lactobacillus paracasei treatment was withheld until six months after diabetes was established, that delayed treatment reversed the gut barrier dysfunction and diabetic retinopathy that had already formed in the mice, including reducing the number of damaged capillaries in the retina. Grant and colleagues also found evidence for several mechanisms that contributed to the ACE2-reduced gut barrier damage and ACE2-lowering of blood sugar. To validate results from the Akita/ACE2-producing Lactobacillus paracasei model, they created a second modela genetically modified Akita strain that overexpresses human ACE2 in small intestine epithelial cells. "The significance of the work is we demonstrated that dysregulated intestinal RAS results in translocation of gut microbial antigens into the plasma," Grant said. "These bacterial peptides activate the endothelium via toll-like receptors, creating an inflammatory endothelium that has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases, including diabetic retinopathy. "We demonstrated loss of intestinal barrier function in human subjects with Type 1 diabetes using gut barrier biomarkers, and this increase in permeability was associated with gut-derived immune cell activation." More information: Ram Prasad et al, Maintenance of Enteral ACE2 Prevents Diabetic Retinopathy in Type 1 Diabetes, Circulation Research (2022). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.322003 Journal information: Circulation Research 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: A patient is given a flu vaccine at the L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans' Community Resource Center where they were offering members and the public free flu and COVID-19 vaccines Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif. Doctors tend to worry that holiday gatherings can spark new surges in infectious diseases like the flu. But new government data suggests that didn't happen this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 reported that flu has continued to wane this month. Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File New U.S. government data suggests holiday gatherings didn't spark surges in respiratory diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported that visits to doctors' offices for the flu-like illnesses fell for the sixth straight week. Reports of RSV, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly, are also down. When flu and RSV surged in the fall, causing overloads at pediatric emergency rooms, some doctors feared that winter might bring a " tripledemic " of flu, RSV and COVID-19. And they worried holiday gatherings might be the spark. But it didn't happen, apparently. "Right now, everything continues to decline," said the CDC's Lynnette Brammer, who leads the government agency's tracking of flu in the United States. RSV hospitalizations have been going down since November, and flu hospitalizations are down, too. Of course, the situation is uneven across the country, and some places have more illnesses than others. But some doctors say patient traffic is easing. "It has really eased up, considerably," said Dr. Ethan Wiener, a pediatric ER doctor at the Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone in New York City. People shop during Black Friday in New York on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Doctors tend to worry that holiday gatherings can spark new surges in infectious diseases like the flu. But new government data suggests that didn't happen this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 reported that flu has continued to wane this month.Credit: AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, said "it has slowed down, tremendously," Newland said he wasn't surprised that flu and RSV continued to trend down in recent weeks, but added: "The question is what was COVID going to do?" COVID-19 hospitalizations rose through December, including during the week after Christmas. One set of CDC data appears to show they started trending down after New Year's, although an agency spokeswoman noted that another count indicates an uptick as of last week. Because of reporting lags it may be a few weeks until CDC can be sure COVID-19 hospitalizations have really started dropping, she said. Newland said there was an increase in COVID-19 traffic at St. Louis Children's in December. But he noted the situation was nothing like it was a year ago, when the then-new omicron variant was causing the largest national surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began. "That was the worst," he said. The fall RSV and flu surge was felt most acutely at health care centers for children. Wiener said the pediatric emergency department traffic at Hassenfeld was 50% above normal levels in October, November and December"the highest volumes ever" for that time of year, he said. The RSV and flu surges likely faded because so many members of the vulnerable population were infected "and it just kind of burnt itself out," he said. It makes sense that respiratory infections could rebound amid holiday travel and gatherings, and it's not exactly clear why that didn't happen, Brammer said. That said, flu season isn't over. Thirty-six states are still reporting high or very high levels of flu activity, and it's always possible that a second wave of illnesses is still ahead, experts said. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. 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: Nearly one quarter of hospitalized people experience a harmful event during their stay, a new study finds. However, most of the bad outcomes are not preventable because they're related to known side effects from medications or risks of surgery. The findings were published Jan. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine. "These numbers are disappointing, but not shocking," study author Dr. David Bates, chief of general medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told NBC News. "They do show we still have lots of work to do." His team used data from the medical records of more than 2,800 patients who were hospitalized in 11 Boston-area hospitals during 2018. The data showed that while at the hospital, 663 of these patients had at least one event that negatively affected their health, the study found. Researchers determined that 222 of those events, or 7% of total admissions, were caused by an error. In all, 29 people (1%) of all those admitted were seriously harmed by the adverse events, including one preventable death. Nearly 40% of the adverse events were due to medications, while another 30% were due to surgery and procedures. Another 15% were "patient-care events," including falls and bedsores. About 12% were from infections, a significant improvement from past few decades, the researchers said. Still, harm during hospitalization continues to be a serious issue, Bates noted. "Although we have eliminated some causes of harm, there are new kinds of harm that have been created, associated with potent new medications and new procedures," said Dr. Albert Wu, director of the Center for Health Services and Research Outcomes at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told NBC News. Other experts agreed. "There are many more medications available today compared to 1991, and some of the medicines have a smaller therapeutic margin, which is the gap between the therapeutic effect and dangerous dose," Dr. Donald Berwick, president emeritus and senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston, told NBC News. Berwick wrote an editorial that was published alongside the new study. Copyright 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Friday doubled the public comment period on a proposal to log, thin and burn 1,500 acres of a wildlife management area northeast of Ovando. The proposed Doney Lake Forest Habitat Improvement Project is drawing scrutiny from conservationists who worry the project will damage important grizzly habitat. Jason Parke, an FWP wildlife habitat biologist and co-lead on the project, said on Friday that multiple public comments asking for an extension of the original 15-day comment window led the agency to add 15 more days. The decision was made Friday, he said, and would be updated online and in public notices. The comment period will now close on Feb. 3, instead of Jan. 19. The project, set to begin this July, takes place within the Ovando Mountain Unit of the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area about 5 miles northeast of Ovando in Powell County. That's north of Doney Lake and between Dick Creek on the west and Spring Creek on the east. Work is proposed for low-angle land around the southern and southwestern base of Ovando Mountain, but not on the steeper slopes of the mountain itself. The project is within the popular Hunting District 281, known for elk and deer hunting opportunities. FWP states the project is designed to enhance elk habitat the express purpose of the wildlife management area by thinning what the agency describes as densely overgrown forest. The work will also make the forest more resilient to wildfire, the agency says, by creating conditions in which fire is more likely to burn through with low intensity and less likely to develop into a raging crown fire that consumes entire timber stands. Critics of the project say that road construction and improvements needed to facilitate the project will further degrade grizzly habitat in a place that already has detrimentally high road density. And, critics argue, removing thermal cover and hiding cover provided by dense forest conditions could harm, rather than enhance, conditions for elk. The project is also within designated critical habitat for Canada lynx, a species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The project sits immediately outside the Primary Conservation Area, or critical habitat, for grizzly bears in the North Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE). Grizzlies are also protected under the Endangered Species Act and are common in the area. FWP released a draft environmental assessment (EA) with a comment period beginning Jan. 4. Comments can be submitted by mail at fwprg22@mt.gov, or by mail at Region 2 FWP, Attn: Doney Lake Forest EA, 3201 Spurgin Road Missoula, MT 59804. The EA describes two general timber stand types that FWP plans to address. One type features Douglas fir and lodgepole pine less than 90 years old dominating the middle and understory between much older and taller Ponderosa pine and larch. Those areas were last disturbed by fire in 1919. The other type is found on lands that were logged in the early and mid-1980s. That type features 30-year-old Douglas fir and lodgepole pine that regenerated after logging, and very few large, old trees remaining. The EA states that the density of relatively younger and more shade-tolerant Douglas fir and lodgepole pine and a profusion of downed timber from pockets of diseased trees inhibits understory forage for elk and deer, as well as winter range. The forest density creates an abundance of "ladder fuels" that can allow wildfire to climb from the ground to the crowns of trees, according to the EA, creating more severe, stand-replacement fires. Current forest conditions are also more susceptible to insects and diseases that kill trees, the EA states. The project entails commercial logging, thinning and prescribed fire (broadcast and pile burning) to create more open canopy and exposed ground, featuring aspen stands and individual and clumped Ponderosa pine and larch. FWP states that treatments are needed to carry out the agency's mandate of actively managing the land in question as productive elk habitat and reducing wildfire risk. Grizzly concern Grizzly bears tend to die in or disperse from roaded forests, according to numerous studies collected by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. Grizzly sow and cub survival generally falls when the density of open roads surpasses 0.64 miles of road per square-mile of land (mi/mi). According to the EA, the project entails 0.3 miles of new road construction, 20.1 miles of reconstructed existing roads, and road maintenance on 14 miles of existing roads. Brush will be cleared 10 feet on either side of roads. Roads will remain closed to public motorized traffic. Some temporary road spurs shorter than 500 feet may be constructed and reclaimed, as well. Parke said Friday that the 0.3 miles of new road a single road extension will be closed to public motorized use. Most of the existing roads are already closed seasonally or all year, and the project entails "no new open roads." Mike Bader, a grizzly bear research biologist and consultant to a variety of conservation groups, stated on Friday that "the temporary and maintained roads will create extreme road densities during the project, but they say they will re-seed them without revealing how many miles will be reseeded and how many miles kept for 'future management.' This road density looks to be more than 6-7 mi/mi. Grizzly bears will be totally displaced with habitat use approaching zero as was admitted for the Soldier-Butler Project which would have had 7.7 mi/mi during project administration." Bader was referring to the Lolo National Forest's proposed Soldier-Butler Project in the Ninemile drainage west of Missoula. Bader and Paul Sieracki analyzed road density of that project in a report for the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force. The task force and Alliance for the Wild Rockies successfully sued the Forest Service to halt the project in 2021, winning in federal magistrate court and again on appeal. Among their chief complaints was road density associated with the project. The project will harm grizzlies, at least in the short term, Bader wrote in an email, and may also harm elk in the short term by reducing thermal cover. He noted that the project is in an important connectivity area between the NCDE and the Sapphire and Bitterroot mountain ranges. The EA states that FWP expects minor and "generally beneficial" impacts to grizzlies, in part because of an increase of forage consumed by grizzlies (and black bears). In an email Friday, Mike Garrity, executive director of Alliance for the Wild Rockies, criticized the agency's initial 15-day comment period for the draft EA: "The Montana Constitution guarantees Montanans a right to know and a right to a clean and healthful environment. The state of Montana needs to give Montanans more than 15 days to read and comment on a project to remove big game security and thermal cover on FWP land set aside for the BlackfootClearwater elk population. This same cover for elk also benefits grizzly bears and lynx." In a public comment submitted to FWP Friday, Friends of the Wild Swan criticized the EA as short on analysis of impacts and lacking details about exactly what treatments are prescribed for what areas. The group also said the EA lacks analysis of road-work impacts to Dick Creek, a tributary to Monture Creek. Monture Creek is critical habitat for bull trout, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Spring Creek also supports bull trout, they noted. "This is a woefully inadequate EA," Arlene Montgomery, the group's program director and author of the comment wrote in an email Friday. "There is no analysis to threatened, proposed and sensitive fish and wildlife (not even elk!) and no decent maps." Parke said that public comments can help the agency understand what things people want to see more analysis of. WASHINGTON In naming a special counsel to investigate the presence of classified documents at President Joe Biden's Delaware home and former Washington office, Attorney General Merrick Garland described the appointment as underscoring the Justice Department's commitment to independence and accountability in particularly sensitive investigations. Garland used identical phrasing in November in appointing a different special counsel for a different politically explosive investigation into different classified documents for a different political figure: the retention of top secret records at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. The Justice Department is confronting a unique phenomenon: simultaneous special counsel probes albeit with dramatically distinct fact sets involving two presidents and jostling for time, attention and perhaps funding as well. Still another special counsel appointed during the Trump administration to investigate the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia probe also remains at work. The special counsel confluence underscores how a Justice Department that for nearly two centuries has had a mandate of prosecuting without fear or favor has found itself entangled in presidential politics. Even as Garland made a point Thursday of saying the department's own "normal processes" can handle all investigations with integrity, the appointment seemed to nod to a reality that probes that involve a president in this case, Garland's boss are different. It places Garland under pressure to reassure the public that both investigations, though factually different, are handled in similar manners. Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department prosecutor who served on then-special counsel Robert Mueller's team as it investigated ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, said appointing a special counsel can help expedite an investigation, ensure it has appropriate resources and create "at least the perception of impartiality and fairness." The appointment was announced hours after the White House disclosed that a document with classified markings from Biden's time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other classified documents found in his garage. The White House earlier this week acknowledged that the president's personal lawyers found a "small number" of classified documents at the office of his former institute in Washington. That discovery led Garland to ask the U.S. attorney in Chicago, John Lausch, a Trump administration holdover, to investigate the matter, though Lausch is now preparing to leave the Justice Department. On Thursday, Garland named Robert Hur, a former senior Justice Department official in the Trump administration who served as U.S. attorney in Maryland, to serve as special counsel. Hur joins Jack Smith, a former public corruption prosecutor who is investigating the documents found at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to undo the 2020 election, and John Durham, who's secured one guilty plea and lost two criminal trials in three and a half years investigating the Trump-Russia probe. There's a long history of specially appointed prosecutors being tasked with investigating political scandals, including Iran-Contra during Ronald Reagan's presidency and Whitewater during Clinton's. But a statute that allowed for the appointment of an independent counsel outside the Justice Department expired in 1999 following a bruising and politically divisive investigation that resulted in Clinton's impeachment by the House but acquittal in the Senate. In its place came new Justice Department regulations that authorized the attorney general to appoint a "special counsel" like Smith and Hur. The purpose of the new system was to ensure ultimate Justice Department oversight of sensitive investigations rather than an independent prosecutor who could operate unchecked and without supervision. Though the attorney general retains final authority over a special counsel's decisions, special counsels do have the latitude to bring whatever cases they see fit. They are funded by the Justice Department, can bring on their own prosecutors, are entitled to office space and are often expensive. The Mueller probe, for instance, rang up more than $25 million in costs in its first year and a half. How much detailed interaction Garland will have with his special counsels is unclear, though he said Thursday that Hur "will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official" at the Justice Department. Officials have noted that they are expected to accept a special counsel's recommended course of action unless it's far outside the department's normal process. It also remains unclear whether either classified documents investigation will result in criminal charges or how, if at all, the two special counsel probes might affect each other. Though the Biden probe is much newer than the Trump one, there's been no hint of the same allegations already leveled publicly in the Mar-a-Lago matter. The Justice Department has also long held the belief that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Timeline: Key dates in discovery of classified records tied to Biden Jan. 20, 2017 Mid-2017-2019 Jan. 20, 2021 Nov. 2-4, 2022 Nov. 8, 2022 November-December 2022 Nov. 9, 2022 Nov. 14, 2022 Dec. 20, 2022 Dec. 20, 2022: Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that a second batch of classified documents has been discovered in the garage at Biden's Wilmington home. The FBI goes to Biden's home in Wilmington and secures the documents. Jan. 5, 2023 Jan. 9, 2023 Jan. 10-11: 2023 Jan. 12-14, 2023 Jan. 19, 2023 Jan. 20-21, 2023 Feb. 1, 2023 Sherri Richterich was found dead Friday at about 10:30 a.m., according to a statement from Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder. The 77-year-old woman with dementia had been missing since she walked away from her Green Acres Drive home on the far west end of Billings Sunday night. She was found about one mile east of 56th Street West against a fence near the railroad tracks. "Her body was spotted by one of the deputies assigned to that search area," the sheriff said. "There are no obvious signs of foul play." But, the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, probably next week, he added. Friday was the fifth day of searching for the woman, a massive effort that included numerous volunteers and family members, a specially-trained dog team from out of state, and the Yellowstone County Sheriffs department helicopter. Personnel from the Carbon and Stillwater sheriffs departments also joined in the search. "We've been looking all morning," said Carol Kuhns, a family friend and volunteer searcher. "We've been praying. Our belief is in prayer." Kuhns was with three other women Friday morning; the group had been searching in the fields between the interstate and 56th Street West when news broke that Richterich's body had been found. The women thanked God that Richterich had been found and that her family could now find closure. And Kuhns pointed to all the volunteers that had shown up over the last five days, many of them community members who had no connection to Richterich or the family. "So many volunteers," she said. "I know it's been difficult for the family. But there's closure." On Monday, searchers found Richterichs coat, but until she was found Friday there was no other sign of her. Volunteers searched through marshes, along ditch banks and through outbuildings in the area. One family member set up a food truck to serve hot meals to the volunteers. In a public statement issued Friday evening, Sheriff Linder said, "I would like to thank the many people who assisted with the search for Sherri, with special thanks to the Stillwater and Carbon County Sheriffs and SAR personnel. In addition to local citizens, others who assisted in the search include the Laurel Police Dept. (K9), and Find 911 (K9) out of Cody Wyoming. "Our condolences to the Richterich family," the sheriff said. BUCHAREST, Romania Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest on Saturday to tow away a fleet of luxury cars and confiscate other assets worth nearly $4 million in the investigation of Andrew Tate, the divisive social media personality detained in the country on human trafficking charges. Romania's National Agency for the Administration of Unavailable Assets said in a statement that it removed a total of 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The total value of the goods, the agency said, is estimated at $3.9 million. About a half-dozen masked law enforcement officers and other officials descended on the compound Saturday to take away the goods. The fleet of automobiles included a blue Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes-Benz. Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was arrested Dec. 29 in Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape. On Tuesday, all four lost an appeal after a court upheld a judge's Dec. 30 move to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days. A day later, Tate lost another appeal that challenged assets seized by prosecutors in the case so far. Romania's anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said it seized 15 luxury vehicles in the case, and identified more than 10 properties and land owned by companies registered to the Tate brothers. If prosecutors can prove the four suspects gained money through illicit activities including human trafficking, the assets could be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and compensation for victims, said Ramona Bolla, a DIICOT spokesperson. DIICOT said it identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" and were sexually exploited by the members of the alleged crime group. The agency said victims were lured by pretenses of love, and later intimidated, kept under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into performing in pornography. Tate, a former professional kickboxer who reportedly has lived in Romania since 2017, previously was banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. After the assets were moved Saturday, a post appeared on Tate's Twitter account, which read: "Anyone who believes I'm a human trafficker is genuinely a moron," and "anyone smart enough to understand the American System is unfair would be mind blown by the injustice of the Romanian System." Editor's note: The University of Montana's Office of Research & Creative Scholarship along with the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West have produced a series of stories called the "This Is Montana Community Vitality Program." In partnership with the program, Lee Newspapers will be regularly running their Treasure State treasure trove of stories. ST. IGNATIUS St. Ignatius sits in the southern reaches of the lush Mission Valley and is watched over by the towering Mission Mountains. A humble town with a rich backstory, the establishment of St. Ignatius in 1854 predates Montanas statehood, its origin story gave the Mission Mountains their name. And its influence on the developing culture reflects the settling of Americas wild west. Today the town is a nationally recognized historical site for its importance to the modern social beginnings of the region. Before Europeans entered the area, the Flathead and Mission valleys were home the Salish, Kootenai and Pend dOrielle peoples. These tribes lived and hunted in the area of what is now St. Ignatius and were able to thrive from the plentiful resources provided by the mountains and wetlands. One of the earliest white settlements in the valley was the trading post Fort Connah, opened in 1846. It was the southernmost post of the Hudsons Bay Company. Founded in 1670, this company spread across North America in search of fur, establishing villages and engaged with native peoples in the process. The fort was active until 1871. Today one of the original buildings is still in place and stands as the oldest building in Montana. Jesuit priests Pierre-Jene De Smet, Peter McGean and Andrew Hoecken developed the original St. Ignatius Mission during the winter of 1844-45 in Idaho near Lake Pend d'Oreille. However, unfavorable circumstances caused them to move their ministry to its current location, Upon reaching the chosen location, Fr. Hoecken said: I arrived at the place designated on the 24th of September and found it such as it had been represented a beautiful region, evidently fertile, uniting a useful as well as pleasing variety of woodland and prarie, lake and river--the whole crowned in the distance by the white summit of the mountains, and sufficiently rich withal in fish and game. I shall never forget the emotion of hope and fear that filled my heart, when for the first time I celebrated Mass in this lovely spot, in the open air, in the presence of a numerous band of Kalispels, who looked up to me, under God, for their temporal and spiritual welfare in this new home. Like the rest of Montana, settlements grew exponentially once they started. In 1854, Father Peirre-Jene De Smet founded the St. Ignatius Mission. De Smet, a Jesuit priest, had spent much of his life converting Native people to Christianity, and his charisma and openness to learning native belief systems made him very successful. He had previously set up the St. Marys Mission in Stevensville. De Smet named the mission after Ignatius of Loyola, who was one of the founders of the Jesuits. He was born in the 15th century and was originally a soldier in Spain. St. Ignatius wanted his sect of Catholics to focus on doing good works in the world, rather than leading monastic lives. He died in 1556 and was canonized as St. Ignatius in 1609. With the mission in place the town, that began in an area advised by a Salish Chief grew. Native people came to work with the Jesuits. A church and school were soon built, some of the first in Montana, practically guaranteeing the survival and importance of the town. Though enrollment in the mission school, especially of native children, decreased during the first half of the 20th century, the church remained functioning. Over the years it has survived fires, low attendance, and other problems, but it has always been built back better. The current structure was built in 1891 and expanded in 1893. One distinctive aspect of the St. Ignatius Mission Church is its 58 original paintings on the ceilings and walls. Created by Brother Joseph Carignano, some of the art depicts Christian imagery mixed with representations of the Salish belief system. In 1919, a large forest fire destroyed almost the entire town. The only buildings left standing were a bank, a store and a hotel. The churchs location a bit west of the center of town escaped the blaze. Even with most of the town gone, residents rebuilt, and were even able to update it by building a standalone hospital, separate from the mission. Today, St. Ignatius is within the Flathead Reservation, and southwest of U.S. Highway 93. It is in close proximity to many important Montana locations, including Flathead Lake, Missoula and the National Bison Range. With a population that has hovered around 800 since the 1940s, the town has lived a quieter life since its early days. But St. Ignatius still strives to connect residents with the past. For the past few years, local middle schoolers have learned the stories of people who have lived in St. Ignatius for decades, so students can help keep these stories, and histories, alive. St. Ignatius has been a hub for native people since its beginnings, and its spectacular natural surroundings have played no small part. And often referred to as a miniature Glacier National Park, the ice sculptured Mission Mountains southern reaches are an integral part of the St. Ignatius community. Abruptly rising above town, the Mission Mountains, on St. Ignatius' eastern flank, soar upwards nearly 7,000 feet in less than 10 miles from the valley floor, ranking as one of the greatest reliefs in Montana. The communitys elevation is 2,940 feet and McDonald Peak at 9,824 feet is the highest pinnacle in the Missions. Twelve other summits exceed 9,000. These peaks hide numerous waterfalls and tarns, glacial formed lakes, which are fed by the high up permanent snow fields. Two of the best-known waterfalls are the Elizabeth and Mission Falls, which both send water down a 1,000-foot drop. Western parts of the Mission Mountains, about 89,500 acres on tribal lands were designated a Tribal Wilderness Area in 1979 by The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes. This is the only Tribal Wilderness in the nation designated by a tribe. In the words of the Mission Mountains Committee: These mountains belong to our children, and when our children grow old, they will belong to their children. In this way and for this reason these mountains are sacred. The Tribal Wilderness borders areas of the range managed by the U.S. Forest Service as the 70,000-acre Mission Mountains Wilderness providing a large, protected environment. A 12,000-acre segment of the tribal wildlands are closed from mid-July to October to protect the grizzly bear population as they feast on migrating army cutworm moths who land on the slopes of McDonald Peak and other adjacent summits. Home to mountain goats, deer, elk, moose, coyotes, wolves, bears, bobcats, lynx, mountain lions, owls, eagles, and osprey, to name some species, the Missions provide outstanding high-country wildlife habitat. In addition, the area contains a variety of deciduous trees and alpine evergreens. The range is also covered with bushes of the coveted huckleberry, a decadent rarity outside of Montana but a home-grown favorite for locals, especially grizzly bears. Aside from these plants and mammals of this uplift, the Mission Mountains are also home to a few varieties of trout and other aquatic life, contained within many of the freshwater lakes and streams throughout the range. West of St. Ignatius is the National Bison Range, founded on reservation land in 1908 by the federal government. It began with bison from the reservations herd, started in the 1800s, when the bison were nearing extinction. Today the National Bison Range is co-managed by The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the USFS, but they are planning on transitioning to complete tribal control. At nearly 19,000 acres, the range has allowed bison to thrive, and though the ranges history is wrapped up in the chronicles of stealing Native land, recent years have seen joint efforts between the tribes and the state and federal governments to continue preserving bison in their natural habitat. The range now works on educating the public on the importance of bison to native peoples. St. Ignatius is east of the Ninepipes National Wildlife Refuge. It was established in 1929, and ceded to the tribes in 1948, who now manage the protection of this area, along with using some of the water to irrigate other parts of the reservation. Primarily made up of small pockets of wetlands and the Reservoir, the refuge is home to waterfowl, including mallards, northern shovelers, gadwalls, redheads, and ruddy ducks. The reservoir is an important breading area for a large contingent of the Flathead Valley Canada Goose population. Bird watchers can also spot great-blue herons and double-crested cormorants, along with white pelicans during the summer. After over one and a half centuries of white settlers in St. Ignatius, the small community has created closer, friendlier relationships with communities near them. And all peoples in this area of the Flathead and Mission Valley are collaborating to protect wildlife that lives in the low wetlands, the Mission Mountains, and everywhere in between. A man has been charged after police say they found multiple drugs during a traffic stop earlier this month. William Lavar Brawley, 39, of Morganton, was charged with felony trafficking in opium/heroin, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a press release from the Burke County Sheriffs Office. A sheriffs deputy stopped Brawley on Interstate 40 near Exit 116 on Jan. 5 for an equipment violation. A K9 from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety was brought to the scene and indicated the presence of drugs in the vehicle, the release said. Deputies searched the vehicle and its occupants, finding Brawley to be in possession of about 600 oxycodone hydrochloride pills, 38 grams of powder fentanyl, 7 grams of black tar heroin, alprazolam (Xanax) pills, drug paraphernalia and two guns, according to the release. Brawley was convicted of trafficking a Schedule II controlled substance in 2004 in Iredell County, according to records available on the NCDPS website. He also has previous felony convictions of possession of a Schedule I controlled substance and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, NCDPS records showed. His bond was set at $200,000 secured, the release said. His next court date is set for Jan. 27, according to records from the North Carolina Judicial Branch. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation also assisted with the case. The Minnesota State University men's indoor track & field returned to action after a break of over a month by downing the University of Minnesota Duluth 282-117.5 in the inaugural Bearson/Gathje Classic held in Myers Field House on the campus of MSU.Juniorwas a double-event winner, by taking first in the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.10, and capturing the title in the long jump with a leap of 7.60 m (24' 11.25").The 60-meter hurdles had as close of a finish as humanly possible as Maverick juniorsandtook the top two spots separated by only one one-thousandth of a second, with Pierre edging Christiansen by a time of 8.225 to 8.226.MSU runners dominated the field in the 200-meter dash by finishing first through fifth, with seniorleading the way by clocking in at 22.02. Minnesota State collectively also took the top five spots in the 400-meter dash, paced by freshmanwinning time of 50.37.Seniorbrought home a first-place finish in the mile with a time of 4:18.61. In the lone relay of the competition, the Maverick 4x400 squad of redshirt freshman, junior, sophomore, and Schmied took the title with a time of 3:32.13Juniorpaced the field in the weight throw with an effort of 17.29 m (58' 8.75"), as Minnesota State took the top three spots in the event. Mavericks took the top four spots in the high jump, led by sophomoremark of 2.01 m (6' 7"). In the pole vault, juniorbested the field by clearing a height of 4.90 m (16' 0.75").The Mavericks will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, for their next competition when they take part in the two-day Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Friday and Saturday, January 20and 21 It could be difficult to attribute any decline in the upper Madison Rivers trout fishery to an accidental dewatering that occurred in November 2021 when a Hebgen Dam gate failed. In general, sampling conditions, normal fluctuations in abundances, and the lack of baseline data could confound our ability to attribute future changes in the trout populations to the gate failure, according to a report by a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks crew. Matt Jaeger, a Region 3 fisheries biologist for FWP, said the survey proved the dewatering didn't wipe out an entire year class of fish, which was encouraging. "We definitely observed affects to the redds and to a lesser degree fish" following the dewatering, he noted. "We know there was some level of effect, but we're relying on future years to figure out what that was." The conclusion was part of the information filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Dec. 20, 2022, that also documented information from summer fish and spawning bed surveys. The report is part of the follow-up undertaken by NorthWestern Energy in the wake of the dewatering, as required by FERC as part of the energy companys license. Survey Fish surveys by the FWP crew found brown trout numbers were lower than the 20-year average on the Pine Butte section of the upper Madison River, but that wasnt anything new. Age 2 Brown Trout have been below the 20-year average since 2018, indicating other factors may also affect brown trout abundance in the upper Madison River, the crew reported. The Pine Butte section of the river runs from below Raynolds Bridge to Lyons Bridge. This section includes where the Westfork Madison joins the main river. Lower brown trout populations have been on FWP's radar. The agency and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on a study two years ago, looking at 14 rivers over the past 30 years, and found that declining streamflows were likely the primary driver for the fishs declining population. On the Madison River, the main concern for brown trout is downstream from Ennis Lake, Jaeger said. Rainbows With fewer brown trout in the river, rainbow trout have filled in. Brown and Rainbow Trout are typically found in similar abundances in the Pine Butte Section; however, 73% of the trout captured in 2022 were Rainbow Trout, the report says. Age-1 Rainbow Trout made up 53% of the total trout captured, age-2 9%, and age-3+ 10%. Age-1 Brown Trout comprised 14%, age-2 5%, and age-3+ 9%. FWP conducted backpack electrofishing surveys in the side channels and margins of the mainstem Madison River between Hebgen Dam and Lyons Bridge to determine the presence or absence of (young of year), age-1, and age-2 salmonids during the summer of 2022, the report noted. Shallow water side channels provide important rearing habitat for young fish, helping them avoid predacious adults in the main river. Fish were quick to return to side channels that suffered dewatering during the Hebgen Dam gate failure once water returned. While electrofishing which temporarily stuns fish so they can be gathered, measured, weighed and marked FWP crews found young brown trout and rainbows utilizing the habitat. Redds Trout spawning beds are called redds. Rainbow trout spawn in the springtime, when water flows are typically higher during runoff, whereas brown trout lay their eggs in the fall. FWP counted brown trout redds between Hebgen Dam and Quake Lake on Nov. 15, 2022, to identify and document key spawning areas in the area most heavily affected by the dewatering event. Most of the redds were found in side channels, the habitat most impacted by gate failure. Of the 165 redds identified, 151 were located in side channels and 14 were located within the main river channel, FWP found. The agency estimated the drop in water during the 2021 gate failure dewatered an estimated 3.4 acres of nearshore mainstem habitat. Trout produce a lot of eggs from 400 to 5,000 for rainbows compared to 500 to 1,000 for browns, depending on their age. Because of this, Jaeger said trout can absorb setbacks like a temporary dewatering. Feds Under its licensing agreement with FERC, NorthWestern is required to keep a minimum flow of 600 cfs in the river, based on a gauge near Kirby Ranch. Within 15 minutes of the (November 2021) failure, Madison River flows between Hebgen Dam and Quake Lake declined 370 (cubic feet per second), from 648 cfs to 278 cfs, the report noted. From Quake Lake to Lyons Bridge (a 13-mile reach), the decline was more protracted with flows decreasing 381 cfs, from 780 cfs to 399 cfs in roughly a 48-hour period. The survey conducted by FWP is the first of what will be a four-year monitoring project to assess if there was an ill effect on the fishery downstream of Hebgen Lake. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, dead fish were found stranded as well as spawning beds left dry or partially dewatered. In general, the first year monitoring supports the preliminary conclusion that the gate failure did not eliminate an entire year class of salmonids and that there was documented survival of age 1, 2, and 0 young-of the-year brown and rainbow trout located throughout the upper river, wrote Mary Gail Sullivan, director of Environmental and Lands for NorthWestern, in a letter to FERC that was attached to the FWP survey. In conjunction with the monitoring, a literature review to evaluate the hypothesis that the impact from this flow deviation did not result in a total loss of the population or individual age class is being completed, Sullivan wrote. Other work In addition to the survey, NorthWestern is considering work to improve an upper tributary to the river to reduce sedimentation, improve spawning habitat and reduce grazing impacts. The tributary is on private land, and NorthWestern is working with a consulting firm to develop a proposal. The Butte-based company is also planning to contract work early this spring to improve spawning habitat, gravel recruitment and embryo survival in the Madison River, according to Sullivans letter to FERC. The monitoring and mitigation work will continue through 2025. The Montana Senate on Friday approved a blast motion to hold a second reading for a bill that would establish a Chief Earl Old Person Memorial Highway on the Blackfeet Reservation. The second reading, where senators will debate the bill, will occur on Monday, Jan. 16. Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, motioned on Friday to blast Senate Bill 120 from committee, where it was tabled. A "blast motion" allows a bill that was tabled in committee to reach the floor for a full vote. Senate Bill 120 directs the Department of Transportation to install two signs along U.S. Hwy 89 and to include the memorial highway name on the next publication of the state map. The cost of the project is estimated to be $4,437. Old Person, who died in 2021 at 92, was the longest-serving elected tribal leader in the nation. Lawmakers, tribal members and others spoke in support of the bill Thursday, citing Old Persons advocacy, humility and leadership. The Highways and Transportation Committee on Thursday tabled Webbers bill, citing an unwritten rule that memorial highways can only be named for members of law enforcement that have died in the line of duty. What happened? In her address on the Senate floor Friday, Webber said she was unaware of the rule stating that highways must only be named for fallen law enforcement officers. There shouldve been a little respect to bring me that information beforehand, before I even presented the bill that there was such a rule, she said, adding that there is no such formal rule about memorial highways. To me, (it is) a weakness of our statutes we should have voted on that rule. This is where the weakness is in our policies. So with that, I guess I take offense that I was not notified beforehand that such a policy existed. Webber said she was asked by the 17,000 members of the Blackfeet Nation to bring Senate Bill 120 forward and added, I think we should have a little bit of respect, a little bit of acknowledgment for a true Montanan and the 17,000 people that want this. Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton who is the chair of the committee that tabled the bill, said that the fairgrounds in Browning are named after Old Person, though Webber noted the fairgrounds use his Indian name, Charging Home. Manzella said the committee dedicated over an hour of our time to the bill and asked the question, Should we be dedicating highways to whomever is asked? She added that highway memorial bills are coming up more now than they have in years past. (The signs) are $4,700 a piece, Manzella said. And you might think thats not much money, but where do we draw the line? Sen. Jason Small, R-Busby and a member of the American Indian Caucus, spoke in support of the bill. This was a spectacular gentleman who spent 62 years in public service, he said of Old Person. Its phenomenal the feat that he accomplished in the state of Montana, and ... to name a piece of asphalt and some rocks after him, thats not a big ask at all. Thirty-one senators voted in support of Webbers motion and 18 voted against it. The Senate will hold a second hearing of the bill on Monday. Sharen Kickingwoman, who is Blackfeet and the organizing associate director for ACLU Montana, provided testimony supporting the bill when it was in committee. She said the Legislature made the right decision in passing Webbers motion. The naming of a memorial highway is the least Montana can do to honor Chief Earl Old Person, she said. This decision should not be made into a political spectacle and should instead be an easy decision reflecting on the life and impact of Old Persons work on behalf of Indigenous communities in Montana. What exactly happened in committee? The Highways and Transportation Committee had tabled SB 120 on Thursday. Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings, said the committee gets a lot of requests for highway memorial names. We had a lot of these bills in the House, and we came to the conclusion that we would only pass (them) if someone died in the line of duty in the military or in law enforcement, he said at Thursdays hearing. And thats because we ended up with tens, maybe 20 or more of these. I apologize. I dont want to disrespect (Old Persons) memorial and honor, but thats my core belief. During the hearing, Sen. Shelley Vance, R-Belgrade, asked Webber whether Old Person served in law enforcement. Webber answered that while he was not in law enforcement, Old Person did supervise Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services as head of the tribe. Manzella said she agreed with Usher. She said there is a similar unwritten rule in the Senate regarding highway memorials. Sen. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings, said she wanted to know how well people understand the unwritten rule that highways must be named after an officer who died in the line of duty. Ive been in the Legislature for four sessions, eight years, and there were a lot of memorial things, and if that is known to people, I think that would be very helpful, she said. Manzella responded that there have been conversations about writing a rule, but at this point, I guess it is an individual decision. Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, said she was disappointed by the vote to table the bill. She encouraged the committee to reconsider taking it off the table at a later date. Sen. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, asked the committee to reconsider the decision. (Old Person) was in charge of the law enforcement for the Blackfeet Nation, she argued. He helped write the rules. and he literally died in the line of duty, never stopping his commitment to public service. Olsen also noted that the Legislature passed a bill to establish a Jeannette Rankin Memorial Highway to honor the first woman elected to Congress. (Rankin) was not a police officer, Olson said. So this unspoken rule that has been created is not the way weve done these highway resolutions in the past. COLUMBUS JUNCTION - Columbus Junction, Fredonia and Columbus City sewer users may see an $8 per month per hookup increase in their sewer rates to help pay for ongoing sewer improvements in Columbus Junction, Columbus Junction Mayor Mark Huston told the city council Wednesday. Columbus City and Fredonia are connected to the Columbus Junction wastewater treatment system, which is currently undergoing upgrades required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Huston said he and public works staffer Todd Salazar visited with the Fredonia City Council on Jan. 9 and discussed the rate increase along with other topics. Huston said he informed the Fredonia officials their citys monthly sewer rate would need to be increased $1000. Since Fredonia does not have water meters for each user, Huston said the city charges each sewer hookup a monthly fee. With the additional cost, he estimated each user would see an $8 per month increase in their sewer bill. He was unsure how the increase would affect users in Columbus Junction and Columbus City, but estimated the same relative increase in those communities. Huston pointed out the Columbus City and Fredonia rates had not been raised in over 20 years, which should mean the loans those communities originally took out to connect to the Columbus Junction wastewater treatment system should be repaid by now. He said the increase should cover the cost of borrowing to complete the improvements, which actually were started in 2017. According to discussions at that time, new standards for ammonia level in Columbus Junctions wastewater lagoon could not be reached without an upgrade of the facility. After a series of false starts, the council eventually accepted a $1,458,300 bid from Spectra Build, Wapello, to complete the work. A $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and $270,000 in America Rescue Plan (ARP) funding reduced that cost, but the city still needed to borrow the remainder. Meanwhile, the Iowa DNR is apparently feeling some heat from federal environmental officials wondering about the projects progress. Salazar had previously told the council that Spectra Build was having problems receiving parts, but had developed a timeline for completing the work. According to that schedule, the system should be ready to turn over to the city by May 28, although Salazar said that remained subject to parts availability. He said the timeline had been sent to the DNR, which had not contacted him since, leading him to believe the schedule had satisfied the federal inquiries. In other action during the city council meeting, several routine annual action were taken by the council. These included appointing the Washington State Bank, Community Bank & Trust and Hills Bank & Trust as official banks for the city. The banks were also designated as depositories, with a $1 million maximum deposit. Several city officials were also identified as signatories for bank documents and other papers. The Columbus Gazette was also appointed the official newspaper. The council also set Feb. 8 public hearing for gathering public comments on the citys proposed maximum property tax dollars for Fiscal Year 2024. Huston also reminded the council it had been one year since the city assumed ownership of the Louisa Community Ambulance Service. He said an ambulance committee had been continued to help the city operate the service; and he asked the council to begin thinking if it wanted to continue the committee in its current structure. WEST LIBERTY The city of West Liberty began handing out utility relief checks last week to qualified residents to help ease any financial struggles caused by the pandemic. Each resident who registered for the program received $400. In a little over a week, 224 West Liberty residents have received their $400 relief check, allowing them to more easily pay their utilities, including electric, water and internet, while dozens more are also registering for the program. On the city of West Liberty Facebook page, city officials stated, From countless community members voicing their concerns to city staff and council members dedicating their time to create this process, we are grateful for such a devoted community. Its been a very successful first week, Father Guillermo Trevino Jr. of St. Joseph Catholic Church said. I want to thank city and church staff, the West Liberty Ministerial Association, and Escucha Mi Voz Iowa for working together to provide utility relief to families in need. It was a collaboration of people expressing their needs and the city trying to figure out a plan to meet those needs. Trevino also attributed the speediness of the application processing and the efficiency of the checks being handed out to Escucha Mi Voz Iowas efforts as well as the efforts of his own church staff, including his secretary. The word (for the program) is truly spreading, Trevino, Jr. continued. The money for this relief comes from the $150,000 that West Liberty invested into the American Rescue Plan Act last year and is expected to help up to 300 families. Although he knows that not every family in West Liberty will be able to receive one of these checks, Trevino estimated that when taking into account all the members of the 300 households that are expected to be helped by this program, at least 1,000 residents about a fourth of West Libertys population will be positively impacted by this relief. The hardest part, of course, is turning people down. But were trying to focus on the positive, that were able to help a thousand people, he said. For those who are interested in applying for the relief program, they can take a copy of one of their utility bills to St. Joseph Catholic Church, located on 107 W. 6th Street, during its regular business hours. They can also call 319-627-2945 or email westlibstjoseph@diodav.org for more information. New research suggests ExxonMobil may have had keener insight into the impending dangers of global warming than even NASA scientists but still waged a decades-long campaign to discredit research into climate change and its connection to the burning of fossil fuels. Despite its public denials, the major oil corporation worked behind closed doors to carry out an astonishingly accurate series of global warming projections between 1977 and 2003, according to a study published Thursday in Science. Exxon didnt just know some climate science, they actually helped advance it, said Geoffrey Supran, lead author of the study and former researcher in the department of the history of science at Harvard University. They didnt just vaguely know something about global warming decades ago, they knew as much as independent academics and government scientists did. And arguably, they knew all they needed to know. In a review of archived documents and memos, researchers found that scientists for then-Exxon had completed a set of 16 models that predicted global temperatures would rise, on average, about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. Since 1981, Earths global average temperature has risen about 0.32 degrees per decade, according to NASA. Researchers at Harvard and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found most of the ExxonMobil projections are consistent with subsequent global temperature observations, according to the study. Many of the Exxon projections proved to be more precise than those by James Hansen, then-director of NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who famously testified before U.S. Senate in 1988 about the greenhouse effect. The analysis adds to a growing body of evidence that the nations largest oil producer recognized burning fossil fuels was warming the Earth, even as it continued to heap doubt onto that notion publicly. The paper also shows, for the first time, just how precise and sophisticated the fossil fuel industrys own climate research was. In response to the study, ExxonMobil spokesperson Todd Spitler said the companys understanding of climate science has evolved along with that of the broader scientific community. The energy company, he said, is now actively engaged on several efforts to mitigate global warming. This issue has come up several times in recent years and, in each case, our answer is the same: those who suggest 'we knew' are wrong, Spitler said in a statement. Some have sought to misrepresent facts and ExxonMobils position on climate science, and its support for effective policy solutions, by recasting well intended, internal policy debates as an attempted company disinformation campaign. The Harvard-led study builds previous academic research, in addition to investigative reporting by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times, that uncovered a tranche of internal company memos demonstrating Exxon officials knew burning fossil fuels would lead to global warming since the late 1970s. Exxon was once a pioneer in the arena of climate research in the early 1980s. But its public stance on global warming changed sharply by 1990. In one internal draft memo from August 1988 titled The Greenhouse Effect, a public relations manager detailed the scientific consensus about the role of fossil fuels in global warming but wrote that the company should Emphasize the uncertainty. An archived presentation in 1989 from Exxons manager of science and strategy development said: Data confirm that greenhouse gases are increasing in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels contribute most of the CO2. In 1999 the year Exxon and Mobil merged company CEO Lee Raymond, however, said future climate projections are based on completely unproven climate models, or, more often, sheer speculation. In 2015, Raymonds successor, Rex Tillerson, who later served as Secretary of State under President Trump, also questioned climate projections involving the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. We do not really know what the climate effects of 600 parts per million versus 450 parts per million will be because the models simply are not that good, Tillerson said. Years earlier, however, Exxons own modeling from 1982 suggested that 600 ppm of CO2 would lead to 2.3 degrees more global warming than 450 ppm. The analysis also found that Exxon scientists had projected that global warming would first become detectable at the turn 21st century. The Exxon scientists concluded this warming trend would render the Earth hotter than at any time in at least 150,000 years, debunking unfounded theories of global cooling and a forthcoming ice age. Despite such findings by their own scientists, company officials poured millions of dollars into a public relations campaign to cast doubt on the science behind climate change. That campaign included prominent ads in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. It wasnt until 2007 that ExxonMobil publicly conceded that climate change was occurring, and was largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels and proliferation of heat-trapping CO2. Photos: Massive methane leaks venting into atmosphere Randall McCloud saw trees fall and the porch get pulled apart as he watched from the entrance of his mother's central Alabama house Thursday -- and it was about to get much worse. He dashed inside the kitchen and tried to reach his mother and his cousin in a hallway, but suddenly had nothing more to run on. "The floor disappeared under my feet, and I went straight to the ground" beneath it, McCloud told CNN's Amara Walker on Saturday, recalling the moment a tornado ripped his mother's home apart. The Marbury-area home in Autauga County, some 25 miles northwest of Montgomery, had just been clobbered by one of the twisters that raked the South on Thursday. Seven people were killed in that county alone and nine overall in that day's storms, including two in Georgia. McCloud was scraped but alive. "Had to crawl back up into the end that was still standing ... crawl back up into in the hallway," he said. He found his mother and cousin, both also OK. The hallway and a small part of the kitchen were intact, but they were otherwise trapped by debris with no immediate way out. Worried about the ceiling collapsing, McCloud got his mother into a walker with a seat, and "pushed her up against the refrigerator," he said. "I figured if the roof collapsed, the refrigerator might take some of the force of the roof coming down some," he said. "So we had a small area there in the kitchen (where) we were all kind of huddled together." "It was just (us) sitting there thinking any moment the rest of the roof and stuff was going to cave in on us." There was no quick way to get to them -- the area was devastated. At least 20 homes in Autauga County were either damaged or destroyed, Gary Weaver, the deputy director of the county's emergency management agency, said. Wind intensity that caused the damage was rated EF-3, meaning gusts of at least 136 mph -- the National Weather Service said. Autuaga County's Marbury area is about 45 miles northeast of Selma, an Alabama city, known for its role in the civil rights movement, that was devastated by an EF-2 tornado Thursday. The same storm damaged both areas, but it wasn't immediately clear if the path of damage was continuous, the National Weather Service said Friday. In Autauga County, emergency workers and others cleared roads to get to the McCloud house. As people cut fallen trees, a neighbor used a skid steer loading vehicle to remove the pieces, McCloud said. About three hours after the tornado hit, workers accessed the house and the family inside. McCloud's mother was taken out on a gurney. "Once we got her out, we felt a lot better," he said. McCloud's own home also was destroyed, as was another relative's house, he said. He and his mother are staying with his brother "until we can figure out a more permanent solution," McCloud's daughter Tiffany McCloud told CNN. "It's been something I really don't want to experience again," Randall McCloud said. "It was an ordeal." The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. On this version of Hot off the Wire: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified Congress that the U.S. is projected to reach its debt limit on Thursday and will then resort to extraordinary measures to avoid default. Forecasters say rain-soaked California will see several more rounds of stormy weather through the weekend and into next week. Rescuers are racing to find survivors in the aftermath of a deadly storm system that barreled across parts of Georgia and Alabama. Oklahoma authorities searching for a 4-year-old girl say a second person has been arrested in connection with her disappearance. Actor Ezra Miller is going to spend the next year on probation and continue with mental health treatment after they pleaded guilty to a trespassing charge at a Vermont home. Donald Trumps company has been fined $1.6 million as punishment for a scheme in which some of his executives dodged personal income taxes on lavish job perks. The U.S. has now collected 510 reports of unidentified flying objects, many of which are flying in sensitive military airspace. That's according to a declassified intelligence report summary released Thursday. The official start date of the 2023 tax filing season is Jan. 23, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2022 returns. WEST UNION - A Cedar Rapids has been charged with trying to kill a jail detention officer Monday while she was awaiting trial for an acid attack in Oelwein. Jeannie Marie Murphy, 48, was charged with attempted murder, assault on corrections officer with a weapon and fifth-degree criminal mischief. Bond was set at $25,000. The detention officer received a lump on her head and received medical attention. She was diagnosed with a concussion. According to court records, Murphy was in a Fayette County Jail cell around 4:30 a.m. Monday when a detention officer attempted to move her because of damage she did to the sprinkler system. Murphy allegedly refused to move and then attacked to the officer, knocking her over and punching her repeatedly and striking her with a body camera. The detention officer deployed her Taser, but Murphy resumed the attack after being tasered, removing the officers handcuffs and reaching for the Taser, records state. A sheriffs deputy came to assist, and they were able to move Murphy back into the cell, records state. Murphy was in jail awaiting trial for domestic assault charges for allegedly attacking a man at a home on First Avenue Northeast in Oelwein in the early morning hours of Jan. 4. The man told police he awoke to find Murphy standing the hallway staring at him and holding a bottle. She told him the bottle contained acid, and she approached him. A struggle broke out, and she poured the contents on him. During a police interview, Murphy told officers she made acid from salt, water, beef broth, molasses and other household ingredients. It wasnt immediately clear if the concoction was actually acidic. She also has a prior conviction for reckless use of fire from a 2008 incident in Oelwein. The September 2022 approval of Napas yet-to-open Mayacamas Charter Middle School by the California State Board of Education instigated a second legal battle over Californias charter school appeal process this week. The California School Boards Associations Education Legal Alliance which initiates and supports litigation in cases of statewide significance to all California schools, according to the CSBA website sued the state board Tuesday for overturning prior denials of the Mayacamas school by the Napa Valley Unified School District and the Napa County Office of Education in September 2022, in alleged violation of state law, according to a Friday NVUSD press release. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the state board violated the states charter school appeal process by not following the terms of Assembly Bill 1505, a charter school reform law passed in 2019, according to the NVUSD release. Among other claims, CSBA challenged the SBE for exceeding its authority and improperly substituting its judgment for the discretionary judgment of the governing board of the Napa Valley Unified School District and the Napa County Board of Education, the NVUSD press release states. That law made it so the state board can only overturn local district charter school denials if they found local districts abused their discretion in rejecting the charter, among other changes. Previously, the state board had full discretion over whether to approve or deny the charter school as local district and county school boards currently do. The CSBA is a nonprofit association that represents elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education, covering about 1,000 education agencies statewide, according to their website. The CSBA lawsuit follows a November 2022 lawsuit from the NVUSD that was filed for much the same reason. CSBAs lawsuit affirms NVUSD's position on this very critical issue regarding charter appeals and AB 1505 interpretation, NVUSD superintendent Dr. Rosanna Mucetti said in the press release. Such an overreach of authority by SBE sets a dangerous precedent at both the local and statewide levels, a precedent that is not in the best interest of the district or our students. We are appreciative of CSBA's decision to litigate this issue as our own lawsuit against the SBE advances through the courts. Mayacamas petitioners Lauren Daley and Jolene Yee said in a statement that the Mayacamas school has been receiving enormous support, and "it's unfortunate that an anti-charter organization has joined the school district to fight the State Board's lawful action." "The district and the CSBA are seeking to use the courts to achieve what they could not through the legislative process," according to the statement. The petitioners previously stated, in response to the November NVUSD lawsuit: While it is disappointing to see NVUSD continuing with its longstanding effort to limit educational options for families in Napa, we have full confidence in the California State Board of Educations decision and do not expect this wasteful, taxpayer-funded lawsuit to be successful." The NVUSD press release notes that through the lawsuit CSBA is seeking to set aside the state board's Mayacamas charter approval, and is also seeking declaratory relief confirming the SBEs limited role when considering charter petition appeals to stop the SBE from continuing to ignore the recent changes to the Charter School Act that were specifically designed to promote local control. Its disheartening to see the State Board of Education disregard not only the law but also the work of stakeholders on all sides of the charter issue that produced the carefully crafted reforms sought by authorizers and charter proponents in AB 1505, said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy in the press release. A key provision of this bipartisan legislation was that local authorizers both school districts and county offices of education could more closely consider the impact of a charter school on a local community and tailor their decision-making processes regarding petitions and renewals accordingly. The SBE undermined this agreed-upon principle, overstepped its authority and sidestepped the law in reversing the denials of the petition by the local governing boards. By Aram Danielyan Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Russian Institute of the Middle East assessed the prospects of changing the course of Turkish policy after the elections and the impact on Armenia On June 18, 2023, presidential and parliamentary elections are expected in Turkey, which can be postponed. The ruling Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party have already formed an "Alliance of the People" and are going to nominate incumbent President Erdogan. The Turkish opposition may announce its single candidate in February. Yevgeny does not see any competitive candidates in opposition to the authorities. They, in his assessment, simply do not exist. "Erdogan will win the election in this case," the political analyst is sure. According to him, Erdogan's victory will not end well for Armenia since his stance on Armenians, Jews and Greeks is clear. In this regard Erdogan is a tough nationalist of an imperial type. It is known that Turkey is always talking about plans to create the so called Greater Turan, a union of Turkic speaking states. Ankara is hindered by Armenia, which "cuts off" land connections with Azerbaijan and further with the countries of Central and Central Asia. In order to "remove" this obstacle, the Turkish-Azerbaijani war of 2020 was unleashed against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, as it turned out, with a further aim at a fictitious corridor through the Syunik region of Armenia. Turkey became an accomplice and patron of the murder of several thousands of people during the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan and the subsequent aggressive actions against Armenia as well. Aggressive rhetoric of Turkey is also maintained with regard to Greece on the issue of islands in the Aegean Sea. Satanovsky believes that Erdogan's position is to form a new Ottoman port with a serious strengthening of its influence, including in the Transcaucasus, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. "This position is unlikely to change. Moreover, even if Erdogan were to lose to someone, this is the national policy of today's Turkey," he added. 2nd Azerbaijan soldier found, detained in Armenia Armenian health minister: Wounded soldier in critical condition due to Azerbaijan provocation has stabilized Which Armenia company is put on US sanctions list? Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries Newspaper: Karabakh soldiers who showed necessary resistance to Azerbaijan military are rewarded Armenia FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office tete-a-tete kicks off (PHOTOS) Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable MFA: France deeply concerned about violence that took place near Tegh village of Armenia Legal entity from Armenia on list of those subject to US export restrictions Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh EU monitoring mission in Armenia not present in the area when Azerbaijan attacked Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed Armenia MOD: Tegh village incident that led to undesirable consequences was due to deployment adjustment Mayor of Frances Lyon expresses unconditional support to people of Karabakh Pashinyan: Armenian side had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan Criminal proceedings launched into Armenia soldiers being killed, wounded by Azerbaijan near Tegh village Chairman-in-Office: OSCE supports continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan direct contacts MFA: Russia asked Armenia to explain information about participating in joint military exercises with NATO Zakharova does not disclose details of Russian, Turkish FMs talks on Armenia-Turkey relations Russia MFA spox: CSTO mission deployment details can be talked about when Armenia is ready Zakharova: Russia favors complete unblocking of Lachin corridor Russia MFA: Other players engagement will lead to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations destabilization EU calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to intensify border delimitation talks, until then to respect 1991 line Russia MFA spox: Yerevan, Baku accepted proposal to hold another bilateral talks Pallone: This is another senseless provocation from Azerbaijani forces against Armenia Zakharova: Russia Border Guard Service, army took measures to de-escalate situation near Armenias Tegh village Armenia deputy defense minister on possible Azerbaijan provocations again: Nothing can be ruled out Armenia MP: Azerbaijanis demanded not to do engineering work, our soldiers responded, battle started from that Marukyan: This is continuation of attacks carried out against Armenia in May and November 2021, in September 2022 About 100 killed in airstrikes in rural Myanmar Criminal proceedings to be launched against Armenia opposition MP Mher Sahakyan Armenia MP: Army corps commander was there, talks were to be held but Azerbaijan resorted to provocation Mher Grigoryan, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State discuss security issues in Armenia, region Parliament observes minute of silence in memory of Armenia soldiers who died yesterday Newspaper: How Europe reacts to yesterday's provocation by Azerbaijanis? Anahit Manasyan is elected Armenia ombudsperson Armenia MOD: No significant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan recorded at night MOD: 3 of wounded Armenia soldiers in satisfactory condition, other 3 in moderate, severe, critical condition RA MOD announces names of soldiers killed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces As of 10:15 p.m., the situation on the frontline is relatively stable. RA Ministry of Defense The destruction of Artsakh and Syunik is a key issue for Turkey and Azerbaijan. David Babayan Suren Papikyan interrupts his working visit and returns to Armenia Azerbaijans provocation is another encroachment on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. MFA Azerbaijan MOD publicizes data on own losses during latest Baku provocation Russia MOD: 2 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh The reason for Azerbaijan's aggression is not being sanctioned by the international community. Edmon Marukyan Four Armenian soldiers killed, six wounded because of Azerbaijani provocation. MOD Video shows how Azerbaijani soldiers approach and open fire at Armenian soldiers Armenia National Assembly cancels special session Legislature deputy speaker on Azerbaijani infiltration into Armenia: Not case where accountability is implied Azerbaijanis opened fire in direction of Sotk Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan army continues provocation, uses mortars Azerbaijani shooting resumes in direction of Armenias Tegh village Haykakan Zhamanak: Armenia Special Army Corps commander wounded in skirmish MOD: Armenian side has casualties and wounded, according to preliminary data Shots fired at Tegh village area, Armenia has casualty Armenia parliament vice-speaker: Turkey border shall be open for 3rd countries citizens at summers beginning Armenia lawmaker: Azerbaijan has violated mutual understanding on Karabakh issue Sargis Khandanyan: Armenia does not play football on CSTO issue Armenia Prosecutor General submits petition to parliament for consent to prosecute opposition MP Ruling force MP: Before sending mission, CSTO must record Armenia territorys occupation Photo traps of Armenias Khosrov Forest State Reserve capture grizzly bear again Peskov calls information about Egypt president's covert shipment of rockets to Russia sensational lie The Washington Post: Egypt planned to secretly send up to 40,000 rockets to Russia, leaked US document says Earthquake hits Iran-Turkey border zone, also felt in Armenia Sharm El Sheikh-Yerevan flight that landed in Turkey arrives in Armenia capital Bortnikov: Terrorists want to destabilize the situation in Caucasus 15 more people from Karabakh transferred to Armenia medical centers, 10 patients return Russia airspace to be closed for flights to Europe until 2029, Eurocontrol announces Armenia defense minister visits NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (PHOTOS) North Korea leader announces strengthening of war deterrence forces AraratBank provides support to 100 children from underprivileged families Foreign Affairs: External threat may force Iran to enter into open conflict on Armenias side Foreigners make about 400 real estate sales transactions in Armenia in February Russia emergency service: UAV falls in Belgorod city airport territory on Monday Armenia becomes donor to International Development Association of World Bank Bitcoin rises nearly 7% to $30,200 Sharm El Sheikh-Yerevan flight lands in Turkey Karabakh authorities send proposal to hold meeting to Azerbaijani side shamshyan.com: Man, 57, found dead at downtown Yerevan churchyard Yerevan city council supposed to elect new mayor today but majority faction not attending session Armenia legislature kicks off regular 4-day session Newspaper: Armenia, Azerbaijan see further negotiations on Washington platform Next-generation Countryman crossovers first photos surface Scientific miracle: Atoms first photo is 5 years old shamshyan.com: Man who returned from Moscow dies suddenly at Yerevan international airport Woman who threw umbrella at Armenia PM is released from custody Turkey FM: We coordinate every step with Armenia with Azerbaijan Woman detained after throwing umbrella at PM Pashinyan in Armenia village Tokayev: Kazakhstan supports Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process Aliyev: Work on peace treaty with Armenia not going very smoothly Turkey FM: It would have been difficult for Azerbaijan to take Karabakh if we had not manufactured UAVs There is no opposition candidates who would be able to seriously compete with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has a serious electorate, Tigran Loqmagezian, a Turkic specialist, told Armenian News-NEWS.am. According to him, he will win, if there are no surprises and Erdogan makes no mistakes that would result in losing his supporters. The Turkologist recalled that such a surprise already occurred two weeks ago when the former leader of the Grey Wolves was killed, leading to a stir and an exodus from the Nationalist Movement Party. "Nevertheless, Erdogan enjoys the ardent support of 30-40% of the electorate, who will vote for him even if the economic situation deteriorates and living standards fall. This includes the nationalist part of the population, which supported him after the split with Gulen," Lokmagezian explained. He noted that all the power in the country is concentrated in Erdogan's hands, who also uses judicial pressure against the opposition, as it happened with the Mayor of Istanbul, who is not a serious threat to Erdogan's power, but the latter still decided to insure and liquidated him. Even if the persecution of the opposition will lead to a strengthening of its influence in society, Erdogan, the expert believes, is ready to use force, as he did in the past, in the same Diyarbekrir against the Kurds. If an atmosphere of fear is created in the society, Erdogan will get more votes, as people will quickly succumb to this method. He believes that only the U.S. can exert influence on Turkey from the outside, since they themselves brought Erdogan in. However, the Turkish president understands that no matter how much the West may like Ankara's policies, it is nonetheless the West's interests in the greater region that it can and does promote at the moment. "Even if the opposition wins, nothing in its foreign policy will change. Turkey is pursuing a state policy, and the change of power will not affect it, as history shows. Turkey's policy has never changed in 100 years. Every party in Turkey has a nationalist bias, even the Communist Party. This manifests itself most vividly in case of external problems," Lokmagezian concluded. Turkey will have presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023. The ruling Justice and Development Party and Nationalist Party have already formed an Alliance of the People and intend to nominate Erdogan. Turkey's six-party opposition, which also includes former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's Future Party, could announce a single candidate in February. Aram Danielyan U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez has vowed to continue blocking the transfer of military aircraft to Turkey unless Ankara improves its human rights record and stops threatening U.S. regional allies, Politico reported. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is considering handing Turkey 40 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets worth $20 billion and, separately, F-35 fighter jets for Greece, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday and was later confirmed by a source familiar with the discussions who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity. Such a deal would require congressional approval and that Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, end his opposition to sending fighter jets to Ankara. But in a statement Menendez's office prepared for the media and obtained in advance by POLITICO, the senator said he has not changed his mind. I strongly oppose the Biden administrations proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey, Menendez says, blasting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for continuing to undermine international law, disregard human rights and democratic norms, and engage in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies. Until Erdogan ceases his threats, improves his human rights record at home including by releasing journalists and political opposition and begins to act like a trusted ally should, I will not approve this sale, the chair continued, noting he supports the F-35 sale to Greece. A source familiar with the situation said Menendez told the White House back in December that he would not support a large-scale transfer of military aircraft. Turkey signals it will not ratify Swedish Nato bid The news was broken by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin. File photo: AFP Turkey on Saturday said it was "not in a position" to ratify Sweden's Nato membership, despite a series of steps taken by Stockholm to meet Ankara's demands. "We are not in a position to send a (ratification) law to the parliament," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin told reporters. Sweden and its Nordic neighbour Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the Western defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey and Hungary remain the only Nato members to have still not ratified the bids by votes in parliament. Ankara argues that Sweden, in particular, has failed to fulfil a series of commitments both countries made at a Nato summit in June. Erdogan then lifted his objections to their applications in return for pledges to crack down on Kurdish groups that Ankara views as "terrorists". Sweden has since approved a constitutional amendment that will make it possible to pass tougher anti-terror laws. But Kalin said it will take at least until June for Sweden's parliament to vote through the measures, and that Ankara would wait for all the Swedish legislation to pass before it acts. "It will take (Sweden) about six months to write and pass the new laws," Kalin said. "They will need a bit more time." (AFP) A New York judge on Friday fined the Trump Organization $1.6 million for tax fraud. The Trump Organization is former US President Donald Trump's company, which unlike him, is based in New York. It was held guilty earlier on 17 counts of tax fraud spanning years. The fine is a symbolic slap on the writs for the former President and self-proclaimed billionaire who has announced a third run for the White House and it is likely to be used by his opponents - first in the Republican primaries and then in the general election - to question his character and integrity, which, it must be noted, had withstood several knocks before. "While corporations can't serve jail time, this consequential conviction and sentencing serves as a reminder to corporations and executives that you cannot defraud tax authorities and get away with it," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted the case. A key witness in the case was Allen Weisselberg, the company's long-serving chief financial officer. Though he cooperated with the prosecutors he did not implicate the former President or his two adult sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, who have run the organisation after their father was elected President. Weisselberg pleaded guilty all 15 charges brought against him and he was sent to jail for five months on Tuesday and fined $2 million. He accepted his role in conspiring with the company to evade taxes due from him by a luxury apartment rented for him him by the company and expensive cars and fees for his grandchildren at an expensive private school. Former President Trump is personally facing several cases around the country, including one in Georgia state for trying to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. He is also being investigated for wrongly carting off to his personal property in Florida officials papers from the White House, including many that were marked confidential. --IANS yrj/vd ( 331 Words) 2023-01-13-21:50:02 (IANS) State-owned REC on Saturday said it signed non-binding MoUs with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government to extend financial assistance for various projects during UP Global Investors Summit, Delhi, that will help UP in employment generation as well as exponential growth in the state. These projects include a power plant at a cost of Rs 14,103 crore, with a capacity addition of nearly 3,000 megawatts (MW), pollution control equipment and allied works; transmission projects worth Rs 7,800 crore for strengthening the transmission system and network in the state, and a distribution project of Rs 13,600 crore for strengthening infrastructure, reducing aggregate technical and commercial losses. The statement from REC shared with exchanges on Saturday also talked about harnessing renewable energy at a cost of Rs 45,350 crore for the addition of 10000 MW capacity and multiple infrastructure development projects in UP state of Rs 20,000 crore across various sectors. Further, the company also added that during MP Global Investors Summit 2023, the REC had signed a non-binding MoU with MP Power Management Company (MPPMCL) to extend financial assistance of Rs 15,086 crore for upcoming Sarani and Amarkantak thermal power projects, system improvement works, technology upgradation, renovation and modernisation. REC, formerly Rural Electrification Corporation, is a subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation under the Union Power ministry. It finances and promotes power projects across India. The PSU provides loans to central or state sector power utilities in the country, state electricity boards, rural electric cooperatives, NGOs and private power developers. The domestic roadshows of UP Global Investors Summit are being held across seven cities -- Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru, from January 5 to 27. (ANI) The company said it would make the drug available under the brand name, Palenotm (Palbociclib) for 75 mg, 100 mg and 125 mg. Kirti Ganorkar, Chief Executive Officer for India Business, Sun Pharma, said "We are introducing Palbociclib at an affordable price which will help improve patient access. PALENOTM will address the treatment need of several advanced breast cancer patients in India. For the first time, we are introducing a unique patient assistance program that will improve patient compliance and accessibility." According to Sun Pharma, Palbociclib is approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in combination with hormonal therapies for patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The company statement was released on Thursday. The pharma firm said breast cancer is the largest form of cancer in India, affecting approximately 0.21 million new female patients every year. Among the total patients, approximately 50 per cent are hormone receptor positive breast cancer, the major subtype in breast cancer. Though hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients have shown better survival than other subtypes, they may progress to or present with metastatic disease, the firm said. If a person has hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, it means that their breast cancer cells have estrogen receptors (ERs), progesterone receptors (PRs), or both. (ANI) According to TMZ, a USA-based tabloid news website, Kanye and Bianca got hitched in a private ceremony. The news website also divulged that Bianca, who worked as an architectural designer at Kanye's fashion brand Yeezy for several years, hails from Australia. As per reports, she's been a brunette until switching things up to the short blonde that she now is. TMZ sources suggest that the duo had some sort of wedding ceremony; however, it doesn't appear they've filed a marriage certificate to make it legal. This week when Kanye and Bianca arrived at the Waldorf Astoria in Bev Hills, the 'Homecoming' rapper was wearing a wedding ring, as per TMZ. Meanwhile, Kanye's ex-wife Kim filed to end her six years of marriage with him in February 2021 and was declared legally single in March. The former celebrity couple began dating in 2011 and welcomed their first daughter North in 2013. In 2014, they tied the knot. Their divorce was completely settled back in November 2022. The duo got joint custody of their four kids. (ANI) On Saturday, Rajamouli took to Twitter and shared a glimpse of his meeting with the celebrated American filmmaker Spielberg. In the first photo, Rajamouli looks starstruck as he stands in front of Spielberg for maybe a short conversation. The next photo has him posing with the filmmaker along with the music composer MM Keeravani. Sharing the images, Rajamouli wrote, "I just met God." Reacting to the pictures, actor Rana Daggubati tweeted, "I'm looking at 3 GODS." https://twitter.com/RanaDaggubati/status/1614111421528436737?t=HBLqt0-1VGPTfyHWzO-6yw&s=19 Seems like Rajamouli met Spielberg after RRR's Naatu Naatu bagged Best Original Song trophy at the 80th Golden Globe Awards. RRR was also nominated in the Best Non-English Language Film category but lost it to Argentina, 1985. RRR is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Ram Charan and Jr NTR played lead roles, respectively. The film collected over Rs 1,200 crore worldwide. (ANI) Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi on Friday revealed that he is on 24x7 external oxygen after contracting Covid-19 twice in two weeks and deep pneumonia. The 59-year old took to social media to give updates about his health, saying that he was airlifted to London from Mexico after three weeks of confinement. "After 3 weeks in confinement with a double Covid in 2 weeks accompanied by influenza and deep pneumonia - and post trying several times to leave. Finally landed via air ambulance accompanied by two doctors and superstar super efficient son who did so much for me back in london," wrote Lalit in his instagram post along with his picture from the hospital bed. "The flight was smooth. Unfortunately still on 24/7 external oxygen. Thank u to all at @vistajet for going the extra mile. I am extremely grateful to all. Love to all. Big hug," he added. In another post, he also mentioned about saviours -- two doctors-- who took care of him. "With my two saviours. The two Drs seriously for 3 weeks monitored me treated. Me 24/7. 1 Mexico City based whose care I was under and the second my London Dr who specifically flew in to Mexico City to accompany me back to London. I have no words to describe of they sacrificed there time etc to get me out. Still need time to recover. Currently on 24/7 external oxygen," wrote Modi along with pictures of two doctors. "I was I thought touch and go. But my children and thief friends and my close friend @harish_salve_ who were all with me 2 out of my three weeks fully by my side. They are all my family and part of me. God bless. Jai hind. Not to forget the @vistajet crew. Who were better then par excellence. Thank u my friend @thomasflohrvista," he added. Last year, the businessman had made his relationship with Sushmita official on social media, with a note and an array of photos. However, the duo haven't been spotted much post making their relationship public, leading to various speculations. --IANS ak/ ( 362 Words) 2023-01-13-21:18:06 (IANS) Private services offering Chinese travellers access to mRNA vaccines are attracting droves of mainlanders to Hong Kong and Macau seeking a booster shot that their government has refused to approve, according to a media report. As part of its dismantling of the country's zero-Covid policy last month, China's government also lifted quarantine and other border restrictions, The Guardian reported It prompted a wave of interest in overseas travel, particularly for the upcoming lunar new year holiday later this month. However, there also appears to be a large contingent chasing the mRNA bivalent vaccines, the report said. Throughout the pandemic, the Chinese government has allowed only domestically produced vaccines for its citizens, refusing to approve foreign-made jabs. Health experts and medical studies have raised concerns about the efficacy of China's vaccines, which use an inactivated virus, compared with the mRNA vaccines available elsewhere, The Guardian reported. The appetite for the overseas vaccine is difficult to quantify, but a rash of services offering travel packages and self-funded shots in Hong Kong and Macau have sprung up in recent weeks. Clinics in Thailand and Singapore have also reported increased interest from Chinese travellers, the report said. The BioNTech/Pfizer mRNA vaccine is free for the residents of Hong Kong and Macau. On Thursday, the Hong Kong government announced it would no longer provide free shots of any vaccine for non-residents from next week, in response to the "recent increase in demand". On Chinese social media platforms, C3Hong Kong Life, a travel service for mainlanders, advertised bookings from 8 January for people to travel to Hong Kong and get the shot for HK$1,680. It offered a full vaccination travel package providing "expert guidance, vaccine appointments, round-trip itinerary arrangements, border pickup and other services". The Macau University of Science and Technology has a website for people to book a vaccine shot for prices beginning at HK$1,360. All appointments - about 100 a day - are booked until mid February, The Guardian reported. Staff at one cross-border travel agency, xBorder, said they had facilitated "a lot" of people travelling to Macau - where entry restrictions were looser than Hong Kong - in the last quarter of 2022, and were getting a lot of interest from people wanting to go to Hong Kong. --IANS san/arm ( 389 Words) 2023-01-13-21:54:01 (IANS) Healthcare workers across China are seeing large numbers of people who have been re-infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, putting a further strain on the country's beleaguered healthcare system, media reports said. "The incidence of re-infections with Omicron has increased significantly," an attending physician surnamed Chen at the No. 2 Affiliated Hospital of the Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said, RFA reported. "Some data show that around 100,000 people out of three million cases were reinfections, which is about 3 per cent," Chen said. Reports of infection rates of around 70 per cent across much of China in recent days would mean an estimated 900 million people in China have been infected at least once with Omicron. If Chen's figure were to be extrapolated nationwide, that would mean the country is also seeing around 10 million reinfections, RFA reported. A healthcare worker surnamed Li in the northern city of Shijiazhuang said medics are now seeing a wave of secondary infections, due to the damage wreaked by Covid-19 on the immune system. "We're hearing about a very large number of re-infections in out-of-town areas, due to the damage done to the immune system by the first infection with Covid-19," Li said. "People are presenting with pain that is five to 10 times worse than what they had during their first infection." A doctor in the same city who declined to be named said patients are presenting with re-infections as early as one month after recovering from their first, and with immunity that has been weakened by the virus itself, RFA reported. Her account was backed up by healthcare workers at hospitals in the northern city of Taiyuan and in the central province of Hunan, it reported. Top internal medicine expert Zhang Boli warned the general public in an interview with the Science and Technology Daily newspaper to be on their guard against re-infection. Virologists have long warned of the potential for re-infection with the Omicron variant of Covid-19. A study by researchers at London's Imperial College described Omicron as being highly capable of re-infecting people, even if they are triple-vaccinated, RFA reported. Study lead author Rosemary Boyton said in June 2022 that getting infected with Omicron "does not provide a potent boost to immunity against re-infection with Omicron in the future". Meanwhile, a November 10, 2022 study in the scientific journal Nature found that "re-infection (with Covid-19) further increases risks of death, hospitalisation and sequelae in multiple organ systems," both during the initial disease and in the months that follow. Hundreds of millions of people are currently heading back to their ancestral homes ahead of Lunar New Year on January 22, sparking fears of a rural wave of Covid 19 infections peaking sometime in March, RFA reported. --IANS san/d ( 480 Words) 2023-01-13-22:30:03 (IANS) The Standing Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change met on Friday to discusse the challenges and approaches for sustainable development of national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and protection of marine bio-diversity. However, as per sources, there was no discussion on the Joshimath disaster. Committee Chairman Jairam Ramesh said: "The committee met to discuss challenges faced in protected areas - national parks, sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves - covering 5 per cent of India, from where more than 200 rivers originate, and is home to rich biodiversity." "They face severe threats," he added. --IANS miz/vd ( 105 Words) 2023-01-13-22:00:03 (IANS) However, the members of 'Save Mhadei' have arranged another venue to hold a meeting on the same day. The Sankhali municipality has revoked the permission it granted to hold a public meeting on January 16, the Opinion Poll Day of Goa, at Sankhali municipal ground. According to sources, Sankhali municipality has cited the reason of traffic congestion, due to the weekly bazaar on January 16, for revoking the permission. The activists and social groups supporting 'Save Mhadei' movement on Friday held meeting and decided to change the venue, to an alternative which is 3 km away. Activist Hrudaynath Shirodkar told IANS that they have changed the venue after permission was revoked. "The new place is just three kilometers away from the Sankhali municipal ground," he said. Reacting to the new development, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said that Mhadei agitations will bring the BJP government to its knees. "Rattled with the backlash over the complete compromise of BJP government on Mhadei, Chief Minister now revokes permission for aSave Mhadei Rally' on Opinion Poll Day. I strongly condemn the act and warn CM Pramod Sawant that Mahdei agitation will bring BJP government to its knees," Alemao said. Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai said that peoples' opinion is being "strangled" on 'Opinion Poll Day'. "Revoking permission for the people's rally on January 16, for Mhadei in Sankhali (Sanquelim) is beyond human comprehension. The man who killed Mhadei has killed Democracy too! Pramod Sawant has blood on his hands," Sardesai said. --IANS sbk/vd ( 297 Words) 2023-01-13-22:04:02 (IANS) According to sources, Hansda was nabbed during a joint operation by the paramilitary forces and the police at Fatehpur under Dumri police station in the district. The police are yet to release an official statement on the arrest. The sources said that many weapons were recovered from Hansda. The state police had conducted search operations to apprehend him in many villages, including Dholkatta, Simradhab, Kalyanpur, and Chainpur, situated at the foothills in the border areas of Dhanbad and Giridih. According to sources, earlier the police had received information of Hansda along with his squad camping in a village at the foothills of Parasnath hill, following which a campaign was launched in the area. However, Hansda, who hails from Pirtand block, could not be caught at the time. --IANS snc/fs/arm ( 177 Words) 2023-01-13-22:08:02 (IANS) At 4.15 p.m., the bulldozer brought down the front part of the house. The demolition work went on till 6 p.m. and will continue on Saturday. Earlier, the hearing on this matter was completed in JDA's tribunal court, which asked JDA to demolish the illegal portion of the house and keep the approved portion safe. The tribunal had given orders rejecting the petition of Saran. Saran's lawyer also accepted in the court that he had made illegal construction. The court had directed JDA not to take action till the completion of the hearing. On Thursday, Saran's wife Elchi Saran, his brother Gopal Saran and Gopal's wife Indubala Saran had challenged the notice by filing two separate appeals in the tribunal court. Earlier, a petition was also filed on behalf of Saran in the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court on this count. The high court, while hearing the matter, had dismissed the petition and instructed the tribunal court to finish the matter at the earliest. --IANS arc/arm ( 210 Words) 2023-01-13-22:38:03 (IANS) The state law department issued a notification informing of the appointment. Shahi, who is a former state education minister, replaces Lalit Kishore, who has resigned. Shahi had earlier served in the same post between 2005 to 2010 under the Nitish Kumar government. He will take charge from Monday. A couple of years back he left politics to resume his practice in the Patna High Court. Chairman of Bihar State Bar Council Ramakant Sharma, Government Pleader Prashant Pratap and a number of advocates of Patna High Court has congratulated Shahi on his appointment. (ANI) The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, and the three service chiefs -- Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar -- laid wreaths at the National War Memorial(NWM) on Saturday, on the occasion of Armed Forces Veterans Day. The Armed Forces Veterans Day is celebrated on January 14 every year, as on this day, in 1953, the First Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who led Indian Forces to Victory in the 1947 war against Pakistan, formally retired from the Services. The First Armed Forces Veterans Day was observed on January 14, 2016. It was decided to commemorate this day every year by hosting events in honour of the ex-Servicemen and their families. (ANI) A sitting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member of Parliament from Lakshadweep, Mohammad Faizal, has been disqualified from Lok Sabha after the lawmaker was sentenced to 10 years in jail in connection with an attempt to murder case. The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha decided on the disqualification of the MP late on Friday. "Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Sessions, Kavaratti, Lakshadweep Mohammed Faizal, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Lakshadweep Parliamentary Constituency of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction ie January 11, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," read Lok Sabha bulletin. The parliamentary bulletin further added that it received communication on January 11 from District and Sessions Judge, Kavaratti which informed that Mohammed Faizal, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) was tried at the Court of Sessions, Kavaratti Court on charges of sections 143, 147, 148, 448, 427, 324, 342, 307, 506 read with Section 149 of IPC. On January 11, after a trial lasting for about five years, the district sessions court in Kavaratti found Mohammed Faizal guilty of offences under sections 143, 147, 148, 448, 427, 324, 342, 307, 506 read with Section 149 of IPC and sentenced him to imprisonment for 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh (major punishment). He is currently detained in the central prison in Kerala's Kannur. Faizal, an elected MP from the Union Territory since 2014 has been convicted in the case along with four others for an attempt to murder. Faizal was convicted of attacking his relative Mohammad Salih. The prosecution argued that Faizal led a group of people to attack and grievously injure Salih over an argument about constructing a shed. The victim had been flown to Kerala where he remained hospitalised for months. (ANI) The court acquitted him in the 13-year-old case on the fact that there was insufficient evidence in the case. The case dates back to February 11, 2009. The actor attempted suicide when he was called to the Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner's office for questioning in the case of extorting Rs 25 lakh. During the trial at Kakkanad Magistrate Court, the prosecution could not produce any evidence to establish Vijayakumar's offence. The statements of two witnesses other than the police officers in the case were in favour of Vijayakumar. Court also pointed out that the statements of the independent witness produced by the prosecution as an eyewitness were not reliable. The case pertains that during the interrogation led by the Circle Inspector at the Assistant Commissioner's office, Vijayakumar tried to commit suicide by pushing down the policeman who was nearby and taking a paper cutter into the room and cutting a vein in his hand. The case against him was for obstructing the official duty of the police and attempting suicide. Earlier, a trial court had dismissed the Rs 25 lakh extortion case against Vijayakumar. There were five cases against Vijayakumar including these. The Court acquitted him in all cases. (ANI) Activist Prafulla P Sarda, who filed an RTI application seeking details of terrorist organisations operating in India, has said that some politicians coined the term 'Hindu or saffron terrorism' for appeasement politics. In his RTI application, the activist sought information that how many terrorist organisations are active in India. He asked for the names and details of these organisations. Sarda sought the details about steps taken to control active terrorist organisations in India. He further sought the details about the term 'Hindu or saffron terrorism (if any)'. Sarda also sought details if 'Hindu or Saffron' terrorists were involved in 2006 Malegaon bomb blast or any bomb blast, as per Home Ministry records. The RTI activist asked for the details about the term 'Islamic terrorism' and if such organisations were involved in any bomb blast in India. The activist said the response shared by the Union Home Ministry clearly dismissed any connection or term of Hindu or saffron terrorism. "I am deeply hurt not just as an Indian but as a Hindu as well. Just to collect the votes of a specific community, a few political leaders repeatedly defame crores of Hindus in this country and try to emboss fake terms of Hindu or saffron terrorism. Hindu terrorism does not exist but RTI reply clearly shows Islamic terrorism exists and troubles the world by killing so many innocent people across the globe," Sarda said. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its response to the RTI, said, "It is informed that 42 organizations have been declared as 'Terrorist Organization' under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The various measures are taken by the government to counter the menace of terrorism, which include augmenting the strength of the Central Armed Police Force, modernization of police force, capacity building of special forces, tighter immigration control; effective border management; through round-the-clock surveillance and patrolling on the borders; establishment of observation posts, border fencing, floodlighting, deployment of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment; up gradation of Intelligence setup and coastal security, etc." The MHA further said the government has also strengthened the legislative frame work by amending UAP Act, 1967 and NIA Act, 2008 in the year 2019. The banned terrorist organisations under section 35 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 include Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Zindabad Force, International Sikh Youth Federation, Lashkar-E-Talba, Pasban-E-Ahle Hadi, Jaish-E-Mohammed/Tahrik-E-Furgan, Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen/Harkat-Ul-Ansar/Harkat-Ul-Jehad-E-Islami or Ansar-Ul-Ummah (AUU), Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen/ Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, Al-Omar-Mujahideen, Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Assam, People's Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), All Tripura Tiger Force, National Liberation Front of Tripura, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Students Islamic Movement of India, Deendar Anjuman, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). The other organisations in the list are Al Badr, Jamiat-Ul-Mujahideen, Al-Qaida/Al-Qaida in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS), Dukhtaran-E-Millat (DEM), Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA), Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT), Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj (ABNES), Communist Party of India (Maoist), Indian Mujahideen, Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Kamatapur Liberation Organization, Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Daish/Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K), National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), NSCN (K), The Khalistan Liberation Force, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan. (ANI) The Delhi Police has issued a sketch of the accused in the incident of looting from the cash van of an ATM in Wazirabad area of North Delhi which took place on Tuesday. This comes after the police scanned the footage from CCCTV cameras on the route and identified the accused. The CCTV footage shows the miscreant threatening the cash van custodian with a weapon and then fleeing with the bag full of cash on foot. The footage shows that after being threatened, the guard got scared and handed him the bag with cash. Earlier, the officials informed that the miscreant shot 55-year-old Udaypal Singh who was on duty as a security guard in the CMS company van, which was the cash van operating service. The security guard died while he was being taken to the hospital, confirmed the sources. The accused took away nearly Rs 10.78 lakh in cash, claimed Dharmendra, a CMS official. He said, "An ATM in Wazirabad was looted. The gunman was shot by unidentified people and he died while being taken to the hospital. An inquiry is being carried out and the currency notes looted in the incident are being checked." (ANI) A week after President Droupadi Murmu's security was breached at an event in Rajasthan, the state government has suspended a junior engineer with the Public Health Engineering Department(PHED) who tried to touch her feet. Chief Engineer Administration Water Supply Department issued a suspension order on January 12 for Junior Engineer Amba Seoul. She tried to touch her feet at an event on January 4. President Murmu came to attend the inaugural programme of the Scout Guide Jamboree in Pali. "Amba Seoul, Junior Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, Rohet, district Pali, had violated the protocol by trying to touch the feet of the President at the helipad during the inaugural programme of the Scout Guide Jamboree in Rohet on January 4. Therefore, the undersigned, in the exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 342 of Rule 958 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal), we hereby order the suspension of the said Amba Seoul, junior accused with immediate effect," the suspension order reads.(ANI) According to the police officials, the car was carrying four people and was en route to Kullu-Manali from Delhi. "One boy from Delhi dead after a car carrying 4 people en route to Kullu-Manali from Delhi met with an accident in Kurukshetra due to reckless driving," said police personnel Jiya Singh. Singh said that the driver of the car is absconding, while the car has been seized. "A case is yet to be registered and action will be taken as per law," said Singh. Further details are awaited. (ANI) Lucknow, (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 14 (ANI). Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has extended hearty greetings and best wishes to the people of the state on the occasion of the Makar Sankranti and Khichdi festivals. In a greeting message issued on Saturday, CM Yogi said that the special festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different forms in different parts of the country. The Chief Minister has appealed to the people to celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti and Khichdi while taking all precautions in view of Corona infection. "This festival is a symbol of the rich heritage and cultural unity of our country," CM said in an official statement. It is known that Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different forms all over India. It is celebrated as Khichdi festival in various states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. On this day Sun enters Capricorn from Sagittarius and becomes Uttarayan. Uttarayan has been considered a symbol of positivity. According to the chief minister, the change in Sun's zodiac sign on Makar Sankranti signifies the progress from darkness to light. It is well known that the consciousness and work power of living beings increases due to more light. That's why people worship Sun God in various forms on this occasion all over India. On the occasion of Makar Sankranti, there is special importance on bathing, worshipping and donating in holy rivers and lakes, the statement added. (ANI) After questioning the two arrested terror suspects, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Saturday recovered a body that was chopped into three pieces from the Bhalswa drain in north Delhi. Incidentally, the recovery was made near the house of the two accused, Naushad and Jagjit Singh, who were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The Delhi Police informed that they are identifying the deceased. "Delhi Police Special Cell recovered a dead body which was chopped into three pieces from Bhalswa drain (in North Delhi) after two suspects Naushad and Jagjit Singh (arrested under UAPA) told the police. The deceased is being identified," the Delhi Police said in a statement. The officials also confirmed that the two accused had made the video of the deceased victim, and shared a video of the killing with their handler. The Special cell of the Delhi police arrested the two -- identified as Jagjit Singh (29) and Naushad (56) -- on Thursday. They were produced before the Patiala House Court on Friday and sent to police remand for 14 days. Amid the interrogation of the suspects, the police said they carried out a raid at their rented house at Shradha Nand Colony in the Bhalswa Dairy police station limits on Friday, under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and recovered the hand grenades. The police also recovered three pistols and 22 live cartridges from the suspects. Further, Delhi Police said it has information that Jagjit Singh has links to Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Dall. He is also a member of the notorious Bambiha gang and has been receiving instructions from anti-national elements based abroad, the city police said, adding that he is also a parole jumper in a murder case in Uttarakhand. Naushad is also associated with Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA), a terror group that is based in Pakistan and primarily operates in Jammu & Kashmir. He has been a life convict in two counts of murder and has also served a 10-year sentence in connection with a case under the Explosive Act. According to sources, it is alleged that the suspects killed a person in the house and shared a video of the killing with their handler. (ANI) Many senior officials of the Pune police including Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth, ACS (Home), Mumbai Commissioners of Police (CP) and IPS officers were present at the conference. In the conference, Fadnavis reviewed the current rate of crime in the state and discussed strategies to be adopted expedite conviction and maintain law and order. During the conference, officials analysed various crime trends and offences against the body, property, crime against women, cyber crimes, economic offences, and drug abuse. Dy CM Fadnavis stressed on adoption of new technologies and methodologies for investigation and speedy detection. Officials specifically discussed controlling the menace of drug abuse and adopting practices to reduce the incidents of communal tension, said an official statement. Earlier on Saturday, six people were arrested for putting up posters to celebrate Chhota Rajan's birthday in the Malad area of Mumbai. The poster shed light on a Kabaddi programme being organised to celebrate the underworld don's birthday on January 14 and 15. (ANI) The meeting pertains to the demonstration and discussion of the Remote Voting Machine. Notably, to encourage domestic migrants to exercise their franchise, ECI on December 29, informed about a prototype Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), which would enable migrant voters to vote from remote polling stations. It said the inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons behind low voter turnout. The migrant voter wouldn't be required to travel to his/her home district to exercise his/her franchise. The Commission has also invited all recognised eight national and 57 regional political parties on January 16, 2023, to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM. Members of the EC's Technical Expert Committee will also be present during the demonstration. The Commission has also solicited written views of recognised political parties by January 31, 2023, on various related issues including changes required in legislation, changes in administrative procedures, and voting method/RVM/technology, if any other, for the domestic migrants, the release further stated. (ANI) After the Tamil Nadu Governor's office lodged a complaint with Chennai Police seeking action against ruling DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for his controversial remark, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Cell D.V. Kiran Shruthi said that the video attached along the complaint was found to be defamatory in nature. The complaint was lodged by the Deputy Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Governor against ruling DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for his controversial remarks against Governor RN Ravi. "Video attached along with the complaint, video of the full speech of Shivaji Krishnamurthy, and verbatim of the above videos were legally scrutinized and found to be defamatory in nature which falls under the ambit of section 499 and 500 IPC," read a letter Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Cell D.V. Kiran Shruthi. In a response to the complaint, he said the complaint along with the video has been forwarded to the additional chief secretary. "The complaint along with the enclosed video has been forwarded to the additional chief secretary to the Government, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department of Tamilnadu for taking further necessary action at their end," read the letter. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrote to the state Director General of Police (DGP) over the matter and sought immediate action. "DMK has always indulged in 'abusive' politics. They have always abused leaders holding higher constitutional posts, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have written to Tamil Nadu DGP seeking immediate action. The hands of the police are tied. Local DMK leaders treat police stations as their own offices," Annamalai told ANI. He said people will give a befitting reply to DMK in the elections. "Chief Minister Stalin must come out and clarify because no one has come out with an apology and no FIR has been registered yet. I am sure people will teach them a befitting lesson during the next polls," added the Tamil Nadu BJP Chief. DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy on Friday sparked a controversy with his remark against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. Addressing an event on Thursday, Krishnamoorthy said, "If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, do I not have the right to assault him?" "If you (Governor) do not read out the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government, then go to Kashmir, and we will send terrorists so that they'll gun you down," Krishnamoorthy said. The outburst came after CM Stalin accused the Governor of "delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text". Congress and communist parties and other ally members protested outside Raj Bhavan against TN Governor RN Ravi on Friday over the speech row. Tamil Nadu MLA Thiru N Eramakrishnan on Wednesday moved a 'Motion of Thanks' on Governor RN Ravi's address, with a mention of the word 'regret' over his action. Earlier on January 9, the Governor sparked a controversy with his statement that the name 'Thamizhagam' would be more appropriate for the state. Governor Ravi's remark during his customary address at the opening session of the House on Monday, triggered an uproar, especially from the Treasury benches. Legislators of the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress and the VCK, started raising slogans against the Governor and staged a walkout. (ANI) Taking note of the Vengavayil village incident where human feces were found dumped in a water tank supplying drinking water to a Dalit colony, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) on Saturday ordered a CB-CID (Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department probe) into the incident. "To intensify the probe and to identify and to arrest the accused soon the case on human excreta mixed in the water tank of SC residential area orders to transfer to CBCID," the DGP order copy said. Last year in December, Human excrement was mixed in an overhead storage tank in Vengaivayal village in the area where the Arunthathiyar community lives. Many children reportedly had vomiting and diarrhea after drinking this water. Two-tumbler system (two-tumbler system: in places like teahouses where the upper classes drink from one tumbler and the other classes from another tumbler) is a practice in those areas. Residents of Vengaivasal in Muttukadu panchayat in the Pudukkottai district later complained to the police after finding that human excreta was dumped into the overhead water tank that supplies water to the colony. Following the incident, a petition was filed in the Madurai bench of the Madras High court seeking compensation for more than 30 families who drank the water. The special Investigation Team is already probing the matter. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin earlier on Wednesday said that the incident shows that caste discrimination and untouchability exist in some pockets of society. "The issue has exposed the prevalence of caste discrimination and untouchability in some pockets. Untouchability is saddening and condemnable. A new water tank and distribution pipeline were installed for the 32 houses. Affected people were given medical treatment and clean drinking water was supplied. Medical teams continue in the village," Stalin said. "So far 70 people have been inquired and the guilty will be brought to book with an iron hand," CM said while replying to a motion moved by the Opposition in the assembly. AIADMK MLA Vijayabhakar demanded arresting those responsible for mixing human excreta in water tanks. (ANI) The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government's move to boost the textile industry will benefit 5.5 lakh weavers of the State as they will not have to depend on conventional electricity, nor will their income decrease due to an increase in electricity rates. With Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath providing grants to powerloom weavers for setting up solar power plants, the textile industry is set to grow in Uttar Pradesh, while profits of the weavers will be increased by saving them the cost of power consumption. It is noteworthy that the Yogi government has taken important steps to facilitate the weavers and to maintain competitiveness in the world's textile manufacturing sector and this initiative is one of these. Under the 'Chief Minister Weaver Solar Energy Scheme', weavers will be given grants to set up solar power plants to run their units while women weavers will be given special benefits. The UP government's initiative will help thousands of weavers of Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is famous across the world for its Banarasi saree. From Bollywood to Hollywood, everyone is crazy about Banarasi sarees. However, power outages sometimes affect the production and also the weavers' income. Arun Kumar Kuril, Assistant Commissioner of Handloom and Textile Industries of Varanasi Zone, said that the grants will be made available under Chief Minister's Weaver Solar Energy Scheme. "For general powerloom weavers, the government will give 50 per cent of the total cost of the solar plant. The remaining 50 per cent or additional amount will be borne by the beneficiary himself or by taking a loan from the bank," he said. On the other hand, the Yogi government will give a grant of 75 per cent of the cost of a solar power plant to the SC/ST powerloom weavers while 25 per cent will be borne by the beneficiary himself, or by taking a loan from the bank. Solar power plants with a capacity of up to 10 KW will be proposed by the approved Zonal Level Committee while those above 10 KW will be proposed by the State Level Committee. He informed that at least 10 per cent of women weavers will also be given the benefit of the scheme. A total of 2,50,000 powerloom units are working in Uttar Pradesh, through which 5,50,000 weavers are earning their living. UPNEDA has been made the executive body for the Chief Minister Weaver Solar Energy Scheme. (ANI) After the Bihar Education Minister and RJD leader Chandrashekhar's remarks on Ramcharitmanas stirred outrage among people, the Janata Dal (United) MLC Neeraj Kumar and other party workers recited the epic Hindu religious book outside a Hanuman Temple in Patna. Chandrashekhar stoked a controversy after he claimed that Ramcharitmanas, an epic Hindu religious book which is based on Ramayana, "spreads hatred in the society". The remarks made by Chandrashekhar on Ramcharitmanas have stirred outrage among Hindu religious leaders and BJP also. They have demanded his dismissal from the government. Speaking to the media, the JDI(U) MLC Kumar said, "I came here out of devotion...All I'd like to request is - to respect Ram and Rahim by remembering the words amd acts of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi" Chandrashekhar's remarks have also created a tussle between two major parties of 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar- Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United). J(D)U leader Upendra Kushwaha on Friday said the RJD leader is "playing on BJP's agenda," as it will benefit the BJP. "The statement will directly benefit BJP. The topic he spoke on is an agenda of the BJP. Speaking on BJP's agenda means playing on their pitch. If we play there, who will benefit? BJP," Kushwaha told ANI. Kushwaha said the RJD should take action against its minister as he has even refused to budge from his controversial statement, which will harm "our agenda of social justice and secularism." "Our agenda is social justice, secularism, development and the work of the CM all these years...RJD said that they stand with Chandrashekhar's remark. What does this mean? Cognisance of the matter should be taken, it is needed," he said. On Friday, Chandrashekhar refused to budge from his controversial statement on "Ramcharitmanas" and said that he stands by his statement. Speaking to media persons, the Bihar Minister said, "How many times do I say the same thing? I spoke the truth, I stand by it. What do I have to do with whatever anyone says?..." While addressing the students at the 15th convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University, Chandrashekhar described Ramcharitmanas and Manusmriti as books that divide society. "Why was Manusmriti burnt, because many abuses were given in it against a large section. Why was Ramcharitmanas resisted and which part was resisted? Lower caste people were not allowed to access education and it is said in the Ramcharitmanas that lower caste people become poisonous by getting an education as a snake becomes after drinking milk." He has said that Manusmriti and Ramcharitmanas are books that spread hatred in society as it prevents Dalits-backwards and women in society from getting an education. "Manusmriti, Ramcharitmanas, Bunch of Thoughts by Guru Golwalkar... these books are books that spread hatred. Hatred will not make the country great, love will make the country great," added Chandrashekhar. (ANI) "I am shocked at the sudden, untimely demise of Chaudhary ji. He was a dedicated and hardworking leader. May his soul rest in peace," said the Governor. Purohit conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength to his family to overcome the unfathomable loss. The 76-year-old Congress leader suffered a heart attack and collapsed during Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra which is currently passing through Punjab. Singh was walking along with Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra when he collapsed after suffering a heart attack on Saturday morning. Chaudhary was rushed to a hospital in Phagwara, where he was declared brought dead. Santokh Singh was a former Cabinet Minister of Punjab and a Member of Parliament from Jalandhar (Lok Sabha constituency). He won the 2014 Indian general election and 2019 Indian general election as a congress candidate. Following the sudden demise of the Congress MP, the Congress has suspended the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra for the day. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the last rites of the MP will be performed on Sunday and the yatra will remain suspended till then. "The yatra is suspended for today. The last rites will be held tomorrow. I have not spoken to Rahul Gandhi yet but we all feel that the yatra should resume after the last rites. Till the last rites are completed, it will remain suspended," the Punjab Congress chief told reporters. (ANI) In an effort to increase the farmers' income, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) has entered into a power purchase agreement with private developers to establish solar power generation plants of 7 MW on their barren lands in six districts as part of the Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme. On the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, solar power generation plants will be set up in Bijnor, Hathras, Mahoba, Jalaun, Deoria and Lucknow, the UPPCL chief M Devaraj said. Under this scheme, farmers will set up solar power generation plants on their barren or uncultivable farmland with the assistance of various banks. Additionally, the government will provide subsidies for this, and by selling the electricity thus produced to the government or private power companies will enable the farmers to boost their income, the UPPCL chief said. Under the KUSUM scheme, the government gives 90 per cent of the total cost of the solar pump as a subsidy to the farmers, he said. According to the scheme, 5 acres of land is required to set up a 1-megawatt solar plant. That is, one acre of land generates 0.2 megawatts of electricity. Through this scheme, farmers can also eliminate the problems related to electricity in their area, he said. Solar power generation plant of 1.5 MW will be set up in Vilaspur village of Bijnor, 0.5 MW (500 kW) in Mauhari of Hathras, 1 MW each in Mahoba's Devgaon, Jalaun's Khuksis and Deoria district's Bariyarpur village while 2 MW solar power generation centre will be set up in Parseni village of Lucknow, said Devraj. It is noteworthy that this programme will provide farmers with two benefits. They will first be able to use solar-powered irrigation pumps instead of outdated diesel irrigation pumps. Second, by selling the electricity produced by the solar plant installed at their farms to the power providers, they can make an additional Rs 80,000 each year, he said. Meanwhile, he also said that through WhatsApp messages, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) offers services to power users regarding their bills and other issues. At present, there are about 3.30 crore electricity consumers in the state, out of which 33 lakh have given their consent to avail of the facility of receiving messages, he added. (ANI) As experts have warned that Delhi is to see another cold wave next week, infants and children are getting sick requiring even ICU treatment, said Dr Pawan Kumar, Senior Consultant, General Pediatrician, Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital. "The extreme cold waves seen this year are affecting all aspects of life including young Infants, Children, and the Old age population as well. The young infants are facing conditions like severe Pneumonia, requiring Hospitalization and ICU care sometimes. School-going children are also affected by the weather conditions," said Dr Pawan Kumar. "Pollution is also at its peak during this extreme cold condition. This smog is affecting Children's lungs, causing severe cough & breathing difficulties, especially in the late evening, night, and early morning hours. Most of the kids affected by this condition are requiring frequent Nebulization to overcome breathing difficulties." He said Dr Pawan Kumar said that during these extremely cold conditions, respiratory infections like H3N2 influenza are also rampant in the Paediatric population. "During this extreme cold, respiratory infections like H3N2 influenza are also rampant in the Paediatric population. Children are also missing school very frequently because of their Illnesses. Classrooms are facing low attendance up to 50 per cent in many schools." He added On the effects of cold, Dr Dhiren Gupta, Pulmonologist and allergy specialist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that as air becomes dry, mucous membranes also become dry and more prone to infections especially viral infections. "Pollutants set down due to gravity - adverse effects on respiratory symptoms, especially asthma and allergies. Skin also becomes dry - more itching - more allergen entry via the skin," said Dr Dhiren Gupta. "Less outdoor activity - obesity, increased blood pressure. Less sunlight exposure - vitamin deficiency. Infants are prone to hypothermia. Sudden change in temperature from warm to cold or vice versa is more prone to infections. Cilia function of the nose is less effective in extreme and dry temperatures and more prone for infections." He said On precautions, he said that we should hydrate properly with balanced nutrition. Avoid outdoor play, especially morning and evening. Avoid junk food and avoid obesity. Vaccination and nutrition are to be taken care. Sleep deprivation is to be avoided with use of sunscreen if exposed to snow and sun and avoid using dry heat (heater in a closed room). (ANI) Ahead of the Pongal festival, potters are busy making pots in Tamil Nadu's Madurai. Potters are making pots of all sizes, shapes and colours as demand is expected to peak this year. This year, the potters are going to do brisk business as compared to the last year. Last year, intermittent rainfall severely affected the process of making earthen pots due to which they are unable to meet the market demand. Pongal is a four-day harvest festival dedicated to the Sun God. To mark the festival, the Pongal sweet dish is prepared and is first offered to the Gods and Goddesses followed, sometimes, with an offering to cows. The Pongal festival is set to start on January 15, which marks the last day of the Tamil month called 'Marghazi'. The first day of the festival is called Bhogi Pongal. The festival is observed over the span of 4 days in the state. The first day of the festival is called the Bhogi festival, the second day is called Thai Pongal; the third day is called Mattu Pongal; the fourth day is called Kaanum Pongal. The winter harvest festival is celebrated across Tamil Nadu with pomp and show. The celebrations, associated with the sun, are celebrated by making colourful Kolams and preparing traditional food in Tamil Nadu. The word 'Pongal' in Tamil means 'to boil', it is also the name of a sweet dish made out of boiled rice, moong dal, milk and jaggery, which is prepared specially to mark the harvest festival. The festival celebrates the harvesting of crops including sugarcane, rice and turmeric and falls around the same time as Lohri and Makar Sankranti in mid-January each year. It is essentially a thanksgiving festival, wherein farmers thank nature, the Sun God and the farm animals for helping in the productions of crops, while other people thank the farmers for producing the crops. (ANI) Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 14 (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday took a veiled dig at Governor RN Ravi without mentioning his name during a Youth wing event organised to remember DMK founder Peraringar Anna. "Today someone is lamenting that the name of Tamil Nadu should not be used. We should not give more importance to such publicity campaigns," Stalin said. Addressing a DMK Youth Wing event on Saturday in Anna Arivalayam, Chennai, Stalin recalled how DMK founder Peraringar Anna attended the event where the name of Madras was changed to Tamil Nadu. "Anna (DMK Founder) participated in the State renaming event though he was ill. During that event, Anna mentioned that his family, senior party leaders and even doctors had advised him not to take part in any meetings. In spite of his illness, he went ahead and attended the event," Stalin said. "Do you know why he attended the event? He had said what is the use of this life if I am not able to attend this event at a time when the name of the Madras is being changed to Tamil Nadu," Stalin recalled. On Wednesday, January 9, the Governor sparked a controversy with his statement that the name 'Thamizhagam' would be more appropriate for the state. Governor Ravi's remark during his customary address at the opening session of the House on Monday, triggered an uproar, especially from the Treasury benches. Legislators of the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress and the VCK, started raising slogans against the Governor and staged a walkout. Congress and Communist parties and other allies protested outside Raj Bhavan against TN Governor RN Ravi on Friday over the speech row. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday, suspended the party leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy over his controversial remarks against the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. DMK informed that it has 'temporarily suspended' Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for "party unlawful activities". (ANI) Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming India with technology, every aspect and dimension of Indian Railways is on the path of transformation. The Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology was speaking to ANI during the pre-launch inspection of the newly built Vande Bharat Express train at Secunderabad railway station. Vaishnaw said that Prime Minister's vision for transforming railways is a huge vision. Every aspect, every dimension of railways whether it is stations, new train sets, new locomotives, new types of signalling, KAWATCH system, everything is getting transformed. He further added that the station where we are standing Secunderabad has been redesigned for becoming a world-class station. The tender has been awarded and very soon the work is going to start. The pre-work is already started. the train that you're seeing, the Vande Bharat train. This is a world-class train designed fully in India, designed by Indian engineers, and manufactured by Indian engineers. So this is a great, great, great leap forward. Reacting to the flagging off of the Vande Bharat Express service by PM Modi from Secundrabad to Vishakapatnam on Sunday morning on the auspicious occasion of Pongal, Vaishnaw said, "It's a very big gift and I thank Prime Minister for this hugely popular train, a modern train, which is world-class, which will connect the two Telugu-speaking people and the major cities which are getting connected tomorrow. It will be a big boon for this region." Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER, G Kishan Reddy was also with him during the inspection of the train. On this occasion, Reddy said that this train will start from my constituency, Secunderabad to Vishakhapatnam. More than 50 lakh people are from my home constituency-based, and the maximum belongs to Andhra Pradesh. "This train is very beneficial for those people, as well as tourism point of view also. When you will travel by this train, the city is Warangal, where the 100 pillars temple is situated. The temple got UNESCO recognition recently. After that, you will teach Vijaywada, which is the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. Then you can reach Rajahmundry and Vishakhapattanam. Therefore, this train is very beneficial for tourists as well as domestic passengers," he added.Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express train connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam on Sunday via video conferencing. It is pertinent to note that the train will be the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be introduced by Indian Railways and will be the first one connecting the two Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km. It will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal and Secunderabad stations in Telangana. The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities and will provide a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience to rail users. (ANI) The caller has been identified as Jayesh Kantha, a jailed gangster, serving imprisonment in Belagavi jail, who made threatening calls to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's office from inside the jail, police said. "Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was being threatened from jail. the caller is a notorious gangster and murder accused Jayesh Kantha, who is imprisoned in Karnataka's Belagavi jail. He threatened Gadkari's office by using the phone illegally inside the jail, Nagpur Commissioner of Police said, adding that a team of Nagpur Police has left for Belagavi for further probe. The jail administration has recovered, a diary from the accused, which has been seized. Nagpur Police have asked for production remand for the accused. The office of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Maharashtra received threat calls on Saturday, the Nagpur Police said. In response to the alleged threat calls, the Nagpur Police later beefed up the security around Union minister Nitin Gadkari. According to the police, the office received three calls at 11.25 am, 11.32 am, and 12.32 pm at the landline number of Gadkari's office from the BSNL network-registered number. The call records are being obtained, it added. "There were three phone calls. The details are being found, and our crime branch will work on the CDR (Call Detail Record). An analysis is underway and the existing security has been increased. The security at the venue of the program of minister Gadkari has also beefed up," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rahul Madane, Nagpur said on Saturday. (ANI) As a mark of respect to the selfless duty of the ex-servicemen and their sacrifices towards the nation and solidarity towards next of kin of the bravehearts, the seventh Armed Forces Veterans' Day was celebrated across the country on Saturday. The celebrations were held at nine locations, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presiding over the main function in Dehradun. Addressing a huge rally of veterans as part of the event, the Minister expressed gratitude to the soldiers who have protected the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country with unmatched courage and sacrifice and paid rich tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty. He commended the serving as well as retired armed forces personnel who ensure the country's national security. Rajnath Singh made special mention of the freedom fighters, soldiers and veterans of Uttarakhand, who have displayed indomitable courage and dedication to safeguard national interests. "Heroes like Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali who supported the freedom fighters hailed from Uttarakhand. During the Kargil war, the soldiers of the state played a crucial role by standing strong against the enemy and protecting the country with unshakeable spirit," he said. Singh was of the view that pension, medical and other facilities being provided to the veterans are just a small token of the country's respect towards the sacrifices and commitment they have made, assuring them of the government's full support to their welfare. "Every soldier of today is a respected veteran of tomorrow. It is our duty to ensure their well-being and satisfaction," he said. Earlier, at a solemn wreath laying ceremony, the Minister dedicated Shaurya Sthal in Dehradun Cantonment to the Armed Forces. Along with civil and military dignitaries as well as the veterans, Singh laid a wreath to honour the supreme sacrifice of brave armed forces personnel from Uttarakhand. On the occasion, the event at Delhi was held at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt which was attended by the three service chiefs, CISC and secretary, Ex-Servicemen Welfare along with other senior officers of the armed forces. Speaking on the occasion, the three service chiefs highlighted the important welfare measures undertaken by various welfare departments under the veterans' vertical of armed forces. The service chiefs highlighted the recognition of the selfless service rendered by the veterans in nation building. The "We for Veterans" anthem was played at all public places as an ode to the veterans. --IANS kvm/pgh ( 416 Words) 2023-01-14-21:10:02 (IANS) According to recent research that looked at how social ties between close social circles and wider groups connect to physical and psychological well-being, the time people spent with family over the holiday season may improve their health. Researchers at the University of Kent, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), and Coventry University led the study. It employed self-reported data from more than 13,000 persons in 122 countries that were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic's initial wave. family bonds washed hands at least "a lot", compared to 32 percent who were not strongly bonded with their family. Moreover, 54 per cent of people not bonded with their family reported they never wore a mask. Bonded people were vastly over-represented among those who engaged in health behaviours. Despite people with strong family bonds constituting only 27% of the entire sample, they constituted 73% of those who engaged in social distancing, 35% of those who washed hands, and 36% of those who wore a mask "a lot" or more. The study also found that having strong bonds with both close social circles and extended groups is associated with better mental health and wellbeing. Importantly, the greater number of groups people had strong bonds with, the higher their engagement in health behaviours and the better their reported psychological wellbeing was, with less anxiety and depression. The research recommends that public health messaging focus on smaller networks as well as multiple groups, particularly in times of crisis when individuals should be encouraged to share their positive health behaviours with their close social circles. It is also suggested that healthcare systems can reduce the reliance on pharmaceutical treatments by using social prescribing to support individuals who do not have these bonds in their life. The results of the study, which included a broad range of countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil and Peru, have implications for tackling negative physical and mental health effects from a global perspective. The study goes beyond the remit of traditional approaches in psychology by reaching so much of the global population. Anthropologist at the University of Kent, Dr Martha Newson, said: 'This research speaks to the universal need to belong - this is one of the reasons we felt it was so important to include a truly diverse sample from across the globe. Wherever you are in the world, other people matter to you. 'We found that having lots of groups was important to encourage better health behaviours, including bonding to abstract groups like your country or government, but most important of all are our closest friends and family -- groups that we have likely recognised as being important since the beginning of human history.' Senior Lecturer in Psychology at NTU's School of Social Sciences, Dr Bahar Tuncgenc, added: 'At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can be key to receiving support. We look out to people we trust and identify with as we decide what course of action to take. That's why our close bonds with family - the people many of us share significant life events with and learn from - can promote healthy behaviours. 'At the same time, having strong social connections - no matter how abstract or distant these might be - is crucial for promoting mental health. Our research shows that close and extended social bonds offer different sources of support and direction.' Assistant Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations at Coventry University, Dr Valerie van Mulukom, said: "In the West, we tend to think of ourselves as individuals who have to survive and conquer the world on our own. Our research demonstrates that in fact, humans are very much social animals, who benefit from, and rely on, their communities in more ways than one. In challenging times this is even more pronounced. It is advisable for government policies to consider these psychological needs and mechanisms and involve local authorities and grassroots organisations for maximum efficiency and wellbeing in times of disaster." (ANI) The Voice of the Global South Summit is an excellent opportunity to bring to the forefront of global politics the most pressing issues of the developing world, said Ecuador's envoy to India, Francisco Teodoro Maldonado Guevara on Friday. India hosted a two-day Voice of Global South Summit on January 12-13. The Summit was held in a virtual format, with 10 sessions in total. It saw the participation of Leaders and Ministers from 125 countries of the Global South. "The Voice of the Global South Summit is an excellent opportunity to bring to the forefront of global politics and decision-making, the most pressing and urgent issues of the developing world, from the particular perspective of each developing country," ambassador Guevara said at the Voice of Global South Summit. "We congratulate the government of India for this unique initiative which Ecuador welcomes and hopes will result in a productive dialogue and plan of action between the most developed world and the global south countries in the context of the upcoming G20 meetings and beyond," he added. In a press statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India convened this one of a kind Summit to focus international attention on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world. This is particularly relevant as the world passes through a difficult period marked by challenges to health, food security, affordable access to energy, climate finance and technologies, and economic growth, MEA said. The ministry said this summit is a timely reminder of what is at stake for over three-fourths of the planet's most vulnerable population to the deleterious impact of the several interlinked risks we confront. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the Inaugural Leaders' session on 12 January. This was followed by eight Ministerial-level thematic segments dedicated to addressing the most pressing concerns of the developing world. The Summit wrapped up on 13 January with a Concluding Leaders' Session also hosted by Prime Minister. The participating Leaders appreciated and congratulated the leadership of the Prime Minister in hosting the Summit at a crucial juncture. They expressed hope that the Summit would serve as a catalyst for building a prosperous and inclusive future for the world that considers the Global South's needs. The participating countries also recognized with appreciation that the Summit produced fruitful conversations and charted a new path through an action-oriented agenda that strives to address their priorities and challenges. They underscored the agenda and quest for solutions to global challenges must include the voices of its biggest stakeholders, the Global South. (ANI) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi will travel to Ukraine next week, where he will visit nuclear power plants to deploy experts, the IAEA said. "Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will be in Ukraine next week to establish a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts at all the country's nuclear power facilities, significantly stepping up the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help prevent a nuclear accident during the current military conflict," the UN agency said in a statement. The Director General will travel to the South Ukraine and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) as well as to the Chornobyl site to launch the missions consisting of two IAEA experts at each of the facilities. It said that a new team of three IAEA experts arrived at the Zaporizhzhia NPP this week to replace the previous team that had been there for several weeks . "It is the fifth IAEA team at the site since the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) was established on 1 September last year," the agency noted. The IAEA chief will also meet with officials in Kyiv during his visit to Ukraine to discuss the creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP, according to the agency. "I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible. My consultations with Ukraine and Russia are making progress, albeit not as fast as they should. I remain hopeful that we will be able to agree and implement the zone soon," Grossi said. Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the ZNPP is Europe's largest nuclear power plant by the number of units and output. After the start of the Ukraine conflict in February last year, the station and surrounding area went under the control of the Russian forces and have since been shelled multiple times. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attacks. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for a 'human-centric globalisation' at the Voice of Global South Summit, one that does not create a climate crisis or debt crisis. "We all appreciate the principle of globalisation. India's philosophy has always seen the world as one family. However, developing countries desire a globalization that does not create climate crisis or debt crisis," the Prime Minister said in his opening remarks at the Concluding Leaders' Session of the Voice of Global South Summit. India hosted a two-day Voice of Global South Summit on January 12 and 13. The Summit was held in a virtual format, with 10 sessions in total. It saw the participation of Leaders and Ministers from 125 countries of the Global South. PM Modi stressed that India wants a globalisation that does not lead to unequal distribution of vaccines or over-concentrated global supply chains. "We want a globalisation that brings prosperity and well-being to humanity as a whole. In short, we want a 'human-centric globalisation'," he added. PM Modi announced the "Global South Centre of Excellence" to undertake research on developing solutions or best-practices that would help the members of the developing world. "This institution will undertake research on development solutions or best-practices of any of our countries, which can be scaled and implemented in other members of the Global South," he added. The Prime Minister said India's G20 Presidency will attempt to voice the views of the Global South on these important issues. "In its development partnerships, India's approach has been consultative, outcome-oriented, demand-driven, people-centric, and respectful of the sovereignty of partner countries," he added. In a press statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India convened this one-of-a-kind Summit to focus international attention on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world. PM Modi presided over the Inaugural Leaders' session on January 12. This was followed by eight Ministerial-level thematic segments dedicated to addressing the most pressing concerns of the developing world. The Summit wrapped up on January 13 with a Concluding Leaders' Session also hosted by Prime Minister. The participating leaders appreciated and congratulated the leadership of PM Modi in hosting the Summit at a crucial juncture. They expressed hope that the Summit would serve as a catalyst for building a prosperous and inclusive future for the world that considers the Global South's needs. (ANI) Chinese enterprises give helping hand to Nigeria in developing digital economy 18:01, January 13, 2023 By Jiang Xuan ( People's Daily A report recently released by the GSMA, an international association of mobile operators, indicated that by the end of 2021, more than 500 million people had subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing 46 percent of the population. There will be 613 million total subscribers by 2025, representing 50 percent of the region's population, according to the report titled "The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022." Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya will account for more than half of the new subscribers, the report said. More than half of the mobile phones on the shelves of a mobile phone store in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, are smartphones of Chinese brands. (People's Daily/Jiang Xuan) With a total population of more than 210 million, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. The country has a young population and the median age is around 18 years, boasting enormous potential for consumption. Regarding digitalization as an important tool for boosting the economy, the Nigerian government has taken a series of measures to advance digitalization. In August 2019, the Nigerian government rolled out the National e-Government Master Plan, starting to implement the Nigeria Digital Governance Foundation Building Project 2020-2026. Two months later, Nigeria's Ministry of Communications got a new name - the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. This change showed that Nigeria started to take intensified efforts to promote the digital economy. In March 2020, Nigeria unveiled the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), putting relevant telecom infrastructure projects on the list of the nation's key infrastructure projects. In June 2022, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Presidential Council on Digital Economy and E-government, pledging to improve the ability of the government to develop, apply, and deploy digital technologies, improve efficiency and transparency of the government and promote business facilitation. Logos of Chinese mobile phone brands are seen everywhere at Banex Plaza, a popular shopping center in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. (People's Daily/Jiang Xuan) High costs and poor accessibility to broadband Internet services and mobile Internet devices used to hinder the development of Nigeria's digital economy. In recent years, many Chinese smartphone brands with competitive prices and quality started to enter the Nigerian market, driving the development of the local digital economy. According to government data, smartphone shipments in Nigeria reached about 8 million in 2022, with Chinese brands among the top-ranked brands in terms of market share. Transsion Holdings, a China-based smartphone manufacturer, accounted for about 60 percent of the market share of Nigeria in 2022, and other Chinese smartphone brands including Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo together accounted for about 20 percent of the market share. Ikenna Emewu, a Nigerian media professional, introduced that as a vital part of the digital economy, smartphones account for more than 84 percent of the total Internet connections in Africa. Chinese enterprises have made smartphones affordable for more African citizens. Statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission showed that by June 2022, there were more than 150 million mobile Internet users in Nigeria, and the Internet penetration rate stood at around 70 percent. People shop for mobile phones at a store in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. (People's Daily/Jiang Xuan) In recent years, Chinese enterprises have assisted Nigeria in speeding up the construction of communication infrastructure. Chinese telecom giant Huawei has helped Nigeria design and build the "galaxy backbone network," which underpins the communications network that has been basically established in Nigeria. The 5G network deployed by Huawei in Nigeria will further improve Nigeria's network infrastructure. Chinese enterprises have actively invested in Nigeria's Internet finance, shopping, movie, and music sectors, firmly supporting the development of the country's Internet industry. Stephen Oni, an Internet media entrepreneur in Nigeria, expressed that after entering Lagos, the economic hub of Nigeria, which is also known as Africa's "Silicon Valley," Chinese enterprises have helped the city become the most invested market for startups in Africa where many renowned local Internet enterprises have emerged, helping Nigeria's digital economy move toward prosperity. Lakemfa Owei, an international affairs expert from Nigeria, believes that Nigeria's digital economy enjoys a very broad prospect for development and Chinese experience is very helpful. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming) Cash-strapped Pakistan has once again managed to mobilise international assistance for disaster relief efforts to help mitigate the impact of last year's devastating floods, Geo-politik reported. On Monday, Pakistan received commitments worth more than USD 8 billion as part of the UN conference on climate to help the country recover from damage incurred in the floods IN 2022. According to the Geo-politik, Pakistan, which has severely mismanaged its economy, has now used the pretext of flood devastation and consequent humanitarian crisis to get international assistance. "It had come to a default-like situation in August 2022, even when the impact of flood was moderate. By the end of the year it again came to a similar situation, although this time it had a pretext, i.e., huge flood devastation to seek international assistance commitments," the report added. On Tuesday, Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister said that the Geneva conference was a big success for the country. "We thank the global and national media for highlighting the causes of humanity and climate change", she was quoted as saying by Pakistan's Daily Times newspaper. The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, co-hosted by the UN brought together Governments, leaders from the public and private sectors and civil society to secure international support for Pakistan after the devastating floods of 2022. Addressing the Geneva moot, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought "massive investments" for Pakistan to help it recover from damage caused by devastating floods. Guterres made this appeal in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as the south Asian country continues to reel from the impact of disastrous floods that submerged more than one-third of the country. "The epic floods were nothing short of a monsoon on steroids - as I mentioned in my visit - submerging one-third of the country, three times the area of my own country, Portugal," the UN chief said at the International Conference on a Climate Resilient Pakistan. "A terrifying wall of water killed more than 1,700 people, injured thousands more, and affected a total of more than 33 million, displacing 8 million people. It swept over roads, ruined millions of acres of agricultural land, and damaged or destroyed 2 million homes. And it pushed back 9 million people to the brink of poverty," he added. (ANI) Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party's coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League (Q) have emerged victorious as Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi has signed a summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly after successfully proving a majority in a vote of confidence this week. The PML-N-led federal government along with the 'powerful circles' were unable to refrain Punjab CM from taking a vote of confidence in the Punjab Assembly despite strong pressure tactics, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. All efforts by his party to convince the lawmakers of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to switch their loyalties had been in vain, a PML-N leader told The Express Tribune. According to the Pakistani newspaper, the leader also conceded that the Punjab CM taking a vote of confidence was a major surprise for his party. On Thursday, Punjab CM Parvez Elahi signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. "I Parvez Elahi, chief minister of Punjab, hereby advise you to dissolve the provincial assembly," he said in a brief one-line advice addressed to Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, as quoted by Dawn newspaper. This comes after Punjab Chief Minister proved his majority in the provincial assembly, winning the confidence vote in Thursday's early hours, after weeks of political turbulence in the most populous province in Pakistan. The vote of confidence started after Wednesday midnight and concluded with the PTI and PML-Q showing a majority with the support of 186 lawmakers, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. This vote was held after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled that the Punjab Governor had the authority to ask the chief minister to seek the trust of the house even during an ongoing session. Earlier on Wednesday, the LHC had said that the chief minister should have the support of 186 lawmakers -- the required number for being elected as the CM -- round the clock. As many as 186 members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) voted in support of the Punjab Chief Minister on a resolution moved by Punjab Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and PTI leader Raja Basharat. The News International reported that the opposition boycotted the session, claiming that the pre-requisite legal requirements were not met and that the Punjab Governor's order of vote of confidence was sub judice. After winning the vote of confidence, Elahi thanked the leaders of PTI, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) for supporting him during today's session. He asked the PML-N party to accept defeat. (ANI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held bilateral discussions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a recent visit to the UAE, exchanging views on regional, political and security matters. However, there was no mention of Kashmir in the joint statement between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. According to the joint statement, the two sides discussed initiatives to enhance cooperation in political, defence, economic, commercial and cultural areas, developing joint ventures, and strengthening collaboration in the human resource sector. Sharif also thanked UAE President Al Nahyan for the humanitarian aid the country offered to Pakistan to tackle floods. However, Pakistan refrained from raising any issue related to Kashmir during the talks. "With a view to developing tangible and meaningful bilateral cooperation in key areas, the two sides agreed to intensify consultation and coordination geared to strengthening strategic partnership and cooperation, particularly in the field of information and communication technologies and work together for bridging the digital divide," the joint statement read, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif conducted an official visit to the United Arab Emirates at the invitation of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on January 12-13. This was Sharif's third visit after assuming office. "The two sides signed a Memoranda of Understanding in the field of combating human trafficking, information exchange, and between the diplomatic academies of both countries," the joint statement said. Recently, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raked up the issue of Kashmir during a meeting convened to debate the New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism (NORM) under India's December presidency of UNSC. Pakistan's foreign minister said the UN Security Council (UNSC) is primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security. "Multilateral solutions under the umbrella of the security council offer the most effective approach to promoting peace and resolving conflicts. Parties to a dispute can not advocate multilateral process one day, multilateral reforms one day and insist on bilateral avenues the next and ultimately impose unilateral actions," he said in a reference to Jammu and Kashmir without naming them. Bhutto said Pakistan firmly believes that major security problems, including those in its region, can be effectively and peacefully resolved through the active involvement of the Security Council. "Multilateralism should be based on universal and consistent adherence to the UN charter," he added. Amidst calls for India's inclusion in Security Council, Bhutto said, "Adding new permanent members to UNSC will numerically reduce the opportunities for the vast majority of the UN member states to be present on the Security Council. We must adhere to sovereign equality of all, not superiority of some." Since New Delhi repealed Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019, to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status, tensions between India and Pakistan have risen. This was not the first time Pakistan used the UN, a multilateral forum, to rake up Kashmir. Bhutto's statement at the UN over Kashmir did not receive any support from the G20 countries and was countered strongly by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Jaishankar said the credibility of the UN depends on its effective response to the "key challenges of our time be it pandemic, climate change, conflicts or terrorism". He continued, "hile searching for solutions, our discourse must never accept the normalisation of such threats. The question of justifying what the world regards as unacceptable should not even arise." "That certainly applies to state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. Nor can hosting Osama Bin Laden and attacking a neighbouring Parliament serve as credentials to sermonize before this council," he said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. (ANI) The assailants attacked the police station in Peshawar's Sarband area with long-range rifles and hand grenades in the early hours, ARY News reported. The deceased were identified as DSP Badaber Sardar Hussain, Irshad and Jehanzeb, according to ARY News. The attack on the Sarband police station was confirmed by senior superintendent of police operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi. He stated that "terrorists attacked the police station from two sides with hand grenades and sniper rifles equipped with night vision goggles," as per the local media. 14 police officers were present at the police station at the time of the attack, according to SSP operations, and at least six to eight terrorists were part of the attack. The attackers, however, fled the scene later. At least six police officers were killed in a similar attack on November 16 in the Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Wanda Shahab Khel neighbourhood, ARY News reported. With the rise of TTP in Pakistan, attacks on security personnel and explosions across the country have become a regular affair. (ANI) A local TLP activist named Irfan Iliyas Butt on Friday night criticised the district administration's police after complaining to Assistant Commissioner Wazirabad that the Ahmadi community had built the now desecrated building resembling a nearby mosque with minarets. He has sought action under Sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Speaking to The Express Tribune, a representative of the Ahmadi community condemned the action, calling it "tantamount to discrimination against them as well as against the Supreme Court's verdict." It is important to remember that police also toppled minarets from an Ahmadi community place of worship in Gujranwala last month, The Express Tribune reported. With mob attacks and killings becoming a regular affair against the Ahmadiyya community, Pakistan has become a country where the people of this community are subjected to extensive persecution including hate speech and violence with at least 13 killed and 40 wounded from the community since 2017, according to a media report. The Geneva Daily, an online publication that provides in-depth coverage of issues relating to human rights violations and child abuse, reported that the approximately 4 million-strong Pakistani community is subjected to extensive torture, religious persecution by self-declared Islamic leaders, and discrimination by institutions and the general public. Pakistan's Ahmadi Muslim community had faced consistent systematic discrimination, harassment and attacks since 1974 when then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced a Constitutional Amendment which specifically targeted the community by declaring them non-Muslims. In 1984, General Zia-ul-Haq introduced the Ordinance, which further stripped the community of the right to identify themselves as Muslims and the freedom to practice their religion freely. (ANI) President of Peru Dina Boluarte apologized for the deaths reported in Peru due to protests across the country. She, however, said that she will not step down, Qatar-based TV Network Aljazeera reported. Boluarte while speaking in a late-night address on Friday, lamented the violence that has killed more than 40 people since December in Peru. Most of those killed were protestors, killed during clashes with security forces. A police officer was burnt alive after the vehicle he was in was torched during the violence. Boluarte in her address on Friday said: "Some voices that have come from the violent and radical factions are asking for my resignation, provoking the population into chaos, disorder and destruction." "I will not resign. My commitment is with Peru," she said. "I cannot stop reiterating my regret for the deaths of Peruvians in these protests. I apologise for this situation," she added, as quoted by TV Network Aljazeera. There have been protests in the South American nation since the country's former President Pedro Castillo was removed from office in December and detained after he tried to dissolve Congress illegally. Later he was replaced by Boluarte. Boluarte while pointing out the difficulties Peru's neighbour Chile has had in drafting and approving a new constitution, rejected the possibility of calling a constitutional assembly as demanded by the protesters. "That cannot happen overnight," she said. The former president's supporters thus marched and barricaded streets across the country for weeks, demanding that new elections be held and for Boluarte to step down. Peru's police earlier on Friday announced the arrest of Rocio Leandro, a union leader from the south-central Ayacucho region with supposed links to Maoist rebels, who is accused of financing the protests and recruiting demonstrators. According to Police spokesman Oscar Arriola, Leandro's arrest proved that remnants of the Shining Path Maoist rebels were involved in the protests. Arriola claimed that Leandro was a former Shining Path member known as "Comrade Cusi". According to authorities, protestors continued to mount roadblocks in ten of the country's 25 departments. On Thursday, authorities closed air and rail links to Peru's famed Machu Picchu tourist site for the second day as protests flared up leading to clashes with police. Several regional governors and professional associations, including lawyers and teachers, have joined the calls for Boluarte to resign, reported Aljazeera. (ANI) US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the foundation of their relationship "unbreakable". They said that in collaboration with India and Australia, they will ensure that the Quad will continue to be a force for good and will benefit the Indo-Pacific and the world, according to the joint statement released by US and Japan. "With an unbreakable bilateral relationship as our foundation, we will also collaborate with others, in the region and beyond, for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific and the world: Joint Statement of the United States and Japan," the statement reads. "Together with Australia and India, we'll ensure Quad continues to be a force for good, committed to bringing tangible benefits to the region, including by delivering results on global health, cybersecurity, climate, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime domain awareness," the statement added. The two countries said this in a joint statement after the meeting between the US and Japanese leaders at the White House on Friday. The statement further said that they will support the ASEAN centrality and unity. US and Japan are committed to strengthening the trilateral cooperation between Japan, Korea and the US in terms of security and other domains. "And we will bolster our growing collaboration in the Pacific Islands, including through the partners in the Blue Pacific," the statement reads. US and Japan reiterated their commitment to avoiding conflict across the Taiwan Strait, according to a joint statement. "We emphasize that our basic positions on Taiwan remain unchanged, and reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community," the White House said in a statement posted on its website. "We encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues," the statement added. Taiwan has been governed independently from China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan -- a self-governed island-- maintains that it is an autonomous country. Meanwhile, Beijing opposes all forms of contact of foreign states with Taipei. The situation around Taiwan escalated after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August which angered China. In successive months, France, Japan and other western countries also sent their delegations to the island, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. After a bilateral meeting here, both Biden and Kishida directed their teams to strengthen cooperation on developing and effectively using Japan's counterstrike. Biden and Kishida also urged China to do its part to enable public health officials worldwide to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and identify potential new variants by reporting adequate transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data regarding the disease's spread. "We also call on China to report adequate transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data regarding the spread of COVID-19, to enable public health officials around the world to be prepared to reduce the spread and identify any potential new variants," the statement read. In the end, Biden congratulated Japan on the start of its two-year term on the UN Security Council and on its presidency for the month of January. "We begin 2023 together as the closest of allies and friends, newly committed to achieving peace and prosperity, not only through our words but through our actions. The times demand no less," according to the statement. (ANI) Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi has concluded her two-day fruitful visit to Cuba and highlighted the willingness of both countries to continue strengthening bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation, on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations on January 12. The visit had its central moment with the meeting with the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, who welcomed her and said, "We consider your visit as a sign of the will and willingness of the Government of India to continue strengthening and expanding relations with Cuba, which is also our will and our desire". During the fraternal dialogue, the President thanked MoS Lekhi for the first shipment of rice, which is yet to come to Havana, and it was acquired with a line of credit granted by the government of that country. Likewise, he highlighted the presence of that nation in the National Economic and Social Development Plan that Cuba has drawn up until 2030, as part of which, India participates in critical programs in the food, pharmaceutical industry and renewable energy sources. "I ratify our willingness to continue expanding and strengthening our political, diplomatic, economic, trade and cooperation ties, and we would be interested in opening up other areas for cooperation, particularly biotechnology and environmental issues," the Cuban leader stressed. After expressing his gratitude for the "support that the Government and people of India have always given us in Cuba's struggle against the blockade", President Diaz-Canel shared with Lekhi the interest of Cuba in counting on India's support to promote, from the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Group of 77+China, the discussion of a group of global problems and challenges currently faced by the nations of the world. The Minister of State conveyed her country's willingness to continue strengthening the existing ties while referring to various areas where these ties can be expanded, as they are issues of common interest. Previously, the Union minister was received by the President of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo; by the Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Penalver; and by the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso. After meeting Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, MoS Lekhi said, "Had excellent meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Acting @CubaMINREX Gerardo Penalver Portal and reviewed the full range of relations between India and Cuba. Discussed ways of enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest." She also paid floral tributes to the monuments in Havana dedicated to Cuba's National Hero, Jose Marti, and to the leader of Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi. Finally, she concluded his visit with a meeting at the Panchakarma Center of Havana, which promotes and offers Ayurvedic medicine services. (ANI) Retirees in China's Guangzhou staged a protest in front of the Social Security Bureau as their pensions and medical insurance payments have been reduced "Guangzhou retirees protesting in front of the Social Security Bureau as their pensions and medical insurance payments were reduced," tweeted Jennifer Zeng, an independent journalist based in New York, USA, on her official Twitter handle @jenniferzeng97. Zeng wrote that local government in China is facing financial problems now. "Local governments in #China are having financial problems now," Zeng tweeted on Saturday. Zeng provides insights about China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to Zang's Twitter bio. The Straits Times recently reported that the COVID surge in China has hit its southern commercial hub Guangzhou, denting its economic prestige as it faces a difficult road to recovery. Three weeks after Xi Jinping, China's top leader tried to reinvigorate China's stalled economy by abruptly abandoning his stringent pandemic restrictions, downtown Guangzhou is faced with an unpredictable - and uncontrolled - epidemic and financial uncertainty, people and companies are spending cautiously, suggesting that the road to recovery will take time, the report said. According to an Inside Over report, amid the surge in COVID cases and economic crisis in the country, China is stuck in a dilemma as its COVID policies are saving people's lives but at the same time, impacting its economy, effectively putting the second largest economy in a "double whammy". According to the news report, there are predictions that China is expected to witness more than a million COVID-related death in the coming days. At the same time, the Chinese government is struggling to impose restrictions due to its negative effect on the country's economy. According to analysts, China's economic growth will fall to 2.8-3.2 per cent this year, which would be the lowest in 50 years. (ANI) It is now time for the White House and the US Congress to recognise the destabilization that Turkey's drone exports represent and sanction Turkey's defence industry, wrote Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official for Washington, D.C. based news publication 19fortyfive. Turkish drones undermine security in Africa's Great Lakes region to the Caucasus and from Indian Kashmir to Libya, Rubin wrote. According to Rubin, the US Congress should consider imposing sanctions on Baykar and other Turkish firms for promoting Erdogan's strategy of using drones to create chaos and then profit from it. A Turkish Air Force cargo plane on January 6, 2023, landed at Goma's airport in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The plane had equipment the Turkish military wanted to provide the Congolese army as it increasingly faces off with local groups in the region. The equipment included combat drones that, according to Rashid Abdi of the Nairobi-based Sahan Research, could upset the strategic balance between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and inflame tension between the two countries at a time when Secretary of State Antony Blinken has worked overtime to calm disputes, wrote Rubin for 19fortyfive. According to the report, Turkey seeks diplomatic and financial benefits by offering military equipment. This is what Turkey did in Libya, exporting drones, threatening adversaries and trying to get financial rewards. Turkey's defence industry generated USD 4 billion in sales in 2022. Turkish officials are proud of their defence industry. "We are determined to make 2023 a turning point in the defence industry," Erdogan said on January 9, 2023. (ANI) BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday sent congratulatory letters to each other on the coming Spring Festival, a traditional festival for both countries. In his message, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, extended his most sincere greetings and blessings for the Spring Festival to Trong, the CPV as well as the Vietnamese government and people on behalf of the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people. The year 2022 is of crucial importance to the respective development of the two parties as well as the two countries, and also a milestone for the China-Vietnam relationship, said Xi. He noted that the CPC held its 20th National Congress successfully, putting forward the Party's missions and tasks in the new era and on the new journey. Under the leadership of the CPV Central Committee, the Vietnamese people have fully implemented the guiding principles of the CPV's 13th national congress, Xi said. Shortly after the conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi said, Trong paid a successful visit to China, during which the two countries issued a joint statement on further strengthening and deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Noting that relevant departments and sub-national authorities of the two parties as well as of the two countries have been striving to implement the broad consensus reached between the two sides, Xi said he believes it will consolidate the political mutual trust and traditional friendship between China and Vietnam, and improve the wellbeing of their people. Xi pointed out that at the beginning of the New Year, everything takes on a new look. Looking ahead to 2023, Xi said he is ready to stay in close communication with Trong and jointly steer the course for the sustained, sound and steady development of China-Vietnam relations. China and Vietnam are a community with a shared future that bears strategic significance and Vietnam is a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy, Xi said. China is ready to work together with Vietnam to enhance synergy of their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, enhance communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and make contributions to advancing the noble cause of peace and development of mankind, Xi added. In his message, Trong said that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core and under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CPC successfully held its 20th National Congress in the past year, which was an extremely important event in the political life of the Chinese people. Trong expressed confidence that under the leadership of the CPC, the brotherly Chinese people will successfully fulfill all the goals and visions set forth at the 20th CPC National Congress, build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, and march toward the realization of the Second Centenary Goal. Under the guidance of a series of consensus reached by the general secretaries of the two parties, Vietnam-China relations have maintained a positive momentum of development and made important progress, Trong said, adding that his official visit to China with a high-level delegation of the Vietnamese party and government after the 20th CPC National Congress was a success. Trong said he is ready to work with Xi to guide the departments and sub-national authorities of both sides to implement the agreements and consensus reached during the visit, conduct strategic communications on the theories and practices of socialist construction of the two countries, and chart the course and set out strategic plans to ensure that the development of relations between the two parties and two countries reaches new highs. He wished the CPC continued growth, the People's Republic of China prosperity, and the brotherly Chinese people a happy and peaceful New Year! Nations must combat and defeat terrorists and their masters and Pakistan is going weaker day by day because she acts like a non-serious child, said United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) spokesperson Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan. The UKPNP spokesperson is currently on a two-week visit to Canada. He attended a reception organised in Canada's Calgary where he made the remarks. As per a video shared by the UKPNP on its official Facebook page, UKPNP North America, Khan briefed that growing extremism is a danger not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also in Canada. He said, "We must combat and defeat the terrorist and their masters." "Pakistan is going day by day weak just because she acts like a non-serious child and she will face more consequences. We must fight these ill-minded and roughs," he added. According to the official Facebook page, Khan is expected to visit other cities including Toronto In December last year, Human rights activist and chairman of UKPNP, Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, raised concerns over the deprivation of basic rights of the people in Gilgit Baltistan. Taking a dig at Pakistan, the rights activist said Gilgit Baltistan is part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan's policy is aimed at depriving the people of their fundamental rights and propagation against Indian involvement. "Gilgit Baltistan is part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and people are deprived of basic rights. It's Pakistani policy and fashioned to deprive people and propagation against Indian involvement. Pakistani is a country that always used religious sentiments," Shaukat Ali Kashmiri wrote on Twitter. In October, last year, the party organised a protest in PoK and other parts of the world in favour of marking October 22 as a 'black day'. The day commemorates the Pakistan Army's tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. The UKPNP stands against Pakistan's bid to change the constitutional status of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, saying instead of fighting for the interest of the ruling elite in the name of identity, the focus of the oppressed locals should be on the establishment of a society free of exploitation. (ANI) A district and sessions court on Saturday sent the suspect in a case of "illegal and unwarranted" leak of tax information of former Pakistan Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa's family members to two-day physical remand, local media reported. Suspected journalist Shahid Aslam was handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir announced the reserved verdict on the agency's plea seeking remand, The News reported. "There is evidence against Shahid Aslam, which shows that the suspect was leaking information," said the prosecutor. Meanwhile, the suspect denied all the charges against him, saying that there is no evidence against him as he has done nothing wrong, The News reported. Aslam said that he has been covering FBR stories for a long time. "I am a journalist and I know my professional duties," he added. The prosecutor questioned why Aslam was not providing the password for his laptop. The judge remarked that it was not wrong to get information as a journalist. At this, the prosecutor said that the suspects involved in leaking FBR information have repeatedly named Aslam. In response, Aslam's counsel said the court should determine whether Aslam was arrested through a proper procedure, The News reported. "Can the statements provided by the suspects - arrested earlier in connection with the leak - be authentic," questioned the counsel. He said it was not right to arrest Aslam on the basis of the mere statements of suspects, adding that he has been under arrest for the last 24 hours. The lawyer asked the court to discharge the case against the journalist. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the judge sent the journalist to two-day physical remand. On November 21, 2022, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the "illegal and unwarranted" leakage of tax information of Gen Bajwa's family, The News reported. "This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides," a statement from the Finance Division read. A day later, Dar shared that he has received the interim report related to the leak of Gen (retd) Bajwa's income tax records, adding that they have traced some people involved in the act. The finance czar shared that one person involved in the leak is from Lahore and another from Rawalpindi. However, he added that there is a possibility that some of the individuals involved may have the authorisation to look at the income tax records as there is a "circle" in Rawalpindi where assessments take place, The News reported. --IANS san/arm ( 440 Words) 2023-01-14-19:46:03 (IANS) In this article, we take a look at 15 countries that produce the most wind energy. If you want to see more countries that produce the most wind energy, go directly to 5 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy. Thanks to increases in economies of scale and advances in technology, wind energy costs have become substantially more competitive. According to market research firm Lazard, the levelized cost of energy of unsubsidized wind has declined 72% from 2009 to 2021, making unsubsidized wind cost competitive with conventional generation technologies in certain areas and circumstances. Wind energy is cost competitive in areas where there is a lot of wind. Wind energy is also variable as wind speeds are also variable. When there is a lot of wind, wind turbines can generate a lot of electricity. When there is no wind, wind turbines can't generate any electricity. While battery storage can eventually help solve the variability of wind, batteries are currently fairly expensive for the amount of energy they need to store. With future advances in technology, battery costs could become more competitive. Lazard writes in its 2021 analysis that when U.S. government subsidies are included, onshore wind is competitive with the marginal cost of nuclear, coal, and combined cycle gas generation. Whereas utility scale wind averages $27/MWh, nuclear averages $29/MWh, coal averages $42/MWh, and combined cycle gas generation averages $24/MWh. Governments subsidize wind energy because wind doesn't emit any carbon. For those of you interested, check out 12 Most Advanced Countries in Renewable Energy. Total Wind Production The total amount of wind energy produced in 2021 grew 17% from 2020 as countries around the world have continued to increase wind capacity to lower their carbon emissions. According to the IEA, China was responsible for nearly 70% of the total wind generation growth in 2021 and United States was responsible for 14% of the growth. Story continues In terms of wind energy growth, 22% of total wind capacity growth in 2021 was offshore and the rest was onshore. Although offshore wind is often more expensive to build, offshore wind can often access areas where there is more wind than onshore sites. Offshore wind also doesn't require any land which isn't the case with onshore wind. As wind energy becomes even more cost competitive versus the grid, the total amount of energy generated by wind is expected to increase substantially further in the future. In addition to being more cost competitive, demand for wind is expected to grow in the future given the need to reduce carbon emissions. According to the IEA, "In 2021 wind electricity generation increased by a record 273 TWh (up 17%). This was 55% higher growth than that achieved in 2020 and was the highest among all renewable power technologies. Such rapid development was possible thanks to an unprecedented increase in wind capacity additions, which reached 113 GW in 2020, compared with just 59 GW in 2019. However, to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, which has approximately 7 900 TWh of wind electricity generation in 2030, it is necessary to raise average annual capacity additions to almost 250 GW, more than double 2020s record growth. Much greater efforts are needed to achieve this level of sustained capacity growth, with the most important areas for improvement being facilitating permitting for onshore wind and cost reductions for offshore wind." In terms of projections, the growth rate of wind capacity in the future will depend on the energy sources' cost competitiveness and government policy. If solar is more cost competitive than wind, for instance, wind might not grow as much. If fusion becomes economical much sooner, wind demand might not be as strong as expected. If governments support wind more than expected, wind growth could be faster. Methodology For our list of 15 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy, we used the 2021 megawatts of installed wind turbine capacity from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. We ranked the top 15 countries based on the 2021 megawatts of installed wind turbine capacity. 15 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy #15 Mexico 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 7,692 Mexico grew its wind capacity 18.6% in 2021 to end the year with around 7.7 gigawatts of installed wind turbine capacity. Given its fast growth rate of installed wind capacity in recent years, Mexico has more than doubled its wind capacity since 2015. If it maintains its growth rate, the country will likely be able to double its wind capacity again in several years. Given its geography, the U.S. Department of Energy believes Mexico has total wind energy potential of 3,670 GW, so there is plenty of room for more growth. #14 Netherlands 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 7,801 Given it has historically been famous for its windmills, the Netherlands, also known as Holland, has substantial wind resources. With government infrastructure policies and market dynamics, the country gets around 15% of its electricity from wind, surpassing all other forms of electricity generation except for natural gas. In 2021, the Netherlands increased its wind capacity by 18.2% to finish the year with installed wind turbine capacity of 7.8 GW. #13 Australia 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 8,951 Australia has increased its wind capacity by an average growth rate per annum of 15.5% from 2011 to 2021 to end the year with 9 GW of installed wind turbine capacity. Given Australia has a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the government plans to increase its wind capacity further. According to Reuters, the government recently opened a zone off the country's southern coast to develop offshore wind farms that could include a giant $6 billion project known as the Star of the South. If all goes to plan, the giant project could produce power around the end of the decade and generate 2.2 GW of wind energy. #12 Turkey 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 10,607 Turkey has increased its wind capacity by an average growth rate per annum of 19.9% from 2011 to 2021 to rank #12 on our list of 15 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy. Given its growth, Turkey had an installed wind turbine capacity of 10.6 GW in 2021, more than double its capacity in 2015. Given its wind capacity, wind accounts for around 10% of Turkey's total electricity generation. #11 Italy 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 11,276 Italy had total installed power from renewables of 58 GW in 2021, of which wind accounted for almost 11.3 GW. Given the country's renewable generation, renewables accounted for 36% of the country's total electricity generated for the year. With wind and solar costs continuing to decline, it is likely that renewables will account for an even larger percentage in the future. #10 Sweden 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 12,080 Sweden is currently in a wind building boom given the Swedish Energy Agency expects wind power generation in the country to rise by 70% by 2024 versus 2021 when it had around 12 GW of installed wind turbine capacity. Given its electricity generation capacity, Sweden has historically exported electricity to other nations such as Finland and in recent years, Sweden has been Europe's top power exporter. With more wind capacity, Sweden could potentially export more green energy in the future. #9 Canada 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 14,304 Like Sweden, Canada is adding substantial amounts of wind capacity to its grid with nearly 3.6 GW of wind capacity add-ons expected in 2022. Given the expected wind add in 2022, Canada would increase its total installed wind turbine capacity by 25% from around 14.3 GW in 2021. Many of Canada's new wind projects are in Alberta where favorable policies have helped drive renewable investment. #8 France 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 18,676 Although the country is more known for getting most of its electricity needs from nuclear energy, France also has substantial wind generation capacity. Given its 2021 installed wind turbine capacity of nearly 18.7 GW, France ranks #8 among the countries with the most wind generation capacity. France's wind generation capacity has more than doubled from 2014. #7 Brazil 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 21,161 Brazil ranks #7 on our list of 15 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy with 2021 installed wind turbine capacity of nearly 21.2 GW. Given the country is expanding its wind generation capacity rapidly, analysts expect Brazil to have at least 30 GW of installed wind energy capacity by 2024, with even large capacity in the future. #6 United Kingdom 2021 Megawatts of Installed Wind Turbine Capacity: 27,130 The United Kingdom increased its installed wind turbine capacity by 11.1% in 2021 to over 27.1 GW, ranking it among the leading nations in the world in terms of wind generation capacity. The United Kingdom has also increased its wind generation capacity by an average growth rate per annum of 15.2% from 2011 to 2021. In terms of its wind generation capacity, 12.7 GW is from offshore wind. Click to continue reading and see 5 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy. Suggested articles: Disclosure: None. 15 Countries That Produce the Most Wind Energy is originally published on Insider Monkey. 28 residential houses have been damaged due to the morning missile attack in Kyiv Oblast. No casualties were reported. Source: Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Presidents Office, on Telegram; Oleksii Kuleba, Head of Kyiv Oblast Military Administration Quote from Kuleba: "The photo shows consequences of the morning attack delivered by the terrorist state. 28 residential houses were damaged. Fortunately, no casualties." Details: Earlier, Tymoshenko reported that in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv Oblast, they observed a strike of a Russian projectile on a residential building. No one was hurt. Quote from Tymoshenko: "A residential building was hit in the morning attack. Windows have been smashed in the houses of local residents". Background: Prior to that, explosions occurred in Kyiv, with the authorities reporting an attack on infrastructure facilities in the capital. Later, Russians conducted another missile attack on Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The planet had one of its hottest years on record in 2022, as ocean heat soared and sea ice coverage in Antarctica melted to near-record lows, two federal science agencies announced Thursday. Last year was the fifth-warmest in recorded history, with global average surface temperatures that were 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (about 0.8 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century average, according to the latest yearly analysis by NASA. A separate report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that Earth had its sixth-warmest year on record. Though the two agencies differed slightly in their rankings, both analyses painted the same broad and alarming picture of persistent warming amid Earths changing climate. The difference between fifth and sixth in our ranking is on the order of a hundredth of a degree Celsius. Thats not a robust change, Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said Thursday in a news briefing. We try not to make too much of the specific rankings. The key thing is the long-term trends, and theyre very consistent from one record [to the next]. A woman wipes her brow as people wait in line in Midtown Manhattan during a heat wave on July 21, 2022. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file) Both reports found that the last nine years have been the warmest years since record-keeping began in 1880. Scientists agree that the world has already warmed about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s. The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement set out to limit warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in order to avert the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Current trends suggest the world may be running out of time. Were getting kind of close to that, Russell Vose, chief of climate monitoring at NOAAs National Centers for Environmental Information, said of the 1.5-degree threshold. Homeless people sleep in the shade of a bridge during extreme heat conditions in New Delhi on May 20, 2022. (Manish Swarup / AP file) Its possible that in a given year this decade average global temperatures could leap by more than the 1.5-degree threshold, but the more worrisome trend comes when that level of warming persists over decades. Story continues A major report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that global warming could surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius by around 2040. The consequences of such warming are already being felt around the world, ranging from last years devastating floods in Pakistan to record-breaking heat waves in Europe and Asia, and ongoing drought around the world. Studies have shown that global warming will intensify many of these kinds of extreme weather events. NOAAs analysis also sounded the alarm over the health of the worlds oceans. Ocean heat content, which is a measure of the amount of heat stored in the upper levels of the ocean, hit a record high last year, surpassing the record set in 2021. Scientists routinely monitor ocean heat because warmer waters contribute to ocean acidification, sea-level rise and extreme weather. Temperatures in 2022 also continued to affect sea ice coverage at the Earths poles. Antarcticas average yearly sea ice coverage shrank to 4.1 million square miles, approaching the record low set in 1987. The Arctic, meanwhile, recorded its average yearly sea ice coverage at 4.1 million miles, the 11th-smallest extent on record, according to NOAA. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the findings of both reports a call to action. Our warming climate is already making a mark: Forest fires are intensifying; hurricanes are getting stronger; droughts are wreaking havoc and sea levels are rising, Nelson said in a statement. This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com. This article was originally published on TODAY.com A 57-year-old man was shot during a robbery overnight Friday and the suspects are still at large, Fort Worth police said. According to police, officers were dispatched to John Peter Smith Hospital around 12:40 a.m. Saturday regarding a shooting victim who had arrived at the hospital in a personal vehicle. The man told police he was at the Vaughn Mart Smoke Shop near the East Berry Street and Vaughn Boulevard intersection when two men approached and said they were going to rob him. One of the suspects pulled out a firearm. The victim told the officers that he ran, but heard a firearm being discharged. He endured a gunshot wound in the right leg, and the suspects took some of his personal property before leaving the scene. There are no suspects in custody, according to police, and the Robbery Unit will assist with the investigation. An air-raid siren is spreading across Ukraine, the authorities urge people to stay in shelters. Source: alerts.in.ua and Operational Command Pivden (South) on Facebook Details: As of 14:45, air-raid sirens were sounded in almost all oblasts of Ukraine. Vitalii Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast Military Administration, has reported that the first missiles are already flying over the territory of Ukraine. Information of the deployment of the air defence system in the south of Ukraine is spreading over social media. Updated: Later, Kim reported on the operation of the air defence system in Mykolaiv Oblast. At the same time, Operational Command Pivden (South) reported that 5 missile carriers were deployed in the Black Sea; the total firing capacity of Kalibres is 36 missiles. The media reported that explosions are heard in the city of Odesa. Local Telegram channels reported about the operation of the air defence system in Vinnytsia and Kherson oblasts. Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of Lviv Oblast Military Administration, announced the possible missile attacks on the oblast, and Volodymyr Trush, Head of the Ternopil Oblast Military Administration, "insistently" asked people to go to the shelter. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! World War II veteran Joseph Eskenazi, who at 104 years and 11 months old is the oldest living veteran to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor, is greeted by staff as he arrives at the National World War II Museum on Wednesday. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) For the record: 11:08 p.m. Jan. 13, 2023: A previous version of this story said Pfc. Joseph Eskenazi was 18 during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 22. Joseph Eskenazi, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was told by his doctor that a heart condition would prevent him from flying on an airplane to attend a ceremony this week at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. That didn't deter the Army veteran from Redondo Beach, even as he approaches his 105th birthday. Eskenazi made it to the museum, where he and eight other veterans were honored and shared stories about their service, thanks to a cross-country train ride with Amtrak, funded by the Soaring Valor Program through the Gary Sinise Foundation. The train ride rocked a little bit and threw me around, Eskenazi said with a laugh from his hotel room in New Orleans on Friday. About 81 years ago, Eskenazi was nearly thrown out of his bed at 8 a.m. while he was stationed at Schofield Barracks, about 17 miles from Pearl Harbor. Pfc. Eskenazi was 22 years old. As he ran outside, he watched a low-flying Japanese airplane drop a bomb about 150 feet away. It did not detonate, but another Japanese plane strafed the barracks and killed his friend as the friend ran from a mess hall. A commanding officer arrived on a motorcycle and asked for volunteers. He needed someone to drive a bulldozer and clear bombed-out railroad tracks so soldiers could move heavy equipment and repair the airfield. My hand went up right away, Eskenazi said. But while he was in the vehicle, one last plane strafed him and machine gun fire erupted around him. He was not hit. This was an act of God, because I came so close to getting wiped out, he said. Over 2,300 soldiers were killed in the attack, which eventually forced the United States into the second World War. Over the years, Eskenazi has not shared much about that day. Eskenazis daughter, Belinda Eskenazi Mastrangelo, 68, remembers growing up with a father who kept mum about the war. Story continues When Eskenazi and his wife, Vickie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Hawaii with his family in 1997, Mastrangelo said her father did not want to visit the war memorial at Pearl Harbor. Even after all that time, he didnt want to talk about it, said Mastrangelo, who accompanied her father on his trip to the National World War II Museum. Its not unusual for veterans to keep quiet about their time in the war, but theres something about being in the museum that allows them to open up, said actor Gary Sinise, whose organization brings WWII veterans to the museum built in their honor. The Gary Sinise Foundation has helped raise millions for organizations and causes dedicated to serving U.S. military men and women and their families. So many times when walking through the museum, the veterans will start to talk and their family members will tell us that they had never heard some of the stories that came out during the trip, Sinise said. We are fortunate right now that we still have veterans of World War II living among us. Sinise was first introduced to the museum by actor Tom Hanks, who starred in the WWII movie "Saving Private Ryan." Sinise later arranged for his uncle Jack Sinise to be interviewed by a historian at the museum and share his own experience as a navigator aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress. "I thought that every single family of a World War II veteran should have something like this," Sinise said. Eskenazi was born in New York and his Sephardic Jewish family moved to Puebla, Mexico, when he was 7. He enlisted in the U.S. Army several months before Pearl Harbor was attacked. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but knew that he wanted to travel. "I wanted to live a life of adventure," said Eskenazi, who will celebrate his 105th birthday on Jan. 30. While at the museum, he and the other veterans were honored in a ceremony and had their oral histories added to the museum's archives, which includes 12,000 personal accounts from the war, according to museum spokesperson Keith Darcey. During the ceremony, Eskenazi was joined by his family, including his great-grandson, who is about to turn 5, and his 1-year-old great-granddaughter. He expects to make the trek back home by train. It was wonderful being there, Eskenazi said. Everybody would congratulate me and they would say, Thank you for your service. I never expected all of this, but here I am. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A good pair of slippers is a must on chilly days. Whether you're coming home from work or just padding around your place, sliding your feet into the right footwear feels so good. Well, heads up: Just for today, Amazon is running a sale on its No. 1 bestselling HomeTop memory foam loafer slippers. You'll get these for just $19! There's so much to love about these slippers. For starters, they have a slip-on design making it beyond simple to get them onto your feet with as little fuss as possible. A furry upper and polar fleece insole keep your feet nice and toasty, while wicking away moisture. There's even a rubber sole for support and traction that allows you to comfortably wear these slippers while running out to grab the mail. Your feet deserve this. (Photo: Amazon) But the big draw for these slippers is the memory foam footbed. It's specially designed to contour to your feet and make you feel like you're walking on a cloud. Who doesn't want that? Enjoy EVA foam while you're at it for extra shock absorption, allowing you to wear these slippers which come in seven different colors all day. The HomeTop slippers have an army of fans who rave about everything from their good looks to next-level comfort. "They fit like a dream and are so comfy, I forget I have slippers on my feet," said a happy customer. "Also, the tread makes them so I can go down to the basement or on my deck without having to put on shoes. I believe these are the best slippers I've owned." A fellow fan agreed that these are the "best slippers I've ever owned," adding, "they are so soft and so warm, plus the memory foam soles make wearing them around the house a real delight. The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication. If you have Amazon Prime, youll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.) Looking for more great Amazon style + beauty deals? Check these out: Beauty and wellness Style A journalist has gone viral for flirting with Andrew Garfield at different red carpet interviews, including a recent one at the Golden Globes. Amelia Dimoldenberg reunited with the 39-year-old actor on Tuesday, after she first interviewed him back in November at British GQs Men of the Year ceremony. In a viral video on Twitter, Garfield could be seen laughing with and greeting the journalist, comedian and YouTuber, before she acknowledged that theyve spoken at red carpet events before. Hi, how are you? We must stop meeting like this, she said. After struggling to contain his laughter over the situation, The Amazing Spider-Man star responded: I only ever want to see you in these kinds of situations. When Dimoldenberg asked if hed want to see her in other kinds of situations, he said he was not interested. As the pair continued laughing, the journalist said that she was planning on inviting him to her birthday party on 30 January. Garfield then asked her what her astrological sign, which is also referred to as a sun sign. After revealing that she was Aquarius, they acknowledged that this was also Garfields moon sign. He described what their similar signs could mean, adding: If you have the sun sign thats the same as the moon sign of someone elseThats good. When she asked him why that was an issue, he said he didnt think they should explore this. After stating that she wasnt asking to do that, Dimoldenberg then joked that Garfield was obsessed with her, to which he playfully agreed. Im scared of what it could turn into, and Im not ready for that kind of thing, the Tick, Tick... Boom! star added. its hard to see other people living your dream pic.twitter.com/9iP4QKk1mN (@wrathsemilia) January 12, 2023 Dimoldenberg then joked that she was ready for it, before asking Garfield to autograph her best friend certificate. He then walked away from her and said: Bye best friend. Story continues Earlier in the Twitter video, which has more than 9.2m views, there was a clip of Dimoldenberg and Garfields interview in November. It began with the actor calling the journalist great and revealing that hes watched her YouTube series, Chicken Shop Date. She then joked about getting Garfield on her show and that she was asking him on a date, in that moment. He then poked fun at all the guests on her show. You date a lot of people, he said. Its wonderful, its just likeI dont feel special I guess. Dimoldenberg then told him that he was special and complemented Garfields photoshoot with GQ, where he posed shirtless with his arms raised. Its my favourite image. Its the background on my phone. You look hot, she said. Garfield then called her sweet and asked her if she had an armpit thing. In response, she said she didnt and encouraged Garfield to just take the compliment that she was giving, which he agreed to before telling her she looked beautiful. In the comments of the Twitter posts, many fans praised the pairs two interactions and their flirting skills. Andrew Garfield knowing the compatibility of matching sun and moon signs; hes such an astrology girl, one wrote. Yeah I wanna keep bumping into Amelia too, another wrote. andrew garfield knowing the compatibility of matching sun and moon signs hes such an astrology girl (@wrathsemilia) January 12, 2023 Not the "I only ever wanna see you" pls I would've died on the spotI would've just melted right into the floor Lia || SAVE WARRIOR NUN (@hellslibrary) January 12, 2023 Its so weird to see people who are genuinely just naturally very skilled at conversation and flirting, a third person wrote. I am the complete opposite of this man. Others shared how they would have reacted to interviewing Garfield and said that they want to see him interact with Dimoldenberg more. Not the I only ever wanna see you pls I wouldve died on the spotI wouldve just melted right into the floor, one wrote, while another said: Why am I smiling so hard I want them to exploreeee. MEXICO CITY For more than a decade, Marcos Del Rosario Santiago has lived in la Roma at the time an up and coming neighborhood in the west side of Mexico City. But Del Rosario has seen a shift in his neighborhood. More Airbnbs are popping up after those living in apartments, some who have had to already have three or four roommates, could no longer afford to live there. At his local panaderia, where he often orders a coffee and pan dulce, he used to only hear people order in Spanish, even if they were not Mexican. Now, he said hes seeing and hearing more foreigners order in English. Some of them don't even try to speak in Spanish, he said. While many Mexicans are increasingly concerned about gentrification brought on by the influx of Americans that relocated to "el D.F." as the capital used to be called, Del Rosario, believes having new neighbors isn't necessarily a bad thing. Diversidad. The singular word Del Rosario used to describe the impact of this new phenomenon. And the rising rent and food costs? Well thats just the price to pay for progress, he said. Less than five miles from Del Rosario's neighborhood, President Joe Biden met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this past week to discuss how to stop large swaths of migrants from coming to the United States illegally. Were working together to address this challenge in a way that upholds our nations laws and protects the human rights of migrants facing desperate circumstances, Biden said at Tuesdays press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City. While immigration rhetoric in the U.S. has focused on sending migrants back to Mexico, another burgeoning phenomenon remains largely ignored: Americans migrating to Mexico. In the last decade, Mexico has become the top nation for U.S. Americans to move to a trend that ramped up during the pandemic. There are now a record number of U.S. Americans becoming temporary residents in Mexico as of 2022. Story continues According to an analysis from Bloomberg, there was an 85% increase between 2019 and 2022 in the number of Americans becoming temporary residents in Mexico. Americans are also choosing to move to Mexico because of the easy process compared to other countries. A majority of the expats flocking south work for U.S. based companies, earn U.S. dollars and can take advantage of a favorable exchange rate and don't need to go through the cumbersome process of requesting a visa if they plan on staying there for 180 days or less. Some neighborhoods in Mexico City, such as Roma, La Condesa and Coyoacan, are beginning to mirror gentrified areas in the U.S. like East Austin, Texas, Brooklyn, and Miamis Wynwood district. In a cafe called Ojo de Agua a Mexico City chain that is now opening locations in the U. S., like in Miamis Brickell region located in the La Condesa neighborhood, American top-40 pop songs blared over the speakers. A group of people speaking English found their way to the cafe, after initially walking past it. They took a seat at a long table that could fit their group of ten. Immediately, a worker, one who spoke to them in English, came over to greet the patrons. She explained the concept of the eatery, saying they must go to the register to order. But as the group of U.S. nationals was settling into the cafe, a Spanish speaking couple seated at a table on the sidewalk had just got their order of an agua de fresa and smoothie bowl, enjoying the breezy 60-something degree weather. A mariachi band stopped by to serenade the couple. At the same time, Demi Lovatos 'Cool for the Summer' blasted throughout the cafe competing with the mariachis melody. Migration of U.S. citizens to Mexico isnt new, said Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank focused on immigration policy. What is new is the demographic of Americans moving to Mexico. More U.S. citizens, usually understood to be digital nomads, have been able to work from Mexico, get paid in U.S. dollars by their U.S. based companies and have better life conditions, Ruiz Soto said. The number of remote U.S. workers is only a couple of thousand in comparison to the more than millions who live in the city. Ruiz Soto added that Mexico and Mexico City officials are not deterred by the rise in digital nomads, noting that the country relies heavily on tourism. In fact, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum last October partnered with Airbnb to increase the number of remote workers to come to the city. At the time, Sheinbaum dismissed concerns of rising rent prices, saying those who were coming were moving to areas where rent was already high. But some of the backlash among locals with the rise of U.S. remote workers is based on social perception and perceived fears over the budding group of citizens moving to the country, Ruiz Soto said. In the past, when U.S. tourists would come to the city, or U.S. investment would come, it was on a temporary basis, he said. Now, Americans are staying and local restaurants and businesses are catering to those U.S. nationals. Businesses now have English menus. Some businesses are now even running television ads in English. Even though the number is still relatively small, in the city of millions of people, Mexicans tend to perceive this as a significant change to the social fabric that they have become accustomed to, Ruiz Soto said. And even some Americans who have been living in Mexico City for more than a decade are seeing the culture shift. Dan DeFossey, a New Yorker who has lived in Mexico City for 13 years, said that when he first moved to the city, he was forced to integrate because there were so few Americans living there. We had to be immersed into Mexican culture, DeFossey said of the small group of Americans he knew when he first moved to Mexico City. Walking down the street, if you spoke English, people would turn around and look at you. It was a different experience. We were forced to learn Spanish and to immerse ourselves into the culture. DeFossey, who owns a Texas-style barbecue joint in Mexico City, said new U.S. remote workers rely heavily on social media to find good restaurants, the best neighborhoods and just the cool places to go. He said because of crowdsourcing, Americans are all ending up in the same neighborhood, like la Condesa or la Roma. General view of WeWork, a coworking and office space in Mexico City, taken on September 13, 2022. - A growing number of US nationals are arriving to live in Mexico, where they find life cheaper and sweeter. Some 1.6 million are currently living in their southern neighbour, according to the US embassy, which does not keep official records. Other foreign citizens are also choosing Mexico for its living conditions. (Photo by CLAUDIO CRUZ/AFP via Getty Images) DeFossey noted that while there is some weariness to Americans coming to live in Mexico City some of his friends are worried about feeling like an alien in their own city there is still a sense of pride that he is seeing among his friends that people want to relocate to Mexico. People were so excited to hear that their city was something that an American would desire to come to,'' he said. ''And I think there's still a bit of that. While many locals and local officials are getting used to the new group of Americans, Mexicos top leader has often taken a more nationalistic stance during his governing of Mexico. Lopez Obrador has repeatedly taken hits at the U.S. and has not been afraid to call the new immigrants, even Americans, foreigners. But that messaging isnt resonating well with the Mexican public, said Duncan Wood, senior advisor to the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, a public policy think tank. We've seen that over the past year with the president trying to lash out on a couple of occasions against the United States, and having to reel that back in because opinion polls showed that Mexicans actually have a very favorable opinion of the United States, Wood said. He noted that many Mexicans now have ties to the U. S. or have visited the country more. I actually think that there's a lot less suspicion today of the United States than there was 20 years ago, Wood said. While many Mexicans do accept the new Americans setting down roots in Mexico City, some are still worried about the rising costs for Mexicans who can no longer live in the neighborhoods they once called home. Betsabe Basanez, who has owned a residence in the La Condesa neighborhood for nearly 20 years, said that rent is now sky high in her neighborhood and that stores and coffee shops have begun raising their prices. Most of the people who were there, like renting, they had to leave, Basanez, 43, said. Theyd flee to surrounding neighborhoods because they were just unable to afford it. "It's not as cheap as it used to be three years ago," she added. Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden in Mexico missed an immigration trend: US citizens moving there State Historic Marker and the Shawnee Methodist Mission North Building in Fairway, Kansas, a United States National Historic Landmark (Photo: Jonathunder | GNU FDL 1.3) The Shawnee Tribe is facing significant pushback as it tries to acquire a historic property in Kansas where many of its ancestors were sent and some were possibly buried during the Indian boarding school era. When Shawnee Tribal Chief Ben Barnes walks through three aging, derelict buildings in Fairway, Kansas whats left of the former Shawnee Indian Mission Manual Labor School he thinks of his own family. My grandmother's grandfather attended this place and five times he tried to escape in 1850, Barnes said. These werent preparatory schools getting us ready for academia. These were manual labor academies where folks profited off the labor of young children. The story of what those kids went through is not told. Barnes wants that to change. He wants to see the deteriorating former boarding school renovated and restored. He also wants the history of the site to be told more fully and from a Native perspective. Thats why Barnes and the Shawnee Tribe are asking the state of Kansas, which acquired the 12-acre site in 1927, to convey the property to Native ownership. Chief Ben Barnes Chief Ben Barnes The Shawnee Indian Mission Manual Labor School operated from 1839 to 1862 as part of the federal governments policy to assimilate Native children. Native children from at least 20 tribal nations attended the school during the boarding school era; some were possibly buried there. Tribal leaders and state archeologists believe there are likely children who attended the boarding school buried in unmarked graves on the school property. Today, the propertynow called the Shawnee Indian Mission State Historic Siteis operated as a museum by the City of Fairway and The Kansas Historical Society, which believe they are the best long-term stewards of such an important site, according to a statement from the City. But Chief Barnes contends that holes in the buildings floor, leaking roofs, water damage, and zero truth-telling on the schools history from an Indigenous perspective say otherwise. Story continues Their buildings have been inadequately maintained, and the site is endangered, Barnes told Native News Online. Its not just us that say that. What experts are saying An independent architectural assessment as well as correspondence from a national organization dedicated to historic preservation both back Barnes claims that significant and immediate repair to the buildings is necessary, as well as updated public interpretations of the boarding school history that center the Native perspective. The historic buildings and cultural landscape at the Boarding School have been used to convey various historical narratives to the public since the property became a historic site nearly 100 years ago, including some with little authentic connection to this historic Place, Rob Nieweg, vice president of National Trust for Historic Preservationa Washington D.C.-based non-profit dedicated to saving buildings that make up US historywrote in an email to the Kansas Historical Society last September. Today, based on information we have received, including comments by the historic sites curator, we believe the public interpretation of the Boarding Schoolparticularly its impacts on the children and families of Native Americansis incomplete and out-of-date. To get a full accounting of the work needed to repair and maintain the buildings, the Shawnee Tribe in 2021 commissioned an assessment by the Architectural Research Group, an architecture firm specializing in historic structures. The work was done with the support from Kansas Historical Societys late director, Jennie Chinn. The report, published to the public in December 2022, concluded that the three brick buildingsare in need of significant repair and maintenance work, ideally within the next 12 to 18 months. The projected costs totaled between roughly $6.6 and $13 million, a sum Barnes said the tribe is prepared to pay. Images from the architects report showing some of the repair work that needs to be done at the Shawnee Mission. (Photos: Architectural Research Group). Images from the architects report showing repair work that needs to be done at the Shawnee Mission. (Photos: Architectural Research Group). The report also noted water infiltration issues that, if left unresolved, threaten to jeopardize the historic significance of certain parts of the buildings, including the highly significant historic space of the east buildings attic that served as the boys dormitory. Additionally, last April, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, awarded the Shawnee Tribe $25,000 for their Telling the Full History Preservation Fund. The grant, one of 80 given nationwide, is helping the tribe prepare a forthcoming, more detailed document, a Historic Structure Report a primary planning document for decision-making about preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction treatments. What the City and State are saying But the City of Fairway and the state Historical Society have both chalked the reports claims up to unsurprising discoveries that amount to a misinformed conclusion that the buildings are neglected and risk being lost. The Kansas Historical Society wrote in a statement provided to Native News Online that, In general, the report contained no surprises and noted that repairs to the three buildings roofs were submitted as part of the Historical Societys five-year capital improvement plan. They also said they made some of the smaller repairs in the year between when the historical society received the report and when it was distributed to the public. The Shawnee provided the architectural report to the Kansas Historical Society in December 2021 for discussion, according to emails obtained by Native News Online between Chief Barnes and the former historical society director, Jennie Chinn. Barnes and his team met with Chinn about potential solutions for property preservation and maintenance that same month. One of the solutions was land conveyance, Barnes said. The Shawnee would re-design the space into an interpretative museum that centers around Native experiences at the manual labor school. But Chinn died suddenly in April 2022, and the historical societys new interim director, Patrick Zollner, is opposed to giving the property to the Shawnee. The Kansas Historical Society has been the steward of this important site since 1927 and has preserved the property at the highest preservation standards as they have evolved over time and will continue to do so in the future, the Historical Society said in their statement. The City of Fairway also published a public statement in early January opposing the transfer and suggesting that, if the property were conveyed, the Shawnee might instead use the site for economic development. This isnt the first time the propertys use has been up for debate. In the early 2000s, city leaders proposed building a new Fairway City Hall at the Shawnee Indian Mission site, according to the Kansas City Star. In a second statement published late last week, the City of Fairway minced the words of another tribe that also has a cultural stake in the property. The City referenced a letter penned by the Kaw Nations Chairwoman to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. The Citys statement selectively edits Chairwoman Kim Jenkins letter to undercut the Shawnee Tribes efforts, according to Barnes. Chairwoman Jenkins letter notes that the Shawnee Mission sits on aboriginal treaty lands of the Kaw Nation, and says that legislative efforts related to land conveyance should not be undertaken without consultation with the Kaw Nation. I would ask you to contact me regarding this matter as we are very concerned with the continuation of an effort by other tribal nations and government entities that ignore the historical presence of the Kaw people in Kansas she writes. But the City of Fairway paraphrased her letter to the public to read: the Kaw state they are very concerned that the Shawnee is ignoring the historical presence of the Kaw people in the state of Kansas. In addition, they point out that the Shawnee were temporary occupants of land stolen from the Kaw people. Chairwoman Jenkins did not respond to multiple requests for comment by Native News Online. Theyd like to be consulted. Barnes takes issue with the claim that the Shawnee are ignoring the Kaw or any of the other tribes whose ancestors attended the school. I think it's clear for anyone that reads that letter that the Kaw is not in opposition to conveyance, they just uphold what they feel (are) their treaty rights and their aboriginal homelands, Barnes said. Theyd like to be consulted. And from the experience of my tribe and others, we all have had difficulties in getting full consultation from the Kansas State Historical office. Just a few months ago, the Shawnee took issue with the Kansas State Historical office when the state agency failed to initiate tribal consultation before approving a roughly $13,000 ground-penetrating radar survey to search for potentially unmarked graves on the property. Instead of first consulting with the tribes who likely have relatives buried at the site, the state agency finalized a contract with a non-Native geophysical survey practitioner before responding to the Shawnee Nations request for consultation. As a result, the Historical Society has put the work on hold until impacted tribes agree to the work, Zollner told Native News Online this week. The only way to tell the truth. Without the support of the property owner and manager, Barnes said the Shawnees best recourse is to introduce a bill of conveyance in the Kansas legislature, which would allow interested partiesincluding other impacted tribal nations to testify. In a guest commentary in the Kansas City Star this week, the United Methodist bishop for Kansas and Nebraska makes the case that the Shawnee Tribe should guide the future of Indian Mission so Natives can tell their own story. A bill could be introduced in the 2023 Kansas legislative session that would shift ownership to the Shawnee Tribe, the Rev. David Wilson (Choctaw/Cherokee) writes, adding that previous ownership efforts havent succeeded in maintaining the property. Wilson writes: It would seem to be in the best interest of the property and of preservation of this structures past to place it in the hands of the Shawnee Tribe so the story of what happened there will not fade into history, as have so many of our native peoples customs, languages and cultures. Telling the story of what happened to the children at the boarding school from a Native perspective and the proper repatriation of ancestors are important reasons behind the Shawnees desire to take ownership of the property, according to Barnes. I think we have no choice, Barnes said. (We) cannot even begin to search for the bodies of the children that attended this place, because we'd have to have full faith that the current owners would not divulge the location of those buried children. We can't trust other people with the location of these graves. They might leak that information, and (have) some people show up with shovels. So the only way to even begin that search is for us to own the property. The only way to tell the truth of this place is for us to do it. About the Author: "Jenna Kunze is a staff reporter covering Indian health, the environment and breaking news for Native News Online. She is also the publication's lead reporter on stories related to Indian boarding schools and repatriation. Her bylines have appeared in The Arctic Sounder, High Country News, Indian Country Today, Tribal Business News, Smithsonian Magazine, Elle and Anchorage Daily News. Kunze is based in New York." Contact: jkunze@indiancountrymedia.com Comedian Andy Dick was arrested again early Friday in Southern California. The troubled 57-year-old showbiz veteran was charged with failing to register as a sex offender and public intoxication, the Riverside County sheriffs office said in a press release. Cops picked up Dick at OHaras Tavern in Lake Elsinore, about 55 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to online jail records. Officers responded to a call about an intoxicated subject, possibly under the influence of narcotics, the press release said. During a routine records check it was determined, Dick was a registered sex offender who was not up-to-date on his registration. Dick posted $5,000 bail and was released later Friday. In November 2022, Dick was convicted of groping an Uber driver in 2018 and required to register as a sex offender. That was only one of several incidents in which Dick was accused of sexually harassing someone. One of his arrests, in May 2022, was captured on camera at an RV park in Orange County. That case was dropped after the alleged victim stopped cooperating with investigators. In 2017, Dick was fired from the film Raising Buchanan after multiple accusations were publicly reported. In response, he told The Hollywood Reporter, My middle name is misconduct. They know what they signed up for. However, in the same interview, he denied groping anyone. And in October 2022, Dick was accused of breaking into a garage in Santa Barbara and stealing power tools. At a Friday morning meeting of the Hispanic Womens Organization of Arkansas, director Margarita Solorzano found herself having to redirect the meeting away from the chatter over the new governor's ban of the term "Latinx" in government business. "I asked them not to get distracted because there are other things happening in the state," Solorzano told NBC News. The executive order signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders surprised Solorzano as well as other Latinos in the state. She viewed the ban as "political noise." We use 'Latino' or 'Hispanic' in our daily business, she said about the terms her organization uses. "In regards to the [word] Latinx, I know that [it] is important for some people, but its not necessarily the general sentiment of the immigrant or Latino population. They have other more pressing issues to pay attention people are concerned about surviving every day and making sure they provide for their families." About the ban, she said, "It is not the concern of the clientele we serve." Solorzano was more focused on what the governor's plans were for issues she thinks need more attention, such as education, access to health care and the justice system. Irvin Camacho, 30, a community rights organizer, said the ban "just kind of caught me off guard that they would go after something that isnt a huge deal in our community." According to Camacho, issues of concern in the state include a lack of education, low teacher pay, high incarceration rates, homelessness and a lack of mental health resources. Camacho, who also sits on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, said he mostly uses Latinx as an all-inclusive term in organizing and educational spaces. I hardly ever hear Latino anymore in those circles. The ban was not just a surprise, he said, but a potential warning of what's to come under the new administration. Story continues "It's an attack not only on the Latino community, but on the trans and nonbinary community as well," he said. "But what I am worried about is if this administration on the first day decided to sign this executive order what does it look like for us going forward? For Rumba Yambu, who identifies with the pronouns they/them, the executive order felt personal. Yambu, who identifies as a trans-Latinx person, has worked toward building a more inclusive space with inTRANSitive, a nonprofit they helped co-found in 2017 that offers educational and financial resources to trans residents in the state. Yambu said the ban has brought up a lot of the anti-LGBTQ sentiments and the erasure of identity that rose during the Trump administration, especially with the banning of trans terms from the government. "It's been a challenge in this state to find any type of support for us for trans Latinx migrants," Yambu said with a frustrated tone. "We're not causing any harm and [don't] want to cause any harm by identifying as Latinx and nobody's forcing more... Latinos, Latinas to identify as Latinx." In her executive order, Sanders had cited a 2020 Pew Research report that found that only 3% of the Hispanic population nationwide uses the term Latinx. "Ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles," the executive order stated. As Solorzano noted, most Hispanics in the state don't place a high priority on debates over what terms are used, as is the case nationally. Republican consultant Mike Madrid, who warned Democrats in a column that terms like Latinx may alienate working-class Latinos, said in a phone interview Friday that questioning "the value of a word that is not part of the parlance of the vast majority of Latinos is legitimate." But Madrid, who's based in California, was critical of Huckabee Sanders timing and priorities. But does it rise to making it one of your first acts? he said. If thats the biggest Latino problem, then I worry for Latinos in Arkansas. Its not about Latinos, its about gender its become a political football. Were having this discussion that nobody knows about or cares about; its just inside baseball, said Madrid. It speaks to how degraded the political discourse has become and the complete lack of understanding both parties have for the Latino community. Solorzano said that we are just talking about a word that for Latinos can be meaningful. For us, the word Latino, Hispanic, Latinx we can use those interchangeable[ly]. In the end, we as people define ourselves." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com George Santos officially became a member of Congress in the early hours of January 7, 2023. AP Photo/Alex Brandon George Santos has now been a member of Congress for one week. Several of his GOP colleagues want him to resign, and his future remains uncertain. In interviews with Insider, lawmakers offered a range of views on the scandal-plagued congressman. In the early hours of January 7, George Santos officially became a member of Congress. C-SPAN cameras perched above the floor zoomed in on the freshman Republican as he and 432 of his colleagues took the oath of office after a historic 15 votes for House speaker that lasted four days. For weeks, Santos had been the subject of countless media reports about his long list of resume fabrications and high probability of ethics issues. By the time he'd arrived in Washington, Santos was facing investigations from federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, as well as the Rio De Janeiro prosecutor's office. But the drama around Kevin McCarthy's speaker election, lasting days longer than anticipated, had seemingly delayed a reckoning that Santos, his new colleagues, and the institution as a whole were due. This week, that reckoning arrived. Seeking to gain an understanding of how Santos is being received by his new colleagues, Insider spoke with over 20 lawmakers in the halls of the Capitol over the course of this week. While a number of Republicans expressed grave concern about what they see as a serial fraudster and a liability for the conference, some offered a non-judgmental, even welcoming attitude. Stuck in the House chamber for days on end last week, the congressman initially sat by himself before eventually finding a receptive crowd among the chamber's more right-wing lawmakers. But it's plainly evident that most Republicans simply want to avoid Santos and his baggage. Santos has admitted to lying about his employment, his education history, and his purported Jewish heritage, but hasn't yet addressed a slew of concerns about his campaign's finances. Story continues "Obviously, there were concerns about what we had heard, and so we're going to have to sit down and talk to him about it," said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise at a Tuesday briefing with reporters, saying the matter would be "handled internally." But Santos is clearly a problem for House Republicans. He's also presented a prime opportunity for Democrats eager to highlight malfeasance in the opposing party. And for journalists whether they're investigating a long paper trail left by two congressional campaigns or camping outside his Capitol Hill office, ready to chase him down the halls he's become the latest obsession. The House's two Jewish Republicans, Reps. David Kustoff of Tennessee and Max Miller of Ohio, previously shared a stage with Santos at an November event hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, which has since disinvited him from future events after his claim of being the Jewish descent of Holocaust survivors was exposed as a lie. Kustoff embraces Santos and Miller at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas on November 19, 2022. David Becker / Washington Post via Getty Images Kustoff said it would be "up to his constituents to make a decision" about Santos's future, but made clear he doesn't "think it's likely" he'll speak with him again. Miller, a one-time Trump White House aide with his own unsavory history, was seen walking and talking with Santos through a tunnel beneath the Capitol Complex on Monday evening. "Do you mind? We're having a conversation," said Santos when Insider first attempted to ask him about a new rules package that will severely hobble the Office of Congressional Ethics, which is likely to investigate some of the congressman's behavior. "Off the record we're having a private conversation," said Miller. But when Santos was heading back towards the chamber about 20 minutes later, he went out of his way to chide this reporter for initially mis-identifying Miller as an aide. "Make sure you report accurately, because you called Max Miller a staffer, an aide. He's a congressman from the 9th district of Ohio," said Santos. "Get your facts straight!" But three days later, Miller who actually represents Ohio's 7th district became the eighth House Republican to publicly call for Santos to resign. 'I don't intend to speak with him' By the end of this week, Republican leadership had made clear that they won't push Santos out of Congress just yet, despite resignation calls from several of his House Republican colleagues (mostly fellow freshmen from New York) a high-profile disavowal by the Nassau County GOP, and a week of headlines that seemed to distract from a raft of mostly-symbolic legislation that Republicans had teed up to kick off their new majority. "He seems to propel a lot of headlines for quite some time," said Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who's told Santos that he's "praying for him" and has adopted a non-judgemental attitude towards the new congressman. "I try to befriend everybody that's in a little bit of a bind." Santos has in turn made clear that he will not resign and has begun hiring new staff for his office, some of whom come from the furthest-right corners of American politics. Many Republicans' public pronouncements about Santos largely mirror the approach taken by McCarthy: the congressman has been duly elected, and some respect should be afforded to that, even as authorities continue to investigate him. "I can see the uneasiness up here with him," said Burchett. "That's just human nature." Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, among the first of Santos's GOP colleagues to approach him on the House floor last week, sought to downplay the interaction when asked about it, saying it was just "hey, how are you." "He seems to be, you know, a nice guy. I read the stuff. Obviously I'm very disappointed that there were things that he said that weren't true," said Fallon. "I did mention that to him, and he said he's more disappointed than anyone." Fallon, seen beside Santos on the House floor on Thursday, January 5, says the New York congressman told him that he's "more disappointed than anyone." Win McNamee/Getty Images Others have been forceful, such as Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina or Nick LaLota of New York, both of whom are among the Republicans demanding Santos' resignation. "I'm not gonna have anything to do with somebody that can't be trusted, and clearly defrauded the voters of New York," said Mace, one of several House members who met Santos at an orientation for new members of Congress in 2020, the first time he ran for Congress. Santos had traveled to Washington to learn the ropes of lawmaking even as it was clear that the election would eventually be called for Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. "I've met him, I've spoken to him, and he literally pulled the wool over everybody's eyes," said Mace. "I don't intend to speak with him. His conduct is far below what his office requires," said Lalota. "The more we engage in the Santos drama, the less we're able to focus on what we need to focus on." Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, set to be the chair of a new select committee on China, said he doesn't want Santos on his own committee and doubts that he'll be seated on any other committees that pertain to national security. "I get annoyed every time you guys ask me a question about this guy," said Gallagher. "I don't even know this guy. It's odd that he occupies any space in my brain." But Santos has become friendly with some of his Republican colleagues, a number of whom approached him during last week's speakership drama. "He's under fire," observed Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana. "So I made it a point to shake his hand, and welcome him to Congress. I gave him my cell and told him my staff would be at his avail as he tries to stand up his office." "I don't know what's true and what's not true," Higgins added of Santos's fabrications. "The media lies." "That's the one that's got the ethics?" said Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who said that Santos "seems nice" even as he appeared unaware of the extent of his controversies. "I didn't know he was under investigation in Brazil that's sad, I'll tell you that." Santos sat between Greene and Ogles on Thursday, January 5. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images "As far as the questions surrounding him, you know, I don't have the particulars, and it's not my place or business to judge," said Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who sat besides Santos and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia during speaker votes. "He is, however, a human being, and he sat next to me, and we have great conversations." Greene, for her part, has been perhaps the most forceful defender of Santos, who she appears to have been friendly with for at least a couple of years. While she acknowledged that Santos lied about his resume, she later chastised former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for giving the congressman "zero grace" during a tougher-than-expected interview on Fox News in December. But Greene declined to speak about Santos to Insider, calling this reporter a "jerk" for revealing that she was vacationing in Costa Rica during the House passage of the omnibus bill in December. "No, you can you can leave me alone," said Greene. Rep. Andy Biggs was also among the lawmakers that Santos has apparently met; the two were photographed speaking with one another on the House floor on January 4. But the Arizona Republican denied ever meeting Santos when asked about their interaction. "Never talked to him once," said Biggs. "I've never met the guy." Santos and Biggs on the House floor on Wednesday, January 4. Win McNamee/Getty Images 'I have zero respect for him' Democrats have wasted little time calling attention to Santos. At a press conference on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pointedly declared that Santos was "an issue that Republicans need to handle." But New York's third congressional district, which Santos now represents, is viewed as a Democratic-leaning seat, and a special election triggered by his early departure coupled with the likely victory of Democrat Jennifer McClellan in a February special election in Virginia could shave Republicans' current four-vote margin down to two in a matter of weeks. "Kevin McCarthy is afraid of losing his majority," said Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, saying the GOP leader had found a "bullshit excuse" to keep Santos around despite resignation calls from his own rank-and-file. Gallego, whose office sits just feet from Santos's office, acknowledged having "lots of media" in the hallways but said he had yet to meet his new office neighbor. Among the Democrats that Santos has met is Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York also at new member orientation in 2020. "He did introduce himself, and made a point of mentioning that he was gay," said Torres, who is also gay. "I just found it to be an odd exchange." (Former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York, also gay, recently recounted a similar interaction with Santos at that year's orientation.) Torres is now one of Santos's most vocal critics, championing a bill with fellow Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York called the Stopping Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) Act to require candidates to disclose their educational, military, and employment background to the Federal Election Commission, hitting them with a $100,000 penalty if they're found to have lied. Torres credited his legislative director for devising the bill's name. "It's a brilliant acronym," he said. The duo also filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee over Santos's financial disclosure and hand-delivered it to his office on Tuesday in a made-for-TV moment. "I told him I had a complaint to give him, and he asked me to give it to his staff member," Goldman said, recounting the brief interaction with Santos. "This is very near and dear to my heart," Goldman added. "To allow someone like George Santos to be sworn in as a member here is a desecration of this great institution." And four other Democrats with military backgrounds, including Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, sent a letter to McCarthy this week urging him to block Santos from receiving classified information. "I don't say this lightly: I have zero respect for him as a member," said Ryan. "He's the only one of the entire body I would say that about." At one point during the days of Speaker votes, Santos was photographed speaking with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on the edge of a larger group of Republicans. Asked about the exchange, Ocasio-Cortez said that "chatting is a generous term" to describe the interaction. Santos and Ocasio-Cortez briefly spoke on the sidelines of a gaggle of GOP lawmakers on the House floor on Wednesday, January 4. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images "He said, 'you know, we may have some things in common,'" said Ocasio-Cortez, recounting the interaction. "And I laughed at him and I said, 'oh, really?' and that was all." 'A long way to go to earn trust' Rejected by his fellow New York Republicans and under watch from party leadership, Santos may find himself throwing in his lot with the more combative right flank of the House GOP. He's hired a handful of new staffers to build out his office, including a former communications staffer for ultra-conservative Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Paul Gosar. He's also brought on Vish Burra, a Republican operative who's worked as a producer for Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast. "George Santos is a National Treasure," wrote Burra in a since-deleted tweet over a video of Santos from the day before the January 6 riot in which he claimed his own congressional election was stolen in 2020. "This is why the corporate press is trying to silence him." By Wednesday, Santos had begun to assume a combative attitude towards his detractors, tweeting at former Rep. Adam Kinzinger to "go on @CNN and cry about it" after the Illinois Republican called on him to resign. Santos walking with operations manager Vish Burra in the Cannon Tunnel at the Capitol on Thursday, January 12. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images And on Thursday morning, he sat for his first interview in weeks on "War Room," where he fielded softball questions from Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has his own history of federal investigations. "I could ask you what it's like to be an embattled congressman, but I kinda know a little bit about that scene," Gaetz said to Santos, who went on to sidestep repeated questions from Gaetz about where he got the $700,000 he reported lending to his campaign. But Santos' future as an effective public servant looks bleak. It's unclear who would co-sponsor legislation with him, given most congressional Republicans' desire to avoid associating with him. It's unlikely that he'll be able to provide many services for his constituents, given local officials' pledge not to work with him. And it's difficult to imagine Santos winning re-election in two years let alone making it out of a Republican primary, given the local party's disavowal of him. McCarthy told reporters this week that Santos has "a long way to go to earn trust," comments that mirrored his pronouncement that Cawthorn, who made wild claims about Republicans snorting cocaine and having orgies, had "lost my trust" amid his own web of controversies last year. Republicans in Washington later worked to sideline and defeat the young congressman. What does seem likely is that an aura of controversy and its attendant media scrutiny will surround Santos until either Republicans decide to remove the distraction or officials at the federal, local, or state level file charges against him. Read the original article on Business Insider The Telegraph The precise veracity of the large cache of intelligence documents that have apparently been leaked from the Pentagon might be open to question, but there can be little doubt about the negative impact that they are having on Ukraines war effort. Even if the release of the documents turns out to be part of a clever disinformation campaign by the Kremlins cyber-trolls, it could nevertheless prompt Ukraines high command to rethink its long-planned counteroffensive against Russian forces. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Andre Borges/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Brazilian Supreme Court on Saturday announced that it would be investigating former President Jair Bolsonaro for any alleged role he may have played in the recent attack on Brazil's seat of government. The probe into Bolsonaro will be part of the larger investigation into the events of the attack. In a press release, the Supreme Court said that "Bolsonaro's inclusion [in the investigation] aims to determine whether he would have incited the practice of crimes against the democratic state of law." "From false statements, repeated through social networks, a narrative is formulated that delegitimizes democratic institutions and encourages groups of supporters to attack people who represent the institutions, intending to remove them and replace them with others aligned with the political group of the former president," the Court added. Though Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former president did not go quietly. While he would eventually come to accept the results of his defeat though never conceding his loss Bolsonaro allegedly spread the baseless claim that widespread voter fraud had cost him the election. Bolsonaro's supporters had been camped out for days in the nation's capital, Brasilia, following Lula's inauguration. On Jan. 8, they stormed the headquarters of all three branches of the nation's government: the National Congress, the Supreme Court building, and the Presidential Palace, breaking in and ransacking the buildings in a scene that The New York Times and many others noted resembled the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Bolsonaro, who is currently living in the United States, does not appear to have responded to the probe in an official capacity. You may also like 7 brutally funny cartoons about Kevin McCarthy's speakership Defund the IRS? NASA's Webb telescope confirms existence of exoplanet for the 1st time Selma, Alabama - January 13: Damage is seen the day after a tor Damage is seen the day after a tornado hit Selma, Ala. on January 12, 2023. Credit - Cameron CarnesThe Washington Post/Getty Images) A series of tornadoes unleashed lethal weather across the Southeastern U.S. this week, killing at least nine peopleseven in Alabama and two in Georgiaincluding a five-year-old boy. The search for victims has continued since the storms struck hardest on Thursday, destroying homes and infrastructure, and cutting out power for thousands in both states. Seven of the reported deaths were in Alabamas Autauga County, northwest of Montgomery. In Butts County, Georgia, the five-year-old boy who died was killed when a tree fell on top of the car he was in. A state employee working on storm response efforts was also killed in Georgia. Our entire family is heartbroken over this tragedy. As we continue to monitor state response to these storms, we are praying for this family as they mourn this terrible loss, Georgia governor Brian Kemp tweeted Thursday. The National Weather Service had 50 possible tornado reports on Thursday, spanning Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. In Autauga County, the tornado that hit was rated EF-3 status, meaning it had winds between 136 165 mph. EF-2 tornadoes, whose wind speeds start at 111 mph, also hit central Georgia and the cities of Selma and Greensboro. Rescue efforts continue for people who may have been trapped in damaged buildings, especially in Autauga County where at least 40 homes were utterly destroyed and deemed uninhabitable. Both Alabama and Georgia governors have declared a state of emergency, focusing on the worst affected municipalities and organized state response measures. The storms also brought widespread power outages across Georgia and Alabama, leaving about 40,000 electric customers without power until Friday. As of Saturday morning, more than 14,000 customers still lack power in Georgia. Damage from the storms could take days to evaluate, with high winds pummeling power lines, trees and all sorts of buildings. Marking the latest of many deadly weather events to affect the country in recent months, experts point to the climate crisis exacerbating severe weather phenomena, from hurricanes to snowstorms, to wildfires and the ongoing flooding in California A man pleaded guilty Friday to killing Zachary Robertson, 21, last year in Burkburnett and then trying to hide the gun, according to court documents. Emro Jacob Anthony Emro, 24, shot Robertson in the head April 6 and told police he thought he was playing a prank using blanks, court documents show. Seventy-eighth District Judge Meredith Kennedy sentenced Emro to 20 years in prison for manslaughter and 10 years for tampering with evidence as part of a plea bargain, according to court documents. The sentences are the maximum punishment for those felonies, and Emro is to serve them concurrently. He received 283 days jail time served credit. He has waived his right to appeal the convictions. Emro was being held Friday in the Wichita County Law Enforcement Center, according to online jail records. More:Woman indicted on charges in connection with starved 6-year-old On April 6, 2022, Burkburnett police responded to the 600 block of Glendale Street and found Robertson, who was Emro's friend, shot in a bedroom, according to court records. Emro's roommate told police they were going to play a prank on Robertson, so Emro hid in his room, court documents show. When Robertson walked in, Emro screamed, Robertson screamed, and the roommate heard a gunshot. In a panic, Emro came out of his bedroom into the living room, and he grabbed all the guns and marijuana at the home, according to court records. Emro hid the weapons and drugs in an abandoned trailer in the 500 block of North Avenue F, according to court records. Police found the homicide weapon, an Akkar shotgun, at that residence. Emro confirmed his roommate's account of the shooting and confessed, saying he thought there were blanks in the gun. A search of Wichita County's online court records did not turn up any charges against Emro's roommate. More:Affidavit, video shed light on allegations Henrietta man robbed a citizen journalist Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia. This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Burk man pleads guilty to killing in prank gone wrong WASHINGTON (AP) The nation's transportation secretary usually holds one of the most public-facing roles in any presidential administration. A core aspect of the Cabinet job is to travel the country, doling out millions of public dollars and attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new bridges and overpasses and ports. Even by those standards, Pete Buttigieg has spent an inordinate amount of time in the national spotlight delivering the largesse of the big infrastructure and domestic spending bills. But at the same time, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and onetime mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also has been the public face of a string of transportation-related crises, all amid steady speculation about his future political prospects. During the 40-year-old Buttigieg's tenure, there have been widespread global supply chain issues and logjams at major ports, multiple instances of mass flight cancellations by airlines and a narrowly avoided nationwide strike by railroad workers that was only averted by an eleventh-hour intervention from Congress. The latest transportation mishap was the most high-profile yet. On Wednesday morning, a malfunction in an obscure and apparently obsolete internal system called the Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, forced the temporary grounding of all air traffic in the United States. The move touched off a cascading snarl that resulted in the cancellation of more than 1,300 flights and the delay of 9,000 more. It was the biggest shutdown of U.S. aviation since the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. Faced with a historic system failure, Buttigieg appeared to lean into his role as the face of the beleaguered American transportation network. Appearing Wednesday at a Transportation Research Board conference, Buttigieg jumped right into the airline debacle before anyone could ask. He called it another challenging day for U.S. aviation and said his department was now pivoting to understanding the cause of the issue. Story continues Were gonna own it, Buttigieg later told reporters. Earlier that day, during an interview with CNN, Buttigieg offered a positive spin, saying that part of what you saw this morning was an act of caution. But he also acknowledged that the mishap had exposed a desperate need to modernize crucial and antiquated systems. We need to design a system that does not have these kinds of vulnerabilities, he said. Buttigieg's challenges earn a special kind of sympathy from those who have sat in the same seat. Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who served as transportation secretary for four years under President Barack Obama, said he met with Buttigieg for 90 minutes shortly after Buttigieg was nominated by President Joe Biden. I told him, 'When you walk in the door and turn the lights on, there's going to be a crisis. And every day there'll be one or more,' LaHood said. When something goes wrong, you become the face of it. In his two years on the job, Buttigieg has repeatedly criticized U.S. airlines for chronic cancellations and shoddy customer service making Wednesday's debacle particularly awkward. It also highlighted the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration has been without a Senate-confirmed leader for nearly a year. Stephen Dickson, a former Delta Air Lines executive and appointee of President Donald Trump, resigned last March, midway through his five-year term. Biden's nominee, Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington, has seemingly stalled in the Senate, despite Democratic control of the chamber, over questions about Washington's qualifications and his involvement in a corruption investigation in California. Similarly, another major part of Buttigiegs department, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since last fall, when Steven Cliff resigned just three months after his confirmation to run the California Air Resources Board. Robert Mann, an independent aviation industry consultant and former executive at American and Pan Am, said the vulnerabilities highlighted by the transportation issues far predate Buttigieg's tenure and run deep into the institutional fabric of the his department and many other large government agencies. We've had pipeline problems, we've had maritime problems. How much does the secretary actually control? None," Mann said. "Same with his predecessors as well. But Republican politicians have been quick to pile on Buttigieg, perhaps seeking to damage the prospects of a young Democratic star who has already run for president once. In the wake of the mass flight groundings, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz himself a former and potential future presidential candidate led the public charge. The FAAs inability to keep an important safety system up and running is completely unacceptable and just the latest example of dysfunction within the Department of Transportation, said Cruz, one of 13 senators who voted against confirming Buttigieg. This incident also highlights why the public needs a competent, proven leader with substantive aviation experience leading the FAA. Cruz is expected to assume the role of the top Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over aviation. Rep. Sam Graves, the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he expected a "prompt update on DOTs efforts to do right by the passengers it has wronged and a full accounting of what happened. The FAA does not run on autopilot it needs skilled, dedicated, and permanent leadership in positions across the agency, Graves, R-Mo., said in a statement. The Biden Administration seems to think this lack of qualified leadership can go on indefinitely. LaHood, a Republican who served in a Democratic administration, said he met with Buttigieg again after last year's midterm elections when it became clear Republicans would control the House. LaHood's message: Get ready because you are going to have a target on your back. ... You're a high-visibility Democrat who ran for president. When things happen, be prepared for Republicans to take potshots at you. Last year, Buttgieg moved from Indiana to Traverse City, Michigan, hometown of his husband, Chasten. Buttigieg said at the time it was primarily to be closer to Chasten's parents, who were helping to care for the couple's two young children. But the move to a longtime Democratic stronghold fueled speculation that Buttigieg was priming for his next campaign. When Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., recently announced that she would not run for reelection, there was buzz that Buttigieg might run. But he was quick to knock down the speculation. He said he was fully focused on his Cabinet post and was not seeking any other job." The trials and tribulations of his current assignment have reached the point where White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had to address questions on Wednesday about Biden's confidence in Buttigieg's performance. Biden, she said, respects the secretary and the work he has been doing." ___ Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report. __ This story originally moved Jan. 14, 2013. It has been revised to fix the style on Delta Air Lines. Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Seacera Group Berhad (KLSE:SEACERA) 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. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine. We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Seacera Group Berhad The Method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of 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. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM5.17m RM6.78m RM8.34m RM9.76m RM11.0m RM12.2m RM13.2m RM14.1m RM14.9m RM15.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 43.11% Est @ 31.24% Est @ 22.93% Est @ 17.12% Est @ 13.05% Est @ 10.20% Est @ 8.20% Est @ 6.81% Est @ 5.83% Est @ 5.15% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12% RM4.6 RM5.4 RM6.0 RM6.3 RM6.4 RM6.3 RM6.1 RM5.8 RM5.5 RM5.2 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM58m Story continues After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 12%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = RM16m (1 + 3.6%) (12% 3.6%) = RM200m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM200m ( 1 + 12%)10= RM67m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM124m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM0.2, the company appears about fair value at a 20% 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 Seacera Group Berhad 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 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.051. 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 Seacera Group Berhad Strength Currently debt free. Weakness Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Building industry. Opportunity Current share price is below our estimate of fair value. Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine SEACERA's earnings prospects. Threat No apparent threats visible for SEACERA. Next Steps: Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Seacera Group Berhad, we've compiled three essential items you should consider: Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Seacera Group Berhad that you should be aware of before investing here. 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! Other Environmentally-Friendly Companies: Concerned about the environment and think consumers will buy eco-friendly products more and more? Browse through our interactive list of companies that are thinking about a greener future to discover some stocks you may not have thought of! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian 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. Join A Paid User Research Session Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. (AP) A Southern California sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Friday, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was slain in the line of duty. The deaths of deputies Darnell Calhoun on Friday and Isaiah Cordero on Dec. 29 were the first since 2003 where a Riverside County sheriffs deputy was killed in the line of duty, Sheriff Chad Bianco said. The suspect in Calhoun's death is in custody and was listed in critical condition after a gunbattle with a second deputy, Bianco said Friday during a news conference. Calhoun was fatally shot in the city of Lake Elsinore, the sheriff said. He died after being taken to the hospital in serious condition. I shouldnt be here tonight having to do this again, Bianco said Friday outside the hospital. Im devastated to tell of the loss of another of our deputy sheriffs who was killed in the line of duty today. Calhoun is survived by his pregnant wife, Bianco said. He had previously worked for the San Diego Police Department the agency said on Twitter it was devastated to learn of his death before transferring to Riverside last year. He was the most cheerful, the most positive, the most good, wholesome man you could imagine, Bianco said. Calhoun, 30, was the first deputy to arrive at the scene of an disturbance around 4:30 p.m. Friday following a call of unknown trouble" where voices could be heard in the background, indicating a struggle, Bianco said. "At this point, we are not completely sure of the circumstances surrounding the initial contact, Bianco said. The second deputy found Calhoun wounded in the street and confronted the suspect in a shootout. The suspects identity has not been released. Lake Elsinore is about 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Friday's shooting comes as the sheriff's department is reeling from Cordero's death. The 32-year-old was fatally shot last month during a traffic stop in the city of Jurupa Valley, east of Los Angeles. Story continues Cordero had pulled over a pickup truck and the driver, 44-year-old William Shae McKay, shot the deputy as he approached the vehicle. Law enforcement pursued McKay in a manhunt that included a chase along freeways in two counties, authorities said. McKay was killed during a shootout with deputies after the truck crashed. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Cordero's family have called for the resignation of a Southern California judge who allowed McKay's release from custody on bail despite his lengthy criminal history. The sheriff said McKay was convicted of a third strike offense in 2021 that should have put him in state prison for 25 years to life, but the judge lowered his bail, allowing his release, and later released him following an arrest for failing to appear at his sentencing. A traveler was pulled to the side during an airport security screening when their candle raised some red flags, according to federal authorities. The Transportation Security Administration officers at Boston Logan International Airport said they had noticed something a bit strange about this candle. Troopers with Massachusetts State Police were called to investigate the candle on Wednesday, Jan. 11, according to a tweet from Dan Velez, a spokesperson for TSA New England. Investigators confirmed this wasnt an ordinary candle with only typical candle wax. It also contained marijuana, officials said. The 53-year-old man told authorities the candle was a Secret Santa gift from one of his co-workers, according to the post. This individual gets an A for creativity, but an F for failing to recognize that the TSA officers frequently detect artfully concealed items among luggage, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said on Twitter. Referring to the case as a Secret Santa s-candle, TSA took the opportunity to remind travelers that it is illegal to fly with weed. The only exception is CBD products that contain less than 0.3% THC or products approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Marijuana is legal in some parts of Massachusetts, but if you are caught with it at Boston Logan International Airport, law enforcement will be called to investigate, according to the airport. While flying with marijuana is restricted, you can certainly fly with solid candles in your carry-on bags or checked luggage, according to TSA. Peanut butter jars set off airport alarm in New York, TSA says. Now, a man is arrested Dog goes through X-ray at airport, photo shows. Not the first Chihuahua weve seen Jar of peanut butter triggers alarm, but the jar held more than peanut butter, TSA says Metalheads have defended Margot Robbie after Cate Blanchett expressed surprise over her fellow Australian actors taste in music. During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Robbie told host Graham Norton she had a goth, very emo phase, during which she listened to heavy metal music, dyed my hair black and only cut it with a razor blade. Blanchett, who was also being interviewed by Norton, interjected to ask Robbie: Does anyone like heavy metal music? Was that something you genuinely liked? the Academy Award winner continued. Robbie, 32, confirmed she still genuinely likes heavy metal music, before Blanchett quipped: Do you like monster trucks and things like that? Robbie, who can currently be seen in Babylon, then revealed she has never had as many people recognise her than at a Slipknot concert she attended when she was working on Neighbours. It wasnt monster trucks and Slipknot; it was Neighbours and Slipknot, she continued, explaining the intersection of people who liked metal music as well as the Australian soap opera. Thats quite the Venn diagram, Norton joked. Rolling Stone editor Marlow Stern tweeted a clip of their interaction, with the caption: Love Cate blanchett totally mystified that Margot Robbie was an emo girl into metal music. love cate blanchett totally mystified that margot robbie was an emo girl into metal music: "does *anyone* like heavy metal music?" "do you like monster trucks, and things like that??" pic.twitter.com/QoUKXsQAbj Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) January 14, 2023 Metal fans on Twitter defended Robbie and branded Blanchetts remarks condescending, with one person writing: I love how Cate Blanchett has no clue about what metal fans are like IRL. Another dubbed Robbie the metal representative for Hollywood, while a third suggested Blanchetts comment was rather judgemental. As a metalhead, this is the worst thing Ive ever heard someone ask about metal. Smh Cate Blanchett. Do better, someone else wrote. The Independent has reached out to Blanchett for comment. Cate Blanchett has defended her movie Tar following intense criticism from famous conductor Marin Alsop. Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, the actor said she respects Alsop, a trailblazer of a musician, but noted that her own take on the film diverges from the conductors opinion which was overwhelmingly negative. Alsop had told The Sunday Times earlier this week that Tar, a story about a world-renowned conductor who faces allegations of sexual misconduct involving female victims, is anti-woman. I was offended: I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian, Alsop told the British outlet, adding that she took particular umbrage with the unfavorable depiction of female leadership. To have an opportunity to portray a woman in that role and to make her an abuser for me that was heartbreaking, she said. Alsop is mentioned by name in the film and as The Sunday Times noted bears some similarities to Blanchetts character in terms of professional background and lesbian identity. So many superficial aspects of Tar seemed to align with my own personal life, she said. Blanchett, however, offered her own interpretation of the film in response to Alsop. Its a meditation on power, and power is genderless, said the actor. Blanchett said that she along with Tar director Todd Field wanted to spark a lively conversation and that the circumstances surrounding her character are entirely fictitious. I looked at so many different conductors, but I also looked at novelists and visual artists and musicians of all stripes, Blanchett said. Its a very nonliteral film. The actor said that a man in her role couldnt convey the corrupting nature of power in as nuanced a way. I think that power is a corrupting force no matter what ones gender is. I think it affects all of us, she said. The critically acclaimed film earned Blanchett a Golden Globe for her role, and it is expected to fare well at the Academy Awards in March. Story continues Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website. Related... Police are asking for patients of a local doctor to come forward over concerns they may have interacted with them inappropriately. Police also said the doctor is facing accusations he operated a pill mill. Dr. Scott Hollington has an office on Memorial Circle near Nova Road in Ormond Beach. According to court documents obtained by Channel 9, patients accused Hollington of battery in 2019 and 2021. READ: Lisa Marie Presleys death: Were stomach issues a symptom of a heart problem? In a report from 2019, a woman said during a doctors appointment, Hollington pulled her in a tight hug and when she tried to break away, he touched her breasts. No charges were filed in the case. Then in 2021, the report states another woman said Hollington asked to touch her hair during an appointment. She allowed him to, then Hollington began rubbing her hair and moaning. He was charged in that case, but the charges were eventually dropped. READ: Man accused of shooting driver in road rage faces charges, Osceola County deputies say Both situations happened in the doctors office, which now appears to be closed. Last October, Hollington was indicted and charged with 10 counts of distribution of controlled substances, and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Hollington allegedly distributed prescription drugs out of his St. Augustine clinic. READ: Deputies search for gunman after woman found shot in crashed car in Orange County Not long after his arrest, the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office put out a release on social media that said Hollington was prescribing controlled substances in exchange for sexual favors. Channel 9 reached out to Ormond Beach police asking why they want victims to come forward now, but so far we havent heard back. Hollingtons medical license is still active, according to the Florida Department of Health. He is facing more than 20 years in federal prison in the prescription drug cases. READ: Temperatures to plunge into 30s as cold front moves into Central Florida Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Ukraines Mykhailo Mudryk looks set to join Chelsea (Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA). (PA Wire) Chelsea have agreed a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk for winger Mykhailo Mudryk after sending representatives to Turkey to seal the transfer. The Blues have moved fast for the 22-year-old Ukraine international after Arsenal were believed to be close to completing his signing. The PA news agency understands that Chelsea have now made their move, with a delegation visiting Turkey, where the Ukrainian club are training ahead of the new season, to steal a march on their London rivals. And Mudryk is now reportedly ready to sign a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge. While both clubs are believed to have offered a similar amount, Chelsea have structured a deal which would see Shakhtar receive more money up front, with more favourable add-ons than those being negotiated with Arsenal. Those add-ons include Champions League participation, the number of matches played and winning the Premier League. Mudryk, who has played just 65 club games across his career to date, was named Shakhtars player of the year on Saturday. He has posted several Instagram messages seemingly suggesting he is keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, but now Chelsea have moved firmly into pole position to land the promising forward. Blues owner Todd Boehly has already sanctioned moves for Benoit Badiashile, David Fofana and Andrey Santos in the January window, while adding the loan signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. Felix was sent off in Thursdays 3-1 loss at neighbours Fulham, a result which leaves Chelsea 19 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal. Mykhailo Mudryk looks set to join Chelsea (Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA) (PA Wire) Chelsea are very close to a deal for winger Mykhailo Mudryk, having agreed a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk after sending representatives to Turkey to seal the transfer. The Blues have moved fast for the 22-year-old Ukraine international after Arsenal were believed to be close to completing his signing. The PA news agency understands a delegation from Chelsea travelled to Turkey, where the Ukrainian club are training ahead of the new season, to steal a march on their London rivals. FC Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov and Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali discussed Mykhailo Mudryks transfer to Chelsea FC today. Parties are very close to agree on players transfer to the club.#Shakhtar pic.twitter.com/IoHOaFRfn5 FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) January 14, 2023 Shakhtar confirmed a deal with Chelsea was very close. A statement on the clubs official Twitter account said: FC Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov and Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali discussed Mykhailo Mudryks transfer to Chelsea FC today. Parties are very close to agree on players transfer to the club. According to reports, Mudryk could cost up to 100millon euros (88m) and is ready to sign a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge. While Chelsea and Arsenal are both believed to have offered a similar amount, the Blues have structured a deal which would see Shakhtar receive more money up front, with more favourable add-ons than those being negotiated with the Gunners. PA understands those add-ons include Champions League participation, the number of matches played and winning the Premier League. Mudryk, who has played just 65 club games across his career to date, was named Shakhtars player of the year on Saturday. Story continues He has posted several Instagram messages seemingly suggesting he is keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, but now Chelsea have moved firmly into pole position to land the promising forward. Blues owner Todd Boehly has already sanctioned moves for Benoit Badiashile, David Fofana and Andrey Santos in the January window, while adding the loan signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. Felix was sent off in Thursdays 3-1 loss at neighbours Fulham, a result which leaves Chelsea 19 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal and having played a game more. BEIJING (Reuters) - China said nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy in early December, a big increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data. Between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, the number of COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, with an average age of 80.3 among the deceased, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing on Saturday. She said 5,503 of the fatalities were caused by respiratory failure due to COVID, while 54,435 resulted from a combination of COVID and other diseases. Of the patients who died, 90.1% were aged 65 and older. China last reported daily figures of COVID deaths on Monday. Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month - figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals. In December, officials said they planned monthly, rather than daily updates. While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world. (Reporting by Tony Munroe; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Helen Popper) BEIJING (AP) China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December, offering hard numbers for an unprecedented surge that was apparent in overcrowded hospitals and packed crematoriums, even as the government released little data about the status of the pandemic for weeks. Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the emergency peak" of its latest surge appears to have passed. The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those deaths related to COVID occurred in hospitals, which means anyone who died at home would not be included in the numbers. The report would more than double Chinas official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in much of the world. China stopped reporting data on COVID-19 deaths and infections after abruptly lifting anti-virus controls in early December despite a surge in infections that began in October and has filled hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients. Hospitals in Beijing across the country have been overwhelmed with patients, and funeral homes and crematoriums have struggled to handle the dead. The World Health Organization and other governments appealed for information after reports by city and provincial governments suggested as many as hundreds of millions of people in China might have contracted the virus. Infection numbers now appear to be falling based on a decline in the number of patients visiting fever clinics, said a National Health Commission official, Jiao Yahui. The daily number of people going to those clinics peaked at 2.9 million on Dec. 23 and had fallen by 83% to to 477,000 on Thursday, according to Jiao. Story continues These data show the national emergency peak has passed, Jiao said at a news conference. Whether China truly has passed a COVID-19 peak is hard to assess, said Dr. Dale Bratzler, chief COVID officer at the University of Oklahoma and head of quality control at the universitys hospital. Thats difficult to know, Bratzler said. China quarantined people indoors, there are many people unvaccinated, the people are vulnerable. Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease physician and professor of public health at the Yale School of Public Health, said the number of COVID-19 deaths China is reporting may be a significant underestimation because of how they define them. Theyre using a very narrow case definition for (COVID) deaths, Ko said. They have to have respiratory failure ... in order to be counted as a case you have to be at a place where they can say you fulfilled all the requirements, and thats at a hospital. Hospitals in China, Ko said, are located mostly in large cities where COVID outbreaks have been reported, not in isolated rural areas. This is the Lunar New Year, people are traveling, going to the countryside where the population is vulnerable, Ko said. Were really worried about whats going to happen in China as this outbreak moves to the countryside. For nearly three years, China had kept its infection rate and deaths far lower than those of the United States and some other countries at the height of the pandemic with a zero-COVID strategy that aimed to isolate every case. That shut down access to some cities, kept millions of people at home and sparked angry protests. Those rules were suddenly eased in early December after some of the largest shows of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in more than 30 years. That set off new problems in a country that relies on domestically developed vaccines that are less reliable than others used globally, and where older people those more susceptible to dying from the virus are less likely to be vaccinated than the general population. The Health Commission said the average age of people who died since Dec. 8 is 80.3 years, and 90.1% are aged 65 and above. It said more than 90% of people who died had cancer, heart or lung diseases or kidney problems. The number of elderly patients dying from illness is relatively large, which suggests that we should pay more attention to elderly patients and try our best to save their lives, said Jiao. The United States, South Korea, Japan and several other countries have imposed virus testing and other controls on people arriving from China. Beijing retaliated on Wednesday by suspending issuance of new visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan. This month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said agency officials met with Chinese officials to underline the importance of sharing more details about COVID-19 issues, including hospitalization rates and genetic sequences. ___ Associated Press writer Ken Miller contributed to this report from Oklahoma City. SHANGHAI (Reuters) - COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations have peaked in China and the number of hospitalised COVID patients is continuing to decline, a Chinese health official said on Saturday. Nationwide, "the number of fever clinic visitors is generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas," Jiao Yahui, an official from the National Health Commission, told a news conference. Jiao said the number of emergency treatment patients was also declining and the ratio of patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 was steadily falling as well. The number of severe cases has also peaked, she added, though remained at a high level, and patients were mostly elderly. Wen Daxiang, a Shanghai Health Commission official, said China would strengthen health monitoring and management of the high-risk population. He added that China would bolster the supply of drugs and medical equipment, and beef up training of grassroots medical workers to combat COVID in rural regions. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Mark Heinrich) CLEARWATER The day after the City Council fired City Manager Jon Jennings and appointed Jennifer Poirrier as his interim successor, a series of blocked calls appeared on Poirriers cell. She picked up on the fourth No ID call in a row. It was Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige. He called my personal phone, so I dont know how he got that number, she said. Miscavige called on Jan. 6, Poirrier said, to explain he would soon arrange a meeting to catch her up on the discussions hed been having with Jennings about the churchs plans for its downtown real estate. The show of urgency from Scientologys leader comes in contrast to the lack of progress on those plans despite 14 months of negotiations between Jennings and Miscavige. Dozens of downtown properties are being held vacant by companies tied to Scientology, a situation Jennings said he was trying to remedy through a land swap with the church. But council members have expressed frustration that a deal has yet to materialize. They also said they are in the dark about the status of the negotiations with Miscavige because Jennings never disclosed details with them. Until I see some kind of something from the church ... I just dont think I can really trust them, council member David Allbritton said at a work session on Monday. If they really wanted to have a vibrant downtown, why arent they doing something? Allbritton said. Are they waiting for us? I mean look what weve done. Weve got Imagine Clearwater, and weve got development on the bluff planned. Theres a lot of things that are happening on our end, nothing on their end. Jennings spoke regularly on the phone with Miscavige, in some periods on a weekly basis, he told the Tampa Bay Times in previous interviews. It was a new era, since Miscavige went years without talking to city officials consistently before Jennings arrival in November 2021. Jennings and Miscavige had six in-person meetings, the last held at Scientologys Fort Harrison Hotel on May 29, 2022, according to public records. For their other five meetings, which took place between November 2021 and March 2022, Jennings and Miscavige met at a church office on Drew Street and North Fort Harrison Avenue, always after 5 p.m. Story continues Jennings did not respond to voicemail on Friday asking for an update on those discussions. But he previously said the swap the two were negotiating potentially included the church receiving a 1.4-acre city lot on the downtown waterfront and Clearwater receiving Scientology-owned land that could help the citys downtown revitalization efforts. Any land swap would require City Council approval, and council members expressed frustration that Jennings never updated them about his talks with Miscavige. They said Jennings did not tell them which city properties he was suggesting to trade or which church parcels the Scientology leader was offering. Ive asked repeatedly, Whats being discussed? Whats on the table? council member Lina Teixeira said. Its always like, Were working on it, were working on it. In an interview last February, Jennings said he and Miscavige agreed on a partnership where the church would renovate three parishioner-controlled buildings on Cleveland Street and recruit high-end retail to the storefronts. He called it a show of good faith to the community by Miscavige while the two negotiated the land swap. Jennings characterized the churchs renovation of the three Cleveland Street buildings as the first phase of a broader activation for other downtown properties controlled by Scientology. Nearly one year later, however, no visible construction has begun on the three Cleveland Street properties and the land swap has not been presented to the City Council for a vote. Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw did not respond to an email asking why dozens of church-controlled properties remain vacant. Council member Mark Bunker said the lack of progress again shows we cant exactly trust what Miscavige says. In late 2016, Miscavige told city officials the church was done buying downtown property. Then in early 2017, he confirmed to council members that the church was behind the purchase of six properties totaling $26 million. The purchases were part of a redevelopment plan that Miscavige was offering to pay for if the city stepped aside and allowed him to buy the 1.4-acre lot on the waterfront, then owned by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. But after the city rejected his offer in April 2017 and bought the lot from the aquarium, companies tied to the church went on a buying spree. Since 2017, companies controlled by members of Scientology have bought about 160 parcels in and around downtown for $120 million in cash. More than half remain vacant or undeveloped. (Miscavige) has had every opportunity to deliver a vibrant downtown since 2017 and he has refused to do so, Bunker said. Poirrier said she will go into meetings with Miscavige with an open mind. But she told him she knows nothing about the discussions to date because Jennings never filled her in. She previously served as assistant city manager under Jennings. (Miscavige) said he was surprised to hear there wasnt more information being shared, that it wasnt the impression he had, Poirrier said. I want to continue to hear what the councils expectations are, but yes, Im open to having conversations about what the offer is. As interim city manager, Poirrier will handle conversations with Miscavige in the short term. The city is expected to launch a national search for a city manager in the next 30 days, and Poirrier said she hasnt decided yet if shell apply. Allbritton said he will have stern advice for whoever becomes Clearwaters top administrator. I still feel that we need to be talking, but the next city manager that comes in, my first word is going to be: Be very careful with the church, because I dont see any progression. Allbritton said. A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held together next month, with partisan control of the chamber at stake. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel sided with the Houses Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who had moved to fill all three Allegheny County seats together on Feb. 7. The decision was a loss for Rep. Bryan Cutler, the Lancaster Republican who heads up his caucus in the House, and whose lawsuit sought to delay two of the special elections until the May primary. The order signed by Democratic Judge Michael Wojcik, which did not come with an opinion fully detailing its reasoning, said Cutler did not prove he has a clear right to what he was seeking or that the injunction he wanted was in the public interest. Wojcik wrote that he agreed with McClintons argument that Cutler was asking the court to take up issues that are not appropriate for the courts. The judge said Cutler sought rulings on nonjusticiable political questions regarding which party in the House of Representatives has the majority and, concomitantly, who in the House of Representatives has authority to act as Majority Leader and issue writs of election in the interim period between the end of the last two-year legislative session on Nov. 30 and the start of the current session earlier this month. Cutler released a statement that accused the court of ignoring basic math and prior law. Instead of resolving a dispute where the answer was self-evident based on the numbers, the court took the path of least resistance and thereby weakened the foundations of our republic and faith in the rule of law, he said. McClintons press secretary issued a statement calling the decision good news for the nearly 200,000 Allegheny County residents currently without representation in the state House. Democrats won 102 seats in the November election, but one of their reelected incumbents died of cancer in October and two others resigned in December because they were also elected to higher offices. Story continues In an argument session this week, Allegheny County officials told the judges that preparations were well underway to conduct the three special elections on Feb. 7, with ballots ready to be printed and most polling places and elections workers in place. Cutler had previously consented to fill the late Rep. Tony DeLucas seat on Feb. 7, but wanted to wait several months to hold special elections for districts most recently represented by former Rep. Austin Davis, who will be sworn in as lieutenant governor next week, and by now freshman U.S. Rep. Summer Lee. The three vacancies have left Republicans with a temporary 101-99 majority, but the GOP may lose a member later this month. Republican state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver of Northumberland County hopes to win a state Senate special election and fill a seat held most recently by John Gordner, a Republican who resigned mid-term to become a Senate lawyer. The narrow partisan breakdown in the House led members last week to elect Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, as a self-styled independent speaker, on the strength of all Democratic votes and 16 Republicans. Rozzi announced Thursday the makeup of a group of six state representatives, three from each party, who will advise him on potential rules for the 2023-24 session. The Speakers Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward will seek a bipartisan agreement to end gridlock in the House, Rozzis office said in announcing it will begin work Tuesday. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: At least 5 people hospitalized after a house fire in Shaler Township PHOTOS: Emergency crews battling house fire in Shaler Township Missing leopard forces zoo closure VIDEO: Man accused of attempting to kidnap a jogger in Westmoreland County arrested DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Footage of Russian soldiers in a crossfire with Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian state border force Drone footage shows the Ukrainian troops annihilating a unit of Wagner fighters in Soledar. The footage comes from the Donestk region, the scene of some of the war's most fierce battles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has painted a grim picture of the situation in the town. Drone footage posted on the State Border Service of Ukraine's Telegram shows the Ukrainian military winning a firefight against the infamous Wagner Group. The Wagner Group is a private army with close links to the Kremlin that has been at the forefront of the bitter battle for Soledar in eastern Ukraine. It has conscripted many of its fighters from Russia's prison system. The video shows soldiers who the State Border Service of Ukraine identified as Wagner Group fighters being monitored by a drone. The soldiers then come under fire from Ukrainian fighters using large-caliber machine guns, resulting in a number of injuries, according to the border force. The video ends after a series of Ukrainian artillery shells explode among the Russian unit, and the unit's men appear to be lying immobile on the ground. In a Telegram post, the State Border Service of Ukraine described the events. "In Soledar, we explosively meet the Wagnerites. At the beginning of January, the border guards, together with the units of one of the mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, held back the enemy offensive. Our aerial reconnaissance detected a group of enemy infantry. Approaching the positions of our defenders, the Wagnerites came under a favorable crossfire. Large-caliber machine guns inflicted casualties on the enemy. The defeat of the occupiers in this direction was completed by a well-hit artillery strike, which was also corrected by the border 'bird.' Effective aerial reconnaissance is the key to success on the battlefield." Story continues Insider has been unable to independently verify the footage. Fighting in the salt-mine town of Soledar, in the Donetsk region, has intensified recently, with Russian troops including the Wagner Group making tactical advances and now controlling most of the settlement, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) January 10, 2023 On Friday, Moscow said it had finally captured Soledar. But Ukraine officials disputed the claim and called it "information noise," reported the BBC. Speaking during his nightly address from Kyiv on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "The tough battle for Donetsk region continues, the battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our country continues. "Although the enemy has concentrated its greatest forces in this direction, our troops the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defense and security forces are defending the state." Read the original article on Business Insider US-JAPAN-DIPLOMACY-BIDEN-KISHIDA US President Joe Biden waits for the arrival of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2023. Credit - OLIVIER DOULIERY-AFP In 2020, America elected Joe Biden to be not-Trumpa role for which he seemed well-suited. In 2016, the country voted for burn-it-all-down upheaval. Trump was the tribune of those who felt betrayed and misled and mistreated. Four chaotic years later, alarmed voters fled into the arms of an aging former vice-president and senatora man they had twice rejected as a presidential contenderwho seemed the personification of the steady hand. No one expected Biden to be transformational or extraordinary, but we did need him to be the anti-Trump in the most important ways. We needed him to be sober and responsible, to play by the rules, and to uphold the primacy of law and procedure. And he delivered. President Biden freed the country and the world from the tyranny of tweeted insults, conspiracies, threats, lies, fantasies, and reversals. And while naturally some will criticize his policies, Biden has conducted the presidency with dignity. He has gone some way toward restoring a sense that the system, whatever its flaws, is basically sound. But the revelation that, like Trump, Biden mishandled classified documents, including storing them in his garage next to his Corvette, drags us back to precisely the world in which Trump is most comfortable. Like all reprobates, Trumps default justification when caught out is everybody does it. Last summer, when the FBI executed a search of Mar-a-Lago for purloined classified documents, Trump demanded, on his social media platform Truth Social, What happened to the 30 million pages of documents taken from the White House to Chicago by Barack Hussein Obama? He refused to give them back! What is going on? This act was strongly at odds with NARA. Will they be breaking into Obamas mansion in Marthas Vineyard? It was rubbish, as the National Archives confirmed in a statement. Obama had turned everything over to the proper authorities. But now, Biden has offered an enormous gift to Trump and his truth-optional allies. Biden really did do something similar. Story continues The TV analysts who are rushing to explain that what Trump did was orders of magnitude worse than what Biden did are correct, but it will not alter the political calculus. What Biden did (so far as we know or have reason to suspect) was negligent but not intentional. And yet, its still way too close to Trumps transgressions for comfort. Millions of Republicans, marinated in grievance, are primed to believe that Trump is the victim of a double standard and they wont delve too deeply into the distinction between purposely absconding with classified material, lying about it, and defying a subpoena, and simply leaving classified documents in an office closet and in a garage. The great loss here is not that this makes it more challenging to bring criminal charges against Trump for his contempt of the law regarding classified materials, the tragedy is that this is a victory for the kind of cynicism that Trump has popularized. Drain the swamp. Lock Her Up. Stop the Steal. Defund the FBI. Trumps message has been consistent. Everyone is corrupt. The system is rigged. No one is honest. No one really plays by the rules. Until now, it seemed that President Biden was defying that theme. His administration has been staffed by grown ups. There have been no scandals. The Department of Justice has been methodical and fair in its prosecutions. In an appearance on 60 Minutes in September of 2022, Biden was asked: When you saw the photograph of the top secret documents laid out on the floor at Mar-a-Lago, what did you think to yourself looking at that image? Scott Pelley was really asking how a respectable government official, a rule upholder, regards those who trash those standards. It was an invitation to express censoriousness on behalf of everyone who would never consider treating national security so cavalierly. Biden replied, How that could possibly happen, how anyone could be that irresponsible? At the time, that moment seemed a ratification of normality in American politics. Now, the clip is an arrow in the quiver of the truth-denying nihilists. Worse, the Biden administrations post-revelation conduct has been less than inspiring. We now know that Mr. Bidens lawyers discovered the documents in the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C. on November 2. When news leaked on January 9, the White House issued a statement stressing that as soon as these documents were discovered, their existence was reported to the National Archives and they were recovered the following morning. The message: It was an oversight, but as soon as it was discovered, we did things by the book. Except that a few days later, the White House was obliged to acknowledge that the Penn Biden Center documents were not, in fact, the only ones they found. There was a second tranche of documents, this time discovered in Bidens Delaware home, that they reported to the Archives on December 20, but only acknowledged publicly on January 12, again only after a press leak. That looks, in these early days, like the kind of dodgy, hide-the-ball behavior that Biden should have been above. The man who was dismayed by the spectacle of classified documents splayed out on the floor of Mar-a-Lago has been transformed into the tetchy pol explaining that documents locked next to a Corvette were hardly sitting out on the street. That is demoralizing for those who believe that Bidens chief accomplishmentand purposeas president has been to restore a modicum of trust to a nation that has been sunk in suspicion and bitterness for too long. Being not-Trump demands better. A toddler was killed and eight other people were taken to a hospital after a house fire in Shaler Township. PHOTOS: Emergency crews battling house fire in Shaler Township Firefighters and medics were called to Fall Run Road at around 9:45 p.m. According to Shaler Township police chief Sean Frank, firefighters found 2-year-old Danika DeRamo on the first floor of the home. She was taken to a local hospital and was later pronounced deceased. Danika was my little angel, said Danikas grandmother, Kathy Palmer. Palmer said DeRamo ran out of the grips of her mother while they were trying to escape the house. She ran back in because the cat got spooked. She pulled away from Courtney who had her 3-week baby in her arm, trying to get out and she lost sight of her, said Palmer. Palmer is devastated after the tragedy. She was just full of life. She would have been three in February. And to be done like this, this isnt fair, said Palmer. Palmer said the four other members of the family four were able to escape. Two were taken to a hospital via ambulance and two were taken by private vehicle. HEARTBREAKING UPDATE: 2 yr old girl died in a house fire in Shaler Twp. Shaler Police Chief Sean Frank says her name is Danika DeRamo. 4 others hospitalized plus 4 firefighters hurt @WPXI_Lori is working on getting more information. https://t.co/jsTVgyQKBg Alyssa Raymond (@AlyssaRaymond) January 14, 2023 Four firefighters were also injured in the blaze and taken to a hospital for treatment. None of their injuries were life-threatening, Chief Frank said. Our hearts go out to the family, and all involved in the rescue of this young child. Please keep all involved in your thoughts and prayers, Chief Frank said. Shaler Township Police are being assisted by the Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit and the Allegheny County Fire Marshals Office. Story continues The cause and origin of the fire are still under investigation. If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe page for Danikas memorial funds, click here. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Man accused of attempting to kidnap a jogger in Westmoreland County arrested Lisa Marie Presleys death: Were stomach issues a symptom of a heart problem? Rivers Casino temporarily closed after cracked pipe sent water onto casino floor VIDEO: At least 1 person taken to hospital after shooting in Aliquippa DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts A study warns laws against sustainable investing could trickle down to taxpayers. Well also look at a Swedish mining companys potentially game-changing discovery. This is Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, were Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Programming note: Well be taking off Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Well be back on Tuesday! Lets jump in. Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter Taxpayers could pay over anti-ESG laws: analysis State-level efforts to penalize companies for use of environmental, social or governance (ESG) goals in investments could cost taxpayers more than $708 million, according to a study published by the nonprofit Sunrise Project. Where did the laws come from? ESG incorporates environmental and social factors into investment decisions along with traditional financial metrics. Conservative critics of the practice have argued it introduces a political agenda to what should be a purely financial decision. Eighteen states have either proposed or passed legislation restricting the state from doing business with companies that practice ESG, and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) has announced an investigation into the use of ESG in state pension funds. These bills are based on model legislation written by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative nonprofit that creates draft bills for state legislatures. How they did it: In the study, researchers analyzed a Wharton School of Business paper on Texas anti-ESG law, which linked the state law to $532 million in higher interest payments on municipal bonds. Sunrise Project analysts extrapolated this to six other states Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and West Virginia and estimated the same impacts would cost taxpayers a total of $708 million over the past 12 months. Story continues The range of potential additional costs varies state by state, according to the study. Florida has both the widest range and highest ceiling, with a range of $97 million to $361 million. While Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has proposed an anti-ESG rule for state pension funds and pulled $2 billion in assets from BlackRock over its use of ESG, the state does not have a law that would specifically affect bond issuance. Read more about the analysis here. Sweden discovers huge rare earth deposit Swedish government-owned mine operator LKAB on Thursday announced the discovery of a major rare earth mineral deposit in the northern city of Kiruna, potentially significantly reducing reliance on China for electric vehicle components. The deposit, the largest such discovery in Europe, is equivalent to more than 1 million metric tons of rare earth oxides, according to LKAB. This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition. We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles, LKAB president and CEO Jan Mostrom said in a statement. What does this mean for consumers? The discovery could be a game-changer for Europe, which currently has no rare earth mining operations and is entirely dependent on Chinese imports for the metals, which are used in the manufacturing of wind turbines and electric cars. As of 2020, 99 percent of rare earth imports to the European Union came from China. Demand for the minerals is expected to surge as the proliferation of electric vehicles increases, with the EU projecting a more than fivefold increase by the end of the decade. Europe is particularly wary about dependence on imports after Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine highlighted European reliance on Russian oil imports. Read more about the find here. At least 8 dead as tornadoes rip through Southeast At least eight people have died after severe storms and dozens of tornadoes swept the Southeast on Thursday. Seven people were killed in Autauga County, Ala., multiple news outlets reported on Friday. A 5-year-old also died in Butts County, Ga., when a tree fell on a car, the county coroner confirmed. At least 35 tornadoes were recorded across the Southeastern U.S. on Thursday, downing power lines and damaging buildings, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service. Alabama and Georgia appear to have faced the brunt of the damage, with at least 14 counties in Alabama and five in Georgia sustaining damage in the severe storms, The Associated Press reported. Read more from The Hills Julia Shapero. WHAT WERE READING A Faked Kidnapping and Cocaine: A Montana Mines Descent Into Chaos (The New York Times) Drought has eased in Colorado, but experts brace for what the 2023 snow season holds in store (The Colorado Sun) Californias drought has led to a groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley (CBS News) Oil, human rights, security: Heres whats in store for U.S.-Gulf relations in 2023 (NPR) Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. Well see you next week. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty The war that Vladimir Putin thought he would win in a matter of days is still raging after nearly a year, with both sides desperately seeking more equipment, soldiers, and international support. But Russia, it seems, may soon be in for a knock-out blowcourtesy of Ukraines friends in the U.S. and Europe. Last week, Washington announced a new $3.8 billion arms package to Ukraine that included everything from sorely needed air defense systems to artillery shells. Most of Ukraines excitement, though, was reserved for the inclusion of the Bradley fighting vehicle, a capable armored vehicle that Ukraine has long sought to help reclaim land seized by Russia. The decision to finally send Bradleys signals that even more sophisticated weapons systems, including tanks, might be just over the horizon. The line of what systems are too escalatory to send to Ukraine has constantly been moving in Ukraines favor, with weapons thought to be too escalatory at the start of the war now either on their way or on the table. The U.S. and other countries have sent artillery to Ukraine throughout the conflict, but non-Soviet tanks and infantry fighting vehiclesIFVs for shortwere an informal red line until just recently. Its not just the U.S. thats changing its mind about whats appropriate to send. Over the past few weeks, Germany promised to send 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. German and American IFVs are in various states of modernization, but they will still make a big difference, as both Russia and Ukraine are currently using a mishmash of IFVs that include much older equivalents. The biggest question is the provision of modern American and European tanks. Eastern European countries like Poland and Czechia have delivered hundreds of Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine throughout the war. The Ukrainians have made good use of donated tanks, but have consistently asked for the more modern tanks made by the U.S., Germany, and others. Why Russia Is Terrified of This New U.S. Weapons Delivery Story continues Though Europe has been reticent about sending tanks, the tide might be turning, with both the German-made Leopard 2 and the British-made Challenger 2 on the table. France already promised the AMX-10RC, which is more comparable to a tank destroyer, but has fallen short of promising its own main battle tank, the Leclerc. The Leopard 2 is considered the most viable candidate among western tanks. Even if Germany itself doesnt send any, other European countries from Spain to Finland can field them, and countries that cant spare Leopards can still send spare parts. Though the German government has the authority to restrict owners of German-made tanks from transferring them to Ukraine, the country is now under much stronger pressure to allow other countries to transfer Leopards. On Jan. 10, Politico reported that France was pressuring Berlin to send tanks, and a day later, the president of Poland announced that some of their Leopard 2s would be sent to Ukraine without clarifying if Germany would allow it. If Berlin does eventually agree to send tanks or allow other nations to re-export them, they will likely announce it around the Franco-German summit later this month. The U.K. is also reportedly planning to send tanks, but would be limited in how many they could reasonably send as the size of their tank fleet dwindled over the past few years, leaving the British army with few to spare. Beyond new donations, key equipment promised in 2022 is set to arrive in 2023. The most notable of these are air defense systems. In December, the U.S. promised a PATRIOT missile battery and France secured the export of the SAMP/T, both of which will likely be deployed in the next few months once crews are trained. The L3 VAMPIRE, a smaller system designed to shoot down drones at a fraction of the cost of more sophisticated systems, is also set to arrive in the coming months. While Ukraine looks forward to more weapons, Russia is looking for more men. Ukraine claims that Russia will try to mobilize 500,000 reservists to support new offensives against Ukraine in the coming year. If Ukraine is correct, the new forces would add to the 300,000 reservists Putin called up last fall. Mobilizing that many reservists will be chaoticbut the influx of troops will make it harder for Ukraine to regain more territory. Russia does not have international donors like Ukraine, but Moscows growing partnership with Iran will likely grow through 2023. Iran already supplied Russia with drones used to attack Ukraines infrastructure, but many of the drones and missiles rumored to appear have not yet been seen on the battlefield. Some commentators argue that Iran is waiting until October, when a UN resolution related to the 2015 Iran nuclear dealwhich would trigger sanctions if Iran supplies long-range missilesexpires. Theres One Country Keeping Putins Desperate Bombing Campaign Alive Iran has much more to offer Russia than missiles and drones. The country has been under international sanctions for some time and is more adept at dodging international restrictions. Tehran will not only be able to help Russia with oil smuggling to finance the war, but may be able to assist Russia in acquiring Western-made components for its missiles and drones. The U.S. stepped up sanctions on Iran over its weapons transfers this month, but stopping the supply of components altogether will be difficult. With so many possibilities for weapons transfers, its difficult to tell how 2023 will shape up for Ukraine. Russias willingness to call up hundreds of thousands of new soldiers and leverage their relationship with countries like Iran will improve their ability to keep up the fight. On the other hand, if the U.S. and European support grows in size and scope, Ukraines commanders will find themselves at the head of an even more lethal fighting force. 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. Mayor Eric Adams on Friday warned the influx of migrants to New York City may cost the Big Apple up to $2 billion twice what he had previously predicted. Our price tag could be anywhere from $1.5 to $2 billion. Thats the price tag that we are facing, Adams said during a Caribbean Power Jam Radio interview. Adams had previously requested $1 billion from the Biden administration to address the issue. We have to ask ourselves, where we [were] already dealing with a potential $5, $6 billion budget deficit in the outyears. Where does that money come from? Adams said. That money comes from our schools. It comes from our public safety, our hospitals, our infrastructure, our ACS services, those are our tax dollars that its coming from and we got to see an impact in every service we have in the city, Adams said. And that is just inhumane on the part of the national government. And I really believe its irresponsible, that we have not had a real national response to whats happening at our border. One day earlier, Adams announced cuts to nearly every city agency, according to the New York Post. On Friday, Adams also submitted an emergency mutual aid request to New York State for help sheltering the migrants this weekend, saying the city is at its breaking point after having received more than 3,100 asylum seekers in the past week alone. Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York beginning this weekend, he said in a statement. This type of request, reserved only for dire emergencies, asks the state for support to shelter arriving asylum seekers as the city faces an immediate need for additional capacity. Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well. Adams headed to El Paso, Texas, for the weekend to visit the southern border. More from National Review Floodwaters tore through Main Street in Morro Bay on Monday, leaving thousands of dollars in damage to local businesses in its wake. Now, after spending the last few days cleaning up mud and assessing the loss, theyre bracing for a new hit this weekend. Jeff Babb, owner of Central Coast Cart Rentals, watched his business fill with 3 feet of water on Monday wrecking the golf carts, electric bikes and scooters he rented out to customers. A 3-foot wall of water came down that road right there, Babb said, pointing at Main Street. Its just panic. Babb estimated that replacing his damaged equipment would cost $250,000 a price he doesnt think he can afford. Main Street is located in a flood plain, so Babb wasnt able to secure flood insurance. Hes hoping to receive disaster relief funding to pay for the damage and keep his business running, he said. All of my electric bikes are gone. All of my electric scooters, gone. They were fully submerged in the water, Babb said. Once they go under, all the control panels they fry. Just like anything else that doesnt want water. Morro Bay City Manager Scott Collins said the sudden deluge and flooding was unlike anything they had experienced before. It went from rain, just a trickle, to complete overwhelmed in a matter of an hour, Collins said. Weve never seen that before. It became critical immediately. Jeff Babb, owner of Central Coast Cart Rentals in Morro Bay, looks at the mud line just under the counter top after his business was flooded. A break in the storm track on Jan. 10, 2023, allowed Babb to start cleaning his shop. Storm and flooding plunge Morro Bay into a state of emergency When the storm roared into Morro Bay on Monday, it quickly flooded roads, businesses and vehicles while pushing residents into evacuation centers. That morning, the creek near Main Street overflowed and spilled into the surrounding area, according to Morro Bay City Manager Scott Collins. Rainfall in the city combined with water rushing down from the nearby hills created a very volatile, unfortunate, and very tragic explosion of water, Collins said. At 10 a.m., rain fell steadily onto quiet Main Street. By 11 a.m., flooding overwhelmed the area and the Emergency Operations Center was getting 10, 20 calls for service, Collins said. Story continues The city has a gauge near the Main Street Bridge to measure water levels. If water levels reach 8 feet, its considered a flood. On Monday, the water level at the bridge reached 15 feet which meant 7 feet of floodwater had rushed through Main Street. Our roads looked like lakes, Collins said. It was just a horrific sight. Debris lodged in bends of the creek, which plugged up the water and created more flooding, Collins said. On top of the water thats being dumped from the skies, you had a perfect storm of things that created that quickness in which it escalated to an emergency, Collins said. The city courtyard also flooded on Monday, Collins said, which reduced their capacity to respond to the flooding. (City staff) couldnt get to a lot of our tools because at that point the shop was flooded and vehicles were flooded, Collins said. We were operating a little less than full capacity at that point. Firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders did the best they could to warn residents of flooding, Collins said. A 78-year-old man was found dead in a stored boat in Morro Bay after the storm, according to the Morro Bay Police Department, but no other deaths related to the storm were reported in the city. Many Morro Bay residents were landlocked for a portion of Monday due to various road closures in and out of the city, according to Collins. There was a point in time where you couldnt get in or out, he said. Morro Bay set up two evacuation centers on Monday, one on the north side of the city and the other on the south side. Everybody was taking care of each other, Collins said. Morro Bay is a very tight-knit community, and it showed. Mud fills Main Street in Morro Bay near Highway 1 after creeks overflowed the banks. A break in the storm track on Jan. 10, 2023 after a series of atmospheric river storms hit the coast allowed businesses to start cleaning up their properties. City crews work to clear mud and reopen streets The citys maintenance crew cleaned up and opened South Bay Boulevard on Tuesday morning, then jumped over to Main Street around midday. On Wednesday, the city re-opened Main Street from Radcliff Avenue to northbound Highway 1, according to the citys Facebook page. Cleanup crews returned on Thursday, and the city hoped to open the rest of Main Street by the end of the day, the city said. The citys maintenance team only includes 10 people, Collins said. Thats what our budget allows. That doesnt go very far, Collins said. So Morro Bay also hired three contractors to assist with the storm cleanup: Crye Brothers, Papich and Coastal Tree Experts, Collins said. Were moving as quick as we can, and we appreciate the patience of our community members, he said. The city is also working with the county to secure state and federal disaster assistance funding. Residents can submit a report to the county about storm damage to their property at recoverslo.org, he said. Cart rental shop decimated by floodwaters On Monday at 10 a.m., Babb had placed a bucket under his leaky heater at Central Coast Cart Rentals but he wasnt too worried about the rain yet. At 12:16 p.m., however, Babb and his team saw water rushing down the street, so they stacked sandbags outside of the front door. At 12:30, water started leaking through the front door anyway. By 12:40, the water was about 1-foot deep outside, and Babb started moving inventory to higher ground in the shop. By 12:45, the shop was flooded with 6 to 8 inches of water, and by 1:02, Babb stood in 3 feet of water. From 12:30 to 1, we pretty much were decimated, Babb said. When Babb returned to the shop on Tuesday, 4 inches of mud caked the 4,000-square-foot building, his equipment and the parking lot. Babbs friends and employees showed up to shovel mud out of the building and salvage what equipment they could. People just started showing up with shovels and brooms, and so we just went to work, Babb said. I have good friends, and its a great community. Still, without flood insurance, Babb doesnt know how hell afford to keep the business running. My wife and I have put everything here, Babb said. I came in this morning and Im like, I dont know if I have the heart. As of Tuesday morning, the city and county hadnt offered any assistance to Babb, he said, but the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce stopped by to discuss potential disaster relief funding. Babb said hes worried about the weekend storm, which could dump another few inches of rain on the city. It could all come again, Babb said. Were at that point now where I dont want to do anymore, because if it happens all again, then everything we did over the last day is for nothing. Rebecca and Chris Jules clean mud from the inside of Morro Bay Antiques on Jan. 10, 2023. More than a foot of muddy water flooded the store in Mondays storm. Antique shop flooded with mud and water Morro Bay Antiques on Main Street also flooded on Monday. The flood busted through the front door and filled the shop with 14 inches of water, according to owner Chris Jules. The water had drained by the time Jules stepped into the shop on Tuesday at 9 a.m., but it left 2 inches of mud in the building. Jules, his wife and two friends spent 11 hours cleaning the business on Tuesday. Im just the kind of person that the sooner I can get it done, the sooner its over, Jules said. First, they moved the inventory out of the shop, then they pushed mud into the street using a push-broom and a squeegee. Finally, they hosed off the concrete foot. We just swept it all out the front door, Jules said. We just, like, kicked ass. Luckily, Morro Bay Antiques lost very little inventory as Jules had stored some of it upstairs before the storm, and many of the items submerged in water were wood or metal and could be cleaned. That being said cleaning the furniture was not an easy venture. Silt is really dense, so it takes a little more effort to wash it off stuff, Jules said. Ahead of the weekend storm, Jules said his landlord will secure the doors with 3 feet of sandbags, so hes not too worried about damage to his business, he said. Paige Pollock helps out a friend by using a flipped broom as a mud scraper at Morro Bay Antiques, which was flooded in Mondays deluge. A break in the storm track on Jan. 10, 2023, allowed hard-hit businesses in Morro Bay to clean up. Morro Bay braces for more rain Just as the city recovers from Mondays weather punch, Morro Bay will likely see another this weekend as a new round of rain arrives. According to the National Weather Service, Morro Bay has a chance of rain every day from Friday to Wednesday. Ahead of the weekend storm, the city is cleaning mud off the streets and clearing debris out of waterways, Collins said. Morro Bay will operate its Emergency Operations Center through the weekend and prepared volunteers to work in evacuation centers if needed. The city will post storm updates on its website and Facebook page, according to Collins. We are encouraging people to maintain situational awareness, Collins said. If you dont have to travel this weekend and youre on safe and high ground, stay there. Collins expects extreme weather events to strike Morro Bay more often due to climate change, he said. Coastal California is on the front lines of that, Collins said. Thats why we need to invest in resiliency. In its first major barrage in nearly two weeks, Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday as regions across the country were under air raid alerts. In the southeastern city of Dnipro, at least nine people were killed and more than 64 wounded, after a Russia missile strike destroyed part of a residential building, Ukrainian officials said. Infrastructure in the western Lviv region and northeastern Kharkiv were also hit, in addition to Ukraine's capital of Kyiv. Regional officials urged residents to seek shelter. Kyiv : Explosions were heard across Ukraine's capital Saturday, including in the residential Dniprovskyi district. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north. "The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down," he told local media. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fragments of a missile also fell in a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district, where a fire briefly broke out. Dnipro: Rescue operations are underway for people likely trapped under the rubble of a multistory residential building hit by a missile strike, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram. Kharkiv: Two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object Saturday afternoon after a similar attack in the morning, said Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. The city's subway system suspected operations amid the attacks. Lviv: An infrastructure facility was hit in Lviv, Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi said. Mykolaiv: Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles were intercepted over his province. Latest Ukraine news: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations on the eve of the first anniversary of Russias Feb. 24 invasion, said First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova. But Dzhaparova cautioned the visit would depend on many factors, including the possibility Russia is planning "a very serious offensive in February." Story continues The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency will travel to Ukraine next week to station safety experts at Ukraine's nuclear power facilities " to help prevent a nuclear accident during the current military conflict," according to a Friday statement from the agency. NATO is preparing to deploy surveillance aircraft to Romania on Jan. 17 to monitor Russian activity, according to a statement this week. Amid the war in Ukraine, NATO has increased its air presence in eastern Europe and conducted regular patrols over the region to track Russian warplanes. Moldovan border officials said the remains of a rocket "originating from Russias air attacks on Ukraine" was found in Larga, a northern village near the country's border with Ukraine, Moldovan authorities said. WATCH: Heres how Ukraines National Day of Unity looked different this year. VIDEO: Battle for Ukraine salt mining town Soledar intensifies, Russia says city under control UK, others promises tanks, artillery in aid to Ukraine United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems in military aid to Ukraine. Sunak said he pledged the Challenger 2 tanks and artillery systems after speaking with Zelenskyy on Saturday, according to a statement from Sunak's office. The British leader's office did not provide any additional details on how many tanks would be sent and when. Zelenskyy thanked Sunak in a tweet "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners." For months, Ukraine has asked Western allies for heavier tanks but leaders have tread carefully. Recently, the Czech Republic and Poland provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine. France promised AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles. The U.S. announced it would send Bradley fighting vehicles, and Germany pledged Marder armored personnel carriers. JANUARY 10: Top US senator backs sending long-range missiles to Ukraine JANUARY 8: Kyiv denies Russian claim that 'retaliation' missile strike killed 600 Ukraine soldiers: Updates Russia, Ukraine make conflicting claims over state of Soledar Russia and Ukraine have made conflicting claims this week about the state of the fight over the fiercely contested salt-mining town of Soledar. Russia claimed Friday that it captured the town, marking a rare victory for Moscow after a series of setbacks in its war in Ukraine. "The liberation of the town of Soledar was completed in the evening of Jan. 12," said Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, calling the development "important for the continuation of offensive operations in the Donetsk region." Meanwhile, Serhii Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the east, denied Soledar had fallen and said there are still Ukrainian units in the town. "The tough battle for Donetsk continues," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Friday. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: Deaths reported in Dnipro after Russian attacks STORY: "Twenty-seven people are injured. Six children are among them. All are in hospital," he said. Video released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine showed rescue workers at the site searching for the injured and dead. Reuters was able to confirm the location from the design and shape of the buildings seen in the videos which matched file and satellite imagery of the area. Jan. 14Former state Del. Rick Impallaria pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on Friday to misconduct in office for misusing state funds, according to a news release from the office of Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III. Impallaria, a Republican, served District 7 representing Harford and Baltimore counties from 2002 until Jan. 11. He lost his reelection bid in the 2022 midterm election. According to the release, Impallaria had rented a personal cottage on Punte Lane in Essex in Baltimore County since 2002. From 2004 to 2012, he also leased a district office on Clayton Road in the 7th District. But beginning in 2012, he notified the General Assembly that he was terminating the lease on the Clayton Road office and was opening a new "district office" on Punte Lane, in a building next to his cottage; both buildings were owned by the same landlord. He then began using funds from the General Assembly to pay rent on his cottage and the new office. As a member of the General Assembly, Impallaria was permitted to have a district office within his district primarily to be used for legislative business. However, his new "district office" on Punte Lane was outside Impallaria's district. And, the building was used not for legislative purposes, but to store Impallaria's personal belongings, according to the news release. In July 2012, after a decade of making monthly rent payments on his personal cottage, Impallaria stopped paying the rent for the cottage, which he continued to occupy. That was the same month the General Assembly began making payments for the new "district office," according to the news release. The amount of rent paid for that office was double the amount that other tenants in the community were paying. However, rent ledgers from the landlord indicate that the monthly payments Impallaria received from the General Assembly were split between his cottage and the neighboring building. Story continues In all, the state paid $92,800 in rent for Impallaria's "district office" between July 2012 and May 2022. Impallaria paid no rent for his cottage during the same period. Monthly rent payments from the General Assembly for the cottage from that period totaled $44,100, according to the news release. "The public needs to trust that elected officials are good stewards of the State's resources," Howard said, according to the release. "Our office will continue to work toward ensuring that those individuals who abuse their positions of trust are held accountable." Judge Stacy McCormick scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 21. Olivia Culpo was crowned Miss Universe in 2012. David Becker/Getty Images Former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo says she keeps her crown under lock and key at her house. Culpo was crowned Miss Universe in 2012 and is hosting the 71st pageant with Jeannie Mai Jenkins. Despite keeping the crown in a locked box, Culpo said she's caught her sisters with it in the past. Former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo says she still keeps her crown under lock and key over a decade since she won the pageant. Culpo, who competed in the pageant as Miss USA in 2012, told the New York Post that despite hiding her crown in a locked box at her house, she's caught her siblings trying it on in the past. "My crown has its own special clear box that I keep in my closet, locked," Culpo, 30, said. "Although I have caught my sisters walking around with it in my house before so maybe I need to hide the key." The model has two sisters: Aurora Culpo, 33, and Sophia Culpo, 26. In 2022, the trio starred in a TLC reality show called "The Culpo Sisters" that followed their lives, loves, and careers in Los Angeles, according to IMDB. Olivia Culpo, Sophia Culpo and Aurora Culpo are seen in Madison Square Park on November 8, 2022 in New York City. Gotham/GC Images She and Aurora previously made headlines in January 2022 when Culpo was told she was unable to board an American Airlines flight until she changed her outfit. As Insider previously reported, Aurora told her followers on Instagram that Olivia was called to the American Airlines desk and told to "put on a blouse" over her athleisure set as they prepared to board a flight to Cabo, Mexico. According to NPR, Culpo was a 20-year-old sophomore at Boston University when she was crowned Miss Universe, beating out 88 other international participants for the title. She went on to host the 2020 pageant. On January 5, Miss Universe announced that Culpo would be returning to cohost the 71st annual pageant alongside actor and TV personality Jeannie Mai Jenkins. On Friday, Culpo shared several behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the rehearsal day for Miss Universe via her Instagram stories. In one clip, she called Jenkins her "work wife" as the pair practiced their lines at a table read. In another, Culpo panned across the stage to show several contestants and wrote "someone's life is about to change forever." Read the original article on Insider Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger blasted the Republican leader who would have been his superior had he remained in office. Kevins a piece of st, Kinzinger declared in an interview with Bulwark posted Thursday. The six-term representative was referring to newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom hes criticized for many things, including McCarthys unwillingness to take action against already disgraced congressman George Santos. The congressman from New Yorks 3rd district who has lied about many details of his background while campaigning for office in 2022 was sworn in last week by McCarthy. Lets just be honest about this because (McCarthy) will say whatever he needs to say to stay in power, Kinzinger said. Im not even saying that gratuitously to be mean to him. Its just a fact. Kinzinger has also been critical of McCarthy because of the California congressmans unwillingness to move the Republican party away from former president Donald Trump, whose followers launched an assault on the U.S. Capitol after being falsely told the election was stolen. Kinzinger a former Air Force pilot fell out of favor with the GOP after taking a congressional committee assignment investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. He opted not to seek re-election in 2022 and now works with CNN. According to Kinzinger, because McCarthy holds narrow support within the party, which took 15 votes to elect him as speaker on Jan. 7, he cant afford to stand up to alleged neer-do-wells like Santos. Fox News host Martha MacCallum said she thinks the Statue of Liberty is upset with migrants in a reinterpretation of the iconic beacon of hope on Friday. (You can watch MacCallums comments below.) MacCallum went into detail on The Five about a New York Post story that described claims made by an employee at the Row NYC hotel, which has reportedly offered New York City-funded housing and food to migrants staying there. The employee described migrants throwing out so much food, covering a room in empty alcohol containers and getting into a fight at the hotel. When Im reading this story, right, Im thinking about [Emma] Lazarus poem on the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, said MacCallum, who later reimagined the statue that is a symbol of welcome to immigrants. She added: And Im thinking theres a little tear coming down the Statue of Libertys head when she hears that the food is not exactly what they would like and there is mayhem going on in these hotels, where people are also, according to this whistleblower, having sex in the hallways, getting into fights, domestic abuse is taking place. What is going on? (H/T Media Matters For America) Related... PARIS (Reuters) -The French Foreign Ministry summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Paris on Saturday over the execution of a British-Iranian national accused of spying, the ministry said in a statement, expressing its indignation about the case. Iran's judiciary said earlier in the day that Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian national who once served as Tehran's deputy defence minister, had been executed, defying calls from London for his release. "He was also warned that Iran's repeated violations of international law cannot go unanswered, particularly with regard to the treatment of foreign nationals whom it arbitrarily detains," the French Foreign Ministry said. Like other Western powers, France has sought to increase pressure on Tehran in recent months and President Emmanuel Macron has criticised the crackdown by authorities on protesters and expressed support for women fighting for more rights. Macron called the unrest in the country a "revolution". "Something unprecedented is happening," Macron said in an interview in November. "The grandchildren of the revolution are carrying out a revolution and are devouring it," Macron said when asked to qualify what was taking place in Iran. France last year said a total of seven French citizens were being held in Iran in what Paris has called arbitrary detention - a further sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries. France lashed out at Iran on Oct. 6, accusing it of "dictatorial practices" and taking its citizens hostage after a video was aired in which a French couple appeared to confess to spying. In January, two French nationals and a Belgian were indicted for espionage, according to media reports. (Reporting by Tassilo HummelEditing by Mark Heinrich, Christina Fincher and Tomasz Janowski) A hiker slips in a creek in Eaton Canyon on Thursday afternoon as recent storms have caused mudslides on local trails. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) The ominous message was taped to an 18-inch orange traffic cone. Danger. Flash flood area. Do not enter, it read. A sign sits near a creek in Eaton Canyon as recent storms have caused mudslides on local hiking trails. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Pomona resident Maria Avila saw the warning as she reached a stream at Pasadenas Eaton Canyon Natural Area County Park with her parents and brother last Thursday afternoon. After the storms of the past few weeks, what was normally a trickle was now 2 feet of rushing, near-freezing water. To continue on the trail, which leads to a waterfall, hikers needed to ford the 20-foot-wide stream on slippery boulders. Some turned back, afraid of losing their footing. Avila, her parents and brother rolled up their pants, took off their shoes and socks and plunged in. I know its not the safest time right now, but I wasnt going to turn back, because this really is the most beautiful time to enjoy the park and nature, Avila said. I feel like weve already lost a lot of time because of the rain, and we dont want to miss any more. The Avilas eventually made it to the waterfall. Linda Corella of San Bernardino navigates a creek in Eaton Canyon as recent storms have caused mudslides on hiking trails. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) During a pause in the winter rains, nature lovers who were cooped up at home were venturing onto trails fringed by newly sprouted greenery. But park rangers and outdoors experts warn of hazards created by the storms, ranging from water crossings like the one at Eaton Canyon to slippery paths on steep mountainsides to potentially deadly snow and ice. Sometimes, a trail that seems tame at the outset becomes increasingly hairy with the temptation to push through to reach a summit or other scenic landmark. You have a situation where streams are swollen, you have natural seepage on the paths and rivers are roaring, said Mike Leum, a longtime volunteer search and rescue leader for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. But you go outside and its sunny, and thats very attractive for city dwellers. On Jan. 8, veteran hiker Crystal Paula Gonzalez fell 500 feet to her death on the icy Baldy Bowl Trail. Gonzalez was an experienced outdoorsperson nicknamed the Hiking Queen, according to CBS Los Angeles. Story continues Those who brave Mt. Baldy and surrounding areas should avoid traveling alone, bring extra food and clothing and receive winter mountaineering training, the U.S. Forest Service recommends. On Dec. 28, Los Angeles resident Jarret Choi fell and died on the Ice House Trail, near where Gonzalez lost her life. Officials took two days to find Chois body, due to poor visibility, bad weather and ice. Accidents and close calls are not limited to challenging trails like those on Mt. Baldy. Leum assisted the Montrose Search and Rescue Team in saving a Boy Scout troop five boys and three adults caught between a pair of rising rivers near Big Tujunga Creek on Sunday evening. All were unharmed. It was supposed to be a single day loop hike that I believe they thought would be easy, said Leum, the Sheriffs Departments assistant director of reserves, search and rescue and posse programs. Sometimes its best to wait. Kelsey Lynn and Madison Powers are stressing a message of patience to the 1,000-plus member LA Hike Club. On Jan. 5, Lynn hiked the Echo Mountain trail above Altadena in the Angeles National Forest, in between bouts of rain. The 34-year-old Echo Park resident was surprised to see large portions of the trail that were caved in and has not hiked since, due to safety concerns. We think its a good idea to give it a couple of days after it rains for the trails to dry off if youre going on a hard-packed mud trail, like a fire road, said Powers, 35, a resident of Hancock Park. But if you really want to get in a hike immediately after it stops raining, its probably safest to go on a paved route. Powers and Lynn, who co-founded the hiking club with another friend, suggest routes such as Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood and Malibus Solstice Canyon Loop. A couple walks by a mudslide in Eaton Canyon as recent storms have caused damage on local hiking trails. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) Some trails such as Sycamore Canyon and Turnball Canyon, operated by the Puente Hills Habitat Preservation Authority, routinely close for 48 hours after heavy rain. Eaton Canyon shutters on days with heavy rains, like Tuesday, while the Angeles National Forest, which closed an off-road vehicle area, and Paseo Miramar in Pacific Palisades have remained opened with few advisories. Last Thursday, Alberto Salazar and his girlfriend, Brittney Huerta, picked their way along the Eaton Falls trail, which begins inside Eaton Canyon and crosses into the Angeles National Forest. Two days earlier, this rock-covered path was flooded by 5 inches of rain and impossible to pass. Caution tape lined some of the trees and boulders surrounding a small waterfall near the entrance to the national forest. For Salazar, 20, of Paramount, this was the first day he and his girlfriend both had time for a hike. To get to the waterfall about 1.5 miles away, they crossed unstable log-and-rock bridges, with Salazar almost slipping at one point as he carried his 30-pound goldendoodle. Eventually, they reached the 40-foot-high waterfall. To me, this is what its all about, to be out here in nature and enjoy this with my girl, Salazar said. Why wait? Its worth a little risk, I guess. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. On 2 January 2021, a friend told me that their New Years resolution was to walk 10,000 steps a day. It was the dead of winter and I was still feeling the effects of a champagne hangover from a night celebrating the end of 2020. When they asked whether I wanted to attempt the goal with them, I replied with a noncommittal yes. After all, it was freezing in New York City and the thought of walking aimlessly for hours outside didnt sound appealing, no matter what the alleged health benefits. However, a quick glance at my iPhones Health app did slightly more to motivate me, as the built-in pedometer informed me that Id walked an average of just 5,361 steps a day in 2020 as a result of lockdowns and working from home amid the pandemic. Throughout January and February, I made a few half-hearted attempts to complete my 10,000-step goal, at times questioning how my friend had found himself so dedicated to the daily exercise. It was one thing to go for a daily walk, but to walk for the hours needed to meet the number, especially after a day of working from my couch, seemed impossibly daunting. By March, Id given it up completely, with my daily exercise consisting of little more than a trip to the grocery store, or sometimes, nothing at all. In August, however, two things changed: I saw my friend for the first time in months, at which point I witnessed their 50-pound weight loss in person, and I stepped on the scale for the first time in a year. While it may be superficial to acknowledge that my motivation was one ignited by the changes to my appearance as a result of more than a year in various states of lockdown, it was the push I needed to change my lifestyle. On 9 August, I completed my first official day of walking with a step count of 10,200, at which point I was immediately overcome with a migraine so severe that I had to lie down. The second day was no different, prompting me to ponder whether my body simply wasnt interested in walking that far, or if the pounding steps on the pavement had somehow triggered my headaches. Story continues A year without exercise meant that I hadnt considered the impact walking five miles in the August heat could have on my levels of hydration. Once Id upped my water intake, I found that, as far as health and fitness goals go, walking 10,000 steps a day was actually a realistic, and achievable, goal for someone who hasnt had much of an interest in exercise before. From a noticeable improvement to my mental health to a 15-pound weight loss, this is what Ive experienced during my five months of walking 10,000 steps a day. While I didnt set out on my goal with a focus on improved mental wellbeing, it wasnt long until I felt the positive effects of the exercise on my general mindset. It may not have been immediately apparent to me, but the extended amount of time inside during the pandemic had left me, like many others, feeling isolated from the outside world. When I pushed myself to go outside each day to complete my steps, it reminded me of all the things Id missed about the bustling city, which I got to witness slowly returning. The fresh or fresh for New York City air, and chance to be outdoors also had a positive impact on my mental health, while the walks allowed for an extended opportunity to connect with friends and family, as I turned to my contact list for lengthy phone calls during these long hours. Now, each day at 5.45pm, a call to any of my contacts prompts the greeting: Are you walking? While the positive mental impacts of the exercise were new for me, considering Ive preferred a sedentary lifestyle for much of the past 27 years, the effects are well-documented by researchers. According to a 2011 study on the associations between physical activity and mental health, exercising at any level is associated with better mental and physical health. Although I typically try to maintain a steady 3.2-mph speed, there are days I celebrate finishing my goal at all. A recent study by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health also found that physical activity is a useful way to prevent depression, with researchers finding that doing more physical activity appears to protect against developing depression, and that aareplacing sitting with 15 minutes of a heart-pumping activity like running, or with an hour of moderately vigorous activity, is enough to produce the average increase in accelerometer data that was linked to a lower depression risk. The exercise has also been a reliable stress reliever, as I have noticed I spend far less time trying to fall asleep as a result of my tiredness from physical exertion. In addition to my improved mental health, walking has also had a noticeable impact on my appearance over the past five months, with my legs and arms noticeably slimmer, and the appearance of cellulite on my thighs lessened. When I stepped on the scale for the first time, a month after Id started the daily walks, I was genuinely shocked to find Id lost six pounds. Since I began walking in August, Ive lost a total of 15 pounds, a goal Ive managed to achieve without making any significant changes to my diet. Interestingly, my experience contradicts a 2020 study, which found that walking 10,000 steps a day wont prevent weight gain, and that tracking steps wont translate into maintaining weight or preventing weight gain. At the time, the researchers suggested that the findings showed exercise alone is not always the most effective way to lose weight. There have also been unseen changes to my physical health from walking, as it has become easy to complete my daily goal, and thousands of additional steps, without feeling physically strained. A walk up-hill that would have left me out of breath in July is now no more difficult than a stroll down 5th Ave. According to previous research, the exercise also has the added benefit of improving my overall health, with a 2020 study finding that taking 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day is linked to a lower risk of dying of any cause. A 2019 study also found that, among older women, those who walked 4,400 steps a day had lower mortality rates than those who walked less. However, while the common health and weight-loss theory suggests that we should be striving to take 10,000 steps a day, 10,000 is actually an arbitrary number believed to be chosen by a Japanese clock company in the 1960s to sell pedometers. But despite the consumerist origins, the number has been a useful goal for me over the past five months as I have embarked on a journey of improved health. For more on walking check out our 10 best hiking shoes that make treks a walk in the park This article was originally published in January 2022 Police officers confiscated a large amount of drugs during a traffic stop Tuesday. The Columbus Police Department said officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of 6th Avenue and Belmont Street. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] It is unclear as to why officers initiated the traffic stop. When officers search the car, they found 16 bags of 600-milligram THC gummies, 16 packs of 500-milligram gummies, one bag of 400-milligram gummies, three grams of marijuana, several baggies and a scale with marijuana residue and a Glock 21. TRENDING STORIES: Police arrested the driver, 28-year-old Bruntavius Miles, and charged him with drug possession with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of drug-related objects, excessive window tint, suspended drivers license and no proof of insurance. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Move over, cutting boards. According to a new study, theres a new category of items to watch out for when guarding against potential kitchen mishaps. A November 2022 study in the Journal of Food Protection to determine the prevalence of cross-contamination across a variety of kitchen surfaces during a meal preparation found that spice containers had the highest degree of cross-contamination of any of the surfaces analyzed in the study. This includes surfaces like cutting boards, countertops and even trash cans. For the study, researchers asked 371 individuals to prepare a meal of a ready-to-eat lettuce salad and turkey patties, the latter which contained the bacteriophage MS2 (which is not harmful to humans as a tracer organism.) Half of the participants in the study were shown a video on proper thermometer use before preparing their meal. Then, when they were done, researchers took environmental samples to detect cross-contamination of MS2 bacteria on various surfaces that included countertops and other surfaces like refrigerator handles, kitchen utensils, cleaning areas and more. While most of the meal preparation events resulted in two or fewer environmental cross-contamination, 81% of the time, one or more surfaces resulted in cross-contamination, meaning that most of the time people unknowingly spread germs around the kitchen. The study also mentions one event where there were 10 events of cross-contamination in a single burger-making session, meaning that one of the studys participants really needs to enroll in cooking safety 101. Its really hard to go into someones home to conduct research but when you bring them to a simulated home setting, we get better information about where someone might make mistakes, Benjamin Chapman, Ph.D., professor and food safety specialist in the department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University tells TODAY.com. As a senior author on the study, Chapman says he handled design analysis and oversaw the students that did the work swabbing surfaces of the participants, who were recruited from Johnson and Wake counties in North Carolina. Story continues Chapman says that researchers were surprised at the results. By far the highest culprit for cross-contamination in the study was spice containers at 48% of the time. Common cross-contamination problem areas like trash can lids, cutting boards, frying pan handles and faucets all accounted for less than 20% positivity rates in the study. It was a little bit of a surprise to us that we saw so much contamination on spice bottles since we were really invested in other parts of the kitchen, Chapman says, adding that spots like refrigerator handles, the trash and faucets were expected to be the highest instance of cross-contamination. But spice containers really popped out as the number one place that we saw contaminated. According to the USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service, cross-contamination happens when harmful bacteria on food like raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood transfers to other foods, cutting boards and utensils. It happens when these items are not handled properly, like when you dont wash your hands at the right times when preparing a meal. Research shows that this was the case in this particular study. When we looked at the data and reviewed the video of what people were doing, there wasnt a lot of hand washing after handling the raw turkey before spicing the turkey mixture up with spice containers, Chapman said. So it really came down to hand washing. Another 2021 observational study by the FSIS in which participants were recorded cooking in a test kitchen found that 97% of participants failed to successfully wash their hands at the times they should have. That astounding figure is what drives Chapman and other experts to continue their research into how we all can safely prepare our burgers, salmon tacos and more at mealtimes. Chapman asserts that the results of this study don't mean you should throw away your spice containers. He says if youre really concerned about your spice containers you can certainly clean and sanitize them. To me, its not a cause for concern, he says. According to the Centers for Disease Control, four specific groups are most at risk for foodborne illness that is caused by eating or drinking something contaminated with disease-causing germs. Those groups are: elderly adults aged 65 and older, small children under 5, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Essentially, those four groups are more at risk of foodborne illness, Chapman says. Its not to say that others dont get sick because they do but but a higher proportion of individuals in those populations get sick compared to others. Chapman says this study is one of a series that he and others have done over the last few years have looked at different types of foods that people may commonly prepare. He adds that the results of these studies help researchers build better educational materials to try to increase knowledge of what harmful practices we may unknowingly be doing when we cook. I really suggest that people think a lot about hand washing during meal preparation, Chapman says. Think about all the things in your kitchen that you might be touching. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Job Centre Plus sign Middle-class families should be given greater security by letting workers pay an extra National Insurance charge in return for bumper welfare benefits if they lose their job, a conservative think tank has said. Bright Blue said that the optional scheme would allow middle-class families to access extra support if they find themselves unemployed, with such families currently facing an extreme change if a breadwinner finds themselves out of work. In a report to be published next week, the think tank will call for a new, higher-level and time-limited contribution element to be added to Universal Credit, paid out to earners who have paid an additional and voluntary National Insurance supplement. The amount paid out would be dependent on how much the individual had contributed over time, meaning medium and higher earners would be those likely to benefit the most. Bright Blue said that such a scheme would help tide over middle-class families helping to cover high, fixed expenses such as mortgage payments while the jobless former breadwinner searched for new work. The think tanks report has been backed by Stephen Crabb MP, a former work and pensions secretary, who said the policy could improve the fairness of the welfare system. Mr Crabb said: The UK is going through a period of profound economic challenges. Our social security system continues to do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to shielding families from extreme poverty. But it is clear significant gaps and weaknesses in provision remain. He added that a serious discussion about a positive contributory system could open the door to a fairer system overall. While there is already a contribution element to the current welfare system in the form of a benefit called New Style Jobseekers Allowance, Bright Blue said that at 77 per week for people aged 25 and above this was very low, with the UK offering less generous support to jobseekers when compared to continental Europe. Story continues Under the think tanks plans, the uplift to Universal Credit would replace New Style Jobseekers Allowance. Structural weaknesses remain Anvar Sarygulov, Bright Blues head of research, said the Conservatives had lost the reforming zeal of the early 2010s that led them to introduce Universal Credit, which consolidated a number of working-age benefits into a single system. Policy had been largely reactive in recent years, he said, with ministers simply injecting more cash to help newly unemployed people during the pandemic while ignoring structural weaknesses that require more than just tinkering to fix. The UKs social system provides particularly ungenerous support for those who are newly unemployed, he said. Unlike most developed nations, where people who have previously made contributions receive a higher value of unemployment benefit for the first few months to help them quickly get back on their feet, the UKs system offers the same level support to all, making any job loss much more precarious than elsewhere. Radical cost-of-living proposals According to polling by Bright Blue, 54 per cent of the UK public support a positive contributory principle in the welfare system. Tory voters were most likely to support the principle (66 per cent), compared to Labour (49 per cent) and Liberal Democrat (40 per cent) voters. The think tanks report proposes other radical changes to benefits, such as giving new powers to the Social Security Advisory Committee, who would become responsible for setting a new minimum level income for different types of households. This would be similar to how the Low Pay Commission advises on what the minimum wage should be. The committee would assess to what extent the welfare system was allowing different households to meet this threshold in order to issue recommendations on how benefits should be uprated, making sure people had enough money to cover costs like their food, rent and heating. A majority of the UK public supported the idea that social security should be meeting the cost of living, with 72 per cent supporting this, including a majority of Tory (68 per cent), Labour (83 per cent) and Lib Dem (80 per cent) voters. The report also calls for a single digital platform that would give greater control to benefit claimants over the frequency and destination of their payments. Mr Sarygulov said: With the economic headwinds continuing, and throwing more people into our safety net, it is vital to consider how we can change working-aged benefits to make them work better. He added: Changing how benefit levels are set, making it easier to access them and introducing contributory elements to the system will change the system to be more adequate, accessible and fair without breaking the bank. Russias missile strike on the morning of Jan. 14 damaged 28 residential buildings in Kyiv Oblast, the oblast governor Oleksiy Kuleba reported. According to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Presidents Office, a Russian projectile hit a residential building in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv Oblast, during the morning attack. It is not clear whether Kuleba's report included the building in Koptyliv. No casualties were reported. Russia launched a missile strike on Kyiv Oblast in the morning on Jan. 14, damaging some undisclosed infrastructure in Kyiv. Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo said it had introduced emergency power cuts in 11 Ukrainian oblasts following the attack. The operator also put consumption limits across all Ukrainian oblasts to manage the strain on the system. Later in the day, Russia unleashed its 10th mass missile strike targeting Ukraines critical infrastructure. Explosions were reported in at least 10 Ukrainian regions across the country. The nationwide attack damaged critical infrastructure in several oblasts, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The hits caused emergency blackouts in multiple regions. The strike also hit a nine-story apartment building in Dnipro city, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko. Six children were among the wounded, the official said earlier. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraines critical infrastructure with hundreds of missiles and drones since Oct. 10, killing dozens of civilians and severely damaging the countrys energy system. On Tuesday, the political situation in Haiti reached an unusual and problematic phase when the countrys last 10 remaining senators left office as their terms expired. With no votes having been held to replace them or to fill the countrys other elected positions, Haiti now officially has no elected officials in the entire country. This development adds to a political crisis that has been going on in the country for years. Political violence and a deepening political crisis Since gaining its independence from France in 1804 in the culmination of a massive revolt against slavery and imperialism, Haiti has spent centuries being subjected to political interference from abroad and instability at home. The latest crisis in the country began in July 2021 with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise by a team of mercenaries in a plot that still has not been completely uncovered by authorities. Since then, the country has been led by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph and then by Prime Minister Ariel Henry, both of whom had been appointed at different times by the deceased president. Political anarchy in Haiti as elections remain postponed Even before Moises assassination, politics in the country had been in a state of decline. President Moise failed to hold elections in 2020, allowing the terms of many of the countrys elected officials to expire without replacement and letting him rule by decree. After Moise was killed, Haitis general elections, previously scheduled for late 2021, have been indefinitely postponed. As such, there has been no democratic process to choose public officials for several years. Now, the terms of every elected official in the country, from the Senate to local mayors, have expired, leaving the entire country in a state of political limbo. Crises of economic and public safety The political decline in Haiti has contributed to and exacerbated a growing economic and public safety crisis in the country. A major earthquake hit Haiti weeks after Moises assassination, creating physical devastation and worsening economic crisis in the country. In the political vacuum and devastated infrastructure, various gangs have emerged to violently assert their control in various locations, particularly within the capital Port-au-Prince. The economic crisis in the country has led to public health crises, including a wave of acute malnutrition among children, as well as large outflows of refugees to other Caribbean nations and to the United States. In the midst of these circumstances, pressures have increased for foreign powers, including the United States and United Nations, to conduct a large-scale military intervention in the country as they have in the past. Many Haitians, however, want foreign forces to stay out, noting that the country has faced a long history of foreign interventions that have exploited the country and failed to establish long-term stability or prosperity in the country. For the moment, the challenges facing the country do not appear to have a simple fix and the lack of elected leadership will not make it easier to come pu with a political solution to the countrys latest crises. Have you gotten a glimpse of the green comet making its way near us yet? Some lucky stargazers may be able to witness the icy rock over the course of this month as it closes in on our solar system for the first time in more than 10,000 years. Today in health, we look at bills coming up in state legislatures with the potential to impact treatment access for transgender adults. Welcome to The Hills Health Care roundup, where were following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Were Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Subscribe here. Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Health Care newsletter Trans youth health care bans now aimed at adults Lawmakers in at least three states this year have filed legislation meant to restrict access to gender-affirming health care for individuals as old as 26, an escalation of a battle waged nationwide last year over whether minors should be able to access certain prescription medications and procedures. Bills filed this year in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia aim to bar state health care providers from recommending or administering treatments like puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries to patients younger than 21, signaling an aggravation in the fight over transgender health care. Another Oklahoma bill filed this month would prohibit adults up to 25 from receiving gender-affirming care in one of the most extreme and restrictive bans introduced to date. The states proposed Millstone Act, which gets its name from a Bible verse about punishing adults who harm children, would also block Oklahomas Medicaid program from providing coverage for gender transition procedures to individuals younger than 26. I dont think it was ever about children, Erin Reed, an independent legislative researcher, told The Hill this week, referring to state and federal attempts to ban gender-affirming care over the past two years. Story continues These adult bans show that thats not what it was about, Reed said. Its about banning care entirely. Its about forcing transgender people back in the closet. Read more here. Pence: Candidates must stake out abortion positions Former Vice President Mike Pence argued that his party must embrace an anti-abortion position that puts Democrats on defense in the aftermath of last summers Supreme Court ruling, a departure from former President Trumps reading of the issue. What I saw in the last election was that men and women who clearly articulated their position on the sanctity of life did quite well in their election, Pence said in an exclusive interview with The Hill on Wednesday. I think going forward, its going to be incumbent on the men and women of our party to stand without apology for the sanctity of human life, to stand on that principle of the unalienable right to life, but also to express compassion for women that are facing crisis pregnancies. The former vice president has been among the most outspoken conservatives in calling for states to enact abortion restrictions following the Supreme Courts ruling last summer overturning Roe v. Wade. The abortion quandary: His comments to The Hill underscore the debate within the GOP about how to handle abortion moving forward, after some in the party said it cost them winnable races in Novembers midterm elections. Trump wrote last week on Truth Social that he was not to blame for the partys underwhelming midterm performance, which saw Republicans only narrowly retake the House and lose ground in the Senate. Read more here. PFIZERS BIVALENT BOOSTER NOT LINKED TO STROKE RISK: CDC, FDA Following an analysis of vaccine surveillance data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say they have found no evidence of increased risk of ischemic stroke among people 65 and older who receive Pfizers bivalent booster. After Pfizers updated, bivalent COVID-19 booster dose was made available, the CDC said its Vaccine Safety Datalink prompted additional investigation into concerns over whether the shot presented a safety concern for people 65 and older. Rapid-response investigation of the signal in the VSD raised a question of whether people 65 and older who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the 21 days following vaccination compared with days 22-44 following vaccination, the CDC said. An ischemic stroke, more common than hemorrhagic strokes, occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain, stopping blood flow and potentially leading to brain cells dying. If a stroke is not treated quickly, the effects can be debilitating. Studies conducted with the use of databases from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Veterans Affairs did not indicate or show an increased risk for ischemic stroke, according to the CDC. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System managed by both the CDC and FDA also did not show an increase in reports of ischemic stroke following a bivalent booster dose. Read more here. CERVICAL CANCER DEATHS RISING AMONG OLDER CALIF. WOMEN: STUDY According to a new study carried out by researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, more California women aged 65 or older are facing diagnoses of late-stage cervical cancer and dying of the disease. Data from more than 12,000 patients who were diagnosed with the disease between 2009 and 2018 showed nearly one-fifth were at least 65 years old, while 71 percent of older women presented with late-stage disease compared with 48 percent of women under age 65. Older women also tended to have lower late-stage five-year relative survival rates at 23.2 percent to 36.8 percent, compared with younger women. For those under age 65, late-stage five-year relative survival was measured at 41.5 percent to 51.5 percent. Despite the disparities documented, CDC guidelines recommend most women stop screening for cervical cancer at age 65, potentially leaving this age group vulnerable, researchers said. Read more here. Biden officials tout gains in health insurance coverage The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday reported significant gains in health insurance coverage across numerous demographics in 2021, two days before the enrollment deadline for ObamaCare. The report issued by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found that the national rate of uninsured people under the age of 65 fell from 11.1 percent in 2019 to 10.5 percent in 2021, with larger gains made in demographics that have historically had higher rate of uninsured individuals. Zooming in: Non-English speaking adults, people between the ages of 19 and 49, Latino individuals and American Indian/Alaska Native individuals all saw gains in coverage of about 1 percent or higher. The report noted the gains in health care coverage were highest among people in households with incomes between 100 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level. At the state level, Maine saw the greatest decrease in its uninsured rate between 2019 and 2021, with coverage increasing by 3.2 percent. In that same time frame, Alabama saw the greatest increase in its rate of uninsured individuals, with this proportion increasing by 0.4 percent. According to a release from HHS earlier this week, roughly 16 million people so far have selected a health care plan through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, representing a 13 percent increase compared to last year. Read more here. WHAT WERE READING Abortion bans dont prosecute pregnant people. That may be about to change (The 19th News) More men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer as PSA screening declines (NBC News) The FDA no longer requires all drugs to be tested on animals before human trials (NPR) STATE BY STATE California Attorney General sues drugmakers over inflated insulin prices (Kaiser Health News) WCSD looks to tackle student mental health, chronic absenteeism with federal funds (KUNR) Over 700,000 Wisconsin families expect to be impacted by termination of additional FoodShare benefits (The Post-Crescent) Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. Programming note: Well be off Monday for MLK Day and will return Tuesday. See you next week! For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. People walk by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 14, 2022 in New York City. The Dow was up in morning trading following a drop on Monday of over 800 points, which sent the market into bear territory as fears of a possible recession loom. Spencer Platt/Getty Images In an interview with Insider, eToro investment analyst Callie Cox highlighted the two biggest risks to monitor this year. They include the Fed's ability to tame inflation and the potential for a steep economic downturn. She explained how investors can position themselves ahead of a potential US recession. This year will see the US economy either avoiding a recession or slipping into one, and there are ways investors can prepare, according to eToro investment analyst Callie Cox. In an interview with Insider, she said the two biggest risks to monitor in 2023 include the Federal Reserve's ability to tame inflation and the potential for a steep economic downturn. Inflation has been cooling at a steady clip for several months, with the consumer price index up 6.5% year-over-year in December, down from 9.1% in June. But that's still well above the Fed's 2% target, and Cox said inflation for services is still up about 7% annually which is too high for the Fed. "The kicker here is that services inflation is the type of inflation that the Fed can best control through the job market," she said. "It's more demand-driven. So hot services inflation could give the Fed enough reason to keep rates high, and the longer rates stay high, the more likely we actually get that recession." If the Fed's rate policy doesn't crush growth, the labor market stays strong, and inflation continues to cool, then the economy can avoid a recession, Cox said. Should this transpire, that would mean the market already reached its low in October 2022 and a bull market is already underway, she explained. Cox sees this as a best-case scenario, but it would still pose a challenging landscape for investors because still-high interest rates would prevent growth sectors in the market from recovering. The second, more painful scenario is a deep recession, she warned, with unemployment rising precipitously and earnings declining as much as 20%. "But one bright spot of this scenario," Cox said, "is that it would take care of the inflation problem because when demand drops, inflation comes down." Story continues How to invest in 2023 Bonds can offer a stable investment during a downturn, she noted, and they can be a solid bet when inflation is slowing down and economic growth is minimal. And as far as stocks, Cox likes a defensive positioning with consumer staples, utilities, energy, and pharmaceutical companies. "I call these the markets' comfort food, where even if a recession happens, you still need to eat food, you still need power, you can still get sick and take medicine," Cox said. "These are more economically resistant sectors." She recommended defensive stocks to cushion a portfolio against negative market swings, while also loading up on quality risks, such as healthy tech companies with large balance sheets as well as rate-sensitive cyclical stocks like those in real estate and consumer discretionary. "If we do hit a recession," Cox said, "it's a great time to slowly build up your risk appetite in anticipation of us getting through it." Read the original article on Business Insider Photo: City of Prince George The City of Prince George has suspended its Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccine Program on Friday, two days before unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave would have been terminated. The program was suspended, following negotiations between the city and CUPE Locals 399 and 1048, which represent the citys outside and inside workers. City employees who were not vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 14, 2022, and did not have exemptions under the BC Human Rights Code, were placed on unpaid leave, and would have been terminated on Jan. 15. As a result (of the program being suspended), staff affected by the program will continue their employment relationship with the City of Prince George beyond January 15, a statement issued by the City of Prince George on Friday at 5 p.m. said. The mandatory vaccine program came into effect in November 2021 in response to the Provincial Governments then-recommendation that employees in large organizations be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. In an interview with the Citizen on Thursday, Mayor Simon Yu said 16 unvaccinated employees remained on unpaid leave. This was instituted before I became mayor and my position on that was very clear during the campaign, and I still stand behind what I said then," Yu said. "Administration is working on this file diligently and I will have an official announcement to everybody to address the 16 workers directly affected. We will address that before the deadline. Yu pledged to end the citys vaccine mandate during his election campaign this October. Author photo: Derek Shapton "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Only 20 hours after lockdown was declared in California, in March 2020, my mother was rushed into the hospital in an ambulance. She was losing blood, fast. The phone had rung in our little apartment in Western Japan, and the ambulance driver had asked me if I really wanted to send my 88-year-old loved one to the ICU. A hospital, in those early days of the pandemic, felt more dangerous than anywhere. As my mothers only close living relative, I had to say yes, and then I secured a seat on the next flight back. Minutes later, a friend sent an email: No visitors were allowed in hospitals. I was as close to my mother in Japan as I would be up the road in Santa Barbara. What could I do? I hastened across the park in my quiet neighborhood and down a flight of barely noticeable steps to the local Shinto shrine. I threw coins in a wooden box and clapped my hands to summon the gods. I prayed for them to protect my mother, and the whole uncertain world. Then, walking back through the bright spring sunshine, I began to think of Koyasan, the mystical mountain three hours away at whose top stand 117 Buddhist temples and 200,000 graves, guarded by centuries-old cedars. Id traveled to the holy mountain twice with the Dalai Lama, my friend for 48 years now. Amid the rusting maples and deep silences, Id heard him remind us that death is part of our life. We prepare for job interviews, a driving test, even a first date. Might it not be useful to ready ourselves for the one non-negotiable fact of life? All of us could feel death breathing down our necks during the pandemic. In Japan, however, the Dalai Lamas invocation of the Buddhas First Noble Truththe reality of sufferingcarries particular force. For 1,400 years or more, my adopted home of 35 years has been living with warfare and earthquakes and fires and tsunamis. Reality, my neighbors seem to know, is the only home we have. If were going to find paradise anywhere, it has to be right here. Story continues I remembered my first trip to the templed mountain, 14 years before. Id met a Swiss monk in a funky cafe along the hushed main street. In Europe, hed told me, people talk of mountains as ladders to heaven. Here in Japan, people come to the mountains in order to die. Or, perhaps, to find what never dies. Twice every day, I watched monks in robes carry fresh meals on an elegant stretcher of sorts to Kobo Daishi, the founder of the mountains Buddhist order, who stopped breathing in the year 835 but is believed to be sitting still in meditation here. Most of us are in no hurry to think of the end of things. Yet as the English novelist E.M. Forster wrote, Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him. Not knowing how much time Ior anyone around mehad, during the pandemic, reminded me to reflect on what was really important. On what I loved most and how I could stay close to it. Living next to death moved me to think about how to live. As I called the hospital every daymy low-tech mother and I even enjoyed our first FaceTime conversation, thanks to an enterprising nurseI found a strange comfort in thinking about the mountain nearby. In Japan, the dead are believed to have moved only to another room, from which they still at times return to look in on their loved ones. My Japanese wife, Hiroko, seemed to be expressing a universal truth when she said that her parents somehow lived more fully in her after they were gone than when they were down the road. The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise amazon.com Shop Now amazon.com Thus Koyasan became the center of my meditations as I waited to fly back to see my mother. And I embarked on a book about paradise, drawing on 46 years of constant travel to Jerusalem and Kashmir and inner Australia and Varanasi. Most of us long for a better world or self, but how can we ever find that in the midst of real lifeand in the face of death? I traveled to Iran, whose culture long ago gave us the word pairidaeza. I visited the Shangri-Laworthy temples of Ladakh. But it was Koyasan that taught me most deeply that even a dark mountain can be paradise, if only we could see it in the right light. Finally, many days after she was admitted to the ICU, my mother was released, and I flew back to be by her side. I thought back to the holy mountain and understood at last: Its the fact that nothing lasts thats the reason that everything matters. You Might Also Like The House Judiciary Committee is spearheading an investigation into the discovery of classified documents at President Bidens home and office, less than two weeks after Republicans took control of the lower chamber. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chairman of the panel, and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announcing the probe and requesting documents. The communication came one day after Garland named a special counsel to look into the potential mishandling of classified materials. We are conducting oversight of the Justice Departments actions with respect to former Vice President Bidens mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington, D.C. private office and in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware residence, the letter reads. The Republican duo said Garlands decision to appoint a special counsel raises fundamental oversight questions that the Committee routinely examines. We expect your complete cooperation with our inquiry, they added. The White House announced on Monday that Bidens attorneys discovered documents at an office at a University of Pennsylvania building in Washington in November. Biden had used the room as an office from 2017 to 2019, when he was an honorary professor at the college. Days later, the White House said a second batch of documents had been found at Bidens residence in Wilmington, Del. The presidents attorneys found all but one of the documents in storage space in the garage. The discoveries prompted Garland on Thursday to appoint Robert Hur, a Trump appointee who previously served as U.S. attorney in Maryland, to serve as special counsel and investigate the matter. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, requested information from the National Archives and Records Administration and the White House Counsels Office regarding the discovery of classified documents from Bidens time as vice president. Story continues Jordan and the Judiciary Committee are now launching their own investigation, requesting that Garland produce documents and communications relating to the appointment of Hur as special counsel and Bidens mishandling of classified materials, among other subjects. They also want documents and communications between the Justice Department, FBI and Executive Office of the President. The committee requested the materials be sent by Jan. 27. The letter zeroed in on concerns that it took the White House two months to announce the discovery of documents. Bidens lawyers alerted the National Archives the day they found the materials in November days before the midterm elections and the agency then retrieved the materials the next day. The second batch of documents were found in Wilmington on Dec. 20 in a review that ended on Wednesday night. Garland said the Justice Department learned about the documents found in Wilmington on Dec. 20. The White House, however, first alerted the public of the discoveries this week. It is unclear when the Department first came to learn about the existence of these documents, and whether it actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 elections, Jordan and Johnson wrote. It is also unclear what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives about his mishandling of classified material. The Republicans went on to juxtapose the Justice Departments handling of the Biden documents with how it dealt with classified materials found at former President Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence which involved a search warrant being executed at the Florida location. In the Trump case, however, authorities raided Mar-a-Lago after several attempts to recover classified materials that they believed to be at the residence. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Chilling online comments made by suspected killer Bryan Kohberger when he was a teenager have resurfaced, revealing how he felt blank, had no emotion and felt little remorse years before he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students in a brutal knife attack. Back in 2011, when he was 16, Mr Kohberger spoke about his mental health struggles in an online forum and described seeing nothing when he looked at his own family. As I hug my family, I look into their faces, I see nothing, it is like I am looking at a video game, but less, he wrote. More than a decade later, he is facing the death penalty for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin back on 13 November. On Friday, the Youtube channel Chronicles of Olivia released a sit-down interview with the Goncalves family recorded two days before Mr Kohbergers arrest on 30 December. The family remembered Kaylee as a hardworking young woman who had taken summer courses to graduate ahead of time. Mr Kohberger appeared in court on Thursday, where he agreed to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and his next court date was scheduled for 26 June. Key points Bryan Kohberger waives right to speedy trial Suspect brought up murders in conversation with neighbour Affidavit reveals what led investigators to criminology PhD student Chilling online comments from suspect as teen revealed Woman alleges that Bryan Kohberger was very pushy during Tinder in 2015 14:00 , Andrea Blanco A woman who says she once went on a Tinder date with Bryan Kohberger has claimed he was very pushy with her and said she now looks back on the incident and wonders if it could have been so much different. In a TikTok video, Hayley claims that she matched with Mr Kohberger on the online dating app about seven years ago when she was a psychology student at Penn State Hazelton and he was studying psychology at a nearby school. She says that she agreed to go to the movies with him one night. Story continues My interactions with Bryan were very brief. I dont know much about him, she says in the video. After the movie, however, she says he invited himself back to her apartment and things took a bizarre turn. Hayley told the New York Post that Mr Kohberger kept trying to touch her and became very pushy. He like, completely changed once we were in my dorm so Im glad I was able to get away, she said. He was very pushy when it came to coming back in my dorm with me. But I didnt get like scary vibes or anything from that. I just thought he was a stage five clinger because he said he wanted to spend more time with me. When she confronted him about him trying to touch me, she says he got super serious and tried to gaslight me into thinking that he didnt touch me, which is weird. Her account cant be verified. Ethan Chapins scholarship fund raises $113,000 12:00 , Andrea Blanco A scholarship fund established by slain University of Idaho student Ethan Chapins fraternity Signa Chi has raised more than $112,000. Chapin, his girlfriend Xana Kernodle and Kernodles roommates Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were brutally stabbed on 13 November. On 30 December, Washington State University criminal justice PhD student Bryan Kohberger was arrested in connection to the crime. The scholarship, which was started last month by Chapins fraternity Sigma Chi, will be presented annually to a deserving undergraduate member of the Gamma Eta Chapter, recognizing Ethans legacy. We join the Gamma Eta Chapter in remembering a young man who was deeply loved and respected, as well as extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of Ethan, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, a statement by Sigma Chi read. ICYMI: What happened at Bryan Kohbergers Thursday court hearing 10:00 , Andrea Blanco Suspected quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger appeared in court with cuts on his face as he waived his right to a speedy trial on charges of murdering four Idaho students. The 28-year-old criminology PhD student made a brief appearance in Latah County Courthouse in Moscow on Thursday morning for a status hearing in his murder case. Dressed in an orange t-shirt and with unexplained marks on his face, Mr Kohberger spoke only to answer yes when asked if he understood his rights to a speedy preliminary hearing within the next 14 days and if he agreed to waive those rights. Mr Kohbergers public defender Anne Taylor then requested that his next court date be pushed back until June. The prosecution agreed to the request and the judge scheduled the preliminary hearing for the week beginning 26 June. The entire week has been set aside for the hearing when evidence of the case against Mr Kohberger will be laid out for the first time in court and he is likely to enter a plea on the charges. His request for a delay before the next court appearance came after the defence asked the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case in the next 14 days - including witness statements, digital media and police reports. Ms Taylor told the judge that waiving the 14-day deadline would give the defence more time to review all the evidence in the case. Now, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin will have to wait six more months to face their childrens accused killer in the court. Until then, Mr Kohberger will be held behind bars at Latah County Jail after he was ordered to be held on no bail for a second time. Kaylee Goncalves had no idea true evil was watching [her], sister says 08:00 , Andrea Blanco The grieving sister of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves has said that her sibling had no idea she was being stalked by true evil before she was brutally stabbed in an attack that sent shockwaves through the small college town of Moscow. Alivea Goncalves spoke out for the first time since Idaho authorities released the arrest affidavit for suspected killer Bryan Kohberger, revealing chilling new details about the quadruple murder of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. She said that the revelation that the 28-year-old criminology PhD student appears to have stalked the student home on King Road, Moscow, prior to the 13 November murders especially haunts her. We had no idea. She had no idea. I had no idea that true evil was genuinely watching them, she told NewsNation. Ms Goncalves said that it wasnt until the affidavit was released that it hit her that when she and her sister were exchanging normal, carefree messages with each other, the accused killer was likely planning his next move. She recalled one particular conversation on 21 August and how normal every thing was as the two siblings chatted about new recipes. Little did they know that, that same night Mr Kohberger appears to have been in the area around the student home. Thats been the hardest part of this is to sit back and look at the totality of it. When my sister was Facetiming me about a new egg bites recipe, he was planning his next visit to the home, she said. Thats really difficult not to wish that you had done more and wish that you had known more. But, its just the first step. A lot more evidence will come out. Cellphone data appears to show that Mr Kohberger stalked the student home at least 12 times in the run-up to the night of the murders, according to the affidavit. The exact dates and times of these instances were not revealed in the documents but all bar one were in the late evening or early morning hours. A Pocono mountain raid and months of questions: How police finally made an arrest in the Idaho murders 04:00 , Andrea Blanco Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves were found dead at a house near the University of Idaho campus on Sunday 13 November, mere hours after posting smiling photographs on Instagram. The case shocked the small college town of Moscow, Idaho, and drew media attention from across the world, yet for nearly seven weeks police did not appear to have a suspect and gave little information about what they knew. Now a 28-year-old criminology graduate student named Bryan Christopher Kohberger has been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the case, offering the hope of major progress in a case that some observers feared was going cold. For nearly seven weeks police gave little information on what they knew about the murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves, writes The Independents Io Dodds. Timeline: How police finally made an arrest in the Idaho murders Why did the killer spare the two surviving roommates? 02:00 , Andrea Blanco Questions also remain around why the killer stabbed the four students to death and then spared the two surviving roommates. The roommate identified as D.M. even saw the killer exiting the crime scene but was left unharmed. It is unclear if the killer saw her or whether she simply had a lucky escape because he didnt notice her inside the dark home. This also raises the question around whether or not he planned to kill all four victims or whether some of the victims were treated as collateral damage in the horrific attack. Who is Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohbergers new defence attorney? 00:00 , Andrea Blanco The suspect in the murders of four Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger, has been assigned a Kootenai County public defender as his new defence attorney. Anne Taylor has been working for Kootenai County for the last 19 years and was given the top job in the public defenders office in 2017, reported the Daily Mail. The 57-year-old attorney previously worked on the high-profile case of Jonathan Ellington, who was accused of running his car over a woman. The Independents Namita Singh has the story: Who is Idaho suspect Bryan Kohbergers new defence attorney? Victims did not know alleged murderer, family lawyer says Friday 13 January 2023 22:45 , Andrea Blanco Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle did not appear to have personally met Washington State University (WSU) criminal justice PhD student Bryan Kohberger prior to their 13 November slayings, the Goncalves family lawyer told Insider on Monday. Following the attack that rocked the college town of Moscow, Mr Kohberger, 28, finished his semester at WSU. Weeks later, he reportedly travelled with his father from his apartment in Pullman, Washington, around nine miles west of the victims home, to Pennsylvania to spend the holidays with his family. Law enforcement raided Mr Kohbergers family home in a surprise arrest on 30 December after weeks of mounting criticism about a lack of updates in the probe. Mr Kohberger was charged with four counts of murder and extradited to Idaho it was later revealed in the affidavit for his arrest that police linked him to the crime scene using genealogy DNA. No one knew of this guy at all, attorney Shanon Gray said. It appears from the affidavit that he was in the area of the house on several occasions ... Thats all we know. Victims sister defends surviving roommate for delay in 911 call Friday 13 January 2023 21:36 , Andrea Blanco The grieving sister of slain student Kaylee Goncalves has defended one of her siblings surviving roommates who has faced questions about a delay in alerting police to the murders. Two roommates were also in the student home in Moscow, Idaho, when four students were stabbed to death in a brutal knife attack at around 4am on 13 November. The two women were left unharmed. At around midday, a 911 call was made to report an unconscious person in the home. Police arrived to find the bloody scene. The affidavit for Bryan Kohberger, released last Thursday, revealed that one of the surviving roommates came face to face with the masked killer as he left the home in the aftermath of the murders. Since then, questions have arisen around why the roommate did not call 911 for another eight hours. Goncalves sister Alivea Goncalves defended the roommate in an interview with NewsNation on Sunday. She was probably really, really scared, she said. Until we have any more information, I think everyone should stop passing judgments because you dont know what you would do in that situation. Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. The Idaho murders have turned the tables Friday 13 January 2023 20:36 , Andrea Blanco Bryan Kohberger became a household name upon his 30 December arrest in Pennsylvania for the killings of four University of Idaho students. People from his past - though shocked - build a picture of a bullied loner who could be aggressive; fellow students from his time in Idaho describe a criminology zealot who creeped people out, Sheila Flynn writes. The Independent has the story: Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. Now, the tables have turned Chilling online comments from Bryan Kohberger as a teen resurface Friday 13 January 2023 19:35 , Andrea Blanco Chilling online comments made by suspected killer Bryan Kohberger when he was a teenager have resurfaced, revealing how he felt blank, had no emotion and felt little remorse years before he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students in a brutal knife attack. Back in 2011, when he was 16, Mr Kohberger spoke about his mental health struggles in an online forum and described seeing nothing when he looked at his own family. As I hug my family, I look into their faces, I see nothing, it is like I am looking at a video game, but less, he wrote, according to the New York Times. I feel like an organic sack of meat with no self worth, he added. The Independent has the story: Bryan Kohbergers chilling posts as a teen reveal how he felt no emotion Evidence to be handed to Bryan Kohbergers defence within the next 14 days Friday 13 January 2023 18:38 , Andrea Blanco In Thursdays status hearing, Bryan Kohbergers public defender Anne Taylor asked the judge for time to review evidence in the case. Mr Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and Ms Taylor asked the judge to delay his next court date until June. The prosecution agreed to the request and the judge scheduled the preliminary hearing for the week beginning 26 June. Ms Taylor told the judge that waiving the 14-day deadline for the preliminary hearing would give the defence more time to review all the evidence in the case. The request for a delay before the next court appearance came after the defence asked the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within the next 14 days - including witness statements, digital media and police reports. In the court filing, his attorney is asking that all documents including witness statements, digital media and police reports be turned over within the next 14 days. The Bizarre reason why Bryan Kohberger claims he was in Idaho Friday 13 January 2023 18:07 , Andrea Blanco Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly denied the murders when questioned in Pennsylvania prison and gave an excuse as to why he was in Idaho. The 28-year-old was held in Pennsylvania for several days before being transferred to Idaho to face four murder charges. At one point he was asked why he had done the crimes he is charged with, to which he replied that he had done nothing, reported NewsNation. Then, he was asked why he had gone to Idaho. Mr Kohberger reportedly replied: Because the shopping there is better. Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger to appear in court again in six months Friday 13 January 2023 17:27 , Andrea Blanco More than six months will now pass before suspected quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger will appear in court in Idaho on charges of murdering four Idaho students. The preliminary hearing for the 28-year-old criminology PhD student has been scheduled for 26 June in Latah County Courthouse in Moscow. The entire week has been set aside for the hearing when evidence of the case against Mr Kohberger will be laid out for the first time in court and he is likely to enter a plea on the charges. The six-month delay comes after Mr Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing at his status hearing on Thursday morning. Xana Kernodles father says he was overcome with emotion after Bryan Kohbergers arrest Friday 13 January 2023 16:55 , Andrea Blanco The grieving father of one of the four University of Idaho slain students has revealed he does not plan on attending future court hearings in the criminal case against the alleged perpetrator of the crime. Speaking to The Spokesman-Review, Madison Mogens father Ben Mogen said he was not able to read through the affidavit for Washington State University PhD student Bryan Kohbergers arrest. Mr Kohberger also said that he would likely not attend pre-trial hearings, as he is too overwhelmed with emotion. Its just so overwhelming to just even see that guy, Mr Mogen told the Review. I cant imagine being in the same room as him. I think Id be honoring Maddie more by living my best life out here and not letting that consume me. Bryan Kohbergers neighbour says suspect brought up murders in conversation Friday 13 January 2023 16:11 , Andrea Blanco Bryan Kohbergers neighbour has claimed that the murder suspect brought up the student killings in conversation one time. The neighbour, who wishes to remain anonymous, told CBS News that Mr Kohberger spoke to him about the quadruple homicide just days on from the 13 November attack. He brought it up in conversation, they said. [He] asked if I had heard about the murders, which I did. And then he said, Yeah, seems like they have no leads. Seems like it was a crime of passion. At the time of our conversation, it was only a few days after it happened so there wasnt much details out. These questions about the Idaho murders remain unanswered Friday 13 January 2023 15:47 , Andrea Blanco Why did the surviving roommate wait eight hours to call 911 after seeing the killer? Who was the intended target? Is Bryan Kohberger the stalker Kaylee Goncalves complained about? The Independents Rachel Sharpreports on the questions still unanswered in the case Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. Now, the tables have turned Idaho murders victims father reveals he broke down and cried when he learned of Bryan Kohbergers arrest Friday 13 January 2023 15:20 , Rachel Sharp The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just broke down and cried when he learned that his daughters accused killer had been taken into custody by police. Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice. Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect Bryan Kohberger had finally been arrested and charged with their murders. Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABCs Good Morning America this week. The Independents Rachel Sharp has the full story: Madison Mogens father broke down when he learned of Bryan Kohbergers arrest VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case Friday 13 January 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp While America has long been fascinated with true crime, the shocking brutality and seeming randomness of the Moscow murders sent the internet sleuth community into overdrive. Conspiracy theories and rumours have dominated the investigation with thousands of people joining social media groups to discuss their take on what transpired and why. One particular group on Reddit has now amassed 123,000 members, ranking it in the top 1 percent of all groups on the platform in terms of size. Meanwhile, a Facebook group with users raising their theories about the case has topped 220,000 members. But are the online sleuths a help or a hindrance? The Independents Rachel Sharp writes: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case Questions remain as to whether Bryan Kohberger is the stalker Kaylee Goncalves complained about Friday 13 January 2023 14:40 , Rachel Sharp Prior to the 13 November massacre, investigators believe that Bryan Kohberger stalked the victims home at least 12 times. Cellphone records show that his phone pinged in the area of the King Road home on at least twelve occasions between 23 June and 13 November when the murders took place. The exact dates of these instances were not revealed in the documents but all bar one were in the late evening or early morning hours. One incident was identified on 21 August, when the suspect was stopped by police just minutes from the home where he allegedly knifed the four students to death three months later. A citation from Latah County Sheriffs Office, obtained by The Independent earlier this week, reveals that the traffic stop took place at around 11.40pm at the intersection of West Pullman Road and Farm Road in Moscow. The record shows he was stopped for failing to wear his seatbelt just 1.7 miles and a five-minute drive from the victims student rental home. On that occasion, Mr Kohbergers cellphone pinged in the area of the King Road home from around 10.34pm to 11.35pm, the affidavit shows. Prior to her death, Kaylee Goncalves had told friends and family members that she believed she had a stalker. The details of the stalker were unknown and, throughout the murder investigation, Moscow Police said that they had been unable to confirm or deny the claims. It remains unclear if Mr Kohberger was the stalker Goncalves was fearful of and how long he may have been surveilling the victim or victims at the home. Why Bryan Kohberger claims he was in Idaho Friday 13 January 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly denied the murders when questioned in Pennsylvania prison and gave an excuse as to why he was in Idaho. The 28-year-old was held in Pennsylvania for several days before being transferred to Idaho to face four murder charges. At one point he was asked why he had done the crimes he is charged with, to which he replied that he had done nothing, reported NewsNation. Then, he was asked why he had gone to Idaho. Mr Kohberger reportedly replied: Because the shopping there is better. Bryan Kohbergers defence asks for time to review evidence Friday 13 January 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp In Thursdays status hearing, Bryan Kohbergers public defender Anne Taylor asked the judge for time to review evidence in the case. Mr Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing and Ms Taylor asked the judge to delay his next court date until June. The prosecution agreed to the request and the judge scheduled the preliminary hearing for the week beginning 26 June. Ms Taylor told the judge that waiving the 14-day deadline for the preliminary hearing would give the defence more time to review all the evidence in the case. The request for a delay before the next court appearance came after the defence asked the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within the next 14 days - including witness statements, digital media and police reports. In the court filing, his attorney is asking that all documents including witness statements, digital media and police reports be turned over within the next 14 days. How investigators matched Bryan Kohbergers DNA to the crime scene Friday 13 January 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp Bryan Kohbergers DNA was discovered on a knife sheath that the killer left behind in the bedroom of one of the four slain University of Idaho students, according to investigators. The affidavit released on Thursday in support of Mr Kohbergers arrest, revealing new details about the brutal murders and the bloody crime scene. It reveals that the killer left a tan leather sheath from the murder weapon on victim Madison Mogens bed next to the 21-year-olds butchered body. The sheath allegedly contains the DNA of a single male the 28-year-old criminology PhD student now charged with the four murders. The sheath was later processed and had Ka-Bar USMC and the United States Marine Corps eagle globe and anchor insignia stamped on the outside of it, it states. Read the full story: Bryan Kohbergers DNA found on knife sheath left in Idaho students bedroom When will Bryan Kohberger next appear in court? Friday 13 January 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp More than six months will now pass before suspected quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger will appear in court in Idaho on charges of murdering four Idaho students. The preliminary hearing for the 28-year-old criminology PhD student has been scheduled for 26 June in Latah County Courthouse in Moscow. The entire week has been set aside for the hearing when evidence of the case against Mr Kohberger will be laid out for the first time in court and he is likely to enter a plea on the charges. The six-month delay comes after Mr Kohberger waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing at his status hearing on Thursday morning. Idaho murder victims had no connection to Bryan Kohberger, says attorney Friday 13 January 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp The four University of Idaho students murdered in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, had no known connection to their suspected killer Bryan Kohberger, according to an attorney for one of the victims families. No one knew of this guy at all, Shanon Gray, who represents the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, told Business Insider. His comments come as prosecutors in Idaho are yet to reveal a motive for the brutal quadruple murders or what connection if any they believe Mr Kohberger had to any of the victims. The affidavit, released last week, revealed how cellphone data suggests that the suspect stalked the home of the victims at least 12 times between June and the night of the murders. Bryan Kohberger appears in court with face cuts as he waives right to speedy trial Friday 13 January 2023 12:40 , Rachel Sharp Suspected quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger appeared in court with cuts on his face as he waived his right to a speedy trial on charges of murdering four Idaho students. The 28-year-old criminology PhD student made a brief appearance in Latah County Courthouse in Moscow on Thursday morning for a status hearing in his murder case. Dressed in an orange t-shirt and with unexplained marks on his face, Mr Kohberger spoke only to answer yes when asked if he understood his rights to a speedy preliminary hearing within the next 14 days and if he agreed to waive those rights. The Independents Rachel Sharp has the full story: Bryan Kohberger seen with face cuts as he waives right to speedy trial BTK killer Dennis Rader sees similarities between himself and Bryan Kohberger Friday 13 January 2023 12:20 , Rachel Sharp BTK killer Dennis Rader has said that he sees similarities between himself and Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four Idaho students. Rader, who was convicted of murdering 10 in Wichita, Kansas, told TMZ in a jailhouse email that he can relate to Mr Kohbergers dark mind and believes he may have been motivated by Fantasy Homicide to kill much like himself. [Mr Kohberger] may have killed by Fantasy Homicide. Which I did! he wrote. While Rader confessed to killing his victims in order to fulfill his sexual fantasies, a motive has not yet been revealed for the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Mr Kohberger has not yet been asked to enter a plea in Idaho court but is said to plan to fight the allegations. According to his affidavit, the suspect may have stalked the victims home at least 12 times prior to the murders. BTK wrote in his email that he thinks Mr Kohberger would lie in wait for the victims and stalked them and their student home in Moscow, writing that this was much like I did. He went on to point out similarities between one of his own attacks and the quadruple murder that Mr Kohberger is now charged with. In 1974, Rader murdered four members of the Otero family, strangling them to death in their Wichita home. Murder four, much like the Oteros, up close and personal stabbed, he wrote in the email comparing the two crimes. BTK and Mr Kohberger have an eerie connection. Mr Kohberger had gained a Masters degree in criminology in 2022 from Pennsylvanias DeSales University, where he was taught by Dr Katherine Ramsland. Dr Ramsland is the leading academic authority on the BTK killings and wrote the 2016 book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews and phone conversations with the serial killer to delve deep into his psyche. New explanation emerges about mystery 911 call alerting police to Idaho student murders Friday 13 January 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp The 911 call alerting law enforcement to the murders of the four University of Idaho students has long been shrouded in mystery after Moscow Police said that the caller initially reported an unconscious individual in the home. The call was made from the cellphone of one of the two surviving roommates at around 11.58am on 13 November, with the dispatcher speaking to multiple people. Officers arrived at the home to find a bloody scene, with Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin all dead from multiple stab wounds. Since then, questions have persisted around why the caller reported an unconscious individual when officials described the crime scene as one of the worst they had ever seen. A potential reason for the mysterious 911 call has now been revealed in Air Mails article The Eyes of a Killer. The Independents Rachel Sharp has the full story: New explanation emerges about mystery 911 call alerting police to Idaho murders Bryan Kohbergers classmate says he fell completely silent when murders discussed in class Friday 13 January 2023 11:40 , Rachel Sharp Throughout the seven-week investigation into the murders, Bryan Kohberger continued with his studies at Washington State University and completed the first semester of his criminal justice PhD. His classmates have now revealed that they noticed a change in behaviour from the suspect during that time, with the usually chatty student falling completely silent when the killings were discussed in class. Ben Roberts, a WSU graduate student in criminal justice studies, told the Idaho Statesman that Mr Kohberger was usually very vocal in class and would often share his opinion and challenge his classmates on the topic of the criminal mind. He sat front and center, and was not hiding or tucking back in the back, he said. He was right there in the middle of it. This all changed when the murders of four Idaho students was brought up in class one day. At that point, Mr Kohberger fell completely silent, said Mr Roberts. Bryan Kohberger called Idaho murders a crime of passion in a conversation with his neighbour Friday 13 January 2023 11:20 , Rachel Sharp Washington State University PhD student Bryan Kohberger stands accused of brutally stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus home in the college town of Moscow on 13 November. It took seven weeks for Mr Kohberger to be linked to the killings, resulting in his arrest late last month. One of Mr Kohbergers neighbours in Pullman, Washington, a few miles across the Idaho border from Moscow, has now come forward to claim the suspect mentioned the killings to him soon after they occurred, when very few details about the investigations were available to the public. Read the full story: Bryan Kohberger called Idaho murders a crime of passion, neighbour says The Idaho Statehouse in Boise, Idaho. Keith Ridler/AP Photo An Idaho Republican said his experience milking dairy cows offered insights into reproductive healthcare. Idaho Rep. Jack Nelsen apologized for the comment, saying he respected women's "right to choose." Earlier this month, US Supreme Court upheld Idaho's near-total abortion ban, which has few exceptions. A newly-elected Idaho lawmaker apologized after he compared reproductive health policies to his experience milking cows as a farmer. Idaho Rep. Jack Nelson. Idaho Legislature. Republican Rep. Jack Nelsen said he was "embarrassed" that he suggested his experience as a "lifelong dairy farmer" offered him insight into reproductive issues, according to the Idaho Statesman. "I've milked a few cows, spent most of my time walking behind lines of cows, so if you want some ideas on repro and the women's health thing, I have some definite opinions," Nelson said with a laugh during a meeting of the state's House Agricultural Affairs Committee, per the Statesman. Idaho Democratic Party (@IdahoDems) January 12, 2023 The comment sparked an immediate backlash from Idaho's Democratic party, who tweeted a video of the incident, adding that "politicians like Jack Nelsen have no business mandating our reproductive health care decisions." In a statement to Insider, Nelsen said he was "very sorry" for his remarks. "I sincerely apologize for the way I phrased my statement regarding women and reproductive rights. It missed the mark and I am very sorry. I have always believed and continue to believe the government does not belong in the doctor's office. I am committed to doing better," Nelsen told Insider. Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court upheld Idaho's near-total abortion ban, which has exceptions for rape, incest, and saving a pregnant patient's life. Read the original article on Business Insider The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association has appealed a December court ruling that allowed EV automakers Rivian and Lucid to continue cutting out the middleman and selling directly to consumers. The appeal, filed Friday in Chicago, challenges that decision and to a large extent, the evolving EV sales model nationwide. We think the law is pretty clear: You cant be a manufacturer and a dealer, said Joe McMahon, executive director of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association. The Illinois Vehicle Code basically states that you have to go through franchised dealers. Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the secretary of states office, which licenses auto dealers in Illinois, declined to comment on the appeal. In December, a Cook County judge dismissed a 2021 lawsuit brought by the dealers against the startup EV manufacturers for allegedly violating Illinois vehicle franchise requirements. The court ruled the state was correct in issuing dealer licenses to Rivian and Lucid, as it had previously done with Tesla. The association, which represents more than 700 auto dealers operating 2,300 franchises across the state, cited the Illinois Vehicle Code and the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act as mandating that all vehicle sales to the public must be made through licensed and independent franchised dealers, an argument it is renewing in the appeal. Leslie Hayward, head of policy communications for Rivian, declined to comment, while Lucid Motors did not respond to a request for comment on the appeal. Tesla, the leading EV manufacturer, pioneered the direct-to-consumer sales model after the introduction of its Model S in 2012. McMahon claims Tesla was licensed to open dealerships in Illinois in 2017 as part of a one-time agreement with the secretary of state to avoid litigation. The auto dealers, the secretary of state and Tesla entered into an administrative consent order in 2019 agreeing that Tesla could have no more than 13 dealer licenses in Illinois. Story continues In 2020, the Illinois attorney generals office issued an informal opinion stating that the motor vehicle law does not expressly require new manufacturers to establish franchise dealerships to sell their vehicles, opening the door for Rivian and Lucid to launch their own direct-to-consumer sales networks, according to the dealers lawsuit. Fueled by legislation, incentives and consumer demand, EV sales are growing nationwide, with the market share more than doubling last year to 5.1% of new vehicle sales through November, according to car shopping website Edmunds. Rivian, the startup EV truck manufacturer that launched production at its downstate Normal plant in September 2021, has struggled to meet growing demand. The California-based company produced 24,337 vehicles last year, missing a downwardly revised production target of 25,000. The converted Mitsubishi plant has 7,000 employees and an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, but has been hampered by supply chain issues. Rivian had 114,000 electric pickup trucks and SUVs on back order as of November, the company said. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has set the goal of having 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. There is still a long way to go, with 57,311 EVs registered in Illinois as of late December, or less than 1% of the states 10.3 million vehicles, according to Haupt. As automakers go electric and sales ramp up, Illinois dealers want to stay squarely in the mix, McMahon said. In addition to the lawsuit against Rivian and Lucid, the association has filed a protest with the secretary of states office against Ford, alleging the automaker is withholding allocation of EVs to dealers that dont voluntarily participate in a potentially costly certification program, McMahon said. The complaint, which was brought by 27 Ford dealerships in Illinois, said the automaker is violating the states franchise act by requiring investments of up to $1.5 million per dealership on equipment and staff training; the installation of Level 3 public charging stations; and changes to their existing sales and service agreements including exclusive web-based sales and nonnegotiable pricing on EVs. Ford, which became the No. 2 EV automaker in the U.S. behind Tesla in 2022, defended the certification program as doubling down on dealerships and benefiting customers. EVs require specialized equipment, training and charging infrastructure to support sales, service and ownership for our customers these are the core elements of the Model e EV Program, Ford spokesman Marty Gunsberg said in an email Friday. Ford provided national investment estimates when the program was announced with instructions for dealers to complete their own due diligence as the actual cost will vary by dealer. Gunsberg said 1,920 dealers, or 65% of Fords U.S. network, enrolled in the EV program. During the rollout, multiple dealers have reported costs coming in well below Fords estimates, he said. At the same time, Gunsberg acknowledged that some dealers with limited EV penetration chose not to participate. Dealers will have a second chance to enroll in 2025 as Ford scales its EV production, he said. Haupt declined to comment on the hearing request before the Motor Vehicle Review Board, which is scheduled for Feb. 14 in Chicago. rchannick@chicagotribune.com An Indiana lab worker has been fired by his company following threats he allegedly posted against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and his family. Those threats and others came hard on the heels of another attack on Swalwell by new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he again vowed to bounce Swalwell off the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. A tweet sent to Swalwell Friday night from the account of lab worker Jonathan Reeser vowed to break Swalwells f**king face if he ever saw him in person and said he wished the lawmakers family would be raped and murdered. Swalwell reposted the message on Twitter to track down Reeser. Patients Choice Laboratories soon after issued a statement Saturday, saying an employee, whom it did not name, had been terminated, effective immediately, following an internal investigation into the comments. The diagnostic laboratory company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, stated it was appalled by the comments made by the fired employee. We do not stand for, or condone, offensive or threatening behaviors, the company said. Not only do these comments violate our social media policy, but they violate our companys moral and ethical standards and will not be tolerated. Last night an employee of @PCLabs in Indiana threatened to kill me and my family following @SpeakerMcCarthys smears against me. Patients Choice Laboratories has since terminated that employee. On behalf of my wife and three small children, I am very grateful. https://t.co/LZIaMWInPt Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 13, 2023 Reeser was apparently taking an overheated cue from McCarthy, who has railed against Swalwell as a security threat who cannot serve on the House committee. Story continues McCarthy has blasted Swalwell for his links to a suspected Chinese spy who reportedly helped fundraise nine years ago for his reelection. But Swalwell, who calls McCarthys attacks smears, has never been implicated in any wrongdoing regarding the suspected spy, who was also linked to other politicians. Swalwell immediately cut ties with her when he was alerted by the FBI. However, the FBI has praised Swalwell for being completely cooperative with its investigation of the woman and that he was never under any suspicion. Yet McCarthy insisted Thursday: If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldnt have Swalwell on any committee. Swalwell has posted other threats he has received, including a chilling phone call earlier this week about getting kicked off the committee, then swinging at the end of a rope. Swalwell insists that McCarthy is targeting him out of vengeance because of his role as a manager in former President Donald Trumps second impeachment following the storming of the Capitol. McCarthy is now using his attacks on Swalwell and Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to fundraise. Its clear Speaker McCarthy is willing to trade my dead children whose lives have been directly threatened because of his lies for a few bucks. Swalwell tweeted Saturday. The FBI has repeatedly contradicted his lies, but he persists in telling them out of political vengeance. Its clear @speakermccarthy is willing to trade my dead children whose lives have been directly threatened because of his lies for a few bucks. The FBI has repeatedly contradicted his lies but he persists in telling them out of political vengeance. https://t.co/v1yUGB0rVd Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 13, 2023 Speaker McCarthy confirms that Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar are getting kicked off the Intel and Foreign Affairs Committees. Promises made. Promises kept! Congressman Troy Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 10, 2023 Reeser could not be reached for comment. Related... JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the country's naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own. Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since Dec. 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters. A warship, maritime patrol plane and drone had been deployed to monitor the vessel, Laksamana Muhammad Ali, the chief of the Indonesian navy, told Reuters. "The Chinese vessel has not conducted any suspicious activities," he said. "However, we need to monitor it as it has been in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for some time." A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Jakarta was not immediately available for comment. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) gives vessels navigation rights through an EEZ. The activity comes after an EEZ agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam, and approval from Indonesia to develop the Tuna gas field in the Natuna Sea, with a total estimated investment of more than $3 billion upto the start of production. In 2021 vessels from Indonesia and China shadowed each other for months near a submersible oil rig that had been performing well appraisals in the Tuna block. At the time, China urged Indonesia to , saying the activities were happening in its territory. Southeast Asia's biggest nation says that under UNCLOS, the southern end of the South China Sea is its exclusive economic zone, and named the area as the North Natuna Sea in 2017. China rejects this, saying the maritime area is within its expansive territorial claim in the South China Sea marked by a U-shaped "nine-dash line," a boundary the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague found to have no legal basis in 2016. (This story has been corrected to fix the rank of navy chief to Laksamana, not Laksamana Madya in paragraph 3) (Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Stanley Widianto, Kate Lamb and Fransiska Nangoy in Jakarta; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) STORY: President Joko Widodo issued the emergency decree last month, replacing a controversial jobs law in Southeast Asia's largest economy, a move some legal experts say violated a court ruling. The Constitutional Court had ruled the 2020 Jobs Creation Law was flawed, saying there had been insufficient public consultation before the law was passed. It ordered lawmakers to complete a renewed process by November. The Jobs Creation Law, revising more than 70 other laws, had been welcomed by foreign investors for cutting red tape. Parliament will assess the legal standing of the decree in the current sitting, its deputy speaker said this week. Last week, a group of Indonesians asked the Constitutional Court to carry out a judicial review of the regulation. Photo: Provincial Court of B.C.. The Vancouver provincial courthouse. A 35-year-old Vancouver man remains in custody on allegations he attempted to murder two people and other charges. Cordell Beau Theaker appeared before Vancouver provincial court Judge Jennifer Oulton on the charges Jan. 13. Court documents said Theaker is accused of breaking into an east Vancouver home on May 21, 2022 and committing attempted murder, aggravated assault and/or unlawful confinement. Further, the documents said, Theaker is alleged to have attempted to kill a person by striking them with a hammer and/or stabbing them with a knife. That same day, Theaker is alleged to have attempted to kill a second person by striking them with a hammer and/or stabbing them with a knife. The fourth count alleges that, again on May 21, 2022, Theaker unlawfully confined a third person. Court documents indicate not guilty pleas on all charges, and that Theaker has elected trial by provincial court judge. Defence lawyer Eric Warren told Oulton no bail hearing has been held. He told the court his client was consenting to remain in custody. Theaker is not allowed to contact three people in connection with the case. A publication ban on the identities of witnesses covers the names of the victims. Humberto Leon is no stranger to pivots. Known for his work with Opening Ceremony and Kenzo, in 2020 he teamed up with his family to open Chifa, an LA restaurant serving Chinese, Peruvian and Taiwanese food. Now, with the opening of Monarch, theyre all turning their focus to Hong Kong in particular. Monarch, located in the San Gabriel Valley, is an ode to both modern and traditional Hong Kong. Like Chifa, its inspired by Leons mother, Popo Wendy Leon, who lived in Hong Kong through her late 20s and brought the citys cuisine with her as she moved to Peru and then the Los Angeles area. Here, Leons brother-in-law, John Liu, has been tasked with translating that history into Monarchs menu, adding some dishes from his own Taiwanese background. More from Robb Report I think the beauty of Hong Kong, Leon told the Los Angeles Times, is that it almost has its own cuisine in itself, rather than just Cantonese, because of the diversity of people whove gone through [the city]. The menu will feature items like sweet-and-sour pork belly in a sticky-sweet sauce that Leon and his sister, Rica, grew up eating. A Chinese-influenced steak tartare with snow cabbage and chili crisp is served with shrimp chips, while a silken steamed egg is accompanied by fish liver. Heartier dishes include a baked pork-inspired ragu over fresh egg noodles and braised lamb shank in tomato curry. The new restaurant is certainly in conversation with Chifa, drawing on similar design elements and even some menu items. Chifa became known for its collaborations with artists, and the trinity shrimp fried rice that it worked on with Solange will become a permanent fixture on Monarchs menu. Story continues Drinks-wise, Liu and Ricas son, Jarod Wang, has been creating the cocktail program, which will include both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, in partnership with the LA-based Optimist Botanicals. Coffee is brewed with hand-roasted beans, and several different types of tea will be offered as well: oolong, pu-erh and flower-bud teas. Were definitely going to take our tea quite seriously, but in a fun way, Leon told the LA Times. Sometimes I feel like serious tea could be too serious; were not trying to give you a three-hour tea service, more just a delicious cup. Given Leons design background, the restaurant will also have some pretty cool merch, alongside its culinary offerings. Youll be able to get Monarch-branded T-shirts, hoodies, totes, a metal lunchbox, a water bottle, a portable cooler/foldable chair and stickers. Some items will come adorned with the spots butterfly motif, while others will call out its San Gabriel Valley location. That hometown pride is maybe the most important part for Leon, and why hes returned to the city to become a local restaurateur, right alongside his family. Monarch, opening January 14, will serve dinner from 5 to 9 pm Friday to Sunday. It plans to expand to lunch and potentially additional days of service. Click here to see all the photos of Monarch. 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. Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images Bryce Canyon National Park in southwestern Utah is renowned for its hoodoos, thin spire-like rock formations that etch their way out of the amphitheaters and into the sky. During sunrise and sunset, the colors can range from dark violet to bubblegum pink and thousands of tourists come to witness them each year, some by car, some by foot, and some even by helicopter. Helicopter tours are a popular way to see plenty of national parks. However, these air tours had pretty large latitude until recently, with no restrictions on how many flights could occur per year, on what times flights could occur, or even how low aircraft could go. This might seem like it should be a priority for the National Park Service (NPS) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but their plans to manage these airspaces are more than 20 years overdue. Even though they released a long-awaited plan for Bryce Canyon in October, environmentalists argue that its poorly considered. Following several helicopter crashes in the Grand Canyon (one of the worst happened in 1989, when a tourist plane crashed just outside Grand Canyon National Park, killing 10 tourists and injuring 11 more), Congress signed into law an Air Tour Management Act in 2000. This act required the NPS and the FAA to prepare an air tour management plan, demarcating how many flights could occur, where the flights could take place, and cruising ranges for any national park with more than 50 flights per year, none of which had previously been established. The Grand Canyon would be dealt with separately, and promptly. However, the act included 23 other national parks for which the NPS and FAA were to jointly create management plans. Over 20 years later, the NPS and the FAA are just getting around to doing so. The action finally came as a result of a court order. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an environmentalist group of former and current public employees, sued the FAA in 2017 for effectively ignoring the Air Tour Management Plan of 2000 for almost 20 years. PEER won the suit, and the court set a deadline for Aug. 24, 2022, for the FAA and the NPS to release management plans for the 23 parks. Story continues As a result of this pressure, the NPS and FAA recently released a draft air tour management plan for Bryce Canyon National Park, among others, that limits the amount of flights per year, as well as where the helicopters can fly, and at what time they can be airborne. For Bryce Canyon National Park, the plan stipulates that helicopters can't fly during sunrise or sunset, within half a mile of the ground, and limits the number of flights to 515 per year. While these restrictions seem to be a win for environmentalists, many instead argue that its a matter of perspective, especially since the plan doesnt assess what these parks might be like without air tours. Mike Murray, chair of the Coalition to Protect National Parks, an environmental organization composed of retired employees of the NPS, said that their group has been concerned about the planning process throughout and was ultimately disappointed by the agencies approach. Instead of assessing the air tours with an option that doesnt allow them at all, Murray says, the NPS and FAA instead set a minimum for pre-COVID flight numbers, maintaining the rate of flights in National Parks from 2017 to 2018. This was accomplished by claiming a categorical exclusion, a decision that essentially determined that these flights do not have a significant environmental impact, and therefore, isnt worth assessing. However, Murray called this a capricious use of the categorical exclusion. He argued that these air tour management plans are circumstantial, and suggests not enough science went into them. How can you know it isnt worth assessing if youve never assessed it? Murray asked. Ultimately, Murray views this as a bandage solution, instead of the actual regulation expected after 20 years. Their plans are essentially making some modifications to the air tours, but not making a determination on whether they should continue, Murray argued. In a statement sent via email to The Daily Beast, the NPS summarized this decision, writing, Each air tour management plan released includes measures that mitigate the impacts of commercial air tours on park resources, including designated routes, minimum altitudes, time-of-day restrictions, and other measures that are not included in the interim operating authority that authorized air tours prior to the completion of the plans. They added that [the FAA and the NPS] have evaluated the potential impacts of air tours on park resources and visitor enjoyment of those resources with respect to each air tour management plan and found that they did not result in significant impacts on park resources. Kristin Brengel, the senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), an environmental non-profit that works to preserve national parks across the U.S., said she was shocked by the decision and proposal, especially when it came to Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon is an obvious choice to restrict flights and for the NPS to send a message, Brengel said. She added that in the draft proposal, air tours would still be permitted at popular overlooks and over popular trails. Its a shame reallyif you happen to be hiking and a helicopter tour flies over you, your whole day could be easily ruined, she said. But what really stuck out to Brengel was the process itself. All draft proposals require a public comment period by law. And while the law doesnt say when this public comment period is supposed to take place, in most cases, it happens after the draft proposal is released, so that the public can voice concerns and plans can be adjusted accordingly. However, this was not the case for these draft proposals, where the NPS held public comment before releasing them, a move environmentalists argue was done intentionally to limit public input. It was just wrong, Brengel said, adding that it didnt allow the public to actually voice any concerns about the proposed plans. In response, the FAA wrote via email to The Daily Beast, An important part of the process for each park was a public comment period and public meetings where the agencies presented the draft plan and answered questions. The FAA has sole authority to control U.S. airspace and thoroughly reviews the plans to ensure they comply with all safety protocols. Brengel went as far as to say that the FAA clearly doesnt like regulating airspace, calling them the main obstructionist of the law. Murray agreed, adding that he believes the whole thing has been disingenuous from the start, but still remains hopeful the NPS and FAA will adjust their methods for the remaining parks that require air tour management plans. 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. Iran has executed a former deputy defense minister accused of spying for the United Kingdom for multiple years. The countys Mizan news agency, run by its judiciary, reported on Saturday that Alireza Akbari was hanged after allegedly confessing to and being found guilty of corruption and action against Irans internal and external security through espionage. It did not provide details about when the execution occurred. Much of the international community and human rights organizations have denounced Irans judicial system as being unfair, reporting it often arbitrarily detains people, forces confessions from accused prisoners and widely leans on the death penalty. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he is appalled by the execution of Akbari, who is a British Iranian citizen. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, he said. My thoughts are with Alirezas friends and family. U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called the execution a barbaric act and said it will not stand unchallenged. He later added that the U.K. has sanctioned Irans prosecutor general. Sanctioning him today underlines our disgust at Alireza Akbaris execution, Cleverly said. The Prosecutor General is at the heart of Irans use of the death penalty. Were holding the regime to account for its appalling human rights violations. Mizan reported that prosecutors had evidence of Akbari engaging in long meetings with enemy intelligence officers in different countries and communications with the U.K.s MI6 spy service. It said he received more than 1.8 million euros from the U.K. for his actions. Akbari joined the private sector after stepping down from his role in Irans defense ministry. Mizan claimed his recruitment to spy for the U.K. began when he obtained a visa from the British Embassy in Tehran, alleging he established a connection with MI6 under the pretext of commercial and research dealings. He also allegedly traveled to Austria to meet with an MI6 intelligence officer. Story continues Mizan reported numerous alleged incidents it said demonstrated Akbaris collaboration with British intelligence, including meeting with officers in more than half a dozen countries, giving information about Iranian scientists, and faking a stroke to give himself and his family a reason to leave Iran. It also noted Akbari receiving British citizenship and opening an account with a major British bank. On Wednesday, BBC Persian aired an audio message from Akbari in which he alleged he had been tortured and that intelligence agents made him confess to false and corrupt claims with the use of both physiological and psychological methods, according to the BBC. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran said Saturday it executed a former high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national, despite international warnings not to carry out the death sentence. The execution further escalated tensions with the West amid the nationwide anti-government protests shaking the Islamic Republic. The hanging of Ali Reza Akbari, a close ally of top security official Ali Shamkhani, suggests an ongoing power struggle within Iran's theocracy as it tries to contain the demonstrations over the September death of Mahsa Amini. It also harkened back to the mass purges of the military that immediately followed Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Akbari's hanging drew immediate anger from London, which along with the U.S. and others has sanctioned Iran over the protests and its supplying Russia with the bomb-carrying drones now targeting Ukraine. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly summoned Iran's charge daffaires in the United Kingdom and temporarily withdrew Britain's ambassador from Tehran as Britain also sanctioned the Islamic Republic's prosecutor-general. Our response to Iran is not limited to today," he warned. Iran similarly summoned the British ambassador after the execution. Irans Mizan news agency, associated with the countrys judiciary, announced Akbaris hanging without saying when it happened. However, there were rumors he had been executed days earlier. Iran has alleged, without providing evidence, that Akbari served as a source for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, known popularly as MI6. A lengthy statement issued by Iran's judiciary claimed Akbari received large sums of money, his British citizenship and other help in London for providing information to the intelligence service. Story continues However, Iran long has accused those who travel abroad or have Western ties of spying, often using them as bargaining chips in negotiations. Akbari, who ran a private think tank, is believed to have been arrested in 2019, but details of his case only emerged in recent weeks. Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried behind closed doors, where rights groups say they do not choose their own lawyers and are not allowed to see evidence against them. Iranian state television aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations, footage that resembled other claimed confessions that activists have described as coerced confessions. The BBC Farsi-language service aired an audio message from Akbari on Wednesday, in which he described being tortured. By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, Akbari said in the audio. By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims. Iran has not commented on the torture claims. However, the United Nations human rights chief has warned Iran against the weaponization of the death penalty as a means to put down the protests. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Akbari's execution. We mourn with his loved ones and will continue to hold Iran accountable for its sham trials and politicized executions, Blinken said. Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said he was horrified by Akbaris execution. The Islamic Republics unjust detentions, forced confessions, sham trials and politically motivated executions must end, he wrote online. French President Emmanuel Macron also decried what he called a heinous and barbaric act. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the execution a further inhuman act by the Iranian regime. Iran is one of the worlds top executioners. However, it wasn't immediately clear when the last time a former or current high-ranking defense official had been executed. In 1984, Iran executed its navy chief Adm. Baharam Afzali along with nine other military people on a charge of spying for the Soviet Union. Irans government for months has been trying to allege without offering evidence that foreign countries have fomented the unrest gripping the Islamic Republic since the death of 22-year-old Amini in September after her detention by the morality police. Protesters say they are angry over the collapse of the economy, heavy-handed policing and the entrenched power of the countrys Islamic clergy. For several years, Iran has been locked in a shadow war with the United States and Israel, marked by covert attacks on its disputed nuclear program. The killing of Irans top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel, indicated foreign intelligence services had made major inroads. Iran mentioned that scientist in discussing Akbari's case, though it's unclear what current information, if any, he would have had on him. Akbari had previously led the implementation of a 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq following their devastating eight-year war, working closely with U.N. observers. He served as a deputy defense minister under Shamkhani during reformist President Mohammad Khatami's administration, likely further making his credentials suspicious to hard-liners within Iran's theocracy. Today, Shamkhani is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, the country's top security body, which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversees. Akbari's audio message aired by the BBC Persian included him saying he was accused of obtaining top-secret information from Shamkhani in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt. However, it appears Shamkhani remains in his role. The anti-government protests now shaking Iran are one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. At least 522 protesters have been killed and 19,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided official figures on deaths or arrests. Iran has executed four people after convicting them of charges linked to the protests in similarly criticized trials, including attacks on security forces. ___ Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. The Avenger is not available in the US. Stellantis The Jeep Avenger has been named European Car of the Year for 2023 but it's not on sale in the US. It's Jeep's first fully-electric car and surprisingly small for an SUV at 13.4 ft. Jeep CEO Christian Meunier thinks it's too compact for the North American market. Jeep's all-electric Avenger was named European Car of the Year for 2023 at the Brussels auto show on Friday. The compact SUV is Jeep's first battery-electric model. The prize was voted by a panel of motoring journalists from about two dozen countries, per Top Gear magazine. One was Paul Horrell of Top Gear, who commented: "This car caught me out. I expected to dislike it but experience proved the opposite. It's very usefully small, but drives like a refined bigger car." It notched up 328 points and was ranked first by 21 jurors, eclipsing Volkswagen's electric revival of the Kombi called the ID. Buzz, and the Nissan Ariya, an electric family crossover, The Telegraph reported. The Avenger has an "attractive exterior design reminiscent of the boxy American Seventies Jeeps along with the signature seven-slot grille first seen on the original World War Two-era Willys Jeep," according to the newspaper. "It feels comfortable and a bit special in this class of practically identical jacked-up superminis." The Jeep Avenger was named European Car of the Year at the Brussels auto show on Friday. Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images) The Avenger is part of Jeep's drive to become a leader in electric SUVs. The manufacturer wants EVs to account for all sales in Europe by 2030, and at least half in North America as well, Tech Crunch reported. But the Avenger will only be available in Europe and some countries in North Africa, according to Auto Express. There's "no real market potential in North America" for SUVs as small as the Avenger, Jeep CEO Christian Meunier told Tech Crunch last year. The Avenger, which was unveiled in October at the Paris auto show, is just 13.4 ft long. Designers sought to embody "brand DNA" within "compact dimensions," according to a press release from Stellantis, which owns Jeep. Story continues Nevertheless, Jeep says the Avenger offers "uncompromised" off-road capability despite its size, as well as a range of almost 250 miles. The Jeep Recon and Wagoneer S will be the first fully-electric Jeep SUVs available to American buyers, but they're not scheduled to go into production until 2024. Many European countries offer government subsidies to help drivers buy EVs, which Jeep hopes will boost sales. In France, for example, buyers can receive up to 7,000 euros ($7,590) towards an electric car that costs less than 47,000 euros ($50,964). Read the original article on Business Insider A federal judge on Friday ruled that a Jan. 6 defendant who said he surged onto the Senate floor to plead the blood of Jesus and absolve the chamber of evil spirits could not be convicted of obstruction of Congress joint session, the most serious felony charge he faced. After a weeklong bench trial, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Joshua Black had a unique stew in his mind that left her uncertain whether he was aware that his actions were unlawful. Black is the first Jan. 6 defendant who reached the Senate floor to be acquitted of the obstruction charge. Jackson found Black guilty of other charges he faced, including disorderly conduct in a restricted building while carrying a dangerous weapon a knife a felony that carries a maximum 10-year sentence. For prosecutors to secure a conviction for obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony that carries a maximum 20-year sentence they must show that a defendant had corrupt intent. But Jackson said prosecutors failed to support the charge with evidence proving Blacks intent. Evidence that Black intended to block Congress or even was familiar with the congressional proceedings occurring that day was absent from the governments case, Jackson said. Some evidence suggested that by the time he arrived at the Capitol, Black believed that the certification of the election had ended, Jackson noted. Black was seen in images from the Senate chamber bleeding from his cheek, the result of being shot with a police projectile before he breached the building. Jackson emphasized that Black had both religious and political reasons for his presence in Washington on Jan. 6 a mixed motive that she said was rooted both in his claim to have the Lords imprimatur and his steady diet of social media disinformation about the election results. Black was seen in footage gathered with other rioters who had breached the Senate poring over papers on Senate desks and taking particular interest in a document that referenced Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Jackson spent a significant portion of Fridays session explaining why she considered Blacks possession of a knife enough to meet the criteria of a deadly or dangerous weapon. While Black had contended that his knife was a hunting knife meant more as a tool than a weapon, Jackson said his comments to the FBI and the context of the riot told a different story. Black told investigators he carried his knife instead of a gun in order to abide by D.C. gun laws, and he kept the knife in case he needed it for self-defense. That intended purpose for use against another person, even in self-defense was enough to characterize the knife as a deadly weapon. Donald Trump (Associated Press) A judge has thrown out an attempt by Donald Trump to have a sexual assault lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll dismissed. Ms Carroll accused the former president in 2019 of raping her in a department store in New York in the mid-1990s. She filed a lawsuit last year after New York enacted the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), which allows victims of sexual assault to sue for decades-old offences. Mr Trump had asked for the sexual assault lawsuit accusing him of battery and defamation to be dismissed, claiming he had been denied due process. On Friday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said in a decision denying the motion that Mr Trumps argument was absurd. To suggest that the ASA violates the state Due Process Clause because the legislature supposedly did not describe that injustice to the defendants entire satisfaction in a particular paragraph of a particular type of legislative document itself a dubious premise is absurd, Judge Kaplan wrote. He said the New York State Legislature had long recognised the problem of a culture of silence and the existence of comparatively short limitations periods for bringing civil and criminal actions for sexual assaults and other sexual offenses. Ms Carroll, a longtime Elle columnist, first raised the sexual assault allegation publicly in her 2019 book. She wrote that she the attack had occurred during a chance encounter with Mr Trump at an upscale Manhattan. When Mr Trump responded dismissively to her allegations, saying she was not his type, she filed a defamation suit against him. Elon Musk waving his hands and making a face in front of a Tesla car. Elon Musk has had a strained relationship with California and the Bay Area in particular these last few years, especially since the company moved to Austin, Texas. A judge told Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his attorneys that, no, the court wont move his upcoming securities fraud trial out of San Francisco even if theres a dwindling number of people in the Bay Area with a positive opinion of the Twitter owner. On Friday, federal judge Edward Chen rejected the claim that the jury pool in the San Francisco area is biased against him. Tesla investors have accused the Tesla CEO of committing securities fraud when, in 2018, Musk tweeted about taking the electric vehicle company private. The Tesla investors have alleged Musks tweets were indisputably false and cost them billions when the Tesla stock saw wild market swings. The trial is set to start Jan. 17. Read more His infamous funding secured message resulted in a large fine and promise to share any potentially damaging messages with the Securities and Exchange Commission before posting. Last week, Musks lawyers argued that 82% of would-be jurors dont like the Tesla CEO all too much. This was based on a series of questionnaires from 200 prospective jurors. They further argued Twitters mass layoffs, and its impacts on former employees friends and family, have impacted a substantial portion of the jury pool. According to court documents, Musks lawyer called recent reports about him and the ongoing mess at Twitter character assassinations, especially reports about the mass firings that have occurred at the company since Musk took over last October. As far as recent reports go, the company has not stopped laying off employees. The lawyers then argued that Musks trial could be moved over to Austin, Texas. The state just so happens to be where Musk relocated Tesla after originally founding the company in Silicon Valley. Musks rocket company SpaceX is also based out of the Lone Star State, but Chen reportedly said that Austin has no material connection with the ongoing lawsuit. Story continues Chen told the court that he was sure that they can find an impartial jury panel. According to The Washington Post, the judge found there was much more mixed opinion about Musk and Tesla among the jurors. Bloomberg reported that Chen thought there was plenty of examples for fair juries in controversial cases. He referenced the unbiased jury for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was recently sentenced to a little over 11 years in prison in a massive case of fraud. Though Musk might still be spooked from his recent appearance in front of a San Francisco crowd during a live comedy set with comedian Dave Chappelle. The crowd mercilessly booed the Twitter owner after he got on stage. Chappelle then joked that, perhaps, a good number of the audience were ex-Twitter employees. But beyond whats happened at Twitter, Tesla has faced other harmful allegations, including lawsuits alleging a massive cycle of racist abuse at the companys northern California plant. Musk has soured heavily on California in recent years. Musks politics are rather nebulous, but since moving to Texas, his public pronouncements have centered around supporting Republicans, even after hes taken over as head of Twitter. Musk has claimed that Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, which continues to be a major investor in Twitter, had agreed to support him taking Tesla private. That might be harder to argue in court, as Bloomberg Law reported the funds chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan has argued he is not obligated to testify at Musks trial. More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Jan. 13CONCORD A federal jury on Friday acquitted retired Salem police Capt. Michael Wagner of a single tax evasion charge stemming from his internet sales of assault rifles in the days following the Sandy Hook school massacre. The acquittal, which came after about five hours of deliberations, prompted Wagner's defense attorney to say federal law enforcement and prosecutors pursued Wagner because he was a police officer and a gun enthusiast. "The IRS, the ATF, the New Hampshire Attorney General, they all wanted to put a trophy on their mantle," said Mark Lytle, a former federal prosecutor who now handles white-collar criminal cases with Nixon Peabody. The Friday afternoon verdict ended a week-long trial. The tax evasion charge involved the profits on sales of 36 assault rifles that Wagner purchased and then resold on the internet. He used a 25% police discount to purchase the rifles from New Hampshire gunmaker SIG Sauer. The sales took place shortly after the December 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre, when fears escalated that the federal government would ban assault rifles, prosecutors said in filings. Wagner maintained his innocence, and Lytle said the IRS never contacted him to demand tax payment or audit him. The agency just brought an indictment. Wagner was the last member of the Salem Police Department to face repercussions following a 2018 audit into alleged shortcomings in the department. The New Hampshire Attorney General investigated for more than two years, at times naming suspects. In the end, state authorities closed the investigation with one conviction a non-criminal traffic violation. The Wagner gun sales were unearthed during the investigation but were pursued as a tax case because of the statute of limitations. The gun sales were not a crime; Wagner cleared every buyer with a criminal background check, Lytle said. Lytle singled out Jane Young, the former deputy New Hampshire Attorney General, for pursuing Wagner. Story continues "They all owe him an apology, including Jane Young," he said. "Putting him through this was a horrible thing. Nobody should be put through that." Efforts to reach Young, currently the top federal prosecutor in New Hampshire, were unsuccessful. A spokesman for New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said the agency had no comment. Likewise, a spokesman for the office that prosecuted Wagner, Rachael S. Rollins, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, said the office would not comment. Outside federal prosecutors often take over police-prosecution cases in neighboring states to avoid any conflicts. Lytle said Salem Town Manager Chris Dillon had it in for the police command staff, so he went to the New Hampshire Attorney General with his complaints. The boulder started rolling downhill, and little attention was paid to the facts in the case, he said. In the end, the $33,000 in income ended up being about $15,000, he said. He said all Salem police officials who testified, even those called by the prosecution, praised Wagner's role as a firearms instructor and armorer for the department. The tax evasion charge carried a maximum penalty of three years and $100,000 fine, but sentencing guidelines would have reduced the maximum penalty. A Kansas City man has been arrested and charged in a fatal shooting that allegedly occurred during a botched drug deal outside of an Independence gas station on New Years Day. Daqunne E. Green, 28, is accused of second-degree murder, unlawful weapon use and two counts of armed criminal action, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office announced Friday afternoon. Charging documents filed in the case Friday spell out a deadly encounter between Green and 24-year-old Christopher Wright over $300-worth of fentanyl. Green was being held in the Jackson County jail on a $250,000 cash bond. On Jan. 1, Independence police officers were dispatched to the Short Stop gas station and convenience store at 9013 East U.S. 40 Highway on a reported shooting. The call came in around 1 p.m. as the Kansas City Chiefs were playing the Denver Broncos at nearby Arrowhead Stadium. Inside the store, responding police officers found Wright to be unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower back. First-aid was administered by officers, but Wright was pronounced dead at the scene. Surveillance cameras reviewed by an Independence police detective showed Wright pull into a parking space for the Short Stop near a Nissan Altima that arrived a few minutes earlier. The driver of the Nissan, identified by police as Green, then got out and entered Wrights car through the front passenger side. Forty-five seconds later, the video shows the front passenger side window blow out amid an apparent struggle. The shooter exits the vehicle and is seen firing several rounds through the broken window as Wright puts the car in reverse. After Wright fell out of the car, charging documents say, Green was seen on the video taking a backpack off Wrights body before driving away in the Nissan. Wright then walked into the convenience store where police later found him. At the crime scene, investigators reported finding six shell casings: two inside Wrights car on the passenger floorboard and four more in the parking lot. Investigators also discovered a large amount of marijuana inside the car, according to court documents, along with Wrights cell phone. Illegal drugs and some cash were on the ground. Story continues Police allege they found a thread of texts between Wright and Green arranging drug deals through Facebook Messenger. One message dated in mid-December led detectives to a Kansas City apartment where a relative of Green lives, according to court documents. A tip from a confidential source led Independence police to Greens whereabouts on Tuesday at St. John Avenue and Van Brunt Boulevard near Budd Park in Kansas Citys South Indian Mound neighborhood. Green was arrested there and taken to Independence police headquarters. During an interview with an Independence detective, Green allegedly admitted he met Wright at the Short Stop on New Years Day to buy fentanyl. After getting into the car, Green said Wright put a gun against his head. Green described a fight over the gun, which went off and busted out the window on his side of the car. The gun ended up in his hands, Green said, before he got out and demanded his money back. Green told the detective that Wright spit at him and tried to drive off. Police allege Green admitted anger and adrenaline then led him to fire the gun at Wright when he could have walked away instead. Court records listed no defense attorney for Green representing him in the murder case as of Friday afternoon. If convicted, Green faces up to 30 years for second-degree murder; up to 15 years on each count of armed criminal action; and up to 30 years for unlawful weapon use. In the charging documents, the detective noted Green has a prior felony conviction out of Jackson County. In that case, Green was an alleged gunman during an armed robbery at a Kansas City liquor store. He was shot by one of the stores workers as he was walking out the front door, according to court documents. Green pleaded guilty in 2019 to first-degree robbery. He was sentenced to five years of probation and faced the possibility of 10 years in prison if he got in trouble. A Jackson County judge ordered a warrant for Green in October for failure to appear at a scheduled court date. Following his arrest Tuesday, a probation violation hearing in the robbery case was scheduled to take place Jan. 19. CPC's advancement of self-governance at grassroots level Xinhua) 09:06, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has continued to advance its strict self-governance in all respects at the beginning of the new year. Party organizations at all levels across China are sparing no effort to promote self-governance, as the report of the Party's 20th national congress said that "full and rigorous self-governance is an unceasing endeavor and that self-reform is a journey to which there is no end." IMPROVING PARTY CONDUCT As the practice of formalities for formalities' sake and bureaucratism are recognized as enemies to the cause of the Party and the country, localities across China have this year continued easing their related burdens to increase efficiency. "With less red tape, and fewer formalities and meetings, we have more time to provide services for the people," said Guo Ying, a community official in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province. In the past, Guo said, there were many meetings and they would take half an hour to two hours, consuming both time and energy. "But now, officials at all levels are keeping in mind the importance of eradicating bureaucratism and the practice of formalities for formalities' sake, and conduct and work performances have been greatly improved," Guo added. COMBATING CORRUPTION For Li Ming, a resident of Tongyu County in Baicheng City, northeastern China's Jilin Province, winter used to be unbearable due to the poor heating system in his neighborhood. But this year is different. "Now my house is perfectly warm, and I finally got my refund for heating failures. Thank you for taking our complaints seriously and solving our problems!" Li, sitting in a cozy, warm living room, told a discipline inspection official from the county during a follow-up visit. Located in a region that is known for its bitter cold, Baicheng has a six-month winter heating season, two months longer than most Chinese cities with heating systems. For this reason, heating tops the list of livelihood issues of concern for Baicheng residents. Targeting corruption and malpractices in the heating field, the discipline inspection and supervisory commission of Baicheng has launched multiple campaigns. To date, local authorities have filed cases against 16 individuals for discipline and law violations, and 13 officials have been handed punishments, retrieving economic losses of over 6.6 million yuan (about 1 million U.S. dollars). "Feeling warm at home gives people warm feelings about the government," said Li Lichun, head of the discipline inspection and supervisory commission of Baicheng City. Li said that in the near future, the misappropriation of funds aimed at improving the people's well-being, the abuse of judicial and law enforcement power, and other issues infringing upon public interests will be targeted in the commission's work. INTEGRATING OVERSIGHT EFFORTS An effective oversight system that brings neglected issues to the table gives people a more concrete feeling of fulfillment, happiness and security. Lu Ruiying, an elderly man from Deqing County in Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, was delighted to see the changes that have taken place in the county's once neglected home elderly care system. "Now, volunteers pay me visits and chat with me every month." The need for improved home elderly care services drew the attention of Deqing County's inspection teams. Through the face-to-face inspection feedback mechanism between the inspection and supervisory authorities and the county government, the issue was deliberated and tackled in a timely manner. Wang Yunxiang, head of the discipline inspection and supervisory commission of Deqing County, said that 16 of the 28 issues deliberated have been addressed over recent years. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Photo: YVR. Cancellations and delays at were discussed in Ottawa on Thursday. Airline executives were put on the hot seat in Ottawa on Thursday to answer questions about the recent Vancouver Airport holiday travel chaos. Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in his testimony at the House of Commons transport committee that, while inclement winter weather had triggered the widespread disruptions, the main problem was the lack of communication from airlines. "(The government is) going to assume our responsibilities, and the industry must assume theirs," he said. Thousands of passengers experienced flight cancellations and delays around Christmas as the country experienced a severe winter storm, with some being stuck on the YVR tarmac for more than 10 hours. As of last week, 1,000 pieces of luggage were still at YVR, waiting to be reunited with their owners. The chaos also resulted in skyrocketing ticket prices as people tried to find ways to salvage their holidays, and disorganized communication from airlines left many frustrated. A Vancouver woman, Tahnee Curtis, told Vancouver is Awesome in a previous interview that she was not informed by WestJet that her flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver was cancelled. She ended up booking a flight to Seattle, after much struggle, so her boyfriend could drive down from Vancouver to pick her up. "I understand everybody is busy -- I don't expect to be treated differently -- but it's like you're cattle," she said. The Canadian Transportation Agency currently has a backlog of 33,000 complaints. Air Canada officials were questioned by NDP MP Taylor Bachrach on the long wait times on the tarmac at YVR, and said the delays were due to the lack of a safe way for passengers to disembark. "The airport could not keep up with proper apron clearing. Employees could not tow aircraft. We could not disembark using air stairs onto an open surface and transport the passengers to the terminal. All these were explored, all these questions were asked," said Kevin OConnor, Air Canada's vice-president of systems operations control. According to YVR CEO Tamara Vrooman, the airport did not receive requests from the airline to bring supplies for passengers on board. She added the top request from Air Canada was to get access to a gate. Vrooman previously told the Richmond News that YVRs runways were congested during the snowstorm because heavy and concentrated snowfall posed a challenge to de-icing planes. She acknowledged the long waits on the tarmac at YVR was unacceptable, but said that YVR had changed its policies soon after the chaos and she was pleased with the airports performance. "When weather hits, it causes delays. And I totally understand, particularly at this time of the year, how people can be frustrated and disappointed with those cancellations," she said. "However, the work that the airport did to prepare with snow removal and deicing worked as it should in these conditions, and I'm really pleased with the performance of our team." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at a separate event that changes will be made to the bill of rights for air passengers to strengthen and expand protection for Canadian travellers. - With files from Elana Shepert and the Canadian Press Kansas City police were asking the public to help find a 14-year-old missing since she got on the bus for school on Friday morning. The girl, Christiana Allen, was last seen being picked up by the bus around 6:45 a.m. near the intersection of 109th Street and Hillcrest Road in the Stratford Estates neighborhood, according to police. Allen is described as 5-foot-7, 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a black jacket, pink pants and black-and-white shoes when she was last seen, police said. Kansas City police were asking anyone who sees Allen to contact the KCPDs Juvenile Unit at 816-234-5150 or the departments non-emergency line at 816-234-5111. Washington DC teacher Keenan Anderson died after being tasered by LAPD officers (Courtesy of Patrisse Cullors) Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is among the many relatives, friends and colleagues of Keenan Anderson who are demanding answers after the respected Washington DC high school teacher was allegedly tasered to death by LAPD officers. All I know is that my cousin was asking for help, and he didnt receive it, Ms Cullors, 39, told The Independent in an interview on Friday. And hours later he was dead in the hospital. Anderson, a 31-year-old father of one, was visiting family in Los Angeles while on a winter school break when he was involved in a traffic accident in the Venice neighbourhood on 3 January. When officers arrived, they witnessed Anderson running in the middle of the street and exhibiting erratic behavior, according to an LAPD press release. Edited bodycam footage released on Wednesday shows Anderson attempting to run away police, before being pinned down on his stomach by several officers. As he continued to struggle, an officer fires a 50,000 volt charge into him at close range for approximately 30 seconds. The officer briefly pauses before tasering him again. The LAPD said in a statement that Anderson was given medical assistance at the scene before being taken to a Santa Monica hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest. Keenan Anderson, a 10th grade English teacher at the Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington DC, died after being tasered by LAPD officers (Courtesy of Patrisse Cullors) LAPD chief Michel Moore told a press conference on Wednesday that Anderson had committed a felony hit-and-run and was trying to flee the scene by getting into another persons car. Ms Cullors told The Independent she hadnt yet seen the entire bodycam footage, having been given the edited version a few hours before it was made public, and wanted to know more about the circumstances leading up to her cousins death. One thing she knows for certain: If my cousin didnt have to interact with police that day, he would still be alive. He loved his students Anderson lost his mother at a young age, and was raised by members of his large extended family. The family that had moved from Louisiana to California after encountering racism, Ms Cullors said. Story continues She recalled spending summers with Anderson and their cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents in Los Angeles, hanging out in parks and having picnics. Laughing, playing, barbecuing, those were the most powerful moments. When you get to be together without having to deal with any issues from police. Just being free, she said, adding that Anderson had big old eyes and a magnetic personality that would rub off on everyone around him. After enduring a difficult childhood, Anderson had big dreams of making an impact in the world. He initially wanted to become a police officer, but later decided he could effect the most change through education, she said. He was a human being who could transform his community, transform the world. He was super funny, super smart, she said. Ms Cullors founded Black Lives Matter with friends and fellow activists Alicia Garza and Ayo Tometi in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2013. Over the course of her two-decades in the civil rights movement, she says she spoke at length to Anderson about effecting change for the Black community. Patrisse Cullors founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin (Patrisse Cullors) She said Anderson saw his work as a teacher, educating young minds and supporting young people in crisis as an essential part of the movement. He loved his students, loved his family, and did everything in his power to help change his life but also change the lives of those around him, Ms Cullors told The Independent. Anderson had been working for several years at a charter school in Watts, in south Los Angeles, before getting a job at the Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington DC six months ago. Our family didnt just lose a loved one, but the community lost a mentor. The students lost a person who was changing their lives, she said. Theyre trying to George Floyd me The LAPD released an edited version of police bodycam footage from the 3 January incident which shows officers arriving at the corner of Venice and Lincoln boulevards in Venice, Los Angeles, at about 3.38pm on 3 January. A woman is seen telling officers: I think that guy up there needs help though, because the guys trying to run away. Anderson spoke to the officers for several minutes, the LAPD statement said. Then, as additional police units arrive, he suddenly attempted to flee along Venice Boulevard. The police bodycam video cuts to text saying that he attempted to run away. The footage resumes to show Anderson running the road, and when an officer catches up to him he is instructed to lie down on his stomach. Officers tell him to relax as they move him on to his stomach. He is heard crying Help, theyre trying to kill me as he struggles with several officers. Footage from a second officer then shows police warning Anderson they will tase him if he doesnt stop struggling. Theyre trying to George Floyd me, he is heard saying. The officer then tasers Anderson for a period of approximately 30 seconds, and after a pause for another 5 seconds, the footage shows. He is handcuffed and placed on a stretcher by medics from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Anderson died in hospital about four and a half hours after he first came into contact with police. A community ready for change After years of activism aimed at reforming law enforcement and redistributing bloated police budgets into social services, Ms Cullors said its been disorienting to lose someone so close to her in this way. She says that Andersons death, coming in the same week as two other people of color were killed by the LAPD, clearly illustrates why police have no business responding to traffic stops or people suffering mental health crises. My cousins death should be a huge reminder of why, when Black people ask for help, we should receive help, we should receive care. We should be able to receive those things that are life-giving, she said. Ms Cullors believes that the majority of the American public wants to change the relationship between police and the communities they operate in, and all that is lacking is the will of elected officials. People want law enforcement to be reduced in their communities. Our issue is the lack of courage from elected officials to change policy, to reevaluate its relationship to policing, she said. When youve been gaslit by LAPD, law enforcement and elected officials about police and why theyre needed, and one of your own family members is killed by them, terrorised by them, it becomes incredibly clarifying about what is needed, what is most important. Ms Cullors said the family were preparing to file a formal complaint against the LAPD, and that a lawsuit may follow. Our family should be able to live full lives. We shouldnt have to have viral headlines because someone in our family has died at the hands of the LAPD, she said. Its all just too much The release of bodycam footage on Wednesday prompted a furious reaction on social media. This has to stop, wrote Misan Harriman, a photographer and close friend of Meghan Markle, on Instagram, alongside footage of Anderson being tased. My God. aIts all just too much.a Again. In the heart of Los Angeles. On the pavement, begging for his life, police from the LAPD killed another young brother in broad daylight. Actor Seth Green wrote in a Twitter post: No big deal, just LAPD murdering a man on the street for no reason. Comedian and writer Travon Free called for the LAPD to be held accountable at all costs in a viral post on Twitter: The LAPD murdered Keenan Anderson. A beloved high school English teacher and father who FLAGGED THEM DOWN FOR HELP after a car accident. He was a threat to no one. He needed help and it cost him his life. Our community is grieving The Digital Pioneers Academy in Washington DC is in mourning over the Andersons death. Founder Mashea Ashton said in a statement posted to the high schools website it was the third member of the school community to fall victim to violence in the past two months. The details of his death are as disturbing as they are tragic. Our community is grieving. But were also angry, Ms Ashton said. Angry that, once again, a known, loved, and respected member of our community is no longer with us. Angry that another talented, beautiful Black soul is gone too soon. She said Anderson had been a teacher for eight years, and in the six months he worked at the academy he established strong relationships with scholars and staff. He was beloved by all, Ms Ashton said. Our school community will inevitably ask some really important questions in the days and weeks ahead: How could the police have de-escalated this situation? How are we going to stop losing our black boys and men to violence? How do we grieve and move forward as a community? We all deserve answers to these questions. Keenans family deserves justice. And our students deserve to live, to live without fear, and to have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. This is a vigil, not a protest (yet) BLMs Los Angeles branch is organising a vigil for Anderson at the location where he died at 5pm on 14 January. Join the family and loved ones of Keenan Anderson as we lift his Spirit and generate the energy needed to fight for justice in his name, a post on their Instagram page read. This is a vigil, not a protest (yet). Please wear white, bring candles, flowers, prayers, and love. Former White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Kellyanne Conway in a new essay wrote that a 2024 Trump White House campaign shouldn't be dismissed. Conway in her New York Times piece also emphasized that GOP leaders needed to embrace early voting. "Republicans must ... invest in and be vocal about early voting," Conway wrote in the essay. Former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway in a recent opinion piece said it was "ridiculous" that some states in 2020 allowed voting "nearly two months before Election Day" as part of Covid-related measures, but argued that the Republican Party must embrace early voting in order to survive. Conway a veteran pollster who managed former President Donald Trump's successful 2016 White House campaign in a New York Times essay presented the case for and against a second term for the ex-president, who launched his third White House bid late last year. In the essay, Conway noted that Trump had experienced a decline in support from Independents and white college-educated from 2016 to 2020 blocs that provided critical votes to now-President Joe Biden in tightly-contested swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the latter election. And she also pointed out the growing importance of early voting, which has soared in popularity across the country and has been wholly supported by Democratic candidates who have encouraged voters to come out to cast ballots using this method. Trump, however, has long alleged without proof that early and mail-in balloting are rife with fraud. But after the 2022 midterms which saw Republicans vastly underperform relative to expectations some strategists within the party have said that Trump's crusade against early voting may very well have cost them critical levels of support in states where they'll need to boost their standing ahead of 2024 to have any chance of defeating Biden and securing a majority in the United States Senate. "Republicans must ... invest in and be vocal about early voting," Conway wrote in the essay. "This is a competition for ballots, not just votes. As ridiculous as it was to vote nearly two months before Election Day and count the votes for three weeks thereafter, some of the state-based Covid-compelled measures for voting are now permanent." Story continues "If these are the rules, adapt or die politically," she added. Last month, Conway went after Republican senators who didn't campaign for former NFL star Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia who was defeated by incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a December 2022 runoff election. "People are saying, 'We need a new message.' Let me just say something respectfully to the 49 Republican senators: Where were most of you? Why weren't you in Georgia?" she asked during an appearance on Fox News. Conway also reiterated that the GOP must figure out a way to incorporate early voting into their turnout strategies going forward. "We need to bank these votes early," she continued to say while on Fox. "We're taking a big chance somebody can get off work, out of the house, out of traffic, not feeling sick that day. If you can bank their votes in October, let's do it." "I don't like it because it's pro-incumbent. I don't like it because it's not Election Day, it's election season, election trimester. But these are the rules," she added. Read the original article on Business Insider Jan. 14KINGSTON Police in Kingston charged a man from Monroe County on allegations he solicited a 15-year-old boy for sex last year. Patrick M. Maranuk, 36, of Kunkletown, engaged in a sexually explicit online conversation with a cooperating witness who pretended to be a teenage boy in April 2022, according to court records. Maranuk was questioned by police when he believed he was meeting the teenage boy in Kingston on April 27, 2022. When the cooperating witness confronted Maranuk, two police officers were in the area and were flagged down. During the interview, Maranuk admitted he was exploring his sexuality and searched on a social media site to hook up, court records say. Police in court records say Maranuk sent nude pictures of himself to the "boy" and discussed sexual acts. Condoms and other items allegedly were found in Maranuk's vehicle. Maranuk was arraigned Friday by District Judge James Haggerty in Kingston on two counts of criminal attempt to commit unlawful contact with a minor, and one count each of criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, criminal solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault and criminal use of communication facility. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $50,000 bail. Jan. 13Listing at $775,000 and closing at $750,000, the house at 11069 Emerald Crown Drive in Monrovia is last week's top house. Built in 2020, features include five bedrooms, three bathrooms, an open kitchen/dining/living room combination, a mud room off the garage, upper level laundry, and a master suite with his and hers closets. Outside is a covered deck and views of Sugarloaf Mountain. Located in the Landsdale neighborhood, community amenities include access to an Olympic-size pool, tennis and other sport courts, and playgrounds. The following is a list of all other homes sold in Frederick County in the past week through agents and brokers, as reported through the Bright MLS database. It does not include homes sold without an agent. The list is provided by Dan Plombon of Mackintosh Inc. Realtors. All prices are closing prices. THE REST OF THE TOP 5 7507 Mayfair Court, Mount Airy, $714,900 8 E. Third St., Frederick, $710,000 512 Carroll Walk Ave., Walkersville, $705,000 3608 Buckley Drive, Jefferson, $674,990 ADAMSTOWN 2500 Underwood Lane, $639,900 BRUNSWICK 44 E. D St., $232,000 709 N. Maple Ave., $200,000 FREDERICK 426 N. Market St., $670,000 1701 Aldin Court, $615,000 6116 Brookhaven Drive, $570,000 102 Rose Garden Way, $542,500 5868 Bella Marie Way, $532,370 9518 Opossumtown Pike, $475,000 206 E. Church St., $399,000 5790 Fringetree Court, $375,000 1440 Trafalgar Lane, $372,500 1499 Dogwood Drive, $360,000 5785 Indian Cedar Court, $356,000 6697 Seagull Court, $350,000 614 Glen Echo Road, $350,000 6511 Walcott Lane, #404, $340,000 1147 Daffodil Drive, $320,000 109 Long Acre Court, $312,000 7196 Glenmeadow Court, $305,000 143 Heathfield Drive, $299,900 124 Water St., $296,500 2100 Yates Drive, #6 3D, $285,000 6506-G Wiltshire Drive, #101, $252,300 7291 Coachlight Court, #A, $240,000 2100 Whitehall Road, #2B, $220,000 821 Stratford Way, #E, $203,000 JEFFERSON 3609 Carswell Place, $665,635 MIDDLETOWN 7022 Mountain Church Road, $350,000 MOUNT AIRY 5382 Annapolis Drive, $525,000 Story continues 5555 Cindy Court, $489,000 MYERSVILLE 12016 Pleasant Walk Road, $515,000 NEW MARKET 7150 Masters Road, $607,398 6532 Rimrock Road, $450,000 Leon Bailey set Aston Villa on their way to victory (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire) Leeds paid the price for wasteful finishing as gritty Aston Villa snatched an unlikely 2-1 Premier League win. Leon Baileys early goal and Emi Buendias header grabbed the points, Patrick Bamford netting a late consolation, as the hosts rode their luck at Villa Park. Emi Martinez brilliantly denied Jack Harrison and Wilfried Gnonto while Rodrigo had a shot cleared off the line and a goal disallowed for offside. But Villa hung on, scoring at vital times, to leave Leeds wondering how they left empty handed. The hosts recovered from their embarrassing FA Cup exit to Stevenage, which had taken the gloss off what has been a positive start to Unai Emerys reign. They needed a performance and result to banish any hangover, especially following last weeks underwhelming derby draw with Wolves. They got a result, if not a stellar display, and survived before Buendias second-half clincher. For Leeds, having avoided an FA Cup upset at Cardiff, any early-season optimism has disappeared to be replaced by anxiety. Just two league wins since August has left them teetering on the edge of another relegation battle in a congested bottom half. Defeat on Friday extended their winless run to seven in all competitions. Boss Jesse Marsch had already admitted he hates the stress which comes with the job, rather than the job itself, and he would have been forgiven for any angry outbursts after falling behind just three minutes in. Leeds forced a corner, which Villa only just managed to clear, but from the break Boubacar Kamara ran unchallenged. The midfielder advanced towards the visitors area and slipped in Bailey on the right for the winger to cut inside and find the corner. Story continues It was some redemption for Bailey his selection likely to have been questioned by many at Villa Park who left the pitch in tears after missing a last-gasp open goal against Wolves last week before a wasteful display in the FA Cup. Villa lost Lucas Digne to a shoulder injury soon after, allowing Alex Moreno to make an earlier-than-expected debut, and Leeds responded well but when Rodrigo threatened Douglas Luiz snuffed it out. A neat free-kick then allowed Rodrigo to escape, only to be denied by Martinez and Harrison scuffed the rebound against the post. Leeds remained the aggressors with Rodrigo a constant menace and the striker was denied a leveller by Moreno four minutes before the break. The full-back initially played him onside as he dashed onto Harrisons throughball to round Martinez but Moreno recovered to clear his goalbound shot behind. Villa were rocking and when Luke Ayling knocked the ball across for Harrison he seemed certain to score but Martinez produced a brilliant block before Young deflected Gnontos follow up over. Seconds later Rodrigo swept in from on the floor, only for a belated offside flag to curtail Leeds celebrations. Half time spared Villa further. An early opener aside they had been overrun and Leeds rediscovered their stride quickly after the break, Young turning Brenden Aaronsons shot over following Tyrone Mings slip. Martinez was then needed to palm Gnontos curling effort away before Villa briefly threatened when Douglas Luiz fired over. A leveller only seemed a matter of time but it was Villa who doubled their lead after 64 minutes. Bailey cut from the right and his fierce drive was parried by Illan Meslier and it fell for Buendia to nod in the rebound, despite Mesliers best efforts. The flag immediately went up but VAR came to Villas rescue. Danny Ings could have made it 3-0 but was denied by Meslier before Bamford pulled a goal back with eight minutes left. Gnonto left Young in a heap to dart into the area, bamboozle Morgan Sanson to tee up the striker to sweep in. PASVALYS, Lithuania (Reuters) - A rupture in an old natural gas pipe has emerged as the most likely cause of Friday's blast in the Lithuania-Latvia pipeline, the head of its operator said on Saturday. The explosion yielded flames up to 50 meters high, but there was no immediate evidence of an attack. "The initial survey showed that a welding seam simply tore open", Nemunas Biknius, head of Lithuania's gas transmission operator Amber Grid, told BNS wire. Police opened an investigation on Saturday into whether the pipeline was properly maintained but is not currently investigating whether it was damaged intentionally, BNS said. The fire emanating from the more than 40-year old pipeline was put out on Friday but a highway next to the blast site remains closed. Several dozen people evacuated from a nearby village have all returned to their homes, the head of the local public administration Povilas Balciunas told Reuters. (Reporting by Janis Laizans in Pasvalys and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by David Holmes) Love Islands winter edition kicks off on Monday 16 January. The ITV2 dating show is returning to our screens for its second winter series filmed in South Africa. Ahead of the shows winter 2023 series, hosted by Maya Jama, ITV has revealed the first 10 contestants. Among them is Shaq Muhammad, a 24-year-old airport security officer from London. Find out more about Shaq below, from his biggest icks to what hes looking for in the villa. Who is Shaq Muhammad? The self-proclaimed talk of the terminal has been single for almost two years. Hes not afraid to take an opportunity if he sees someone he likes, even admitting that he turns into a big teddy bear when hes falling for someone. What is Shaq looking for on Love Island? Hes after the love of his life. Shaq is hoping to leave the villa with the person he marries one day. I havent had the best luck with previous relationships, he confessed. So I thought, why not be in the sun and potentially meet the love of my life? Hopefully, I do come out [of the villa] with my future wife. What will Shaq bring to the villa? Shaq will bring his bubbly personality and confidence to the villa, but hes not afraid to step on anybodys toes. I get on with people in general, so I think people will naturally be drawn to me, he said. Im a lovable person. I do put myself first and Im not scared to just go for what I want, if I have to step on peoples toes or things like that. If money was no object, what would Shaqs ideal date be? Id take a plane to Monaco, do a helicopter ride over the city and then do a yacht dinner date, he shared. The next morning, wed go scuba diving. Ive never been and Ive always wanted to. So, well do the cute dinner at night and then dive 40 feet the next morning. The Love Island winter cast of 2023 (ITV) What gives Shaq the ick? I dont like rude people. It automatically puts me off, he said of what gives him the ick. That and slang words if you call me bro, Im off, thats a complete turn-off, I cant handle that. Story continues What is Shaqs Instagram? His Instagram account is @shaq24s_, but this year all the contestants pages will be disabled while theyre in the villa. Shaqs bio currently reads: Im off to find love in the @loveisland villa. See you soon! For the first time, ITV has asked them to make their accounts dormant while they are on the show so that nothing can be published on their behalf, in an effort to prevent the adverse effects of social media. Love Island returns 16 January on ITV2 and ITVX. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Facebook Shes facing possible indictment for her alleged role in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election. Meanwhile, the Michigan Republican Party suffered a historic ass-kicking at the polls last November under her leadership. Surely, Meshawn Maddocks influence within the state GOP is at an endright? Wrong, say some party activists and left-of-MAGA dissenters, who claim Maddockthe partys co-chair and ideological leader for the past two yearsmay have a poison pill to force down the throat of the party faithful. That pill, they say, is her 22-year-old son-in-law, Parker Shonts, who is seeking election as youth vice chair when Michigan Republicans convene for their state convention next month in Lansing. While the position itself is largely seen as ceremonial, and the vast majority of attention is being paid to the race for the next chair of the party, skeptics see Shonts candidacy as a proxy to affirm Maddocks continued influence. In other words, some Republicans say, Shonts stands for doubling down on the same far-right, election-denying politics that may have doomed the party last fall. Tom Stroup is a former county and district chairman in the Michigan Republican Party whos been involved in the state GOP for 22 years. He is also an elected precinct delegate in Northville Township who will be casting a ballot for the partys new leader. If theres one thing Stroup hopes will occur at the convention, its an end to the reign of Meshawn Maddock and her husband, Republican State Rep. Matt Maddock. I have known the Maddocks long before they came to power in the Michigan Republican Party, and they have been a problem in our party basically since day one, Stroup told The Daily Beast. Stroup says that Maddocks faction, and those who have supported her, are getting smaller every day since Michigan Democrats trounced Republican candidates for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Meshawn did such a poor job as co-chair of the party, he said, suggesting that Shonts candidacy is a part of trying a power play to try and stay in power in some form. Story continues Parker Shonts got a free haircut on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol during a COVID-related protest in 2020. Elaine Cromie/Getty Images When asked if Shonts was simply a mouthpiece for his in-laws, Stroup didnt hesitate to answer. I think that is a good way to put it. Thats just another Maddock to me. When asked via email to comment for this story, Shonts responded only with the following: The Daily Beast is a trash publication and you should be ashamed for working there. Meshawn Maddockwho has not been charged with any crimesresponded with the exact same language as her son-in-law. Of course, some of the post-election circular firing squad has focused on outgoing party chair Ron Weiser, who has a scandal-plagued history of his own that includes labeling the women atop the state government witches. Tudor Dixon, the partys failed gubernatorial candidate, blasted Weiser (and Maddock) for the partys midterm debacle. Like Weiser, Maddock has indicated that she will not be running to be the next chair. Instead, she said, she will be laser focused on winning Michigan for Trump. Some party activists arent buying it. Shonts, who married the Maddocks daughter Parker last summer, has shown every inclination to engage in the type of culture war conflict his mother-in-law is well-known forand that some Republicans think the party has to move on from. Whether issuing a Groomer Alert when reposting a Libs of TikTok attack on the LGBTQ community, referring to Kwanzaa as a fake holiday,or calling those opposed to him low-T, anti-family Republicans, Shonts easily mirrors Meshawns shoot-from-the-hip style. He also shares what is likely a very important trait with the Maddocks, and certainly with the Trump wing of the national GOP: a history of election-denying. For starters, theres the crowd backing him. Shonts has been endorsed by a host of election deniers, including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell and Michigan GOP District Chair Shane Trejo. The latterwho, as The Daily Beast reported, hosted a podcast with a member of the white supremacist group Identity Evropacalled for the ouster of a fellow Republican who voted to certify Joe Bidens 2020 win. Shonts was also on the proverbial front lines in the attempt to question an election himself, indicating he was present challenging ballots at the TCF Center in Detroit during the pivotal 2020 election. At the time, he tweeted it was a #RiggedElection. Far-Right GOPer Unloads on Marjorie Taylor Greene: You Crossed a Rubicon! Also present at the TCF Center that night was his future mother-in-law, who helped to organize Republican volunteer poll challengers and claimed, People are being cheated and they feel like something is being stolen from them right now. Those claims were among a myriad of misinformation that post-election audits determined were either entirely fabricated, based upon misunderstanding of election processes, or the result of incorrect inferences that human errors were intentional misconduct. However, Meshawn Maddocks ascent to power in the Michigan Republican Party took off after the 2020 election, as she amplified former President Trumps lie that the contest had been stolen. More importantly, when it comes to her legal fate, she has been accused of playing a prominent role in the plot to overturn the election. Maddock was among 16 Michigan Republicans who signed and submitted false electoral certificates at the state Capitol in Lansing on the same day that the Electoral College met to certify the states election results in late 2020. While those results clearly showed President Joe Biden defeated Trump by more than 154,000 votes to win all 16 of Michigans electoral votes, Maddock and her alleged co-conspirators seemed to provide a rationale for GOP legislative leaders in Michigan to switch the states electoral delegates to Trump. Maddock herself was caught on tape in early 2022 saying that the plan to submit fake electors came from the Trump campaign. We fought to seat the electors. The Trump campaign asked us to do that, said Maddock at a public event organized by the conservative group Stand Up Michigan, according to a recording obtained by CNN and also cited in the final report of the House Jan. 6 committee. A year after turning over the investigation of the scheme to federal authorities, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently announced that she was reopening the state investigation into fake electors. She said there was now overwhelming evidence to bring charges based on the report by the House Jan. 6 select committee. If charged and convicted, Maddock and any other fake electors could face up to 14 years in prison. Meanwhile, as the race for party chairs approaches, the question remains: How much influence does Maddock still have within the party, and is her son-in-law a proxy bid to stay relevant? Dennis Lennox, a Republican strategist in Michigan, says its a bit more nuanced than that. She would be much more influential if she was to be a congressional district chair somewhere, or just a rank-and-file state committee member, he told The Daily Beast. But Lennox is one who says the race for youth vice chair is not as trivial as it may seem. Historically, it has been the most contested, the nastiest race, he said. I can remember running races for a youth chair at the convention, winning some, losing some, and hating the people because youre 20 years old and you hate the person who wins. Then, 10 years later, youre both political professionals and youre working together. Lennox noted that past youth vice chairs have gone on to prominence in the state party, including Rep. Matt Hall, who is the current state House Republican Leader, and Gus Portela, who was the press secretary for the state party in this past cycle and is now Halls Communications Director. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0mcpL5nuxmBVvyVX3Gu1Fu4i58M3eVxHPcsCVBRdL4sdKYmNoWdSzSrEujHnh6WY3l&id=100077737374033 To the extent that Shonts candidacy is seen as a proxy move by Maddock, Lennox said that many within the party believe she has to take responsibility for the dismal results of last years election. She picked a bunch of losers and she over-extended herself and she was more concerned about mean tweets than she was about getting the fundamentals right, Lennox told The Daily Beast. I dont necessarily think some of her policy positions are incorrect, but I dont think she knows anything about messaging. She tried picking a fight with everybody. You were either with her or you were against her. Concurring on that point is Bob Carr, a lifelong Republican who began his political career in the Office of Economic Opportunity during the Nixon Administration and later worked on Capitol Hill and with the Republican National Committee. He made unsuccessful runs for U.S. Senate in 1996 and then again in 2020, when he was bumped from the ballot after too many of his petition signatures were deemed invalid. He also made a run for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2022. Its terrible, Carr said of Shonts candidacy. His campaign is all pre-packaged. It was Meshawn all the way. Absolutely. She wrote all that stuff. She had to. Parker was absolutely cookie cutter and canned, and now we know why. Meshawn wrote it. Of course she did. (Shonts denied that his mother-in-law wrote his campaign materials despite her response to The Daily Beast precisely mirroring his own.) The other candidate of note for the youth vice chair position is 20-year-old Rylee Linting, who has garnered her own set of colorful endorsements. They include Republican State Rep. Donni Steele and Linda Lee Tarver, a former member of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and a one-time election-denier in her own right. Shonts and Linting have traded jabs on social media, as he accused her of being run by the DeVos mafia, referencing the family of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who have used their wealth through the years to steer GOP policy. Linting fired back, calling that assertion unequivocally false, adding that Shonts had chosen to spread lies about her on numerous occasions. Linting has her own associations with the Stop the Steal crowd, including an at least partial embrace of failed A.G. candidate and potential indictee Matt DePerno in a recent social-media post. But of the Republicans surveyed for insight into the partys future for this story, Shonts candidacyand what it representsstood out most of all. Whether the outgoing party co-chair will retain the influence she appears to covet remains to be seen. Meshawns toast, even though now shes got a proxy running, but shes done, said Carr, the erstwhile candidate. 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. (Bloomberg) -- Malaysias Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is set to keep his partys top job for another term, a move that will strengthen the position of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahims coalition government. Most Read from Bloomberg Delegates at the United Malays National Organisations annual general assembly on Saturday approved a motion to prevent anyone from contesting the partys top two posts during internal leadership polls due by May. UMNO secretary-general Ahmad Maslan told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur that about 90% supported the move. The decision buttresses Malaysias newfound political stability ahead of several state elections due this year. Anwars government relies on support from Zahid, who threw UMNOs weight behind its long-time rival after the Nov. 19 general election resulted in a hung parliament. READ: Malaysias Newfound Stability Tested by Wobbly Coalition Partner The no contest motion can definitely prevent further cracks in the party, and give Zahid the space to nominate his loyalists in the upcoming six state elections, said Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar, a political science lecturer at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. It would also reinforce Anwars position as PM. After decades of unbroken rule, UMNO and the wider Barisan Nasional coalition it leads has declined in popularity amid infighting and corruption scandals Zahid himself faces graft charges in court that culminated in its worst electoral showing in November, with Barisan Nasional winning just 30 of the 222 parliament seats. Anwars coalition is now considering working with UMNO in the state elections. While the local polls would have no direct bearing on the composition of parliament, they will be a measure of the new governments popularity among the public. Story continues Vote For Stability Several leaders at the four-day UMNO assembly backed the no-contest motion, citing the need to maintain stability. Malaysia has been rocked by years of political volatility since Mahathir Mohamad abruptly stepped down as prime minister in 2020, just 22 months after taking power. Since his resignation, the country has seen three different prime ministers. After a turbulent four years, we have now formed the government with several parties, said UMNO delegate Hamizan Hasan from Perlis state in a speech earlier Saturday. In order for the government to be stable, UMNO must be stable. And to do that the best way is for no contests for the top two posts. Zahid received support from the womens wings, with chief Zahida Zarik Khan saying the leadership wasnt to blame for the partys defeat in the Nov. 19 general election. No matter how many times they lose the elections, our rivals have never sought to remove their leaders, said Zahida on Thursday. Still, the decision to ring-fence the top two posts may hinder efforts to reform the party, according to Tunku Mohar, the political analyst. The leadership could not really gauge the sentiment of the grassroots in the absence of election to the top positions, he said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Photo: Deanna Conlin Owner Leon Drzewiecki at NYLA Fresh Thread on Nanaimo's Commercial Street, where if you stick around long enough, you just might hear a certain earwormy kids' song. It could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The owner of a mens clothing store in downtown Nanaimo is playing the stubborn earworm Baby Shark, with its unshakeable doo-doo doo-doo doo-doos, all night, every night to discourage vandalism and loitering. (You can listen to Baby Shark on YouTube. But dont say we didnt warn you.) Leon Drzewiecki, owner of NYLA Fresh Thread on Commercial Street, said he was thinking of ways to protect the store when he came up with the idea of putting Baby Shark on repeat. I have speakers outside my store anyway. We always play music regardless, he said Friday. I was just looking for a fun, positive way to bring a little bit of attention to this problem that we were having. So far, its working, said Drzewiecki, who began playing Baby Shark on the outside speaker a week ago. The usual daytime selection of popular music continues. But when the store closes for the evening, the music switches to Baby Shark. Featuring colourful animated sharks, the toddler-friendly song and dance was the first YouTube video to hit 10 billion views. Its a fun-loving song that anybody would like, but if you are hearing it for a long period of time over and over again, its not something you are going to want to stick around and hang out with. NYLA is located in the old part of the city, home to unique locally owned shops in historic buildings where a tight community spirit prevails. But over the past several weeks, Drzewiecki has become increasingly concerned about the stores security. Fires have been set in the alcove, drug paraphernalia has been left behind, windows have been scratched and paint has been thrown on the front of the store. Sometimes, overnight campers refuse to move in the mornings when the store opens. In the last six months, there have been three break-ins, said Drzewiecki, adding playing Baby Shark has brought out a lighter side. Bank employees heading to work nearby were recently seen dancing into their building. Music plays at a fairly low volume, with the sound largely confined to the alcove, he said. Some shop owners install metal shutters to protect stores overnight but Drzewiecki said he doesnt want to make it look like a prison. RCMP Const. Gary OBrien praised Drzewiecki, saying his idea is a harmless and creative way to protect property. Its thinking outside the box and its not costing any money. Noise deterrents are not new some stores have tried playing classical music. The Nanaimo Ladysmith School District uses the Mosquito anti-loitering deterrent. Seven of the districts 28 elementary schools have them installed, a district official said. The Mosquito emits a high-frequency noise that its website says can only be heard by those 25 or younger if set at 17 KHz (Kilohertz). Thats because as people age, they lose the ability to hear high frequencies, the company said. Manchester United and Manchester City meet at Old Trafford for the 189th Manchester derby this afternoon with both teams desperate for points to move closer to realising their Premier League ambitions. City are in an intense battle for the title with Arsenal, currently trailing the Londoners by five points meaning they can scarcely afford to slip up, while United are competing with the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham and Liverpool for a top-four spot. Having said that, if the Red Devils do get revenge for the 6-3 humbling they suffered at the hands of their city rivals back in October, they will move just a point behind Pep Guardiolas men and can perhaps begin to dream of a title charge. Certainly, Erik ten Hag has them playing with confidence, as the Dutchman has now won 20 of his first 27 competitive matches in charge - the fewest games taken to reach this landmark by any manager in the clubs history - and United are on a run of just one loss in the 18 matches since the derby defeat three months ago. Follow all the action from Old Trafford with our live blog below: Man Utd vs Man City updates Manchester United face Manchester City in the 189th Manchester derby 82 - GOAL! Rashford slides home Garnacho cross to compete comeback (MUN 2-1 MCI) 78 - GOAL! Fernandes scores controversial equaliser after Rashford initially ruled offside (MUN 1-1 MCI) 60 - GOAL! Grealish makes an impact off the bench as he heads in De Bruynes cross (MUN 0-1 MCI) 37 - SAVE! Ederson smothers when Rashford through one on one (MUN 0-0 MCI) 34 - OFF THE LINE! Rashford rounds a stranded Ederson but Akanji clears off the line (MUN 0-0 MCI) 10 - CLOSE! Fernandes flashes a shot just wide (MUN 0-0 MCI) Man Utd are on an eight-game winning run under Erik ten Hag with confidence soaring Man City thumped their rivals 6-3 in October but have had a couple of wobbles in the Premier League title race Manchester United FC 2 - 1 Manchester City FC FULL TIME! Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:25 , Jamie Braidwood Story continues What a turnaround, what a result for the Premier League title race! A classic Manchester derby! Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:24 , Jamie Braidwood 90+5 mins: Bernardos cross is headed away twice by Martinez, then Shaw clears, and finally De Gea gathers! United almost there. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:24 , Jamie Braidwood 90+4 mins: Whistles now from the Old Trafford crowd as City look to find a way through. Shaw snaps into Bernardo to win it back as United get back out to halfway. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:23 , Jamie Braidwood 90+3 mins: United are camped on the edge of their box as Rodri plays it out to Grealish, his cross looks for Haaland at the back post but Shaw defends it well! Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:21 , Jamie Braidwood 90+1 mins: How good has Fred been today? He nicks the ball from Rodri on the edge of the box as United counter-attack. They work the ball out to Garnacho on the left, which gets them up the pitch. Harry Maguire is also coming on for the final few minutes. Rashford, Casemiro and Malacia are off. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:19 , Jamie Braidwood 90 mins: There will be FIVE added minutes. Lisandro Martinez and Scott McTominay are set to come on for United. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:19 , Jamie Braidwood 89 mins: From the free-kick, De Bruyne plays it short and United get out well to clear. Rashford has scored in seven consecutive appearances for Manchester United, by the way, as well as his past nine at Old Trafford. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:17 , Jamie Braidwood 88 mins: Fred brings down Grealish for a yellow card, which the City forward was not happy about. Meanwhile Casemiro is down and is receiving treatment. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:15 , Jamie Braidwood 86 mins: Haaland goes down in the box! But no penalty! Haaland is furious but the check is over, nothing given. The ball broke to the City striker in the box but Casemiro dipped in a toe to nick it away as Haaland shaped to shoot. Looked a well timed challenge. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City 14:14 , Jamie Braidwood 84 mins: That is madness! The title race may have just turned in a matter of moments. Garnacho has made a brilliant impact and City are rocking! GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City (RASHFORD 82) 14:11 , Jamie Braidwood OH MY WORD! Bedlam inside Old Trafford as United turn it around in three minutes! There is so, so much space for United to attack as the ball is played out to Garnacho on the left. He shapes up Ake, before turning and fizzing a brilliant cross into the box, where Rashford is alive to poke the ball under Ederson! Rashford scores again and City are suddenly staring at defeat! Marcus Rashford is at it again! Alejandro Garnacho and Man Utd's number 10 combine to put the home side 2-1 up in the derby! pic.twitter.com/kaUSgVv1iL Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 14, 2023 GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Manchester City (FERNANDES 79) 14:08 , Jamie Braidwood THEY HAVE GIVEN IT! WOW! City are furious but United are level! Well, well. lets unpack this. United turned to drive forward and Casemiro slipped through Rashford, who was in acres of space but clearly offside. Rashford was shaping to shoot, but then backed off when he realised he was offside. Behind him, Fernandes stepped up to curl the ball past Ederson and fire United level! The flag initially went up for offside, but VAR intervenes and says Rashford did not impact it! We will be hearing about that decision for a long, long time. Bruno Fernandes causes scenes at Old Trafford! His goal is ruled onside after the linesman initially put his flag up! pic.twitter.com/AJDIGH2Be5 Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 14, 2023 NO GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 14:07 , Jamie Braidwood United have the ball in the net but the flag is up! This is going to be controversial, though... Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 14:06 , Jamie Braidwood 77 mins: Space for Garnacho! But Walker and Akanki are all over him and the centre back steps across to win the ball back down the left. In the middle Rashford and Rodri were going at it, but its just a warning for the City midfielder. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 14:04 , Jamie Braidwood 74 mins: But now there is some pressure from United, as Garnachos touches create some energy. However Malacia and then Shaws crosses into the box from the left are not threatening, and City are able to clear. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 14:03 , Jamie Braidwood 73 mins: There are a few murmurs going around Old Trafford as United concede possession in midfield. Theyve got to test Ederson at some point in this second half, surely? Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 14:01 , Jamie Braidwood 70 mins: Lovely again from Bernardo to turn away from Casemiro, as City take charge of the ball. It feels like a completely different game now with Guardiolas side a goal ahead. Eriksen makes way for Garnacho. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 13:59 , Jamie Braidwood 69 mins: Grealish with another nice turn and run, taking several United players with him to win a throw hight up the pitch. It looks like Garnacho is about to come on for United. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 13:56 , Jamie Braidwood 66 mins: Better from United, who work it wide to Wan-Bissaka. The right back takes a shot which is deflected behind for a corner by Ake. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 13:55 , Jamie Braidwood 65 mins: Citys record when taking the lead is pretty formidable, and it could lead to Haaland getting more space too. Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City 13:53 , Jamie Braidwood 63 mins: Thats great from Grealish again as he drives inside, drawing a foul and yellow card from Eriksen. I had just said it before City scored, but United have not turned up in this second half. Can they respond now? GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City (GREALISH 60) 13:49 , Jamie Braidwood IMPACT! Off the bench, Jack Grealish heads City in front with their first effort on target of the match! It had been coming though and De Bruyne plays a crucial part in the breakthrough, as he bursts away from Casemiro to lift a lovely ball to the back post. Haaland was lurking but Grealish wanted it more to head City in front on the hour. After setting up Mahrezs winner at Stamford Bridge, thats another big contribution from Grealish as he nets his second of the season. Jack Grealish scores off the bench to give Man City a derby lead! What a time to bag his second of the season! pic.twitter.com/xScG02EcK2 Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 14, 2023 Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:48 , Jamie Braidwood 58 mins: City are totally in charge now and it feels like United have not come out for the second half. Its attack vs defence as City search for the breakthrough. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:46 , Jamie Braidwood 57 mins: Grealish makes way for Foden, who was very quiet. Mahrez then whips a teasing ball towards the back post. Akanji heads it back in, but United are able to scramble clear. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:45 , Jamie Braidwood 55 mins: Cancelo goes on a mazy run down the left, ducking inside Casemiro and into the box. He tumbles to the ground under the challenge of Casemiro as the midfielder looks to recover and City appeal for a penalty. But its immediately waved away. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:44 , Jamie Braidwood 54 mins: City have increased the tempo at the start of this second half and now Jack Grealish is set to come on for Guardiolas side. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:43 , Jamie Braidwood 53 mins: Better from City. Mahrezs flick sets De Bruyne into space on the right wing. He picks out Bernardo at the back post, and the midfielder tries to head back across goal to find Haaland rather than hitting the target himself. Varane reads it well and clears. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:42 , Jamie Braidwood 52 mins: Shaws inswinger is dangerous and almost plays in Varane for a chance at the back post, as Casemiro goes down in the middle appealing for a penalty. Nothing given. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:41 , Jamie Braidwood 50 mins: Challenge! Ake lunges into Antony as the forward tried to turn, and wins a free kick for his troubles. Luke Shaw stands over the free kick... Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:39 , Jamie Braidwood 48 mins: City, meanwhile, seem to be having Walker drift more into midfield at the start of this half. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:37 , Jamie Braidwood 47 mins: United have tweaked things, and it looks like Antony is lining up in the central position, with Rashford staying out on the left. Bernardo Silva has space in front of him to drive into but his shot is blocked by Varane and gathered by De Gea. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:34 , Jamie Braidwood Back underway in Manchester! HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:33 , Jamie Braidwood Maybe not! Antony is heading on for Martial, who is hooked at half time. Rashford stays on! HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:28 , Jamie Braidwood Antony is warming up at half time. Looks like Rashfords match is over. HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:27 , Jamie Braidwood Haaland has had just eight touches so far, with the majority of them coming in midfield rather than around the box. (Sofascore) HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:25 , Jamie Braidwood Rashford had more time than he thought here, although the angle made it difficult. Where was Ederson going? pic.twitter.com/6YbD1Y6j5x Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 14, 2023 HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:21 , Jamie Braidwood Not a classic, but interesting enough, especially as Man Citys struggles in possession seem to be continuing. For all of their possession, they have not had a single shot on target and its instead United who are carrying more threat on the counter-attack. Marcus Rashford had the two best chances of the half, first rounding Ederson only to see his shot blocked off the line by Manuel Akanji, and then seeing his lifted finish smothered by the City goalkeeper. As for City, theyve barely carried a threat, and Erling Haalands touch map will be interesting to see... HT: Man Utd (0.83) 0-0 (0.10) Man City The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) January 14, 2023 HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:18 , Jamie Braidwood Goalless at the break. Not a classic. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:18 , Jamie Braidwood 45 +1 mins: CLOSE! Well, for all of Citys possession this is as close as they have come. Walker picks up the ball 30 yards out and tries his luck, cutting across the strike well to have De Gea scrambling towards his far post. The shot fizzes just wide. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:16 , Jamie Braidwood 44 mins: The final exhances of the first half see City frustrated again on the edge of the United box, especially as Mahrez is flattened by Casemiro without receiving a free kick. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:14 , Jamie Braidwood 42 mins: Oh, Rashford is back up and has returned, but Antony is warming up. Just a couple of minutes to go until half time, so maybe United are just waiting to see how it is. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:12 , Jamie Braidwood 40 mins: Oh no... Rashford goes down and slams the turf in frustration. Its the reaction of a player who knows they have done something. He pulled up holding his left side after Fernandes clipped a pass behind Akanji, who was able to beat him to it. Rashford is walking along the touchline... Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:10 , Jamie Braidwood 37 mins: SAVE! Big chance for Rashford but Ederson gets out well this time! United cut City open very easily, with Eriksen being able to turn in midfield and spot Rashford in space on the left. He finds the big gap behind the City defence and plays in the forward, who takes a touch to burst away into the box. Rashfords final touch was just a bit too heavy, though, and it allowed Ederson to get out to make the block as the forward looked to lift the shot. Rashford is starting to make an impact and City look vulerable in the spaces he so often likes to run into. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:07 , Jamie Braidwood 35 mins: The game is starting to flow a bit now. Theres a half chance for Foden at the back post, but Wan-Bissaka gets up well to challenge him. Then Malacia stays calm to chest back to De Gea following Fodens cross. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:06 , Jamie Braidwood 33 mins: OFF THE LINE! Best chance of the game so far for United, and it all comes down to Edersons rash decision to come out of his goal! United switch play to Rashford, who knocks it around the City goalkeeper and into space on the left. Rashford is still quite far from goal, but is able to take a touch to steady himself. But he takes too long and Akanji is able to get back to hack the clearance away. Let off for City and Ederson. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:03 , Jamie Braidwood 31 mins: That was wasteful from Fernandes. United were able to turn and come forward as Eriksen picked out Martial. Fernandes had space to drive into and had Malacia on his left, but Walker stepped in well. Malacia then goes down holding his head as the game stops. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 13:00 , Jamie Braidwood 29 mins: City are starting to create openings rather than chances, but it has dimmed the mood inside Old Trafford. Rashford has been very quiet so far and United have been unable to create the same sense of unease going forwards. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:58 , Jamie Braidwood 26 mins: City are starting to look a bit more dangerous. They cut through United well as Walker finds the pass inside to De Bruyne after driving forward in the space on the right. Haaland was an option, but he went outside again to Mahrez and Malacia was able to get over to make the challenge. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:56 , Jamie Braidwood 25 mins: Guardiola throws his hands up as Foden is caught offside again, this time from De Bruynes crossfield switch. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:55 , Jamie Braidwood 23 mins: Chance for Haaland! Bernardo finds some space on the edge of the box and clips a cross towards the back post. Malacia clears ahead of Mahrez but it breaks to Haaland, who takes a touch inside. Fred and Casemiro get out well, though, and make the block. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:54 , Jamie Braidwood 21 mins: Foden is caught offside as he tried to make the run in behind. Thats something City have done very little of so far, with Haaland looking to drop in rather than stretch play. I guess that creates more room for the likes of Foden, but United are looking fairly comfortable so far. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:52 , Jamie Braidwood 19 mins: Thats better from City as Mahrez and De Bruyne link up on the right, with Malacia conceding the corner. But United clear and then Fernandes blocks De Bruynes cross. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:49 , Jamie Braidwood 17 mins: Brilliant from Fred, again! This time he tracks De Bruyne over to the left, nibbling at the playmaker and winning it back for United with a sliding challenge. Ten Hags tactical tweak is working so far and Guardiola looks concerned. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:47 , Jamie Braidwood 15 mins: Fred is doing a great job on De Bruyne so far, and the Brazilian is following him everywhere. He charges down the Belgian on the right this time, winning a goal kick and receiving applause from the Stretford End. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:46 , Jamie Braidwood 14 mins: United break! Martial is released with a diagonal over the top. He waits for support and the ball into the box almost breaks to Fernandes, with Cancelo needing to slide in to make the clearance. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:44 , Jamie Braidwood 12 mins: The space for City is out wide, with United looking to flood the midfield through Eriksen, Fernandes, Casemiro and Fred - who is sticking tight on De Bruyne. Haaland continues to drop incredibly deep when City are on the ball. Shaw is looking to stay with him. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:42 , Jamie Braidwood 10 mins: WIDE! First chance of the game goes to United. Bernardo gives it away in midfield and Eriksen spots Fernandes out on the right. The midfielder takes a touch into the box and smashes a low shot across goal, but the angle just takes the shot wide of the far post. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:41 , Jamie Braidwood 9 mins: First moments of promise for United as Martial holds the ball up and finds the runners coming off him. There was space on the outside for Malacia but his cross is blocked, and it comes back for an offside anyway. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:39 , Jamie Braidwood 7 mins: Martial was looking to beat Ake to the ball on the United clearance but the Dutch defender covered well. Cancelo is looking to make the switch from left to right, hitting Mahrez, but his passes have been wayward on both occasions. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:38 , Jamie Braidwood 6 mins: Space opens up for Kevin De Bruyne in his favoured inside right channel. Its fed in to Bernardo Silva, but then the move slows down and Cancelo can only dig out a cross to the back post, which United can clear. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:37 , Jamie Braidwood 5 mins: United cant get on the ball at the moment. City are finding their routes out to release Cancelo and Walker, who gives it away cheaply as City come forward. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:35 , Jamie Braidwood 3 mins: City take early control of the ball in the opening exchanges. Bernardo Silva swings in a cross from the left but Tyrell Malacia cleans up on the opposite side, beatingRiyad Mahrez to the ball. But then City take back control. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:33 , Jamie Braidwood 2 mins: Interesting... Erling Haaland drops incredibly deep to receive the ball from Nathan Ake. Is that going to be the ploy from Guardiola today? Haaland false nine? Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:32 , Jamie Braidwood 1 min: Manchester United get us going, now lets see if Pep Guardiola has sprung any surprises with Manchester Citys approach. Joao Cancelo makes a driving run inside from the left back position, and he is clipped from behind by Christian Eriksen. Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City 12:31 , Jamie Braidwood KICK OFF! Underway at a damp Old Trafford. Manchester United vs Manchester City 12:29 , Jamie Braidwood The teams are out! Great sense of occasion here, as a rejuvenated Manchester United host a Manchester City side who have shown signs of vulnerability in recent matches. Its a huge game to kick off the Premier League weekend, and its live next! Everton directors told to stay away from Southampton match due to credible threat to their safety 12:25 , Jamie Braidwood Breaking news elsewhere in the Premier League... Evertons board of directors, including chairman Bill Kenright, will not attend this afternoons Premier League fixture against Southampton due to a real and credible threat to their safety and security. Everton supporters are planning a sit-in protest after the relegation six-pointer against Southampton amid calls for the board to resign, but according to a statement malicious and uncacceptably threatening correspondence have been received by the club ahead of the match. An Everton security and safety advisor said: Following a thorough risk assessment, and in response to tangible threats received by the club and intelligence we have gathered, the clubs board members have been told they must not attend todays fixture. A club statement added: The board members received the instruction following malicious and unacceptably threatening correspondence received by the club and increasing incidents of anti-social behaviour including targeted physical aggression - at recent home matches. Everton directors told to miss match due to threat to their safety Erik ten Hag insists Manchester City remain the best in the league 12:21 , Jamie Braidwood Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag insists Premier League champions Manchester City are still the best team in the league despite their position behind Arsenal in the table. Arsenal are leading and are doing an incredible job and are a good team as well but I think City is a big test, Ten Hag told BT Sport. It is of course a derby but also the quality of the players and the co-operation in the team... You have to be good to win this game. It is more than Erling Haaland. We have to defend a lot of good players from them. The most important thing is to play our game and on the ball show belief, go forward as much as possible. Pep Guardiola on Manchester United: Theyve been incredible 12:15 , Jamie Braidwood Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says rivals United have been incredible this season as the Premier League champions look to cut the gap to Arsenal at the top of the table. We cannot forget who we are and where we are, Guardiola told BT Sport. We are a little bit away from the best team in the Premier League, in Arsenal, but we are second in the table and we are there. There are 60 or 63 points left to get in the season. During the season there are good and bad moments. We will never forget who we are, we have to do the best performance we can, we will do it again. In this season they [Manchester United] have huge moments and a new manager has to settle. Theyve been incredible. Kevin De Bruyne: It will be tough' 12:11 , Jamie Braidwood Kevin De Bruyne is expecting a tough test against Manchester United as Manchester City look to bounce back from their midweek defeat to Southampton in the Carabao Cup. We didnt play good enough against Southampton and we need to accept it. That doesnt change the rest, De Bruyne told BT Sport as he addressed some of the concerns surrounding Citys run of form. When you have a schedule like you have the last four games and its a lot of travelling, it is hard. But I dont think different players change the outcome of the game. We have a good team and we will try to perform as best as we can. I think they have changed their style a little bit. In the last few years they were more on the counter-attack but now they play more possession-based football with Erik ten Hag. It will be tough. Bruno Fernandes: 'We have learned from our past 12:06 , Jamie Braidwood Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes says the team have learned from our past as they face Manchester City this afternoon, but insists the demands are the same ahead of the derby. United were thashed 6-3 by City last time out and have a dismal recent record against their rivals at Old Trafford but Fernandes told BT Sport: Obviously we want to win. Today is a big game and it is about what we can achieve today. We want to achieve a win like we do in every game. Its a responsibility to play for this team and the demands are the same in every game. A derby is a different thing but for us the mindset is always the same. We need three points. The team has always been confident. We have learned from our past so we have to keep improving and doing the right things. Erik ten Hag tells Man Utd players to forget derby thrashing ahead of rematch 12:02 , Luke Baker Erik ten Hag has urged Manchester Uniteds players to forget their 6-3 thrashing by Manchester City in October because they can only change the future, not the past. United host Pep Guardiolas team on Saturday but rather than using his first Manchester derby to motivate his players, Ten Hag will tell them to show the bravery to play, but without being naive. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks in the match at the Etihad Stadium, when United were 6-1 down before a late double by Anthony Martial. But Ten Hag said: It is not about that game any more. That is the past, it is about the future, You cant change the past but you can change the future. It was a lesson and we took that lesson and from that point on we make huge progress so we have to continue the progress. That game was a setback. We can all find reasons why but always you have to act, to deliver. Erik ten Hag tells Man Utd players to forget derby thrashing ahead of rematch Erik ten Hag starts to shift balance of power ahead of Manchester derby 11:57 , Luke Baker It was the day when Erik ten Hags definition of respect was questioned, along with his tactics, writes Richard Jolly. Four-one down in a Manchester derby, he chose not to introduce the record scorer in footballing history. I wouldnt bring him in out of respect for Cristiano, he said and, as Manchester Citys advantage extended to 6-1 before Anthony Martial, the striker substitute he did call upon, scored twice, few credited him with a successful switch. If it was one of a series of controversies around Cristiano Ronaldo that Ten Hag had to navigate with a blend of diplomacy, toughness and principle, it came at a precarious point in his reign at Old Trafford. Ten Hag has started to shift the balance of power in Manchester The nine days that could decide the Premier League title 11:52 , Luke Baker At the top of Arsenal, the hierarchy share a view that has been discussed by supporters, and even within the squad. They believe that, if the club are to really maximise an opportunity at the Premier League title at this early stage of the teams development, they probably need at least one significant signing in this window. They need the depth. Manchester Citys 1-0 win at Chelsea was a warning. It wasnt that Arsenal couldnt manage such a victory, given theyve already won at Stamford Bridge. It was the manner that City did it. Just when it looked like they might be wavering following a 1-1 draw against Everton and an intense Christmas period after the World Cup, where Arsenal had initially stretched the gap, the champions again cut it by emphasising the financial gap. More than 160m worth of talent came off the bench in Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez and the two combined to win the game. The feeling within the buoyant City squad immediately afterwards was of one of those victories that means much more than the three points; that it can be the start of one of those title-winning streaks. Theres that continuing sense City could just up it. Our Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney discusses the nine days that could decide the Premier League title: The nine days that could decide the Premier League title Man Utd prepared for Pep Guardiola mind games, Erik ten Hag claims 11:47 , Luke Baker Erik ten Hag said Manchester United are prepared for any mind games Pep Guardiola is trying ahead of the Manchester derby and insisted he does not care about them. Guardiola set the scene for Saturdays clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday when he said he had some ridiculous ideas for the match. The Manchester City manager has a habit of making surprise selections or trying unusual tactics, particularly in big games, but Ten Hag, who worked under him at Bayern Munich, has vowed to be ready for any unorthodox decisions. He said: I dont care about that, what he is thinking, but he did it more often and we are prepared for that, if he does different things. We have our principles, our rules. Man Utd prepared for Pep Guardiola mind games, Erik ten Hag claims Bruno Fernandes lifts lid on punishment that kickstarted Man Utds return to form 11:42 , Luke Baker Bruno Fernandes was part way through a 13.8-kilometre run in 33-degree heat when he turned around and realised a man in his fifties was just behind him. Not just any 52-year-old, admittedly, but the Manchester United manager. It was an early sign of the iron resolve of Erik ten Hag, the man whose commitment to high standards extends to his own fitness. For Fernandes, who had considered his own future last season when he wondered if Uniteds ambitions extended beyond finishing fourth, it was a reassuring sight. Ten Hag was sharing the pain and sharing the blame after a terrible start to his reign. Richard Jolly details the moment Bruno Fernandes got on board with the Ten Hag era: Bruno Fernandes lifts lid on punishment that kickstarted Man Utds return to form Man Utd vs Man City team news 11:38 , Luke Baker Interesting line-ups there. From a Man Utd perspective, Anthony Martial was suffering with a leg injury that prevented him training this week but has been declared fit to play and starts up front. A slight surprise as Luke Shaw continues at centre-back, Tyrrell Malacia at left-back and Lisandro Martinez on the bench. Fred also plays, rather than the more attacking Antony. For Manchester City, injuries to John Stones and Ruben Dias mean Nathan Ake moves inside to CB with the out-of-form and out-of-favour Joao Cancelo at left-back. Phil Foden starts instead of Jack Grealish in the front three with Riyad Mahrez and Erling Haaland. Man Utd vs Man City team news 11:33 , Luke Baker Confirmed line-ups Man Utd XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred, Eriksen; Fernandes, Martial, Rashford Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden XI | Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Haaland SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Gundogan, Grealish, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/8IXrEcmXJf Manchester City (@ManCity) January 14, 2023 Manchester United vs Manchester City team news 11:29 , Luke Baker The teams should be announced any minute now as we move within an hour of kick-off. Man Utd vs Man City: The best derby moments 11:26 , Luke Baker Man City 2-3 Man Utd April 2018 Pep Guardiolas side had the mouthwatering prospect of sealing the Premier League title with victory over their city rivals. They looked on course to do that as first-half goals from Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan put them 2-0 up at half-time. But Jose Mourinho had other ideas and whatever he said to his United team at half-time worked wonders as United staged the ultimate second-half comeback. Two Paul Pogba goals in three minutes drew them level and then Chris Smallings volley completed the turnaround and kept Citys champagne on ice. Man Utd vs Man City: The best derby moments 11:21 , Luke Baker Man City 2-3 Man Utd December 2012 City were defending champions following Sergio Agueros famous moment a few months earlier and the two sides were again going at it at the top of the Premier League. Wayne Rooneys two goals inside the opening half-hour put the visitors in control but Yaya Toure pulled one back and then Pablo Zabaleta appeared to have earned City a draw in the 86th minute. But Robin van Persie had the final say, sending in a stoppage-time free-kick which sparked ugly scenes in the stands. Man Utd vs Man City: The best derby moments 11:16 , Luke Baker Man Utd 1-6 Man City October 2011 The noisy neighbours highlighted the shift in power from red to blue in Manchester with a devasting result. Mario Balotelli delivered his famous Why always me moment when he put City in front midway through the first half and after Jonny Evans had been sent off for United, the Italian doubled his tally on the hour. Sergio Aguero made it 3-0, with Darren Fletcher pulling one back, before a late blitz turned it into a rout. Eden Dzeko scored twice and David Silva added a sixth as City handed down Uniteds heaviest home defeat in Premier League history and went on to win the title ahead of their rivals on goal difference. Man Utd vs Man City: The best derby moments 11:11 , Luke Baker Man Utd 4-3 Man City September 2009 Under former United striker Mark Hughes, City were trying to unsettle the establishment following their takeover the previous year and their 2009 visit to Old Trafford was a classic. Wayne Rooney put United ahead, only for Gareth Barry to quickly equalise. Darren Fletcher regained the hosts lead after half-time, but it only lasted for three minutes as Craig Bellamy levelled again. Fletchers second in the 80th minute looked like giving United all three points only for Bellamy to score a memorable goal for City in added time to level at 3-3. But the drama did not end there as United went up the other end and won it when Michael Owen converted with virtually the last kick. Man Utd vs Man City: The best derby moments 11:06 , Luke Baker Man City 3-1 Man Utd - November 2002 City had been watching their rivals dominate English football while they were sinking as low as the third tier in the 1990s and it had been 16 games and 13 years since they had beaten United. But, under Kevin Keegan, they finally stopped that rot at Maine Road after taking an early lead through Nicolas Anelka. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer levelled for Sir Alex Fergusons side, but Shaun Goaters double made it a memorable afternoon for City. 3 words... Feed the Goat! Who remembers this classic derby? pic.twitter.com/Jv3CBNILhQ Manchester City (@ManCity) September 30, 2022 Man Utd vs Man City: How Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford match up 11:01 , Luke Baker Marcus Rashford and Erling Haaland will be in the Manchester derby spotlight today as the pair go head to head at Old Trafford. Here we look at how the two strikers are shaping up as United host City in an eagerly-awaited Premier League clash: How Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford match up before Manchester derby Manchester City stats 10:56 , Luke Baker And a few stats about City as well Manchester City have won three successive Premier League away matches. City scored multiple goals in eight of their opening nine league fixtures this season, but have since done so in only three of their last eight games. Kevin de Bruyne has failed to score or assist in any of his last five Premier League appearances, his longest such run since a 10-match streak between December 2018 and March 2019. This is Pep Guardiolas 500th top-flight match as a manager. His 76% win percentage is the best of any manager in Europes top five leagues to have taken charge of 100 or more games since Guardiolas first season in 2008-09. Guardiola has won six competitive Manchester derbies at Old Trafford, twice as many as at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester United stats 10:51 , Luke Baker A few relevant stats about United ahead of the derby Manchester United have earned an unsurpassed 35 points in the Premier League since beating Liverpool on 22 August. They can win five successive league games for the first time since April 2021. That run included a 2-0 victory at Manchester City. United have earned nine consecutive home victories in all competitions for the first time since December 2017. That streak was ended by a 2-1 Premier League defeat versus Manchester City. The Red Devils have lost four successive league games against City, by an aggregate score of 16-6. They have never suffered five successive defeats versus the title holders. Marcus Rashford has scored in all six Manchester United fixtures since the World Cup. However, Rashford hasnt scored in any of his last five appearances against Manchester City, managing just one shot on target in total. Head to head stats 10:46 , Luke Baker A few stats and facts about the sides head to head record to get you started this morning Manchester Citys 6-3 Premier League win against Manchester United in October set a record for most goals in the Manchester derby. Man Utd have lost the last three league meetings between the sides. A fourth in a row would equal their Premier League record for defeats against the same opponent, set against Liverpool in 2002 and City in 2014. City have won nine of their past 14 visits to Old Trafford in all competitions, directly following a run of one victory in 32 attempts. United could go four successive home games without scoring against City for just the second time, and first since 1914. Its time to prove ourselves: Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City derby statement 10:41 , Luke Baker Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City players to prove their title credentials this weekend against a Manchester United side he considers genuine contenders for the crown. The champions status as Premier League title favourites has been called into question after a number of frustrating results in recent outings. City were held to a draw by struggling Everton a fortnight ago and Guardiola admitted his team fell way below the standard he expects as they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Southampton in midweek. City, second in the table, were also beaten by Brentford in their final match before the World Cup break in November. By contrast, United have hit a rich vein of form and will head into Saturdays derby showdown at Old Trafford fourth in the table and on the back of a run of eight successive wins in all competitions. Its time to prove ourselves: Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City derby statement Early team news 10:35 , Luke Baker Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot will miss the game after being forced off with a hamstring injury in the first half of the midweek win over Charlton in the Carabao Cup, while midfielder Donny van de Beek has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury and Axel Tuanzebe is also sidelined. Anthony Martial suffered a small leg injury that has affected his ability to train this week and Erik ten Hag says he will be assessed ahead of the encounter. Ruben Dias remains sidelined with a hamstring injury for Manchester City and fellow centre-back John Stones, who missed the Carabao Cup defeat at Southampton due to fitness concerns, has also been confirmed as out by Pep Guardiola. Predicted line-ups Manchester United XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial Manchester City XI: Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Akanji, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish Latest odds 10:29 , Luke Baker Here are the latest odds ahead of the match. Man City still favourites despite a couple of recent wobbles and perhaps theres value in Man Utd at almost 3/1 at home, given the form they are in Manchester United: 29/10 Draw: 29/10 Manchester City: 10/11 Odds via Betfair (subject to change). Is Manchester United vs Manchester City on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Premier League fixture 10:19 , Luke Baker Manchester United enter this afternoons derby full of confidence as they face Manchester City on a run of just one loss in the 18 matches since being humbled 6-3 by their rivals back in October. That sole defeat was a 3-1 reverse to Aston Villa in early November and since the World Cup break, the Red Devils have won six games in all competitions - most recently a hard-fought 3-0 win over plucky League One side Charlton in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score twice in that victory, taking his goal tally to a remarkable seven in six games since returning from Qatar to confirm himself as perhaps the most in-form attacker in Europe on current form. If United can get revenge for Octobers heavy defeat, they will record a ninth successive victory in all competitions - equalling their longest winning streak since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager. Heres everything you need to know ahead of the Manchester derby: Man Utd vs Man City channel. Kick-off time and how to watch Premier League fixture Manchester United vs Manchester City 10:18 , Luke Baker Welcome to The Independents live coverage of Manchester United vs Manchester City. The city rivals meet at Old Trafford for the 189th Manchester derby this afternoon with both teams desperate for points to move closer to realising their Premier League ambitions. City are in an intense battle for the title with Arsenal, currently trailing the Londoners by five points meaning they can scarcely afford to slip up, while United are competing with the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham and Liverpool for a top-four spot. Having said that, if the Red Devils do get revenge for the 6-3 humbling they suffered at the hands of their city rivals back in October, they will move just a point behind Pep Guardiolas men and can perhaps begin to dream of a title charge. Stick with us for all the action. Congressman and Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus Chuy Garcia said Friday hes never spoken to Sam Bankman-Fried and doesnt know why the disgraced founder of FTX took a six-figure interest in Garcias recent reelection to his U.S. House seat. I dont know the gentleman. Ive never spoke to him. If he had other designs, I dont know, Garcia said Friday at an appearance to unveil his public safety platform. Garcias congressional campaign fund got a $2,900 direct contribution from Bankman-Fried in June, according to the Federal Election Commission reports, and a political action committee associated with Bankman-Fried spent $151,420 on mailers promoting Garcias candidacy in the 4th Congressional District, even though he was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Garcia said he returned the direct contribution. The money for the mailers was a separate, independent expenditure by the PAC Protect Our Future, which, Garcia said Friday, by law and by definition, I had nothing to do with it. Recall that when I ran for reelection for the House, I was unopposed. Didnt need the money, didnt ask for the money, he said. Following FTXs stunning implosion into bankruptcy late last year, Bankman-Fried was charged with cheating investors and customers on his cryptocurrency trading platform. Garcia first brought up Bankman-Fried Friday in a dig at Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who officially welcomed Bankman-Frieds FTX cryptocurrency business to Chicago in May, when the company opened a since-shuttered headquarters in Fulton Market. Lightfoot and Garcia are among nine candidates in the Feb. 28 mayoral election. First of all, I would not invite Sam Bankman-Fried to come to Chicago and open an office and make a contribution to (a city program for formerly incarcerated people), and then things fall apart, which is what is happening, Garcia said. When a reporter later asked about his own ties to the FTX founder, Garcia, in addition to distancing himself from Bankman-Fried, stressed hes been a longtime critic of crypto and has stated that it needs to be regulated, that it is volatile that it endangers our financial system. When asked about a meeting involving Garcia and FTX, the congressman said he merely had a phone call with his brother to talk about pandemics and his brothers interest in pandemic preparedness. Garcia said Bankman-Frieds brother who reportedly ran a nonprofit called Guarding Against Pandemics spoke of Garcias advocacy for the most impacted communities during the pandemic ... and I suppose he took an interest in that. A Mexico man has admitted in federal court to the repeated raping of a 13-year-old runaway while on a trip to Las Vegas. Jacob D. Burney, 24, pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor to engage in a criminal sex act before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey. Sentencing will happen April 12 and carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the teen was reported missing on Dec. 14, 2021. It was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Dianna Collins. Burney admitted to (what he described as) a relationship with the teen that started in 2021. The victim ran away with Burney sometime before Dec. 8, 2021. Burney had switched vehicles and left Missouri in an attempt to prevent law enforcement from finding the teen, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said. The pair first traveled to Illinois before traveling on to Las Vegas. Burney admitted to providing drugs and alcohol to the teen and the repeated statutory rapes in a plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's office said. The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse first launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice. This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mexico man who repeatedly raped 13-year-old runaway pleads guilty A Minnesota man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly engaging in abusive sexual contact while a passenger aboard a cruise ship from Iceland to Boston in August 2022. Daniel Farias, 45, of Bloomington, Minn., was indicted on one count of abusive sexual contact. He will appear in federal court in Boston on Jan. 20 at 2:15 p.m. Farias was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in August 2022. According to the charging documents, while aboard the Celebrity Summit Cruise Ship travelling from Reykjavik, Iceland to Boston, Farias sexually assaulted a male crewmember in the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2022. It is alleged that the victim entered the mid-ship mens restroom to clean. The restroom was empty apart from a male passenger later identified as Farias occupying one of stalls. At some point, according to the charging documents, Farias allegedly exited the stall, approached the victim and began rubbing his hand on the victims forearm. The victim pulled his arm away, and said, What are you doing? It is alleged that Farias then used both of his hands to grab the victims genitalia over the victims clothes and then made a sexually explicit comment. The victim pulled away. Farias allegedly then asked the victim if he was upset, to which the victim said he was. According to the charging documents, Farias apologized and asked the victim not to report what happened before leaving the restroom. If convicted, Farias faces a sentence of up to two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Moldovas Interior Ministry said a police patrol found part of a missile near the village of Briceni, northern Moldova, close to the Ukrainian border. Specialists are already working at the scene, according to Moldovan authorities. The missiles origin is still unspecified, but a photo added to the ministrys post appears to show the section of a large missile and electronic components. This is the third time a missile has fallen in Moldova since Russia started launching mass missile strikes on Ukraine on Oct. 10, according to Moldovas Interior Ministry. The last incident occurred on Dec. 5. Russia unleashed its 10th mass missile strike against Ukraine in the afternoon of Jan. 14. The nationwide attack damaged critical infrastructure in several oblasts, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. One of the strikes hit a nine-story residential building in Dnipro on Jan. 14, killing at least five people and injuring 27, including six children, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported. Authorities say the Russian attack damaged infrastructure in Kyiv and a residential building in Kyiv Oblast. Russian troops have repeatedly attacked energy infrastructure across Ukraine since early October, killing dozens of people and causing electricity, water, and heating cutoffs. Moscow has admitted that Ukraines energy system is one of its primary targets. Due to integration with the Ukrainian electricity grid, Moldova also suffered from blackouts during a mass missile attack on Ukraine on Nov. 23. According to the Geneva Conventions, attacking vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime. Natalia Gavrilita, Prime Minister of Moldova, has condemned the large-scale missile attack launched by the Russian Federation, during which the debris of the missile fell on the territory of Moldova. Source: European Pravda Quote: "There is no political, historical and even more so moral justification for killing civilians and attacking the infrastructure that ensures the survival of the population," Gavrilita wrote on her Facebook page. "I express deep indignation at the new large-scale attack on Ukraine. I express my support for the heroic Ukrainian people and our support for the victims of Russia's barbaric attacks," she added. Background: After the Russian missile attack on Ukraine on 14 January, employees of the border police of Moldova had discovered the debris of a missile in Briceni district on the border with Ukraine. This is the third case of missile debris falling on the territory of Moldova due to Russian attacks on Ukraine. The previous incident with the fall of missile debris took place on 5 December; before that, fragments of a missile fell on the territory of Moldova on the morning of 31 October. Russian missiles also flew over the territory of Moldova. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The U.S. will hit the debt ceiling next week, forcing the Treasury Department to free up cash to pay the bills. Well also look at Teslas surprising price drops, the FAAs lack of funding, and more. But first, see what a prominent fact-checker thinks of House Republicans IRS claims. Welcome to On The Money, your guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, were Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Subscribe here. Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the On The Money newsletter Yellen: US is projected to hit debt ceiling on Jan. 19 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. is projected to reach its roughly $31.4 trillion borrowing limit in less than a week. Yellen shared the estimate in a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday. She also warned the department would soon have to begin taking extraordinary measures to stave off a default to buy time for Congress to find a bipartisan solution. Those measures include temporarily suspending new investments of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, as well as suspending reinvestment of the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System Thrift Savings Plan. While the secretary said its unlikely cash and extraordinary measures will run out before early June, she stressed the measures will only last for a limited amount of time and pressed for Congress to act in a timely manner to raise or suspend the ceiling. The letter to McCarthy comes as a high-stakes fight over raising the debt ceiling looms over the further divided Congress after Republicans took back control of the lower chamber last week. McCarthy has pressed for any action to address the debt ceiling to be tied to spending cuts sought by Republicans. However, proposals for significant cuts are likely to find trouble in the Senate, where Democrats still hold control. Story continues Aris shares more here. SEE ALSO: White House calls for debt ceiling hike without conditions RARE DISCOUNT Why Tesla is dropping prices across the US Tesla is slashing prices amid slowing demand for cars and the introduction of new electric vehicle tax credits that come with strict price caps. The cost of Teslas and most EVs skyrocketed throughout the pandemic as supply chain snags made it difficult for automakers to produce enough vehicles to meet demand. But consumers are slowing their spending, and most Americans can no longer afford EVs, let alone most new cars. Tesla dropped the price of its base Model 3 car by $3,000 and slashed the price of the performance model by $9,000. The more expensive Model Y saw its price drop by roughly $13,000. The cuts will allow Teslas Model Y and Model 3 Performance vehicles to qualify for the EV tax credit, which only applies to cars that cost less than $55,000. Cars are finally becoming cheaper after multiple years of soaring prices. The price of new vehicles fell 0.1 percent in December, while used car prices slipped 2.5 percent, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Karl has more here. MORE MONEY NEEDED? Delta CEO calls for more FAA funding after system meltdown Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian on Friday urged Congress to boost funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following this weeks computer system outage that grounded U.S. flights for hours. Bastian said the FAA meltdown, which led to more than 10,000 delays on Wednesday, was unacceptable but placed blame on lawmakers for not prioritizing the agency. The pilot alert system that failed is three decades old, and the FAA wasnt planning on replacing it until around 2030. I lay this on the fact that we are not giving them the resources, the funding, the staffing, the tools, the technology they need to modernize the technology system. Hopefully this will be the call to our political leaders in Washington that we need to do better, Bastian said in an interview with CNBCs Squawk Box. Karl has the story here. SECOND BITE OF THE APPLE Tim Cook to take 40 percent Apple pay cut in 2023 Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to take a 40 percent pay cut in 2023 compared to his total compensation from last year. The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday that Cooks total target compensation for this year will be $49 million, down from the $84 million total target compensation he had in 2022. Cooks total compensation for 2023 is based on a $3 million base salary, a $6 million cash incentive and $40 million in equity awards, the filing states. Apples compensation committee makes decisions about compensation before the start of each fiscal year and sought to balance feedback from shareholders, the companys exceptional performance and Cooks own recommendation that his pay be adjusted as a result of the feedback. The Hills Jared Gans has the deets here. Good to Know State-level efforts to penalize companies for use of environmental, social or governance (ESG) goals in investments could cost taxpayers over $708 million, according to a study published by the nonprofit Sunrise Project. Eighteen states have either proposed or passed legislation restricting the state from doing business with companies that practice ESG. These bills are based on model legislation written by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative nonprofit. Other items were keeping an eye on: Shareholders of Southwest Airlines Co. filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging that the airline provided materially false and misleading information over a two year period regarding issues that caused a meltdown of the company last month. Wisconsin and North Carolina are the latest states to ban TikTok from government devices, as concerns grow over potential cybersecurity risks posed by the Chinese-owned social media platform. Thats it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hills Finance page for the latest news and coverage. Programming note: Well be off Monday for MLK Day and return on Tuesday. See you next week! For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the Capitol in Washington on January 6. AP Photo/John Minchillo A Montana man who prosecutors say brought his son to the Capitol attack was arrested earlier this month. Patrick William O'Brien was charged with three misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6 attack. Prosecutors said O'Brien and his son drove from Montana to DC over the course of three days. A man who traveled with his juvenile son from Great Falls, Montana, to Washington, DC, ahead of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, was arrested and charged in relation to the attack earlier this month. Patrick William O'Brien, 54, was arraigned Thursday on three misdemeanor charges, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors said O'Brien and his young son, whose age was not specified, took a road trip to reach the nation's Capitol in time for the insurrection. The duo traveled 39 hours over the course of three days to reach DC, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press. Security and surveillance footage from the Capitol caught O'Brien and his son inside the building on Jan. 6, according to prosecutors. The father and son entered through the first floor Senate Wing door and spent approximately 30 minutes inside, walking through hallways and waving a "Don't Tread on Me" flag, officials said. While inside the Capitol, O'Brien and his son stopped near a security desk and the boy took a red computer mouse pad and placed it in his pocket, the AP reported, citing court records. An attorney for O'Brien did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. At least 978 people have been arrested in connection with the attack in the two years since, and more than 450 people have pleaded guilty. Read the original article on Business Insider Photo: Islamic Republic News Agency Ali Reza Akbari in 2008. Iran said Saturday it executed a former high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national, despite international warnings not to carry out the death sentence. The execution further escalated tensions with the West amid the nationwide anti-government protests shaking the Islamic Republic. The hanging of Ali Reza Akbari, a close ally of top security official Ali Shamkhani, suggests an ongoing power struggle within Iran's theocracy as it tries to contain the demonstrations over the September death of Mahsa Amini. It also harkened back to the mass purges of the military that immediately followed Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Akbari's hanging drew immediate anger from London, which along with the U.S. and others has sanctioned Iran over the protests and its supplying Russia with the bomb-carrying drones now targeting Ukraine. This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly summoned Iran's charge daffaires in the United Kingdom and separately warned: This will not stand unchallenged." Iran similarly summoned the British ambassador after the execution. Irans Mizan news agency, associated with the countrys judiciary, announced Akbaris hanging without saying when it happened. However, there were rumors he had been executed days earlier. Iran has alleged, without providing evidence, that Akbari served as a source for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, known popularly as MI6. A lengthy statement issued by Iran's judiciary claimed Akbari received large sums of money, his British citizenship and other help in London for providing information to the intelligence service. However, Iran long has accused those who travel abroad or have Western ties of spying, often using them as bargaining chips in negotiations. Akbari, who ran a private think tank, is believed to have been arrested in 2019, but details of his case only emerged in recent weeks. Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried behind closed doors, where rights groups say they do not choose their own lawyers and are not allowed to see evidence against them. Iranian state television aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations, footage that resembled other claimed confessions that activists have described as coerced confessions. The BBC Farsi-language service aired an audio message from Akbari on Wednesday, in which he described being tortured. By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, Akbari said in the audio. By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims. Iran has not commented on the torture claims. However, the United Nations human rights chief has warned Iran against the weaponization of the death penalty as a means to put down the protests. On Friday, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel also criticized Akbaris pending execution. The charges against Ali Reza Akbari and his sentencing to execution were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable, he said. We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody, interrogated for thousands of hours, and forced to make false confessions. He added: More broadly, Irans practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end. Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said he was horrified by Akbaris execution. The Islamic Republics unjust detentions, forced confessions, sham trials and politically motivated executions must end, he wrote online. French President Emmanuel Macron also decried what he called a heinous and barbaric act. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter that the execution is a further inhuman act by the Iranian regime. Iran is one of the worlds top executioners. However, it wasn't immediately clear when the last time of a former or current high-ranking defense official had been executed. In 1984, Iran executed its navy chief Adm. Baharam Afzali along with nine other military people on a charge of spying for the Soviet Union. Irans government for months has been trying to allege without offering evidence that foreign countries have fomented the unrest gripping the Islamic Republic since the death of 22-year-old Amini in September after her detention by the morality police. Protesters say they are angry over the collapse of the economy, heavy-handed policing and the entrenched power of the countrys Islamic clergy. For several years, Iran has been locked in a shadow war with the United States and Israel, marked by covert attacks on its disputed nuclear program. The killing of Irans top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel, indicated foreign intelligence services had made major inroads. Iran mentioned that scientist in discussing Akbari's case, though it's unclear what current information, if any, he would have had on him. Akbari had previously led the implementation of a 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq following their devastating eight-year war, working closely with U.N. observers. He served as a deputy defense minister under Shamkhani during reformist President Mohammad Khatami's administration, likely further making his credentials suspicious to hard-liners within Iran's theocracy. Today, Shamkhani is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, the country's top security body which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversees. Akbari's audio message aired by the BBC Persian included him saying he was accused of obtaining top-secret information from Shamkhani in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt. However, it appears Shamkhani remains in his role. The anti-government protests now shaking Iran are one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. At least 520 protesters have been killed and 19,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided official figures on deaths or arrests. Iran has executed four people after convicting them of charges linked to the protests in similarly criticized trials, including attacks on security forces. Aides to President Joe Biden on Thursday evening found five additional classified documents at his Wilmington, Del., home, the White House announced Saturday. The additional information was discovered and reported earlier this week and turned over the Justice Department, according to a statement from Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president. Sauber, who has necessary security clearance to review sensitive materials, said he went to Bidens home in Delaware on Thursday to provide the Justice Department with the classified materials that Bidens team had discovered a day earlier. While there, he found the five additional pages with classification markings. The Justice Department officials with him immediately took possession of those materials, Sauber said. The announcement follows just days after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former U.S. attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the storage of the documents. That announcement came just as House Republicans began issuing oversight demands into the matter. On Saturday, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chair of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, criticized how the White House, the National Archives and Justice Department have handled the matter and promised "swift" congressional action. The Biden White Houses secrecy in this matter is alarming. Equally alarming is the fact that Biden aides were combing through documents knowing there would be a Special Counsel appointed, he said in a statement. Many questions need to be answered but one thing is certain: oversight is coming. On Friday afternoon, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent Garland a letter demanding details by Jan. 27 about his handling of the case, including his decision to appoint Hur. The steady drip of new information that has widened the scope of the probe into Bidens handling of classified material from his time as vice president has raised fresh frustration among some Democrats. Specifically, theyve questioned why the search wasnt done sooner and more thoroughly, especially after Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, became enmeshed in a similar inquiry about documents kept at his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida. Story continues The presidents lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ. We have now publicly released specific details about the documents identified, how they were identified, and where they were found, Sauber said. The appointment of the Special Counsel in this matter this week means we will now refer specific questions to the Special Counsels office moving forward. In a separate statement released Saturday, Bidens personal attorney Bob Bauer sought to lay out the process and protocols that have been used since the first set of classified documents were found on Nov. 2 in the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. Bauer, who also released a more detailed timeline along with steps the presidents team took in response, stressed the documents were left in place, as found, and the government was notified. It is for this reason that the presidents personal attorneys do not know the precise number of pages in the discovered material, nor have they reviewed the content of the documents, consistent with standard procedures and requirements, he said. Adhering to this process means that any disclosure regarding documents cannot be conclusive until the government has conducted its inquiry, including taking possession of any documents and reviewing any surrounding material for further review and context, Bauer said. Since news of the classified documents first broke last week, followed by additional reports about later discoveries, the White House has faced questions about why the president and his aides were not more forthcoming about the findings. Bauer, in his statement, said Bidens personal attorneys have tried to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigations integrity. These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing, he said. Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report. North Carolinas Division of Motor Vehicles has now OKd more than 200 phrases that had been blocked from being affixed to vanity license plates, including some related to sexual orientation. ALSO READ: Kansas right pushing back more aggressively on LGBTQ rights Among the terms removed from the DMVs extensive do-not-issue list for personalized plates following a review late last year were GAYPRIDE, LESBIAN and QUEER, WFDD-FM reported. Such entries prompted DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to launch a formal review of the list containing over 9,000 items for the first time in its two-decade history, according to the radio station. Anything on the do-not-issue list should not include the LGBT community, Goodwin said. I dont know how long the terms that relate to the LGBT community were on that list. But with my administration, they are coming off. The prohibited list, however, still includes BISEXUAL and GAYS0K, as well some words related to reproduction and race. Goodwin said the review process is ongoing, and the DMV welcomes public feedback. Things can slip through, Goodwin said. My aim is to be consistent with our approach, no plates of hate in this state. Before the recent purging of phrases, DMV employees read through the list and referred questionable entries to a review committee that included staffers from the Department of Transportation, which oversees DMV, and its Office of Civil Rights. Over two dozen of the 239 items removed were related to the LGBTQ community, the station said. Goodwin said his office also recently recalled eight plates after receiving public complaints. All of them were labeled antisemitic, with some spelled in nontraditional ways. Folks are crafty and conniving with the combination of letters, Goodwin said. VIDEO: Union County host first Pride Festival at Monroe park Maybe its something about the Hippocratic oath: Doctors, nurses and pharmacists rate highest for honesty and ethics among 18 common professions in the latest version of a long-running Gallup poll. And maybe its something about the sanctity of the dinner hour: Telemarketers rate lowest in the Gallup ethics survey, followed by members of Congress and sellers of cars. Gallup pollsters have been measuring public sensibilities about honesty and ethics in archetypal American professions since 1976. Some jobs, such as business executive and journalist, have appeared in almost every annual poll. Others come and go from the list. In the latest poll, released this month, 79 percent of Americans rated nurses high or very high in honesty and ethical standards. Nurses have topped the Gallup poll regularly since their first appearance in the survey in 1999. Nurses are there when youre born, nurses are there when you die, and everywhere in between, said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association. Individually and collectively, were making a difference in peoples lives in the worst and the best times. In terms of public trust, no other profession came close. Medical doctors and pharmacists ranked second and third on the Gallup poll, with 62 percent and 58 percent of U.S. adults, respectively, rating them high in ethics. From there, the drop-off in ethical esteem was swift. A majority of Americans delivered high marks to only one other profession: high school teacher. At the other end of the ethical spectrum, only 6 percent of respondents gave high marks to telemarketers, while 59 percent rated the ethics of telephone salespeople as low or very low. The survey did not distinguish between actual telemarketers and the recorded voices that often speak in their stead. Nine percent of Americans praised the ethics of Congress, whose members fared only slightly better in the survey than care salespeople. Brian Baird, a psychologist and former Democratic congressman from Washington state, said the news media deserves a measure of blame for the publics antipathy toward federal lawmakers. He cited the wealth of recent press coverage directed at George Santos, the newly elected congressman from New York whose own ethics have come under withering fire following revelations that he fabricated parts of his background. Story continues And if the standout story is George Santos, Baird said, then you dont have a story about, Representative X went to work, met with constituents, studied the issues. How often do you see a story that makes national news about a member of Congress who does something good? Journalists, for their part, fared only slightly better than congresspeople in the Gallup poll. Twenty-three percent of respondents rated them high in honesty and ethics. Republicans took a particularly dim view of the fourth estate. Only nine percent of Republicans rated the press high in ethics, compared to 41 percent of Democrats. To Democrats, journalists are a bit more trustworthy than accountants, but not quite so estimable as judges. Republicans, by contrast, have come to view the mainstream press as irredeemably liberal. Openly conservative websites for Fox News and the New York Post rank among the nations most popular news sources. Gallup has measured professional ethics for so many years that its poll numbers document societal shifts across multiple generations of the American public. Consider the clergy. In 1977, 61 percent of Americans praised the ethics of the clerical community. The figure dropped steadily during the 2000s and 2010s amid an ongoing sex-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. In 2022, only 34 percent of the public rated clergy high on ethics. Public support for members of Congress peaked in late 2001, just after the 9/11 terror attacks, when fully one-quarter of the public rated them high on honesty and ethics. In the years since, the number has slipped into single digits. Journalists rated relatively high on the Gallup survey in the mid-70s, soon after the Watergate scandal, a high-water mark for public opinion about the value of the press. Their current 23-percent approval rating is one of the lowest the pollster has measured. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Nevada County sheriffs investigators arrested two parents accused of child endangerment after bags of cannabis and a gun were found in the home they share with their toddler. Investigators had received a suspected child abuse report, the Nevada County Sheriffs Office announced Friday in a news release. The investigators on Thursday went to the home in the 13000 block of Missouri Bar Road in Nevada City with Child Welfare Services officials as part of an investigation into the well-being of the 2-year-old child pursuant to Drug Endangered Child protocol, according to the news release. Megan Rowland, 36, the childs mother, refused to allow deputies to see if the toddler was OK, sheriffs officials said. Nathaniel McFarland, 36, the childs father arrived shortly after and demanded that law enforcement leave the property. Deputies then detained McFarland. The investigators obtained a search warrant to check on the child and inspect living conditions in the home. Investigators searched the home and found plastic bags with cannabis, according to the Sheriffs Office. The investigators also found what appeared to be a shotgun inside the home. The Sheriffs Office released photos of the cannabis and the gun. It was unclear exactly how much cannabis was found. Sheriffs officials said evidence confirmed the childs health was at risk. Rowland and McFarland were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment. The mother also faces a charge of resisting arrest, and the father faces an additional charge of being in possession of a firearm in violation of a court order, according to the Sheriffs Office. Nicholas Lyndhurst is returning to TV screens with a role in the revived Frasier series on Paramount+. (Getty) Nicholas Lyndhurst has joined the cast of the Frasier sequel series and British people are very surprised. The actor, who is a sitcom legend thanks to his role as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, will appear alongside leading man Kelsey Grammer in the Paramount+ show. Read more: David Jason wants to see Nicholas Lyndhurst more often Lyndhurst and Grammer previously worked together in the West End cast of Don Quixote musical Man of La Mancha in 2019, but Frasier marks the Brit's first major role in an American sitcom. In the new iteration of Frasier, Lyndhurst will play university professor Alan Cornwall described in the official synopsis as "British, boozy and larger than life". Kelsey Grammer will return to the role of Frasier Crane once again. (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank) The synopsis, reported via Variety, continues: "Alan has an intellect on par with Frasiers if only he ever felt like using it. "Alans mischievous streak might be just what Frasier could use to shake up his routine, while Frasiers thoughtful guidance might help Alan find some of the direction hes been missing in his own life." Read more: Nicholas Lyndhurst says no to Only Fools and Horses revival Lyndhurst, who denied retiring from acting last year, is a veteran of numerous sitcoms on British TV, including Goodnight Sweetheart and After You've Gone, as well as his most famous role opposite David Jason's Del Boy. But his move to American screens alongside Grammer surprised and confused many who reacted to the news on Twitter. Just fell asleep at my computer and dreamt Nicholas Lyndhurst was cast in Frasier. Mrs Steve O'Brien (@MrsSteveMOBrien) January 13, 2023 Who had Nicholas Lyndhurst becoming a US star on their 2023 TV bingo card? https://t.co/TEXgzdhq1h Tom Worsley (@tew1984) January 13, 2023 Nicholas Lyndhurst has been cast in the Frasier sequel. Not a sentence I thought id ever be reading or typing, but I am absolutely delighted for both him AND us! pic.twitter.com/SOxnnAYH2K Tom Selway (@tomselsocial) January 13, 2023 Im a lifelong Frasier fan/nerd/tragic and erm, this I did not see coming https://t.co/flNzNxEoCQ Elizabeth Aubrey (@aubrey_writes) January 13, 2023 The Frasier sequel was announced by Paramount in February 2021, with Grammer immediately confirmed to return in the title role as psychiatrist Frasier Crane. Story continues Having also played the character in the shows Cheers and Wings, it's a role Grammer has been associated with since 1983. Read more: Looking back at Frasier on its 25th anniversary The star has been keen on a revival for years, with Paramount+ finally giving the project the green light via writers Chris Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Joe Cristalli (Life In Pieces). Its previous incarnation still stands as one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, earning critical acclaim and winning 37 Emmy Awards. Watch: Kelsey Grammer hints at character returns in new Frasier series WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Third-ranked Purdue relied on an old-school combination Friday night. Fletcher Loyer and Zach Edey made it work as perfectly now as it ever has for the Boilermakers. Loyer scored a season-high 27 points, Edey added 12 points and 13 rebounds and the Boilermakers routed Nebraska 73-55 to become the 11th Division I school with 1,900 victories. Purdues a special palace, Boilermakers coach and former player Matt Painter said. They (the fans) understand if youre playing hard and playing together. They might not all understand it, but collectively they do and thats the one thing youve got to be able to do. Youve got to play the right way and youve got to play hard. Few have been more successful at making their points than Painter, who also joined Bob Knight, Gene Keady, Tom Izzo and Lou Henson as the only Big Ten coaches to win 400 games at one school with the victory. Painter played for Keady before succeeding him in 2005. And Painter's style hasn't changed much over the years, as was the case again Friday when Purdue improved to 16-1 for the first time since 1993-94. Loyer, a freshman, also had a season-best six 3-pointers, while Edey added 13 rebounds for his 14th double-double for the Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (5-1). Derrick Walker had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Cornhuskers (9-9, 2-5), who fell to 0-9 at Mackey Arena. Keisei Tominaga had 16 points for Nebraska, which played without two injured starters guard Sam Griesel (hip) and forward Juwan Gary (left shoulder). Obivously we were very short-handed especially on the glass, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. But this game had nothing to do with that. What did us in was the start to both halves and give credit to Purdue for that. Loyer got it started with a quick flurry, four 3s in less than eight minutes, helped the Boilermakers jump to a 15-4 lead. Nebraska never fully recovered. But when the Cornhuskers finally closed the deficit to 29-24 late in the first half, Purdue responded by scoring the final six points of the first half and the first 11 of the second half to make it 46-24. Nebraska never got close again. Story continues It's huge," Purdue forward Mason Gillis said after scoring 10 points. Every time he (Loyer) shoots it, we think its going in. So we want him taking those open shots, being creative. BIG PICTURE Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are making progress under Hoiberg. But after pushing Purdue into overtime on its home court in December, losing two starters Friday made it virtually impossible to replicate on the road against a motivated foe. Purdue: Painter's team has relied largely on its power game, but the early 3s gave the Boilermakers a different look and the versatility they'll need to make a deep postseason run. This one couldn't have come at a better time, either, after a brutal sequence that included a home loss to Rutgers, a narrow win at No. 24 Ohio State and a slide from No. 1 to No. 3. POLL IMPLICATIONS Figuring out this season's best team has been a challenge all season. But the one-loss Boilermakers will remain in that discussion as long as they continue winning this way. In fact, with a little help this weekend, the Boilermakers could reclaim the top spot Monday. HE SAID IT Hes one of the best in the business and he does such a phenomenal job recruiting to his system. And he learned from a great one, Gene Keady, Hoiberg said of Painter's milestone. I'm happy for him, not happy he got his 400th against me, but I'm happy for him. UP NEXT Nebraska: Hosts Ohio State on Wednesday. Purdue: Visits Michigan State on Monday. ___ AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 The GBIs investigation of a February 2022 officer-involved shooting in Perry has been closed, with no charges pending. Houston County District Attorney William Kendall determined the incident to be a justified homicide after reviewing the case file. He said no criminal charges have been filed. The individual involved raised a firearm, pointed it directly at one of the deputies and the deputy in response returned fire, Kendall said. On Feb. 22, 2022, the Perry Police Department responded to a home in the 100 block of Bedford Court after receiving a call about a suicidal man, according to the GBI. Matthew Deese, 32, exited the home holding a gun and officers made several unsuccessful attempts to convince him to put the gun down. A GBI release said Deese then barricaded himself inside the home. The Houston County Sheriffs Office Special Response Team was then called to assist and continued to attempt to negotiate with Deese. Deese was shot by one or more deputies during the incident and was taken to a Macon hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The GBI did not state exactly where the shooting took place or the specific details leading up to it. The incident was one of two fatal officer-involved shootings in Houston County last year that involved mental health concerns. Local community service board Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare recently applied for seed funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) with hopes to create a co-response team in Houston County. The co-response team would partner Houston County law enforcement officials with a behavioral health professional to assist when responding to mental health crises. Photo: The Canadian Press Ontario could be short 8,500 registered early childhood educators as the province adds tens of thousands more child-care spaces under the national $10-a-day program, the government estimates. The province is set to hold consultation sessions with people in the child-care sector starting next week. In slide decks obtained by The Canadian Press, officials say about 14,700 new RECEs will be needed by 2025-26 when the full fee reductions and 86,000 new spaces are in place. But without further steps to address recruitment and retention, the slides suggest, the province won't come close to meeting that target. "Without interventions related to recruitment and retention, there could be an estimated shortage of 8,500 RECEs by 2026," one consultation slide deck says. Meanwhile, the sector is already facing a staffing crunch. The number of RECEs in licensed child care decreased by seven per cent between 2019 and 2021, the government documents say. As part of Ontario's deal with the federal government, the province set a wage floor for RECEs $18 an hour in 2022 and increasing by $1 a year up to $25. Since the signing of the agreement in March, advocates have said those amounts are too low to attract and retain enough staff. The consultations are also set to look at access, inclusion, equity and pedagogy. While it's good to look at the issues as connected, the most important one to start with is workforce particularly retention, said Rachel Vickerson, executive director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario. The association has called for an immediate $25 minimum wage for non-ECE child-care staff and $30 an hour for registered ECEs. They would also like to see the implementation of a wage grid as an incentive to keep workers in the sector. Vickerson hopes though is not optimistic that the government's acknowledgment of the ECE shortage means it is open to discussions about higher pay, as well as benefits and pensions. "My worry is that they will focus exclusively or more predominantly on recruitment and elements such as increasing college admissions or providing low-cost tuition, which is an important element, but we hear from students every day that students are doing those programs and then they're leaving because they can't find work, and that those in licensed childcare leave the sector the earliest," she said. "So until we really have the wage commitments that show people that they can stay after being recruited to the field, it's going to be challenging." About 4,200 new students enroll in an early childhood education program each year and the average graduation rate is about 72 per cent, the government slide decks say. But only about half of registered ECEs choose to work in licensed child care. "RECEs working in licensed child care are also likely to experience: uncompetitive wages, benefits, vacation/sick time; limited opportunities for professional learning; minimal career progression options, especially compared to teachers, who have the ability to complete additional qualifications and become specialized; difficult working conditions; (and) perception of low value by public (e.g. babysitters)," the government says in its presentation. Early childhood educators in licensed child care are twice as likely to resign after three years compared to colleagues working in other settings such as schools, according to the College of Early Childhood Educators. About half of those who resign are exiting the field altogether, well ahead of other reasons for leaving such as retirement, moving away or parental leave, college data show. "While we recognize the need for recruitment of new educators, retaining current RECEs and incentivizing the return of former RECEs to practice are critical elements in solving the workforce challenge, and will create a virtuous cycle by improving the stability and quality of practice environments," registrar and CEO Beth Deazeley wrote in a statement. "This will, in turn, help to both attract and maintain new educators." Being able to pay staff more in order to retain them was a frequent request from child-care operator groups that met with the government as part of an advisory table established to discuss the funding formula for the $10-a-day program. Meeting notes recently obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom of information request show for-profit and non-profit operators, as well as municipalities, all said wages are of high importance. "We need a strategy to address workforce as $18/hour is not enough," one operator is summarized as saying. "Staff are leaving for higher-paid positions." The estimated shortage of 8,500 RECEs appears to be in the context of the 86,000 promised new spaces 33,000 have already been created but the actual demand for $10-a-day care will be far more, said Carolyn Ferns, the policy co-ordinator for the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. "I think that it's good to see that the government is thinking about this, they understand that there's going to be a shortage and are finally starting to ask the questions... 'what else can we do?'" she said. Ontario's financial accountability officer estimated demand will outpace the current expansion plans by more than 220,000 spaces by 2026. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at a recent child-care announcement with federal ministers Karina Gould and Chrystia Freeland that he recognizes that lowered fees will increase demand and therefore increase the number of workers needed. "It's a good problem, but it is a real problem and we have a plan," he said, touting the planned $1-per hour annual wage increases. Lecce noted that while the federal agreement covers space for children aged five and under, the province has also applied the new wage rules to staff caring for children aged six to 12. Gould said many other provinces have put their own money toward raising wages to $25 or even $30 an hour. Ontario recently announced its dual credit program, which allows high school students to take apprenticeship or college courses to count toward their graduation, would be expanded to include early childhood education opportunities to up to 420 students over two years. New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) requested aid from New York state to help the city shelter hundreds of asylum-seekers who have arrived there. We are at our breaking point, Adams said in a statement. Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York beginning this weekend. He said he recognized that a mutual aid request is reserved for dire emergencies but that the city has been pushed to the brink by the arrival of thousands of migrants. Adams said that the initial request is for the state to provide support to house 500 asylum-seekers but that the estimate will rise as additional migrants come to the city. New York City has received an influx of migrants in recent months, with Adams saying last week alone saw the arrival of more than 3,100 asylum-seekers in the city. The influx comes as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have sent migrants by bus and airplane to northern, Democratic-run cities such as New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) also transported migrants to such cities while serving in the states top office. The Republican governors have argued that sending the migrants to other jurisdictions relieves border communities they say are overwhelmed due to President Bidens immigration policies. But opponents have slammed them for their actions, saying that they are using the migrants for political stunts. Colorado also sent some migrants to New York and Chicago, but Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced Sunday that the state would stop doing so following a request from the cities mayors. Adams said New York City has provided more than 40,000 asylum-seekers with shelter, food and connections to resources since last spring. He said the city has opened 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers at breakneck speeds. Story continues But he said the city has averaged more than 400 migrants arriving per day over the past week and saw a record 835 arrive in just one day. Adams previously called for federal assistance to help handle migrants bused in from Texas in August and accused Abbott of using innocent people as political pawns. The absence of sorely needed federal immigration reform should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities, Adams said Friday. We need support and aid from our federal and state partners and look forward to working together to meet this crisis head-on. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Jan. 13OXFORD Thirty Oxford High School students were given a "hands-on" opportunity Wednesday to experience what a career as a firefighter would be like. The Oxford Fire Department welcomed the students to the department's training center for a Fire Academy Expo, allowing them to interact with current firefighters and the tools of the trade. The expo is a product of the work between Oxford City Schools Career Coach Vikki Sturkie, fire Chief Gary Sparks and the Oxford Fire Department. "Today is about having fun," OFD Lt. Kyle Benson told the students as they arrived. "But, we invite you to ask any of us any questions you might have." Benson is the leader of the Oxford High School Fire Academy which allows students to take firefighting courses as part of their senior year. The academy is part of the Career Tech pathway at the high school and is designed to give students a head start on their careers. Upon completion of the program and graduation, the candidates have the option to enter a bridge program where they can become fully certified firefighters in just five weeks. "This is a good career and a good way to serve your community," said Sparks. "We want you to look at what we're doing today, take it to heart and if you want to do this you can take the next step forward." Sparks said his department currently has 50 certified firefighters "and of those 50, 12 came through this program." "We also have former students who now work in Talladega, Jacksonville and Anniston," Sparks said, noting one of the youngest active firefighters who just completed the program is 20 years old and now works for the OFD making $40,000 a year. Mayor Alton Craft spoke of how firefighters "care about our community." "You see them at the ballgames and special events, they raise money for children and collect food and clothes for those in need," Craft said. "They are not just a bunch of guys sitting around waiting for a fire." Story continues Craft added the job is a dangerous one, "but that is why they will train you like they will." Students had the opportunity to have experiences with EMS tools and situations, a pumper and equipment, special operations and turnout. They also observed special ops rescue, vehicle extraction and structural firefighting scenarios at the training center. "In the past, we've recruited at the high school using a lecture-style approach," Benson said. "This year, we're taking it to the next level by creating an expo that allows students to see the facility, interact with emergency service professionals and experience a day in the life of emergency services." Oxford City Schools Superintendent Dr. Shannon Stanley said the collaboration between the school district and the fire department is an important one. "The partnership we have with the City of Oxford and Oxford Fire Department allows us to provide students with activities like the expo to give students a deeper understanding of what occupations and professions are available at home," Stanley said. Staff Writer Brian Graves: 256-236-1551. The parents of a University of Idaho student who was killed along with three others said she had recently moved from the house where the slayings took place in November, but had gone back to show her close friend her new car and attend a nearby party. Kristi and Steve Goncalves told Dateline that their daughter, 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, was due to graduate from college early and had lined up a job with an IT firm in Austin, Texas. Kaylee Goncalves had just moved out of the house she shared with her longtime best friend, 21-year-old Madison "Maddie" Mogen. These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable, Kristi Goncalves said. The two had lived together and were true, ultimate best friends, she said. Maddie had been a huge part of our life. Image: Steve and Kristi Goncalves during an interview with Dateline on NBC. (NBC) Kaylee Goncalves, who had just bought a new Range Rover, told her parents she wanted to go back to Moscow, Idaho, to show it to Maddie and to attend a nearby party together. That was the last time that I saw Kaylee, her mother said. On Nov. 13, Kaylee, Mogen and two others were stabbed to death inside a home in the largely rural college community of Moscow. Also killed in the attack were Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington, and Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona. From top left: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. Police arrested a suspect, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, about seven weeks after the killings. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary. Authorities tied Kohberger to the case through male DNA left on a knife sheath at the scene, as well as by tracking down Kohbergers car and his cellphone records. Kohberger, who is from Pennsylvania, was a doctoral student at nearby Washington State University studying in the criminal justice and criminology department. Police have not disclosed a motive for the killings or said if or how Kohberger may have known the victims. One former criminal justice classmate of Kohberger's at DeSales University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master of arts in criminal justice, said she was shocked when she heard the news of Kohbergers arrest. Story continues "It definitely took me by shock," the classmate, Madison, told Dateline. Madison, who requested her last name not be used out of fear of harassment, said she remembered the detailed responses Kohberger gave in the criminology course they took together in 2018. Whenever he raised his hand he definitely took it upon himself to answer the question but yet then give every single detail that he possibly could to help further his point, she said. It was always, like, Oh, Bryans answering this question. This is gonna take up the whole entire class. She also thought that Kohberger would stare at her and her friends. "He would stare at us. He definitely had very prominent eyes," she said. "I would always catch him staring at us. He wouldnt ever really try to talk to us." Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, leaves after an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Jan. 3, 2023. (Matt Rourke / AP) Hayden Stinchfield, a junior in the criminal justice program at WSU, had Kohberger as a teaching assistant. He wasnt a super approachable guy, Stinchfield told Dateline, adding that Kohberger was initially a harsh grader. But that abruptly changed. At a certain point, he started just giving everyone 100s and like super high marks, he said. By the end of the semester, no one was thinking about the little deductions from earlier. Stinchfield said that looking back, he believes the change in Kohberger's grading habits lines up pretty well with the time of the killings. Steve and Kristi Goncalves said they take some comfort in thinking and hoping that their daughter may have helped solve her own death by snatching away the knife sheath eventually used to tie Kohberger to the killings. I hope that maybe in a struggle, she pulled it off of him, Kristi Goncalves said. Its a checkmate type moment, Steve Goncalves added. The two said that they hope for a conviction and the death penalty. He chose over and over to end peoples lives and that has to be accounted for, Steve Goncalves said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Police are looking for information to identify a driver they said hit and killed a pedestrian and drove off. According to Pittsburgh police, the accident happened in the 1600 block of West Carson Street at around 2:50 a.m. Saturday. Emergency crews found a man down in the roadway and took him to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The Medical Examiners Office later identified the victim as 35-year-old Zachary Gleason, from Bridgeville. Police are looking for a 2016-2018 gray Honda Civic with damage to the front grill area in connection with the crash. Police provided a photo of the type of car theyre looking for but said its not the exact vehicle involved. Anyone with information should contact the Collision Investigation Unit at 412-937-3051, or call 911. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: At least 5 people hospitalized after a house fire in Shaler Township PHOTOS: Emergency crews battling house fire in Shaler Township Missing leopard forces zoo closure VIDEO: Man accused of attempting to kidnap a jogger in Westmoreland County arrested DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis gave a funeral blessing to Cardinal George Pell on Saturday as revelations that he wrote an anonymous memo branding the current papacy a "catastrophe" hung in the air along with the incense. About 300 people attended Pell's funeral Mass in a secondary chapel of St. Peter's Basilica. In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the Mass was said by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re. Francis arrived at the end to gave the final blessing in Latin over the dark brown wooden coffin on the floor. The coffin was incensed and sprinkled with holy water. Re's words were less a homily than a biography of Pell, 81, who died on Tuesday night in a Rome hospital of heart failure during hip replacement surgery. Re mentioned that Pell had spent more than a year in jail before being acquitted of sexual abuse allegations in his native Australia in 2020. "The last years of his life were marked by an unjust and painful condemnation," Re said. SNAP, an advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual abuse, in a statement had called on the Vatican to show "restraint" in funeral arrangements "unless the Church hierarchy wants to deepen already deep wounds". But Pell was given a standard solemn Vatican funeral for a cardinal. Re began the service by reading out the full text of a message the pope issued on Wednesday praising Pell for persevering in trying times. The small talk after the funeral, particularly among diplomats and journalists, centred around the bombshell revelation. Last year, respected Italian journalist Sandro Magister, who has a long track record of receiving leaked Vatican documents, published an anonymous memo circulating in the Vatican condemning Pope Francis' papacy as a "catastrophe". The day after Pell died, Magister disclosed on his widely read blog Settimo Cielo (Seventh Heaven) that it was Pell who wrote the memo and gave him permission to publish it under the pseudonym "Demos" - Greek for populace. It included what the author said should be the qualities of the next pope. Story continues "Commentators of every school, if for different reasons ... agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe," the memo begins. "The first tasks of the new pope will be to restore normality, restore doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, restore a proper respect for the law and ensure that the first criterion for the nomination of bishops is acceptance of the apostolic tradition," it reads. Father Joseph Hamilton, Pell's personal secretary, declined to comment on Magister's report and Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said it had no comment. Hamilton told Reuters after the funeral that Pell's body will be flown to Australia early next week to be buried in the crypt at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Mark Potter) The Duke of Sussex describes the layout of various royal residences, as well as his personal protection detail, in his memoir - P van Katwijk/Getty Images The Duke of Sussex has compromised the security of the Royal family by describing the layout of various royal residences, as well as his personal protection detail, an expert has warned. Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection, said the Duke was a fool for revealing such information in his memoir, Spare details that could prove dangerous in the wrong hands. The Duke wrote in the book that he carried an electronic tracker and panic alarm at all times, describing how his protection team operated and reacted. He included a detailed description of where to find the Queen Consorts fanciest bottles of wine, absurd gifts from foreign governments and potentates, as well as several storerooms full of paintings at Highgrove, the Kings Gloucestershire home. Minute details are also shared about the location of Queen Elizabeth IIs bedroom at Balmoral and the precise route from the entrance at Clarence House to the Kings private sitting room, complete with the exact number of stairs. Mr Davies, who has worked in police and security for more than 50 years, said: These revelations give me great concern and will likely give great concern to Prince Harrys current team. It makes the job of protecting him, whether privately or otherwise, problematic. Only a fool would reveal this kind of detail about the royals inner sanctums. Historically, there have always been people who have tried to access parts of royal palaces. Whether they are fixated individuals with mental health problems or terrorists, this information could prove very useful. There is a reason Buckingham Palace never discusses any detail about its security operations, big or small. It would never expect someone with such an intimate knowledge of private royal residences to disclose such information. The Duke recounted in his book the moment that the Duchess of Sussex was first introduced to the King and the Queen Consort, when they were greeted at the door of Clarence House by a butler and a house manager. Story continues They led us down the long corridor, past the big paintings and gilt-edged mirrors, along the crimson carpet with the crimson runner, past the big glass cabinet filled with gleaming porcelain and exquisite heirlooms, up the creaky staircase, which rose three steps before jogging right, up another twelve steps, then jogged right again, he said. There, at last, on the landing above us, stood Pa. Elsewhere, the Duke described how to get to his old basement hideout at Highgrove, the Kings Gloucestershire home nicknamed Club H. The former bomb shelter, he said, could be reached by walking through a heavy white ground-level door, then down a steep flight of stone stairs along a damp stone floor, then descended three more stairs, walked down a long damp corridor with a low arched roof, then past several wine cellars, wherein Camilla kept her fanciest bottles, on past a freezer and several storerooms full of paintings, polo gear, and absurd gifts from foreign governments and potentates. Beyond that final storeroom were two green doors with little brass handles, and on the other side of those was Club H. The Duke also recalled in great detail the layout of Balmoral, the late Queens happy place nestled in Aberdeenshires grouse moors. Prince Harry recounted in Spare: Closing my eyes, I can see the main entrance, the panelled front windows, the wide portico and three grey-black speckled granite steps leading up to the massive front door of whiskey-coloured oak, often propped open by a heavy curling stone and often manned by one red-coated footman. And inside the spacious hall and then the light brown wooden door leading to the corridor with the crimson carpet and the walls papered in cream, a pattern of gold fleck, raised like braille, and then the many rooms along the corridor and finally the castles main chamber, built in the 19th century. He went on to describe the grand staircase in the heart of the main chamber, writing that whenever Granny headed up to her bedroom on the second floor, corgis at her heels, she preferred the lift. The Duke of Sussex describes the layout of Balmoral in great detail - Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Getty Images The King shares his mothers love for Scotland and is currently staying at Birkhall, his home on the Balmoral estate. Meanwhile, the Duke also described his former personal protection in detail, sparking fears that this could compromise the security of the rest of the Royal family. He wrote: I needed someone whod treat me normal, which meant ignoring the armed bodyguard sleeping down the hall, whose job was to keep me from being kidnapped or assassinated (to say nothing of the electronic tracker and panic alarm I carried with me at all times). The Duke added that before his security protection was lost, he had never been allowed to go anywhere without three armed bodyguards. Additionally, he also revealed that the official threat level in the country is used by palace security to allocate personnel and guns. The Duke talked at length about his protection officers, including one man he called Billy the Rock who he admitted gave the green light to retracing his late mothers final journey through the Alma tunnel in Paris at the same speed her car was travelling at when it crashed. Billy added that if the driver ever revealed to another human that wed asked him to do this, wed find him and there would be hell to pay, he wrote. If theres one person Prince Harry isnt going to sever ties with, its his therapist. In his new tell-all memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex portrays his therapist as one of the few people truly in his corner. Harry writes that she was the first person he called after a verbal fight with his older brother, Prince William, turned physical. (William had stormed into Harrys home at Kensington Palace and labeled Harrys wife, Meghan Markle, difficult, rude and abrasive, according to the younger prince.) Instead of Markle, it was the therapist whom the Duke of Sussex reached out to: Thank God she answered. I apologized for the intrusion, told her I didnt know who else to call, he writes. I told her Id had a fight with Willy, hed knocked me to the floor. I looked down and told her that my shirt was ripped, my necklace was broken. Interestingly, Prince William the person who receives the lions share of Harrys ire in Spare was the family member who initially recommended Harry try therapy. Years later, Harry says that William has changed his tune and once feared that his younger brother was being brainwashed by therapy. In In "Spare," Prince Harry writes that his older brother, William, feared that he'd been "brainwashed by therapy. Given the prominence therapy seems to play in the Duke of Sussexs life, its easy to wonder if his sessions have fueled his need to share his truth about the royal family. According to its description, the book is written with raw, unflinching honesty, and thats certainly not an overstatement: The fight between him and William may be one of the most explosive details, but Harry airs his grievances about nearly everyone in the family. He calls William his beloved brother and simultaneously his archnemesis, bent on making sure the order of succession was deeply felt by his brother growing up. He accuses his stepmother, Camilla Parker Bowles (now the queen consort) of leaking stories about him and William and turning his room at Clarence House into her closet as soon as he moved out. (I tried not to care. But especially the first time I saw it, I cared, the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex wrote.) Story continues His father, King Charles III, he says, carried a pitiful teddy bear around with him as an adult and pleaded with his sons to reconcile at their grandfather Prince Philips funeral in 2021 (Please, boys, dont make my final years a misery, Charles allegedly said.) Sister-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, is largely painted as cold and wary of Markle: The future queen made Markle cry days before the Sussexes 2018 wedding (Harry shares texts to prove it) and grimaced when the Suits actor asked to borrow some lip gloss at an event. (It was an American thing, the Duke of Sussex says of the request.) Why all the truth telling, even of the smallest possible details? Harry says its ultimately in the interest of peace and holding people accountable. I dont think that we can ever have peace with my family unless the truth is out there, the Duke of Sussex told ABCs Michael Strahan. In spite of the cold shoulder he and Markle have received from the rest of the royal family, Harry has repeatedly said he hopes for a reconciliation. The ball is very much in their court, he told CNNs Anderson Cooper in an interview earlier this month. Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong, but every time we ask that question, no ones telling us the specifics or anything, he said. There needs to be a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private that doesnt get leaked. But is Harrys months-long revelation world tour really conducive to compromise and peace? To answer that question, we took the princes lead and sought out some therapeutic advice. Heres what family therapists think of Harrys experience with therapy and how his very public revelations about his family square with his desire for a reconciliation. Since its release on Tuesday, Spare has become the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever. Since its release on Tuesday, Spare has become the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever. What therapists think of Harrys take on therapy Going to counseling has clearly been a refuge for Harry since he and Markle stepped back from their roles as senior members of the royal family in January 2020. In 2021, the Duke of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey that hed been in therapy for roughly five years and spoke positively of his experience, especially EDMR, a type of therapy that involves making side-to-side eye movements while recalling a traumatic incident or memory. Therapy has helped him process the grief and anger he felt after the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, hes said, and strengthened his relationship with Markle. (He restarted therapy at his wifes urging after he became sloppily angry with her during a cruel fight, he writes.) Therapy has equipped me to be able to take on anything, he said. I knew that if I didnt do the therapy and fix myself that I was going to lose this woman who I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. Becky Whetstone, a marriage and family therapist and host of the Call Your Mother channel on YouTube, thinks counseling has served Harry well. Ive seen his interviews and am listening to his book, and the way Harry talks about his life is thoughtful and obviously been processed in healthy ways, she told HuffPost. Though Harrys seemingly endless admissions have riled both the palace and some of the public, Whetstone doesnt particularly see anything wrong with his behavior. I dont see Harry as settling a score but as him telling his version of his story, for better or worse, take it or leave it, she said. I believe when a family is dysfunctional, the only way to change the system is to shake it up, to do something different that is perhaps drastic. The resulting crisis may motivate a family to face their issues, Whetstone added. As a therapist, Harrys story resonates with me. Its believable. I dont see Harry as settling a score but as him telling his version of his story, for better or worse, take it or leave it, said therapist Becky Whetstone. I dont see Harry as settling a score but as him telling his version of his story, for better or worse, take it or leave it, said therapist Becky Whetstone. Sarah Spencer Northey, a marriage and family therapist in Washington, D.C., said the Sussexes departure from the royal family makes quite a bit of sense if they were in therapy. I believe that therapy should never be in the service of helping people adjust to a life they find oppressive, she told HuffPost. It was a big move to step away from the system in which Harry was raised and a therapeutic move given how much harm the system caused on a deep, personal level. Is a royal family reconciliation possible? If family members still support and enable systems that harm you, theres not much more that you can do in terms of a full reconciliation, Northey said. Rhona Raskin, a family therapist and advice columnist, also isnt certain if a family rapprochement is possible, given the public nature of Harrys complaints. This scenario is a very difficult one to walk back, she said. There are throngs of people supporting Harrys point of view, taking his side, and other crowds booing him from the other side. Its now a complex problem looking to be solved by a committee of millions. Unlike the other therapists interviewed in this article, Raskin has questions about the Duke of Sussexs therapist and if he has an over-dependence on her counseling. A therapist is not an accessory or a nanny you should not have one on speed-dial for ongoing advice every time theres a problem, she said. A therapists job is to get the client to dump them. If the counselor has done their job, therapy helps clients uncover strengths and patterns as well as recognize new coping skills for whatever new drama lies ahead. The first job of the therapist is to provide safety, she said. I dont think there is any safety for anyone in this airing of royal laundry. Sometimes reconciliation means accepting that true repair isnt possible and in turn you can love from a distance, Sometimes reconciliation means accepting that true repair isnt possible and in turn you can love from a distance," said family therapist Jennifer Chappell Marsh. Jennifer Chappell Marsh, a marriage and family therapist in San Diego, thinks that its possible for the royal family to patch things up but that Harry and Meghan need to be flexible with their expectations around reconciliation. There are different forms of reconciliation, she said. Ideal reconciliation happens when an injured party can clearly name their experience of pain, have that pain be heard, validated, and actionable repair is taken. Sometimes, though, reconciliation means accepting that true repair isnt possible and in turn you can love from a distance. However it plays out, its understandable why the public is so deeply invested in the British royal familys knotty familial drama and Harrys current truth-telling campaign. (Since its release on Tuesday, Spare has become the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever.) Many aspects of Spare are relatable for many people, said Meg Arroll, a psychologist and the author of Tiny Traumas. Theres the element of sibling rivalry (the physical altercation with a brother), betrayal and trauma with various family members, moral injury (guilt around his silence over his fathers affair) and being undermined as the lesser member of the family. Arroll also understands why some find the tell-all unproductive and a little woe is me, coming from a prince. I think what people find difficult is the sense that Harrys privilege should somehow negate these emotional wounds, but this is not the case, nor is it a compassionate stance to take, she said. He is human, after all. Related... President Joe Biden, center, talks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers as he visits the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (Jim Watson) Joe Bidens White House wont call it a crisis, but its not exactly nothing either. Just ask Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New Yorks mayor, Eric Adams. After days of public discussion between the mayors and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about which city should be responsible for supporting the influx of migrants, Polis announced that Colorado will stop sending migrants to New York and Chicago. Advertisement That was quick. But whats striking about this new development is how all three pols involved are Democrats. Thats a departure from the usual political divide regarding the border. Immigration policy in our reputed land of immigrants as a general rule tends to be yall come when our economy is robust and stay away when its not. Advertisement In more recent years, it has become as polarized as the rest of our national politics. This has been particularly true after Donald Trump built much of his first presidential campaign around the promise of building a great, great wall on the Mexican border and making Mexico pay for it. More recently he has boasted in speeches that We built the wall, even though only 452 miles along the 1,951-mile U.S.-Mexico border was actually built, most of which replaced old, existing fencing. And he never got Mexico to pay for it. But Texas has bused 3,854 migrants to Chicago since last spring, Lightfoot said. New York City has taken in more than 38,000 migrants in the last nine months, Adams office said. For months we have seen Republican governors from Texas, Florida and Arizona sending migrants to northern cities to protest the Biden administrations border policies or, as some critics would put it, lack of a border policy. Meanwhile, we have a mess at the border. The number of migrants apprehended trying to illegally cross the border with Mexico has hit record highs. In the 12 months leading up to October, the Border Patrol encountered 1.7 million migrants trying to cross illegally, the highest number since 1960. And, it is important to note, these are a special category of immigrants: asylum-seekers. Unlike migrants who are seeking jobs or an education, asylum-seekers are trying to escape wars, persecution or political turbulence, but their claim for refugee status has not been determined legally. Sorting them out is the job of immigration courts which already have a backlog of months or more of cases to be processed. The last time Washington had enough agreement to seriously discuss broad, comprehensive immigration reform was in a 2005 bill introduced by Sens. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. Advertisement It included legalization, guest worker programs and border enforcement. Unfortunately the bill never reached the floor for a vote. Such is the price of a Congress that can hardly agree on anything more controversial than the time of day. I, for one, believe that a nation of more than 330 million people can absorb more than the 1 million legal immigrants we take in every year. And we can absorb hundreds of thousands more who are seeking asylum, which only 1 in 4 is likely to receive, officials say. But, before Biden recently visited the border for the first time as president, he announced a new policy that tries to have his border-policy cake and eat it too. The policy would actually expand a Trump-era program known as Title 42, which he had promised as a candidate to end. Perhaps hes trying to expand the program before the Supreme Court possibly agrees with a pending suit by Republican officials from 19 states who say lifting Title 42 will create an unsustainable spike in border crossings. Maybe. But much of the existing spike comes from multiple crossings made by asylum applicants who are turned away and come back to try again repeatedly. We need a more sustainable approach and lawmakers from both parties who can stop arguing long enough to seriously put it together and pass it. Advertisement Meanwhile, we argue over whether we have a crisis at the border, which reminds me of an old reputedly Chinese definition of crisis as a combination of danger and opportunity. We can fix the danger in our border mess, if we dont waste our opportunity. cpage@chicagotribune.com Twitter @cptime Riot police fight protesters in the German village of Luetzerath. Sean Gallup/Getty Images Thousands of climate protesters descended on the abandoned German village of Luetzerath on Saturday to try and stop the hamlet's destruction, which is slated to pave the way for the expansion of a nearby coal mine. Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined the throngs of protesters who marched while enduring muddy and rainy conditions to demonstrate against the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine. The demolition of Luetzerath has already begun, even as controversy over the decision continues. The clearing of the village was part of an agreement between the German government and energy conglomerate RWE. According to Reuters, the deal will allow RWE to destroy Luetzerath in exchange for the company's quicker shift away from fossil fuels. Despite the insistence of the German government, the protesters decried the move, and many were seen fighting with police officers as the march reached a boiling point. The total number of protesters is unclear organizers said 35,000 people had shown up, while law enforcement put the figure closer to 10,000, per The Associated Press. Some of the protesters had already been camping out at Luetzerath for days, clashing with police even as the bulldozing of the village was getting underway. Riot police, backed by bulldozers, had been clearing protesters from Luetzerath for at least two days before Saturday's events. "What everyone does matters," Thunberg told AP. "If one of the largest polluters, like Germany, and one of the biggest historical emitters of CO2 is doing something like this, then, of course, it affects more or less everyone especially those most bearing the brunt of the climate crisis." You may also like 7 brutally funny cartoons about Kevin McCarthy's speakership Defund the IRS? NASA's Webb telescope confirms existence of exoplanet for the 1st time A Pueblo man's competency to stand trial in an election tampering case is still up in the air and has been bound over to competency court by District Judge William Alexander. An initial report from the Colorado Department of Human Services has been ordered to opine on the initial likelihood of restoring to competency suspect Richard Patton, 31, to stand trial. However, no findings have yet been made, according to Colorado court records. At a hearing Dec. 29, Alexander also ordered Patton to undergo outpatient mental health treatment in hopes of restoring legal competency in the case. A Jan. 18 competency court hearing has been set in front of District Judge Allison Ernst, according to Alexander. Patton was found to be incompetent to stand trial following a December evaluation by a behavioral health expert. To be considered legally incompetent to proceed to trial, a person accused of a crime must be deemed incapable of understanding court proceedings and unable to assist in their own defense by communicating with their attorneys. A finding of incompetency is legally distinct from a finding of insanity, which would focus on the mental state of the defendant at the time the alleged offense was committed. No details are publicly available as to why Patton was found incompetent and a gag order has been issued in the case, forbidding involved parties from speaking publicly about the matter. Pueblo's criminal justice system:Three women charged in alleged Medicaid fraud scheme involving Pueblo prison inmate Patton has been charged by the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office with tampering with voting equipment, a class 5 felony, and computer crime exceeding access, a class 2 misdemeanor. Patton is the first person in Colorado charged under a new state law that upgraded the charge for tampering with election equipment from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 5 felony. Under Colorado law, a class 5 felony is punishable by a one- to two-year jail sentence and/or a fine between $1,000 and $100,000. Story continues Patton, a registered Democrat, was arrested for the alleged offense in November. He had come to vote in person at the Pueblo County Board of Elections on June 28, the last day to vote in the 2022 primary, according to his arrest affidavit. Election workers told law enforcement that Patton asked them about the site's security presence before he cast a ballot. Patton dropped off his ballot before leaving the office, and state voting records confirm his ballot was cast. Shortly after Patton left, an election worker went to clean the machine, per COVID-19 protocols, police said. An error code on the screen after Patton left stated, "USB device detected. Please call a poll worker for assistance." The polling machine was immediately taken out of service and poll workers confirmed that no one else could have used the machine after Patton. An election worker stated to investigators that the seals on the machine were not damaged, but a USB cord had been pulled out and white marks visible on the seal indicated tampering. Patton later was released from jail on $5,000 bond. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime. Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1. This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo election tampering case bound for competency court By Yousef Saba and Rachna Uppal ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The world will need natural gas for a long time and more investment is required to ensure supply security and affordable prices during the global energy transition, the energy ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said on Saturday. Saad al-Kaabi, Qatari state minister for energy, told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Summit that a mild winter in Europe had seen prices come down, but that volatility would remain "for some time to come" given there was not much gas coming into the market until 2025. "The issue is what's going to happen when they (Europe) want to replenish their storages this coming year and the next year," he said. Kaabi later told reporters that Qatar, which is working to expand its gas output, has limited volumes going to Europe that it would not divert away, "but there is a limit to what we can do". Qatar is one of the world's top producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The UAE is an OPEC oil producer that is sharpening its focus on the gas market as Europe seeks to replace Russian energy imports after supply cuts since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The Qatari minister said he believed that Russian gas would eventually return to Europe. UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei, speaking on the same panel in Abu Dhabi, agreed that "for a very long time, gas will be there" and that while more renewable energy would be installed, more investment was needed in gas as a base load. "The whole world needs to think of resources and how to enable companies to produce more gas to make it available and affordable," Mazrouei said. Kaabi said it was unfair for some in the West as part of its green energy push to say African countries should not be drilling for oil and gas when it was important for their economies and the world needed more supply. Mazrouei said the "unclear" strategy of many countries made it difficult for them to commit to long-term gas contracts which in turn made it hard for energy companies to secure financing to invest in developing production capacity. Story continues As competition for LNG heated up, Germany last year struck a 15-year supply deal for Qatar LNG from 2026, the first of its kind to Europe from Qatar's North Field expansion project. QatarEnergy had signed a 27-year deal to supply China's Sinopec. Kaabi, who is also CEO of QatarEnergy, said negotiations were taking place with many players around the world. "There are a lot of European and Asian buyers, and there is a potential that by the end of the year, the entire Qatar expansion will be sold out," he said. Qatar's two-phase North Field expansion plan includes six LNG trains that will ramp up its liquefaction capacity from 77 million tonnes per annum to 126 million tonnes by 2027. (Reporting by Yousef Saba and Rachna Uppal; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Tom Hogue and Mark Heinrich) LOS ANGELES (AP) An independent review of California death row inmate Kevin Cooper's conviction found that evidence of his guilt was extensive and conclusive in the 1983 stabbing deaths of four people, including two children, at a suburban Los Angeles home. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the investigation in 2021 following years of Cooper's pleas for clemency. The case had garnered national attention from people including now-Vice President Kamala Harris and reality star Kim Kardashian. The independent investigators report was released Friday. Cooper, 65, maintained he was framed by investigators whom, he alleged, planted his blood on a T-shirt found by the side of a road leading away from the scene of the murders. He was originally scheduled for execution in 2004. Cooper has not established his claim that he is innocent, the report said. The reviewers also wrote there is no reasonable possibility that more investigation beyond what has already been conducted in this matter could affect the conclusion that evidence of Cooper's guilt is conclusive. Cooper was convicted of a 1983 attack in Chino Hills, east of Los Angeles. Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 8-year-old son, Joshua, were attacked in their sleep along with an 11-year-old neighbor, Christopher Hughes, who was a houseguest. Investigators said they were stabbed more than 140 times with an ice pick, knife and hatchet. Joshuas throat was slashed, but he survived. San Bernardino County prosecutors said previous DNA tests showed that Cooper, who had escaped from a prison two days before the slayings, was in the Ryen home and smoked cigarettes in the family's stolen station wagon, and that Coopers blood and the blood of at least one victim was on a T-shirt. That T-shirt, and the DNA Cooper claimed was planted on it, was a central part of Cooper's argument for his innocence. The case attracted national interest after The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, Harris, then a U.S. senator for California, and Kardashian urged officials to allow re-testing, which Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown ordered to be done. Story continues Cooper's attorney, Norman Hile, and the San Bernardino County district attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening regarding the new report. We are confident in the results of the independent investigation, and satisfied this case has been thoroughly and meticulously reviewed, Vicky Waters, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a statement. Newsom did not take a position on Coopers guilt or innocence, or whether to grant him clemency, when he ordered the review. Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. His communications director, Erin Mellon, released a statement Friday acknowledging the report and its finding that Mr. Coopers guilt is extensive and conclusive.' Theres a new focus on several murder cases in Statesville that have gone unsolved for decades, leaving families and loved ones without closure. A team of retired officers is reviewing them again, trying to find new leads and put killers behind bars. PREVIOUS: Retired detectives look at cold cases to find fresh leads The first case theyre looking into is the murder of Ethel Weaver, who was killed inside her home 31 years ago. Her daughter told Channel 9s Almiya White the new initiative is giving her hope. Over a period of time, I just cant sleep because it feels like she may have been calling me for help, Mary Davidson said. Since 1992, Davidson has had many sleepless nights wondering who killed her mother. The way they hurt her, and when they murdered her and stuff like that over her own pocketbook, which was stolen during that time, and they used her knife that she had for protection for herself, she said. She always kept that knife wrapped up in a paper towel on the dresser and she kept a courtesan lamp burning all the time at night, Davidson said. In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, 1992, Ethel Weaver was stabbed to death in her home off Bond Street in Statesville. Police said she was found on the floor in her bedroom. A team of retired officers is reviewing several Statesville cold cases, trying to find new leads and put killers behind bars. The first case theyre looking into is the murder of Ethel Weaver, who was killed inside her home 31 years ago. Her daughter told Channel 9s Almiya White the new initiative is giving her hope. 31 years later, the pain is still etched in Davidsons heart. She wiped tears from her face as she spoke with Channel 9s Almiya White. Its been a lot of pain because this is something you dont ever forget, she said. Her mothers case is still top of mind for retired Statesville police investigator Bill Riter. Weavers photo hangs on his bulletin board. I would like to solve her case, Riter said. And thats what I want to do. ALSO READ: Only on 9: Kannapolis detectives arent giving up on cold cases dating back decades Riter, along with several other retired investigators, were brought in to work part-time to reopen unsolved cold cases in Statesville. Weavers case is the first one the department is trying to bring back into the spotlight. Story continues To have this group of experience and the ability to come in, focus on that one thing and try to look for any kind of new leads, new ideas -- it seemed like a simple decision in my mind, Chief David Onley said. Riter said theyre tackling this case by starting from the very beginning -- learning Weavers day-to-day routines, chipping away at clues and witnesses. A team of retired officers is reviewing several Statesville cold cases, trying to find new leads and put killers behind bars. The first case theyre looking into is the murder of Ethel Weaver, who was killed inside her home 31 years ago. Her daughter told Channel 9s Almiya White the new initiative is giving her hope. When I got the report, I started to read it, Riter said. I started looking at all the notes. I went through the entire case file just to kind of get a feel for where the case went. Anything that might have stood out to me. He said there were no signs of forced entry, so he believes whoever murdered her knew her. She was very cautious about who she let in, Riter said. And that leads us to believe that this was not a break-in. This was somebody that she knew. ALSO READ: UNSOLVED: Police have new DNA evidence in Charlotte moms 1990 murder, attorney says White asked Davidson what comes to mind when she looks at a photo of her mom. Mostly, she was murdered by someone who was awfully mean, Davidson said. As Davidson stared at the only photo of her mother she has, she hoped some small piece of evidence would lead to fewer sleepless nights and some sort of closure. Its just something you would think would just go away but, you know, it just doesnt, Davidson said. Especially when you dont have any answers, she added. Youre wondering who did this, you know, thats what you mostly want to know -- who would do this to somebody like that? Ethel Weavers case is just one of 12 cold cases ranging from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s that the Statesville Police Department is planning to reopen in hopes of finding new details. To do that, theyre asking for help. If you have any information that could bring Weavers loved ones closure, please call the Statesville Police Department at 704-878-3515. (WATCH BELOW: Off-duty officer charged with murder has been terminated) Rina Yasutake, 49, was found dead at the home she shared with her family in North Yorkshire. (PA) The family of a woman whose partially-mummified body was found in their home continued to believe she was alive for months after she died, an inquest heard. Rina Yasutake, 49, was found dead at the home she shared with her mother and siblings in the village of Helmsley, North Yorkshire. Suspicions were raised at the local chemist in September 2018, when her brother Takahiro, 51, and sister Yoshika, 56, repeatedly bought bottles of surgical spirit over a period of days. No cause of death has been established despite extensive police inquiries into what happened. Police said the family was utterly convinced Rina Yasutake was alive. (Getty) The emergency services had been called to the family's address in Bondgate, where paramedics found Yasutakes dead body under a duvet on a mattress on the floor. Craig Hassall KC, representing the family, asked detective inspector Nichola Holden, who led the police investigation, if the family was utterly convinced she was alive when the emergency services attended. The detective replied: They were at the time and for many months after. Home Office pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton said it was hard to determine how long Ms Yasutake had been dead, given the extent of mummification, but the level to which it had developed took some weeks. The brother, sister and their mother Michiko Yasutake, 80, were charged with preventing a lawful and decent burial, but the prosecution was halted when it was found the family members suffered from a rare mental disorder. Coroner Jon Heath was told there was no evidence of any third-party involvement in her death, no sign of injury or toxicological cause. Rina Yasutake, who was Japanese, was a talented pupil and won a scholarship to Cambridge University where she studied classics, specialising in linguistics. She did not work after university and the family had lived together in Helmsley for 20 years, the inquest was told. In statements given to a psychiatrist, the brother and sister said that during the course of 2018 Rina Yasutake stopped eating, grew weaker and began to move less and less. Story continues Earlier that year, it was recorded that Ms Yasutake, who was 4ft 11in tall, weighed just six stone six pounds. Yoshika Yasutake told the psychiatrist: She didnt say much so we said to her to eat and drink more. She looked like she was being nourished by eating her soul." Mr Hassall described his clients as a very insular and isolated family and Ms Holden agreed that even when using a Japanese interpreter, communication was difficult, as they spoke their own dialect. Ms Holden said that during the course of inquiries, it was found they had no means of communicating with the outside world and no TV or radio. Mr Heath recorded an open conclusion, saying: I am unable from the evidence available to determine how she died. The family did not attend the inquest but Mr Heath said they would listen to a recording of it later. I recently realized that if you want to have success in life you need to have one thing above all others. Is it intelligence? No. Creativity? No. Advertisement Grit, gumption, stick-to-itiveness? Nope. Great physical beauty? A winning personality? A DeLorean rigged with a time machine that will allow you to travel into the future and return to the past armed with the knowledge of events to come? Advertisement No, and lets be serious now. The answer is a business model. A business model at its core is essentially the mechanism by which an entity accrues sufficient revenue to fund its operations, and ideally, even make a profit. Many of the things that are important to me have been struggling with their business models. For example, newspapers, like the one you are reading, have been struggling for years to come up with a viable business model after the original one predicated on advertising revenue was disrupted by the internet. Twitter, a place where I spend too much time but is nonetheless the primary vehicle for one to draw attention to ones writing, seems to be suffering from its new owners lack of a viable business model. Another type of entity that lacks a viable business model is the literary magazine. This past December saw the end of Bookforum, a magazine of book criticism, which had been operating since 1994, and produced some of the most in-depth and influential criticism around for the entirety of its existence. But when Bookforums parent publication, Artforum, was acquired by the Penske Media Corporation without bringing Bookforum along, the cost of producing the magazine as a stand-alone became too great to continue. The average reader is quite likely not familiar with Bookforum, but as I often remark here, all of us who value books and reading are participants in a larger books ecosystem, and there are many parts of that ecosystem we may not be aware of that nonetheless impact our lives. Advertisement The literary magazine helps sort, nurture and disseminate books that strive to achieve artistic merit. Authors like Rachel Cusk, Karl Ove Knausgard and Maggie Nelson are introduced to wider audiences first through these smaller niche literary publications. The truth is that there has never been a viable business model for a literary magazine, as theyre often required to make do through a combination of philanthropy, patronage and sacrifice by those who produce the issues. Bookforum managed to last much longer than most similar attempts. Unfortunately, in the world we live in today, if you dont have a viable business model, it seems as if you dont matter. Cant manage to both print your magazine and pay your staff based on subscription revenue? Thems the breaks, kid. Theres no place in our world for you. Thing is, all kinds of entities seem to be able to continue operating without a viable business model. Ive already mentioned Twitter, but how about Uber, a company that has not only lost tens of billions of dollars during its existence, but one that many believe has no viable long-term profitable business model? And yet, many continue to invest in Uber because we can cling to the likely fictional hope that someday it will return money on that investment. One month of Ubers losses would fund the entire literary magazine ecosystem for a lifetime. The difference is that the literary magazine does not pretend that it will someday be hugely profitable, and therefore is apparently not worthy of investment, no matter how successful it is at executing its mission. Advertisement Thats the thing Im going to keep thinking about, maybe for the rest of my days. John Warner is the author of Why They Cant Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities. Twitter @biblioracle Book recommendations from the Biblioracle John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books youve read. 1. Dr. No by Percival Everett Advertisement 2. Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore 3. The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb 4. Stoner by John Edward Williams 5. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey Jane W., Apache Junction, Arizona Im looking at this list and then Im looking at my bookshelf and letting my heart and gut take me to the book that feels right for Jane and the answer is The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard. Advertisement 1. Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich 2. Beloved by Toni Morrison 3. NYPD Red 7 Marshall Karp 4. Livid Patricia Cornwell 5. Righteous Prey John Sandford Linda M., Chicago Advertisement The Slow Horses TV series starring Gary Oldman is really terrific, but it also makes me think about the series of books its drawn from, which is even better. The recommendation is Slow Horses by Mick Herron. 1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 2. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin 3. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman 4. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 5. Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin Advertisement Phyllis C., Chicago In the cold winter months, I sometimes find myself drawn to books that genuinely warm the heart, and I think Phyllis will enjoy my pick that fulfills that goal: The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal. Get a reading from the Biblioracle Send a list of the last five books youve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com. VOLUNTARI, Romania (Reuters) - Romanian authorities started on Saturday to take away luxury cars from a property close to the capital as part of a criminal inquiry into alleged human trafficking that led to the arrest of divisive internet personality Andrew Tate. Romanian anti-organised crime prosecutors detained Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on Dec. 29 on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit six women. They have denied wrongdoing. A Reuters reporter saw several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, being taken from the Tate compound on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, to be transported to a storage location. Earlier this week, prosecutors told Reuters they had seized 15 luxury vehicles and more than 10 properties and homes belonging to the suspects in Bucharest and the counties of Prahova and Brasov to prevent the assets being sold or hidden. Tate's lawyer was not immediately available for comment. The four suspects challenged their 30-day arrest warrant earlier this week, but the Bucharest court of appeals rejected the challenge and said they should remain in police custody. Tate, a former contestant on the UK reality show Big Brother, gained notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech. His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform. Tate, who holds U.S. and British nationality, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men. (This story has been corrected to make clear cars were first to be taken away from a property near the capital, not from all sites, in the first paragraph) (Reporting by Octav Ganea; Writing by Anna Koper; Editing by Helen Popper) Russian forces struck residential areas in eight regions across Ukraine over the past 24 hours, killing at least three civilians and wounding nine, Ukrainian regional governors said early on Jan. 14. The eight regions attacked were Kyiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson oblasts. The fiercest fighting is raging in the Bakhmut and Soledar areas in the eastern Donetsk Oblast. With the war raging in the region, civilian casualties are mounting. Russia launched a missile strike targeting Kyiv early on Jan. 14, the third attack on the capital in 2023. Authorities say the Russian attack damaged "infrastructure" in the capital and a residential building in Kyiv Oblast. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Jan. 14 that a civilian was killed in the embattled city of Bakhmut in the northern part of the region, and three were wounded elsewhere. Meanwhile, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that Russia attacked an eastern district in Kharkiv with two S-300 missiles early on Jan. 14, and emergency service immediately arrived at the site of the explosion. Throughout the past day, Russian forces incessantly shelled the region, killing two women and wounding three near the liberated city of Kupiansk, according to Syniehubov. The southern Kherson Oblast also had another difficult night, but no death was reported. Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said that Russian forces shelled the liberated parts of the region 66 times over the past day, wounding three civilians. The routinely shelled area in the central Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was attacked again, with Russian forces firing fifteen deadly shells at the city of Marhanets, near Nikopol. The area is located across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territories. No casualties were reported. In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said that Russian missiles hit the territory of an enterprise in Zaporizhzhia early on Jan. 14, causing destruction. Starukh added that the town of Orikhiv was under Russian artillery attack again, damaging three houses. Three residents were inside one of the houses attacked, he said, but they remained uninjured. There were no casualties in either of the attacks as well. (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday of shameful subservience to the United States and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself. It was the latest in a long line of shocking and provocative statements from Medvedev, who was once seen as a Western-leaning reformer but has reinvented himself as an arch-hawk since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Speaking at a news conference in Washington on Saturday, a day after a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, Kishida made no mention of Medvedev's comment and was not asked about it. Japanese officials travelling with Kishida did not immediately respond to requests for comment and in Japan, no one was immediately available for comment on the remarks at either the prime ministers official residence or the foreign ministry outside normal working hours. Medvedev is a prominent ally of President Vladimir Putin who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and of a body overseeing the defence industry. He was responding to a meeting on Friday between Kishida and Biden, after which the two leaders issued a joint statement saying: "We state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way." On Saturday, Kishida said the G7 summit of major industrialized nations in Hiroshima in May should demonstrate a strong will to uphold international order and rule of law after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Medvedev said the nuclear statement showed "paranoia" towards Russia and "betrayed the memory of hundreds of thousands of Japanese who were burned in the nuclear fire of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" - a reference to the atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan to force its surrender at the end of World War Two. Rather than demanding U.S. repentance for this, Kishida had shown he was "just a service attendant for the Americans". Story continues He said such shame could only be washed away by committing seppuku - a form of suicide by disembowelment, also known as hara-kiri - at a meeting of the Japanese cabinet after Kishida's return. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has warned repeatedly that Western meddling in the crisis could lead to nuclear war, and has referred to Ukrainians as "cockroaches" in language Kyiv says is openly genocidal. Putin has said that the risk of a nuclear war is rising but insisted Russia has not "gone mad" and that it sees its own nuclear arsenal as a purely defensive deterrent. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Frances Kerry and Diane Craft) By Herbert Villarraga and Olena Harmash DNIPRO/KYIV (Reuters) - Russia unleashed a new wave of major attacks on Ukraine on Saturday, hitting energy infrastructure across the country and killing at least 12 people in a missile strike on a nine-storey apartment building in the city of Dnipro, officials said. Rescue teams toiled through the night in freezing temperatures in the aftermath of the Dnipro attack, in east-central Ukraine, with local officials saying people were still alive underneath the massive pile of wreckage. "They keep sending SMS-es," Mikhailo Lysenko, deputy mayor of Dnipro said in a social media video. "We stop our work now and then to keep silence and we hear people scream from underneath the rubble." Russian strikes also hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and other places, with Ukraine's energy minister saying the coming days would be "difficult" with threats to the supply of electricity, running water and central heating at the height of winter. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the number of those killed in the Dnipro apartment attack was likely to rise and he issued a fresh appeal to his Western allies for more weaponry to end "Russian terror" and attacks on civilian targets. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Kyiv's other allies condemned Saturday's Russian attacks. "More security assistance is coming to help Ukraine defend itself," Brink said on Twitter, calling the strike on Dnipro "horrifying." Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelenskiy's office, said 37 people had been rescued from the building and a total of 64 were injured. Zelenskiy said the second to ninth floors of the building's damaged section had collapsed. Pictures posted on Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov's Telegram account showed residents with no equipment desperately removing what remained of a wrecked car and combing through rubble against the background of a large pile of metal and concrete. Wounded people were carried away on stretchers. Story continues "You used to come to our city! We treated you as normal people, as relatives. What have you done to my son?" a woman, restrained by rescuers, shrieked in a video from the scene. Another person was killed and one wounded in the steel-making city of Kryviy Rih where six houses were damaged in Zelenskiy's hometown, mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said. FIGHTING FOR SOLEDAR Further east in Ukraine's Donbas region - the focal point of Russia's drive to capture more territory - Ukraine's forces were battling to hold onto control of the small town of Soledar. Russia has sacrificed large numbers of troops and resources to try to secure a gain after months of setbacks. In Soledar, where Russian forces have refocused attacks after failing to take the larger nearby centre of Bakhmut, Ukraine insisted that its forces were battling to hold the town. Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of the town with a pre-war population of 10,000, in what would be a minor advance, but one holding psychological importance for Russian forces who have suffered months of battlefield setbacks. But officials acknowledged the situation was difficult, that street fighting was raging and Russian forces were advancing from various directions. "Our soldiers are constantly repelling enemy attacks, day and night," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Saturday. "The enemy is sustaining heavy losses but is continuing to carry out the criminal orders of their command." Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar. ZELENSKIY: WE NEED MORE WEAPONS In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy appealed to the West to supply more weapons and repeated Kyiv's stance that the only way to end the war was on the battlefield. "What's needed for this? The kind of weapons that our partners have in stockpiles and that our warriors have come to expect. The whole world knows what and how to stop those who are sowing death," he said. Saturday's attack comes as Western powers consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv and ahead of a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Ramstein in Germany next Friday where governments will announce their latest pledges of military support. Russia, which invaded Ukraine last February, has been pounding its energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water. Ukraine shot down on Saturday 25 of 38 Russian missiles of different types, the Air Force said. Missiles struck infrastructure in Kharkiv in the east and Lviv in the west, officials said. Zelenskiy said Kyiv region and Kharkiv regions had suffered the worst power disruptions. President Maia Sandu of Moldova, the ex-Soviet state to the west of Ukraine, denounced the strikes, which left missile debris strewn just inside the country's border. "We strongly condemn today's intensified attacks of Russia & stand with those who lost loved ones in Dnipro & across Ukraine," Sandu, strongly backed by Western nations, said on Twitter. "Peace must prevail." Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda called Russia a "terrorist state" that brings destruction, death and suffering. "Atrocities, mass killings, attacks on residential buildings like today in Dnipro will never be forgiven& forgotten," Nauseda said on Twitter. "The time for accountability will come." (Writing by Tom Balmforth, Ronald Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich, Tomasz Janowski, Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis) Russian occupation forces deployed S-300 missiles to carry out an attack on the city of Kharkiv on the morning of 14 January. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, on Telegram Details: Syniehubov only said that the attack was still underway at the time of his writing. He asked Kharkiv residents to remain in shelters. An all-clear was sounded in Kharkiv Oblast at 08:12 Kyiv time. Terekhov said that at the time of his writing, Kharkiv was hit two times. Quote from Terekhov: "Morning attack on Kharkiv. Preliminary reports indicate four S-300 missiles hit the Industrialnyi [Industrial] district. [The Russians] targeted infrastructure facilities. We are yet to confirm information about casualties and destruction. According to updated information, the city was hit twice." Previously: On the morning of 14 January, explosions rocked the city of Zaporizhzhia as Russian occupation forces carried out an attack on the city. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The Kyiv City Military Administration has revealed the aftermath of the Russian missile attack on Kyiv on the morning of 14 January. There has been a hit to the infrastructure facility, but no fire has occurred. Source: Kyiv City Military Administration Quote: "There is a hit to the infrastructure facility. No critical destruction or fire. All utility services are working on the spot. There are no casualties. Missile fragments caused a fire in a metal warehouse building on the area of 20 square metres and damaged the roof on the garage in Holosiivskyi district [of the capital]. There have been no casualties. Two cars have been damaged by missile fragments in Darnytskyi district [of Kyiv]; there have been no casualties." Details: The authorities urge people not to ignore the alarms. Background: On the morning of 14 January, several explosions were reported in Ukraines capital, Kyiv, with local authorities reporting an attack on the city's infrastructure. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that the casualty toll had grown in the Russian missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro city on Jan. 14. The strike on a nine-story apartment building killed at least five people, and injured 39, the official said. Seven children, including a three-year-old, are among the wounded, according to Reznichenko. One of the injured children is in critical condition, he said. The building was hit during Russia's 10th mass missile strike against Ukraine's critical infrastructure. The attack damaged energy facilities in six Ukrainian oblasts, according to the Energy Ministry, causing emergency power cut-offs. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's critical infrastructure with hundreds of missiles and drones since Oct. 10, killing dozens of civilians and severely damaging the country's energy system. Russia admitted that Ukraine's energy infrastructure is among its primary targets. According to the Geneva Conventions, targeting vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime. Russia has cancelled the next exchange of prisoners scheduled for January 14. Source: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Quote: "Note that another exchange of prisoners with the Russian side was planned today. However, it was cancelled at the initiative of the Russians on short notice. The reasons for such a decision are easy to guess." Details: The Headquarters said that Russia has intensified special operations aimed at shaking public sentiment in Ukraine. So, the Russians use events organised in support of prisoners of war as informational pretexts. Quote: "Unfortunately, today's action on Maidan Nezalezhnosti was no exception. Resources controlled by Russia are spreading hostile narratives in the media, which actually call for Ukraine to surrender in the war against the aggressor. Thus, Kremlin[-aligned] media resources have already spread the news that the actions in Kyiv allegedly demanded "to stop hostilities and start negotiations with Russia", and also "applied to the embassies with the demand to stop the arms deliveries". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Robbie Knievel gives a thumbs up after jumping a train at the Texas State Railroad Park in Palestine, Texas on Feb. 23, 2000. (LM Otero/AP) LAS VEGAS Robbie Knievel, an American stunt performer who set records with daredevil motorcycle jumps following the tire tracks of his thrill-seeking father including at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1989 and a Grand Canyon chasm a decade later has died in Nevada, his brother said. He was 60. Robbie Knievel died early Friday at a hospice in Reno after battling pancreatic cancer, Kelly Knievel said. Advertisement Daredevils dont live easy lives, Kelly Knievel told The Associated Press. He was a great daredevil. People dont really understand how scary it is what my brother did. As a boy, Robbie Knievel began on his bicycle to emulate his famous father, Evel Knievel, who died in 2007 in Clearwater, Florida. Advertisement But where Evel Knievel famously almost died from injuries when he crashed his Harley-Davidson during a jump over the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas in 1967, Robbie completed the jump in 1989 using a specially designed Honda. Robbie Knievel also made headline-grabbing Las Vegas Strip jumps over a row of limousines in 1998 at the Tropicana Hotel; between two buildings at the Jockey Club in 1999; and a New Years Eve jump amid fireworks in front of a volcano attraction at The Mirage on Dec. 31, 2008. After a crash-landing to complete a motorcycle leap over a 220-foot chasm at an Indian reservation outside Grand Canyon National Park in 1999, Robbie Knievel noted that his father always wanted to jump the spectacular natural landmark in Arizona, but never did. Robbie Knievel broke his leg in his crash. Evel Knievel instead attempted to soar over a mile-wide Snake River Canyon chasm in Idaho in September 1974. His rocket-powered cycle crashed into the canyon while his escape parachute deployed. Robbie Knievels brother recalled other stunts including a 2004 jump over a row of military aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a museum in New York. Robbie Knievel, who promoted himself as Kaptain Robbie Knievel, set several stunt records, but also failed in several attempts. In 1992, at age 29, he was injured when he crashed into the 22nd of 25 pickup trucks lined up across a 180-foot span in Cerritos, California. Injuries took quite a toll on him, Kelly Knievel said Friday. Kelly Knievel lives in Las Vegas. He said his brother died with three daughters at his side: Krysten Knievel Hansson of Chicago, Karmen Knievel of Missoula, Montana, and Maria Collins of Waldport, Oregon. Advertisement Services were not immediately scheduled, but Kelly Knievel said his brother will be buried with other family members in Butte, Montana. A fire broke out on the territory of an energy infrastructure facility in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as a result of a Russian missile strike. Source: Svitlana Onyshchuk, the Head of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "The enemy again launched missile strikes on an energy infrastructure facility in our Oblast today, during the air-raid siren. A fire broke out on the territory of the facility as a result of enemy attack... Fortunately, according to preliminary information, there were no casualties or fatalities. All workers were in shelters during the air-raid siren. Also, in advance, the section of the road next to the infrastructure facility was blocked for car traffic, in order to minimise the consequences of missile strikes. At the same time, air defence forces also operated successfully, shooting down two Russian missiles during the air-raid siren." Background: Russians launched a missile attack on Ukraine. A residential building was hit in the city of Dnipro, killing and wounding civilians. Russians have hit critical infrastructure facilities in Lviv and Kharkiv oblasts. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The Russians hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro with an Kh-22 missile designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea. Source: Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, Yurii Ihnat, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast Quote: "The missile that was fired at the apartment building in Dnipro is an Kh-22 missile fired from a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber; the launches were carried out from Kursk and Sea of Azov regions. A total of five launches of these missiles took place. What kind of missile is this? Such a missile struck a shopping centre in Kremenchuk a few months ago. The missile with a warhead of 950 kilograms, called a carrier killer, is designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea; it can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead. And such a missile hits a densely populated city with people... There is no explanation or justification for this terrorist act." Details: Ihnat also reported that anti-aircraft missiles, which are designed to hit aerial targets and are very dangerous for the population, were fired on the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv on Saturday, 14 January. Quote: "Why are they [the Russians ed.] terrorists, why are they savages? Because they started [bombing ed.] with anti-aircraft missiles, S-400 or S-300... The type of missiles that were used to hit Kyiv has already been established. These are the missiles that are constantly being used to hit the eastern regions of our country, including Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, that are suffering practically every day from these missiles. These attacks have already started coming from the northern direction. Why do we call it a terrorist weapon? Because these missiles are designed to hit aerial targets with thousands of striking elements to destroy an aircraft, missile, UAV or helicopter. These fragments fly hundreds of metres, striking the civilian population. Launching [them ed.] on cities is pure terrorism. Kyiv was hit with these missiles today. And Kharkiv was also attacked by these systems the same day." Story continues Background: On Saturday, 14 January, the Russians hit a multi-storey house in the city of Dnipro; 5 people were killed and 39 were wounded, among them 7 children. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russia unleashed its 10th mass missile strike targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure in the afternoon of Jan. 14. The nationwide attack damaged critical infrastructure in several oblasts, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The hits caused emergency blackouts in multiple regions. The strike also hit a nine-story apartment building in Dnipro city, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko. Six children were among the wounded, the official said earlier. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's critical infrastructure with hundreds of missiles and drones since Oct. 10, killing dozens of civilians and severely damaging the country's energy system. Russia admitted that Ukraine's energy infrastructure is among its primary targets. According to the Geneva Conventions, targeting vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime. The air raid alert went off in all Ukrainian oblasts but occupied Luhansk Oblast and Crimea between 2-3 p.m. on Jan. 14. It is still ongoing. Explosions were reported in at least 10 Ukrainian regions across the country, such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa oblasts. Local authorities reported that air defense was downing Russian missiles in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts. Two Russian missiles hit a critical infrastructure site in Kharkiv Oblast, leading to emergency power cut-offs, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast of the country, leading to power outages in most of the citys districts and the metros temporary halt, according to multiple media reports. The attack also hit a critical infrastructure facility in the western Lviv Oblast, reported Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi. He did not provide further details but said there might be interruptions in the power and water supply. Story continues Another energy facility was hit in the western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, according to the oblast's governor Svitlana Onyschuk. A fire broke out at the site following the attack, Onyschuk said, adding that there were no casualties. Odesa authorities earlier said the missiles were launched from air and sea. Earlier in the day, Southern Operational Command reported that five Russian missile carriers with a total of 36 Kalibr cruise missiles were detected in the Black Sea. During the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Russia continues to fight against Ukraines civilian infrastructure. We will fight back," he said. Earlier in the day, Russia launched a missile strike on Kyiv, damaging some undisclosed infrastructure in the city and a residential building outside the city. Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo said it had introduced emergency power cuts in 11 Ukrainian oblasts following the attack. The operator also put consumption limits across all Ukrainian oblasts to manage the strain on the system. By Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) -Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, boasted of his forces' prowess on Saturday amid a simmering rivalry with the defence ministry over who should get credit for leading Russia's assault on the Ukrainian town of Soledar. After months of tension between Prigozhin and the military establishment, the split was laid bare on Friday when the defence ministry claimed the capture of Soledar - which Ukraine disputed - and initially made no mention of Wagner's role in months of brutal fighting for the salt-mining town in Ukraine's east. In a video message, Prigozhin described Wagner as a fully independent force with its own aircraft, tanks, rockets and artillery. "They are probably the most experienced army that exists in the world today," he said. The short video contained no overt new criticism of the regular army, whose failings Prigozhin has lambasted in the past. But it did nothing to dispel the sense of resentment he has previously expressed that the private military group has not been properly recognised for its role in the Ukraine war. Prigozhin appeared in camouflage fatigues alongside a man he identified as the commander of the capture of Soledar, during what he said was a trip to award medals to his fighters. RUSSIAN FAILURES Prigozhin's criticism of the military has been fuelled by a long list of Russian failures in Ukraine, including major retreats in the northeast last September and the abandonment of the southern city of Kherson in November. In recent months he has stepped up the role of Wagner, the private group he founded in 2014, and added to its ranks by recruiting thousands of convicts from Russian prisons. But its growing profile has led to friction with the regular army and outright competition this week over who should get credit for capturing Soledar - a victory which, if confirmed, would be the first that Russia has achieved since last summer. Story continues Ukraine said on Saturday its forces were fighting to hold onto control of Soledar, contradicting Russian claims to have captured the town. "Soledar remains under control of our military," Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a video posted on Telegram app, adding that there was street fighting and fighting outside the city and Russian forces were incurring huge losses. Reuters could not verify the battlefield accounts. Prigozhin complained on Friday about what he called constant attempts to "steal victory" from Wagner and belittle its achievements. After omitting any reference to Wagner in its first statement on the capture of the town, the defence ministry issued an unusual follow-up on Friday in which it cited the "courageous and selfless actions" of Wagner assault squads. The wrangling was a hot topic among Russia's influential war bloggers, with one of them, Alexander Kots, describing it as ugly and regrettable. Nearly 11 months into the war, President Vladimir Putin finds himself having to balance the influence of Prigozhin and the defence establishment while seeking to boost his depleted forces and wrest back the initiative from Ukraine. The conflict has exposed poor Russian tactics and confusion in the chain of command - an impression confirmed this week by another shake-up that saw Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov take command of the war, replacing a general appointed only three months earlier. In the light of that, Prigozhin's boasts about Wagner had a pointed feel to them. "The commanders consult with the fighters, and the management consults with the commanders," he said. "It is the strictest discipline that gives us these possibilities. Therefore Wagner has moved forward and will continue to move forward." (Reporting by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Frances Kerry) ZURICH (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's head has spoken with Chinese authorities and the agency welcomed new information about the situation in the country, WHO said on Saturday after Beijing released new data showing a big jump in COVID-19-related deaths. Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Ma Xiaowei, director of Chinas National Health Commission, about the wave of infections which erupted after the country abruptly dismantled its anti-virus regime last month. "WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation," the Geneva-based agency said in a statement. "Chinese officials provided information to WHO and in a press conference on a range of topics, including outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to COVID-19 infection," it said, while also pledging further technical advice and support. Earlier on Saturday China said nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy in early December, a big jump from previously reported figures. The release follows global criticism of China's data. "WHO is analysing this information, which covers early December 2022 to 12 January 2023, and allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China," the U.N. agency said. The WHO said the epidemiology of the latest outbreak, with a rapid and intense wave of infections caused by types of the Omicron variant - which particularly affected older people or those with underlying conditions - was similar to what had been seen in other countries. "The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations, and those requiring critical care. WHO has requested a more detailed breakdown of data by province over time," the agency said. (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) - The leader of Sri Lanka's Catholic Church on Friday praised a Supreme Court decision to order the former president and four officials to pay compensation for the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 260 people. The civil case brought by families of the victims charged that lax security led to the attacks which targeted three churches and three luxury hotels. The church itself was not party to the lawsuit. But Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told reporters he hoped the case would be escalated against former president Maithripala Sirisena and his top security officials. "Based on this verdict we expect this case to be taken forward," Ranjith said. "Justice for the victims will only happen when the entire truth comes out. This decision is just a milestone in that journey." On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered Sirisena, his police chief, two senior intelligence officials and a senior defence ministry official to pay a total of 310 million rupees (about $850,000) from their personal funds as compensation to the families of the victims of the bombings who had brought the civil case before the court. The court said the former president and his officials had failed to prevent the attacks, among the worst in Sri Lanka's turbulent history. Several tourists were also killed and more than 500 people wounded, mostly belonging to the islands minority Christian community. Sirisena and the others involved in the case have made no public comment on the ruling and he did not respond to Reuters requests for reaction. In November, Sri Lanka put on trial 24 men accused of carrying out the attacks. Police filed over 23,000 charges against those suspects, including conspiring to murder, aiding and abetting the attacks, and collecting arms and ammunition. The group includes Mohammad Naufer, who officials say masterminded the attacks and is linked to Islamic State. (Editing by Miral Fahmy and Angus MacSwan) WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide what kind of conduct constitutes a true threat that can be prosecuted as a criminal offense in a case brought by a Colorado man who repeatedly sent abusive messages to a local musician. The appeal brought by Billy Counterman says his conviction for sending Facebook messages to singer-songwriter Coles Whalen is invalid because the jury was not required to make any finding about whether he intended his comments to be genuine threats. If such messages are not true threats, they are deemed protected speech under the Constitution's First Amendment. Counterman's lawyers are asking the court to limit the definition of a true threat to situations in which the defendant intended to threaten the person. Some lower courts have reached that conclusion, while others have said prosecutors only have to show that a reasonable person would consider the message to be a threat. The case is a sequel to a 2015 ruling in which the court threw out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man who made threatening remarks on Facebook aimed at his ex-wife. That case was decided on relatively narrow grounds and did not reach the broader constitutional question raised by Counterman. In Countermans case, prosecutors focused on messages he sent to Whalen on Facebook for two years starting in 2014. Examples included, Ive had tapped phone lines before, what do you fear? and, Youre not being good for human relationships. Die. Dont need you. Whalen, who has said the messages were weird and creepy, did not respond to any of them and ultimately reported them to the police in 2016, according to court documents. Counterman was convicted of one count of stalking and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. The conviction was upheld on appeal, prompting him to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. Lawyers for the state said in court papers that Countermans conviction did not rest purely on the messages, but also on what they characterize as his admission that he had carried out surveillance of Whalen. In one message, he referred to a white Jeep she drove, and in another, he said he had seen her out with her partner. Counterman's lawyers say the state has no evidence aside from the messages to suggest that he spied on Whalen. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The York County Sheriffs Office has made an arrest after bulldog puppies were stolen during a burglary in Charlotte. Deputies said the incident took place Saturday morning. The burglary turned into a pursuit that reached Fort Mill, deputies said. ALSO READ: Reunited: 2 puppies returned to owners after being stolen from home in Monroe Deputies said the suspects wrecked their vehicle near Country Lodge Lane and fled the scene on foot. The puppies were then returned to their home in Charlotte, deputies said. Tyron Watson, 24, was charged with second-degree burglary, larceny after breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, larceny of motor vehicle, and possession of burglary tools. The second suspect has not been caught. (WATCH BELOW: Update: 2 puppies returned to owners after being stolen from home in Monroe) For an idled worker at a Kabul-based aid group, Abaad, that helps abused Afghan women, frightened and often tearful calls are coming in, not only from her clients but also from her female colleagues. A Dec. 24 order from the Taliban barring aid groups from employing women is paralyzing deliveries that help keep millions of Afghans alive, and threatening humanitarian services countrywide. The prohibition is posing one of the biggest policy challenges over Afghanistan for the United States and other countries since the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021 opened the door for the Taliban takeover. A 31-year-old man died after touching the third rail of a Chicago Transit Authority train track in River North late Friday night, police said. The man had fallen onto Brown Line tracks before touching the dangerous, electrified third rail at 10:22 p.m. at 350 N. Wells St., the address of the Merchandise Mart CTA station, authorities said. Advertisement The Cook County medical examiners office identified the man as Rueben Daniel Castro of West Lawn Saturday morning. Authorities transported the man to Northwestern Hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Advertisement Power had been shut while Chicago Fire Department first responders assisted the man at the train tracks, but was later restored to the station. Train operations had returned to normal, the police said after midnight. Police said they are investigating the mans death and classified their inquiry as a death investigation. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty, Photos Courtesy of Noel Garcia Tattoos mark the body with a unique patternbut tattoos, just like anything else, are subject to trends. Currently, a design category defined by long, spearlike lines, symmetrical, tribal-like patterns and cyberpunk precision is flooding the social media feeds of permanent ink enthusiasts. Some of these tattoos look like armor, or veins, or a lattice of tributaries flowing into a river. The effect is simultaneously alien, natural and futuristic. Its also undeniably hard to describe. Someone please name that popular style of tattooing that everyone does now which has all the ornate, medieval, spiky, fine-line detailing and unconnected lines, Jackson Johnson tweeted last week. Tattoos Were Once for Rebels. Is Popularity Killing the Art? Noel Garcia, a Brooklyn-based tattoo artist who goes by wr4th.co on Instagram, calls the style Cybersigilism; sigil, a word derived from Latin, refers to a sign or symbol thought to hold occult or magical power. When reached by The Daily Beast, Garcia was looking forward to a tattoo appointment theyd scheduled for themselves later in the day. Im actually tattooing my face, Garcia said. Its going to be wings in white pink coming down onto the cheekbone area. You know how Mike Tyson has a tribal tattoo on the side? Its going to be kind of like that, but much more subtle and feminine. When Tyson, already infamous for his six-year stint in prison for a rape conviction and for biting a chunk out of fellow heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfields ear during a match, showed up to a fight with a brand-new tribal face tattoo in 2003, it instantly became celebrity legend, sealing his reputation as a fearsome and intimidating presence. With the revival of 2000s trends like tiny Y2K sunglasses, baguette bags and cargo pants currently raging, it stands to reason that tattoos, too, are reflecting the flavors of a not-so-bygone era, filtered through a contemporary and distinctly dystopian lens. Traditional American tattoos tend to be characterized by thick lines of ink, bright colors and a narrow series of imagistic reference points (ships, maidens, I Love Mom) but abstracted Cybersigilist designs, Garcia said, are harder to pin down. Story continues People always want a strong meaning behind their tattoos, and I think with these tattoos, you usually find the meaning after getting them tattooed, Garcia said. They just become a part of the persons body, and that person becomes their own video game character or fashion character or warrior, or whatever you want to call it. They almost act like jewelry adornments that flow with the body. Photos Courtesy of Noel Garcia In January of 2022, Garcia tattooed pop star and former Elon Musk paramour Grimes, who deftly weaves futurist and Anime-informed themes through her art. Garcia ended up tattooing her sternum with a Cybersigilist design in white ink. She said shed had bad luck with creating concepts or finding artists that could realize a vision for her, so she said she just wanted to pick out the cooler artists and have them take control and tell her what looks best on her body, Garcia said. After the Grimes stamp of approval, Garcia got a ton more clients looking to replicate their tattoo style. Garcia said that while they were one of the first tattoo artists to really push this style, they were introduced to it via artists in Mexico City: I feel like the Mexican side of tattooing is a little bit more spooky and punk. Ernesto Ramirez, a Mexico City-based tattoo artist fluent in Cybersigilist designs who goes by @neto_rabia on Instagram, told The Daily Beast that hed seen requests for the style really start to pick up in the last six months. But when I started to do it maybe four years ago, a lot of people were asking me about how I make the tattoos and what kind of tools I used to do it, Ramirez said. Hes happy to share his techniques with anyone who asks. One of the things I want to do is spread this kind of feelingI dont know if in my fantasy its like a disease or a kind of poison, Ramirez said. In the way that I do it, I try to feel something like horror or a dark side, and I want to make the world turn into more of this kind of feeling." Most popular things are very soft, like the movies, Ramirez said. I feel that popular movies are very naive, and I want to introduce more violence, or something hard. Artist Aingel, whose Instagram handle is @cybersigilism, has been tattooing for the last six years and splits her time between Atlanta and New York. After about three years of really trying to push this style, I started to do some bigger pieces and havent really turned back since, she told The Daily Beast. For me, the sigils kind of started as something that just helped me get through a really dark time, and at first I really wasnt able to tattoo them, Aingel said. It was more of a side thing and they were just for me and helped me feel better. After a while, I started being able to offer that to other people. At the end of the day, as long as the people that Im giving tattoos are walking out happy and feeling good about their body, thats the most important meaning. People often dedicate tattoos to outside influencesloved ones or songs or works of art that carry deep significance. Cybersigilism, with its exaggerated, techno-biological grace, feels more like a radical acceptance of the sensual, wordless, often-dark, extremely complex self. 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. TAUNTON A 30-year-old Taunton man has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution for his role in online romance scams, United States Attorney Rachael Rollins said. Francis Okafor was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in federal court in Boston by U.S. Senior District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $1,130,285, Rollins said in a written statement. In August 2022, Okafor pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud conspiracy for his role in the scams, which targeted people in the United States, Rollins said. From approximately May 2018 through August 2021, Okafor and others participated in a series of romance scams designed to defraud victims, Rollins said. Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victims affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. In furtherance of the scheme, Okafor used false foreign passports in the names of others but with his photo to open numerous bank accounts. Leading the packMeet the 2022 Taunton Daily Gazette Girls Cross Country All-Scholastics In turn, co-conspirators directed victims to send money to these accounts, Rollins said. Okafor and his co-conspirators then withdrew the victims money from various bank branches and ATMs and wired the money overseas. In total, more than $1.1 million in fraud proceeds was deposited into fraudulent bank accounts Okafor controlled. United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Rollins Securities, Financial and Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case. This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton: Francis Okofor sentenced to prison for online romance scams Four days before Christmas, while China was battening down the hatches to survive the explosion of Covid-19 infections around the country, the world's largest contract assembler of electronic gadgets quietly finalised plans to relocate some of its Apple iPad and MacBook production to Vietnam. The move by Foxconn Technology Group, on the drawing board since late 2020, is expected to become reality this year, with the first products expected to roll off its plant in Vietnam's Bai Giang province as early as May. Neither Foxconn nor Apple has formally confirmed the shift. Yet the plan aligns with Apple's strategy to make Vietnam the largest final assembler for its products outside mainland China. Taiwan's Foxconn, also known by its corporate name Hon Hai Precision Industry, already has 60,000 people on staff in Vietnam, and announced a US$270 million investment last year to set up a new subsidiary there. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "The uncertainty of and dependency on China have really thrust the importance of knowing who your suppliers are, into the spotlight and into boardrooms", said Sumit Vakil, the co-founder of Resilinc, a consultancy that provides advice on supply chain mapping, monitoring and resilience solutions. "There is no going back to how supply chains operated [before the onset of] Covid-19". An Apple reseller in a makeshift market near the Van Trung Industrial Park in Viet Yen district of Vietnam's Bac Giang province on October 9, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg. alt=An Apple reseller in a makeshift market near the Van Trung Industrial Park in Viet Yen district of Vietnam's Bac Giang province on October 9, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg.> Global manufacturers, which have helped to reinforce China's reputation as "the world's factory" for everything from cocktail umbrellas and clothing to aeroplane parts, have been reducing their reliance on China over the past few years, across a range of industries. Story continues The confluence of several factors has added to the urgency: rising labour costs in China, Donald Trump's tariffs on almost everything made in China, and output disruptions caused by the country's previous zero-Covid approach. Similar shifts are happening elsewhere up and down Apple's supply chain, nowhere more significant than in India. Apple has contracted Taipei-based Wistron Corp to assemble the iPhone SE since 2017 in India. Last September, the world's most valuable company stepped up its Plan B, announcing that it would produce the latest iPhone14 in India within months of its worldwide release. In other words, Apple gave India a major leg up to take the step from making outdated models to fabricating latest releases. "The iPhone 14's mass production schedule in India is still about six weeks behind China, but the gap has improved significantly", wrote TF International Securities' analyst Kuo Ming-chi, perhaps the best-known tracker of Apple's supply chain. "Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that India and China will be able to produce the iPhone 15 at the same time next year." - (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 5, 2022 For now, China is still several rungs above India and Vietnam, according to Bloomberg's analysis of Apple's global supply chain. As many as 121, or 17.7 per cent, of Apple's 2022 suppliers were domiciled in China, operating 2,360 facilities in the country, or 19.3 per cent of the total. That made China the largest global source of Apple's supply chain after the United States. India was in eighth place, with two companies (0.3 per cent) and 278 out of 12,248 global facilities (2.3 per cent), while Vietnam was in 14th place with two companies (0.3 per cent) and 160 facilities (1.3 per cent). "Apple really helped Chinese organisations be recognised as the leading electronic manufacturers, [so] losing this marquee brand will have other organisations looking to do this", said Alan Day, the founder of the UK-based supply chain consultancy State of Flux. The shifting supply chain is having profound effects on the stock prices of publicly traded Apple suppliers. Luxshare Precision Industry, which makes chargers, connectors and cables used in Apple's gadgets, had a topsy-turvy ride on the Shenzhen stock market within the first two trading days of the new year. Its shares plunged 9 per cent on January 4 after Nikkei Asia reported that Apple has slashed its manufacturing orders for the US$169 AirPods earbuds, for which Luxshare is a top supplier. The stock soared the next day when the Financial Times reported that the Dongguan-based manufacturer had been picked by Apple to make iPhones. Workers on the assembly line of Foxconn in Shenzhen on May 26, 2010. Photo: Agence France Presse. alt=Workers on the assembly line of Foxconn in Shenzhen on May 26, 2010. Photo: Agence France Presse.> Luxshare, founded almost two decades ago in the heartland of China's manufacturing power base in Guangdong province, typifies the electronics contract manufacturers that have been lifted by the rising popularity of Apple's iPhones, iPads and their range of accessories. The company's founder Wang Laichun, also known as Grace, worked at Foxconn for a decade before striking out with her brother - who also worked at Foxconn - in 2004 to set up a factory to produce power cables and chargers for Apple products. From 2017 to 2020, revenue contributed by Apple grew from 37 per cent to 69 per cent of Luxshare's total revenue, before rising further to 74 per cent in 2021, as Luxshare started to delve deeper into the Apple supply chain, according to corporate filings. Goertek, which has been making acoustic parts for Apple's AirPod earbuds and other devices in eastern China's Shandong province for two years, is another example. The Shenzhen-listed company slashed its 2022 earnings estimate by 60 per cent, citing a request by a "major overseas client" to halt the production of a smart acoustic device. Even though the company did not name the client, analysts including Kuo have pegged the device as Apple's AirPods Pro. Ofilm, which produces optics and iPhone camera components in the Jiangxi provincial capital of Nanchang, was expelled from Apple's supply chain after it found itself on a sanctions list under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which became US law in December 2021. Ofilm's sales and profit have plunged since, and its stock price has lost three quarters in value. Apple's adjustments of its suppliers - in compliance with US laws, and in response to consumer and technology demands - yield a constant roster of winners and losers. In the year that ended in September 2021, Apple added six Chinese suppliers and discontinued seven. China's draconian zero-Covid approach upended everything, as intermittent lockdowns in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and dozens of Chinese cities where Apple and its suppliers operated wreaked havoc with the supply chain. Shanghai's citywide lockdown last summer disrupted production and shipments among Apple suppliers in the Yangtze River Delta, one of the main engines of China's manufacturing industry. A Covid-19 outbreak last November in Zhengzhou, where Foxconn has an estimated 200,000 workers on staff in one of Apple's biggest stand-alone assemblies, disrupted production of a range of Apple products, especially the iPhone, forcing the company to issue a rare warning that shipments would be delayed, just before the crucial year-end holidays. The latest developments in China have spurred the diversification of supply chains. India, which may officially dethrone China as the world's most populous country, and Vietnam are emerging as the winners. A view of Wistron, a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory, at Narsapura, about 60 km from Bangalore on December 13, 2020.. Photo: Agence France Presse. alt=A view of Wistron, a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory, at Narsapura, about 60 km from Bangalore on December 13, 2020.. Photo: Agence France Presse.> India may produce one in two of the world's iPhones by 2027, compared with the current state of less than 5 per cent, according to a forecast last week by Luke Lin, an analyst at the research unit of Taiwan's DigiTimes newspaper. The forecast is more aggressive than JPMorgan's earlier prediction that India would assemble 25 per cent of total iPhones worldwide by 2025, but is in line with the rapid surge in India's share of iPhone deliveries. India's iPhone shipments doubled from April to December 2022, from the same period in 2021. Vietnam's share of making Apple's MacBooks and AirPods is also expected to rise as contractors, including Chinese ones, rushed there to set up plants. Meanwhile, China remains a key sales market for Apple with strong sales growth. Apple reported 36 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2022 in China, while all its major local competitors, from Oppo to Xiaomi, saw declining sales over the same period, according to data by market research firm Canalys. Chinese suppliers also proved their competitiveness in certain areas. Apple was reportedly considering using the memory chip from YMTC for smartphones in China, but the plan was abandoned amid US scrutiny over China's semiconductor industry. The Chinese screen maker BOE has beat South Korean semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics to win over most new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus display orders for the second half of 2023, in a fresh sign of the codependence between Apple and China, said TF International's Kuo. BOE plans to invest US$400 million to build two factories in Vietnam, according to a Reuters report. The realignment of Apple's supply chain is a mix of changes. Apple has moved orders between different suppliers within China. Luxshare has been picked by Apple to assemble certain iPhone Pro models, orders that would have been reserved for Foxconn. It has also moved orders in different countries under the same supplier such as the Foxconn factories in Vietnam and China, and it shifted orders between suppliers in different countries particularly after the Indian conglomerate Tata Group's purchase of a local plant from Wistron. But this process is likely to become a drag on the agility of Apple's supply chain, Day said. "A key question will be how long the Indian suppliers ... can ramp up to meet these standards", he said. "Apple has worked with, or developed their Chinese suppliers for years and this will not be achieved overnight. Taking this 'driver for perfection' catalyst out of the market may lead to standards slipping within the supply chain". 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 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Tesla has slashed prices in a bid to sell more cars. Getty Images Tesla owners are venting their frustration after missing out on steep price cuts this week. One buyer told Bloomberg she missed out on a $13,000 reduction and won't buy another Tesla. Buyers on a Facebook group in the UK asked if they might get reimbursed after recent purchases. Some Tesla buyers who missed out on big price cuts that could have saved them thousands have lashed out at Elon Musk's electric-car maker. Social-media posts and a report by Bloomberg suggest several owners were angry after Tesla announced big price cuts this week in a bid to sell more cars. Bloomberg spoke to three recent buyers who all missed out on reductions of $10,000 for the Model 3 and $13,000 for the Model Y. "I feel like I got duped. I feel like I got taken advantage of as a consumer," Marianne Simmons told Bloomberg after paying more than $77,000 in September for a Model Y. "Right off the bat, I'm out $13,306. It's such a large reduction that it's going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle," she said. Simmons told the outlet she'd never buy another Tesla as a result. The cuts follow reductions Tesla first made in Asian markets that briefly left the cars about 40% cheaper in China than in the US. Reuters reported that the cuts sparked protests in some Tesla outlets in China. Tesla has also slashed prices in European countries like France, Germany, and the UK. Some who said they'd recently bought a Tesla vented their frustrations on a Facebook group in the UK. "Feel a little short changed here as only collected my model 3 rwd in December it would be nice if Tesla could soften the blow in some way shape or form," one user posted. According to The Telegraph, another user posted: "I just picked up the car yesterday. What should I do? Go to Tesla and give back the car? I can't believe after a few hours from picking up the car I lost 5k." Jack Bradham told Bloomberg that the black Model Y long-range edition Tesla now costs $12,000 less than the $69,000 he paid for one in December. Story continues There is currently no indication that Tesla will reimburse recent buyers. "There's no one to contact. I called and tweeted to them, no response," Bradham told Bloomberg. James Baggott, the editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine, told the Press Association news agency that UK Tesla buyers who placed orders at the old prices could cancel, but that those who already had their cars were stuck. "This will also have a big impact on used-Tesla prices. Our research has found Tesla prices fell by more than a fifth last year and these new price cuts will have a severe negative impact on the used-car market," he added. The Model Y and Model 3 were the two best-selling cars in the UK in December with almost 16,400 registrations even before the price cuts. Tesla cut the price for a Model Y by 7,000 to about 45,000, or $55,000; while an entry-level Model 3 is now 8,100 cheaper at about 43,000, or $52,600, the Evening Standard reported. Tesla said in a statement to the Press Association that some costs had stopped rising, "giving us the confidence to pass these through to our customers." "As local vehicle production continues to increase and we gain further economies of scale globally, we are making Model 3 and Model Y even more accessible" in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the company said in the statement. Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. Were you affected by the Tesla price cuts? Get in touch at rhogg@insider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider JAKARTA (Reuters) - Thousands of workers held rallies in Indonesia's capital Jakarta on Saturday, urging parliament to reject a presidential decree that critics say would erode employees' rights and environmental protections. President Joko Widodo issued the emergency decree last month, replacing a controversial jobs law in Southeast Asia's largest economy, a move some legal experts say violated a court ruling. The Constitutional Court had ruled the 2020 Jobs Creation Law was flawed, saying there had been insufficient public consultation before the law was passed. It ordered lawmakers to complete a renewed process by November. Protester Damar Panca Mulia, 38, called the decree a government ploy to ensure the implementation of the job law. "This regulation degrades worker's welfare, reduces labour protections and causes widespread damage - on agrarian issues, the environment, protection of women," he said. "Job creation should be in line with workers' welfare improvement, but this decree runs counter to it. That's why we oppose it." Protesters held a banner saying "Say no to outsourcing", while others had signs reading, "Refuse job creation emergency decree because there is no emergency situation". Joko Heriono, 59, said the regulation created uncertainty for workers as they could easily be fired and would get lower severance pay. Labour party chairman Said Iqbal said outsourcing and minimum wage regulation in the decree were among the issues of concern. "We don't want the state to become only an agent for dirty entrepreneurs to weaken workers' welfare," Said told reporters. The Jobs Creation Law, revising more than 70 other laws, had been welcomed by foreign investors for cutting red tape. Parliament will assess the legal standing of the decree in the current sitting, its deputy speaker said this week. Last week, a group of Indonesians asked the Constitutional Court to carry out a judicial review of the regulation. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe; Editing by William Mallard) By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of near total power in central Tunis on Saturday, demanding he step down as they marked the anniversary of a key date in the 2011 revolution that brought democracy. The central Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the traditional site for major demonstrations, was crowded with thousands of protesters waving Tunisian flags, according to a Reuters journalist there, amid chants of "the people demand the fall of the regime". A heavy police presence remained outside the Interior Ministry building on the street, along with water cannon. "Tunisia is going through the most dangerous time in its history. Saied took control of all authority and struck at democracy. The economy is collapsing. We will not be silent," said Said Anouar Ali, a 34-year-old demonstrator. Protesters had pushed past police and metal barricades to reach the avenue, defying initial efforts by the authorities to keep separate several parallel protests that had been called by different political parties and civil society organisations. "We were on Bourguiba in January 2011 when Saied was not present... today he is closing Bourguiba to us. We will reach it whatever the price," said Chaima Issa, an activist who took part in the 2011 revolution before the crowd pushed through the barriers. Another major opposition political party, aligned with the pre-revolution autocracy, held a separate rally in downtown Tunis after it was banned from marching near the presidential palace in Carthage. Saied shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and began to reshape the political system, but low turnout for December's election of a new, mostly powerless, legislature revealed little public appetite for his changes. Meanwhile the economy is failing, with staple goods disappearing from shelves, and the government has not yet been able to secure an international bailout with state finances facing bankruptcy. Story continues The main political forces, including most parties and the labour union, now oppose Saied's project, with many of them calling it an anti-democratic coup. However, they have failed to repair deep ideological and personal fissures that divided them for years rather than forming a united front. Many parties still reject a role for the biggest party, the Islamist Ennahda. The powerful UGTT labour union seeks a national dialogue but will not invite any party that accuses Saied of a coup. The protests come 12 years to the day after the ousting of former autocrat, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, and Jan. 14 is seen by most Tunisian parties and civil society groups as the anniversary of the revolution. However, Saied unilaterally changed the official anniversary date and has said he regards Jan. 14 as a moment when the revolution went astray. While there has been no major crackdown on opponents of Saied, and police have allowed most protests against him, their handling of demonstrations on Jan. 14 last year was more forceful, prompting condemnation from rights activists. (Reporting by Tarek Amara, additional reporting by Latifa Guesmi, writing by Angus McDowall, Editing by Angus MacSwan) A traffic stop on Interstate 95 turned up 32 bags of methamphetamine pills, several bags of marijuana and a tube of what appeared to be liquid PCP, according to the Sumter County Sheriffs Office. On Monday, the deputies from the Sumter County Sheriffs Office stopped a rental car being driven by Alexis Daniel Mendez. Lieutenant Jason Tassone, who pulled over the car, said that the 2022 Toyota 4 Runner was speeding and braked suddenly before he pulled it over for following too closely to the vehicle ahead of it. When he approached the vehicle, Tassone said that he smelled marijuana. Marijuana residue was in plain view inside of the car, according to a statement from the sheriffs department. A search of the car, which was was rented in New York and was scheduled to be returned in Miami, found the bags of meth and other drugs wrapped in clothing, the statement said. The methamphetamine pills are estimated to have a street value of $160,000, according to the sheriffs office. Sumter Sheriff Anthony Dennis said that he was committed to keeping these dangerous drugs off the street. Officers also arrested the two passengers, Ezequiel Then-Tejada and Luilly Eugenio Angeles Acosta. Mendez, Then-Tejada and Acosta have been charged with possession of schedule I drugs and trafficking in meth, 400 grams or more. All three received a $110,000 bond. Then-Tejada was released after paying bond, while Mendez and Acosta remained at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center as of Saturday afternoon. The arrest came just days before the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office unsealed a 43-person indictment targeting an Upstate meth-trafficking operation. In a press conference Thursday, Attorney General Alan Wilson described how convicted drug traffickers from inside South Carolina prisons ran command and control for a meth trafficking operation. Using cellphones smuggled into prison, they coordinated with accomplices, including alleged members of Mexican cartels, to bring methamphetamine from Atlanta into the Upstate via interstate highways, Wilson said. Thats not to say that it isnt happening in other areas of our state, Wilson said. There certainly are other veins and arteries that run through our state that support that kind of illicit activity. LUTZERATH (Reuters) - Around 6,000 protesters - including climate activist Greta Thunberg - marched through mud and rain to the German village of Luetzerath on Saturday, according to a police estimate, demonstrating against the expansion of an opencast lignite mine. The clearing of the village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia was agreed between RWE and the government in a deal that allowed the energy giant to demolish Lutzerath in exchange for its faster exit from coal and saving five villages originally slated for destruction. "This is a betrayal of present and fuure generations... Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable," Thunberg said on a podium, after she marched with a cardboard sign saying in German "Luetzi stays", using a shortened name of the village. As the protesters neared the village, they were confronted by police in riot gear, and some used batons to push the protesters back. Regional police said on Twitter it had used force to stop people from breaking through barriers an nearing the danger zone at the edge of the excavation area. Earlier this week, police cleared out protesters from buildings they have occupied for almost two years in attempt to stop the nearby mine's expansion. On Saturday, only few remained camping out in treehouses and an underground tunnel, but thousands turned up to protest against the mine, which activists say symbolises Berlin's failing climate policy. The president of North Rhine-Westphalia told German radio Deutschlandfunk on Saturday that energy politics was "not always pretty" but that the coal was needed more than ever in light of the energy crisis confronting Europe's biggest economy. Earlier Economy Minister Robert Habeck told Spiegel on Friday that Lutzerath was the "wrong symbol" to protest against. "It is the last place where brown coal will be mined - not a symbol for more-of-the-same, but for the final frontier." But activists have said Germany should not be mining any more lignite and focus on expanding renewable energy instead. (Reporting by Petra Wischgoll, Andreas Kranz, Andreas Buerger and Max Schwarz; additional reporting by Anneli Palmen and Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) With more than 250,000 followers and 2.7 million likes, Chef Way grew to stardom on TikTok for his cooking videos. But now, the social media influencer who is an assistant district attorney in Texas is facing backlash for his previous comments belittling Black women particularly those with dark skin. In a series of deleted tweets that date back to 2015 from @WaymoTheGod, Chef Way, whose real name is Waymond Wesley, posted demeaning photos and made misogynistic comments about Black women. In one resurfaced tweet, Wesley shared a photo of a Black woman, calling her too dark. In another tweet, he also posted a photo of a Black woman alongside a photo of a dumpster, comparing the two and writing that he saw "no difference. His comments are causing backlash from many Black women on social media, like Twitter user @FromAerin, who have resurfaced screenshots of the old tweets and account, both of which have been deleted. One user said she witnessed Wesleys tweets in real time and that he bullied dark skinned Black women and girls to the point where they deleted their accounts. I was there. I saw those tweets in real time. He bullied dark skinned Black women and girls to the point where they deleted their accounts. But he wanna be a viral influencer. How many girls gave up because of his harassment? Does ChefWay__ think about that? Prolly not. Optimus Fine (@sunnydaejones) January 10, 2023 In a tweet, another user said that Wesley caused immeasurable harm by harassing Black women and girls and that his accountability is long overdue. Got folks are asking if I regret contacting a few of @ChefWay__'s brand partners & encouraging them to cut ties. The answer is a resounding "no." The harm he has caused to Black women/girls is immeasurable and accountability is long overdue. His downfall is of his own creation. T.L. Gill (@LimitlessShe) January 10, 2023 Since the tweets have been resurfaced by users, Wesley issued an apology from his @ChefWay__ Twitter account last week acknowledging his past comments. To those Ive hurt with my past tweets that have resurfaced, I am deeply sorry, he wrote. That was a moment in my life where I was sick in more ways than one. Cooking saved me. You have watched a flawed man heal. I will continue to heal and learn. Thanks for being along for the journey. To those Ive hurt with my past tweets that have resurfaced, I am deeply sorry. That was a moment in my life where I was sick in more ways than one. Cooking saved me. You have watched a flawed man heal. I will continue to heal and learn. Thanks for being along for the journey. Chef Way (@ChefWay__) January 9, 2023 While many are angered at Wesleys past comments, some are giving him a chance to redeem himself. In a statement issued to ABC News from Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg she stated how Wesley, who works in her office, is still recovering from past issues and that she is a believer in second chances. Mr. Wesley has explained that these posts came during a period in which he was struggling with serious personal issues, including alcohol addiction, the statement read. Prior to joining our office, Mr. Wesley went through treatment and has worked with the State Bar of Texas to resolve his issues. His recovery is ongoing. I am a believer in second chances, and Mr. Wesley has conducted himself professionally since joining our staff. I am confident that will continue. Oggs office has not replied to NBC News request for comment. Nonetheless, some companies have cut ties with Wesley in his capacity as a social media chef, including food and travel network Tastemade and Anova Culinary, a cooking company based in San Francisco. Anova CEO Stephen Svajian announced Monday on Twitter that the company was ending its affiliation with Wesley asap and that he doesnt represent the values of the brand. I believe that brands are about values. We want to partner with individuals that reflect our own values, Svajian tweeted. Chef way clearly does not represent the values that we hold dear. Thanks to those that called this out. We need to do a better job vetting people that represent our brand. I believe that brands are about values. We want to partner with individuals that reflect our own values. Chef way clearly does not represent the values that we hold dear. Thanks to those that called this out. We need to do a better job vetting people that represent our brand. Stephen Svajian (@ssvajian) January 9, 2023 Despite Wesleys apology, and the statement from the DAs office, many on social media say his previous actions remain unforgivable. Women of color have been too forgiving in the past, which put some of us in undesirable positions and unhealthy situations, one user tweeted. Accepting this apology may not be in our best interests at this time. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A former payroll manager for the Art Institute of Chicago has been indicted on federal charges alleging he embezzled more than $2 million in museum funds over a 12-year period by falsifying payments to employees. Michael Maurello, 56, of Beach Park, was charged in an indictment made public Friday with two counts each of wire fraud and bank fraud. The more serious bank fraud charges carry a maximum of 30 years in prison if he is convicted. Advertisement An arraignment date has not been set. Court records indicate prosecutors intend to ask that Maurello be held without bond. A lawyer for Maurello was not listed on the court docket as of Friday afternoon. Advertisement According to the indictment, Maurello redirected museum funds to his personal bank accounts by designating the payments in the payroll system as having been made to other employees or former employees. When the museums assistant controller asked Maurello in January 2020 about one of the payments, Maurello falsely stated that the transaction had been a test of the payroll system, according to the charges. To hide the scheme, Maurello edited and altered payroll reports, falsely changing the employees names and the dates and dollar amounts of the payments, the indictment stated. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The Art Institute said in a written statement Friday that the fraud was first discovered in 2019, after a review of financial control procedures found unusual account activity. Maurello was terminated for cause and the matter was immediately referred to law enforcement, according to the statement. This individual stole in excess of $2 million from the organization over the course of approximately a decade, the statement read. The cumulative loss was significant, but because of the length of time and manner in which it was taken, it did not impact decisions around staffing, payroll, scholarship funding, programming, or other financial aspects of the organization. The museum has since implemented additional controls and procedures to help detect and prevent any future malfeasance, and the losses are being recovered through insurance, the statement read. With its famous 1894 bronze lions decorating the exterior, the Art Institute of Chicago at 111 S. Michigan Ave. holds nearly 300,000 artworks from all over the world. Maurello isnt the first employee of one of Chicagos famed museums to recently be accused of stealing. Advertisement In 2017, Caryn Benson, a former data specialist at the Field Museum, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for stealing nearly $1 million from museum coffers and using it to fund a lavish lifestyle, including luxury cars and jewelry and even to pay rent for a friends South Side apartment. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Investors who take an interest in Bytes Technology Group plc (LON:BYIT) should definitely note that the CEO & Director, Neil Murphy, recently paid UK3.80 per share to buy UK169k worth of the stock. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 1.2%. See our latest analysis for Bytes Technology Group The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bytes Technology Group In fact, the recent purchase by Neil Murphy was the biggest purchase of Bytes Technology Group shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK4.10. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Bytes Technology Group share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price. In the last twelve months Bytes Technology Group insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Bytes Technology Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. 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. Bytes Technology Group insiders own about UK16m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Bytes Technology Group Tell Us? It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Bytes Technology Group we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Bytes Technology Group, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. But note: Bytes Technology Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, but not derivative transactions. 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. Join A Paid User Research Session Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here A NYC Ferry sails in the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge on January 8, 2022, in New York City. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images Treasure hunters are searching for mammoth tusks in New York City's East River. A gold miner on Joe Rogan's podcast claimed that thousands were dumped there between 1928 and 1958. The American Museum of Natural History has disputed the claim. Treasure hunters are flocking to New York City's East River searching for mammoth tusks after a prominent fossils collector claimed millions of dollars worth of them dumped there almost a century ago. "I'm going to start a bone rush," John Reeves, an Alaskan gold miner said during a December 30 episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience." Reeves, reading what he said was a draft report from The American Museum of Natural History, said that thousands of mammoth tusks were dumped in between East River Drive and 65th Street between 1928 and 1958. The bones, he claimed on the podcast, were being sent to The American Museum of Natural History but were unfit to be displayed there. "Let me tell you something about mammoth bones, mammoth tusks they're extremely valuable," Reeves said. PIX11 reported that several groups were hunting for the treasure, including Connor Rogers, who was captaining the Ronald P. Jensen survey vessel, which is equipped with $1 million worth of high-tech hydrographic devices. "If it looks promising," Rogers said, of scans with the high-tech devices "we'll send a physical guy, a diver, down to put his hands on it." Don Gann, a commercial driver who has been searching for the tusks for the past two weeks told The Associated Press: "I think the chances are just as good as the lottery. And people buy those tickets every day." However, in a statement to The AP, The American Museum of Natural History disputed Reeves's claims were false. "We do not have any record of the disposal of these fossils in the East River, nor have we been able to find any record of this report in the museum's archives or other scientific sources," the museum said. The American Museum of Natural History did not immediately return Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Insider A Cobb County judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a longtime Cobb and Douglas County pediatrician who has been accused of groping a 13-year-old girl. Channel 2 Action News was in the courtroom on Tuesday when Sarah Barber, now 18 years old, took the stand against Dr. Richard Gluckman. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] She says the pediatrician groped her when she went to his Douglasville office for a sports physical in January 2018 so she could try out for the soccer team. Barber testified that Gluckman groped her breasts and pelvic area during her physical and even allegedly shoved his groin near her during a scoliosis test. It felt to me like I was shrinking and everything around me was going and time had just stopped. I was like, when is his hand going to leave this area of my body, Barber testified. TRENDING STORIES: Channel 2 does not typically identify children involved in criminal investigations, but Barber said she hoped she would help other alleged victims. The trial was declared a mistrial because of a problem with some of the evidence provided in the case. The decision was not a judgment on the merits of the case. Barbers attorneys say they plan to continue with the lawsuit and a new trial. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] On his Friday night show, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson was elated when Rep Troy Nehls of Texas appeared to light up a cigar live on his show. Mr Carlson was defending the right of members of the House of Representatives to smoke inside their congressional offices, something they are now allowed to do since Republicans regained a thin majority in the lower chamber of Congress and lifted a ban. Contrasting smoking tobacco with the use of marijuana and crack, Mr Carlson wondered why tobacco is considered so dangerous when, in his view, the government does not feel the same way about other controlled substances. Mr Nehls was invited on to the show to discuss how being allowed to smoke in an office perhaps one of the only offices in the US where this is permissible was all about freedom. There was little consideration given to the very well-documented, multiple health issues caused by smoking. Mr Carlson began his interview with the congressman by wondering aloud: So you have to kind of wonder, why is tobacco so dangerous. He then congratulated Mr Nehls for standing up for the most American of all pleasures tobacco. He added: Im sorry to say it, it founded the country. So denying lung cancer exists is apparently not off limits for Tucker now? https://t.co/t5XXe50DVC Matt Royer (@royermattw) January 14, 2023 Given the rose-tinted view of tobacco in the segment, the Fox News host was roundly mocked on Twitter, with humourist George Hahn dubbing him: The f***ing dumbest. Vanity Fair correspondent and podcaster Molly Jong-Fast characterised Carlsons stance as Getting cancer to own the libs. Writer Bob Cesca framed it as an example of how: Trumpism is a suicide cult. Even though Mr Carlsons show often revolves around crossing lines that most thought uncrossable, many were still incredulous. Story continues So denying lung cancer exists is apparently not off limits for Tucker now? wrote Matt Royer, chief of staff for Young Democrats of America. Mr Nehls produced the cigar from his pocket where three were visible toward the end of the interview and while he appeared to light it, no smoke was readily visible. Mr Carlson said the congressman was striking a blow for freedom, adding that cigar smoke was the smell of freedom. He concluded: We appreciate you coming on tonight and standing up for Americanness. ISTANBUL (AP) Sweden and Finland are unlikely to be able to join NATO before June, a senior Turkish official said Saturday. The Nordic states applied to join the Western military alliance in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine, but their membership must be approved by all 30 NATO states. Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve the deal, with Ankara linking accession to stricter counterterrorism measures. It really depends on how fast they move and how wide and deep they move on these issues, said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman and foreign policy adviser for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. What theyre telling us is the new laws will be fully effective and completed by June, but maybe there are some things they can do before," Kalin said. Turkey has demanded that Sweden and Finland tighten laws to rein in the activities of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt. In principle we would like to see them (Sweden and Finland) in NATO, Kalin told foreign journalists in Istanbul. What they say is that they need a little bit more time. We told them You have to meet these conditions, meaning that they have to send a serious message to the PKK. Ankara recognizes the Swedish and Finnish commitment to changing anti-terror laws in accordance with an agreement signed between the three countries at last Junes NATO summit, he added. Stockholm is fully committed to implementing the agreement that was signed last year in Madrid, but the country needs six more months to write new laws that would allow the judicial system to implement the new definitions of terrorism. The timetable for presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey could also play a role, Kalin said. The polls are currently scheduled for June 18, but the timing of the Mecca pilgrimage and a religious holiday could see them brought forward a month. Any NATO deal must be ratified by parliament, which is likely to go into recess before the elections. Story continues Officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland will meet in Brussels in February, but Kalin warned that incidents such as the hanging of an effigy of Erdogan in Stockholm on Wednesday could have a negative impact on negotiations. We believe in this process and we want to make progress, but if these incidents continue, it's not going to look good on them and it will certainly affect the process it will slow down progress, he said. Kalin also spoke about the war in Ukraine, and Turkeys rapprochement with Syria. He defended Ankaras decision not to join Western sanctions on Russia, pointing to the grain deal and prisoner exchanges as successes for its role as an intermediary. Such localized moments of de-escalation would help bring an end to the war. If the goal (of sanctions) was to change Russian behavior and end the war, I dont think thats been achieved, he said. Referring to talks to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus, Kalin said the initial meeting between the neighbors defense ministers at the end of December could be extended, with foreign ministers possibly meeting in February. We will see how these meetings go, what kind of outcomes they produce and then, depending on that, we will talk about a possible meeting at the level of the president, he said. Erdogan has been a bitter critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the outbreak of the civil war 11 years ago and has thrown his support behind rebel groups fighting for Assads overthrow. The Turkish president, however, is under intense pressure at home to return Syrian refugees amid an economic crisis. (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is offering free advertisements to brands that advertise on its platform, an attempt to woo brands back to the social-media platform, which has seen its ad business deteriorate following Elon Musk's takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Twitter is dangling free ad space by offering to match advertisers' ad spending up to $250,000, the report said, citing emails reviewed by the Journal. Twitter did not respond to Reuters request for a comment after business hours. (Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Russia has sent two more echelons with personnel and military equipment to Belarus. Source: Belaruski Hajun, an independent Belarusian military monitoring media outlet Details: Belaruski Hajun has confirmed the information about the arrival of several new echelons of the Russian Armed Forces with personnel and military equipment in Belarus. Reportedly, two echelons of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been sent from Kantemirovka railway station (Voronezh Oblast, Russian Federation) on 8 and 9 January. The first echelon consisted of 43 carriages, of which there was 1 passenger carriage (about 50 people) and 42 platform carriages. It arrived at the Slonim railway station (Grodno Oblast, Belarus) on 11 January at 00:15. According to Belaruski Hajun, minimum two Ural fuel trucks, two armoured personnel carriers, six trucks (Ural and Kamaz truck, some KUNGs military vehicles), and one trailer (generator), one Kamaz truck crane, two MAZ fuel trucks and one UAZ Patriot have arrived among the equipment in the echelon. Some vehicles had a "Z" sign. The next day, 12 January at 08:00, another echelon of the Russian Armed Forces arrived at the Slonim station from Kantemirovka, which had 52 train cars in total, 3 passenger cars (150 people) and 49 platform cars. At least 91 units of equipment and about 200 personnel arrived in Belarus from Russia this time in total. Previously: On 11 January, Belaruski Hajun reported that another military echelon, consisting of 15 passenger and 10 cargo cars, as well as 15 platform cars with wheeled and tracked equipment, arrived from Russia at the Chepino railway station in the Vitebsk Oblast of Belarus. British intelligence has reported that while Russia maintains a significant number of troops in Belarus, they are unlikely to constitute a real offensive force, and the new deployment of Russian aircraft is not in preparation for any additional offensive operations against Ukraine. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) -Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said late on Saturday that Britain would send 14 of its main battle tanks along with additional artillery support to Ukraine, disregarding criticism from the Russian Embassy in London. A squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks and around 30 self-propelled AS90 guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow, the British prime minister's office said in a statement. The UK will also begin training Ukrainian forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days. "As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the Prime Minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war," a spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement. "Alongside his closest military advisors, he has analysed the military picture, looked at the strategic impact of the UKs support and identified a window where he thinks the UK and its allies can have maximum impact." The announcement follows a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier on Saturday during which, Sunak "outlined the UK's ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems." Sunak's office said earlier this week that Britain would coordinate its support with allies after Germany, France and the United States all indicated last week they would provide armoured vehicles to Ukraine. The office also said that the defence minister would update the British parliament with details of the security support on Monday. The Russian Embassy in London said the decision to send the tanks would drag out the confrontation, lead to more victims including civilians, and was evidence of "the increasingly obvious involvement of London in the conflict". "As for the Challenger 2 tanks, they are unlikely to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield, but they will become a legitimate large target for the Russian artillery," the embassy said, according to comments cited by the TASS news agency. Story continues BATTLE TANK The Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to attack other tanks, and has been in service with the British Army since 1994. It has been deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq, according to the army. "The prime minister and President Zelenskiy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland's offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks," Sunak's spokesperson said. Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address published before the detailed British announcement, called the expected help "important" for Ukraine's defence. "It's really what is needed," Zelenskiy said. "And I believe that similar decisions will still be made by other partners those who understand why such evil cannot be given a single chance." (Reporting by Michael Holden and Lidia Kelly;Editing by Mark Heinrich, Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski, and Deepa Babington) Chicago police investigate the scene on the morning of Dec. 30, 2011, at M & M Quick Foods in the 1200 block of North Austin Boulevard where off-duty Officer Clifton Lewis was shot and killed. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) A Cook County judge on Friday denied bail for a man who has been incarcerated for more than 10 years while awaiting trial in the 2011 slaying of an off-duty police officer, dashing the hopes of family members in the courtroom. Tyrone Clay, 40, is charged with murder, armed robbery and other felonies in the shooting death of Officer Clifton Lewis. His attorneys sought his release during a bail hearing, alleging numerous problems with the evidence in the case built by police and prosecutors. Advertisement Clay and his family have maintained his innocence during his unusually long wait for a trial. Hes going to be hurting, Clays mother, Lavetta Maxwell said after the hearing. Im afraid for my son. Advertisement As the judge who has been critical of the slow delivery of evidence in the case made her ruling, gasps could be heard in the courtroom, while a relative of Clays stormed out. Clay dropped his head in his hands, while his mother tried to soothe him from the gallery. Lewis was killed while working a second job as a security guard at a West Side convenience store after he was shot by two masked men at M&M Quick Foods in the 1200 block of North Austin Boulevard in December 2011. Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis (Chicago Police Department) Prosecutors have charged Clay and two other men in the case that has dragged on for more than a decade. Prosecutors allege that Clay and Alexander Villa shot Lewis while Edgardo Colon served as their getaway driver. Clay has been awaiting trial while attorneys have argued over whether his videotaped statements should be shown to a jury. His attorneys have said he couldnt waive his Miranda rights due to limited intelligence and verbal comprehension. Clays attorneys filed a motion in April asking Cook County Judge Erica Reddick to reconsider whether Clay should be released pretrial. He has been held without bail since his arrest in January of 2012. Heres someone who has been in jail for 11 years, his public defender, Marijane Placek, said after the hearing. I really dont understand it. During the bail hearing, prosecutors contended that Clay fired multiple shots down at Lewis after Villa also shot the officer. Assistant States Attorney Andrew Varga said Colon implicated Clay and Villa in the slaying after he was arrested on unrelated weapons charges in January 2012. Placek countered that the evidence prosecutors have against Clay is weak, based on, she said, two witnesses: Colon, who has recanted and another man who she said is recorded giving conflicting statements. She pointed to ongoing difficulties in receiving evidence from police and prosecutors as well as allegations the defendants have made of police and prosecutorial misconduct. Advertisement The only thing that they have is two corrupted witnesses, she said. Placek told the judge that if released, Clay would live with his mother and have the support of multiple family members, many of whom were in court Friday. She said he received a barber certification while in jail and had a job waiting for him in a Lombard barber shop. He has not received any major infraction from the jail, Placek said. He has in fact been using his time wisely. Maxwell said she understood the gravity of the situation but had hoped for another outcome. Somebody got killed. My heart goes out to the family, Maxwell said after the hearing. My son did not do this. Advertisement In giving her ruling, Reddick said Illinois law provides that defendants charged with an offense that carries a mandatory life sentence shall be held without bail when the proof is evident or the presumption is great. Reddick said she found that the proof was evident, even though she said the presumption was not great. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The defendants have appeared in court a handful of times in recent weeks and months, tussling over access to evidence, with defense attorneys accusing police and prosecutors of failing to meet their discovery obligations and Reddick appearing to grow more displeased at delays. Im not interested in any more of fantastical tales of why (the evidence) hasnt been produced, Reddick said to a city attorney during a hearing last week. At issue are Chicago Police Department documents related to a joint CPD and federal investigation into the Spanish Cobras street gang called Operation Snake Doctor, during which defense attorneys say police generated information about the Lewis killing. Federal prosecutors, though, have maintained that releasing some of the documentation would violate federal grand jury secrecy rules, leaving Reddick to order city attorneys to untangle the evidence and turn over everything possible. Colon is awaiting a new trial after his conviction was thrown out by an Illinois appellate court, which said his constitutional rights were violated when police continued questioning him after he indicated he wanted a lawyer. A Cook County judge and an appellate court agreed that the statements should be thrown out. Advertisement Villa was convicted in 2019 but has not been sentenced and has a pending motion for a new trial. mabuckley@chicagotribune.com LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Saturday called the execution by Iran of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari a barbaric act, and imposed sanctions on Iran's prosecutor general in response. The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency had earlier reported the execution of the former Iranian deputy defence minister who had been sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain. Britain had said it should not follow through with the death penalty. "I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter. "This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people." British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also tweeted to say: "This barbaric act deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms. This will not stand unchallenged." Britain later said it had imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran's prosecutor general, "because he is and has been responsible for, engaging in, providing support for and promoting serious human rights violations in Iran". "Sanctioning him today underlines our disgust at Alireza Akbari's execution," Cleverly said. "The Prosecutor General is at the heart of Iran's use of the death penalty. We're holding the regime to account for its appalling human rights violations." (Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Angus MacSwan) KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russian attacks on civilian targets could be stopped only if Ukraine's Western partners supplied necessary weapons. "What is needed for this? Those weapons which are in the depots of our partners and which our soldiers are waiting for so much," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, after a series of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. "The whole world knows what and how to stop those who sow death. I thank everyone who helps us in this!" (Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Frances Kerry) (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russian missile attacks on Saturday struck energy targets, causing new disruptions in energy supplies, particularly in Kyiv and Kharkiv regions. "Unfortunately, there were hits on energy infrastructure," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "In this connection, the most difficult situation is in Kharkiv region and Kyiv region." (Reporting by Ron Popeski; editing bu Diane Craft) On Saturday, Ukrainian air defence destroyed 25 of 38 Russian missiles of various types. Source: Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Quote: "In total, 25 out of 38 missiles of various types have been destroyed by this time. In particular, [these included] 18 Kh-101/Kh-555 air- and sea-launched cruise missiles and Kalibr missiles, [and] seven Kh-59 guided air missiles." Details: On 14 January, Russian occupation forces launched a massive missile attack on critical infrastructure targets. Russian forces launched X-101/X-555 cruise missiles from eight Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea area and Kalibr missiles from surface ships and submarines from the Black Sea at around 13:00, which makes 23 air- and sea-based cruise missiles in total. At the same time, the activity of Russian tactical aviation was observed in the airspace in various directions. Five Kh-59 guided air missiles were launched from Su-35 fighters. Five Kh-22 cruise missiles were fired from five Tu-22M3 long-range bombers (one of these missiles hit a high-rise building in Dnipro). An air defence system was activated in the area of responsibility of all air commands Centre, Pivden (South), Skhid (East) and Zakhid (West). "As of 18:30, an anti-aircraft battle continues in the country's east and south. The enemy continues to attacj, using tactical aircraft. Five more Kh-59 guided air missiles have been launched, four of which have been downed by our anti-aircraft defence!", the message states. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! LONDON (AP) U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks. Nine people were killed and 64 others wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted. Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement. It didn't say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources. Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners. Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have been treading carefully. The Czech Republic and Poland have provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland has also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv. Earlier this month, France said it would send AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, designated light tanks in French. The U.S. and Germany announced the same week that they would send Bradley fighting vehicles and Marder armored personnel carriers, respectively, for the first time. Story continues Sunak's announcement came as Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days. In Dnipro, rescuers were using a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. He also said there were likely people under the rubble. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning, In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel. Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi. Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter. Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles have been intercepted over his province. Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down. Earlier in the day, explosions also rocked the capital, Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual. It's likely the explosions came ahead of the warning sirens because the attack was by ballistic missiles, which are faster than cruise missiles or drones. According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north. The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down, he told local media. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources. An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far. This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1. On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region," governor Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said. In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is most intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Reznichenko said. The attacks follow conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraine's embattled east. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town, a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar said Saturday that the fiece battles for Soledar are continuing. Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere. But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. Western officials and analysts say the two towns importance is more symbolic than strategic. ___ Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine "(Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelenskyy initiated the Peace Formula, Dzheppar told the council. Read also: President Zelenskyys 10-point peace formula, full text of speech to G20 in Bali We believe that its 10 points can bring back security and justice not only to Ukraine, but to the entire world. We invite all responsible nations to join and to contribute to peace and the rule of law by facilitating and promoting the implementation of the Peace Formula Plan. Dzheppar stressed that the plan is based on the principles of the UN Charter and is meant to guarantee food, nuclear and energy security, and to prevent ecocide and future aggression. She also revealed the value of the damage Russia has caused to Ukraine infrastructure, which she said was estimated at about $127 billion. The restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure will become "one of the largest investment projects ever," she said. Read also: UN peace formula summit to take place in New York on Feb. 24, says Ukrainian diplomat "Ukraine has become the largest construction site in Europe, which provides a wide range of opportunities for international partners to use the best practices in the field of engineering, construction and technology transfer, Dzheppar told the council. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in September said the Ukrainian government had identified about $300-$500 billion in Russian assets frozen in various countries that could be used for the restoration of the country. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Russian reparations for Ukraine on Nov. 14. President Zelenskyy first announced his peace formula at a November summit of the Group of 20 major economies. It includes restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, release of all prisoners and deportees, the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes, and the provision of security guarantees for Ukraine. Story continues Read also: EU Council president calls for Russias suspension from UN Security Council He also invited his partners each to lead the implementation of one of the points of the plan. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Julia Haart and Silvio Scaglia at the premiere of Netflix's "My Unorthodox Life" in July 2021. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Elite World Group New court papers accuse the husband of "My Unorthodox Life" star Julia Haart of using company funds on extravagant purchases and trips. Silvio Scaglia's attorney denied the allegations in a statement to Insider. The affidavit's allegations are the latest salvo in ongoing court cases during the couple's divorce. Explosive new court documents allege that Silvio Scaglia, the wealthy husband of Julia Haart, the star of the Netflix reality show "My Unorthodox Life," used money from their joint modeling company to make extravagant purchases including a $342,000 heart-shaped engagement ring for his new fiancee. It's the latest salvo in a series of ongoing legal battles related to the ex-couple's prior business ventures and dissolving marriage. In an affidavit filed in the New York State Supreme Court on Friday and reviewed by Insider, Scaglia's former executive assistant, Tania Cohen, alleged that Scaglia spent over $25 million from the couple's joint company, Elite World Group (EWG). Scaglia who is embroiled in a divorce battle with Haart had previously filed two lawsuits against Haart claiming she misappropriated millions in company funds from EWG for her own personal use. Both lawsuits were later dismissed with prejudice as part of a settlement agreement that did not include any payments by either side, according to court papers reviewed by Insider. But the new affidavit made by Cohen alleges Scaglia was the one misusing funds. Cohen alleges that Scaglia spent EWG money on the engagement ring for his now-fiancee, $132,435 for yacht trips in Tahiti, and $400,000 on a "lavish" yacht trip in Italy. He also allegedly used EWG funds to pay $43,000 per month in rent for a New York City Apartment and $272,971.87 to purchase a Bentley Bantayga for his fiancee, among other expenses listed, according to the court papers. Scaglia's attorney, Peter Bicks, a partner at law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, denied that the fashion mogul spent money inappropriately in a statement to Insider and called Haart a "serial litigant." Story continues A spokesperson for Haart, in response, said that characterization is false. Bicks said Scaglia's purchases were "entirely appropriate and applied against fees owed to him by the companies that he founded and invested over $100 million of his own funds into." He also said Cohen was under a confidentiality agreement with EWG and "it is unfortunate that she has chosen to disregard it and disclose personal information." Cohen said she began working for Scaglia as an executive assistant to him across all of his business endeavors in January 2022. While she was in close company with Scaglia, she never knew his wife Haart until one month ago, because Scaglia told her, "we are partners but we operate separately and lead separate lives," according to the affidavit. "Prior to December 15, 2022, I had never met or spoken to Ms. Haart," Cohen wrote in the affidavit. She said their first contact was when she resigned from working for Scaglia, at which point she sent a text message to Haart about Scaglia's finances. "I am coming forward because after realizing that Mr. Scaglia was not being honest, while attempting to destroy an innocent woman (Ms. Haart), I felt it was the right thing to come forward and tell the truth," Cohen wrote in the affidavit. "During my time as Mr. Scaglia's Executive Assistant, I observed that Silvio was not telling the truth about his actions, nor his financial situation," Cohen wrote. "Although Mr. Scaglia claims that EWG is massively in debt, it is Mr. Scaglia who has been engaging in excessive spending of EWG money for his personal use." Cohen in an interview with Insider and in the affidavit alleged that Scaglia was set on seizing Haart's car, also a Bentley, because he claimed Haart had paid for it with EWG funds and since Haart was fired by Scaglia in February 2022 it no longer belonged to her. Cohen alleged in an interview with Insider that Scaglia's behavior became "irrational," "volatile," and "insane" when he ordered Cohen to sift through company correspondence to try to find proof that Haart had stolen money from the company to pay for her car among other items. Cohen told Insider that while digging for information about the Bentley purchase to get it for Scaglia, she found that Haart had paid for the Bentley using a $112,000 credit she received for trading in her Range Rover. She said Haart continued to put down monthly payments on her car using her own money. "Everything was above board," Cohen told Insider. "Everything was in company emails. Every purchase, every everything, every audit was approved, every purchase was approved," referring to budgets Haart was appropriated for "My Unorthodox Life." At the time of Haart's termination, Cohen alleged Scaglia cut off her access to email, credit cards, and let go of her entire team. The allegations in court are the latest in a series of grueling legal fights between the couple. Haart sued Scaglia for $275 million, calling him a "liar and a fraud" who took her businesses, People reported. In May 2022, Haart lost a lawsuit in which she claimed to own 50% of EWG, according to Page Six. Page Six reported at the time that Haart had sued after she was fired from the company, saying that because she was a co-owner, she couldn't have been let go. In a termination letter filed as part of a court proceeding, Scaglia and the company's deputy chairman accused Haart of spending more than $30 million on personal expenditures and say she was fired in part because the digital division she ran never turned a profit and that the brand's modeling contest "completely lost its relevance" while she was at the helm. Update January 13, 2023: This story was updated with information about a settlement agreement to dismiss two earlier lawsuits between Scaglia's companies and Haart. Read the original article on Insider Former President Donald Trump unleashed a slew of insults against writer E. Jean Carroll when he was deposed in her civil suit accusing him of rape, newly unsealed court filings show. In an excerpt of the October deposition unsealed Friday by a federal court judge in New York, Trump angrily denied Carroll's allegation that he attacked her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, saying she was a "whack job" who's "not my type." Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the excerpt be made public after denying Trump's motion to dismiss the lawsuit earlier in the day. Trump, who plans to host his initial 2024 campaign event later this month, had argued that a recent New York law allowing victims of sexual assault a one-year window to file civil claims that would otherwise be time-barred was in violation of the state constitution. Kaplan sided with Carroll's lawyers, who have used the law as the basis for the suit. During the lengthy deposition, Trump was asked about a post he wrote on Truth Social shortly before his testimony claiming that Carroll's story was "a hoax." Trump said he wrote it himself because "I was offended at this woman's lie." Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, then asked him about writing in the post that Carroll said Trump had "swooned her" inside the store. Trump said he was referring to "an act that she said happened, which didn't happen. And it's nicer than the word that starts with F." "I thought it would be inappropriate to use the other word," he added. Asked again about the word swoon, which Kaplan defined as to faint with extreme emotion, Trump said, Well, sort of thats what she said I did to her. She fainted with great emotion. She actually indicated that she loved it, okay? She loved it until commercial break. In fact, I think she said it was sexy, didnt she? She said it was very sexy to be raped. Didnt she say that? Trump continued, before indicating he was referring to Carroll's 2019 interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Story continues In that interview, Carroll said that what Trump did to her "hurt" and was "not sexual." When Cooper said that most people think of rape as a violent assault, she responded, Most people think of rape as sexy. Think of the fantasies. She said she preferred the word "fight." Kaplan declined to comment on the deposition transcript. Trump lawyer Alina Habba said, While it was entirely unnecessary for the unsealing of a transcript both parties previously agreed would remain confidential, our client has nothing to hide and looks forward to resolving this meritless case. Earlier in the day, Kaplan praised the judges ruling allowing the suit to proceed, and said, We look forward to trial in April. Habba said she was "disappointed" by the ruling. "We intend to immediately appeal the order and continue to advocate for our clients constitutionally protected rights, she said. The advancing lawsuit added to Trump's legal woes on the same day the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million for a long-running tax fraud scheme. Trump is also the focus of a special counsel investigation focused on his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home and key aspects of the investigation into his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration is nearing deals with two Pacific Island nations to extend ties that are considered critical to maintaining balance in the U.S.-China rivalry for influence in a region where the Chinese are rapidly expanding their economic, diplomatic and military clout. This week, the U.S. signed memorandums of understanding with the Marshall Islands and Palau that administration officials hope will pave the way for the quick completion of broader agreements that will govern the islands' relations with Washington for the next two decades. Those ties grant the U.S. unique military and other security rights on the islands in return for substantial aid. The administration believes that extending those so-called Compacts of Free Association agreements will be key to efforts to retain American power and blunt Chinese assertiveness throughout the Indo-Pacific. The memorandums signed this week lay out the amounts of money that the federal government will provide to the Marshall Islands and Palau if their compacts are successfully renegotiated. Negotiations on a similar memorandum with a third compact country, Micronesia, are ongoing. The current 20-year compacts with the Marshall Islands and Micronesia expire this year; the current compact with Palau expires in 2024 but administration officials said they believe all three can be renewed and signed by mid- to late-spring. Officials would not discuss specifics of the amounts of money involved because the deals arent yet legally binding and must still be reviewed and approved by Congress as part of the budget process. A Micronesian news outlet, Marianas Variety, reported Thursday that the Marshall Islands will receive $700 million over four years under the memorandum that it signed. But that amount would cover only one-fifth of a 20-year compact extension and does not include the amount Palau would receive. Joe Yun, Biden's special presidential envoy for compact negotiations, said the amounts will be far greater than what the U.S. had provided in the past. Story continues Islanders have long complained that the previous compacts they signed did not adequately address their needs or long-term environmental and health issues caused by U.S. nuclear testing in the 1950s and '60s. Lawmakers had expressed concern dating back to 2021 that the administration was not giving enough attention to the matter. Yun, who signed the memorandums with representatives of the Marshalls and Palau on Tuesday and Wednesday in Los Angeles, said the Marshall Islands, in particular, would be compensated for such damage and would be given control over how that money is spent. Yun said it would pay nuclear-affected communities' health, welfare and development and also noted that the U.S. had committed to building a new hospital as well as a museum in the Marshalls to preserve the memory and legacy of their role, notably in the Pacific theater during WWII. This week's signings clear the way for individual federal agencies including the Postal Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service to negotiate their own agreements with the Marshalls and Palau, which will then become part of the broader compacts. Along with the federal money, those agencies provide their services to the islands. In return, the U.S. is given unique military and national security basing rights and privileges in an area where China is increasingly flexing its muscles. Yun said China did not come up specifically in the negotiations but it was a major element in all sides' discussions. The threat from China is unstated but there is no question that China is a factor, Yun said. Not only does China have a large and growing economic presence in the region, but the Marshall Islands and Palau both recognize Taiwan diplomatically. They are coming under Chinese pressure, he said. China has steadily poached allies from Taiwan in the Pacific, including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands in 2019. The U.S. announced plans last year to reopen an embassy in the Solomon Islands, which has signed a security agreement with China. Since World War II, the U.S. has treated the Marshall Islands, along with Micronesia and Palau, much like territories. On the Marshall Islands, the U.S. has developed military, intelligence and aerospace facilities in a region where China is particularly active. In turn, U.S. money and jobs have benefited the islands economy. And many islanders have taken advantage of their ability to live and work in the U.S., moving in the thousands to Arkansas, Guam, Hawaii, Oregon and Oklahoma. Many on the Marshall Islands believe a U.S. settlement of $150 million agreed to in the 1980s fell well short of addressing the nuclear legacy. But the U.S. position has remained static for more than 20 years, the last time the compact came up for renegotiation. Various estimates put the true cost of the damage at about $3 billion, including for repairs to a massive nuclear waste facility known as the Cactus Dome which environmentalists say is leaking toxic waste into the ocean. The U.S. Department of Energy says the dome contains over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 cubic meters) of radioactively contaminated soil and debris but the structure isnt in any immediate danger of failing. China urges U.S., Japan not to become disrupters of a stable Asia-Pacific: FM spokesperson Xinhua) 09:10, January 14, 2023 BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States and Japan to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, stop creating imaginary enemies and stop trying to sow the seeds of a new Cold War in the Asia-Pacific, and not to become disruptors of a stable Asia-Pacific, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when asked for comments on a Joint Statement released by the United States and Japan. According to reports, in the Joint Statement, the U.S. and Japan called China "the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond" and criticized China on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and maritime issues. Wang said the wording on China in this joint statement smacks heavily of a zero-sum Cold War mentality and contains groundless smears and attacks on China. "We are firmly against it." He said the U.S. and Japan claim to advance regional peace and security, but what they do is finding pretexts for military build-up and wilful use of force. They claim to champion a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but what they do is putting up various exclusionary blocs to create division and confrontation. Wang said the U.S. and Japan claim to uphold the rules-based international order, but what they do is trampling on international law and the basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfering in other countries' internal affairs. What they have done poses a real challenge to regional peace, security and stability, he added. Wang said the Asia-Pacific is an anchor for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition. He said that regional countries are for justice and against hegemonism. They hope to engage in cooperation, not confrontation. They aspire for true multilateralism and reject small circles that incite bloc confrontation. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) The Weber Arch at Northwestern University in Evanston on Nov. 13, 2020. Northwestern graduate student workers voted to unionize after years of organizing. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Following two days of casting ballots and years of grassroots organizing Northwestern University graduate students voted Thursday to unionize and will join the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. On Day 99 of being affiliated with UE, we got our ballot count, said Sara Bowden, a fourth-year doctorate candidate in music theory and cognition and a co-chair of Northwestern University Graduate Workers. Generations of graduate students have been fighting for this effort at Northwestern for years. Advertisement The National Labor Relations Board moderated the election between Tuesday and Wednesday at the Evanston and Chicago campuses. Of the 2,893 students eligible to vote, 1,644 voted in favor of unionization, and 114 voted against it. Bowden, who was at the National Labor Relations Board office downtown for the ballot-counting process, said the power of being together was felt strongly throughout the campaign and while votes were being tallied. Advertisement We arent allowed to take pictures, but it was a beautiful image to watch an entire 20-foot-long table filled with yes votes, Bowden said. The NUGW-EU is composed of graduate student employees enrolled in degree-granting programs at Northwestern who provide research or instructional service to the university, which includes research assistants, graduate assistants, teaching assistants and fellows. Under the now-legally recognized union, NUGW-UE will begin negotiating precisely who else will be eligible to vote when they bargain. Emilie Lozier, one of the elected co-chairs for NUGW and a fifth-year doctorate candidate in the chemistry department at Northwestern, said there are over 3,000 graduate student workers at the university. Based on a survey sent out to all graduate students last spring, Lozier said the organization collected about 1,900 responses to create a five-point platform with goals centering on competitive pay, professional standards in labs and classrooms, power to address misconduct, comprehensive health care, and financial support for international students. We wanted to win the union as our tool to be able to have a say, she said. We want to fight for a competitive stipend that actually keeps up with our peer institutions, which is not currently the case. We want to fight for comprehensive health care including dental and vision and we want to support our massive international student population. Lozier noted that international students, especially, often lack support from the institution. They uprooted their whole life to come and pursue an academic career in a different country, she said. We want to make sure their needs are met as well in the course of this contract. Advertisement Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The NUGW joins a growing number of organizing efforts across Chicago and throughout the country, including at Yale and Harvard. Recently, students at the University of Chicago also filed for a union election in affiliation with UE. Were in a moment right now where were all standing together, Bowden said. Graduate workers are standing up, supporting one another and saying, We can do better; we have to do better. A positive working relationship with Northwestern at the bargaining table made the process even more gratifying, Bowden said, pointing to an email sent by Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Kelly Mayo, dean of the graduate school and associate provost for graduate education, recognizing the victory. In the email to students, Hagerty said in part, Northwestern deeply values the contributions that graduate students make to its research and teaching missions. ... We thank the voters for casting ballots and respect their decision. We look forward to beginning the process of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement that works for both the University and graduate students within the bargaining unit. NUGW filed for election in November after the university chose to not voluntarily recognize the organizations union with UE, but organizing among graduate workers has been going on for more than six years, Bowden said. Many of us, for the first time, walked into buildings today knowing that we are working a union job now, Bowden said. Its an incredible feeling to know that finally all of this work has culminated in concrete protections for graduate students, as well as to preserve the things we love about the work that we do. Advertisement zsyed@chicagotribune.com Russia's continued blocking of Ukraine's Black Sea ports and deliberate slowdown of ship inspections are delaying crucial grain shipments around the world, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on Jan. 13. Following Russia's Black Sea blockade of Ukraine's ports in the early days of the full-scale invasion, a U.N-backed deal in July allowed grain shipments to partially resume from some ports. Since then, Russia has been accused of deliberately holding up inspections to slow down grain shipments in an effort to discredit the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia has also falsely alleged that grain shipments have not made it to countries that need it most. According to Greenfield, Russias attacks and continued blocking of some Ukrainian ports have decreased Ukraines food exports by approximately 30 percent. "Heres the truth: The Initiatives operations are not keeping pace with the strong global demand for Black Sea grain. Due to Russias deliberate slowdown of inspections, dozens of ships are waiting to depart. And dozens more are waiting for inspections before they can bring their grain cargo to the world," Greenfield said. The backlog in shipments has left 2.5 million tons of grains "just sitting there, waiting to move, Greenfield also said, "and farmers in Ukraine are waiting plant." Some ships have been waiting for over a month to leave the ports. The UN-backed Grain Initiative aimed to move five million tons of food per month from Ukraine's ports. According to Greenfield, grain is currently moving at half the rate of the pace back in September and October. "The worlds hungry deserve nothing less. Today, Im asking members of the Council to join us in urging Russia to scale up cooperation immediately," Greenfield said. Jan. 13HENDERSON Frankie Nobles, Vance County's chief of Animal Control, was chosen as the county's employee of the month at the County Commissioners meeting on Monday. "Normally we would have Frankie doing this presentation," said Human Resources Director Argretta Johen, who is also a member of the county's Employee Engagement Team. "Our employee of the month, this month, is Frankie Nobles." Nobles' colleagues shared their thoughts in a paper read aloud by Johen. "As far as teamwork, Frankie never hesitates to help out across departments, regardless of what he has going on in his own department," Johen said. "An example of this is that he volunteers to cater employee functions, he leads the engagement team, he assists with employee development opportunities, he is a 100% team player." His colleagues also spoke well of his solution finding skills and his work in cultivating relationships with the community. "I've written a book that I want to share with you about Frankie here," said County Manager Jordan McMillen. "Frankie is most deserving of our employee of the month award ... he does so much, really is a model department head ... he's so creative, but unlike those creative types, he also can implement an idea. "He was very instrumental working through the challenges at the old animal shelter, to leading and helping us through construction at the new animal shelter which came on board in 2016. He's good at diagnosing problems, he can fix a faulty water pump ... to helping us to improve the appreciation that we give to employees, and he volunteered to be a part of and to lead our Employee Engagement Team." The team is meant to advocate for employees and show them appreciation through awards like the employee of the month, McMillen said. He shared a story to highlight Nobles' caring nature. "Several years ago there was a lady, Ms. Jane Baker," McMillen recounted. "And Ms. Jane Baker had a cat that became sick and unfortunately had to be put down. Frankie brought that animal's body back to Ms. Baker, and it meant the world to her that he did that. And it touched her. "And so after that, she was a big supporter of the shelter," the county manager continued. "She donated money to the shelter, she volunteered her time to help out at the shelter. In 2020, Ms. Baker passed away. When she passed away, she left $35,000 as a donation to the animal shelter. That is all about relationships, caring and that epitomizes Frankie. And so he is an obvious and outstanding choice for this award." VATICAN CITY (AP) The Australian cardinal who decried the papacy of Pope Francis as a catastrophe was given a funeral Saturday and hailed by some fellow churchmen at St. Peter's Basilica, with the pontiff imparting a final blessing for the once high-ranking Vatican prelate. Cardinal George Pell, 81, died on Jan. 10, shortly after undergoing hip surgery in a Rome hospital. As the Vaticans finance minister for three years, Pell had been a key player in the early years of Francis papacy, whose goals included reforming the Holy See's finances, which had a long history of scandals and poor management. Pell later returned to his native Australia to be tried on child sex abuse charges over allegations that he molested two choirboys while he was archbishop of Melbourne. He served more than a year in solitary confinement in prison before an earlier court conviction was overturned in 2020. Pell had steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. As is customary for funerals of cardinals, a final blessing, delivered in Latin, in the form of a prayer for mercy and eternal rest, was recited by Francis, who, in a wheelchair, passed by Pell's plain wooden coffin. The funeral Mass itself was celebrated by an Italian cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, in his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals. Re praised Pell as a man of God and man of the Church,'' who was distinguished for a deep faith and great solidity of doctrine, which he always defended without wavering and with courage." "As he noted many times, he was pained by the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family,'' Re said in his homily. Re noted how nine days earlier, Pell, apparently in good health, had concelebrated, in St. Peter's Square, the funeral Mass for Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who died after nearly a decade in retirement on Dec. 31. Right after Pells death, it was revealed that the Australian churchman had authored the memo that had been circulating for many months in church circles. In the memo, Pell had lamented that the current papacy as a disaster and a catastrophe. Story continues Separately, the day after Pell died, a conservative magazine published what it said was an article by the cardinal decrying as a toxic nightmare Francis' determination to sound out Catholic laity on such issues as church teaching on sexuality and the role of women. Those issues will likely spark sharp debate later this year in a meeting of bishops from around the world summoned by Francis to the Vatican. The day after Pell died, Francis in a condolence telegram paid tribute to the cardinal, saying that while the prelate led the economy office, he laid the bases with determination and wisdom for reforms of the Holy See's finance system, which had been taken to task for years by international financial watchdog bodies. In the homily, Cardinal Re lamented that Pell's final years had been marked by an unjust and painful conviction. It was an experience of great suffering sustained with faith in the judgment of God, Re said. The cardinal cited the diaries Pell wrote while in prison with the aim of making known how much faith and prayer help in the difficult moments of life and (how they can) also be a support to who must unjustly suffer. Among the concelebrants at the altar on Saturday was another high-profile Vatican prelate who in recent days had blasted Francis leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. German Archbishop Georg Gaenswein like Pell a staunch advocate of the church hierarchys more conservative faction and a longtime aide of Pope Benedict XVI bitterly complained about how he was treated by Francis after Benedict retired in 2013 and Francis was elected as pontiff. Gaenswein unleashed a torrent of criticism of Francis in interviews hours after Benedict's death in a monastery on the Vatican grounds, where the retired pontiff had lived out his last year and in a book published days later. Another staunchly conservative German churchman, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, told The Associated Press after attending Pell's funeral that the Australian cardinal left a great legacy including on bearing one's suffering. Now he is in full redemption after death, said Mueller, who was dismissed by Francis after a brief term as the Vatican's chief of its doctrinal orthodoxy office. ___ Luigi Navarra contributed to this report. Get ready because Pink Sauce is headed to your local Walmart. The viral Pepto-colored condiment created by Chef Pii first went viral on TIkTok in June of 2022, racking up views and comments from people everywhere. Months later, the sauce's creator partnered with Daves Gourmet to bring her pink product to the commercial market. On Jan. 11, the company announced in a press release that Walmart will be the exclusive retailer for Pink Sauce until July 2023. The product will be available in over 4,300 stores and online starting in mid-January. According to Daves Gourmet, people will also be able to buy vegan and gluten-free versions of the sauce. Following the announcement, Chef Pii, who is a Miami-based private chef and social media influencer, shared video of her picking up a bottle of her creation at a Walmart store. Chef Pii first showed off her pink sauce in a June 11, 2022, TikTok which showed her dipping a chicken tender into a bowl filled with the fuchsia-colored sauce. It quickly went viral, with people wondering what it was made of and how it tasted. In another video, she shared the ingredients she uses, which are sunflower seed oil, honey, chili, garlic and dragon fruit (what makes it pink). As it gained more eyes, people started raising food safety concerns. In July, Chef Pii told TODAY.com that she was fully aware of the concerns and had paused production, as well as explained why the sauce's color kept changing. We changed the color due to the audiences perspective, because they were complaining that the pink was too bright, Chef Pii said. So then we made it a little lighter. Everything that theyre judging, those are all prototypes. She also added (Our customers) health is our number one priority. Their trust is our number one priority, making them happy. And bringing the pink sauce out properly is our number one priority. Story continues At the time, TODAY.com had reached out to the Food and Drug Administration to verify if the sauce was in the process of product registry. While a spokesperson didn't confirm or deny, it noted that as a general matter, food producers are required to follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices to help ensure the safety of food. As is always the case, it is a manufacturers continuing responsibility to ensure that foods marketed are safe, wholesome and in compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, the spokesperson said, adding that it takes seriously reports of illnesses or injury that appear likely to have been caused by an FDA-regulated product. After Chef Pii and Daves Gourmet partnered together in August of last year, the company noted that they would help her bring the product to a commercial scale under the required food safety manufacturing guidelines. In their most recent press release, announcing the Walmart news, Daves Gourmet stated, The sauce is manufactured under FDA guidelines in an SQF-certified facility and is shelf-stable. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Hekate is an East Village, New York City bar serving up alcohol-free drinks. Rachel Askinasi/Insider Hekate is a sober bar in the East Village of Manhattan. As a non-drinker, I was excited to go with a sober friend and check it out. The drinks were impressive, and the vibe made me want to return. In May 2022, I decided to stop drinking alcohol. But the conundrum I now face is that I actually liked the taste and experience of drinking. Two patrons cheers at Hekate in NYC. Rachel Askinasi/Insider I love a cold beer on a warm day, appreciate a bourbon on the rocks in a cozy, dim-lit bar, and think there's something so uniquely baffling about the chokehold a summertime Aperol spritz has on me. Many people I know drink for the effects of alcohol, but they tell me they don't actually enjoy what they're sipping on most of the time. If that were me, I think I would have given up alcohol a long time ago. Instead, I'd find myself going out to dinner and ordering a glass of soju at my favorite Korean spot because it was just so tasty. I felt like it was part of the experience, but I'd simultaneously wish that this drink wouldn't affect how I was feeling. I also love going to bars and being in that environment. It's how I connect with friends, build community, and feel like I'm a part of something bigger than my little world. So for the past eightish months, I've gone to the bars, ordered seltzer water with an orange (if they have it, sometimes I've got to stick with lime), and pretended like it wasn't just something I'd drink in my kitchen. When I heard there was an alcohol-free bar in New York, I knew I wanted to go check it out. Hekate Cafe and Elixir Lounge on Avenue B in Manhattan. Rachel Askinasi/Insider Hekate is a sober bar, tea shop, and gift shop with empowered feminine energy, its owner Abby Ehmann told me over the phone. Named for the Greek goddess of magic, the bottles of alcohol-free elixirs and the Milky Way mural painted by artist Rich Miller feel right at home. The witchy allure of the bar's brand and the details scattered around the physical space add an element of mystery to this already not-so-common concept of a bar without any alcohol. I made my way to Manhattan's East Village neighborhood, where I found Hekate between 10th and 11th streets on Avenue B. Story continues Hekate is nestled among other bars and shops in the East Village. Rachel Askinasi/Insider Located directly across the street from Ehmann's other bar, Lucky which does serve alcohol Hekate feels like any other East Village mainstay. The black awning and sandwich board out front let passers-by know it's there. But Ehmann said she's noticed the space has become a destination. It's not just somewhere people wander inside off the street, she said. She sees cabs pull up with passengers who get out and go right in. When I arrived at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday, the place had just one open seat left. Inside Hekate on a Wednesday evening. Rachel Askinasi/Insider I was pleasantly surprised to see it was packed during the early evening hours in the middle of the week. I was meeting a friend who had arrived before me, and there was only one open seat when I arrived. The best part was at least for those who love the bar scene it only got busier. Ehmann said that timing was on her side with this business. "There's never been a better time to be sober," she said, talking about how there are so many alcohol-free beverage options and how abstaining from substances is no longer the taboo topic she once knew it to be. So while Friday and Saturday nights have been Hekate's busiest hours, she said Dry January has made things pretty steady so far this month. The vibe was witchcraft meets roadside antique shop, and I thought it was perfectly executed throughout. Hekate's walls are covered in antique mirrors, faux animal busts, and art. Rachel Askinasi/Insider I thought the hand-painted Milky Way mural near the ceiling on the back walls added to the celestial atmosphere. The rest of the space is decorated with antique mirrors, faux animal heads, and hutch storage cabinets. A large, crystal-looking bowl with citrus fruits inside sat on the bar, and ornamental light fixtures hung from the ceiling. The decor may seem random, but none of it felt out of place to me. The vibe reminded me of the little antique shops I'd wander into while traveling, with a bunch of random things that somehow all make sense together. I noticed that the art on the walls and jewelry on display were for sale, and there was a table of flyers for local events and businesses in the front. Hekate is more than just a bar. Rachel Askinasi/Insider All of this hinted to me that Hekate is involved with its local community, which, as a patron, I think is pretty cool. Since I try to spend my money at businesses I feel take care of their communities, I was happy to see other business' cards and flyers on the entryway table. I felt like I was participating in that East Village community just by being there. Ehmann told me that was her intention. "I've lived here since 1989," she said. "I'm a board member of the East Village Independent Merchants Association, I have friends who own other places, and we conspire on fun events." While Ehmann said Hekate is very much a member of the community, she also said she loves to create community, "which was the whole purpose of this place to create the kind of place that people would want to come back to again and again." Once I took it all in, I turned to the mocktail menu. It's extensive, and I tasted a variety of drinks, from classics to house specials. A short list of drinks offered at Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider While you can find a small list of drinks propped on the bar and tables, there's a much more extensive collection on the bar's website. Most mocktails are $12, zero-ABV beers range from $5 to $7, and coffees, teas, and sodas range from $3 to $7. The list has everything from sober takes on classics like sangria and margaritas to uniquely named concoctions like "The Healer" and "The Empress." First up was a jalapeno margarita, which tasted like the real deal and was one of my favorites of the night. A jalapeno margarita from Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider I wanted to order drinks I enjoyed when I consumed alcohol, so when I saw a $12 jalapeno margarita on the menu, I immediately went for it. This drink was made with Clean Co. tequila, lime juice, seltzer, and jalapeno simple syrup. The drink was frothy, refreshing, and definitely spicy, and I was pleasantly surprised when the bartender told me Ehmann makes all syrups. I thought this drink really tasted like the solid margarita I've come to expect from my local taco restaurant. I tasted those same bits of sweetness and saltiness that make me crave a margarita, and my lips were stinging from the peppery heat. My friend ordered the Oaxacan cocktail, and I thought it tasted like a signature Mezcal drink thanks to its smokiness. The Oaxacan at Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider This $12 mocktail was made with Monday Mezcal and AVEC's jalapeno and blood orange canned mixer. After tasting it, we both detected the smokiness typically associated with mezcal, which I thought was really impressive. While the blood orange was noticeable on the first sip, it faded to a general citrus flavor once it sat for a couple of minutes. I wasn't able to taste the jalapeno here. Though we thought it would have benefited from less ice we thought the drink tasted watered-down we agreed that it still gave the experience of drinking a mezcal cocktail at a bar, which is all we wanted anyway. Next, I ordered an old fashioned, which is a cocktail I've really been missing this winter. It didn't live up to expectations, but the bartender who made it was a delight. The old fashioned at Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider When I saw there was an old fashioned on the menu, I was so excited to try it. Before I stopped drinking, this was my favorite thing to order at a cocktail bar or while I was out for drinks with friends, coworkers, or on a date. Sadly, I thought this tasted more like an iced tea with juice than an old fashioned. I felt it was missing that bitterness and the unique flavors of bourbon. I set it aside and ordered something else. The bartender saw I had abandoned it, asked what I didn't like, and offered to doctor it up for me. The space was packed, and the bartender was swamped, so I didn't take them up on their offer. But I loved that I was met with warmth when I didn't even ask for it. This drink was also $12. Next, we asked the bartender to make us something beautiful and we certainly got it. The Healer at Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider Choosing from the long list of drinks was tough, so my friend asked for something beautiful. The result was this gorgeous lavender drink with a pop of bright green rosemary. The bartender said it was called "The Healer" and made with Apothekary's Blue Me Away (a blue matcha powder), lemonade, seltzer, and lavender simple syrup. A sprig of rosemary garnish provided a super strong scent, which we welcomed. The flavors were kind of mysterious and delightful. It didn't taste like there was any alcohol in it the way our last drinks had, but it also tasted like a flavor profile that would complement gin. "It's witchy," my friend said, "and I like it." We talked about how when you have an alcoholic cocktail, it always feels like there's this other dimension to the drink. We didn't feel that way with this beverage, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After looking at the bill, I saw this drink cost only $9. I ordered the Amalfi Spritz as a final taster and was highly impressed with the Aperol Spritz dupe. The Amalfi Spritz at Hekate. Rachel Askinasi/Insider This $12 zero-alcohol Aperol Spritz look-alike could have fooled me! Made with Lyre's Italian Spritz and Lyre's Classico Prosecco, I honestly questioned whether there was any booze in here. The zero-ABV liquor was orangey-red, and the whole thing was only slightly bubbly it tasted like an Aperol Spritz that was heavy on the Aperol. While sipping on this drink, I couldn't help but think about how thrilled I would be if I could order this at an outdoor table in NYC, on the beach, or literally anywhere while all my friends were drinking the boozy version. When it was time for me to go, I didn't want to leave. I already can't wait to go back. Until next time, Hekate! Rachel Askinasi/Insider I had spent two hours at the bar, and my friend had to catch her train home, so I thought it was time to call it a night. But the thing was, I realized I didn't want to. I stayed a bit to chat with some people around me and asked what made them come to Hekate in the first place. There were people there celebrating years of sobriety, sober-curious folks who enjoyed being in a space not dominated by alcohol, and non-sober friends who were along for the ride. I've found that in welcoming spaces like this one, most of the time, people are open to chatting. I believe Hekate can function as a spot for regulars to gather and where the newly initiated can make friends and build a network of sober and sober-curious friends. The experience of being in this community-forward bar was special. And I thought we, the patrons, mirrored our environment: we were a collection of seemingly random people who made perfect sense when put together in this unique space. Read the original article on Insider Measles is highly contagious and can be dangerous, according to experts. (Getty Images) During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that 22.3 million infants globally missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2020, contributing to the largest annual increase in over 20 years of unvaccinated children in the U.S. The concern, researchers said at the time, was that it would lead to outbreaks of measles and other preventable illnesses in the future. Now, there's a measles outbreak in central Ohio and the majority of the children impacted are unvaccinated. According to the official city of Columbus website, there have been 85 cases of measles since the outbreak began in November 2022, and 34 people have been hospitalized with the virus. Of those affected, 78 were unvaccinated, six had only one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine that works to prevent the illness, and one had an unknown vaccination status. All of the cases were in children ages 17 and younger, and the vast majority of patients were ages 2 and younger. Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts said in an interview last month that the outbreak started with a small group of people who returned from an area where measles regularly occurs. The virus spread quickly in young, unvaccinated children. "The reason why so many of our young children have been impacted by this measles outbreak is because that's the greatest majority of our population that's unvaccinated," she said. These aren't the only cases of measles in the U.S. over the past year: Data from the CDC shows that there were 118 cases of measles in 2022, up from 49 cases in 2021. (Data for 2023 is not yet available online.) It's understandable to have questions about measles after this. Here's what you need to know. What is measles? Measles, which is caused by a virus, is an acute viral respiratory illness that leads to a range of uncomfortable symptoms, including a distinct rash, high fever and cough, per the CDC. But it's not your average illness. "Measles is a dangerous disease that has the capacity to cause pneumonia, brain infection and can erase aspects of one's immune system," Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Life. More specifically, a measles infection can damage a person's immune system by wiping out up to 73% of preexisting antibodies for other diseases, including influenza. Story continues The virus is also "extraordinarily infectious even more infectious than COVID," Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. Dr. Danelle Fisher, chair of pediatrics at California's Providence Saint John's Health Center, tells Yahoo Life that measles is so contagious, the virus can still make someone sick up to two hours after a person with measles has left a room. "This is so highly, highly contagious," she says. How is measles transmitted? Measles spreads in a way that's "similar to COVID," Russo says. It's transmitted through direct contact with infectious droplets or respiratory particles that get into the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, according to the CDC. And again, the virus can linger in the air for two hours after someone with measles has left the area. People can also get measles from touching an infected surface and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth, the CDC says. The CDC points out that measles is so contagious that if a person has it, up to 90% of those around that person who are not immune to the virus will also become infected. Signs of measles to have on your radar Measles symptoms usually show up seven to 14 days after someone has been infected, according to the CDC, and symptoms tend to come in stages. In the first stage, a child will typically experience these symptoms: High fever. Cough. Runny nose. Red, watery eyes. "Usually, you have these coldlike symptoms first," Fisher says. From there, a patient may experience tiny white spots (called Koplik spots) inside the mouth, per the CDC. Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash usually breaks out, starting as flat red spots that appear on the face and spread down the rest of the body. Measles can also cause serious complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling, according to the CDC. "It's not a very fun disease to have," Russo says. How to prevent measles Measles is prevented with the two-dose MMR vaccine. The CDC recommends that children get the first dose of the vaccine when they are 12 to 15 months old and the second dose when they are 4 to 6 years old. One dose of the vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles, while both doses are about 97% effective, the CDC says. It's important to point out that the majority of children impacted in the Ohio outbreak were under 2 and therefore ineligible to be fully vaccinated against measles. However, those over 12 months the largest group affected were eligible to receive the first vaccine in the series. Still, only six of the 85 people impacted in the outbreak had received one shot. Herd immunity which is when a sufficient enough portion of a population is immune to a disease that even people who aren't vaccinated are offered some protection because the disease has little opportunity to spread in the community is important to protect those who aren't yet vaccinated, those who aren't fully vaccinated and those who are immunocompromised and won't have an optimal response to the vaccine, Russo says. "The only means of protection is a vaccine," Fisher says. "I can't believe we're here again. This is directly linked to decreased immunizations." How is measles treated? There is no specific treatment for measles. Instead, children may be given acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches, pains or fever, and encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, Russo says. "We really don't have much in the way of treatment," he says. "The key with measles is prevention." Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here. Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall costar on "White Lotus." Stefano Delia/HBO "White Lotus" costars Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall have shared photos of each other on Instagram. But the pair are just friends not dating according to Fahy. During "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Fahy said she doesn't "kiss and tell." Fan speculation of a burgeoning romance between "The White Lotus" actors Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall has been circulating since the pair posted behind-the-scenes photos from the HBO series last fall. But in a new appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Fahy said Woodall is just a friend. "Oh, I don't kiss and tell," Fahy said when asked by a viewer about the rumor. "Come on, guys." When Cohen followed up, Fahy at first joked and said "sure" to the idea of them dating. But after the TV host mentioned that they could be "friends with benefits," Fahy reiterated that they're friends and nothing more. The speculation among fans was largely based on the two actors' affectionate Instagram posts and comments. "I love you! ," Fahy wrote in a comment to her "White Lotus" costar, and he replied, "Love you right back ." Fahy and Woodall were standouts among the lauded ensemble cast of HBO's "The White Lotus" anthology series, though their characters (Daphne and Jack) are in separate pairings and storylines in the recent season. Daphne is a stay-at-home mom married to Cameron (played by Theo James), while Jack is a guest who happens to be vacationing at the same Italian hotel. HBO has renewed "The White Lotus" for an upcoming third season. Read the original article on Insider Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Newly minted Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts is headed for Washington, D.C.and straying toward a minefield of potential conflicts of interest, experts warn, thanks to his business entanglements with foreign governments. Cornhusker State Gov. Jim Pillen, who sits in the office Ricketts occupied up until last week, handed the scion of the Chicago Cubs-owning dynasty the upper-house seat that formerly belonged to Ben Sasse, now of the University of Florida. The new federal lawmaker has yet to file a disclosure with the Senate outlining his income and investment portfolio. But The Daily Beast revealed last year that Ricketts filings in Nebraska had long shown him to be a limited partner in a Beijing-based private equity fund run by tycoon Gabriel Schulze, known for engaging in backchannel diplomacy on behalf of North Korea during the Trump administration. Whats more, The Daily Beast discovered that two of the Schulze entities in which Ricketts reported possessing stakes had signed a $23 million deal during 2021 to hand over control of a massive Ethiopian cement plant to Chinese interestsliterally helping to pave the way for Beijing to increase its influence in Africa. Unfortunately, the Nebraska financial reports do not show the value or extent of his holdings in the Schulze vehicles or in the cement complex at Dire Dawa, rendering opaque his current relationship with the mill and with the state-backed Chinese firm that now controls it. And thats exactly what worries Dr. Larry Diamond, a senior fellow and global democracy expert at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution. If Ricketts were running for the Senate in a normal way, this could come out, he could be asked to explain himself, to make certain commitments: if he still has investments, they could ask him to divest himself, Diamond told The Daily Beast. It seems to me that what the people of Nebraska need and have a right to expect is a fully transparent disclosure of what relationships he's had and a fully transparent and verifiable commitment to disentangle himself and his finances from future investments. Story continues A recurring concern in Diamonds studies and writings on China is what he describes as sharp powerdistinct from the traditional dichotomy of soft propaganda campaigns and hard military might. Sharp power, he argued, is covert, coercive, or corruptingand quite frequently all three. He pointed to Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar as other skilled practitioners of this form of international influence. But Beijing stands apart as the single most sophisticated wielder of sharp power of any authoritarian power in the world. Ricketts makes for a unique case, Diamond argued, due both to the power he will wield and the wealth flowing from his billionaire father, TD Ameritrade co-founder Joe Ricketts. Then Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts speaks to then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018. Pool With regard to China, I am not sure how many opportunities they have had until now to get investment entanglements of this kind, with legislators who are at a high level, he said. And thats because you have to have significant money to invest in the first place. The answer, Diamond argued, is transparency: not just from Ricketts personally, but from all of Congress. He called for the creation of a fully independent oversight body to review and regulate House and Senate ethics, so as to shield the American system from the intrigues of wealthy foreign actors. Theres a lot of countries now that are trying to use money to compromise the independence of executive and legislative government officials in democracies, because democracies are open societies, so they are more vulnerable to penetration and cooptation, he warned. Dr. Julian Ku, an international law professor and China watcher at Hofstra University, seconded Diamonds call for a full divulging and accounting of Ricketts investments and those of his peers. He did not believe that Ricketts had yet stepped beyond the bounds of propriety or Senate rulesbut warned that the Republicans public duties could soon come into tension with his financial pursuits. The next US Senate is likely to consider bills to ban or at least limit foreign investment in China and perhaps with Chinese-linked firms, Ku noted. So it will certainly present Ricketts with a potentially direct conflict of interest that he should be asked to address and reconcile. Further, Ku suggested that if Schulze were to make overtures to Ricketts like he reportedly did to Jared Kushner in 2017, the Singapore-based mogul should register as a foreign agent. Inside the Chinese Dealings of Nebraskas Red-Baiting Governor Neither Ricketts nor Schulzes team responded to repeated requests from The Daily Beast for comment. The irony, Ku notes, is that Ricketts has long advertised himself as a China hawkeven going so far as to counter the centenary celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party by declaring July 2021 Victims of Communism Remembrance Month in Nebraska. It was that exact month that the Schulze entities he is a partner in cut the Ethiopian deal with West China Cement. But now, Ku said, Ricketts has the chance to align his money with his mouth, and exemplify transparency in an age of subterfuge. Theres a lot of foreign governments playing this game. Its a challenge, its a policy problem, thats not limited to Ricketts, though he's a good example of it, Ku said. I think he can take the leadership on this, and say look, Im willing to disclose all my interests related to foreign governments, and everyone else should do the same. 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. Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker during a news interview in 2004. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II Much of the civil rights movement is remembered through the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. There were a number of people who also made valuable contributions but arent known as well. Among them was Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker hailed as one of the keenest minds of the nonviolent revolution by none less than King himself. Walker worked closely with King and was the chief strategist for the 1963 Birmingham campaign, which turned out to be one the most influential moments for the civil rights struggle. Before Birmingham Born in 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts, Walker attended Virginia Union University, where he earned a bachelors degree in chemistry and physics. He later went on to do graduate studies in theology at the university, setting him on his future path as a minister. He met King at an interseminary group in 1952, an organization that planned meetings between students of various seminaries. At the time, King was president of the student body of Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. They soon became personal friends. This friendship lasted until Kings assassination in 1968. It would inform much of the crucial civil rights work that the two would do together. While working as a minister at Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia in the 1950s, Walker began organizing large-scale civil rights protests. King assisted Walker in some of this work, including sending recorded remarks of support for a demonstration in Richmond in 1959 protesting Virginias decision to shut down schools rather than integrate them. Walker was also involved in several civil rights groups, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was founded by King and other civil rights leaders. In 1960, Walker took charge as the first full-time executive director of the conference a position from which he would oversee some of the most important moments of the civil rights movement, including one of the most significant campaigns Project C, or Project Confrontation. Story continues King with civil rights leaders, including Rev. Walker (on his left). AP Photo Popularly known as the Birmingham campaign, Project Confrontation was a series of coordinated boycotts and demonstrations supporting the ongoing efforts against segregation in the city. Demonstrations included marches, sit-ins, and kneel-ins in white churches by black protesters. Wyatt Tee Walker recruits volunteers for Project Confrontation. Audio courtesy of the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection, Boatwright Library Rare Books and Special Collections, University of Richmond., Author provided1.32 MB (download) Wyatt Tee Walker recruits volunteers for Project Confrontation at a Birmingham mass meeting on April 12, 1963. This audio was made available courtesy of the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection, Boatwright Library Rare Books and Special Collections, University of Richmond. Walker and the Letter from Birmingham Jail What Project Confrontation is perhaps best remembered for is the Letter from Birmingham Jail, an open letter authored by King while jailed in Birmingham due to his participation in the protests. The letter was written in response to a public statement by a group of eight ministers criticizing the Birmingham campaign. These ministers believed that the direct action of boycotts and demonstrations were too disruptive to daily life and should be stopped in favor of peaceful negotiations. Handwritten on the few scraps of paper that King was allowed in his cell, the letter was smuggled out piecemeal by his lawyers. In order for the letter to be published, it had to be typed, but first, it had to be read. Walker claims in a 2016 oral history, conducted by the University of Richmond where I am the reference and processing archivist, that this role fell to him because he was the only one in Birmingham who could understand and translate Kings chicken-scratch writing. Walker goes on to say that his secretary typed the letter while he read it aloud to her. When his secretary fell asleep working on the letter late at night, Walker finished the typing. Walker also claimed credit for the title, turning down the Friends Committees suggestion of Tears of Love. Walker and Project C Walkers role in Birmingham was not limited to guiding one of the most famous pieces of 20th-century writing to publication. In fact, Project Confrontation was designed and organized by Walker. Dr. King gave me the assignment to go to Birmingham and plan it out. And that ended up becoming Project C, Walker states in the same 2016 oral history. Explaining his strategy, he says, I knew that two things would move Birmingham: Mess with the money and make it inconvenient for the white community. That was the way to make change come. The demonstrations were specifically timed to make it onto the evening news, creating national attention for what had been considered a regional concern. Walkers work included everything from high level strategy, such as the timing of demonstrations, to the detailed work of counting seats in restaurants and churches to coordinate the sit-ins and kneel-ins. Birmingham 56 years later Project C went on to be a major success for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The methods and strategies became a template for future campaigns. As Walker states, the Birmingham campaign led to the 1964 Public Accommodations Act, which desegregated America. Birmingham showed that nonviolent, direction action focused on disrupting the economy and doing things that were inconvenient for the white community could generate positive results. Wyatt Tee Walker had a key role to play in this change. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It was written by: Taylor McNeilly, University of Richmond. Read more: Taylor McNeilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. It was quite the week for stones thrown from glass houses to boomerang back home, and were not just referring to how the Federal Aviation Administration, fresh from lambasting Southwest Airlines for its scheduling meltdown and failure to upgrade its technical systems, then caused widespread flight delays and cancellations for flyers Wednesday morning through a major technical snafu of its own. Sudden schadenfreude, we suspect, buoyed the LUV airline. No, the FAAs crisis was just a sideshow for the main performances in Washington and Chicago. Advertisement On Monday, CBS News reported that classified documents had been discovered in November in President Joe Bidens office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a Washington think tank that often hosted Biden in the years between the Obama administration and his own. On Tuesday, Biden said that the discovery of the stash was a surprise to him but he remained woefully mum about a second trove of classified documents that already had been found in his Wilmington, Delaware, garage, apparently next to his gas-guzzling Corvette. Advertisement But by Thursday, as the White House should have predicted, that news (along with that of another document found in a storage room) was out, too, and Attorney General Merrick Garland was holding a hastily arranged news conference and announcing a special counsel and an investigation. The issue was toxic for Biden, of course, because Democrats had been lambasting former President Donald Trump for absconding with classified documents, implying they would never do such a thing. Well, they did. And even as a lot of comparative Trump-Biden tweets started to age badly, Bidens defenders in the media were reduced to writing stories about how much worse Trumps sins were, given that he didnt fess up like the Democrats. Sure, there were plenty of meaningful differences. Trump had many more documents, didnt admit his sins voluntarily and surely has a much weaker case that not turning over the documents at Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives, as the law requires, was an oversight. But the fact remains that Biden still waltzed out of the White House while vice president with a bunch of classified documents. Incredibly, nobody stopped him and he did not check himself. The building that housed office space of President Joe Biden's former institute, the Penn Biden Center, is seen at the corner of Constitution and Louisiana avenues in Washington on Jan. 10, 2023. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP) Some combination of sloppiness and hubris would be on the list of probable causes, which is exactly what the White House has accused Trump of having, along with the implication that this is not something that would be countenanced by Biden. And when it happened, the White House neglected to come fully clean at the time. Not a good look. Meanwhile, in Chicago, WTTW reported on Wednesday that an unspecified number of Chicago Public Schools teachers had received an email from Mayor Lori Lightfoots reelection campaign to their work addresses, asking them to recruit CPS students to help with the mayors effort to stay mayor. The email, signed by a campaign staffer named Megan Crane, said participants in the externship program would be expected to volunteer 12 hours per week to the Lightfoot campaign and that students could expect to earn class credit. Advertisement This gaffe boggles the mind. Apparently, the campaign convinced itself that since no one was being coerced, and that the email addresses were generally accessible, this was a legitimate ask. It must further have convinced itself (how, bamboozles us) that the mayors rivals would not eventually find out about and pounce upon this issue. And it must have made peace with the clear conflict of interest and ethical violation in asking either public school teachers or their students to volunteer to help their big boss retain her power. Just like the White House, the Lightfoot campaign hemmed and hawed when asked for comment, only eventually coming to terms with the need for a full-throated mayoral apology and an assertion that this will not happen again. By Thursday, Lightfoot had a monster distraction on her hands, an escalation involving similar campaign emails also sent to City Colleges of Chicago, and two likely watchdog investigations to anticipate, potentially keeping the damaging story alive. Lightfoot said she had not known about the emailed ask prior to the WTTW report, and we take at her word. People make mistakes in both campaigns and government, and its likely this was all the result of a young staffer trying to do a good job for her candidate only to see it blow up in her face. One lives and learns. Still, its worth remembering what Lightfoot said about the need for ethics reform in 2018. Youve got to have a mayor who is really going to push for this, this newspaper quoted her at length as saying. People feel like city government is corrupt. They feel like it doesnt work unless you have clout. I hope to make this a specific narrative in the campaign and hope people start asking their aldermen where they stand on these issues, and that it becomes a narrative in aldermanic campaigns as well. Were not going to win back the public by continuing to do business as usual. Advertisement Like Biden, Lightfoot was attacking much worse behavior than her own. But also like Biden, the mayor was caught on her own petard. All either of them can do is apologize, vow to do better, and move on. Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Lexington Police have arrested an Upstate school bus driver who they say thought he was meeting a minor for sex but instead met an undercover officer. The man, identified as 58-year-old Wellford resident Bryan Wesley Rogers, had told the officer in a social media conversation before the meeting, I like young peeps. The officer said Rogers said he wanted to take her to a hotel and have sex and sent nude pictures and pornography. He went to Lexington on Thursday, ostensibly to meet the girl, but instead was arrested by Lexington detectives. Lexington Police said in a news release the detective, who is also on the South Carolina Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, chatted with Rogers on Wednesday to arrange the meeting. Before the arrest Rogers was employed by Spartanburg School District Six. Cynthia Robinson, spokeswoman for the district, told WYFF that Rogers was hired in February 2020 and fired Friday after district officials were contacted by Lexington Police. Lexington Police said they are investigating whether there were any other victims. Rogers was charged with attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, Age 11 14, two charges of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, two charges of attempted unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a minor, and attempted criminal solicitation of a minor. Roger was given a personal recognizance bond in Lexington County Bond Court Friday. To report an incident, contact Detective Earl Alewine at 803-358-7262 or ealewine@lexsc.com. YouTube's gaming community pushed back against the company this week after some creators saw their old videos demonetized out of the blue. The culprit is a new policy that the company introduced back in November in order to make certain kinds of content more advertiser friendly. That change, made to YouTubes's advertiser-friendly content guidelines, overhauled the platform's approach to profanity and violence. The good news is that while we don't quite know what the company will do yet, YouTube is apparently listening to creators' concerns. "In recent weeks weve heard from many creators regarding this update," YouTube spokesperson Michael Aciman told TechCrunch. "That feedback is important to us and we are in the process of making some adjustments to this policy to address their concerns. We will follow up shortly with our creator community as soon as we have more to share." In November, YouTube expanded its definition of violence beyond real-world depictions, including in-game violent content "directed at a real named person or acts that are manufactured to create shocking experiences (such as brutal mass killing)." The company said that gore in "standard game play" was fine, but only after the first 8 seconds of a video. The whole section left plenty of room for interpretation, for better or worse. The changes to its profanity policy were more drastic. YouTube announced that it would no longer count "hell" and "damn" as profane words, but all other profanity would be lumped together instead of differentiated based on severity (e.g. words like "shit" and "fuck" would now be treated the same way). Further, "profanity used in the title, thumbnails, or in the video's first 7 seconds or used consistently throughout the video may not receive ad revenue," according to the new policy. If the swearing kicks in after the first 8 seconds of a video, it's still eligible, but some of the changes stood to affect a massive swath of videos many of which were made well before the changes were announced. Creators started noticing the new policies in effect around the end of December, watching some videos be slapped with new restrictions that limit their reach and ad eligibility. Story continues YouTube creator Daniel Condren, who runs RTGame, explored the impact of the policy change on his own channel in a video that racked up more than a million views this week. Condren has been grappling with the enforcement changes in recent weeks after seeing roughly a dozen videos demonetized and his request for appeals rejected. I am so sorry to have to keep tweeting this - but overnight, 6 more of my videos have now become limited suddenly, including my Best of 2020. No notification from YouTube at all on any of these. This is genuinely awful @TeamYouTube pic.twitter.com/UHfSJA1FCt RTGame Daniel (@RTGameCrowd) December 29, 2022 "I genuinely feel like my entire livelihood is at risk if this continues," Condren wrote on Twitter. "I'm so upset this is even happening and that there seems to be nothing I can do to resolve it." YouTube didn't respond to our follow-up questions about how it plans to tweak the policy, but we're certainly curious if the platform will roll back enforcement for old, previously published videos that creators might rely on for income. In the face of emerging regulation targeting social media's relationship with underage users, the company is clearly trying to make its massive trove of videos more age-appropriate (and advertiser friendly). But retrofitting age restrictions and new monetization rules onto a platform like YouTube is a delicate balance and in this case the changes had a swift, sweeping impact that gave creators little time to adapt. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the Russian terror can be stopped only on the Ukrainian battlefield, and for this are needed weapons that the partner states have in their warehouses. Source: Zelenskyys evening address Quote: "Can the Russian terror be stopped? Yes, it can. Is it possible to stop it somehow else rather than on the Ukrainian battlefield? Unfortunately, no. This can and should be done on our land, in our sky, in our sea. What is needed for this? Those weapons that are in the warehouses of our partners and that our soldiers are waiting for. No amount of persuasion or time, that is just slipping away, will stop the terrorists who are methodically killing our people with missiles, Iranian-bought drones, their own artillery, tanks and mortars. The whole world knows what and how can stop those who sow death." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russias 24 February invasion of Ukraine, if the security situation permits. Source: interview with the AP news agency, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova said, as quoted by European Pravda According to her, many factors are needed to make Zelenskyy's trip possible, given the military situation in place and the warning of Ukrainian intelligence that Russia is planning a serious offensive in February. Quote from Dzhaparova: "Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, but its still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come." If Zelenskyy does come to the UN, it would be only his second trip outside Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. He made a surprise visit to Washington on 21 December to meet his most important backers in the war against Russia, President Joe Biden and members of Congress. Ukraines UN Ambassador Serhii Kyslytsia said the General Assembly has already scheduled a high-level debate on the war on 23 February, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on 24 February. Dzhaparova said Ukraine would like to see the assembly adopt one of the two resolutions that Zelenskyy wants to see approved on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion. Ukraine is consulting with its partners on the two measures, one that would support the presidents 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraines territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian forces, and the other that would establish a tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression. In late December, Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AP that the government wanted a "peace formula" summit by the end of February at the UN, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as mediator. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A recent policy of notifying parents of sexually explicit material in Amherst County Public Schools, which the countys school board approved in December, received criticism from a trio of high school educators during the boards Jan. 12 meeting. The new policy includes an opt in measure that some school board members said is needed to give parents more say in what their children are learning. A committee appointed to develop the policy prior to the Dec. 8 vote met six times and local school boards, by state law, were directed to have policies in place by Jan. 1. The policy ensures parents are notified of sexually explicit content, permits them to review such content and offers alternatives at the request of a parent. Kathleen Ayau, chair of the English department at Amherst County High School who has worked there 28 years, raised concerns of the opt-in measure during public comments presented to the board Jan. 12. We believe that this new policy is a distraction and a non-issue, Ayau said. I can say with reasonable confidence that no English teacher is currently or has recently taught any sexually explicit material in the English department. We are trained professionals, we choose materials wisely and would like to be respected and trusted as such. Ayau said she and other educators feel he opt-in policy is misguided. We are cognizant of the fact that we are teaching minors and we do not seek to teach salacious or lewd materials, Ayau said. Ayau said an opt-out policy works better because it less burdensome and time-consuming for teachers in sending out forms and keeping track of them. She asked the board if it is willing to pay her and other teachers for the additional work of grading two sets of lessons, referring to the opt-in measure as a hassle. It was dismaying and puzzling the department was not consulted about a policy change that affects it immensely, Ayau said. We feel discredited and distrusted by the school board, Ayau said. She asked that the policy be changed to an opt-out measure, which she said ensures that concerned parents are attentive in sending back correspondence and is much more manageable for staff. Ayau said 11 books at the library have been challenged as far as the content and more may be on the way, which she raised concern with. She said librarians do not make decisions in a vacuum and are obligated to choose materials based on needs of a diverse student population. Lets have faith in our librarians, Ayau said. She told the board school employees are dealing with effects of learning loss during the pandemic and other pressures. When I think of the pressing needs within our schools, I do not believe the countless hours it will take my principal and other staff to review these books is worth it, Ayau said. Im really asking for a reality check here. Two other speakers joined Ayau in expressing their view that the opt-in is unnecessary. Cheryl Fails, who also teaches at the high school, said she supports the English department and those who worked hard to draft a policy that relates to Virginia Department of Education code. I am asking that we do revisit some of the language in that policy because we believe some of it may be ambiguous, Fails told the board. Fails reiterated sexually explicit material is not taught in the high schools classrooms and endorsed the opt-out policy. She asked the board to support teachers and said the high schools English and history departments have 318 years of combined staff experience. Please consider our expertise and revisit this policy, Fails said. Board member Eric Orasi said the board hears the teachers and the Amherst community on a range of concerns. Policy can be changed, Orasi said. Its there for us as a dialogue. Orasi said a keep it clean approach to materials will result in not having to worry about opting people in and out. As long as we continue to keep things the way we should, the opt-in platform shouldnt have an effect on any of those teachers, Orasi said. There is some verbiage that will be addressed, Im sure. And we will be waiting for more comments and revisiting that policy. Board member Dawn Justice, who championed the opt-in measure, thanked the speakers for their input on the matter. What I hear loudest is we dont have sexually explicit instructional materials in our classrooms and thats the way it should be, Justice said. The opt-in would be for that what-if situation. It is establishing a policy for that rogue, hopefully-wont-happen event, where there is a material like that and we have the opt-in version for parents so that, just like a field trip, we get permission from them before we are teaching something that may not be age-appropriate. On challenging library books, Justice said from her perspective as a board member she would urge the district to revisit its reading policy and be able to show how any sexually explicit content contributes to the divisions goals. ...What is our de-selection policy and what is the standard for our selection policy? Justice asked. I would like to see those procedures as a board member. Vice Chair Abby Thompson agreed with a concern from Fails some of language in the policy is ambiguous. Chair Chris Terry said the board hears the concerns. We as a board will look at that and see what we can do, Terry said. Amherst County Public Schools announced Allison Ashton, a math teacher at Monelison Middle School, recently was named the divisions teacher of the year. Melvine Alexander, an instructional assistant at the Amherst Education Center, was selected as the ACPS staff of the year recipient. The two educators were recognized during the Amherst County School Boards Jan. 12 meeting. Ashton, a teacher of 19 years at the elementary and middle school level, has a background in science, technology, engineering and math and currently teaches robotics for middle school students. She serves on the Monelison Middle School Leadership Team, Virginia Tiered Systems of Support Team, and is the 6th-grade team leader. Everything Mrs. Ashton does is student-focused, and she measures her success by the success of her students, Monelison Principal Ryan White said. Katie Wood, assistant principal at Monelison, said Ashton works hard to get her students excited about math and robotics while helping them overcome everyday roadblocks they may have. She understands that relationships and communication are among the keys to each students success, Wood said. Alexander has 25 years of experience in education and has been at the Amherst Education Center, which is located adjacent to Monelison Middle School, for the past nine years. Mrs. Alexanders positive and uplifting attitude is a tremendous asset to our school and to the lives of our students, Ernest Penn, administrator of the Amherst Education Center, said. Alexanders colleagues noted characteristics that set her apart are empathy and understanding, a kind and caring personality, a willingness to always step up and encouragement and passion for students. A selection committee used numerous criteria in evaluating the nominees to determine ACPS division level recipients of the recognition the two received, according to a news release from the division. These educators represent tremendous leadership, passion, and dedication to their respective positions, the release said. During the meeting, Superintendent William Wells and school board members thanked the two for their hard work and dedication. Thank you for such an exceptional job, said Abby Thompson, the boards vice chair. The American Red Cross Bloodmobile was parked outside All Care Health Center Friday, and donors gave enough blood to save up to nearly 100 lives. The American Red Cross says that donors can give blood every 56 days, and the organization holds a blood drive outside All Cares main location, 902 S. 6th St., about every two months to line up with that locations donors timetables. Ciera Boatwright, the drive lead on the bus Friday afternoon, said they had nearly 30 appointments booked for the day and one walk-in. One donor, whom she was attending to, was All Care Office Administrator Toni Marquardt. Marquardt said shes been donating blood for the past four years, and she does it every chance she can. She said its pretty convenient for her now that the Red Cross bus pulls right up to her workplace. Being in the healthcare field, she knows how important of a resource blood is, be it whole blood, red blood cells, plasma or platelets. She said her reason for donating blood as much as possible is simple. To save lives, she said. We see a lot of people who need it. Tim Bosley of Council Bluffs was on the bus at the same time, and he learned that hes been donating blood since 2005. Like Marquardt, he said he donates blood every 56 days or as close to that as he can. He said his father was a pediatrician, one of the first in Nebraska to treat children outside of Omaha or Lincoln, and his mother often worked on Red Cross Bloodmobiles in Grand Island, so he was taught early on the importance of being a blood donor. To date, Bosley has donated 77 units of blood and is a member of the 10 gallon donor club. Growing up with parents who were dedicated to helping others, he said donating comes naturally. Its just doing something good to help, he said. The Red Cross says that each unit of blood can save up to three lives. Whole blood can be used for transfusions and other uses for patients, but the units can also be broken down into plasma, platelets and red blood cells. The Red Cross has a Blood Donor app available for download on most smartphones, and regular donors like Marquardt say its pretty handy. The app lets users easily search for nearby blood drives, book and manage appointments, view donation history, check health vitals and more. Marquardt said theres one special feature that makes her blood donation even more worthwhile. The Blood Donor app now shows users their Blood Journey, which tells them where their donation ends up. Marquardt said most of the time her blood ends up in New Jersey. She said its nice knowing she donated blood, but its especially heartwarming knowing exactly who its helping. The next blood drive outside All Care will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 24; however, there are plenty more opportunities to donate around Council Bluffs and the rest of the metropolitan area. Text BLOODAPP to 90999 to receive more information about the Blood Donor app and visit redcrossblood.org to look for and schedule appointments. Everyone knows what a sloth is, right? Those cute, furry guys with the long arms who you always see in internet videos hanging from trees and smiling beatifically? Now that youre picturing one, imagine a sloth that stands 10 feet tall, weighs nearly 3,000 pounds, and, with those long arms, has a wingspan of about 12 feet. Meet Megalonyx jeffersonii, or Jefferson ground sloth, an extinct relative of modern sloths who lived throughout North America, from northern Canada to central Mexico and from coast to coast across the United States, approximately 100,000 years ago. The remains of one such sloth were discovered in a creek bed near Shenandoah, Iowa, in 2001, and after years of excavation and study, a team of researchers, including seven from the University of Iowa, published their findings in November in The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. While many ground sloth remains have been located across the continent, what makes this find so unique is that researchers uncovered not just the bones of an adult ground sloth, but also the bones of two juveniles of different ages, including an infant. The research team believes that these are bones from three members of the same family unit, which is incredibly rare, according to Holmes Semken, professor emeritus at Iowas Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and leader of the project. When we submitted the paper they go out for review and when it came back, I corresponded with our editor, Semken said. And he was saying that he knew of two other occurrences of an adult with the juveniles. So thats out of all paleontological finds we have, if math is correct, theres three. The first bones were discovered by Bob Athen, who noticed an unusual object in a creek bed near his home in Northboro. He dug it up, and realized it was a bone, about one and a half feet long. After further digging, he found a few more smaller bones. While visiting his daughter, a student at Iowa, Athen and his wife, Sonya, brought the bones to the universitys paleontology repository for identification. Sonya said my jaw dropped open when I saw that femur, Semken said. Right away I knew it was a ground sloth. Semken said that he was able to so quickly identify the species the bone came from because sloths have an unique bone structure, different from most mammals. Their bones are so peculiar, Semken said. Their whole stance was different, their posture was so incredibly different. That means their bones are incredibly different, and that even includes the vertebrate, which you would think would be sort of a standard thing, but sloths are just so obvious. Its like separating a quarter from a penny. After realizing the large bone belonged to a ground sloth, Semken took note of the smaller bones that the Athens had brought to the university, which, in conjunction with the large femur, indicated to him the possibility that most, if not all, of a ground sloths remains was located at the site near Shenandoah. The excavation of what became known as the Tarkio Valley Site took about eight years, during which time researchers found nearly 150 adult sloth bones, more than 50 juvenile bones, and two from the infant. Jefferson ground sloths so named because Thomas Jefferson, an amateur scientist and member of the American Philosophical Society, examined a number of bones, including a three-clawed foot, and wrote a paper about his findings, wherein he named the creature Megalonyx, which means giant claw had incredibly big butts, Semken said, and when they were sitting down, the top of the head I would say (would) be six feet high. They had relatively short hind legs, but, like their modern cousins, had very long arms, about three and a half feet in length, ending in curved claws. Given their size, the ground sloth did not hang in trees, but Semken said that perhaps they used their long arms and claws to attach their young to tree limbs, so the mother could attend to other matters. To determine the age of the sloth remains, researchers dated sand grains that were beneath the bones, which gave them a pretty good idea of how long the bones had been laying there 106,000 years, since an era known as the Rancholabrean Age. When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be late glacial in age, Semken said. The last glacial period, the Pleistocene era, ended approximately 12,000 years ago, meaning that Semkens initial assumption was off by nearly 95,000 years. Wrong again, Semken said. As new techniques and technologies are created, additional research will be necessary to learn more about things like the ground sloths DNA and rate of growth. We got some interesting information, but we just didnt answer the question that we started out to get, so there are a lot of things to do, Semken said. The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History has a section dedicated to the Tarkio Valley Sloth Project, and the universitys Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences has a digital archive of photos of bones from the three sloths found at the dig site. The research teams journal article can also be viewed online. Weather Alert ...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR ALL OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA... * Affected Area...In Iowa, Monona, Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Page. In Nebraska, Knox, Cedar, Thurston, Antelope, Pierce, Wayne, Boone, Madison, Stanton, Cuming, Burt, Platte, Colfax, Dodge, Washington, Butler, Saunders, Douglas, Sarpy, Seward, Lancaster, Cass, Otoe, Saline, Jefferson, Gage, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee and Richardson. * Winds...South 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. * Relative Humidity...As low as 20 percent. * Impacts...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. && Debra Vines, CEO of The Answer, Inc., at the Beverly Center in Broadview on Jan. 7, 2023. Vines is a Top 10 CNN Heroes nominee. (James C. Svehla / Chicago Tribune) Community builder. Advocate. CNN Hero. Maywood native Debra Vines wears all the hats as CEO and founder of The Answer, Inc., a Forest Park-based organization that supports Black and brown people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and their families. The Top 10 CNN Heroes nominee title is one Vines started sporting Nov. 3, a recognition for her work with the nonprofit The Answer since its inception in 2007. Advertisement Vines estimates The Answer has supplied resources, training and programming for thousands of individuals and caregivers. A staple on the Far West Side, The Answer hosts events that foster the inclusion of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities into the larger community. From holding caregiver support groups; hosting fundraisers to send individuals with disabilities to camp; to conducting anti-bullying workshops for schools and autism awareness seminars for first responders, Vines said The Answer exists to be an asset to those who come through its doors. Everything we create is a blueprint of a need from the community, Vines said. When you think about Black and brown communities, disabilities are always at the bottom of the totem pole. Its like Oh, by the way, lets give them a little help. Thats why Im really boastful and unapologetic about the work that I do. My primary concern is the underresourced community. We never turn anyone away. Advertisement On a recent Saturday, a 6-year-old girl in a pink coat bounced on her toes inside a Broadview Park District community center as her parents signed her in to partake in three hours of activities within The Answers Spectrum University, activities such as dance, reading and social skills classes. Open to individuals from elementary school and beyond, the programming gives students an opportunity to learn and engage with peers while giving their caregivers a bit of a respite. Debra is a godsend, said Willie Akins, Broadview resident and mother to Drenna Akins, a 47-year-old with Down syndrome. Drenna saw her brother go to college, saw her sister go to college and she wanted to go to college. She heard about Spectrum University, heard the word university and shes in college. Drenna is also a performer and Music N Me, that is her heart ... my daughters life is complete. Lydia Riley has been a fan of Vines for years. She considers The Answer her village, one that she became a part of when her oldest son, Camron, now 35, was diagnosed with Down syndrome. This village right here, I think is the most important one because its about them and their confidence, how they feel and how they relate to their peers, she said. Vines has been all about serving families with loved ones who have intellectual and developmental disabilities after struggling to find resources for her youngest son, Jason Harlan, 35, when he was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. With her late husband working nights, Vines said she felt helpless, alone and depressed as her world centered on seeking services for Harlan. What support she found was costly and not centrally located. So she decided to fill the need herself by starting The Answer, which began at the Maywood library as a support-group meeting for parents and guardians to talk about their experiences and challenges. That was in September 2007. By April 2008, Vines and her husband had their 501(c)(3) and the nonprofit has been growing ever since. Debra Vines, right, CEO of The Answer, Inc., welcomes new student Sky Sparks, 6, as teacher Maya Hopkins, left, cheers at the Beverly Center in Broadview on Jan. 7, 2023. Debra Vines won a CNN Hero Award. (James C. Svehla / Chicago Tribune) Our main goal is to make sure that families get what they need, Vines said. A lot of other agencies just do one thing. Our agency provides education, recreation, support, workforce development and social skills. We want to make sure our kids not only have a good time, but get life skills. Before The Answer, Riley and Akins were doing what Vines did with her child driving anywhere and everywhere so their kids could participate in quality, engaging programming. After leaving state-funded educational programming, both did what they could to make sure their children were not just sitting at home idle every day. Camron and Drenna are in day programs during the week, but weekends and 24-hour support is another niche that The Answer provides. Both moms said Vines presence made them better advocates for their children and other families that can relate to their circumstances. Were not going to talk about it; were gonna be about it, Akins said. Debra opened the door out here to get it going. Advertisement The Answer was an awakening for a lot of people in this community and just to see it grow and prosper to her now being nominated a CNN Hero, speaks volumes, Riley said. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said she crossed paths with Vines when Thompson was executive director at the Broadview Park District and has been a supporter since because Vines is doing the work. I cant thank her enough for that awareness of, They are no different from you and I, Thompson said. Shes doing the work not just for the people that live in the township or the West Side of Chicago. She taps into people across the state, and when you become an influencer on a platform such as a CNN hero, it should bring more awareness to the services that these families need. Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford, 8th, said the state needs Vines as a partner given her work with families and helping professionals learn how to recognize and respect individuals with autism. He and others say Vines recognition on a national level was long overdue. For the Top 10 CNN Hero nominees, Subaru matched donations through a GoFundMe campaign from Nov. 29, 2022, to Jan. 3, 2023, up to $50,000 per hero. Vines raised a little over $20,000. Prior to her nomination, Vines was keeping The Answer afloat through fundraising and grants. The CNN Hero winner was Nelly Cheboi, who creates computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren. Advertisement Vines said her CNN honor is starting to sink in. I would like for the people in the city of Chicago to be excited about us, she said. People have been calling me from all over the United States. I got a call from an organization in Uganda that wants to fly me out for three weeks to teach parents how to advocate. Were intentional on developing relationships and networking so if someone needs us, they have us. drockett@chicagotribune.com Pope Francis expressed the deep consideration he harbors for King Mohammed VI, and hailed the distinguished relations between the Kingdom and the Holy See. On the occasion of the traditional exchange of New Years greetings, organized by the Pope in honor of the diplomatic corps, and during the presentation of the greetings of the Moroccan Ambassador to the Holy See, Rajae Naji Mekkaoui, the Pontiff emphasized his deep consideration as well as his distinguished respect for the person of King Mohammed VI. Pope Francis also shared his fond memories of his visit to Morocco at the end of March 2019 and the very good impression left by the King and the warm welcome he received. The pontiff also praised the strong and distinguished relations between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Morocco, calling them exemplary. A U.S. Congressional delegation, composed of seven members representing the Democratic and Republican parties, highlighted, Friday in Rabat, the Kingdoms regional leadership in North Africa and across Africa, in favor of peace, under the enlightened vision of King Mohammed VI. Our interest in the days ahead is to continue to work for peace in this region, given Moroccos continued leadership in North Africa and across Africa as a whole, said Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford, following the U.S. delegations talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita. Lankford also welcomed the centuries-old friendship between Morocco and the United States, stressing the willingness of his country to further strengthen these ties in the years ahead. The senator said that the visit provides the US congressmen an opportunity to be better informed on the Kingdom and to meet with Moroccan officials to develop a very long-term friendship. For her part, the Democratic Senator from Nevada, Jacky Rosen, said the purpose of this visit is to examine ways to strengthen peace and prosperity in the region with the help of Morocco, and expressed the willingness of the United States to deepen and consolidate the partnership with the Kingdom. The U.S. Congressional delegation met Friday with the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, to discuss the distinguished relations between Morocco and the United States based on a strong, ambitious and diversified partnership. During this meeting, Akhannouch stressed that bilateral relations are based on several foundations, first of all the political and diplomatic component through the strategic dialogue between the two countries and the coordination of their positions on many international issues. He pointed out that the Abraham Agreements to which Morocco has adhered constitute a diplomatic success that inaugurates a new era of peace and stability. He also noted that the free trade agreement between the two countries has allowed, since its entry into force in 2005, to quadruple the volume of trade, which increased from 1.5 to 5 billion dollars, stressing that the Kingdom can offer a link and a platform for U.S. investment in the African continent. The head of government also praised the quality of U.S. programs dedicated to supporting economic development in Morocco, in several important sectors, saying that the two compacts carried out in Morocco by the Millennium Challenge Corporation represent a model of success, given the positive impact they have had on the local population. In this connection, Akhannouch expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the implementation of the second compact, which expires on March 31, 2023, saying the compact commitment rate exceeds 93% and the achievement rate stands at about 78%. The two parties also reviewed the cooperation agreements in the cultural field, which help promote understanding at the human level between the two countries and the two peoples and expressed their common desire to explore new avenues to continue this fruitful cooperation. The head of government also mentioned the important security and military cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. On Friday evening, the U.S. Congress members were guest to a dinner banquet hosted in their honor by King Mohammed VI. The dinner was attended by the Kings Advisor, Andre Azoulay, Foreign Minister Bourita, and other members of the cabinet, as well as Secretary general of the Council of the Jewish Community of Morocco, Serge Berdugo, Secretary general of the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema, Ahmed Abbadi, president of the Moroccan Employers Association, Chakib Alj, and other personalities. The U.S. Congressional delegation includes senators Jacky Rosen, James Lankford, Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand, Dan Sullivan, Mark Kelly and Ted Budd. Series creator Eli Jorne says the show will feel different than TWD due to the location change and it will be smaller in scope (less cast) to focus more on the relationship between the two leads. i mean, so... not really that different at all? same shit, different city? and one of those characters is fucking negan? Reply Thread Link I'm all in for The Last of Us instead. SUNDAY IS ALMOST HERE!!!!! Haven't watched TWD for years and it seems I haven't missed anything. Reply Parent Thread Link no one moved. no one clapped. Reply Thread Link Smdh Unnecessary how stupid i knkw sge needs a job but if you were devoted to your character wtf would you want your character to have a relationship with the man who bashed your baby daddy in the head or have your kid aorund him. Good person arch be damned. Reply Thread Link If you actually read the post their relationship is being forced to work together to save your son as opposed to being a couple. The finale already made it clear she wont forgive him. Reply Parent Thread Link He should have been shot in the face. She can find her son. Reply Parent Thread Link I know this spinoff has been getting some hate over the Negan character but as a relatively new fan I like the idea, at least it's different. I didn't watch the whole of TWD(just the last few seasons) and I'm not too fond of Rick so I'm not going to miss most of twd's huge cast. I just want a fun show with zombies and an interesting dynamic between characters even if they're unlikable. I'm not expecting much writing wise but the actors are decent enough to pull it off. :shrugs: Reply Thread Link I think the problem many have is that it isnt an interesting dynamic. The focus on the two of them constantly glaring at each other and Maggie clenching her jaw a lot as she rolled out empty threats was part of the reason the final season felt endless and boring af. The dynamic is just so forced and stale. And Im sure theyll kill off Negans wife and kid to sell some kind of bonding or give motivation, but the problem is that Negan obliterated Maggies husband with a bat right in front of her and thats always there. So wake me when Maggie shoots Negan in the nuts then face, bc thats the only way this could be interesting to me :) Reply Parent Thread Link I can't believe Negan has fans. Jesus. I noped out of TWD a few episodes after they killed Glen and haven't regretted it. Reply Thread Link omg theyre going to hook up arent they? 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 Boo urns Reply Thread Link I still cant believe how quickly I flipped from OMG JDM is going to be on Walking Dead to OMG I wish he had never been cast. I cannot stand Negan and wont be watching the spin-off. Reply Thread Link seems like a lifetime ago when they were batman's parents in that movie Reply Thread Link I hope its canceled in middle of production Reply Thread Link The first season is already complete. But AMC did just cancel a show in ost-production, so theres always hood! Reply Parent Thread Link I love maggie so much. She has been one of my favorites since the beginning. But I can't with Negan. I think my hate for him has lessen a bit but it still doesn't make sense for his character to be alive. It just feels forced. Also I think JDM is pretty one note. I honestly don't think they will ever get together though. The show has been consistent on that. Not only because of Maggie, but I don't think she would ever do that to her son. Nothing on the show points to that. Also where are Negan's wife and kid? Reply Thread Link Can't wait for this, I love it when characters are forced to work together and the relationship between those two is super interesting to me. Reply Thread Link Ill never watch this but I have to know if theyre even slightly romantically involved?? Reply Thread Link Theyre not. Shes made it clear that she cant forgive him for what he did. Reply Parent Thread Link Well at least theres that. Reply Parent Thread Link I hope this flops. Forcing maggie and negan to have a relationship in any shape or form is weird and disgusting. Reply Thread Link I feel like this plotline would have more impact if he didn't already save Hershel in the final season. Reply Thread Link they learn that theres a lot they dont know about each other Does he learn that she is an abuser? Reply Thread Link So is it based on their marriage? Reply Thread Link Is she the second or third wife? Reply Parent Thread Link She's the second but considering his history I wouldn't trust my bb Gary Reply Parent Thread Expand Link haha Oppenheimer's husband Reply Thread Link Chesty McCheaterson and Bashy Hands McGee. No fucking thank you. Reply Thread Link Emma Roberts is so off-putting to me. I cant buy her in rom-com roles; she seems so insincere. There are plenty of charming actors that couldve been in this movie, and they picked her? Reply Thread Link She was legitimately good in Wild Child but to be fair that was her sweet spot, spoiled California brat shipped off to British boarding school Reply Parent Thread Link Talk about terribly unappealing leads. Reply Thread Link Tom Ellis will always be Gary to me and I refuse to see him any other way. Reply Thread Link I've watched zero projects with Emma Roberts but every time I feel compelled to say that Evans had wounds like bitemarks and scratches when Emma was arrested -and then Emma had bruises show up on her body in the following days. Often defensive wounds are more readily apparent during a conflict. Reply Thread Link I dont see a realistic way any character played by Tom Ellis would tolerate let alone date Emma Roberts character. Unbelievable. Even if he played a man child. I just dont see it. Edited at 2023-01-14 04:33 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link Of course its the usual 10+ year gap that movies love so much. Reply Thread Link I wish so bad that I could fuck that man. Reply Thread Link i can't stand most of the characters on tell me lies but am i in for a second season of mess? sadly, yes. Reply Thread Link Since he cheated I find him so unattractive Reply Thread Link Isnt he like 20 years older than her? Reply Thread Link Yeah he's way older Reply Parent Thread Link Drop her in the sea Reply Thread Link she could be rescued. make it a volcano Reply Parent Thread Link She's such a ghoul. Reply Thread Link Ellen Abbott from Gone Girl was totally based on this pos. Reply Parent Thread Link Why am I not surprised this rancid vulture set up shop outside the site of gruesome murders. She takes trauma porn to exponential extremes. Reply Thread Link Nancy Grace is a ghoul Reply Thread Link For what? To tell us shit we already know?? Fuck off. Reply Thread Link Wooow Reply Thread Link She is one of the most vile people of recent times Reply Thread Link Why is she even at the murder scene? Wouldn't outside of court where Bryan Kohberger's hearing is taking place be more appropriate? She is probably feeling herself becoming irrelevant. Reply Thread Link Ok, so i just read that the preliminary hearing (the hearing to decide if there is enough evidence for the trial) is was scheduled for the end of June. (This is pretty crazy to me considering Kohberger is held without bail.) So, what is Grace is even going to be covering? Let Moscow be, Nancy!!! They have had a pretty shitty winter so far without you moving in!!! Reply Parent Thread Link I think he waived a speedy preliminary date. Maybe more time to mount a defense? Idk... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah Nancy Grace sucks lol Reply Thread Link so ghoulish especially considering the U of Idaho started classes again this week. leave these kids the fuck alone Nancy Reply Thread Link Our tragedy is not your news backdrop she doesnt care. she has never cared about the actual victims of the crimes she obsesses over. shes a freak. Reply Thread Link How is she still relevant Reply Thread Link https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ugjCCWdKr8Y She sounds like real human scum Literally the ONLY reason I have heard of her is because yesterday I was randomly watching some clips from The Newsroom on yt and saw this:She sounds like real human scum Reply Parent Thread Link There's a disgusting amount of people who are treating this case like their entertainment instead of, you know, a fucking tragedy where four people had their lives cut short? I feel really, really badly for their relatives because people are so entitled about this case. Reply Thread Link It's especially gross that there were two different tv specials about it last night. Like...the case has barely started and they're making one hour specials? Reply Parent Thread Link Those were actually TWO hour specials. Idk it does give the families a space to talk about their kids. I watched the 48 Hours (that one was only an hour) and it made me cry, it was so poignant. Reply Parent Thread Link And isn't there a poor girl who survived, only for people to now be absolutely brutal toward her because she laid in her room for hours or something like that? For how much our generations love to throw around trauma, they sure can't ever fucking recognize it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it really is extra awful with this case so many people are using it as entertainment Reply Parent Thread Link I read a comment yesterday where someone was like "I want to hear the 911 call. We deserve it" and it's like... no, you don't. You aren't entitled to anything. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Real crime stans and Tiktok detectives need to be forced into empathy training. Reply Parent Thread Link I guess thats the end result of true crime becoming entertainment and having a fandom. Gross. Reply Parent Thread Link This is gross and inappropriate. Youtuber level stype shit. Reply Thread Link I think the debt ceiling crisis going to to be bad. I guess time will tell, but it does not look good. Reply Thread Link Serial liar and fraud George Santos slipping while entering his office as he is being asked when he will resign. What an embarrassment.pic.twitter.com/2Gd4142dmo Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) January 13, 2023 Reply Thread Link Caught slipping by a newspaper, literally *chef's kiss* Reply Parent Thread Link this fucking slimeball. The people who elected him want him to resign. Or is he acknowledging Papa McCarthy elected him? Reply Parent Thread Link I fuckin hate this clown: republicans will let it all slide because hey dont want a dem its madness. Imagine how shady he actually is privately. Reply Parent Thread Link How in the hell are so many classified documents being found in random places? At my work you get written up if dont lock your computer when you step away from your desk. Reply Thread Link IKR? Our IT monitors every move and contacts us immediately if there's something suspicious going on but the POTUS just takes classified documents with them? lol Reply Parent Thread Link MTE, my job monitors my every keystroke, but these dudes are just leaving shit in random drawers. Who knows what is out there because apparently people can just access whatever they want if they have a high enough clearance lmao Reply Parent Thread Link He's almost 200 years old, I thought it was clear he had dementia on the campaign trail? And who is above him to check his ass? This is like Dianne Feinstein from SF being unfit but no one will snitch on Biden bc it opens the US to massive risk and also no one wants Kamala to be President. She's so disappointing. There are so many great women but they choose her? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lack of compliance measures, lack of compliance auditors. If it isn't strict, then it doesn't become a habit (locking your computer). Compliance slips fast when it's not enforced. Reply Parent Thread Link I remember my dad having stuff that he burned when he had to take work home with him, but none of it was, like, foreign policy shit. There was a military contractor who installed Limewire on the same computer he did work on and the government found out because another country ended up with the plans stored on said computer- so I suppose this could be worse. Oh! And the guy who found a random USB in the Pentagon parking lot and decided "huh, I should see what's on this" on a government computer. Don't put random USBs in your computers, everyone- they could contain malware! Anyway, people are idiots. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, I have a feeling it's all just down to like basic logistics of packing and taking things by mistake. Not saying it's always that, because I don't believe that was the case with Trump's documents, but I doubt they audit every single box and thing when they move out. If Jan 6 was anything to go by, the security and logistics of our government buildings, etc are much more rough than one would think. I wouldn't surprised if multiple presidents/VPs/etc from the past also kept something they shouldn't have. Reply Parent Thread Link In the case of the first round of documents, they were found in a safe w beau Bidens funeral documents and beau died in 2015 so Im assuming it was put in there then and then forgot about/it was too painful to open again, etc. Reply Parent Thread Link our government is run by boomers what do you expect Reply Parent Thread Link our IT department was ordered to set up for every pc to lock screen after 2 minutes... Reply Parent Thread Link I cant even send files from my own work computer I get a data security breach alert Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Because Opsec only matters when you are at the bottom of the food chain. Or a woman. Reply Parent Thread Link Did anyone see that article where it turns out George Santos spend several thousand in campaign dollars eating at this one restaurant only the restaurant is owned by a guy who was a human trafficker and each meal was $199.99 and reporting for how you spend your campaign dollars kicks in at $200??? I know the Republicans won't move against this guy but surely they realize that a pathological money launderer is probably going to be selling intel while in office right? RIGHT??? Isn't there some way for the people in his district to recall him? Reply Thread Link IDK....the Republicans in his area are mad as hell over this and have been asking him to resign. Also, all the powerful Republicans in his area have banned together and said they wouldn't support him if he ran again in 2024. This guy's life is basically over, I mean, who would hire him after this? He's untrustworthy and will always be known as "the man who lied." Reply Parent Thread Link if Georganne the Scammer does get the boot, what would the replacement process be? Reply Thread Link My understanding is that it would just be another election which is fairly straightforward. However Republicans don't want to oust him because that district has traditionally been won by democrats and with the renewed attention on Scamtos they would be almost guaranteed to lose it. Kevin McCarthy could barely get elected speaker when he could only lose 4 votes, if he's down Santos then he could only lose 3 votes every time he needs to pass something. tl;dr Santos would likely get replaced by a Democrat and McCarthy would rather keep a scammer than negotiate with democrats to pass bills. Reply Parent Thread Link LMAO thats pretty much what I figured, I loooooove watching these assholes flop time and time again Reply Parent Thread Link Special election, like what happened in VA after the guy who was reelected in November died a few weeks later. In the senate in some cases the governor can put someone in the seat until the next election, but that depends on state law. Reply Parent Thread Link I love this nickname Reply Parent Thread Link Haven't been paying attention but what does this mean for Biden? Could he get charged with something? His team needs to be fired because why tf didn't they check and double check if he had files when the docs were found? Reply Thread Link I doubt hed be criminally charged, but The R/Qs in congress will probably draft articles of impeachment. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol @ the R/Qs, that's good Reply Parent Thread Link It means nothing except that Merrick Garland is turning out to be a terrible Attorney General Here are the cliffs notes It is not uncommon for records to be found after leaving office. Afaik these are old records not items during Biden current admin. Its a lot of stuff. The point of the National Archives is to be a gatekeeper and auditor. If documents are found to be missing or discovered by people looking after the ex office (Senator, VP) then the normal thing is to locate them or retrieve them. End of story. Biden isnt the first nor will he probably be the last in which this occurs. The main point being that the N.A. works to resolve. Biden and his people have been fully cooperative. Its not actually a thing but Merrick Garland made it a thing by appointing a special counsel in like 8 minutes when it wasnt even necessary. Donald Trmp had documents. He didnt take them by accident in a pile of whatever. He took them on purpose. He tried to disguise what the docs were. He lied about having the docs. He refused repeatedly to return the docs. He claimed he had Exec privilege to have the docs. It took Merrick Garland forever and a day to appoint a special counsel despite clear evidence of actual espionage. Imo - nothing will come of this except another round of rabid MAGA ignoring their own corrupt cult leader and endless news cycles for Biden. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's such an unforced error for Biden with this right after Trump got caught doing the same thing. Package up all the shit, give it to the archives, and go chill, don't take work home with you after you are out of said job (since the documents are from when he was VP). Reply Thread Link well Im not a hypocrite so the same way trump should be punished for moving classified documents around and leaving them there, so should biden. what will probably happen is that neither of them will face any real recourse Reply Thread Link I mean it's not the same thing. The reason Trump's was such a big deal and concluded in a raid was that the archivists figured out he had the material and spent a year asking for it back and he refused. There is allegedly footage of his lawyers moving secret material around and then telling the F.B.I. "okay sure come get it" and it wasn't there. They had to conduct a raid because he kept lying every time they came to get it. Biden's team alerted the archivists to the material, returned it, and are now co-operating fully with the investigation into the documents. I agree that I don't think either will face legal consequences though. Reply Parent Thread Link Of course what Trump did was worse and I'm sure he was trying to hide information. All of this context you just provided changes nothing about how I feel and I still feel it is the same thing -- whether or not Biden and his team chose to alert archivists themselves, the fact is the material should never have been removed and then classified information sat for years where it shouldn't have been. But yes, sure, big pat on the back to Biden and his team for being the bigger man about it Reply Parent Thread Link I get the feeling 45 and Biden are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how officials treat confidential documents. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I wouldnt say its the same, given the difference in behaviour. What would be fair is for officials to face the same base consequence for wrongly holding onto classified docs at all, and then a scale of much stiffer penalties come into play for any wilful misconduct in the matter - having purposefully removed them without cause to begin with, not handing them back promptly etc Reply Parent Thread Expand Link do you think both should have consequences or do you actually think both should be punished, and if the latter, are you suggesting this punishment is from whatever consequences are written out in the policy being violated or do you just think all rule-breaking in its base form involves punishment as consequence? Reply Parent Thread Link They should investigate if he is even an American citizen. He's apparently going by other names too. The man is a fraud but will not be removed because he would be replaced by a Democrat. Reply Thread Link At this point its safe to question his entire existence, is he even real? Reply Thread Link He's funded by dark money too, what is going on here lol Reply Parent Thread Link Wouldnt be surprised if he was a lizard person at this point. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link George Santos is a Berenstein Bear Reply Parent Thread Link At this point, I understand why aliens won't communicate with us. Reply Thread Link If aliens made it this far, they are so far advanced that we're like ants to them and not worth their time. Reply Parent Thread Link Aliens probably watch a live feed of Earth like its their version of early Jersey Shore Reply Parent Thread Link I'm jealous they don't have to live on this planet if they don't want to. Reply Parent Thread Link I feel like there arent aliens cause if they were either Trump or Biden wouldve told us. But for none of them to say anything? Were alone in the universe confirmed. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, I wouldn't want to talk to those two either, LOL. Edited at 2023-01-17 03:31 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I would not be surprised if there are classified documents floating all over the place in politicians office/homes. I dont think they are as careful with them as they say they are. Reply Thread Link You know Schumer or McCarthy have top secret documents in their bathrooms next to the readers digest. Reply Parent Thread Link Can't wait to see the Blue MAGA meltdown. Reply Thread Link Just how lax are the protocols around classified documents that they were able to hold onto these things so long? Like, I know Trump was being deliberately obstructive, but Bidens had his even longer and they didnt even realise - it was his people who found them and did the right thing flagging it up handing them back. How was that allowed to happen? Reply Thread Link This is what I keep asking Reply Parent Thread Link The Kazakh government cracked down on illegal mining operations in 2022. Cryptocurrency miners pay varying rates because they purchase spare capacity from power plants via auction. Under a new tax code that came into force on January 1, Astana introduced a sliding scale for a previously flat surcharge on energy use for cryptocurrency miners. Cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan are paying more for their energy this year, as the government moves to encourage the use of renewables and curb the excessive electricity use that is contributing to shortages. Under a new tax code that came into force on January 1, Astana introduced a sliding scale for a previously flat surcharge on energy use for cryptocurrency miners that first came into force last year. Last January, the miners began paying a surcharge of 1 tenge, worth about $0.002, per kilowatt hour. A year on, some miners are paying up to 10 times more, NewTimes.kz reports. The surcharge depends on the average price they pay to produce the coins over a given tax reporting period. The cheaper the electricity, the larger the surcharge. For example, if the producer pays 24 tenge, worth around $0.05, or more per kilowatt hour, the surcharge remains at 1 tenge. If they pay 5-10 tenge, the surcharge will hit 10 tenge. Related: Freeport LNG Denies Reuters Report Claiming Further Restart Delay Cryptocurrency miners pay varying rates because they purchase spare capacity from power plants via auction. Those using renewables will continue to pay a flat rate of 1 tenge. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the government to review the surcharge back in February 2022, when he said 1 tenge was a pitifully small amount for miners who are reaping large profits. Crypto miners flocked to Kazakhstan from China in 2021 after Beijing banned operations there. Their power-hungry operations caused demand for electricity to balloon, leading to widespread blackouts. The government then started cracking down on illegal mining and increasing regulation over legal cryptocurrency operations. At that time, the sector was dominated by well-connected tycoons such as Bolat Nazarbayev, the brother of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. After the latter fell out of favor following violent turmoil in Kazakhstan last January, the government moved against Bolat Nazarbayevs crypto-farms, which it implied were mining coins illegally. He voluntarily shut them down. Several other businessmen with links to the Nazarbayev family voluntarily closed their operations too. They included Kayrat Sharipbayev, who is believed to be the partner of Dariga Nazarbayeva, the ex-presidents eldest daughter. Investigators said then that crypto mining presented a threat to the countrys economic security. ADVERTISEMENT The changes to electricity payments for crypto miners are the latest step by Astana to tackle that through greater regulation. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia delivered a speech Friday on his public safety plan that he said would unify a city still struggling to emerge from a recent crime wave and nationwide reckoning on race and policing his first comprehensive set of campaign promises in a bid to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In remarks before the City Club of Chicago, Garcia struck a more deferential tone when speaking about Chicago police compared to other progressive candidates who have demanded less spending on law enforcement. Advertisement As much as rogue cops need accountability, good cops deserve respect, Garcia said, to applause from the room. We cannot treat them like the enemy and expect things to get better. Garcia said his plan for what would be a fully funded Police Department includes hiring 1,600 more officers amid a spate of vacancies during the pandemic, but he did not specifically call for upping funds for law enforcement, instead saying this years $1.9 billion allocation to the department under Lightfoots budget is adequate to achieving his goals. Advertisement I know some people are surprised to hear a guy like me, who spent decades as a community activist, community builder, supporting hiring police officers, Garcia acknowledged. But building the violence prevention programs in Little Village was only possible by having an understanding with police. Repeating calls from other challengers, Garcia said police Superintendent David Brown is an ineffective leader and should be fired and replaced with someone from Chicago. The congressman vowed to shift resources from citywide units to patrol teams in the neighborhoods, as well as fill administrative positions with civilians and keep sworn personnel working on the streets. Garcia also said he would designate non-law enforcement teams for mental health crises, establish an office of violence reduction and prioritize street outreach programs in the 15 most violent neighborhoods. The congressmans newest promises come as concerns over violence continue to permeate the mayors race. That focus follows a crime spike in 2021 that reached levels unseen since the 1990s before steadily decreasing last year though rates are still higher than when Lightfoot took office. Lightfoots campaign responded by saying Garcia is a second-time mayoral candidate who lacks even five minutes of executive experience. In a speech Friday, Chuy Garcia spouted empty rhetoric and recycled violence prevention ideas so familiar they could have been pasted from the mayors own Safer Chicago Plan, said the campaign statement, titled On Public Safety, Lightfoot Delivers Results, Garcia Delivers Platitudes From The Sidelines. Lightfoot has maintained that fears of violence are overblown by haters, stating in a recent ad that she has a holistic plan to deal with crime. Her campaign has touted accomplishments such as Chicago police taking more than 12,000 illegal guns off the street last year, increasing funding for anti-violence projects as well as services for domestic violence and trafficking victims and suing out-of-state gun suppliers. The mayor has also sought to blame the Cook County courts and top prosecutor Kim Foxx for what Lightfoot has said is a revolving door of violent offenders who are let out on pretrial release, to the ire of some criminal justice reform advocates. Advertisement Garcia called Lightfoot a not so nice leader who fails to get along with her own officers as well as counterparts in Cook County government. He lambasted her ad utilizing the haters rhetoric as proof she was not serious. When she failed, instead of doing what a leader does, taking responsibility and solving problems, she dug in, Garcia said. While she was managing our police, pointing fingers and hurling insults, Chicagoans were dying. Garcia is one of the last of nine candidates in the mayors race to release a public safety platform. In May, state Rep. Kambium Kam Buckner vowed to make filling Chicago police vacancies and beefing up the homicide detective force his first priority, while underscoring we can do both when it comes to investing in policing and alternative solutions to crime. Community activist JaMal Green, who has frequently protested Chicago police and advocated for reallocating their budget, focused less on law enforcement tactics in his plan. He proposed a youth intervention department to mentor those 25 and under who are struggling with criminal or behavioral issues. Regarding the Police Department, Green said he would give further support to an apprenticeship program for youth 13 and up and ease the background check process for recruits. He would also require officers to carry liability insurance for misconduct litigation and abolish the gang database. Ald. Sophia King, 4th, promised to set up a reserve of 1,000 retired police officers to focus on less dangerous duties. Often repeating it is a false choice that Chicago cant have both safety and justice, King called for adding 200 detectives while also paying high-risk Chicagoans $600 a week to participate in intervention programs. Former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas plan includes inviting officers who left the department in the last three years to come back with no loss in seniority, loosening the background check process and, most notably, not requiring that new recruits live within city limits until the end of their 18-month probationary period. He has vowed in a campaign video that he would not participate in scapegoating (police) for political expediency. Advertisement He also released a video on how he would work with or, rather, against Foxx. Vallas said he wants to bypass Kim Foxx altogether and work with the U.S. attorneys office or go directly to the judge to bring charges. Another City Council member seeking the mayors office, 6th Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer, said he would allow Chicago police officers to retire with a full pension after 20 years. He promised to ask the federal government to assign their own police to the citys airports so that those couple hundred Chicago police officers can be reassigned to patrol the CTA. Sawyer joined King and others in calling for the rehiring of retired officers, but only for administrative work or to respond when the victim is safe and the crime is over. Willie Wilson, a businessman, released a plan that includes dividing the city into four police districts, each with their own superintendents of police, giving officers a pay raise and a housing allowance, bringing back retired police and dedicating a 300-officer force as well as a conductor on every train in the CTA. Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson has not released a full safety plan yet but his campaign said it is forthcoming. His campaign websites public safety section notes Chicago needs real investments in root cause solutions and calls for creating an Office of Community Safety, reopening the citys shuttered mental health clinics and funding youth employment. ayin@chicagotribune.com While it is undoubtedly still a fuel for the future, it has been noticeable lately just how many breakthroughs the nuclear fusion field has seen. Nuclear fusion has been the holy grail of energy for decades now, but even its most ardent proponents will admit that it isnt going to be commercialized any time soon. When Will Nuclear Fusion Put Oil And Gas Out Of Business? a Forbes headline asked late last year. While there have been major breakthroughs in achieving ignition in the last year which have tipped the nuclear fusion scales from pipe dream to possibility, the article concluded that we likely wont see a switch to commercialized nuclear fusion in our lifetimes. But its closer to reality than ever before, and naysayers have increasingly had to walk back their nuclear fusion doubts in recent months and years. Breakthroughs keep piling up, technological advances are occurring more frequently in nuclear fusion experiments around the world, and the timeline for commercial fusion keeps getting revised to be shorter and shorter. Around the same time the Forbes article was published, another major advance in nuclear fusion technology was logged in a Chinese laboratory. The Hefei-based Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) project announced just this week, after a thorough peer review, that last month the scientists working at the reactor discovered a never-before-seen mode of plasma operation that could lead to more stable and effective generation of nuclear fusion energy. By heating up plasma-charged gas made of free-moving electrons and hydrogen ions to a whopping 70 million degrees Celsius through the use of magnetic fields, the scientists unlocked a new mode of plasma operation with enormous potential impact due. The super I-mode achieved high energy confinement in both deep plasma and at the plasma edge. The modes ability to reduce loss of heat at the plasmas edge is particularly exciting, as it has major implications for effectively and efficiently harnessing nuclear power production. As such, the breakthrough exhibits great potential for the modes use in the worlds largest fusion reactor the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) which is currently under construction in France. The significance of the EAST experiments is that they have demonstrated, for the first time, that tokamak plasmas can be sustained and controlled for very long pulses more than 1,000 seconds, which is similar to the long pulses ITER aims for in the long term, Richard Pitts, a plasma operations specialist at ITER was quoted by the South China Morning Post. There are all kinds of issues associated with very long pulse operation, and its very comforting for us at ITER to see that this has been achieved, even if it is on a much smaller device. This breakthrough comes on the heels of a massive discovery made by researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, who finally broke through nuclear fusions most significant barrier to date: creating net positive energy from the reaction. The now legendary experiment in California used lasers to focus 2.05 megajoules of light onto a tiny quantity of fusion fuel, sparking an explosion that ultimately produced 3.15 MJ of energy, which equates to about three sticks of dynamite. Typically, creating nuclear fusion here on Earth has required so much energy that the actual fusion reaction didnt produce enough to break even. On the surface of the sun, fusion takes place naturally, but achieving those kinds of temperatures on Earth is no easy feat. ITER, which is the most promising and large-scale nuclear fusion project in the world, is currently vastly over budget and behind schedule. Once humans hack it, however, commercial-scale nuclear fusion would produce essentially limitless clean energy, presenting a silver bullet solution to the climate crisis, as well as global energy security. This is why the advances being made in fusion experiments throughout the world are so exciting, albeit very preliminary in the scientific process needed to achieve scalable commercial fusion. By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Energy bills could fall under 2,500 per year in the second half of this year, potentially saving the Government billions of pounds in the cost of support packages for households. Investec has downgraded its predictions for the energy price cap in 2023. It now expects the cap to drop from its current rate of 4,279 per year to 3,317 per year in April, before sliding to 2,478 per year in July before climbing slightly to 2,546 per year in October. The rate of the price cap is also below the threshold of the Energy Price Guarantee in the second half of the year, which subsidises rates at 3,000 per year from April for the proceeding 12 months . The latest dip in the price cap is expected to save the Government around 700m, according to Investec, dropping the cost of the Energy Price Guarantee in the second half of 2023 from 3bn to 2.3bn. It is also well below the 13bn forecast last year by the Office for Budget Responsibility, meaning billions have been cut from predictions since last Autumn. Energy bills to ease as gas prices plummet The latest predictions reflect plummeting gas prices, with markets easing following Europes successful scramble for supplies and warmer than expected winter weather. Gas is currently trading at 1.67 per therm on the spot market. This is still historically high, with gas trading at around 45p per therm prior to the energy crisis and Russias invasion of Ukraine but is well below the 8 per therm peaks recorded last summer. These recent falls in prices are likely to have a delayed effect on household bills with suppliers typically hedging supplies months in advance rather than buying on the spot market. UK gas prices have dipped closer to conventional trading levels (Source: UK Natural Gas Futures) Investecs forecasts follow similarly optimistic predictions from Cornwall Insight which calculates the price cap will fall to 2,800 over the winter period. This is in contrast to previous forecasts in October by Cornwall Insight, which predicted energy bills could rise to over 4,000 per year in April 2023. ADVERTISEMENT Robert Buckley, head of relationship development at City A.M., expects energy bills for businesses to come down more quickly than households, because companies are not eligible for the price cap and instead rely on short-to-medium term contracts. He told City A.M.: These lower spot prices will come through quicker for businesses. It may be some businesses which are buying on very short term energy contracts which see quite a lot of benefit through to the end of the winter. By CityAM More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In the aftermath of a shocking incident in which a first grader shot and seriously injured a teacher at a school in Newport News, Virginia, the citys mayor asked the question: How did this happen? The shooting of an elementary school teacher by one of her students is a shocking example of gun violence. Jay Paul/Getty Images Some details are now known: The child took the gun from his home, and the firearm was legally purchased by his mother. Many other aspects of the incident have yet to be established not least, the likely many factors that resulted in the boy shooting his teacher. But as experts in media use and its connections to violence, we have reported some disturbing findings about how children are influenced by gun violence depicted in media like television, movies and video games. What makes this more troubling is the fact that millions of children in the U.S. have easy access to firearms in their homes, increasing the risk of gun deaths, including suicides. The effect of media violence on children Research has shown that the depiction of gun violence is increasing in both movies and on TV. Our research found that acts of gun violence in PG-13 movies has nearly tripled in the 30 years since the rating was introduced in 1984. And PG-13 movies are not exclusively watched by teens and above. A survey of adults in 2019 found that 12% said they were allowed to watch PG-13 movies between the ages of 6 and 9, with 6% saying they watched such films aged even younger. Although some skeptics say violent media do not lead children to become more aggressive, a large survey conducted in 2015 found that most pediatricians and media scholars agree that there is a link. Violent media can also lead children to engage in more dangerous behavior if they find a real gun. In studies one of us conducted, exposure to both movies and video games with guns was found to encourage children ages 8-12 years old to pick up a real gun that had been hidden in a drawer and pull the trigger, including while pointing the gun at themselves or their friend. This behavior was observed by a hidden camera. This is what can happen if parents do not store a gun in a secure location in the home. The child in the Virginia shooting was younger than 8 years old, but there is no reason to believe the effects we found would differ in a younger child. In fact, the effects might be stronger in younger children because those younger than about 8 can have more difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy. Violence in the media can desensitize or numb children to violence. In one study, researchers found that children exposed to multiple sources of violence may become desensitized, increasing the possibility of them imitating the aggressive behaviors they watch and considering such behavior as normal. Movies containing gun violence that are rated PG-13 portray the use of guns in ways that are unrealistic. The effects of gun use in such films are often sanitized so that one rarely sees much blood or serious harm, unlike what is typically shown in movies that are rated R. This could give a child the sense that using a gun to harm someone is not as dangerous as it actually could be. What concerns us about these findings is that they come at a time of increased media consumption by younger children. A 2021 report by Common Sense Media found that media use by children has risen faster in the two years since the pandemic than the four years before. Research has found that children ranging in age from 5 to 11 years old spent an average of more than three hours a day on screens and consuming media during the pandemic. Guns in the home Children are naturally curious, and adults often underestimate their ability to find guns hidden in the home. As one firearms expert noted, Their brains are developing. That same curiosity that can inspire them to pick up a book and want to learn how to read can inspire them to go looking for a parents gun. And the U.S. has far more civilian-owned guns per capita than any country in the world, with 120.5 guns per 100 residents the next highest country is Yemen, with 52.8 guns per 100 residents. The U.S. is also an outlier when it comes to gun-related violence, with rates about 23 times higher than in other developed countries. Figures from the nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety show that every year more than 300 people are either wounded or killed in unintentional shootings by children. Data on the number of people shot by children intentionally is not, to our knowledge, available. It is vital for gun owners to lock away firearms, unloaded, with ammunition stored separately especially if there are children in the home. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all guns be secured to decrease the risk of both unintentional gun injuries and intentional shootings. Roughly a third of U.S. homes with children have guns, but less than half of gun owners secure their guns. As of 2022, an estimated 4.6 million children in the U.S. live in a home with unlocked, loaded guns. What drove the child at an elementary school in Virginia to shoot his teacher is something that is not publicly known. But what the research clearly shows is that exposure to gun violence in media and easy access to firearms around the home all serve to increase the risks of any child picking up a gun. Dan Romer, research director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Brad Bushman, professor of communication and Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication, The Ohio State University, does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. States where gun sales have increased the most since 2011 Gun sales on the rise #25. Texas #24. Missouri #23. Washington #22. Mississippi #21. Oklahoma #20. Vermont #19. Colorado #18. New Mexico #17. Tennessee #16. Wisconsin #15. South Carolina #14. Illinois #13. Georgia #12. Oregon #11. Idaho #10. Rhode Island #9. Ohio #8. Virginia #7. Arizona #6. Maryland #5. Alabama #4. Delaware #3. Florida #2. New Jersey #1. Washington DC A man from Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison for calling in threats to Union Pacifics headquarters and other locations in Omaha in April 2021. Andrew Isaac Abrams, 42, was sentenced for transmitting threats through interstate commerce, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Nebraska. On April 23, 2021, prosecutors said, Abrams called in threats to multiple Omaha locations from an Arizona phone number. He first called Union Pacific and said a moving truck loaded with two tons of explosive material was parked near the building. Union Pacific evacuated its headquarters after receiving the threat. Abrams also called the City-County Building from the same phone number and said, You guys are killing us, thats why Im going to blow up the civic center, too. He then called Eppley Airfield and referenced blowing up airplanes and mentioned several airlines, officials said. In addition, Abrams called Omaha Central High School and left a voicemail that included threats to Central and schools in the Elkhorn, Millard and Westside school districts. At the time, the Omaha Police Department said the threats were not credible and had been called in from out of state. Law enforcement officers carried out a search warrant on Abrams Tucson apartment on May 13, 2021, and seized his cellphone. After reviewing call records, investigators verified that the calls had been made from his cellphone in Tucson. Abrams was arrested May 14, 2021. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Omaha Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriffs Office. LINCOLN The Nebraska Supreme Court is considering a case that will determine whether tenants have a constitutional right to a jury trial when theyre being evicted. Legal Aid of Nebraska and Nebraska Appleseed call NP Dodge Management v. Teresa Holcomb a landmark case. In it, they are jointly representing Holcomb, an Omaha tenant fighting eviction, and asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to find unconstitutional state statute 76-1446, which outlines the procedure for trials in such cases. Holcomb asked for but was denied a jury trial when NP Dodge sought to evict her. She appealed. Kasey Ogle, a senior staff attorney for Collective Impact Lincoln, a partnership between Nebraska Appleseed and Civic Nebraska, said eviction court proceedings are a legal process unlike any other in the state. Its an extremely fast process that deprives tenants of a legitimate opportunity to raise a defense, she said. Ogle said ensuring jury trials in Nebraska eviction courts would create a fair chance for tenants in the courtroom to present a meaningful defense before potentially losing their homes. In criminal cases, the court now looks to the seriousness of the offense to determine whether a defendant is entitled to a trial by jury, she and her counterpart at Legal Aid of Nebraska, Caitlin Cedfedlt, wrote in a brief to the court. Orders in eviction cases could result in the removal of a family from their home, or a business losing its operating space, or a farmer losing access to their crops, they said. If someone was being evicted in 1875, they were entitled to a trial by jury. The Nebraska Constitution mandates that the same must be true today, the two argued. The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, though not a party to the case, filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to affirm the denial of a jury trial, saying the right to a jury trial doesnt attach to landlord-tenant actions. Solicitor General James Campbell said Nebraska courts never have directly addressed whether special or summary proceedings, like an eviction, fall within the constitutional right to a jury trial. But many other states Supreme Courts have, and they widely accept that the right to a jury trial does not attach to special or summary proceedings. This Court should follow suit, he wrote in his brief. Campbell said the kind of proceeding in this case didnt exist in 1875, when the state constitution was adopted. It was not created until 1974 when the Legislature modernized landlord-tenant law. The case brought a number of so-called friend-of-the-court briefs by groups not party to the case but potentially affected by the outcome. Among them, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Law School Civil Clinic, the National Housing Law Project, the ACLU of Nebraska and the NAACP. The Nebraska Supreme Court took the case under advisement after arguments Wednesday. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2023 Omaha City Councilwoman Juanita Johnson raised concerns Friday about conditions at the Evans Tower public housing apartments after residents complained about bedbugs and hot water supply issues. The hot water issue turned out to be limited. The Omaha Housing Authority had fixed it by Friday, two days after one of the towers two water heaters failed, said Joanie Poore, CEO of the housing agency. Poore also said the Housing Authority has identified seven of the 100 apartments at Evans Tower as currently having bedbugs and is working on treating for them. However, residents say the pests remain a problem at Evans and other OHA towers, and Johnson said she will continue to follow up on that issue. Johnson, whose District 2 in North Omaha includes Evans Tower, said she was satisfied that OHA is taking care of the hot water issue. But she said she wants to make sure that public housing residents needs are being met, and that they are publicly engaged and that they are heard. We just want to make sure that the residents realize that we heard what their complaints are and were addressing them, Johnson said. The bedbugs will be a part two that she plans to follow up on, she said. Johnson and Poore made their remarks jointly Friday outside City Council offices. Evans Tower, 3600 N. 24th St., houses disabled people and people over 55 years old with low incomes. The issues came to light this week after an older man from Evans Tower was taken to the hospital and it was discovered that he had bedbugs. Relatives of the man posted about it on social media. Poore said someone complained to the Douglas County Health Department. She said an OHA inspector went to the apartment the day they were made aware. She said inspectors examined apartments on the same floor as the mans apartment, as well as the floors immediately above and below. They found only two more units with bedbugs than the handful they already knew about and have been treating, Poore said. It is not a widespread infestation, Poore said. I know thats the complaint that theres infestation throughout the entire building, (but) that is not my understanding, she said. On Friday afternoon, a resident of Evans Tower, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation, said there are bedbugs and other pests in many apartments, including hers. She and several other residents said their hot water supply was fine on Friday. Johnson said she received several calls Thursday from residents or their relatives that there was a hot water shortage in the building. She concurred with Poores explanation that a water heater had failed Wednesday, causing some residents to not have hot water in their apartments during peak demand times. Poore said the agency worked to find a new water heater and get it installed as quickly as possible. She said she wasnt trying to minimize the frustrating inconvenience of the hot water issue, but said repairing it in 48 hours is a quick timeline for a large commercial water heater. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2023 Two traffic stops this week in Lincoln and Hamilton Counties yielded 50,000 fentanyl pills and 6.6 pounds of suspected fentanyl-laced cocaine. The Nebraska State Patrol estimates that the pills had a street value of about $850,000, while the laced cocaine was worth about $85,000. Four people were arrested during the stops. The first stop occurred about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday near Hershey in Lincoln County. State troopers conducted a traffic stop for a license plate violation on an eastbound BMW SUV. The patrol said troopers became suspicious of criminal activity and searched the vehicle. The search uncovered 6.6 pounds of a cocaine and fentanyl mixture in a bag in the SUVs cargo area. A 25-year-old man from Arizona and a 43-year-old man from Utah were arrested. The second stop occurred about 8:30 a.m. Thursday near Aurora in Hamilton County. State troopers spotted an eastbound Toyota Tacoma pickup truck improperly pass a semitrailer truck and stopped the pickup. During a subsequent search, troopers found several bags of suspected fentanyl pills inside the tailgate. The bags weighed more than 11 pounds and contained about 50,000 pills. Two men from Phoenix, one 27 and one 44, were arrested. LONDON U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks. Nine people were killed and 64 others wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, also was targeted. Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement. It didn't say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources. Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners." Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have treaded carefully. The Czech Republic and Poland provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv. Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days. In Dnipro, rescuers used a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. He said there were likely people under the rubble. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning. In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel. Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi. Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter. Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles were intercepted over his province. Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down. Earlier in the day, explosions rocked Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual. According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles which are faster than cruise missiles or drones from the north. "The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down," he said. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources. An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties were immediately reported. This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1. On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted "energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region," Syniehubov said. No casualties were reported but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said. In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, Mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an official said. Hanna Malyar, Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said Saturday the "fierce battles for Soledar are continuing." Meanwhile, Moldovan authorities said Saturday that the remains of a rocket originating from Russias air attacks on Ukraine were found by border officials in a northern village near the countrys border with Ukraine. Moldovas Interior Ministry said in a statement that the rocket debris was discovered in the village of Larga, in Briceni county, and a bomb squad was deployed to the area. SAN DIEGO The Biden administration on Thursday launched an online appointment system as the only way for migrants to get exceptions from pandemic-era limits on asylum the U.S. governments latest major step to overhaul border enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Protection began allowing migrants to make appointments up to two weeks out using its website and through CBPOne, a mobile app that the agency has used in limited ways since 2020. CBPOne is replacing an opaque, bewildering patchwork of exemptions to a public health order known as Title 42 under which the government has denied migrants U.S. and international rights to claim asylum since March 2020. Until now, CBP has arranged exemptions through advocates, churches, attorneys and migrant shelters, without publicly identifying them or saying how many slots were available. The advocates have chosen who gets in, with CBP having final say. Under the new system, migrants apply directly to the agency, and a government official will determine who gets in. Their appointments will be at one of eight crossings at Brownsville, El Paso, Hidalgo and Laredo in Texas; Nogales, Arizona; and Calexico and San Diego in California. Exemptions for Title 42 are meant to go to the most vulnerable migrants. Thursdays rollout is separate from measures announced earlier to expel migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to Mexico under Title 42 and at the same time allow up to 30,000 migrants from those four countries to be admitted to the United States every month under humanitarian parole for two years if they apply online, pay their airfare and provide a financial sponsor. While the administration previously signaled that it would introduce CBPOne for people seeking asylum at land border crossings with Mexico, the speed of change caught advocates off-guard. Utter and complete confusion, said Priscilla Orta, an attorney at Lawyers For Good Governments Project Corazon in Texas Rio Grande Valley. U.S. officials told advocates they expected the app to be ready in a month, Orta said. Then on Monday, advocates were informed the rollout had been moved up to that week. Under Title 42, the U.S. has expelled migrants 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. To qualify for an exemption under CBPOne, migrants must have a physical or mental illness, disability, pregnancy, lack housing, face a threat of harm, or must be under 21 years old or over 70. The governments app is currently available only in English and Spanish and requires access to a smartphone, email and reliable internet. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat and Haitian American, expressed concern that the app wasnt available in Haitis primary languages, Creole and French. Officials say a Creole version will be added soon. The Homeland Security Department said the app will be available to migrants in central and northern Mexico. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that it allows people to seek protection in a safe, orderly, and humane manner and to strengthen the security of our borders. Its the administrations latest attempt to address extraordinarily high numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of whom are fleeing inequality and violence at home. U.S. authorities stopped migrants 2.38 million times in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from 1.73 million times during an unusually busy 2021. BLOOMINGTON Charges have been filed against a Normal man for violation of the Illinois Violent Offender Against Youth Act (Class 2 felony). Jordan R. King, 34, was convicted in 2013 of aggravated battery and great bodily harm to a victim younger than 13. According to the prosecution, King failed to report his address change with the Bloomington Police Department since October, as required by law. Bloomington officers went to check Kings address on Jan. 5 and discovered he did not reside there anymore, according to the prosecution. According to court documents, King was previously convicted of the same offense in 2017 and in 2019. The act reads: Any person who is convicted for a violation of this Act for a second or subsequent time is guilty of a Class 2 felony. King also has an active case being charged with possession of methamphetamine with less than 5 grams (Class 3 felony). King was released after posting $325 on the registration charge and given a $30,000 recognizance bond for the drug charge, meaning he would not have to post bond to be released from the McLean County Jail. Kings next court date is an arraignment at 10 a.m. Feb. 3. U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, who is campaigning to be mayor of Chicago, talks about his public safety plan Friday. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Congressman and Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus Chuy Garcia said Friday hes never spoken to Sam Bankman-Fried and doesnt know why the disgraced founder of FTX took a six-figure interest in Garcias recent reelection to his U.S. House seat. I dont know the gentleman. Ive never spoke to him. If he had other designs, I dont know, Garcia said Friday at an appearance to unveil his public safety platform. Advertisement Garcias congressional campaign fund got a $2,900 direct contribution from Bankman-Fried in June, according to the Federal Election Commission reports, and a political action committee associated with Bankman-Fried spent $151,420 on mailers promoting Garcias candidacy in the 4th Congressional District, even though he was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Garcia said he returned the direct contribution. The money for the mailers was a separate, independent expenditure by the PAC Protect Our Future, which, Garcia said Friday, by law and by definition, I had nothing to do with it. Advertisement Recall that when I ran for reelection for the House, I was unopposed. Didnt need the money, didnt ask for the money, he said. Following FTXs stunning implosion into bankruptcy late last year, Bankman-Fried was charged with cheating investors and customers on his cryptocurrency trading platform. Garcia first brought up Bankman-Fried Friday in a dig at Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who officially welcomed Bankman-Frieds FTX cryptocurrency business to Chicago in May, when the company opened a since-shuttered headquarters in Fulton Market. Lightfoot and Garcia are among nine candidates in the Feb. 28 mayoral election. First of all, I would not invite Sam Bankman-Fried to come to Chicago and open an office and make a contribution to (a city program for formerly incarcerated people), and then things fall apart, which is what is happening, Garcia said. When a reporter later asked about his own ties to the FTX founder, Garcia, in addition to distancing himself from Bankman-Fried, stressed hes been a longtime critic of crypto and has stated that it needs to be regulated, that it is volatile that it endangers our financial system. When asked about a meeting involving Garcia and FTX, the congressman said he merely had a phone call with his brother to talk about pandemics and his brothers interest in pandemic preparedness. Garcia said Bankman-Frieds brother who reportedly ran a nonprofit called Guarding Against Pandemics spoke of Garcias advocacy for the most impacted communities during the pandemic ... and I suppose he took an interest in that. BLOOMINGTON Although the McLean County Health Department reported 118 new cases of COVID-19 from Jan. 6 through Friday, the community level dropped from medium to low risk. This brings the total number of reported COVID cases to 63,089 since the pandemic began. No COVID-related deaths were reported in the past week, so that total number remains at 415. At a low community level, residents are advised to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, maintain improved ventilation throughout indoor spaces and follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control for isolation and quarantine. Although McLean Countys level dropped, nearby Logan, Tazewell and Ford counties still have a medium community level. The CDC also reported this week that McLean County saw 7.5 new hospital admissions of COVID-19 per 100,000 in the seven-day period ending Tuesday. The seven-day positive rate through Monday was at 11.86%. Statewide, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 16,602 new COVID cases and 113 COVID-related deaths in the week ending Jan. 8. The state has seen a total of 3,997,877 cases and 35,927 deaths since the pandemic began. The McLean County Health Department offers free COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday and Wednesday in room 400E of its facility at 200 W. Front St. in downtown Bloomington. SHIELD saliva-based testing is available for all ages, but patients are advised not to consume food or drink one hour before testing. The health department also is distributing free at-home COVID-19 tests at its facility. Each box contains two antigen tests, with a limit of one box per person per week. Visit the health department building from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday to pick up an at-home test. Question: We keep seeing all the statistics of Illinoisans moving to other states, but just where are they moving? (1) California; (2) Florida; (3) Tennessee; (4) Indiana? Answer: According to a study by the website, Stacker, that quotes 2020 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, its not a fair-weather state but (are you ready for this?) instead, Indiana. In the 10-year span of 2010-19, it says 36,328 Illinoisans moved to Indiana, while 17,156 Hoosiers moved to Illinois, for a net loss of 19,172, the most lost to any one state. The next most popular places to move for ex-Illinoisans? California, Florida and Tennessee, according to the study. Ghana and Greece have committed to collaborate in a number of areas for mutual benefits. Also, the collaboration is expected to strengthen the ties between the two countries. The two made the commitment when the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Nikos Dendias, called on his Ghanaian counterpart, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in Accra yesterday to discuss areas for mutual collaboration. The areas discussed included trade and industry, defence, culture, youth and sports. At the meeting, which was preceded by a closed-door meeting between the two Foreign Affairs ministers, Mr Dendias expressed happiness that the two countries had already signed a memorandum of political consultations. They will also sign three others, which were already before Ghanas Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, pending inputs to facilitate their signing and execution. Touting the contribution of Greek businesses in the country, he pledged to promote more Greek businesses and investments in the country for the enhancement of bilateral relations between both countries. Mr Dendias said he took time to visit the St Nicolas School, Tema New Town, funded by Greek charity and businesses active in the country, to boost education and culture locally. "The new reality is that Africa is the fastest growing economy and population, making it an investment hopeful," he said. Hope Mr Dendias said Africa had become the hope of the world and so the European Union must invest in Africa. He said the Mediterranean and the Atlantic should not be seen as a border but rather a bridge connecting the two continents to facilitate collaboration, investments and relations. He again pledged Greece's support on the management of the Gulf as it wielded the highest maritime fleet. "We feel at home here and we look forward to have more of these deliberations," he said. Response Welcoming the Greek Foreign Minister, Ms Botchwey said she was delighted to meet Mr Denidias for the second time to enhance collaboration between both countries. She thanked the visiting minister for delivering on his promise at their first meeting to become an advocate for the country and Africa within the EU and beyond. On the issue of Greece having the biggest maritime fleet and being a member of the EU, Ms Botchwey said the country, having assumed the chairmanship of the Gulf of Guinea, would need the support of Greece to resolve the piracy on the waters. She said the Gulf of Guinea would be undergoing restructuring under Ghanas chairmanship and would require collaborations and partnerships from countries such as Greece. Ms Botchwey assured him that she would follow up on the proposed MoUs before the Attorney-General. While reiterating the country's commitment to collaboration with Greece on areas agreed on, she appealed for the facilitation of more Greece trade and investment visibility in the country. "Because our country hosts the African Continental Free Trade Area headquarters, we will want to see your private sector use our country as a stepping stone into Africa," the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said. After the meeting, which was attended by officials from both countries, the two ministers went back into a closed-door meeting. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Ghanaian-American family in the US is mourning the passing of their son who died at a military base in Alabama. The news has left the family and close friends of the deceased soldier in trauma and shock. According to the military, the 21-year-old soldier, Pvt. Abdul-Nafsu Latifu was killed in an altercation with another soldier at the Alabama Army post, Fort Rucker, where he was training to become an Army air traffic control operator. A source revealed that news about his demise was published on local websites in Alabama as early as 11:30 am CST, even though his next-of-kin was officially called four hours later to report that he had been hospitalised and in critical condition. Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu, until joining the US Army, lived in New York. He is described as very smart and respectful by all who have encountered him. As relatives, friends and neighbours visit his New York home to mourn with the family, eulogies and questions continue to pour in. He was full of life and one of the smartest lads Ive come across, a neighbour said. I cannot seem to comprehend this news because Latifu will not fight anyone for any reason, at best he walks away. So, Im dumbfounded, to say the least, another maintained. Something is not right about this; someone needs to start saying what really happened, not what theyre feeding us, what are they covering up? a teary friend of the deceased lamented in disbelief. Preliminary comments from Jimmie Cummings, a Fort Rucker Public Information Officer, only speak to events surrounding the hospitalisation of the deceased following injuries sustained during the supposed altercation. The communication also suggested the detention of another soldier involved in the incident but falls short of identifying him or her. The alleged attacker is said to have used an Army-issued steel folding shovel in the assault that caused Pvt. Latifu his life. A follow-up statement issued by the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker said no formal charges have been filed, but Army Criminal Investigation Division agents are probing the incident. Maj. Gen. Michael McCurry, the commander of Fort Rucker stated, On behalf of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, I extend our deepest condolences to Pvt. Latifu's family, friends and community, McCurry said in a statement. Together we mourn the loss of a promising young soldier. Pvt. Latifu was a trainee in the Armys Advanced Individual Training programme at Fort Rucker where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade. Loved ones and close friends of the murdered soldier say the communication from the military smacks of a seeming cover-up. It is unclear how far investigations have gone in the murder of the 21-year-old son, brother, uncle and promising soldier, but the army maintains it is conclusively probing the matter. Source: Ghanaweb.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 Former President John Mahama has waded into discussions surrounding the resignation of Alan Kyerematen, Trade and Industry Minister and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Agric Minister. In a tweet, he opined the resignation of the two was "pointless and late". Some members of the Akufo-Addo government have realized their boat is heading for disaster. It must be a relief for those deserting the ship, but its so late. Its almost pointless. Theyll try hard not to be part of the mess we are in, but lets not forget the parts they all played, he posted. Some members of the Akufo-Addo gov't have realized their boat is heading for disaster. It must be a relief for those deserting the ship, but it's so late. It's almost pointless. Theyll try hard not to be part of the mess we are in, but lets not forget the parts they all played. John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) January 13, 2023 Two Resign On Friday, January 6, 2023, former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen tendered in his resignation to President Akufo-Addo, which was accepted. Addressing Ghanaians at a press conference, he said, I wish to use this platform to formally announce my decision to contest the flagbearership of the New Patriotic Party when the Party officially opens nominations for that purpose. Subsequently former Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto followed suit. He has also declared his intention to contest for the NPPs flagbearership position. 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 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 this photo courtesy of evolutionary biologist Kristin Winchell, an Anolis cristatellus lizard stands on a gate in Rincon, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2018. Credit: Kristin Winchell/New York University via AP Lizards that once dwelled in forests but now slink around urban areas have genetically morphed to survive life in the city, researchers have found. The Puerto Rican crested anole, a brown lizard with a bright orange throat fan, has sprouted special scales to better cling to smooth surfaces like walls and windows and grown larger limbs to sprint across open areas, scientists say. "We are watching evolution as it's unfolding," said Kristin Winchell, a biology professor at NYU and main author of the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As urbanization intensifies around the world, it's important to understand how organisms adapt and humans can design cities in ways that support all species, Winchell said. The study analyzed 96 Anolis cristatellus lizards, comparing the genetic makeup of forest-dwellers to those living in Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan, as well as the northern city of Arecibo and western city of Mayaguez. Scientists found that 33 genes within the lizard genome were repeatedly associated with urbanization. "You can hardly get closer to a smoking gun!" said Wouter Halfwerk, an evolutionary ecologist and professor at Vrije University Amsterdam who was not involved in the study. He said he was impressed that the scientists were able to detect such a clear genomic signature of adaptation: "The ultimate goal within the field of urban adaptive evolution is to find evidence for heritable traits and their genomic architecture." Winchell said the lizards' physical differences appeared to be mirrored at the genomic level. "If urban populations are evolving with parallel physical and genomic changes, we may even be able to predict how populations will respond to urbanization just by looking at genetic markers," she said. In this photo courtesy of evolutionary biologist Kristin Winchell, an Anolis cristatellus lizard stands on a gate in Rincon, Puerto Rico, Nov. 22, 2018. Credit: Kristin Winchell/New York University via AP The changes in these lizards, whose lifespans are roughly 7 years, can occur very quickly, within 30 to 80 generations, enabling them to escape from predators and survive in urban areas, Winchell added. The larger limbs, for example, enable them to run more quickly across a hot parking lot, and the special scales to hold onto surfaces far more smooth than trees. "They can't dig their claws into it. ... (Or) squirrel around to the backside," she noted. The scientists chased after dozens of lizards for their study, catching them with their hands or using fishing poles with a tiny lasso to snag them. "It takes some practice," Winchell said. On occasion, they had to ask permission to catch lizards off people's homes. Among Winchell's favorite findings was a rare albino lizard. She also found a nearly 8-inch (20-centimeter) one, rather large for the species, that she nicknamed "Godzilla." The study focused on adult male lizards, so it's unclear if females are changing in the same way or at the same rate as males, and at which point in a lizard's life the changes are occurring. Halfwerk, whose own research showed how one frog species changed its mating call in urban areas, said scientists should look next for possible constraints on the evolutionary response and how morphology relates to mating behavior. "Ultimately, to cash in on adaptive traits for survival, they need to lead to higher reproduction," he said. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, along with her House GOP colleagues from New York, introduced legislation that would provide a cash incentive for the state to allow judges more discretion in setting cash bail. The legislation, dubbed the Stop Enabling Repeat Violence and Endangering Our Communities Act, or SERVE Act, would establish a $10 million grant program that would be available in states with laws allowing judges to set cash bail if they considers the individual arrested to be dangerous. Judges in New York do not have that discretion for crimes that were exempted from cash bail under the states 2019 bail reform law. Grants would be available to states and local municipalities to conduct programs to decrease the chances that individuals will commit repeated crimes. Grant recipients would be required to hire or retain police officers, or conduct a public awareness campaign to counter anti-police sentiment, according to a news release from Stefaniks office. Far Left Albanys reckless and dangerous bail reform policies have already put our communities at risk, Stefanik said in the news release. My legislation will incentivize New York state to implement policies that correct their massive oversight and hold repeat offenders accountable. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, opposes the legislation, saying federal funding for police departments, in general, and for reducing illegal guns, is the best way to address crime. My Republican colleagues are pushing a messaging bill that represents unnecessary federal overreach into what is fundamentally a state matter something they would normally decry, Tonko said in a statement. If my colleagues want to get serious about protecting our communities, they should work alongside us to deliver meaningful gun safety legislation. Stefanik said the National District Attorneys Association, Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, and Major Cities Chiefs Organization have endorsed the legislation. Contacted for response to the legislation, Avi Small, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement: Governor Hochul is proud to have invested more than $433 million to support New Yorks police departments, sheriffs offices, probation offices and district attorneys offices, and as part of the State of the State she is proposing to launch an unprecedented, additional four state police classes and triple funding to district attorneys offices to hire hundreds of new prosecutors. U.S. Rep. Marc Molianaro, R-Red Hook, however, said that crime is increasing. Enough is enough: Albanys bail reform experiment has failed, said Molinaro, a co-sponsor, in Stefaniks news release. We are acting to reprioritize public safety in New York and prevent more senseless tragedies, The legislation comes as Hochul, a Democrat, has indicated she is willing to revisit the states 2019 bail reform law. Hochul, without outlining specifics, called in her State of the State speech on Jan. 10 for a thoughtful conversation about bail reform. In response to the governors speech, local state Sens. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, and Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, both said that restoring judicial discretion is an essential modification to the current law, while Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville, insisted on full repeal of the law. The law eliminated the option of cash bail for most nonviolent crimes. The intent was to keep people charged with minor crimes from being jailed for lengthy periods of time while awaiting trials, simply because the individuals could not afford bail. Critics of the bail reform law say that it has led to an increase in crime. Supporters say that the bail reform law is not the cause of increased crime. QUEENSBURY SUNY Adirondack has appointed Cornelius Gilbert as the colleges chief diversity officer. Gilbert grew up in Chicago, earned bachelors degrees in history and Afro-American studies, a masters degree in Afro-American studies and a doctorate in education with a focus on history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I wanted to look at higher education and how social movements, particularly the black power movement, impacted it, Gilbert said in a news release. One of those impacts was me and the role of chief diversity officer. While studying at University of Wisconsin, Gilbert was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the nations first black Greek collegiate fraternity. He said it was important organization because it gives you a community of people who resemble you. After earning a bachelors degree, Gilbert worked as an advisor to students with undeclared majors. After a few years, he started work on a doctoral degree and then taught at Northern Illinois University and the University of St. Thomas. Gilbert said he was living in Minneapolis when George Floyd was killed at the hands of police officers. That prompted him to look for jobs that would help him to spread awareness and work on diversity, equity inclusion and belonging. Gilberts role will include working with college President Kristine Duffy, the Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students and the Office of Student Engagement and Diversity Initiatives to fulfill the colleges vision of being the educational provider of choice and pathway to success through a commitment to innovation, excellence and inclusion. Gilbert said he started his career with intent to work at a community college. I can bring great value to the students a community college serves, he said in a news release. Duffy said the college is excited to have Gilbert who will propel meaningful conversation and take action toward achieving equity and inclusion, With him, we will continue our commitment to making the college and this region more welcoming for everyone, while recognizing and celebrating each persons experiences, Duffy said in a news release. NORTHFIELD Christopher Wright talked about being young leaders. Nasim Adderly talked of continuing the dream. Anna Vicente wanted equality for women by making feminine hygiene products accessible for all. Fatumata Kamara challenged people to do more to help each other. Hannah Jakos wanted to see the strides made in the community over the past three years continue. They were the five Atlantic County high school students who received the inaugural Beth Israel Spirit of MLK Award on Friday evening during a service at the synagogue. The students Adderly of Atlantic City High School, Kamara of Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Jakos of Egg Harbor Township High School, Vicente of Mainland Regional High School and Wright of Pleasantville High School read essays that answered the question How would you change America? in front of more than 100 members of Congregation Beth Israel. Each student received a $180 scholarship as well as a copy of the book Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Jewish Community by March Schneier, which was published in 1999. Rabbi Michael Feshbach said he got the idea when he spent about five years at Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This had such an impact there that I wanted to bring it here, Feshbach said. It helps the youth, it helps the congregation with the ideals and power represented by Dr. King. Jewish communities show solidarity after recent synagogue threat Rabbi Michael Feshbach, of Beth Israel in Northfield, said the recent FBI warnings about thr He described St. Thomas as historically beautiful and said it is one of only five active synagogues in the world that has sand on the floor and is the oldest in use under the United States flag. For more than 30 years, St. Thomas would give out these scholarships, which would be a big deal on the island. Feshbach returned to the United States six months ago and is now head of Beth Israel. He emailed principals of every public high school in Atlantic County, as well as Ocean City, and left it up to the schools to choose a recipient under their own parameters. None of the five recipients is Jewish, Feshbach noted. About a half hour before the service, he took the students up onto the bimah and showed them the ark where the scrolls of the Torah are kept. The recipients include volunteers, honors students and young local leaders, all from varying backgrounds. Each received a standing ovation from the congregation after reading their essays. Fridays roughly two-hour service mixed Hebrew scripture, prayer and song with readings from Kings work and speeches, most notably his I Have a Dream speech. The congregation joined in at points. Religious leaders, state officials discuss reporting hate crimes in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY It was a blue sky day in the resort Friday, as Councilman Kaleem Shabazz put it. After each of the five students read their essays, keynote speaker and Atlantic City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, who is also president of the Atlantic City chapter of the NAACP, spoke for about 15 minutes, commending the students, sharing anecdotes from his younger days as a civil rights activist and inviting the congregation to participate Monday in the MLK Walk/March in Atlantic City. I feel like after listening to the presentation by the young people, I should just say hello and sit down and let them be the keynote, Shabazz joked. This night, I hope that you young people remember this, because its not important what I say, its important what you say and what you do. Feshbach said the event was held to promote unity and that we are not different nor apart, we are a part of the life of Atlantic and Cape May counties. He hopes the scholarship, to be awarded around the winter holiday annually, will grow and that every eligible high school picks a recipient next year. I want this to get to the point where these kids will say in their senior year and put on their college applications they were a Beth Israel Spirit of MLK Award winner, Feshbach said. PHOTOS: The 1st annual Spirit of MLK Award at Beth Israel in Northfield Aurora officials are seeking a technology grant for more security cameras throughout the city. An outgrowth of the civil unrest during mid-2020, the city is seeking a $1.2 million Corridor Improvements Grants Program grant from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Advertisement The grant would go toward cameras in 32 locations on city poles and sidewalks identified by the Aurora Police Department as possible problem areas that could use more security. Most of the locations are downtown, with a few along New York Street and Farnsworth Avenue, a police official told city officials recently. Advertisement Aldermen on the City Council Finance Committee on Thursday unanimously recommended seeking the grant as a partnership between the city and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. The full City Council will consider it at Tuesdays Committee of the Whole meeting. The not-for-profit, an outgrowth of the Ford Foundation going back to 1979, seeks to link government, foundations and for-profit companies with residents and local institutions. Aurora officials said the cameras would link with license plate readers the city obtained with a state grant. Police officials told aldermen that the cameras would be in public places and not used to look inside businesses or residences, or on private property. But both police and city officials warned that the cameras are just a tool to help law enforcement, not an end to themselves. Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, Finance Committee chairman, said he had looked into installing cameras at intersections in his ward where drivers often went through stop signs, but got a little pushback from people concerned about privacy violations. The police spokesman said cameras are very helpful for law enforcement, but do not stop crime by themselves. Cameras cannot replace police enforcement, said Alex Alexandrou, the citys chief management officer. He said enforcing stop sign violations needs police writing tickets. The cameras help with prosecution and security, and sometimes help provide information about an incident. He said sometimes the cameras have even helped prove the city was not liable for a certain situation. Advertisement Alexandrou said city officials are putting together a presentation for the City Council on how technology is being used in a number of ways, as a tapestry of effort, for crime reduction. Cameras are not a panacea, its a process, he said. slord@tribpub.com ATLANTIC CITY Charges against Councilman MD Hossain Morshed were downgraded and remanded to municipal court Friday, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said. Morshed, 48, was charged in September with assaulting his wife, identified in a news release as L.N., in their home, and with endangering the welfare of a child. Their 12-year-old child allegedly recorded Morsheds assault on L.N. and was pushed and hit by the councilman. The decision was made after a review of evidence, according to the Prosecutors Office, which led to dropping the child endangerment charge. Atlantic City councilman waives first appearance in court on domestic charges Atlantic City Councilman MD Hossain Morshed, who was charged following a reported domestic i After review of all the available evidence, to include the statement of L.N., and the video provided from the phone described above, a decision was made that, in the interest of justice, the third-degree Endangering charge be amended to a disorderly persons Simple Assault of Morsheds 12-year-old child, the Prosecutors Office said. The Prosecutors Office said the evidence does not show Morshed caused the child harm that would make the child an abused or neglected child under New Jersey law. Disorderly persons offenses are prosecuted in the municipal court system in New Jersey. L.N. alleges Morshed grabbed and bent her arm, causing her pain; pulled her hair and struck her in the leg, causing visible bruising and redness. She also complained of back, arm and leg pain. Gloucester Township police have arrested a Deptford man suspected of vandalizing three Catholic churches in Camden and Gloucester counties Friday. Peter Sirolli, 40, is charged with criminal mischief, arson, weapons offenses and other offenses in connection with the vandalisms. Just before 7:30 a.m. Friday, a witness saw a man later identified as Sirolli throw a rock at St. Teresas Church in Runnemede, police said. The witness followed the man as he fled the scene in a white Toyota pickup truck, and continued to update police. About 10 minutes later, Sirolli allegedly arrived at St. Agnes Church in Blackwood, where police said the same witness saw him throw a brick through a window above the main entrance. He then allegedly drove to the nearby parish center and poured gasoline on the base of a metal flag pole before igniting it. A maintenance supervisor at the parish complex also saw Sirolli light the flag pole on fire, police said. A Gloucester Township police officer later spotted his vehicle on the Black Horse Pike and attempted to stop him, police said. Sirolli allegedly failed to stop but later pulled into the parking lot of Laurelwood 7th Day Adventist Church in Deptford, where he was arrested. Following Sirollis arrest, police said they connected him to an earlier church vandalism. In that incident, which occurred at 7:12 a.m. Friday, Sirolli allegedly lit a large wooden cross on fire in front of St. Patricks Church in Woodbury. Sirolli is being held in the Camden County jail. The Aam Adami Party (AAP) workers on Saturday staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters here against demolition notice served to the slum dwellers in Kalkaji. The protest was led by senior AAP leader Atishi, Somnath Bharti and MCD mayoral candidate Shelley Oberoi among others. "Prior to election, BJP had promised that 'Where there is slum, there will be houses" but now BJP's DDA has started pasting the notice of slum demolition. If someone protests against this, the policy beats them and uses water cannons", said Atishi. She further said that her party will not allow even a single slum in the city to be demolished. "We will continue to protest till the BJP takes the slum demolition notice back". Meanwhile, the police have also used water cannons in a bid to deter the workers from the party headquarters. The party leaders alleged that some of the workers have been injured facing police brutality. "These women have come from the Navjeevan Camp to protest against the notice but police have used water cannons against them. We will continue to protest for slum dwellers of the city till the BJP-ruled DDA takes the demolition notice back", the AAP leader said. Cong leader writes to people of the country in a massive outreach programme Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to the people of the country in a massive outreach programme of the party, promising cheaper petrol and diesel, gas cylinder at Rs 500, jobs and harmony. The party on Friday announced that it will deliver Rahul Gandhis letter to each house along with a charge sheet against the Central government from January 26. The letter is signed off as aapka apna Rahul (your own Rahul). The letter is written in all regional languages and the exercise is an attempt by the Congress to reap the political benefits from the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Gandhi in his letter has tried to touch all the subjects. He mentions that this is written after completing the historic, 3,500 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra where millions of Indians walked with him from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. It was the most enriching journey of my life, and I am overwhelmed by the love and affection that every single Indian has showered on us. I heard intently, to all your stories along the way. He said there is a palpable economic crisis brewing - joblessness among the youth, unbearable price rise, severe farm distress, and a complete corporate capture of the countrys wealth...People are worried about losing their jobs, their incomes are falling further, and their dreams of a better future are shattering. IANS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cong to deliver Gandhis letter to each house The Congress on Friday announced that it will deliver a letter written by Rahul Gandhi to each house along with a charge sheet against the Central government from January 26. Rahul should apologise: VHP The Vishva Hindu Parishad has demanded that Rahul Gandhi should apologise for the hate-filled blood-soaked history of the Congress, and said that a conspiracy was being hatched to spread hatred by defaming and dividing the country once again. Display swords at home: Sri Ram Sena leader Sri Ram Sena leader Pramod Muthalik called upon Hindus to display swords at homes, saying it was not a crime to do so. His deputy Fadnavis backs off to welcome Modi A head of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mumbai visit, chief minister Eknath Shinde is busy packing his bags for a quick business trip to Davos, Switzerland, where the World Economic Forum (WEF) is scheduled between January 16 and 20. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who was scheduled to accompany Shindes 20-strong delegation, backed off and will make preparations for the PMs programmes in the countrys commercial capital on January 19, and the foreign-returned Shinde shall join them. For Shinde, this is his first trip abroad since coming to power on June 30 last year after unceremoniously toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)s ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray. The Davos biz trip is crucial for Shinde-Fadnavis to make a lasting impression back home where the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BSS-BJP) alliance is under machine-gunfire as several mega-projects have hopped off Gujarat and certain other states. On Jan 17, the CM will meet and say cheese with the PMs of Luxembourg and Jordan. IANS The crime branch unit 6 of Pune city police has arrested two members and detained two minors of a gang for a robbery attempt at a petrol pump in Hadapsar According to sources, the crime branch unit 6 of the Pune city police apprehended two members and detained two minors of a gang for a robbery attempt at a petrol pump in the Ganganagar area of Hadapsar on Thursday. The cops seized four koytas (sickles) and two mobile handsets for a total of Rs. 23,600. Akash Mohan Kambale alias Rana (22) of Ganganagar Hadapsar, Sahil Mukhtar Shaikh (20) of Harpale vasti in Phursungi, and two minors have been identified as the accused. Omshri alias Omshya Bhandari and Rakesh Thorat were among those who fled. As per reports, police amaldar Nitin Munde got information that four to five Sujit Warma gang members had gathered with arms outside a water tank in Ganganagar to commit robbery. A police unit commanded by senior inspector Rajnish Nirmal conducted a raid in the neighbourhood, arresting two people and detaining two juveniles. Kambale and Shaikh are repeat offenders. A case has been registered at the Hadapsar police station under Sections 399 (making preparation to conduct dacoity) and 402 (assembling for the purpose of committing dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act, and the Maharashtra Police Act. Narayan Shirgaonkar, ACP (crime) said, Kambale is the right-hand man of koyta gang leader Bitya Kuchekar and used to identify minors for serious crimes and supplied them weapons. They had hatched a plan to rob a petrol pump. The fire brigade team dogged the fire in a couple of hours and the situation was bought under control; no casualties were reported In the second such incident, Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) gas pipeline at Vitthal Borate Nagar in Kharadi caught fire on Saturday. No casualties were reported in the incident. The fire was reported in the wee hours of mourning. The Pune fire brigade control room received information regarding a fire in the MNGL gas pipeline around 4.15 am, and an MNGL team also rushed to the spot. The gas pipeline caught fire as it got damaged due to some digging work, the gas was leaking and the pipeline caught fire, causing panic in the area. A handcart parked nearby was also gutted in the fire. However, no causality was reported in the incident. After an operation of a couple of hours, the fire was successfully dogged off and the situation was under control. Two days ago, a similar incident of the MNGL gas pipeline caught fire at Kothrud around midnight on Friday. And citizens had to face problems as the gas supply was disrupted. According to the reports around 1,000 houses were impacted due to the non-availability of cooking gas. The harvest festival is celebrated differently across the Indian subcontinent. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of India as Pongal (Tamil), Bihu (Assam), Uttarayan (Gujrat) among the others. Ahead of Makar Sankranti, the streets are bustling with a lot of activities somewhere between hues of yellow and the blue, the sky is brightened up with colourful kites, the aroma of sweets fills the air. The city is geared up to celebrate Makar Sankranti, the first festival of the calendar on Saturday. The harvest festival is celebrated differently across the Indian subcontinent. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of India as Pongal (Tamil), Bihu (Assam), Uttarayan (Gujrat) among the others. This day is purely dedicated to worship Lord Surya. Janvi Dave, resident of Viman Nagar, said On day of Uttarayan we cook a seasonal dish Undhiyu composed of mixed vegetables along with some flavorful spices. The festival at home is celebrated with much more enthusiasm we have a special International Kite Flying festival, family and friends gather on terrace tops with their colourful kites and we have lots of kite games and completions but the festivity doesnt end there we feed each other sweets like chikki made of sesame seeds and peanuts. I have the fondest memories as a child associated with the festival, as a grownup I hardly get time to visit my hometown and celebrate it with all family members, added Dave. Makar Sankranti is not only a festival of kite-flying but also the time to gorge on homemade delicacies i.e rewari, gajjak, tilpatti, popcorn, groundnuts and laddoos. Makar Sankranti is the reason for bringing the family together, making friends and celebrating the very spirit of our diverse culture. A-25 years old Guneet Kaur hails from Punjab, recalled her old days of celebrating Lohri, I have memories of times when we would sit around the fire in cold weather, chatting with family, friends munching on sweets and peanuts. Lohri always meant family time for me. I was lamenting on the fact that Ill be alone this Lohri, but my friends are coming over, and we have a little celebration a bonfire and some good food we will also be visiting a gurudwara in the evening. The locals of Bihar and Jharkhand begin the day of celebration with a dip in the holy river Ganges. Neeraj Kumar an IT professional from Bihar said, We celebrate sakraat by traditional breakfast of dahi- chuda and a portion of jaggery, sweet Tilkut mix of jaggery and sesame seeds. Khichdi is the main dish that is prepared on the ocassion which often is served with 'chaar yaar' (four companions) - chokha (roasted potatoes), ghee, papad, and achaar (pickle). We have invited friends from our society, my eight-year-old son Ankur is the most excited, hes got all kind of kites and is polishing his kite flying skills with his grandpaa. Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal consecutively for 4 days, each day has a special significance. On the first day, people clean and decorate their houses. Second day is the main Pongal. The other two days involve worshipping the cattle and visiting the relatives with sweets and gifts. Quintessential dish Pongal is traditionally cooked in earthen pots, the rice is boiled with milk and jaggery and allowed to boil over the pot. The rice is offered to God and then shared by the people. Shrikant Iyer, resident of NIBM, told Mirror how he celebrates Pongal After a very long time my parents are coming to celebrate Pongal with us, my wife is from the north so we celebrate Makar Sankranti and Pongal both with equal enthusiasm. On Pongal we make colorful rangolis unlike the white rangolis which we usually make every day. After morning prayers, we make sweet Pongal and share our meal with family and closed ones. Our family rituals also include watching Tamilian films in theatres and this year we have Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar's, 'Thunivu' to be released on Pongal. In late 2023, residents and business owners will see some of the first projects of Davenport's flood mitigation plan under construction. The first phase of Davenport's $165 million plan aims to address floodwaters that surge up from the ground because of backed up storm sewer systems. And two projects are funded and will go out to bid and construction in late 2023, according to Assistant Public Works Director Clay Merritt. After the river crested at a record 22.7 feet in 2019, breaking temporary HESCO barriers and causing upwards of $30 million in lost revenue and damages, businesses and residents clamored for a more permanent solution to address surging floodwaters. For decades, Davenport residents have resisted a flood-wall, for concerns it would impede resident access to and views of the mighty Mississippi. But a flood study done by engineering company HR Green laid out a lengthy list of projects that by the end of a three-phase plan aims to keep River Drive open at a flood stage of 22 feet that includes updating storm sewer infrastructure below ground, raising sections of roadways, and starting a cost-share program between the city and business owners to flood-proof buildings. Most recently, in December, federal lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the government. Included in it were earmarks for projects in legislator's districts. Although Davenport's representative, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against the final bill along with most of her Republican colleagues in December, 12 community projects in the 2nd District made it into the final bill including $1.265 million for Davenport's flood mitigation efforts. Projects earned earmarks from federal omnibus bill University of Iowa Advanced Hydrologic Monitoring, Assessment, and Flood Forecasting for Eastern Iowa. $1 million joint request from Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks FEMA flood mitigation at River Drive and Marquette Street, Davenport: $1.265 million Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine for facilities: $3 million Van Buren County Hospital, Keosauqua, Iowa, for equipment: $1.845 million Vera French Community Mental Health Center, Davenport for facilities: $1.885 million Red Rock Prairie Trail: $1.14 million Route V5G Pavement Improvement, Keokuk County: $4 million Forevergreen Road Extension, Coralville: $2.5 million Middle Road Reconstruction, Bettendorf: $1.6 million Summer Street Corridor Rehabilitation, Burlington: $4 million G28 Pavement Rehabilitation Marion County: $2 million 18th Street Resurfacing to National Cemetery City of Keokuk: $960,000. That funding will go toward storm sewer improvements at the intersection of River Drive and Marquette Street for minor flooding events. The project, which Merritt said was likely to begin construction late fall or early winter, would install future bypass storm sewer and backflow prevention to halt river water from backing up into the intersection near River Stage 14.5 feet. Instead, the project would keep the intersection un-flooded until 18 feet. Previously, Merritt said the the city had to use labor and some temporary pumps to try to keep the intersection open to travel, efforts that were made much more difficult when it started raining. That'll save us a substantial amount of time, effort, labor, and money when we have those smaller-level floods specifically in that area, Merritt said. City council approved engineering for the project in August, 2022. Another project that is on the same timetable as the Marquette-River Drive intersection, is a $4 million ARPA-funded storm sewer improvement that aim to keep E. River Drive access through intersections of 3rd and 4th Streets up to a flood stage of 22 feet. Currently, it closes at about 17.5 feet. The plan would also install backflow prevention on the local storm sewer system, and a new storm sewer connection will be constructed to separate existing intakes below Flood Stage 22 between Carey and 3rd streets. "In 2024, you will certainly start seeing some of those benefits as these construction projects that will be underway this year are completed," Merritt said. They are two small parts of the flood mitigation plan, which HR Green estimated to cost more than $165 million. City staff and Mayor Mike Matson Davenport is always searching for more federal, state, and local funding sources. Phases two and three of the plan, that involve construction of more permanent flood-fighting measures such as walls, berms, and permanent pumping stations, total about $140 million. The city is preparing an application for a federal RAISE grant for a second year the federal program awarded East Moline a $23.7 million grant to promote connectivity and accessibility in economic hot spots in the city. Merritt said the city advanced several rounds in the grant process, said staff believes the city has "a really strong application." Last year, the city applied for a $15.9 million grant through the RAISE program for road raises at four intersections and other improvements with a goal to maintain access to River Drive until river reaches 17.5 feet with little to no staff response and ensure interstate access to Centennial and Government Bridges when the Mississippi reaches above 22 feet. Also underway are flood protections for the Water Pollution and Control Plant, which serves more than 139,000 people according to the city. In September, the city received a nearly $10 million grant from the Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration. The city has also completed some berm restorations at Blackhawk Creek. Merritt said several of the projects require extensive permitting and engineering, which is why they estimated the late winter construction. "The flood plan itself was approved last year and 2022 was a lot of setting the groundwork and laying the foundation for engineering work to occur so that in 2023, we can start following up on pretty substantial amount of construction jobs," Merritt said. Flood outlook for early spring looks promising The National Weather Service's current flood forecasting predicts a low chance of flooding in the Quad-Cities through at least March due to, in part, unseasonably warm temperatures. Updated spring flood forecasting will be released in early February. Mark Wilson, a service hydrologist for the National Weather Service's Quad Cities location, said there's several factors that feed into weather forecast calculations. Flood forecasters look at northern states' depth of frozen ground, snow pack, soil moisture level, and river stage. "For frost, that tells us how deep the ground is frozen. That's important for us because if we have snow on top of the frozen ground, when that snow melts out that water's not going to soak into the ground easily," Wilson said. "It will become what we call runoff and it will enter the streams quicker than what we would like. It would mimic like a large rain runoff." And if the warm temperatures continue, it's likely the Upper Mississippi's soil can absorb the waters. "It's not looking particularly cold for the rest of the winter," Wilson said. "But we are maybe near average or slightly above average precipitation where we had had some I think about two thirds of the Upper Mississippi Basin either at abnormally dry or higher drought stages. So, should be enough capacity to hold in in in that water inside the river channel and have it be absorbed into the soil." Photos: Continuing Coverage of Flood in Davenport 050619-qct-flood-js-001 050619-qct-flood-js-002 050619-qct-flood-js-003 050619-qct-flood-js-004 050619-qct-flood-js-005 050619-qct-flood-js-006 050619-qct-flood-js-007 050619-qct-flood-js-008 050619-qct-flood-js-009 050619-qct-flood-js-010 050619-qct-flood-js-011 050619-qct-flood-js-012 050619-qct-flood-js-013 050619-qct-flood-js-014 050619-qct-flood-js-015 050519-qct-qca-flood-001 050519-qct-qca-flood-002 050519-qct-qca-flood-003 050519-qct-qca-flood-004 050519-qct-qca-flood-005 050519-qct-qca-flood-006 050519-qct-qca-flood-007 050519-qct-qca-flood-008 050519-qct-qca-flood-009 050519-qct-qca-flood-010 050519-qct-qca-flood-011 050519-qct-qca-flood-012 050519-qct-qca-flood-013 050519-qct-qca-flood-014 050519-qct-qca-flood-015 050519-qct-qca-flood-016 050519-qct-qca-flood-017 050519-qct-qca-flood-018 050519-qct-qca-flood-019 050519-qct-qca-flood-020 050519-qct-qca-flood-021 050519-qct-qca-flood-022 050519-qct-qca-flood-023 050519-qct-qca-flood-024 050519-qct-qca-flood-025 050519-qct-qca-flood-026 050519-qct-qca-flood-027 050519-qct-qca-flood-028 050519-qct-qca-flood-029 050519-qct-qca-flood-030 050519-qct-qca-flood-031 050519-qct-qca-flood-032 050519-qct-qca-flood-033 We appreciate State Rep. Gary Mohrs slower, more deliberate approach to school funding changes proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. While the initiative is being fast-tracked, Mohr, chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, would like some concerns addressed before he throws his support behind it. According to Reynolds proposal, the state would allocate $7,598 the same figure as Iowa's per-pupil public school funding to families who set up an education savings account, which can be used for private school tuition, supplies or other expenses. The Bettendorf Republicans concerns are valid. Mohr is worried about mixing tax dollars with both private and public schools. Private schools dont have to adhere to the same requirements as public schools who depend on tax dollars to exist. He says strings could follow that money sometime in the future when a different legislature believes schools receiving tax dollars should abide by state curriculum standards and must prohibit organized prayer. By looking at potential long-term consequences, Mohr is on the right track. We share his other main concern, too, which is cost. Reynolds has projected the cost will be $107 million the first year, $156 million the second, and by year three, $314 million. Theres no reason to rush this proposal to the finish line. Mohrs desire to take a long look at cost is warranted. Our purpose here has less to do with this proposal and more to do with Mohrs approach as a lawmaker. In this climate of growing partisan division, its nice to see a lawmaker weigh each issue on its merits, rather than fall in line with party leaders. In fact, last year Mohr broke with party and opposed Reynolds' school funding proposal because of the way it dispersed funds. We believe this kind of representation is what voters in the 93rd District had in mind when they re-elected Mohr. In a recent interview with our editorial board, he outlined some of his prime concerns, such as making the budget his top priority and focusing on taxpayer relief, continuing to add child care options, improving public safety and finding the right balance between property owners and commerce on the proposed pipeline projects. As the Iowa legislative session continues its session, were confident that Mohr will be thoughtful and deliberate on behalf of his district. A map from the Lake County Geographic Information System/Mapping Division showing areas in Lake County that are unserved (light purple) or underserved (purple) by existing broadband connections. (- Original Credit: News-Sun (Lake County Geographic Information System/Mapping Division / HANDOUT)) More than 250,000 Lake County residents are considered underserved by the internet capabilities at their homes, according to the Federal Communications Commission, something that has drawn the attention of members of the Lake County Board early in the new term. District 15 member Jennifer Clark, D-Libertyville, first noticed what she calls a widespread lack of access to high speed internet in our community during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, when many of her Lake County-based students at Carthage College were struggling to complete assignments and attend remote instruction because of internet capabilities that did not match software. Advertisement Now, Clark will chair the County Boards Special Committee on Broadband, formed to examine current speeds in Lake County and plan for how the county can help improve the access, affordability and ability to use the internet for residents in the decades to come. The goal here, if we do this right, we are setting up Lake County to have the robust technological infrastructure for the next 30 years, Clark said. This is the goal, and it will allow us to be productive, competitive and residents to thrive. Advertisement A map presented Friday from the Lake County Geographic Information System/Mapping Division shows that nearly every municipality and many unincorporated areas of Lake County from parts of Antioch in the countys northwest corner to Beach Park in the northeast, then down to southern areas in Hawthorn Woods, Lake Forest and other towns are underserved or even unserved. The map shows that an estimated 262,004 people in more than 104,000 households and businesses are underserved, and more than 4,000 people in more than 1,500 households and businesses are unserved. According to FCC standards, underserved connections are speeds under 100/20 megabits per second, while unserved connection speeds equate to coverage under 25/3 megabits per second. The committees vice chair, District 7 member Carissa Casbon, D-Gurnee, has also made access to high-speed internet for county residents a focus in recent months. During a Financial & Administrative Committee meeting in September, Casbon pleaded for the County Board to help a group of residents from the Hunt Club Farms subdivision in Warren Township who were unable to get high-speed internet access without paying internet service provider Comcast an estimated $400,000 to set up service. While sympathetic to the subdivisions problems, committee members determined they did not have the needed leverage to negotiate a connection to the subdivision into the new, 10-year franchise contract that was before the committee for approval. Casbon said the subdivisions predicament prompted her to do research on coverage internet service providers offer, and how there are a lot more areas without high-speed internet capabilities than she realized. Clark alluded on Friday to the County Board needing to invest some funds in conducting accurate research and crafting a long-term plan on high-speed internet, and said she thinks using a slice of American Rescue Plan Act funding will be crucial to ensuring the county is eligible for grants that could be used to help make sweeping investments. The quality and availability of high-speed internet has also been an increasing focus for the federal government, which enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 and allocated $65 billion to invest in expanding high-speed internet access in areas around the country, including Illinois. Advertisement We are going to have to spend money in order to access all these other grant opportunities, Clark said. There are more grant opportunities (than in the presentation), we didnt want to overwhelm everyone today. At the outset, it appears that will is present within the commission, and from other County Board members. The committee voted to issue a request for proposal for consulting services about broadband in Lake County, and will meet again in early February. County Board Chair Sandy Hart called the committees work critical and said she has confidence in staff and the committee to plan improvements because, the passion is there for this. District 9 member Mary Ross Cunningham, D-Waukegan, thanked Clark and Casbon for mobilizing the board to proactively improve high-speed internet service all around the county after noticing problems. Youve got it going for Lake County ... and I appreciate you for that and I will support you, Cunningham said. Advertisement Casbon is set to continue researching and then present findings this spring about the state of internet accessibility, and connectivity resources available to people in her district and around Lake County. The committee features a pair of Republicans in District 2 member Adam Schlick of Wauconda and District 5 member Kevin Hunter of Ingleside. Schlick asked what the funding mechanisms could be for funding the consulting services, and assistant county administrator Matt Meyers said staff has found they could use some funds allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act. Other Democrats on the committee are District 16 member Esiah Campos of Round Lake Beach, District 4 member Gina Roberts of Beach Park and Angelo Kyle of North Chicago. With our schools and our kids, as an uncle of four nieces, they are fortunate enough to have high-speed internet, Campos said. But a lot of the members in my district, their children do not. A Rock Island County jury on Friday returned a verdict of guilty against a man for the shooting death of 37-year-old Richard B. Smith Jr. in 2016. Aaron Demario Ellis, 31, was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder after a five-day trial in Rock Island County Circuit Court. First-degree murder is a Class M felony under Illinois law that can carry a prison sentence of 20-60 years, or a term of life. Ellis also was found guilty of one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony that carries a prison sentence of 6-30 years. Circuit Court Judge Peter Church scheduled Ellis sentencing for April 17. On Nov. 14, 2016, Rock Island Police responded to a shooting at 12th Street and 10th Avenue. There, officers found Smith with a gunshot wound. He was transported to UnityPoint Health-Trinity where he died. Four others, including a 16-year-old, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at the hospital. Ellis had been in and out of federal prison at the time of the shooting. On Sept. 26, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow sentenced Ellis to 21 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Ellis received credit for the time he served awaiting trial after his arrest in March of 2013. In October of 2014 Ellis was accused of violating his supervised release by possessing cannabis, using cannabis, possessing a firearm and driving on a revoked license. On Feb. 3, 2015, Darrow sentenced Ellis to two years in federal prison. Authorities once again petitioned to revoke Ellis supervised release in March of 2017 for violating his supervised release from September 2016 through January of 2017. Ellis' violations included the use of methamphetamine and consuming alcohol and failing to submit to a drug test, among other violations. It was during this time period Ellis was out of prison and on supervised release that Smith was killed. On Nov. 2, 2017, Darrow sentenced Ellis to 16 months in federal prison for again violating his supervised release. On Dec. 19, 2017, Rock Island authorities charged Ellis with the murder of Smith. Ellis was released from federal prison on June 13, 2018. He was returned to Rock Island County to face the murder and aggravated battery charges and has been in custody since. Ellis is being held in the Rock Island County Jail pending sentencing and transport to the Illinois Department of Corrections. The year was 1977, and 6-year-old Lara Roetzel wanted to be a rock star. The second-grader even drew herself in a pink gown singing Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me," which brought tremendous joy to her father when he saw it hanging on the wall at Grandview Elementary during parent-teacher conferences. He was forever supportive of his daughter's ambition, but planted the seed for a back-up, just in case. With a flair for the dramatic and a talent for arguing, what about being a lawyer? From then on, it's all she ever wanted to be. Now finished with a successful 26-year career in criminal prosecution, Roetzel has handled cases from sexual assault to homicide. She took a brief break in the early 2000s and tried her hand at private practice for "a chance to make some actual money." "It just wasn't for me," she said. "I can go to court and fight all day on behalf of a homicide victim or a rape victim, but fighting over someone's toaster is just never going to motivate me." Roetzel served as the interim Pennington County state's attorney from late June 2022 until early January 2023 during Mark Vargo's appointment to attorney general. She has been the chief criminal deputy state's attorney since 2009 and was the South Dakota Prosecutor of the Year in 2017. Coming back home Born in Vermillion while her father attended college, she grew up in the Black Hills along with her sister. Their father became a social worker at the Department of Social Services and later the Children's Home Society, while their mother operated the switchboard for the phone company. Roetzel is a proud fourth-generation Rapid Citian and graduate of South Middle School and Central High School. "Then [I] went to Nebraska. I drove a little Ford Escort [and] that was as far as my car could get me. That's the farthest I could get away from home, and I was never going to come back," she said. "I think, like a lot of Rapid City kids, you kind of think you want to get out and then the minute you get out, you realize how wonderful it was here to begin with and you come home." Roetzel studied psychology at the University of Nebraska and then went to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for law school, coming back the second she graduated, intent on getting hired at the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office. But the summer of 1996 was a tumultuous time, Roetzel said. Incumbent State's Attorney Dennis Groff, who had served in Pennington County for nearly two decades, was defeated by a 29-year-old named Glenn Brenner in the primary election. Roetzel's letters and phone calls in desperate search of an interview went unanswered. Instead, her first job as a lawyer was with legal services, working with indigent clients on things like evictions and doing office hours at the mission for three months before Groff finally granted her an interview. Her first day at the state's attorney's office in January 1997 was the same as Brenner's. Working alongside them was Scott Roetzel, Brenner's chief deputy. "He was so mean to me," she recalled. "He was the strictest chief deputy. He really was awful to me. He hated everything about me. He thought I was too passionate... I was too girly. One time, I was written up in my annual review because I wore a pink suit." They've been married for more than 20 years now. A family profession Scott and Lara have five children: Cale in Rapid City and Berkley in Sioux Falls, both lawyers; Bennett in advertising in Sioux Falls; Walker studying archaeology at the University of South Dakota; and 13-year-old Everley. Scott now works for the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, mostly doing drug prosecution. He and Lara tried her second-to-last jury trial together, something she remembered fondly. "We had so much fun," she said. "He's a fantastic trial attorney. I love that his skills are completely different than mine, so we made a really good trial team." She said it would be difficult to have a partner outside of this profession, with her and Scott relying on each other for support when navigating the darkness that their work brings. "For our 10th wedding anniversary, we went to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Child Pornography Convention in Washington, D.C.," she said. "We sat there at dinner that night and we're like, 'We are sick, like, sick people. Why would you choose to go to a convention on missing and exploited children?' and then we're like, 'This is who we are. This is just who we are.'" Changes over the years A lot has changed in the span of Roetzel's career, notably the prevalence of women in the legal profession. That pink suit Scott hated so much certainly stood out in the sea of neutral suits and bland courthouse walls. "I was the only woman in the room the majority of the first 10 years of my career," she said. "There weren't a lot of female prosecutors there weren't a lot of female lawyers in South Dakota then, there just weren't. So the fact that now, today, as I'm leaving here, the majority of our prosecutors are female... I love that so much, because it wasn't always that way and being a female prosecutor in the beginning was really, really rough." It was and sometimes still is, she said very much a man's world. Roetzel credits her success with being true to all of who she is the light, the passion, the femininity. Her office and her job stand in stark juxtaposition; the sunlight illuminating the walls covered top to bottom in framed sayings, glancing off the leaves of thriving plants and coming to rest on the baskets brimming with case files that line the floor. That 100% authenticity is what convinces a jury. Knowing who you are, she said, looking inside yourself and being that, is absolutely essential. "We spend the majority of our time in trial in front of a jury," Roetzel said. "If you're not 100% authentic in front of a jury all day, they can sense that. If you don't believe in your case, and you don't believe in yourself, you are never going to convince 12 people to believe in your case." She's tried hundreds of cases over the course of her career, with so many moments of success it's hard to choose just one. She's mentored young lawyers and been able to watch the trajectory of their careers with pride. The team at the State's Attorney's Office is more than two-dozen strong, backing each other and being that support personally and professionally. Roetzel said they help each other while in trial, on long days, and face the horrors together. Like so many organizations across the country, recruiting and retention is at crisis-level for attorneys. Pennington County has around 27 open homicide cases some double and triple homicides and only three attorneys that have ever prosecuted one. Roetzel said people think it "isn't cool" to become a prosecutor anymore, and the really good ones get recruited to the federal level or picked to be judges. "It's terrible the level of violence our community has seen, and we felt it coming for a long time. It's continuing to elevate and unfortunately we're seeing it in younger and younger people, and typically related to gang activity [or] drug activity," she said. "So at the same time, we're seeing this lack of interest in being a prosecutor." Life as a prosecutor The Pennington County team focuses on wellness and regular mental health checks, with trained crisis intervention staff in the office. It's an effort to keep them safe so they can focus on doing the same for others. "I could spend all day looking at autopsy photos and be completely fine, totally fine, but then I could walk out of a meeting with the mother of a murder victim and just completely lose it," she said. "You can't anticipate when you're going to reach that breaking point." Facing rising crime in this community, Roetzel also talked about the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on Native Americans. What concerns her more, she said, is that Indigenous people are disproportionately victimized, and that victims don't feel like they're a part of the process. Addressing the disparity means showing the community that everyone's both a part of the problem and the solution. "I treat everybody that I've impacted within the system whether it's a victim or a defendant the way I would want to be treated in that situation," she said. "I think if every prosecutor and every law enforcement officer operated that way then we combine that with the community understanding that this is everybody's problem there's your solution." It's not glamorous work, despite the glitz portrayed on "Law and Order." It's meetings, she said, meetings and research and paperwork. It's deciding how to portray a case in a way jurors can understand. "It's mostly pretty boring and mundane," she said. "The only part of it that's the least bit glamorous or exciting is that moment when you give a closing argument. That truly is like a goosebumps, 'Law and Order' moment when you put out all your evidence and you're standing in front of a packed courtroom and you're convincing the jurors that this was first-degree, premeditated murder. Yeah, I have had those moments in my career where it's like it was straight out of a movie." Her undergraduate degree in psychology comes in handy. She believes that cases are won or lost in jury selection, and picking a jury is getting harder and harder because people are less and less honest. It also helps to have a natural, God-given ability to form those connections with people, understand them, and be able to read them. "Getting people to talk to you and open up to you about really deep, dark things... they just meet me and I'm instantly having conversations as deep as the one that you're having with me, and if you can't connect with people in that way, they're never going to open up and be honest with you," Roetzel said. Those natural talents led her to a career trying major cases and putting despicable men and women behind bars for multiple life sentences. Lessons learned She reflected on the Theodore Guzman trial, a heartbreaking case with three child rape victims. It first ended in a hung jury, which she said is the worst possible outcome for a trial attorney. "I walked out of that trial, never intending to put it in front of a jury again because I didn't think I could put those kids through it again," Roetzel said. "I kind of had just put it aside and prepared myself for that conversation with these families that, you know, justice comes in ways that don't always come from a courtroom... that talk I've had to give more times than I would like over the course of my career." But they did try again. "I brought those little girls in one after another in separate meetings, and every one of them wanted to do it again," she said. "I thought, if they could be that brave and want to put themselves through that again to try again, who could I ever be to say that I wouldn't try again?" They won every single count three for first-degree rape and one for sexual contact with a minor. Guzman was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 15 years in July 2021. It's the victims that touch her heart, and over the years of being their champion, she's found where the system fails. Before moving on from criminal prosecution, Roetzel made an impassioned plea to local legislators on where they can help patch the holes during this 2023 session. She reiterated that defendants should have the best representation and fairest trials possible, but insisted there be a re-centering on victims' rights. Tifanie Petro, the advocacy and prevention program director at the Children's Home Society, is set to re-introduce a trauma-informed courtroom bill designed to make it a safer place for child victims. Roetzel addressed the myth that child victims can tell forensic interviewers or parents, who can then testify on their behalf, as being completely false. Child victims have to testify in order to make a case. Anything else is hearsay. "I can't tell you how many times over the course of my career I've had to dismiss a case entirely or reduce the charges to something that's embarrassingly not justice because I knew I couldn't put that child victim on the stand," Roetzel said. "Understanding that I'm not going to be able to navigate around the fact that the child has to testify, can't we at least do something that doesn't violate the defendant's rights, but makes that a safer place for the child victim?" Petro's legislation would let children bring a comfort item into the courtroom, require them to talk to child victims at their developmental level, and prevent defense attorneys from harassing them during cross-examination. More work to be done Roetzel also asked lawmakers to consider the addition of two rules that were left out when South Dakota adopted the Federal Rules of Evidence, both concerning victims' rights. The first is a provision that allows for the automatic inclusion of previous sexual assault acts in subsequent cases of sexual assault, the second is similar in that previous cases of child molestation be automatically admitted in any future cases of molestation. "In those cases, why should that defendant be protected against the jury knowing who they are and what their proclivities are?" Roetzel said. "They should have that full picture, and that child victim deserves to not stand alone in that courtroom and for that history to support them." She said that right now, admission of previous acts in a criminal trial requires legal rigmarole, and these federal rules would eliminate that. Roetzel described South Dakota's rape definitions as woefully lacking, because the state doesn't define consent. Under South Dakota law, for someone to be raped, there has to be force, coercion, or fear of imminent harm. What's missing, she said, is consent. If the victim doesn't fight because they thought it would be worse, or their trauma response was to freeze, she can't prosecute it as rape something she classified as happening two to three times a month. "I have to explain to them that that's not rape. Yes, you were sexually assaulted, but under the definition of South Dakota law, I can't prosecute that as a case because it doesn't meet the legal requirements," she said. "Imagine how that feels for that man or woman going forward to say, 'Yeah, what happened was terrible, but it's not a crime.'" All of this passion Roetzel has for victims' rights has led her to a new career here in Rapid City. She'll be the attorney with South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault, working on a grant program designed to elevate advocacy services. "What that means is for me and my new team to decide," Roetzel said. "What I love about it is it's completely unwritten, and so we will do what needs to be done for victims' voices to be heard at a new, audible level across the state of South Dakota, and I'm really excited to see what we can do." Roetzel's last day with Pennington County was Friday. When asked if she was taking time off between jobs, Roetzel grinned. "Yeah, I am," she said. "Saturday and Sunday." BISMARCK, N.D. The National Park Service says there is no legal basis to keep horses and longhorn cattle that roam freely in the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Officials during a Thursday night virtual public meeting that included about 160 participants also said there is no ecosystem benefit to keeping livestock in the western North Dakota park. There really is no clear basis to support livestock at the park and to put it directly, we are charged with paying tribute to Theodore Roosevelts conservation legacy, not his ranching legacy, Park Superintendent Angie Richman said. His conservation legacy grew from a desire to protect and preserve land and ecosystems as close to their natural state as possible before the impacts of colonization. Roosevelt hunted and ranched in the North Dakota Badlands before moving on to the White House. He founded the Boone and Crockett Club, a hunting and habitat conservation group that still exists today. The park is looking at three alternatives to address the livestock herds and consider the role that they have on native species and the prairie ecosystem. The options include eliminating or reducing the horses and cattle. Park Director of Resource Management and Science Blake McCann said management of the cattle is guided by a 1970 plan, and the wild horse herd has been managed by a 1978 environmental assessment. He said the animals were introduced "to represent a historic scene." However, recent legal review through our planning process has revealed that there is no legal basis in park enabling legislation or NPS policy that allows for livestock to occur at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, McCann said, adding that the park "was created to preserve native wildlife and natural systems. The first alternative would reduce the horse herd from 186 animals to 35-60. The second alternative, which would remove all livestock within two years, would include live capture of the horses; American Indian tribes would be given first opportunity to receive them. Those not taken would be given to other groups or sold to the public. The cattle would be gathered, donated to authorized groups or sold to the public. The third alternative involves capturing the horses, giving tribes first opportunity to purchase them, implanting contraception to prevent future breeding, and allowing the reduced herd of non-reproductive horses to live out their lives in the park. Cattle would be gathered and donated to groups or sold to the public. Participants in Thursday's meeting were able to submit written questions, and park officials answered them during the meeting. Some people argue that the horses are considered historically significant and question if there's evidence that shows the nonnative species are impacting the ecosystem. They also wonder if removing the horses would impact tourism. Richman said, Its not really about declining native species as much as it is about allowing for adaptability and for some resilience for our native species with the impacts of climate change that theyre going to be seeing on the landscape." McCann added, "We know that they (horses and cattle) are out of place in terms of the ecosystem ... There is a certain amount of forage thats going to those animals and not available to native wildlife. People can comment on the alternatives until Jan. 31. An environmental assessment planned for the spring will look at the impacts the three alternatives would have on the park, including economic impact, especially for businesses in nearby Medora and surrounding communities. A decision on the livestock should come by the end of summer. Robert Santa-Cruz, M.D., was recently honored after performing 1,500 surgeries using the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Intuitive, the company that produces the da Vinci robot, presented him with an award for this milestone achievement. Santa-Cruz is a urologist with Monument Health Rapid City Clinic, Fifth Street. He has been with Monument Health since 2019. In 2022, Santa-Cruz performed more than 240 robotic-assisted surgeries. I think that puts me in the top 5% of urologic volume in the country, Santa-Cruz said. When you look at the relative size of the community, thats really remarkable. Santa-Cruz said he has been performing robotic-assisted surgery using da Vinci robotics since 2004. Hes continued learning and adapting as the robotics evolve. Da Vinci has had a few different models over the years. Ive used every generation of their robotics. The one Im currently using is the fourth-generation machine, Santa-Cruz said. Santa-Cruz said he uses the robotics for cancer and reconstructive surgeries. About 75% of the robotic-assisted surgeries he performs are to treat prostate, kidney and bladder cancers. Santa-Cruz said he has worked to expand the Monument Health robotics program, and he wants to educate the public and let them know modern surgery techniques such as robotics-assisted surgery is available in Rapid City. People dont have to travel to Denver or bigger cities. They can be near their families, Santa-Cruz said. My goal is to perform state-of-the-art operations locally so people can save time and money and not have to travel to other cities. Part of my goal and my mission is to get the word out so the community realizes what they have locally, and we can continue doing this good work. Robotics-assisted surgery is a less invasive type of surgery that permits the least amount of trauma we can do to accomplish the goal of the operation, Santa-Cruz said. We can do the whole operation through small tubes and not have to interfere with peoples muscular system and bones. Its a total game changer. Although surgeons in other fields use robotics-assisted technology, Santa-Cruz said urology was a leader in developing clinical applications for robotic surgeries. Our surgeries are difficult and in hard-to-reach places, which is where robotics excels, he said. Robotics-assisted surgery gives surgeons the ability to have a three-dimensional view of the patients body on a video screen. Surgeons guide the robotics, which provide small-sized instruments that can get to places in patients bodies that are challenging to access. Robotics-assisted surgery offers vital benefits for patients, including shorter recovery times with less pain and less blood loss. About 80% of my patients go home on the same day and do not get admitted to the hospital after robotic surgery, even for major operations, Santa-Cruz said. Nearly 100% of prostate surgeries and about 80% of kidney surgeries are now outpatient procedures, he said. Its getting more rare for me to have to admit people after robotic surgery, Santa-Cruz said. Thats really the exciting and the real benefit of robotics. Previously (before robotic assisted surgery), it was routine for people to spend a week in the hospital with lots of pain medications and blood transfusions. He said the ability for patients to recover in their own beds with their families is significant for patient recovery. After we complete an operation, the reason we keep patients (in the hospital) often relates to pain control and the risk of bleeding, Santa-Cruz said. With robotics, because were able to operate with such precision, were losing a lot less blood during operations than we ever did. He said with robotics-assisted surgery, patients lose an average of one-tenth the amount of blood they typically did during open surgeries. Because Im less concerned they have a risk of bleeding, it becomes safer to let people go home after surgery. Their pain is much easier to manage, Santa-Cruz said. It has become safer to let people go (through surgery) as outpatients. Santa-Cruz said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Monument Healths use of robotics, because when the hospital was full, robotics-assisted surgeries allowed surgeons to treat patients who could then safely recover at home. Robotics-assisted surgery also gives surgeons the ability to perform more procedures, he said. It allows me to do three or four cases in a day. If I look back at my time as an open surgeon, if I did two big open cases in a day, I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day, Santa-Cruz said. Now I can touch the lives of more people in a day than I ever could. That to me is also one of the great advantages the robot gives us, that extra capacity and longevity. A Wanblee man is charged in federal court for allegedly robbing the Lakota Federal Credit Union in Kyle and firing a rifle during the robbery. Francis White Lance, 65, is charged with bank robbery and discharge of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the alleged Nov. 7 robbery. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on Jan. 10 and pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to life in custody and a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, a $200 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and restitution. The crime White Lance is accused of is one that's fading into the past. In 2003, the United States saw more than 7,400 bank robberies. That number has plummeted in the last two decades to just over 1,700, according to the FBI's 2021 numbers. Only 232 of those involved a firearm. The 2021 report states that Monday is the most common day for bank robberies, burglaries and larceny. The crime White Lance is charged with happened on a Monday, staying true to the averages. A jury trial is scheduled to start on March 21 if White Lance does not reach a plea deal with the government by March 3. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Blair is prosecuting the case and Federal Public Defender Ellie Bastian is representing White Lance. The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI are investigating the case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rapid City. A St. Ignatius man wanted on a $50,000 warrant out of Lake County was allegedly found to be in possession of both methamphetamine and fentanyl after being arrested for trespassing in Stevensville on Wednesday. Jayante James Pichette, 21, of St. Ignatius was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs as well as misdemeanor criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal trespass in Ravalli County Justice Court on Thursday, Jan. 12. According to court documents, a Ravalli County Sheriff's deputy responded to a Stevensville residence at 8:51 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11 for a report of trespassing in progress. Upon arrival the deputy spoke with a woman who showed him where she had seen a man on the side of the house. The deputy observed fresh tracks in the snow around the house and under the porch, noting it appeared as if the individual had left the area. The officer instructed the woman to lock her doors and call back if the male returned. The deputy conducted a check of the surrounding area, meeting with the womans father, who later provided images from surveillance video and a Facebook photo of Pichette. The womans father said that she was certain the man she saw was Pichette. Dispatch advised the deputy that Pichette had an unspecified $50,000 warrant out of Lake County District Court. At 1:36 p.m. dispatch received a second call from the residence, reporting that Pichette had returned and was outside the house. The deputy returned to the residence and found that Pichette had again left the immediate area. The deputy followed the mans tracks in the snow and located him under a tree not far from the home. Pichette reportedly waived his Miranda rights upon being taken into custody and told the deputy he was there looking for a daughter of the man who lived there, who he said he had been dating at one point. He also told the deputy he was trying to avoid her parents and knew he did not have permission to be there. He then allegedly told the deputy that he had tinfoil with fentanyl residue in his boot, and said that he had left a backpack in the trees where he was found. Pichette and the backpack were searched upon booking at the Ravalli County Detention Center. Multiple pieces of tinfoil with residue were reportedly found along with two small plastic bags containing white powder residue. Pichette reportedly told law enforcement the bags had contained methamphetamine, which he said he had smoked that morning prior to being dropped off at the property. He also allegedly admitted to smoking fentanyl two hours prior. Detention Center staff also reported finding a glass pipe, a straw and a dental pick in the backpack, along with a $5 bill rolled up as if to snort powder with. The items were collected into evidence and sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for testing. Justice of the Peace Jennifer Ray set bail at $20,000. The president of Bon Secours Richmond, Mike Lutes, said this week that hes very comfortable with how the health system spent the hundreds of millions of dollars it saved using a government program designed to help poor communities. The health system came under fire last year after stories in The New York Times and the Richmond Times-Dispatch detailed how the health system uses Richmond Community Hospital to sell drugs at a discount price and at the same time stripped the Church Hill facility of some medical services. Politicians and members of the community questioned whether Bon Secours was investing sufficiently in the low-income East End. The health system waited 10 years to build a medical office building in Church Hill, but it moved forward on redeveloping the lucrative Westhampton School plot in the West End and expanded hospitals in Chesterfield and Hanover counties. Lutes called the news stories a misleading narrative. He pointed out that Bon Secours savings come from pharmaceutical companiesnot patients or taxpayersthat hospital systems across the country operate similar structures and that the health system could have chosen different hospitals in greater Richmond to funnel its savings. Weve put money back into the communities that we serve at a far greater rate than the savings we generate through 340B, Lutes said. 340B is the name of the government program used by Bon Secours and nonprofit health systems across the nation. Approved hospitals can buy drugs for outpatients at a steep discount. According to the Times, Richmond Community can purchase a vial of the cancer drug Keytruda for $3,444. Then it charges private insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield more than seven times as muchroughly $25,000. In exchange for the discounts, hospital systems are expected to reinvest that money in low-income neighborhoods. Like other health systems in the country, Bon Secours found a way to exploit the program. The health system lists 10 outpatient clinics located throughout the Richmond area as satellite locations of Richmond Community. At these sites, Bon Secours can charge privately insured patients more for a drug than it charges Medicaid patients. And its all legal. Roughly 2,600 nonprofit and government hospitals participated in 340B in 2021, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. They spent more than $38 billion on discounted medicines. Little government oversight The question for health systems that use 340B becomes: Has the health system sufficiently invested in the low-income neighborhoods it serves? The government does not specify how much money a hospital system must put back into those communities, and it doesnt require hospitals to report how much money they save. Those are the pieces that become a little bit more of a black box, said Paula Song, a professor of health administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. Using the government program, Bon Secours Richmond has saved roughly $50 million each of the past four years. The vast majorityabout 97%comes from the satellite clinics. The restabout $1 million a yearis generated at Richmond Community. Lutes said the savings achieved on the Richmond Community campus stay in the East End. Thanks to 340B, Richmond Community continued to draw significant revenue in 2021. It brought in $92 million from 1,800 patient admissions, according to Virginia Health Information. The lions share of Richmond Communitys revenue comes from outpatient treatments, where the margins are bolstered by the 340B program. Thats why, in 2021, the hospital made more than double the revenue brought in by St. Francis Medical Center, the organizations sister hospital in Midlothian, even though St. Francis admitted thousands more patients. Typically, hospitals that scale up and retain high patient volumes are more profitable, while smaller hospitals with less demand make far lessand can even lose money on care. Public records also show that Richmond Community tripled the amount of care it wrote off for indigent patients. The hospital delivered more than $9 million in uncompensated care, known as bad debt, up from $3 million the year prior. Its not clear how much the prior figures may have been suppressed by fluctuations caused by the pandemic. Though Richmond Community is the conduit for 340B, other Bon Secours Richmond hospitals are eligible because they also serve a high percentage of low-income patients. St. Marys Hospital in Henrico County and Southside Medical Center in Petersburg are eligible for the program, but health systems typically select just one hospital in a market as its 340B site, Lutes said. It may seem contradictory that a hospital in a wealthy community, such as St. Marys, would be eligible for the program. But St. Marys receives patients from across the Richmond area because it offers medical services smaller hospitals do not offer. About a quarter of St. Marys patients in 2022 arrived via transfer, according to a spokesperson for the health system. The location of a 340B hospital is less important than how the savings are spent, Song said. The key is how the savings are reinvested. Similar set-up nationwide In his defense of Bon Secours, Lutes pointed out that the savings do not come from taxpayers or patients. They come from pharmaceutical companies. Bon Secours does not pass those savings along to the customer. But the health system depends on them for its mission, Lutes said. In recent years, it has reinvested four times as much money as it saved using 340B. And the structure set up by Bon Secours is employed by health systems across the country. According to The Wall Street Journal, two-thirds of 340B satellite sites are in neighborhoods where the median household income exceeds that of the hospitals own location. In greater Richmond, five of them are on Bremo Road next to St. Marys. Bon Secours invested almost $200 million in the Richmond area in 2022through charity care to low-income patients, repaying the losses of medical groups that contract with the health system, building and equipment needs, and community programs. A spokesperson declined to say what percentage of patient revenue the health system reinvests. But critics say not enough of that money was spent on the East End, which is the point of the government program. Critics point to the East End building, which took 10 years to build. When it was opened this week, Bon Secours leaders declined to say why it took so long. In recent years, Richmond Community was drained of resources. It does not have doctors to treat gastrointestinal issues, kidney problems or severe cardiac concerns. It closed its small intensive care unit in 2017. When the MRI scanner broke, Bon Secours didnt immediately replace it. On Tuesday, Bon Secours announced a plan to bring back many of those services on an outpatient basis and restore inpatient care for pulmonary health. While the East End has waited for investment, Bon Secours has started a $108 million expansion of St. Francis Medical Center and has finished a $49 million expansion of Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover. Bon Secours Opens New East End Medical Office Building A Henrico County man whose Tuckahoe home was found full of bomb-making materials and explosive devices last year has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Michael Hardy, 53, had faced 16 criminal charges before he pleaded guilty to six charges in October. Police searched Hardys home in the 7200 block of Durwood Crescent on March 17 after getting information from his then-18-year-old partner about drug sales and substance abuse disorder, authorities have said. Police also responded to a report of a domestic incident outside the house a day prior to their search. Inside, they found several surveillance cameras, reinforced doors, trip wires and potentially hazardous explosive materials, police said in court documents. About 150 law enforcement workers were deployed to the scene, and 25 nearby homes were evacuated. The neighborhood is near The Village shopping center. During the sentencing proceedings in Henrico Circuit Court on Friday, Hardys attorney argued that a lesser sentencing would allow him to rehabilitate and re-enter society for what would be his first offense. Im not saying what Mr. Hardy did wasnt wrong. Hes already admitted to that, G. Russell Stone Jr. told Chief Judge John Marshall. But theres no doubt in my mind that hes the same person he was 10 months ago. Officers seized 15 firearms, 19,000 rounds of ammunition, modified fireworks, a pipe bomb and bomb-making materials from Hardys home, police said in testimony. Hardy testified Thursday that he had a fascination with firearms and explosives since he was an adolescent to his time in the military, where he began as a U.S. Marine in the 1990s before he was honorably discharged. He later served in the Army National Guard as a military police officer. Hardy said that in his mind, he was just tinkering with things, which is why materials were locked behind a reinforced door in the attic, according to his testimony. Police also discovered pills containing fentanyl, crack cocaine, digital scales, plastic packaging and other items, officials said. Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Matthew Ackley presented evidence to the court of Hardys frequent overt drug conversations with several juvenile witnesses who testified in court Thursday to Hardys character and who alleged abuse and substance abuse disorder. Theres no doubt in my mind that his case was disturbing for everyone involved, Ackley said after the sentencing. Thats why, based on the evidence, we argued for a more severe sentence. Hardy testified that his addiction had gotten so out of hand that he would be dead if hadnt been arrested. Since his arrest, he has sought help and has reconnected with his family and loved ones, he said. Family members including his mother and father, a daughter and siblings filled the courtroom as a show of support on Friday. We know going in that Mr. Hardy would be punished. I think everything he said in court today was sincere for the good and the bad, Stone said. Theres no doubt in my mind that once hes out, hell be rehabilitated. Top 5 weekend events: Butcher Brown & Symphony, Brown Ballerinas & Richmond Jewish Food Festival Richmond Jewish Food Festival Butcher Brown and the Richmond Symphony Brown Ballerinas for Change and Richmond Symphony The Hot Seats Comedy at The Park RVA Alone among Richmond skyscrapers, the property at 530 E. Main St. is perhaps the only structure downtown to have once housed the headquarters of a novelty frozen confection company. Yet if you asked Richmonders to identify the Eskimo Pie Building, most would probably draw a blank. (The younger ones, of course, might also ask: Whats an Eskimo Pie?) The building at 530 E. Main is a type so common in American cities of our size and age: It has been there for well over a century and has acted as a little nexus of some of Richmonds more unique and interesting historical points, and yet it also sort of fades into the backdrop of the city itself, a quiet result of its own understated elegance. For years, it was probably best-known by locals and workers as the ground-floor home of Cafe Ole, one of the great downtown Richmond lunch spots. Cafe Ole is gone, but the Eskimo Pie Building remains. Built in 1913 amid a wave of construction in the area, 530 E. Main was one of several business and office residences constructed in what had been a mostly residential area of downtown Richmond, one marked by both row houses and larger homes for the citys elite. It was originally built for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce; early photographs of the building identify it by that moniker. The building was made in the Classical Revival style: the grand Doric columns that grace both of its two-story ground-floor entrances are offset by its relatively unadorned facade, though a line of colonettes nicely sets off the mezzanine-level windows above the architraves. The top two floors are separated by a decorative lined cornice, and pedestrians from ground level can easily spot the ghost of the original projecting cornice that ran around the crown of the building and was taken down at some point prior to 1960. After just eight years, in 1921, the Chamber of Commerce sold the building to the Atlantic Life Insurance Co., which had been founded in Richmond in 1900. The structure at 530 E. Main was so associated with Atlantic Life that the company used a drawing of the building in its letterhead, even at out-of-state offices. Atlantic Life had offices there until 1959, when it moved into its newly built headquarters at Ninth and Main, a rather garish Mid-century modern building that was torn down in the early 2000s. The building at 530 E. Main was subsequently purchased by Reynolds Metal Corp., which installed one of its subsidiary companies, Eskimo Pie, in the small skyscraper. The Eskimo Pie Co. originated in the Midwest and yet came to be owned by the Kentucky-born Reynolds Metal Corp., with both companies headquartered in Richmond one of those weird business convergences that proliferated in the boom years of the early 20th-century United States. Jerry Carpenter, a longtime Richmond resident and a onetime stockholder in the Eskimo Pie Co., said he and his wife, Virginia, went to several of the annual shareholder meetings. They always offered some of their products to the stockholders, he said. You could count on going home with a couple of ice-cream sandwiches. Eskimo Pie remained in the building for over 20 years, finally heading out to the suburbs of the city in 1986. There are hints that the building was in a bit of a decline ahead of the sale. In 1980, a local advertisement touted two available suites in the building and promised renters that they must see [the suites] to appreciate, perhaps an indication of the buildings lackluster reputation at the time. In 1983, a sign could be observed outside the building warning of an open elevator shaft inside one of the exterior windows. Eskimo Pie President David Clark grumbled in 1986 that the company [spent] a lot of time managing that building, with the corporation having undertaken a large rehabilitation project of 530 E. Main in 1984 as part of broader urban renewal efforts. It was expected that the new owners would have to pour an additional $3 million into the structure to fully revitalize it. All of those efforts seem to have ultimately paid off. The building has lasted for 110 years longer, certainly, than Atlantic Life Insurances now-vanished headquarters, longer too than Atlantic Life Insurance itself, which was eventually absorbed by other companies, and technically longer even than the Eskimo Pie Co., which in the intervening years understandably has changed its name. Yet the building through its unofficial title remains inextricably associated with its most famous tenant. The Eskimo Pie Building bears the marks of more than a century of both endurance and renewal. On a recent visit, one tenant compared the buildings rather eclectic interior to Narnia, and the space does demonstrate a sort of layering effect of all the decades of its existence. One wing of the 10th floor still boasts the towering ceilings from the Chamber of Commerces 1913 auditorium; an old walk-in vault from Atlantic Life Insurance is also hidden somewhere nearby. Periodic renovations have added bathroom fixtures from the 1960s and water fountains from the late 1980s. The small lobby appears to have been remodeled several times and retains a gorgeous understated Art Deco motif. And in a corner of the buildings bizarrely labyrinthian basement sits the old Atlantic Life Insurance policy vault, a hulking 2,000-pound piece of history nobody has ever bothered moving. In 1920, the Chamber of Commerce wrote in The Times-Dispatch urging Richmonders to take in the views of downtown from the top floor of the skyscraper. You can have no idea of the wondrous built-up beauty of the scene from the 10th floor, the chamber declared. Visitors, the chamber said, would behold the splendid birds-eye view of Richmonds rapidly expanding industrial section and walk away from the dazzling experience more impressed with the beauty and extent of the city. The building still offers those splendid views of Richmond a city of wondrous built-up beauty, then and now. From the archives: Cloverleaf Mall, 1972-2011 Cloverleaf Mall: Before the opening Cloverleaf Mall: Opening day, 1972 Cloverleaf Mall: Busy first week Cloverleaf Mall: Upscale Sears Cloverleaf Mall: Twin cinema Cloverleaf Mall: Piccadilly Cafeteria Cloverleaf Mall in 1975 Cloverleaf Mall Community Room Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Tubas, 1985 Cloverleaf Mall: 1987 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Eve, 1990 Cloverleaf Mall: 1995 fire Cloverleaf Mall: Frederick's of Hollywood Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas, 1997 Cloverleaf Mall: 1998 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: New police station, 1999 Cloverleaf Mall: Regal cinemas close, 2001 Cloverleaf Mall: Sears closes, 2003 Cloverleaf Mall: Empty food court, 2005 County buys Cloverleaf Mall, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall sold to county, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall: One last shop Cloverleaf Mall: Closing in 2008 Cloverleaf Mall: Fenced off in 2010 Cloverleaf Mall: The walls come down, 2011 Goodbye Cloverleaf, 2011 Kroger rises from rubble of Cloverleaf, 2012 Buried deep in the 24 pages of Dominion Energys latest legislative wish list are two points the power company hasnt been talking much about, but are likely to be where debate will rage in the General Assembly this year, legislators and lobbyists say. One would put new restrictions on firms that produce electricity from wind farms or solar facilities and want to compete for Dominion customers business. The other sets a new benchmark for a key, if obscure financial ratio. I know theres opposition, especially for rolling back competition, said House of Delegates Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott. But thats what I like to do, bring all the different stakeholders around the table, he said. By the time the bill gets before the committee, its going to look a lot different. That could mean the competition rollback is simply a bargaining chip a tactic that businesses pushing multi-page, complex omnibus legislation sometimes try, as some lobbyists and legislators think Dominion is doing. The idea is that by including something that draws a lot of opposition, you can get most of what you want through the legislation by agreeing to withdraw the flashpoint. You know, legislation is a lot like making sausage, a grinning Kilgore said, asked if thats whats behind the competition rollback. Competition for renewable energy came in 2020, despite Dominions resistance. The idea was to create competitive pressure on Dominion for more access to more affordable renewable options, said the legislations sponsor, Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News. Dominion, meanwhile, says its bill is about three key points: The first is that it will merge into base rates some of the surcharges that have made power bills balloon since the General Assembly froze base rates in 2015. That, Dominion says, would mean something like an immediate savings of $5 to $7 on a typical monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Thats because those surcharges, called riders or rate adjustment clauses, normally rise every year. The 1,000 kilowatt-hour bill now stands at just under $137. The second point Dominion stresses is that its legislation would give the State Corporation Commission power to adjust its base rates. Those have barely changed since 2007, standing at about $70 of that $137-a-month, 1,000 kilowatt-hour bill. Because they havent changed, they reflect the value of Dominions facilities at that time, without reflecting the way that for most businesses, the value of assets tends to decline over time. A fresh look at base rates implies the SCC could order Dominion to lower its charges. Giving that traditional power back to the commission is what a much shorter, simpler bill from Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, and Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, proposes. Which brings up the third key point Dominion mentions: that it also wants the SCC to use a different benchmark for its profit margin. Its currently based on the lower range of profitability other Southeast states allow their utilities. Dominion says its current 9.35% return on equity is the lowest in the Southeast and makes it hard to get investors to put their money into the company. It wants the SCC benchmark to include all Southeast utilities, some of which are allowed a 10% return on equity. Doing so would tend to at least offset any SCC-ordered reduction in base rates. Thats where the obscure financial ratio could come in. Here, too, though Dominion has not highlighted this clause. The bill says that while Dominion is building its $9 billion offshore wind farm, the SCCs review of its rates should look at the ratio of stockholders equity to total capital that is, equity plus debt of Southeast utilities. These ratios, too, are higher than what the SCC now looks at when considering Dominion rates. That would also lead to higher power bills. Since Dominion rates are supposed to generate profits equal to 9.35% of equity, if either the rate or the figure used for that equity go up, Dominions rates could rise, too. While Gov. Glenn Youngkins energy plan calls for giving the SCC more authority, like the Dominion bill and the legislation Ware and Sullivan proposed, he hasnt said if he backs either bill. The governor will review the legislation when it comes to his desk, said press secretary Macaulay Porter, adding that Youngkin remains committed to doing something about rising energy prices. Deputy House Majority Leader Israel OQuinn, R-Washington, said Republicans plan for the 2023 session includes action on electricity costs and reliability. Its an issue that strikes close to home for him. OQuinn is from a corner of Virginia that was hit by power outages when cold temperatures at the end of last month strained the electric grid. But its too early to tell whether the GOP agenda includes the Dominion bill, or the Ware-Sullivan proposal or something else entirely, he said. Theres a lot of ideas and bills out there, and lots to work on, he said. This is really, really complicated. Brixmor Property Group will present arguments to the Naperville County Tuesday as why it wants a business district for the Westridge Court and Heritage Square shopping centers at Route 59 and Aurora Avenue and an added 1% sales tax from businesses there collected. (Suzanne Baker / Naperville Sun) Brixmor Property Group will make its case Tuesday as to why the Naperville City Council should charge customers who patronize its two Route 59 shopping centers an additional 1% sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements. Company representatives are scheduled to explain at a council hearing what they will do with the extra money collected from purchases made at Westridge Court and Heritage Square stores, restaurants and offices and to justify why its necessary that a special tax be assessed. Advertisement Brixmor wants the council to create a 65-acre business district at Route 59 and Aurora Avenue to encompass the two shopping centers, including the Hollywood Palms Cinema, and to approve a 1% sales tax. The tax would not be charged on purchases made at Portillos, Chilis and Arbys fronting Route 59 and Citibank and Taco Bell on Aurora Avenue. Advertisement Renovation plans call for the removal of many of the shopping centers existing buildings so the site can be reoriented with a central public green space surrounded by outlots along Route 59 and Aurora Avenue. According to a memo from Bill Novack, director of Transportation, Engineering and Development, work in what is being called the Block 59 Business District will require the complete removal and relocation of the infrastructure that serves both centers. Revenue generated from the added tax will pay for $13.4 million in infrastructure replacement. The councils initial reaction to the Brixmor proposal was mixed. Some members at previous meetings questioned why portions of the Westridge Court, which recently underwent a facelift, are being included in the proposed business district. Novack said removing some businesses from the district would require the sales tax to be collected over a longer period, which would be capped at 23 years. Because of the extra time and additional dollars being collected, city staff does not support reducing business district boundary, he said. Council members also raised concerns that taxes could be collected without a guarantee that the improvements would be built. Advertisement Novack said Brixmor has agreed to not request any tax reimbursement until three conditions are met: All buildings slated for demolition are removed; Infrastructure building pads, parking lots and required utilities and community improvements are installed and approved by the city; Public green space is completed and the first certificate of occupancy obtained. To be considered for business district approval, the property must be deemed a blighted area. Consultants Kane McKenna Associates found that the site is an economic liability and underutilized because of the deterioration of infrastructure, inadequate street layout, a decline in property values and decline in sales taxes. The council hearing on the request is set for 7 p.m. at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. subaker@tribpub.com Twelve years ago, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, got some advice from then-Rep. Randy Forbes, R-4th, about a pending deal in the U.S. House of Representatives to raise the federal debt ceiling in exchange for the creation of a super-committee to cut spending and reduce the federal budget deficit. The Budget Control Act of 2011 also included provisions to make automatic cuts to federal defense and domestic spending through a process called budget sequestration if the super-committee failed to do the job. He said, Rob, Im telling you, dont vote for it because the promises that are made are not going to be kept, Wittman recalled in an interview of his conversation with Forbes, who would leave Congress in 2016. With another fight looming this year over the debt ceiling and federal spending in a newly elected Republican majority in the House, some elected officials in Virginia are wary of the ghost of sequestration, which imposed budget caps in 2013 that hit the states economy hard because of its reliance on federal spending for military and defense contracts, especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Sequestration was devastating to Virginia, said state Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, co-chairman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. It did significant damage to Virginias economy. Wittman voted for the deal in 2011, after then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, assured him and other members of the House Armed Services Committee that the super-committee would make the necessary decisions to reduce the budget deficit without resorting to deep, automatic cuts in defense spending through sequestration. I was naive enough to believe that if somebody told me this is what theyre going to do, that this is what theyre going to do, he said. It didnt happen. The special committee failed to agree by the deadline of Jan. 12, 2012, on $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, and the next year brought the imposition of budget caps that initially reduced spending by $85 billion, despite the first of three additional bills to delay the spending caps over the next three years. We will not and cannot cut defense Wittman says he is confident that it wont happen again this year, despite the historic 15-ballot battle over election of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who promised conservative Republican holdouts that he would agree to concessions that included a cap on budget spending at fiscal year 2022 levels. The cap would roll back spending increases the previous, Democratic-controlled Congress approved last year in a $1.7 trillion budget bill. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the difference in top-line budget numbers at about $130 billion, including more than $70 billion for defense. Everybody Ive talked to, including appropriators, say, no, we will not and cannot cut defense, said Wittman, who hopes to be appointed vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee and chairman of its Tactical Air and Land Subcommittee this week. He called the process of electing a speaker both noisy and tumultuous, but said, I dont think it was a bad process. Wittman now represents western parts of Chesterfield and Henrico counties in the newly drawn 1st District, as well as part of Hanover County. Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, represents part of Hanover and all of Goochland, Powhatan, Amelia, Louisa and Nottoway counties. The 4th District seat, representing 15 localities from Richmond and its suburbs to the North Caroline line, is vacant after the Nov. 28 death of Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, pending a special election on Feb. 21. Good was one of 20 House Republicans who held out against Rep. Kevin McCarthys election as speaker in a protracted, four-day battle. He was one of six who ultimately voted present in the final ballot that elected McCarthy early on Jan. 7 after forcing him to make concessions on House operating rules and other, unreleased agreements on reducing the budget and raising the debt ceiling. You saw 20 individuals right, wrong or indifferent, depending on your perspective willing to risk what was in their political interest ... and we would not have had the changes we have without that, Good said in an interview in his House office on Thursday. The reality is that we are heading for fiscal reckoning, if we dont begin to cut spending, if we dont begin to balance the budget, he said. Good contends that the way to do that is by using the debt ceiling as leverage for spending cuts. We have got to marry together the need to increase the debt ceiling with cuts to spending that put us on a path to fiscal responsibility, he said. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, whose district moved from the Richmond suburbs to Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area, does not see the standoff as a good model for governing, especially in risking a default on the countrys debt by tying the debt ceiling to deep budget cuts. The bottom line is, if were at that level of brinksmanship over a debt ceiling deal, that in and of itself has significant financial and economic implications, she said in an interview in her House office on Thursday. There needs to be people saying, under no circumstance we will allow the U.S. to lose its footing on the global economic stage, Spanberger said. I just havent heard it. Thats concerning for me. She added: We as Americans benefit dramatically from the financial standing of the United States of America. If we are downgraded ... it impacts us as individual borrowers. The default factor U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised the stakes on Friday, when she notified Congress that the U.S. is projected to reach its debt limit on Thursday and will then resort to extraordinary measures to avoid default. Those measures include delaying some payments, such as contributions to federal employees retirement plans, to make room for other payments that are deemed essential, including those for Social Security and debt instruments, according to The Associated Press. Failure to meet the governments obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability, Yellen said in a letter to Congress. Indeed, in the past, even threats that the U.S. government might fail to meet its obligations have caused real harms, including the only credit rating downgrade in the history of our nation in 2011. Wittman was in Congress when that happened, and Boehner made a deal that the Virginia congressman said was destined to fail because the speaker, whom Republicans forced out of office in 2015, did not live up to the commitments he had made. I dont think we will be in the same track with this, he said. With the debt ceiling, Wittman said, I think we have an obligation to make sure to do our job that doesnt put the U.S. in jeopardy, especially the economy in jeopardy. We all know the outcome if we dont increase the debt ceiling. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., first elected to the Senate in 2012 at the beginning of sequestration, does not have the same confidence. It is basically bringing sequestration back, Kaine said in a news briefing on Wednesday. I would hope that instead of budgeting by random numbers, we budget by what the need is. I really resent people using Americas creditworthiness as sort of a hostage-taking exercise, he said. So does Spanberger, a former CIA operations officer whose programs were not affected by cuts under sequestration, but who remembers the turmoil they caused. All around, its just a swirl of uncertainty, she said. The effects of sequestration in Virginia were worst at the beginning, when the state saw an 8% decline in federal contracts in 2012 and 11% in 2013. The state was the largest recipient of procurement spending, which flows through private businesses and employees. In the last half of 2014, the state recorded sharp declines in wages, salaries and personal income, which reduced expected revenues from taxes on income, sales and court filings related to housing. People dont always understand the value of the contract, Spanberger said. Its jobs and wages ... taxpayer money coming in. Good contends that the overriding need is reducing a national debt that exceeds $31 trillion. In the first week of his second term, he introduced a package of four bills and resolutions aimed at reducing spending and regulation, including one to require a nickel reduction for every new dollar in spending. I would like for us to be more strategic than broad-based, he said. However, the pressure of broad-based cuts may effectively force us to appropriately prioritize where we should cut and where we shouldnt. Defense spending accounts for 19% of Virginias economy, according to a recent state report, but Good does not intend to exempt the military from cuts. He wants to eliminate funding for any agency or program that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion, critical race theory or transgender rights. He opposes any spending to combat climate change, including the introduction of electric vehicles or sustainable fuels for military aircraft. Not even the defense industry ought to get a blank check thats not accountable for how we spend taxpayer resources, he said. And that spending should be based on military effectiveness to prevent, and when necessary, to win conflicts, not based on just a blind subordination to the military industrial complex, not based on sustaining jobs, not based on whose district its in. In Virginia, House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, objects strongly to congressional proposals to cut spending on the military and defense, which rely on aircraft carriers and submarines built in Hampton Roads, the region he represents. Its very short-sighted to reduce our military force in view of all thats happening in the world, Knight said. A history of US military shipsfrom the Revolutionary War to today A history of US military shipsfrom the Revolutionary War to today The Hannah The Andrew Doria The Cabot The Alliance The Original Six USS Constitution USS Essex USS Independence The Demologos USS Peacock USS Sea Gull USS Jamestown USS Mississippi USS Merrimack/CSS Virginia USS Monitor The H.L. Hunley USS Tecumseh CSS David CSS Shenandoah USS Puritan USS Chicago USS Texas USS Maine USS Nashville USS Bainbridge USS San Diego USS North Carolina USS Lapwing USS Langley USS Enterprise USS North Carolina USS Drum USS Niblack USS Arizona USS Juneau USS St. Lo USS Indianapolis USS Midway USS Nautilus USS George Washington USS Enterprise USS Iwo Jima USS Nimitz USS Los Angeles USS Cole USS Bainbridge USS Zumwalt USS Gerald Ford On Friday, an unusually warm January afternoon, more than 50 gathered outside the Bell Tower at the state Capitol to support environmental policy in the 2023 legislative session. Several Democratic legislators promised the crowd that they would oppose efforts to chip away at or repeal laws like the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the Clean Cars Act and keeping Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. At the event, organized by Virginias Sierra Club chapter, attendees held handmade signs and cheered for legislators who joined the crowd and for the legislators who gave speeches. We cant go backwards was a common refrain from many in the crowd and those who made speeches. Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, ripped into the Republican Party in his speech and alluded to how GOP legislators are pushing for parents to have more choice in curriculum at public schools. [Democrats] need to take back this parents narrative, he said. The other side has made the public debate all about parents, right? Its almost like the next election is going to turn on who can use the word parent more often, he said before asking if there were any parents in the crowd. Met with several confirmations, he then asked: Are you worried about your childrens future? He said his children and grandchildren are his motivation for fighting like the dickens on environmental policy. The Virginia Clean Economy Act, of which Sullivan was a chief patron, spurs utility companies to gradually retire fossil fuels and invest in renewable energies. The Clean Cars Act adopts Californias tailpipe emissions standards. California is the only state granted the ability to set emissions standards that are more robust than what is federally allowed. Without the purview to set its own, last year Virginia became one of 16 states to adopt Californias standards. Amid Californias pursuit to ban gas-powered vehicles by 2035, many GOP legislators are seeking to unhitch Virginia from the law. Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, is one of several GOP legislators seeking to repeal the law even though he drives an electric vehicle. He said he supports the idea of more widespread EV use and understands how linking to Californias law could foster that. But he said hed rather see the energy grid stably powered by cleaner energy sources first. We need to rely on growing our internal grid to support anything before we try to take on additional standards, he said in a recent interview. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has kicked off a regulatory process in an attempt to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative a multistate carbon market aimed at reducing emissions. Several dozen Democrats, making up a third of the General Assembly, have stated that the legislature, not the governor, has the authority to decide whether Virginia should stay or leave the initiative, since lawmakers placed Virginia in it. I have an apology to make for my generation. My generation neglected to do the hard work that it needed to do 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago to make sure that we are not facing the crisis that we are facing now, said Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield. With a focus on maintaining a healthy environment for future generations, speakers alluded to changes in Virginias environment that they already see. Several legislators noted sea level rise in Hampton Roads and recent flooding in Southwest Virginia. Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, recalled how much less frequently it snows in Northern Virginia. Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, said in an interview that environmental policy should not be a partisan issue because current funding from programs like RGGI is going to places around the state. He said that as long as environmental protections fall along partisan lines, he and his colleagues will work to keep them. Rolling back the Virginia Clean Economy Act and [other] environmental protections in Virginia by a series of paper cuts is wrong, Lopez said. Its not what Virginia should be doing. A bitter rift between Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and his estranged wife, Myrna, erupted publicly on Friday night after he accused her boyfriend of physically abusing their son as punishment and she responded with an online recitation accusing her husband of serial infidelity during their marriage. The couple began trading allegations after Morrissey said he reported to Richmond police that their son had welts on his buttocks from alleged punishment by Myrna Morrisseys boyfriend. She then posted a series of statements on Instagram that detailed her husbands infidelities and called their marriage the biggest mistake of my life. In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Saturday, Myrna Morrissey said the senators allegations of abuse are completely false and are related to their impending divorce and visitation of their three children. In her Instagram post, she said, Ive saved face for this man, protected this man, lied, cheated and stole for this man because you cant have me the way you want and that I really moved on with my life he would stoop so low as accusing me and someone close to me of abusing my child! Anyone that knows ME, knows what a damn good mother I am to MY children. Myrna Morrissey was 17 years old and working as an assistant in Joe Morrisseys Henrico County law firm when they began a sexual relationship that led him to accept an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2015. Now 26, she said she has been separated from her husband since 2019the same year he was elected to the Virginia Senate. When I left, I left and I wasnt coming back, she said. Myrna Morrissey said their three childrenChase, Bella and Mavericklive with her under their mutual arrangements for visitation. She said Joe Morrissey has visitation one day a week, alternating weekends and holidays, and equally during summer. Im seeking to separate from Joe. Im seeking to have my own identity, she said in the interview. Ive been to hell and back. After Myrna Morrisseys social media post, Joe Morrisseys office released a statement on Friday night that said the previous night, he had discovered marks from an alleged beating on his sons buttocks after the three children and their father had been swimming in the pool at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. The statement said he confronted Myrna Morrissey by telephone and demanded that her boyfriend leave her house. The statement said she responded with a threat to ruin him and his life if he said anything publicly about the alleged incident. The statement said Sen. Morrissey called Richmond police, who then called Chesterfield County police and forensic photographers at midnight to document the alleged abuse. The senators statement said Chesterfield detectives are investigating and that he intends to let the justice system run its course. Capt. Michael Breeden of the Chesterfield Police Department confirmed in a text message: Yes we are investigating an incident ... which he [Morrissey] contacted us about. Separately, without naming names, the department said in a statement: The Chesterfield County Police Department received a report of alleged child abuse regarding a child who may possibly have been assaulted by an offender known to him. At this time, the report is assigned to a detective in our Special Investigations Unit and is being investigated. The investigation is in its preliminary stages and the safety of the child is paramount at this time. There are no further details to be released. In January 2022, just before he left office, then-Gov. Ralph Northam pardoned Morrissey for a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor related to his relationship with Myrna Warren Pride, whom he married in 2016. Sen. Morrissey had entered an Alford plea to the misdemeanor count and was sentenced to 12 months in jail with six months suspended. He was allowed to work as a state delegate from Henrico through a work release program, spending nights in jail in 2015. Their relationship was a public issue in a heated race for Richmond mayor in 2016, in which Morrissey finished third. He defeated Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, in a Democratic primary in 2019 and was elected to the Senate that fall. Last month, he lost a congressional bid for the 4th District in a Democratic firehouse primary that Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, won resoundingly. The public battle that erupted on social media on Friday night confirmed the couples estrangement as Myrna Morrissey detailed what she said were her husbands infidelities, and confirmed he had fathered twins with another woman. Joe Morrissey refused to comment on his marriage and new children in an interview last fall with The Times-Dispatch. I love my children, he said then. Sen. Morrissey, a former Richmond prosecutor and local defense attorney, has been disbarred but now wields significant power as a member of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, often scrutinizing judges, and expresses more independent views than other Senate Democrats. His license was previously revoked in 2003, and he won reinstatement in 2012 in a 4-3 decision by the Virginia Supreme Court. A three-judge panel revoked his law license again in mid-2018, and the Supreme Court denied his appeal a year later. Myrna Morrissey said Saturday that she would no longer stay quiet about her husbands private conduct and his treatment of her. I think its due time, she said. At this point, I think I owe the community the service of letting them know who this person actually is. She also said she remains afraid of retaliation by her estranged husband. When he wants to win, he will do anything to make sure he wins, she said. PHOTOS: Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey Joe Morrissey MOSCOW Russia plans to send up a new capsule next month to bring back three space station crew members whose original ride home was damaged, officials said. The two Russians and one American will stay several extra months at the International Space Station as a result of the capsule switch, possibly pushing their mission to close to a year, NASA and Russian space officials told reporters. Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and astronaut Frank Rubio were supposed to return in March in the same Soyuz capsule that took them up last September. But that capsule was hit by a tiny meteoroid on Dec. 14, creating a small hole in the exterior radiator and sending coolant spewing into space. Sergei Krikalev, head of human spaceflight for the Russian Space Agency, said barring an emergency at the space station, it would be too dangerous for the crew to use that capsule to return to Earth. Although Russian engineers believe the capsule could survive reentry and land safely, the cabin temperature could reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity because it couldn't shed heat generated by a computer and other electronics, noted Krikalev, a former cosmonaut. The new Soyuz capsule will be launched from Kazakhstan on Feb. 20, a month earlier than planned. No one will be on board; the capsule will fly in automatic mode, said Russian Space Agency chief Yuri Borisov. The original plan was to launch this new Soyuz in March with two Russians and one American, replacements for the three already up there. This new crew will now have to wait until late summer or fall to fly when another capsule is ready for them. Russia will eventually bring back the damaged capsule with only science samples on board. NASA took part in all the discussions and agreed with the plan. Right now, the crew is safe on board space station, said NASA's space station program manager Joel Montalbano. Theres no immediate need for the crew to come home today. Backup plans are in the works, according to Montalbano and Krikalev, in case an emergency forces the seven space station residents to flee before the new Soyuz can be launched like a fire or decompression. NASA is looking at the possibility of adding extra crew to the SpaceX capsule currently docked at the station. Neither Krikalev nor Montalbano could recall a similar case in which a substitute spacecraft needed to be quickly launched. Borisov said analysis confirmed the leak was caused by a micrometeoroid, not a piece of spacecraft debris or a manufacturing defect. The resulting hole was less than one-tenth of an inch in size. Montalbano said the three crew members took the news in stride. I may have to find some more ice cream to reward them" on future cargo deliveries, he told reporters. Besides Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, the space station is home to NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada; Russian Anna Kikina and Japan's Koichi Wakata. The four rode up on a SpaceX capsule last October. Communities surrounding Maya Train not left behind says government Riviera Maya, Q.R. Communities surrounding the Maya Train route have not been left behind said Lopez Obrador. Communities surrounding the construction of the Maya Train benefit from the Well-being Programs, projects and additional initiatives that contribute to integral development. There cannot be such an important, great project, one of the best in the world, with poverty on the sides where the train will pass, so we are serving all the communities, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday morning during a press conference. With him at the conference, Javier May, the General Director of the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) announced that 127 towns in 34 municipalities in Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan are served through 432 projects and actions to promote productivity. As of November 2022, work is being carried out to improve roads, public spaces and harvest roads from sections 1 to 4. In addition, the hydraulic, educational, communal, cultural and health infrastructure, as well as the electrical network, are being optimized. Regarding the internet facilities, the needs of the population in sections 1 to 6 are met. As a result, 48 requests have been attended to in order to offer service in schools, Ejidal police stations, among others, with 35 more petitions in process. As of November 2022, over 3,800 homes have been improved while 352 families were built new houses who were relocated due to the right of way. Families have been relocated or built new homes along the Maya Train route. Photo: Fonatur This is a very important action by the Government of Mexico that demonstrates that the Maya Train is not an imposed work, nor dispossession. No one is dispossessed, quite the contrary, it has been carried out with dialogue, with agreements, without abandoning anyone, he stressed. Diego Prieto Hernandez, who heads the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), reported that section 7 of the Maya Train already has a definitive outline that will protect all vestiges. We will be accompanying the works in charge of the Secretary of National Defense with the task of recovery and conservation of archaeological material, he said. He announced that an international meeting of Mayan studies will be held. You have to understand that the recovery of this material is not to store it in warehouses or have it in laboratories, you have to do the work of analysis, weighting and interpretation of these materials, he explained. President Lopez Obrador highlighted the historic preservation of archaeological pieces and zones carried out by the Government of Mexico through the INAH. Archaeological zones are being rescued, that is an intervention that has not been done in a long time, he said. As of January 11, the registration and preservation includes 37,311 real estate among which are foundations, albarradas and leveling; 1,682 movable assets that include metates and ceramics in addition to 463 bones, 742,891 ceramic fragments analyzed from sections 1 to 5; 669 vessels in the process of analysis and 1,145 natural features associated with the archaeological context such as caves, wells and cenotes. The research, conservation, care and improvement activities of the units and infrastructure continue in the 26 sites incorporated into the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza) in order to receive the public soon through the Visitor Service Centers (Catvis) . Never has such an important archaeological heritage research, conservation, and dissemination work been carried out in the Mexican Mayan area, said the head of the INAH. Mexico City flight diverted to Cozumel after near-zero visibility in Chetumal Chetumal, Q.R. Thick morning fog was the cause for at least one flight being diverted to Cozumel. On Friday, a flight from Mexico City was forced to land at Cozumel International after being unable to do so at the Chetumal airport. The Volaris flight landed safely on the island after being forced to head to Cozumel due to thick morning fog in Chetumal. Once on the ground, the plane refueled and sat to wait for weather to improve in the states capital before heading back to its original destination. The flight, which was scheduled to land at Chetumal at 8:50, was finally able to land at 10:15 a.m. The thick blanket of fog left a near-zero visibility for the early morning city flight. The arrival of the fog was blamed on the entry of Cold Front 23. New River Community College has announced it will offer several evening machine technology courses during the spring semester. These courses include: MAC 106 -- Machine Shop Operations; MAC 107 -- Technology of Machining; MAC 215 -- Machining Techniques; and MAC 217 -- Precision Machining Techniques. All four courses are 8 credit hours each. Classes will meet Monday through Thursday from 6:15 to 10 p.m. on NRCCs Dublin campus. The first day of class will be Monday, Jan. 23, and run for 14 weeks. NRCC faculty member Warren Crandall will be teaching the courses. Current NRCC students may register online by visiting their student accounts. New students or those who may need additional support to register can reach out to an advisor by emailing advising@nr.edu or calling 540-674-3609. Prospective NRCC students should visit www.nr.edu/registernow for enrollment information. The class schedule is available at www.nr.edu/schedule. The Roanoke Times CHARLOTTESVILLE Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Albemarle County will be officially renamed Ivy Elementary School after a unanimous school board vote Thursday. The decision was made in spite of a community survey conducted late last year that found an overwhelming majority about 85% of parents, students, alumni and county residents preferred keeping the name of the famous explorer and native of Albemarle County. The schools new name will take effect July 1. That change will come at a modest cost of about $2,000, according to schools spokesman Phil Giaramita, just the amount needed for a new sign. The decision to rename schools, roads, parks and other public spaces that have been named after people who owned or enslaved other people has become a contentious issue nationwide as well as in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, home to Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and several others who benefited from the work of the enslaved. The renaming of schools is part of a broader movement, that has included protests and even violence, in the wake of Charlottesville and Albemarle Countys decisions in the mid-2010s to remove the areas monuments to those who protected the institution of slavery, culminating in the deadly Unite the Right riot of 2017. Brandon Lindsay, who served on a special committee charged with reviewing the name of Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, expressed his disappointment in the school board decision at Thursdays meeting. He told the board that the review amounted to a smear campaign against Lewis and that the committee was always going to rename the school without considering public input. It was not a name evaluation committee, Lindsay told the board. We quickly learned from Dr. Haas that we are a name change committee. Only 9.13%, or 38 respondents, to the community survey issued Nov. 14-21 said Ivy, the name of the surrounding community, was their first choice for the schools new name. Of the 416 polled, 354 respondents, roughly 85%, said Meriwether Lewis remained their top choice for the schools name. Eleven respondents favored the name Bluebird, the schools mascot; eight who preferred Owensville, the name of the road the school sits on; and five who voted for some version of Discovery, Expedition or Explorer Elementary School. Schools Superintendent Matt Haas proposed the Ivy name to the school board after the special committee, organized by Haas and school Principal Jennifer Underwood, was unable to narrow down a list of potential names to fewer than three after several votes. Based on input from the community survey, the committee which included Underwood, Assistant Principal Laura Morris, a teacher at the school, four current parents at the school and five community members without children at the school sent a list of proposed names including Ivy, Owensville and Meriwether Lewis. School board members at Thursdays meeting expressed frustration with the renaming process, specifically the community survey. Im not sure that were clear on our renaming policy, said board member Ellen Osborne. My understanding was we preferred geographic locations, geographic concepts or values. Under those guidelines, names such Bluebird, Discovery, Expedition, Explorer and Meriwether Lewis would be disqualified. I question the value of [the survey] as its been done, said board member Kate Acuff, who said survey respondents were provided little information on Lewis and his history. Survey participants were provided biographical information on Lewis. In an earlier community survey of 396 conducted Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 94.1% of respondents said they were familiar with Lewis and his life. Karen Waters, director of community education with Albemarle County Public Schools and the committees project manager, said the biographical information amounted to little more than a blurb of what weve all been taught to believe. The school board decided on Thursday that, in the future, survey respondents would be given more information about the figures schools are named after. Lewis is best known as the leader of an expedition west between 1804 and 1806 exploring the newly acquired corners of the U.S. after the Louisiana Purchase. He made that journey alongside William Clark of Ladysmith, Clarks enslaved body servant York and their guide, the Lemhi Shoshone woman Sacagawea. But Lewis history and connection to Albemarle County began long before that. Lewis, born in Ivy in 1774, spent the early years of his life at his familys plantation, Locust Hill, near the site of the future elementary school that would bear his name. After his father died of pneumonia in 1779, Lewis legally inherited Locust Hill and the 24 enslaved people there, according to research from the naming committee. The 5-year-old, however, took no part in plantation management, which was run by overseers and guardians instead. After his mother remarried, Lewis and his family moved to Georgia. It was Cherokees territory, and there was much resentment of encroaching white settlers in their territory, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society librarian Miranda Burnett told The Daily Progress. Lewis seemed to be a champion for the Cherokees over the other settlers. Lewis and his family returned to Virginia when he was 13 to pursue an education. When Lewis turned 20, instead of staying on and running Locust Hill, he opted to enlist in the Virginia militia and help put down the ongoing Whiskey Rebellion. It appears the role of planter wasnt Lewiss cup of tea, Burnett said. While Army officers frequently had enslaved people join them as servants, Lewis chose not to bring any of Locust Hills enslaved population, according to Burnett. Lewis made the same decision in 1804 on the expedition west, in contrast to Clark who brought the enslaved York along with them on the journey. Along that journey, Lewis also made a number of decisions that granted certain liberties to his Black and Indigenous companions, such as giving York and Sacagawea a vote in deciding where the team would camp and permitting York to carry a firearm. After the party returned from the expedition, Lewis was named governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory. Once again, Lewis declined to bring any of the enslaved population at Locust Hill with him to his new posting. Instead, he hired a free Black man named John Pernier to accompany him, according to the school divisions biography on Lewis. Nevertheless, it is Burnetts opinion that it would be impossible for the county school division to retain Lewis name for a school. Lewis and his family benefitted from the exploitation of Black bodies, whether it was a few dozen or in the hundreds, Burnett said. Burnett is not alone in that assessment. The county school divisions name review process was the product of swell of public appeal urging governments to remove the names of and monuments to individuals who exploited men and women of color. Lewis died under mysterious circumstances in 1809. He suffered two gunshot wounds, but historians today disagree whether Lewis was murdered or died by suicide, said Burnett. Lewis had previously attempted suicide. Although he had been heralded as a hero upon his return from his expedition, friends and family noted he suffered from extreme loneliness, according to the Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Elin Woodger and Brandon Toropov. In a letter to a friend two years prior to his death he wrote, I never felt less like a hero than at the present moment. As for Pernier, at the time of his employers death Pernier was owed back wages for his work. Pernier traveled to Monticello and requested payment from Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson denied the request and provided Pernier $10 for travel to Washington, where Pernier resided before his employment under Lewis. Pernier died by suicide after returning to Washington. Albemarle County Public Schools began its review of school names in January 2020. So far, the division has reviewed eight schools and changed five, including Meriwether Lewis Elementary School. Paul H. Cale Elementary became Mountain View during the summer of 2020, Mortimer Sutherland Middle School became Lakeside, Community Public Charter was renamed Community Lab in the summer of 2021 and Jack Jouett Middle School became Journey as of July 2022. Haas did not say at Thursdays meeting which school was next to be reviewed, and Giaramita told The Daily Progress he did not know. After a recent spate of gun violence in Virginia, Democrats in the House and Senate hope to advance more gun safety legislation this year. Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, has introduced a bill to stop the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. Democrats were unable to pass similar measures in 2020 when they led both legislative chambers. Helmer said in an interview that he thought it was shameful for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to mention in his State of the Commonwealth address the recent high-profile shootings at a Chesapeake Walmart, at the University of Virginia and in Newport News, where police say a 6-year-old shot a teacher, without also discussing meaningful legal solutions to gun violence. During the address on Wednesday, Youngkin said Virginians stood together in times of trial and tribulation." He added that in each case, weve seen the love, the compassion, the fortitude, and the courage of our fellow Virginians on display." Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin, said "Virginia has some of the toughest gun laws in America." "The governor's approach is twofold: addressing the behavioral health challenge in the commonwealth through a $230 million behavioral health plan that delivers help when people need it and working with the legislature on a package for enhanced penalties for crimes committed with guns," she added. Helmer and other Democrats and advocates said the state must take action to prevent and lessen gun violence beyond criminal penalties. Assault-style firearms, like the ones Helmer hopes to ban, have select-fire capabilities for automatic or semiautomatic shooting - such as AK-47s and M16s - and higher-capacity rounds than other guns. This would be a meaningful legal solution to the problem, he said. Ill work with anybody on either side of the aisle. Helmer tried to pass similar legislation two years ago with then-Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria. This time, Helmer has increased the capacity limit from 12 to 15 bullets. He said he hopes new efforts can attract bipartisan support for what he called commonsense laws. He said the House Democratic Caucus is planning to unveil more legislation next week. Meanwhile, a handful of legislators from the Senate Democratic Caucus held a news conference Friday morning to discuss some bills. With gun legislation often falling along partisan lines, the senators bills could clear their chamber but face defeat in the House, where Republicans hold the majority. Meanwhile, House bills like Helmers may not clear the Senate. Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, is carrying a bill similar to Helmers this year. Deeds previously was among Democratic legislators to leave past versions of the bill in committee. So was Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, who this year has a bill to create standards of conduct for gun salespeople, and Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. He is carrying a bill this year with factors for magistrates to consider when issuing substantial risk orders. Substantial risk orders allow law enforcement and prosecutors to petition courts to temporarily prohibit possession, purchase or transportation of firearms from people deemed at risk to themselves or others. The bill I've got is going to be very hard to vote against, Deeds said. Deeds said that two years ago, he was concerned that the proposed assault weapon ban could end up applying to a wider range of guns than intended. His new bill specifies guns that would not be considered assault firearms, such as antique firearms, bolt-operated guns and guns manufactured before July 1, 2023 - when the law would take effect. Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, noted the recent shooting in Newport News where authorities say a 6-year-old boy brought a gun from home and shot his teacher. Boysko has a bill that would require people with children to lock up their guns when not in use. "This bill would not only stop tragedies like we saw in Newport News, it would prevent other tragedies including gun accidents, youth suicides and school shootings, she said. Lori Haas, a reform advocate whose daughter was wounded in the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting, supported the Democratic legislators at the news conference. We lock up poisons, alcohol, prescription drugs, why not firearms? she said. The commitment we see here today to address the public health epidemic of gun violence will go a long way to keep us all safe from gun violence and save lives. Uttar Pradesh Govt orders the investigation ! Funding for the madarasas will be investigated ! Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) It has been found that a large number of illegal madarasas are on the Nepal border. The Yogi Adityanath Government has ordered an investigation into this matter. The Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered the district magistrates in the districts bordering Nepal to conduct a probe into the source of funding of those unrecognised madarasas that have declared zakat (money from the charity) and donations as their primary source of funds to run their institutions. But survey teams found that people living in these areas are poor and not able to give zakat and donations. Such madarasas have been identified and directions have been issued for rechecking their source of funding. These madarasas are not revealing the names of those who give them zakat and donations, said Cabinet Minister for Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj Dharmpal Singh. Then how do these madarasas function here ? Who is funding them ? We are inquiring into this matter. These madarasas have not given information about their donors. There are many madarasas that are getting funding from outside. It appears these madarasas are getting funds from outside. Why someone from outside will fund them ? We do not want our children to get misused. There are possibilities for it. Hence, we are alert. Ramsay's Kitchen is taking over the former Ted's Montana Grill location at 39 W. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Naperville. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) When Michelin-starred celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay opens his third Ramsays Kitchen restaurant this spring, it will be in downtown Naperville. The city issued a building permit for Ramsays Kitchen at 39 W. Jefferson Ave., the site of the former Teds Montana Grill, and the company has started advertising to hire key personnel. Advertisement There are only two other Ramsays Kitchen locations one in Las Vegas and the other in Boston and both feature signature main dishes such as pan-seared scallops, beef Wellington and crispy skin salmon. Renovations for the new location are being handled by 41 North Contractors of Lisle, which also did work on the Quiubo Mexican restaurant on downtown Water Street, Cress Creek Country Club off Ogden Avenue and Market Meadows shopping center on Naper Boulevard, all in Naperville, and Gordon Ramsay Burger in Chicago. Advertisement [ Review: We all want to pan Gordon Ramsay Burger, but you cant argue with great beef ] The Gordon Ramsay North America website says the company is looking to hire an executive chef and general manager for its new Jefferson Avenue restaurant in Naperville. Both positions have a salary range of between $95,000 and $110,000 and require at least three years of experience. The British chef operates 21 restaurants in the United States, including five Hells Kitchen establishments named after the reality show he created. Gordon Ramsay North America did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. [ Italian, BBQ and salad restaurants sprouting up in downtown Naperville and how about a new cookie shop for dessert? ] The property had been listed for lease as a turnkey restaurant with indoor seating for 146 in the current configuration and 20 additional outdoor seats on the patio. Parking is available in a surface lot at the rear of the space and a garage is a half block away. The Atlanta-based Teds Montana Grill founded by media mogul Ted Turner debuted at 39 W. Jefferson in April 2007 and closed during the pandemic. Until July 2004, the property had been home to Oswalds Pharmacy, which relocated from downtown Naperville to 88 W. Gartner Road in what is now Naperville Plaza. Advertisement subaker@tribpub.com FLORENCE Youre driving past 2420 Hoffmeyer Road and notice the Help 4 Kids Childhood Hunger Awareness Week banner and a sea of purple and yellow flags. What does it all mean? Help 4 Kids is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that uses food and monetary donations to feed hungry children in Florence County. Childhood Hunger Awareness Week starts Sunday and runs through Jan. 22. Did you know that 1 in 5 children in Florence County go hungry, especially on weekends when schools are closed and free- or reduced-price meals arent served? Help 4 Kids uses this week as a food drive, asking people to donate Vienna sausages two cans of Vienna sausages are included in every weekend food bag that is packed by Help 4 Kids volunteers. The sea of purple and yellow flags in front of the banner represents every student in Florence County that receives Help 4 Kids weekend food bags or uses Help 4 Kids food pantries at middle schools and high schools. You dont have to stop and count. There 2,100 purple and yellow flags. Thats 2,100 food-insecure students that rely on Help 4 Kids food on the weekends, Help 4 Kids Florence President Diane Welsh said. Its also 2,100 reasons for you to donate Vienna sausages or make monetary donations to the organization. The mission is to make the county aware of food-insecure children in our county that we feed, Welsh said. As well as our mission, which is to fill the weekend hunger gap for the food insecure. Help 4 Kids is in every Head Start through high school in all four public school districts in Florence County. Help 4 Kids added high school and middle school food pantries this year. Instead of receiving bags of food, middle school and high school students are allowed to get food from those pantries to eat during the weekends. The children are a little bit older and dont want to get a brown bag in their lunch box, Welsh said. Volunteer Jeannette Braswell said she likes the way the food pantries are set up in each middle and high school. Administrators and teachers know every student that needs weekend food supplies, Braswell said. They arent given a bag every week, but they get to go privately and get food from the pantries. They can do it without announcing it to everybody. It doesnt make them insecure or aware of their situation. Its very nice the way that kind of runs, she said. The pantries contain child-friendly, individual-sized cans or packets of food, Welsh said. More items are included because the older students need more nourishment. We do a big can of Chef Boyardee. They get packages of cereal. They get boxes of mac-and-cheese that they can cook. They get Pop-Tarts. They got granola bars, grits or oatmeal and apple sauce or canned fruit items, Welsh said. The middle school and high school food pantries are replenished monthly, Welsh said. Approximately 2,000 weekend food bags are distributed every weekend and 250 middle and high school students use the food pantries, Welsh said. The number of weekend food bags in 2021 was about 1,700 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers started raising after Christmas 2021, she said. Why Vienna sausages? The price of individual, easy-open cans of Vienna sausages make it easy for everyone in Florence County to purchase and donate to Help 4 Kids, Welsh said. They are easy to transport back and forth. We put two Vienna sausages in every bag we send home. We need at least 4,000 cans a week, she said. Thats 16,000 cans of Vienna sausages a month. Vienna sausage donations free up about $13,000 a month that is used to put other food items in the weekend bags or food pantries. Whats included in a weekend food bag Ramen noodles, individual cups of apple sauce, packets of oatmeal or grits, fruit-grain bars, snack packs of pudding to name a few. Help 4 Kids doesnt receive any federal grants. It operates on the generosity food and monetary donations from Florence County industries, businesses and residents, Welsh said. We dont receive any federal, state, county, city or school funds, she said. We operate with monetary donations and food donations. The organization is operated by volunteers, Welsh said. About 110 people volunteer every week to organize the food warehouse, take inventory and pack food bags. We still remain all volunteer. We have no paid people, Welsh said. Braswell started volunteering at Help 4 Kids because she knew several people at church who volunteered at the organization. They invited Braswell and the rest is history. I came and fell in love with the people here and the mission, she said. Most people dont realize how many people it takes every week to be able to do this. Its really great to see from the inside how many people commit to doing this on a regular basis to serve our community. Braswell does more than pack weekend bags. She helps with the organizations social media and started a Volunteer of the Month program, Welsh said. As South Carolina corn and soybean farmers prepare for the 2023 growing season, Clemson Extension specialists have a few tips to help ensure productive and profitable crops. These suggestions were given to about 220 participants who attended the December 2022 Clemson Cooperative Extension Service Corn and Soybean meeting in Santee, South Carolina. One suggestion is to pay attention to new crop insurance planting date deadlines for soybeans starting this year (2023). Clemson Extension corn and soybean specialist Michael Plumblee told soybean farmers they will be able to get crop insurance coverage starting on April 1 for soybean in 2023. This date was moved up from the previous dates of April 30 for the coastal plain and April 15 for the upstate, allowing for coverage on earlier planted soybean in South Carolina. Additionally, the final planting date has been moved back to June 30 from June 25 for full coverage, and the absolute last day to plant and have reduced coverage still remains July 10, Plumblee said. These date changes were made possible by working through the Farm Bureau Soybean, Hay and Feed Grain Committee; the Risk Management Agency office in Valdosta, Georgia, as well as the South Carolina Soybean Board and Clemson University. As for corn, the United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) unofficial baseline projections forecast farmers are likely to expand plantings for the 2023/2024 season while reducing soybeans. Plumblee says farmers should use local hybrid and varietal trial data when making selections for 2023, paying close attention to disease resistance packages in scenarios where crop rotations may be short. Clemson corn variety test data is available at https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/research/vt/corn.html. Plumblee also talked about a project he and graduate student Bennett Harrelson are working on related to double-cropping soybean after corn. The researchers are looking at plant and harvest dates, row spacing, and the use of at-plant nitrogen. They also are studying to determine if this double-cropping system leads to issues with increased plant parasitic nematodes. Deer, insect pests and Bt resistance Farmers were advised of actions to take to control deer and insect pests. Using repellents is one way to control deer but can be expensive. Kendall Kirk, a precision agriculture engineer, said installing high fences around crops may be less costly. Insect pests create additional problems. Entomologists Francis Reay-Jones and Jeremy Greene, together with Clemson IPM Program assistant coordinator Tim Bryant, talked about corn and soybean insects. Most of the states corn acreage is planted in Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn. Resistance issues with corn earworm in Bt corn are leading to resistance issues in Bt cotton. The corn earworm also is known as the bollworm and attacks cotton. Farmers may be dealing with resistance issues for some time, as Reay-Jones said, We are years away from any new Bt trait in corn and cotton. Stink bugs also are a problem. Applying pyrethroids can be effective but scouting and timely applications are important, said Bryant, adding South Carolina farmers can get disease and insect management information from the free MyIPM for Row Crops app. Pyrethroids also are effective in controlling stink bugs and kudzu bugs in soybean, Greene said. Treatment thresholds are one to two stink bugs per sweep for stink bugs and one nymph per sweep for kudzu bugs. Following these guidelines can help reduce the need for multiple sprays. Pyrethroids are not effective for the soybean looper, which causes problems from mid-August to mid-September. The threshold for soybean loopers is 30% defoliation before mid-bloom and 15% after. This pest is resistant to many insecticides and costs more to control. Spray drones Guest speaker Steve Li, associate professor of weed science at Auburn University, talked about using drones to spray row crops. Spray drones make it easy for growers with small acreage, slopes, or challenging field shapes to make field applications without taking a boom sprayer in the field or contracting a crop duster, Li said. The end goal is not to replace current application methods, but to find methods to work spray drones into field management. Drone use in field crop farming is low because the technology is still new. However, Li said interest is high among growers, crop consultants and pesticide applicators. He believes the ease of use will increase the adoption rate of drones. Other speakers included Dean Hutto, S.C. Soybean Board chairman; Mary Cromley, S.C. Corn and Soybean Association executive director; Ed Wilkins, S.C. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance; Rick Caldwell, S.C. Farm Bureau; Ashley Carothers, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, and Alexa Combelic, director of government relations for the American Soybean Association. A drone demonstration followed the meeting. FLORENCE, S.C. McLeod Health's forensic nurse examiner program marked its first birthday Tuesday and celebrated in style with an international award from its accreditor and plans to grow the program into one that will serve the whole region. "Up until last year the Pee Dee region didn't have a specific full-time forensic nurse program anywhere," said Shannon Scott, RN, forensic nurse examiner coordinator for McLeod. "Now that we have this program where we are, we saw patients from 30 different jurisdictions last year including some from North Carolina. The program in the last year worked 93 cases 52% adult/48% juvenile; 88% female/12% male; 5% non-lethal strangulation and four human trafficking cases. Scott said the hospital had no plans to take pediatric cases but fate intervened. "Because we had forensic nurses coming in who were pediatric trained we decided to add it and I'm so glad we did," Scott said. As of Tuesday, Jan. 10, the department had worked nine cases seven pediatric and two adult. The department has added seven nurses over the year, four of them part time and the others as necessary so that there is a nurse available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, she said. Scott said the McLeod program has developed a reputation. "People know if they come to us they'll get the proper forensic care in addition to the proper medical care needed for these patients" she said. McLeod nurse forensic examiners must be RNs with at least two years' experience and have passed an interview to get into the program, which is eight weeks of classroom work and five weeks of supervised field work. Scott stressed the program teaches nurses to treat victims/patients in a "trauma informed way" to collect the necessary evidence and start the healing process. "We're not counselors but we do work closely with advocacy centers," she said. "We're patient advocates, we're for the here and now. We take care of the medical piece, the forensic piece and we do do it in a trauma-informed way," Scott said. "The victim advocates are there for the long term and can offer the counseling and other care long term." The nurses are also trained how to give court testimony. "Because our program is still so young those cases have not moved forward that far in the legal system. We're anticipating this year some may have to testify," Scott said. The job isn't for everyone, but those who end up doing it usually have very specific reasons. "Some may have personal experience, some may have experience with a family member or a friend. For me personally, I've been doing this for many years and I've seen what the outcomes can be," Scott said. "To be that ear for them to talk to, to let them know it's going to be OK, to start to give them that power and control back I think is imperative to help them on their road to recovery. That's what keeps me going." Scott added she grew up in a police family and always felt a calling to go into forensics. "I was very honored and overwhelmed. I first became a forensic nurse in 2015 and when I became one all I wanted to do was make a difference in victims lives," said Natale Lennard, RN, forensic nurse training program coordinator for McLeod Health. "From that point on it was, what else can I do? By taking on this role I can teach others to help more victims." "I want to see from this program every hospital have services that can't provide them now so that victims aren't left alone," Lennard said. Program plans for 2023 focus on growth for both Mcleod and the region. "It is super important to serve victims of violence, it's an undeserved population. It takes a special person to be a forensic nurse," Lennard said. "We encourage people who want to help people to come on our and apply to the forensic training program and make the difference in other people's lives." "The goal is to make more forensic nurses available all over the region because there is a huge need for services," Lennard said. Toward that end the hospital is taking applications for the June class, something that can be done by inquiring by email at natalie.lennard@mcleodhealth.org "We're starting to grow as a team and see patient numbers rise," Scott said. "In a month or two we'll start to see domestic violence patients. We're going to start building to eventually see elder abuse and labor trafficking patients." All of Seguin ISD choir students came together for the Talent Show finale on Friday, Jan. 13, 2022 in the Seguin High School Preforming Arts Center. By Rajendra Jadhav and Aftab Ahmed MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's gold imports in December plunged 79% from a year earlier to the lowest level in at least two decades for the month as a rally in local prices near record high dampened demand, two government sources told Reuters on Thursday. Lower imports by the world's second-biggest consumer of the precious metal could limit gains in global prices trading near their highest in eight months. The drop in imports could help in bringing down India's trade deficit and support the rupee. India imported 20 tonnes in the December, down from 95 tonnes a year ago, said a government official, who asked not to be named since he is not authorised to speak to the media. In value terms, December imports plunged to $1.18 billion from $4.73 billion a year ago, he said. The country's gold imports in 2022 dropped to 706 tonnes from 1,068 tonnes a year ago, another government official said. India, which fulfills more than 90% of its demand through imports, spent $36.6 billion on the overseas purchases of gold in 2022, down from a record of $55.8 billion in 2021, the official said. Retail buying faltered in December as prices started rallying on the weak rupee, tracking a rice in global prices, said Harshad Ajmera, a gold wholesaler in Kolkata. Local gold prices hit a high of 55,365 rupees ($677.72) per 10 grams in December, not far from the all-time peak of 56,191 rupees hit in August 2020. The price rise prompted some investors to liquidate their stocks, which reduced the import requirement, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank. The official import numbers were also looking low as some of the demand is met by grey market operators, who are smuggling more gold after government raised import duty in July 2022, the dealer said. Indian gold refiners have nearly stopped imports of gold dore, a semi-pure alloy, as grey market operators offer hefty discounts to market rates and cut into their slender margins, making the business a losing proposition. ($1 = 81.6930 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Rashmi Aich) SIOUX CITY A Minneapolis environmental engineering firm told Sioux City Council members Thursday that more of the city's aging wastewater treatment plant can be salvaged than what was initially thought. Hazen and Sawyer Consulting has been evaluating potential alternatives in a comprehensive facility plan. The plan analyzed the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant at a new location or reconstruction of the current plant at its existing site and found reconstruction to likely be the best investment for the city. Rebuilding the existing wastewater treatment plant, which is between 50 and 60 years old, would cost an estimated $580 million. Constructing a completely new plant father south would run in the neighborhood of $900 million. The costs include engineering, project management, legal and other non-construction costs. "We were a little bit surprised as we got in-depth in the facilities. There was more there that could be salvaged than, I think, we anticipated," Project Manager Will Martin said. "A number of the really key treatment structures and tanks were in fair to good condition. From what we've seen elsewhere, those are assets. That's concrete and steel that can be reused, rehabilitated and continue to be put in service." Sioux City wastewater treatment plant The Sioux City wastewater treatment plant is shown Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. However, Martin said there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed at the plant, such as aging structures and tanks, aging mechanical equipment, deteriorating underground piping systems and unreliable supporting systems. "There are a few (structures and tanks) that we would rebuild wholesale just due to age and corrosion and degradation," said Martin, who noted that some of the metallic process equipment, piping and pumps, is past its useful service life. "Really, the brains, the heart of the system, those lack some reliability and make it very difficult to operate the plant on a day to day basis." According to Martin, it's "fairly typical" for wastewater plants across the country to have structures and tanks that were built in the 1960s or 1970s. He said process equipment, piping and pumps are expected to have a 20 to 30-year lifespan. "We would expect that the city's assets experience a little bit of accelerated degradation compared to facilities with less industrial loadings," he said. "The city's treatment plant sees very high strength waste coming in, given concentration of industries here and, with that, you see higher concentrations of corrosive gases or aggressive conditions that tend to degrade facilities and equipment." If the plant is rebuilt, residents currently paying $60 a month, could potentially see their sewer bill rise to $70 by fiscal year 2026. That $60 bill is projected to rise to $113 if a completely new plant is constructed, according to a graph displayed by Hazen and Sawyer Consulting. Although the proposed rebuilding project has three phases, City Manager Bob Padmore stressed that phase 3 is based solely on economic need, while phases one and two are interrelated and must be completed. Tom Pingel, the city's utility director in charge of the wastewater treatment plant, said the existing administrative building, which would be rebuilt in phase 2, houses a laboratory. The current laboratory is not in compliance with fire safety standards, due to its second-floor location. It needs to be on the building's main floor. Mayor Bob Scott questioned whether constructing a new administrative building, which would cost $15 to 20 million, is necessary and wondered whether a laboratory could be built separately at the site of the existing plant. "I'm mean, that's a lot of money that is absolutely at zero productivity," he said. In his professional opinion, Martin said he would not build the laboratory and administrative building separately. "Can you? That's the question," Scott said. Scott said he also wanted a guarantee that the project would increase the city's wastewater capacity. "I think that's terribly important that you put that in your contract, because we spent $140 million bucks around here, and, as near as I can tell, we got nothing for that $140 million. That's what's so aggravating. The stuff that we did in the last 10, 12, 14 years around here -- it's just unacceptable," he said. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources requires that the city have a facility plan, which will guide the city's wastewater treatment services for the next two decades. Last April, the City Council green-lighted a $617,700 consulting services agreement with Hazen and Sawyer Consulting to evaluate whether to upgrade or replace the plant. The facility plan is being funded with $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The rest of the money comes from the sewer fund. The city would pay for the wastewater treatment plant project with a combination of funding, including ARPA dollars. The city received $40.6 million from ARPA, a COVID relief package signed by President Biden in March 2021. Last January, the Iowa DNR filed suit against the city over alleged repeated environmental violations at the plant, which dated back to March 2012. The city faces fines adding up to millions of dollars. In response, the city concedes there have been past violations. But, in each case, the city self-reported them to the DNR upon discovery. The city also has denied allegations that city officials intentionally misled state regulators about the operating capabilities of the plant, calling them "reckless and libelous." SIOUX CITY A former Wynot, Nebraska, teacher pleaded guilty Friday of propositioning a 14-year-old girl for sex. Andrew Heller, 39, of Sergeant Bluff, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. He also had been charged with one count of attempted human trafficking. That charge may be dismissed as part of a plea agreement, which was filed under seal. According to court documents, FBI investigators had been monitoring communications between Heller and the 14-year-old, in which Heller asked her for sex and offered her $200. When Heller was arrested on July 14, authorities found him in possession of alcoholic beverages meant to be shared with the girl, a box of condoms and more than $200 in cash. During an interview with authorities after his arrest, Heller admitted he knew the girl was 14 and said he had intended to pay her for sex. After his arrest, Heller was fired from his job as a social studies teacher at Wynot Public Schools. SIOUX CITY Former Sioux City Superintendent Paul Gausman is suing the Sioux City Community School District and multiple school board members for alleged violations of open meeting laws. The lawsuit filed in Woodbury County District Court on Wednesday claims school board members Dan Greenwell, Jan George, Taylor Goodvin and Bob Michaelson violated Iowa Open Meetings laws. According to the lawsuit, board members held illegal meetings citing the wrong Iowa code sections in order to avoid notifying Gausman or the public of their discussion of him and the following board decision to file a complaint against him with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. Board members identified in the lawsuit declined to comment at this time. Greenwell said "the district was advised by council preceding all closed meetings." Gausman led the Sioux City Community School District for 14 years and left the district in June 2022 for a job as superintendent of the Lincoln Public Schools. Gausman did not immediately respond to a voice message left by the Journal. Gausman is seeking the removal of the four school board members from their elected positions as well as monetary damages and attorney fees. He is also asking the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to dismiss the complaints filed by both the district and Greenwell personally against him. Gausman claims the four individuals recklessly and knowingly participated in the violations of the Open Meetings Act, according to the lawsuit. School board members Perla Alarcon-Flory, Monique Scarlett and Bernie Scolaro as well as former school board member Julie Albert were in attendance at certain meetings but were not named in the lawsuit. The suit claims on Jan. 24, 2022, and Nov. 30, 2022, the board held special meetings and closed sessions to discuss Gausman and his professional qualifications. Both the open and closed session was designed to avoid giving Dr. Gausman, his supporters and the public, notice of the Boards intentions to meet to discuss filing a complaint against Dr. Gausman with the [Iowa Board of Educational Examiners,] according to the lawsuit. On Jan. 24, 2022, Gausman states the board met in a closed session to discuss him and his professional qualifications and proposed to file a complaint against him with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. To go into the closed session, the board cited the Iowa Code stating the closed session was to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individuals reputation. The code section specifically states that the individual being reviewed must request the closed session, as well as meet other requirements Gausman claims did not occur. Gausman claims he was not notified and the board did not notify the public that they intended to file a complaint against him with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, which the lawsuit claims was required. On Nov. 30, 2022, the board held another special meeting and closed session to discuss Gausman, he claims. The board cited a different code section stating the meeting was to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential. This code section specifically states the board is only allowed to discuss the confidential record and Gausman claims it went beyond that. He also alleges the board again discussed his professional competency, job performance and the possible filing of a complaint with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. After the closed session ended and the board went into open session, Goodvin made a motion to direct Greenwell to file the complaint. Scarlett and Scolaro abstained from the vote, and Alarcon-Flory was not present. The motion did not state who the complaint was being filed against. Greenwell filed the complaint on Dec. 2, 2022. The complaint claims Gausman attempted to bribe Michaelson and George on Nov. 17, 2021, before their official swearing-in on Nov. 22, 2022. Greenwell claimed it was an attempt to solicit their support to re-elect Alarcon-Flory to board president, in the letter sent to the Iowa Board of Education Examiners. Dr. Gausman directly offered to allow Mr. Michaelson (board member-elect) and Mr. George (board member-elect) to make any of their desired changes in school operations, programs, activities, and other matters in exchange for their vote for Ms. Alarcon-Flory as president of the board, Greenwell said in the letter. Greenwell claims the conversation took place at a public place in Des Moines with Gausman, Michaelson, George and Alarcon-Flory present. Greenwell states the pair objected to Gausmans offer multiple times. Ms. Alarcon-Flory remained silent regarding the bribery offer during the discussions at the table, he said in the letter. Greenwells letter claims Gausman admitted to the bribery at a meeting on Jan. 27, 2022, with Greenwell and Goodvin present, as well as in a separate discussion with Scarlett. The letter to the examiner's office also claims Gausman disclosed confidential closed board meeting information to staff members. It states Gausman acquired information from the closed session from Alarcon-Flory and shared it with cabinet members. Greenwells letter claims Gausman admitted to Greenwell and Goodvin that he shared the information with the cabinet members. He states cabinet members have confirmed the information was shared with them. The complaint is pending and is meritless and made false claims, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also states Greenwell himself filed a complaint against Gausman on Aug. 1, 2022, with the same claims in an similarly worded letter, without board support. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners requires complaints to be from the district, and the one filed in August was not approved by the school board. Gausman requested Greenwell's complaint be dismissed due to for lack of jurisdiction, but Greenwell had withdrawn his complaint prior to any ruling. Gausman is requesting the recording and minutes of the Nov. 30, 2022 meeting. The lawsuit claims he previously filed a Freedom of Information request to acquire the Nov. 30 recording but was denied by Greenwell in a Jan. 5 email. Gausman claims the board must be in agreement to deny those records and no meeting was held. Greenwell, before being elected to the school board in 2019, had been vocal in his pushback on educational strands pushed by Gausman. After being elected he continued to be a critic of Gausman. Archie Jamjum engages a crowd during a recent storytelling program held by The People Tree at Empire Burgers + Brew in downtown Naperville. (Greg Mulvey / HANDOUT) A crowd gathers around the stage at one of downtown Napervilles many bars. The atmosphere is buzzing as the anticipation grows among the performers. But this is no ordinary performance. There will be no singing, music or joke telling this Thursday evening. Instead, the audience will be treated to a range of unique stories, linked together by a topic, separated by the individuals who are telling them. Advertisement The People Tree has been encouraging people to share their tales since 2016. Now that the worst of the pandemic is hopefully behind us, theyre back in business again, producing nine shows a year at Empire Burgers + Brew. Its the brainchild of Naperville marketer Rachna Prasad, who was inspired by a love of community connection and the long-running NPR program, The Moth, which runs a live storytelling competition. Advertisement Erica Katz, from left, Simi Krishnan and Rachna Prasad are the producers of Naperville's The People Tree, a group of storytellers who do public presentations nine times a year at Empire Burgers + Brew in downtown Naperville. (Greg Mulvey / HANDOUT) She explains the events that led to the groups first informal meeting. I was volunteering here with a nonprofit in India, said Prasad, an enthusiastic storyteller herself. The villagers wanted a well and we gave them money. We found out that the women would walk 12 kilometers and back to the well every day. It was time away from the men and their children. They wanted to walk to connect with other women. On Mothers Day, 2015, a tragedy pushed Prasad to reach out to women she barely knew in her Naperville subdivision. A woman in my neighborhood committed suicide and I felt the need to be with other women, so I sent an email to some women I didnt know so well inviting them to come and tell stories, she said. Throughout time women have gathered to quilt, bake, to be a part of book clubs. We know we need this help for our hearts and our souls. When the group grew larger, they started meeting at the martini bar Two-Nine above Potters Place on Jefferson Avenue. The name The People Tree came from two things dear to Prasads heart her local neighborhood, which has many streets named for trees, and a link to India. In India we use a banyan tree as a place to meet, she said. It has a huge canopy with no vegetation underneath. In villages people sit underneath them to gather and tell stories. The organization doesnt just provide a place for people to share their stories, it provides mentoring. Its not theater but a monologue, its intimate, Prasad said. Storytellers arent allowed to preach or sell anything, and all stories have to show some level of growth, she said. Advertisement Lisa Hillman, a member of The People Tree, tells a story during a program at Empire Burgers + Brew in downtown Naperville. The process of proposing a story idea to performing it onstage can take as long as three months, members say. (Greg Mulvey / HANDOUT) I truly believe its a gift between people, people want to be seen, she said. Its a gift to share and have someone else hear what you have to say. We offer one-on-one mentoring, amplifying suggestions. Theres also special peer-to-peer mentoring. Were all in the same boat. Youll be learning from five or six storytellers. Working together builds a micro community. There are several ways storytellers can be added to the program. Anyone wanting to try out can complete an online application on The People Trees website. Producer Erica Katz says thats just the beginning. We start with mentoring, she said. Each applicant is given to a team member. Theyll help them to either write more or bring it down to about seven minutes. That seems to be the sweet spot to keep listeners engaged. Its like Sesame Street for adults. Mentoring sessions will encompass two workshops, but the first thing potential storytellers have to do is to see a show, which shows them exactly whats expected of them. You get input from us and fellow tellers, Katz said. One of single most important things is connection. Think of something to say and what message you want to give. It sounds grandiose but its very simple. Everyone has something to share. Advertisement On average (the process from application to stage) takes three months. Stories have to be personal. We teach people that anecdotes are different to stories and thats how we can help you prepare. Along with fellow producers Claire Dee and Simi Krishnan, the team hopes their next chapter will be turning The People Tree into a nonprofit. This will allow them to take their program to other groups, like teens and the elderly, who cannot necessarily attend performances. My daughter has already helped begin a group called Sprout for teens, Katz said. They wanted their voices heard so one of my dreams is to help them grow. Naperville Sun Twice-weekly News updates from the Naperville area delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Telling a story is very empowering, she said. We are all on the same page, Katz said. Were people who want to talk to each other. Its really wonderful to be part of it, its about raising each other up. Prasad says there are unexpected benefits too. Advertisement You look at your life differently, she said. Its an enriching skill to have you see the stories of your life. Your brain stores memories it thinks are important, but when you talk about it they get filed differently. Many people love it and do it again, its our conduit for community building. The next People Tree event will be Memories, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Empire Burgers + Brew, 48 W. Chicago Ave. For tickets and more information, go to www.thepeopletree.org. Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved from England to Naperville in 2007. hilarydecent@gmail.com SIOUX CITY Prior to the 2020 general election, a Woodbury County voter attending Iowa State University visited the Iowa Secretary of State Office's website to request an absentee ballot. After entering her voter identification information, the student was informed she'd already voted. The same thing happened to her brother, also an ISU student. Both called Woodbury County Auditor and Election Commissioner Pat Gill to report that someone had cast ballots in their name. Gill's office reviewed the signatures on the students' absentee requests that had been submitted before the general election, then compared them with those on absentee requests filed in the students' names before the primary. All four forms appeared to have been signed by the same person. "Those ballots during the primary, that stepped it up for me," Gill said at a Friday press conference. Pat Gill alleged election fraud press conference Pat Gill, Woodbury County Auditor and Election Commissioner, speaks Friday at a press conference about his office's role in an FBI investigati Gill said both the Secretary of State and then-Woodbury County Attorney Patrick Jennings advised him to report the incident to the FBI. Gill's report touched off an FBI investigation that came to light Thursday, when Kim Phuong Taylor, the wife of Republican Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, was arrested on 52 counts of election fraud. She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in federal court in Sioux City in March. The indictment alleges Kim Taylor fraudulently filled out absentee ballot requests and voter registration forms and cast absentee ballots on behalf of others during Taylor's unsuccessful run for Congress in the 2020 primary election and his election to the county board in that fall's general election. Kim Taylor's name had been linked to suspicious election activity before. Gill said he had received complaints about her during previous elections. Her husband successfully ran for the Iowa House in 2010 and lost his re-election bid in 2012. He was elected to the county board in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. Gill didn't say what years he received complaints about Taylor, but said he dismissed them because many candidates and their spouses go door to door during campaigns seeking support. Taylor did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday and Friday. His wife's attorney also has declined to comment on the charges. Pat Gill alleged election fraud press conference Pat Gill, Woodbury County Auditor and Election Commissioner, speaks Friday at a press conference about his office's role in an FBI investigati The night of the 2020 primary election, Gill saw compelling evidence someone was casting fraudulent ballots. Election workers who were processing absentee ballots and tallying write-in votes found several ballots in which the handwriting appeared similar. Jeremy Taylor received numerous write-in votes for county board and county auditor in the election. "You could tell by looking at them they were all filled out by the same person," Gill said. Because the ballots had already been fed though the scanner, they had been separated from the voter's affidavit, so it was impossible to tell who had submitted the ballots, so Gill was unable to take action. When processing absentee ballots during the fall general election, workers noticed similar-looking signatures on affidavits as they opened the envelopes containing the ballots. "The staff told me there were a lot of signatures coming in on affidavits that looked like they were signed by the same person," Gill said. "There were quite a few," but he didn't count how many. Gill said his office provided FBI investigators with all the suspicious ballots, absentee request affidavits and voter registration forms. The FBI didn't seek records from previous elections, he said. Pat Gill alleged election fraud press conference Pat Gill, Woodbury County Auditor and Election Commissioner, speaks Friday at a press conference about his office's role in an FBI investigati The FBI investigation continues, and a Justice Department official on Friday declined to comment on it. Gill said he couldn't give an opinion if the actions affected the outcome of any races. In Jeremy Taylor's primary challenge of Iowa 4th District Rep. Steve King, Taylor received 18.5% of the votes cast in Woodbury County, far behind Randy Feenstra and King. District-wide, Feenstra won the primary with 37,329 votes, King received 29,366 and Taylor was a distant third with 6,418. County Republicans that summer nominated Taylor to run for county board against incumbent Democrat Marty Pottebaum in November, and Taylor won election by nearly 2,000 votes. Taylor had resigned from the board earlier in the year after Gill determined he could no longer hold office because he was not living at the address listed on his voter registration and was living outside his district, violating a state law requiring county supervisors to live in the district in which they are registered to vote. According to the indictment, Kim Taylor, whom Jeremy Taylor met while teaching in Vietnam, approached Sioux City residents with Vietnamese backgrounds who had limited ability to read and understand English and offered to help them vote. She is accused of signing absentee ballot request forms for residents who were not present or told residents they could sign the forms for other family members, a violation of the registration affidavit in which applicants swear they are the person named on the form. In some cases, the indictment said, Taylor filled out the ballot and signed the accompanying affidavits for people who were not present or telling family members they could sign on their behalf. She then delivered the ballots to the auditor's office. Gill on Friday recalled a few occasions when he observed Kim Taylor dropping ballots in a drop box outside the courthouse and saw Jeremy Taylor sitting in their car waiting for her. Kim Taylor voted her own ballots in both elections. Woodbury Supervisors 2015 organizational meeting Kim Taylor holds a Bible while her husband, Jeremy Taylor, is sworn in as a Woodbury County Supervisor by Judge Duane Hoffmeyer on Jan. 2, 201 Though Jeremy Taylor has not been charged, speculation swirls about his future on the county board. Board chairman Matthew Ung, a Republican, said he received a call Friday morning from a county resident asking him to fire Taylor. Ung said board members can't remove fellow supervisors. Ung said he's spoken with Taylor about the allegations, and it's up to Taylor to address them. "He has every right to speak for himself," Ung said. "It will no doubt impact the work of the board as we navigate one of the most challenging budgets in years." Ung said the board agenda at each weekly meeting provides time for supervisors to raise concerns. Time also is allotted for members of the public to address the board or individual supervisors about any issue. The next board meeting is 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the courthouse basement. According to Iowa Code section 66, an elected county official may be removed from office by a district court judge after hearing evidence after receiving a petition for removal. The code says the county attorney must file the petition when it involves a county official. Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis said he hadn't received any communications from the board or the public about Taylor's status on the board. Loomis, who was elected this past November, said he's not familiar with the process to remove a board member, but noted Taylor currently faces no charges. "That bridge will get crossed when it needs to be crossed," Loomis said. "I can't comment on what-ifs." After redistricting in the wake of the 2020 census, Taylor now represents District 5 and currently serves as the board's vice chairman. He's up for re-election in 2024. As for the election process, Gill said the system of checks and balances in place caught the fraudulent activity that led to the investigation. "I want to make sure people understand the system works," he said. Voter fraud also is rare, Gill said, noting he'd seen few cases during his 26 years overseeing the county's elections. His assessment matches what experts have observed nationwide. "Voter fraud and election fraud are both incredibly rare," said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York-based nonpartisan law and policy think-tank. It's typical, Morales-Doyle said, for a defendant to be charged with one count for every vote impacted, so it's not uncommon to see an individual charged with multiple counts, as Kim Taylor has been, though her total is uncommonly high. "Someone being charged with 52 counts is rare," Morales-Doyle said. "It rarely happens because it's hard to run a scheme that will impact a large number of votes." SIOUX CITY City Manager Bob Padmore confirmed Friday that the City of Sioux City has been fully reimbursed for the services it provided for former President Donald Trump's Nov. 3 rally at Sioux Gateway Airport. Padmore told The Journal Friday that the city received payment from event organizers on Dec. 21 for $10,002.38 in police expenses. "We show no outstanding bills for this Event Strategies group," he said. "The ambulance has been paid and, now, the police security has been paid, as well." The Journal published a story on Dec. 7 detailing the wrangling a city attorney engaged in to get a $5,000 rental payment ahead of the rally. Save America, a leadership political action committee (PAC) created by Trump, rented several parking lots from the city for the rally, which was intended to bolster the campaigns of Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Journal obtained 136 pages of emails, which show that a city attorney went back and forth with Event Strategies, Inc. in the days leading up to the rally before Save America signed off on a venue use agreement and paid the city the $5,000 rental fee. The documents mentioned reimbursement for police officers' overtime hours and also included a $1,425 invoice for emergency medical services, which was dated Nov. 2, 2022 and due that same day -- the day before the rally. Trump rallies support for Reynolds, Grassley in Sioux City Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd after speaking at a rally in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Ga On Dec. 8, the day after the story appeared in The Journal, Event Strategies, Inc. paid the $1,425 bill for standby EMS. Sioux City police officers staffing the rally were to be paid from the uniform and investigative bureaus' overtime budgets, which the United States Secret Service would reimburse, an administrative assistant for the police department wrote in one of the emails. City Finance Director Teresa Fitch told The Journal on Dec. 6 that police expenses totaled $10,002.38 and, "The city has not received any reimbursement to date for these expenses." Padmore said Friday there was "some confusion about whether that was, ultimately, a Secret Service expense or a event expense." He said the police expense was determined to be an event expense; and, in the wake of the story's publication, the city issued an invoice, which had a Jan. 9, 2023 due date, to Event Strategies, Inc. More than 100 rally-goers were in line to get in by 9 a.m. on Nov. 3, although attendees werent allowed to enter the venue until after 2 p.m. Trump, who took the stage between 7:30 and 8 p.m., spoke for over 70 minutes. Less than two weeks after the event, Trump announced his 2024 White House bid. PHOTOS: Former President Trump rallies in Sioux City Close Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday. Attendees find their seats before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Brenna Bird, candidate for Iowa Attorney General, gives a speech during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Matthew Whitaker, former acting United States Attorney General, gives a speech during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Matthew Whitaker, former acting United States Attorney General, walks on stage during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) waves to a crowd as she walks on stage during a political rally where former President Donald Trump spoke in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City Thursday. Mikael Lindell, founder and CEO of My Pillow, Inc., greets supporters before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Mikael Lindell, founder and CEO of My Pillow, Inc., greets supporters before the start of a political rally where former President Donald Trump will speak in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Sen. Chuck Grassley walks on stage during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Sen. Chuck Grassley walks on stage to speak at a Nov. 3 political rally in Sioux City where former President Donald Trump supported him and Kim Reynolds prior to the midterm election. Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds walks on stage during a political rally with Sen. Chuck Grassley in Sioux City, Nov. 3. Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump speaks in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley during a political rally at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Attendees listen to former President Donald Trump speak during a rally where he endorses Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd as before his speech during a rally where he endorses Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally where he endorses Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally where he endorses Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Sen. Chuck Grassley is invited to speak on stage by former President Donald Trump during a rally where Trump supports Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Sen. Chuck Grassley is invited to speak on stage by former President Donald Trump during a rally where Trump supports Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd after speaking at a rally in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City on Nov. 3, 2022. Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd after speaking at a rally in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport on Nov. 3. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 3, 2022. Kevin Reynolds, husband of Gov. Kim Reynolds, stands at the behest former President Donald Trump during a rally where Trump speaks in support of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds shakes hands with former Iowa Rep. Jeff Kaufmann after Reynolds spoke on stage with former President Donald Trump while Trump rallies for support at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds is invited to speak on stage by former President Donald Trump during a rally where Trump supports Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds is invited to speak on stage by former President Donald Trump during a rally where Trump supports Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday evening, Nov. 3, 2022. Former Pres. Donald Trump rallies for support in Sioux City (full speech) Former President Donald Trump headlines a rally at the Sioux Gateway Airport on Thursday in support of fellow Republicans Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Chuck Grassley and others. WATCH NOW: Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks at Trump rally Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks at Trump rally Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a political rally where former President Donald Trump will headline in support of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and others at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 +40 DES MOINES The first week at the Iowa Capitol Building can be a busy one for any state legislator. It's a week of speeches, settling into committee assignments, possibly introducing a new bill or two and commiserating with fellow politicians. But the pace in Des Moines can feel even a bit more frenetic for those who are arriving to the statehouse as freshman legislators. "It felt like the first week of my PhD program where I found out how little I knew about the protocol and how much I needed to learn in a short time," first-term Rep. Bob Henderson, R-Sioux City, said about his first week. Henderson, a former teacher and chair of the Woodbury County GOP, is one of seven Siouxland state lawmakers who began their first session on Monday, Jan 9. Joining him in the initial journey to the state capital were: Sen. Rocky De Witt, Lawton; Sen. Lynn Evans, Aurelia; Sen. Kevin Alons, Salix; Rep. J.D. Scholten, Sioux City; Rep. Zach Dieken, Granville; and Rep. Ken Carlson, Onawa. All but Scholten are members of the Republican Party which has a 64-36 advantage in the Iowa House and a 34-16 majority in the Iowa Senate. Rep. Bob Henderson Rep. Bob Henderson, R-Sioux City, seen on laptop, three rows back, center, working in the Iowa legislature during his first week in office. Blurred out "It really is a blur so far," Alons said. "Definitely a 'fire hose' right now with lots to learn." "It will probably take a couple of weeks for me to find my pace. I need to get a routine in place, (get) better organized so I can be better at managing my time," De Witt, a former Woodbury County Board Supervisor said. Evans, who previously served as a school superintendent, said there's a "lot to learn in a short amount of time. "But I am not alone in that there a number of newly elected legislators this year," he said. Scholten, a candidate for Iowa's Fourth Congressional District in 2018 and 2020, said what will take awhile for him to get used to are the rules, procedures and formalities of legislating. But he's got a positive spin on the first five days. "I made all of my committees and meetings on time and I havent got lost yet, so I consider it a good first week," he said. Scholten then added that he felt a certain amount of reverence when seeing photos of previous Iowa House Speakers. "It makes me think a lot about the history of this building and of Iowa." Bold, bold, bold Within a day of the 90th Iowa General Assembly beginning for 2023, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds gave her annual Condition of the State address which lawmakers were on hand for. In the speech, Reynolds, who won a commanding re-election bid in 2022, pushed for a 3.3% increase in state spending which includes $107 million for a new private school assistance program. The governor also touted her work to keep schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic and took aim at those who criticized her for the move. "I thought it was an excellent speech, and covered an aggressively conservative agenda that has Iowas future in mind," Alons said. Henderson called it an "ambitious agenda" and Evans said it was "bold" while De Witt said the entire details of her vision "cannot be contained in one speech." Henderson already has name attached to the school funding bills as well as a pair of bills akin to Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay Bill". Scholten was critical but with a modicum of positive recognition. "It was disappointing," he said. "She focused a lot on controversial issues that divide us and I would prefer the Governor to find unity and put people over politics. The one thing I did appreciate was her bringing up issues around fentanyl." Consider the parking lot The cub legislators differed a little more when pinpointing what it was they enjoyed the most in their first week. "I have to be honest, it is so much more immediately rewarding to write software or fly jets," Alons said. "The best part is getting to know other leaders in the state and discussing issues that are important to myself and my constituents." Both Henderson and Evans expressed their appreciation in meeting other new members and getting help when they needed it. "I have really enjoyed meeting all those who are here," Henderson said. "The veteran legislators are more than happy to serve as mentors as they all were in their first year once as well," said Evans. De Witt took time to admire the actual building he now works in. "What an awesome institution I am now a member of. The Capital in and of itself is beautiful as a structure, and the reverence I feel is genuine and profound," he said. Scholten, meanwhile, looked outside for what he delighted in during week one. "Weirdly enough, the parking lot. I like to look at all of the different counties and all of the people coming from different places." SIOUX CITY Fire officials are investigating the cause of a fire that broke out Friday afternoon in a red-tagged single-family home near Sioux City's downtown. "More than likely, it was intentionally set," Sioux City Fire Rescue Capt. Ryan Collins said. About 1:15 p.m., Sioux City Rescue firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 504 Market St. Upon arrival, Collins said fire was visible on both the home's first and second floors. "Our crews set up defensive operations. They sprayed water from the outside into the interior, until it was safe to proceed in. And, then, they started an interior fire attack," Collins said. Structure fire on Market Street Sioux City Fire Rescue firefighters work to extinguish a structure fire in the 500 block of Market Street in Sioux City on Friday. The home ha Collins said firefighters searched the basement and both the first and second floors, but found nobody inside the structure. All utilities, including electricity and natural gas, had previously been shutoff. "The house, that's been red-tagged for at least a few months. Reports from the neighborhood suggest that there were transients, though, inside," Collins said. "I'm not sure if they were inside at the time of the fire. That's going to be part of the investigation." Structure fire on Market Street Sioux City Fire Rescue firefighters work to extinguish a structure fire in the 500 block of Market Street in Sioux City on Friday. The home ha NEW YORK Questioned for a lawsuit, former President Donald Trump angrily hurled insults and threatened to sue the columnist who accused him of raping her in a department store in the 1990s, according to excerpts of his videotaped testimony unsealed by a court on Friday. Portions of his 5-hour October deposition in a lawsuit filed by columnist E. Jean Carroll were released publicly after a federal judge rejected his lawyers' request that it remained sealed. "She said that I did something to her that never took place. There was no anything. I know nothing about this nut job," he said, according to the transcript. The excerpts reveal a contentious battle between Trump and Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, who questioned him as Trump called the former longtime Elle magazine columnist the perpetrator of "a complete scam" in which she described the rape as she "was promoting a really crummy book." "I will sue her after this is over, and that's the thing I really look forward to doing. And I'll sue you too," he told Kaplan. The release of excerpts from the deposition came the same day as Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, unrelated to the lawyer, also refused a request by Trump's attorneys to toss out two lawsuits by Carroll alleging defamation and rape. An April trial is planned. Trump repeatedly has said the encounter with Carroll in the mid-1990s at an upscale Manhattan department store never happened. In his testimony, Trump repeatedly attacked Carroll's depiction of him as a rapist. Trump said he knew it wasn't "politically correct" to say "she's not my type" when he responded to claims shortly after Carroll's 2019 book was published. The writer alleged she was attacked by Trump in a dressing room after they had a chance meeting in the store and she agreed to help him pick out lingerie for a friend. "But I'll say it anyway," he said. "She's accusing me of rape, a woman that I have no idea who she is. It came out of the blue. She's accusing me of raping her, the worst thing you can do, the worst charge." Speaking to her attorney, he added: "And you know it's not true too. You're a political operative also. You're a disgrace. But she's accusing me and so are you of rape, and it never took place." At one point in the deposition, Trump called Carroll "sick, mentally sick." He mischaracterized an interview Carroll had given on CNN, falsely claiming she had talked about enjoying being sexually assaulted. "She actually indicated that she loved it. Okay? She loved it until commercial break," Trump said. "In fact, I think she said it was sexy, didn't she? She said it was very sexy to be raped. Didn't she say that?" Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, then tried to elicit from Trump that he raped her client. "So, sir, I just want to confirm: It's your testimony that E. Jean Carroll said that she loved being sexually assaulted by you?" Trump answered: "Well, based on her interview with Anderson Cooper, I believe that's what took place. And we can define that. I think she said that rape was sexy which it's not, by the way." What Carroll has said in her writing, and in the interview with Cooper, is that she doesn't like to use the word rape because some other people "think rape is sexy." She said she preferred the term "fight." At another point in the deposition, Kaplan asked Trump if he had ever touched a woman on her breast or buttocks or any other sexual part without her consent. "Well, I will tell you no, but you may have some people like your client that lie," he responded. Late Friday, Trump attorney Alina Habba issued a statement, saying: "While it was entirely unnecessary for the unsealing of a transcript both parties previously agreed would remain confidential, our client has nothing to hide and looks forward to resolving this meritless case." Roberta Kaplan declined to comment on the release of the deposition excerpts. Kaplan, the Manhattan judge, earlier Friday upheld Carroll's lawsuits alleging rape and defamation and seeking unspecified damages, saying they could proceed to trial because Trump's challenges were without merit. "The fact that Mr. Trump denies Ms. Carroll's allegations does not enter into the analysis at this stage of the case," the jurist wrote. "What, if anything, actually occurred must await further proceedings if the complaint withstands the present motion." "While we are disappointed with the Court's decision, we intend to immediately appeal the order and continue to advocate for our client's constitutionally protected rights," Habba said in a statement. Carroll sued Trump for defamation after he mocked her claims he sexually assaulted her. She sued Trump with the rape claim in November, when the Adult Survivors Act took effect. In his ruling, the judge said the Adult Survivors Act was similar to the Child Victims Act, another New York state law that temporarily allowed victims of sexual assaults when they were children to sue their abusers years later. These electric aircrafts allow farmers in Ohio to fly over their land, a zoo in the UK is celebrating the birth of critically endangered chimpanzee, and more of today's top videos. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. The shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old boy has plunged the nation into uncharted waters of school violence, with many in the Virginia shipbuilding city where it happened demanding metal detectors in every school. On Thursday, the Newport News School Board announced that 90 walk-through metal detectors would be placed in schools across the district, starting with Richneck Elementary School, where teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot Friday. The time is now to put metal detectors in all of our schools, board Chairman Lisa Surles-Law told a news conference. The move came even as educators and other experts nationwide grappled with the complex issue of how to prevent gun violence in even the youngest school populations. This is a real game changer, said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, which trains law enforcement members who work in schools. "How do we begin to approach the idea of protecting students and staff from an armed 6-year-old? American educators have long been trying to create safe spaces that feel less like prisons and more like schools. If anything, the shooting on Jan. 6 fuels a debate over the effectiveness of metal detectors which are still relatively rare in schools and other safety measures. Metal detectors and clear backpacks are more likely to cause young children to be fearful and feel criminalized," said Amanda Nickerson, a school psychology professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Many of the strategies being suggested do not have any research evidence, and they may actually erode a healthy school climate," she said one where students and staff feel free to share concerns about possible threats, which has been shown to prevent shootings. A more effective approach fosters positive social, emotional, behavioral and academic success, Nickerson said. Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social welfare and education at the University of California, Los Angeles, said it's really the gun owners who need to be held responsible. Police in Newport News say the 6-year-old brought his mother's gun, which had been purchased legally, to school, though it's unclear how he gained access to it. A Virginia law prohibits leaving a loaded gun where it is accessible to a child under 14, a misdemeanor crime punishable with a maximum one-year prison sentence and $2,500 fine. No charges have been brought against the mother so far. Astor said that a public health approach to reducing gun violence in schools is needed, as well as gun licensing. Let's all agree that gun education is really important, particularly around gun safety and accidents and kids getting access to guns, Astor said. Lets make that part of health class. Lets make sure every kid, parent and educator goes through education and hazardous materials safety training in every school in the United States." "Gun safety education is something that most Americans agree on, based on national polls. Thats a great place to start saving lives and reducing injury or death, Astor said. The shooting Friday occurred as Zwerner taught her first-grade class at Richneck Elementary. There was no warning and no struggle before the 6-year-old pointed the gun at Zwerner and fired one round. The bullet pierced Zwerner's hand and struck her chest. The 25-year-old hustled her students out of the classroom before being rushed to the hospital. She has improved and was listed in stable condition Monday, authorities said. Police Chief Steve Drew described the shooting as intentional. A judge will determine whats next for the child, who is being held at a medical facility following an emergency custody order. Eric Billet, whose three children attend Newport News public schools, said he supports more security measures, like metal detectors, bag searches and a security officer at every school. But he would also like more behavioral specialists and counselors working with students. Two of Billets children go to Richneck, including his fourth-grade daughter whos endured nightmares following the shooting. The more challenging piece is the culture change, he said. I know some teachers have had trouble controlling classrooms since COVID, Billet added. I do not know all of the reasons, whether it's parenting at home or other influences, or a lack of authority and discipline at school. I definitely do not blame the teachers for this. Rick Fogle, whose grandson is in second grade at Richneck, supports increased use of metal detectors. But he also said schools need to be more willing to search backpacks, pockets and desks if kids are suspected of having a gun. Theyve got to overcome social pressure to respect peoples rights and realize that the rights of those who could be injured need to be considered, Fogle said. A look at some of America's deadliest school shootings Intro Until the massacre at Colorados Columbine High School in 1999, the number of dead in U.S. school shootings tended to be in the single digits. Since then, the number of shootings that included schools and killed 10 or more people has mounted. The most recent two were both in Texas. In May 2022, an 18-year-old attacker killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In May 2018, a 17-year-old killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School near Houston. Most of the victims were students. Columbine High School, April 1999 Red Lake High School, March 2005 Virginia Tech, April 2007 Sandy Hook Elementary School, December 2012 Umpqua Community College, October 2015 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, February 2018 Santa Fe High School, May 2018 Robb Elementary School, May 2022 Last July, the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, visited Jakarta where he said Chinas military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years. While the U.S. has seemed fixated on Chinas growing verbal threats and military maneuvers around Taiwan, Milley and others, including some in Australia, are concerned that Chinas expansionist goals do not end with attempts to take over that free island nation. Among those keeping an eye on Chinas activities here is Tom Switzer, executive director of the think tank Center for Independent Studies (CIS). Switzer believes Australian leaders are wrong when they think their policies determine what China does. The truth is, he says, most great powers are ruthless beasts: they play hard ball at every turn; and the stronger China gets, the more its likely to throw its weight around. Switzer calls what China is doing wolf warrior diplomacy, where it uses its growing economic power to coerce or harm weaker states that implement policies not to Beijings liking. Some commentators here claim Australia can rebuild trust with Beijing without acquiescing to its demands. Switzer disagrees and asks some important questions the government should consider: How do our leaders restore a dialogue with a hyper-nationalist China that wants us to kowtow? Doesnt that represent a serious threat to our sovereignty? Doesnt Beijings long list of demands as a prerequisite to improving relations make it harder for Canberra to do more to reboot relations with Beijing? On its webpage, CIS asserts that China has been waging a global influence campaign across the globe. It is better understood as a strategic use of media technology and government resources allocated by the Chinese Communist Party in seeking to effectively influence media content and industries in targeted countries. It aims at changing global opinions and policy discourses in favour of its development model, patterns of managing inter-state relations, and justification of its prospective hegemonic status worldwide. Pushback actions against this effort of China have been occurring across many countries, however. It is no secret how this influence works. Weve seen it in the U.S. where corporations and individual spokespersons for companies that manufacture products in China have been reluctant to criticize the communist regime for fear of losing money. At what point does it become a patriotic duty to start making products in America (and Australia) again instead of putting profits above the best interests of free nations? Journalists should ask this question of President Biden, congressional Republicans and GOP presidential candidates in 2024. There is also the issue of propaganda. People of a certain age associate propaganda with Nazi Germany (Joseph Goebbels), Japan (Tokyo Rose) and the Soviet Union. But Chinas use of especially social media TikTok being just one of many examples has taken propaganda to a new and more highly sophisticated level. One of the few media outlets that responds to Chinese disinformation and propaganda is The Epoch Times, denounced by some as a far-right newspaper associated with the Falun Gong quasi-religious movement. Yet it consistently presents information that counters what is coming from Beijing and its ideological allies. One of the great seductions, especially in free societies, is that when one evil is defeated Nazism, Japan, the collapse of the Soviet Union it can't become reincarnated in new regimes and new dictators. Eternal vigilance and the opposition to tyranny are the price free people must pay to maintain their freedom, which is not the natural state of humankind if one looks around the world. That is true for Australia, Europe (Russias war against Ukraine) and the United States. President Joe Biden recently staged a photo op at the border on his way to a summit in Mexico, having just unveiled a plan to address the border disaster. Maybe it will work as political damage control, but it will not fix the border and will probably make it worse. The plan has been presented as a carrot and stick make it easier for people from several countries to get in legally while expelling those who sneak over. Unfortunately, the stick is scrawny, while the carrot is mighty enticing. The first of the two sticks the president has said he will use against illegal immigration is the expanded use of expedited removal, which, as the name suggests, is designed to quickly deport undocumented migrants caught at the border. Except he already has this authority and restricted agents use of it as recently as last year. And in any case, it cant work unless you detain the migrants until they are deported, which this administration refuses to do. The other stick is getting Mexico to agree to take back across the border up to 30,000 border-jumpers a month from four countries Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti to get people instead to use a legal program Biden just made up. That is fine as far as it goes, though former President Donald Trump got a lot more cooperation from Mexico because he approached it from a position of strength rather than Bidens almost comical weakness. And what about undocumented immigrant number 30,001? In November at the border, 82,000 people from those four countries were encountered (the Biden euphemism for arrests). And what about illegal border-crossers from all the other countries that sent 150,000 migrants to the border in November? You know the answer they will almost all be let in, especially after Title 42 ends (that is the COVID-related measure tied up in court that allows the Border Patrol to expel undocumented migrants without asylum hearings). And few of them will ever be made to leave. These enforcement plans are supposed to be the counterbalance for safe, orderly and humane pathways into the United States. And while the stick will do little to reduce illegal immigration, these safe, orderly and humane carrots will likely increase the flow of people who have no right to be here. Two of these Biden's made-up programs are not authorized by law. One is for people from the four countries mentioned. Everyone else has the opportunity to be pre-legalized before getting to the border using what looks suspiciously like a restaurant reservation app. The point in both cases is not to reduce the number of people coming across the border but just to get them out of the politically damaging Border Patrol arrest (sorry, encounter) statistics by making their arrival legal. The supposed legal basis for both programs is something called parole. In the immigration sense, parole is the narrow power Congress has given the president to admit individual foreigners without visas in emergencies. But Biden has been using it to let in people by the hundreds of thousands, and his new plan proposes to let in hundreds of thousands more. This is on top of the 1 million people coming in each year through the existing legal immigration system. The good news is that these carrots may shrivel before Biden uses them to entice even more people to the border. Florida recently sued to stop the blatantly unlawful abuse of parole, and it is entirely possible the judge will put these and other programs on hold until the trial is completed. Even that happy development will not change one thing -- that this administration does not believe in enforcing immigration law. And no judge can change that only the voters can. China's foreign trade hits record high in challenging year Xinhua) 09:12, January 14, 2023 * China's annual foreign trade value hit record high again in 2022, as the country works to better coordinate epidemic response with economic and social development amid complex and severe domestic and international situations, official data showed Friday. * Total goods trade reached 42.07 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, topping the world for six consecutive years, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The figure exceeded 40 trillion yuan for the first time, said the GAC. * Going into 2023, officials and analysts said that China should be watchful of cooling global demand amid recession fears and the yet-to-be-consolidated domestic recovery. BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's annual foreign trade value hit record high again in 2022, as the country works to better coordinate epidemic response with economic and social development amid complex and severe domestic and international situations, official data showed Friday. Total goods trade reached 42.07 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, topping the world for six consecutive years, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The figure exceeded 40 trillion yuan for the first time, said the GAC. In U.S. dollar terms, the trade value increased 4.4 percent over the previous year to 6.31 trillion dollars, GAC data showed. Exports rose 10.5 percent to 23.97 trillion yuan, and imports went up 4.3 percent to 18.1 trillion yuan. China's foreign trade delivered breakthroughs in scale, quality, and efficiency last year, which is a hard-won feat considering headwinds in demand, supply, and expectations, GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang said. In 2022, China rolled out policies dynamically to bolster growth, including that of foreign trade. The package of policies and their follow-up measures to shore up economic recovery have paid off, unleashing the vitality of trade entities, said Lyu. Foreign trade by private firms jumped 12.9 percent to account for 50.9 percent of the total, crossing the 50 percent mark for the first time, GAC data showed. Private companies are flexible and adaptable, said Zhuang Rui, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. They have put these advantages to good use to expand markets and upgrade businesses to guard against lukewarm external demand and exchange rate fluctuations, Zhuang said. China's vast export market and competitive edge in manufacturing also contributed to the trade growth, said Lyu. The country takes up 14.7 percent of the global export market, leading the world for 14 consecutive years, Friday's data showed. The country's imports and exports with ASEAN, the European Union, and the United States gained 15 percent, 5.6 percent, and 3.7 percent, respectively. Trade with Belt and Road countries climbed 19.4 percent to account for 32.9 percent of its total foreign trade, while trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) rose 7.5 percent. A heavy truck is assembled on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao) New drivers are taking hold, as China saw over 60 percent export hikes in green products, including solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles, Lyu said. Import as a whole was underpinned by steady overall growth, Lyu said. In the January-November period, China recorded expansion in fixed-asset investment, industrial output, and online retail sales, among others, official data showed. China's foreign trade has exhibited notable resilience in recent years due to an ever-improving trade structure, supply chain strengths and targeted policy support, and has contributed to overall growth, analysts have said. Going into 2023, officials and analysts said that China should be watchful of cooling global demand amid recession fears and the yet-to-be-consolidated domestic recovery. The World Bank on Tuesday downgraded its 2023 global economic growth forecast to 1.7 percent, the third-weakest pace in nearly three decades. It said the global trade volume will grow 1.6 percent this year, down 2.7 percentage points from its projections last June. A December report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated global trade in 2022 at a record 32 trillion U.S. dollars. However, a slowdown that began in the second half of last year is expected to worsen in 2023 as geopolitical tensions and tight financial conditions persist, it cautioned. This aerial photo taken on Nov. 5, 2022 shows a view of the Yangpu international container terminal in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) "While we acknowledge potential challenges, we should also see that China's economy is likely to rebound this year, and we should strengthen confidence to further bolster foreign trade," Lyu said. China has recently optimized its COVID response to enable quarantine-free global travel and ease other curbs, offering a boost to foreign trade firms whose new orders were once disrupted by dampening global demand. Multiple highlights are expected in 2023 in terms of China's trade structure, said Lian Ping, chief economist at the Zhixin Investment Research Institute. Exports of integrated circuits and auto parts, among other goods, could rise with low-tariff arrangements under the RCEP, and new energy products could also see boosted exports amid global carbon-neutrality commitments, Lian said. China has pledged improved efforts to maintain the stability of foreign trade, upgrade its trade structure, and develop new international economic and trade cooperation fronts in 2023, according to the tone-setting annual Central Economic Work Conference last December. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi) Sanders Court in west Northbrook may be getting a new anchor tenant in its flagship corner shopping center spot. And that could be just what Sanders Court needs to spur the malls lagging redevelopment in its east section. Advertisement Its a good start, Northbrook Village President Kathryn L. Ciesla told Pioneer Press. At the Jan. 10 Northbrook village board meeting, trustees heard from Amy Torf of Northbrook, founder and owner of Noggin Builders, LLC, about preliminary plans to relocate the Sky Harbor proximity Northbrook business down Dundee Road west to Sanders Court. A special use permit for educational service would be part of the application. Advertisement Theyre (Sanders Court ownership) very committed to revitalizing this mall and Noggin Builders is one of the first steps to making that happen, said Northbrook resident Amy Torf who is appearing at the podium. Torf is founder and owner of Noggin Builders of Northbrook. Taken at the Northbrook Village Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 10, 2023. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press) Since 2013, Noggin Builders, which offers enrichment learning for children, has operated at its current location in 1,700 square feet of space at 3073 Dundee Road. Their slogan is, The Place for Curious Kids. The Sanders Court relocation possibility features about 4,015 square feet (with outdoor space) in the southwest corner of the shopping center. Noggin Builders wishes to combine three vacant tenant units via Westwood Financial, owner of Sanders Court, to provide science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classes and camps for children aged 4 to 14. Birthday parties are part of the business model. Sanders Court formerly boasted a large grocery store. Exposed tall windows on Jan. 12, 2023 indicated storage in its interior and unused as a retail grocery store purpose. Right, Northbrook Village President Kathryn L. Ciesla reacts to the news that a business may be relocating to Sanders Court shopping center. Taken at the Northbrook Village Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 10, 2023. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press) We have been trying very, very hard to get that accomplished (Sanders Court increased occupancy) but have not been very successful, but we have some more avenues that were trying to pursue, Ciesla said to Pioneer Press. Torf answered trustees questions on Tuesday evening. Torf is also a member of the Northbrook Plan Commission but will not be a part of the Plan Commission review process on the potential Noggin Builders application due to full disclosure to avoid conflict of interest. Ill have to sit that one out, Torf said with a smile. Advertisement Torfs Plan Commission term ends April of 2026. Noggin Builders has three full time employees and seasonally, up to an estimated 12 part time employees. Approximately 300 children each week attend programming by Noggin Builders, Torf said. Torf is of the Glenbrook North High School Class of 1992 and recalls when Sanders Court was busier. Having been a resident of Northbrook my whole life, I remember what Sanders Court was like when I was a kid growing up, Torf told Pioneer Press. That shopping center was a vital part of Northbrook and it hasnt been for a long time. The former grocery store, which had names including Dominicks, was a nearby option for shoppers residing in Northbrook subdivisions such as Charlemagne, Wildebrook, Carlyle and neighborhoods along Wood Oaks Junior High School. Sanders Court shopping center. (Pioneer Press) There is a large-scale grocery store in Wheeling at Milwaukee Avenue and Dundee Road within a short driving distance for Northbrook customers but retail sales tax receipts then remain Wheeling based. Advertisement I was very excited when we found this location as a possible new home for Noggin Builders because I do think that Sanders Court, if the landlord chooses to really revitalize that center, could be a wonderful mall again, Torf said. I think that we have been, through the negotiations with the landlord for this new space, really truly stressing the fact that this mall needs to be revitalized. Its just my opinion that this mall needs revitalization, that the residents of Northbrook really want this mall to be a vibrant part of our lives again, Torf said. Torf is excited about the possibilities of the corner spot space which has a set back front courtyard setting. The build out, if the application is ultimately approved by the village, would be projected for after summer. Its tucked right in there which I think is great for kids, its what allows me to have outdoor space safely for the kids and well do lots of outdoor STEM activities which is great, Torf said. Theres so much science outside. About Noggin Builders, Its a place where we can create community with the children, Torf said. Instead of learning, we explore. Advertisement According to Michaela Kohlstedt, the villages director of development and planning services, Noggin Builders must submit a formal application to enter the review process. Once the application is reviewed and deemed complete, it will be noticed for a public hearing at the Plan Commission, but it is too soon to predict that date, Kohlstedt confirmed via email to Pioneer Press. During the meeting, Trustee Muriel J. Collison thanked Torf for Torfs service to the community by serving on the Plan Commission. I also wanted to thank you for running such a fabulous business and having it in our town, Collison added. I am so excited to watch you grow from one space to the next space to the next space. Northbrook Village Trustee Muriel J. Collison reacts to the news that a business may be relocating to Sanders Court shopping center. Taken at the Northbrook Village Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 10, 2023. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press) I love, love, love what you do, Collison said to Noggin Builders (see https://nogginbuilders.com/NBwp/). During the meeting, there were questions about safe drop off and pick up plans for motorist parents and caregivers who come at peak programming times. There are Sanders Court restaurant storefronts near the corner spot that also rely on the business of DoorDash or similar drivers who collect customer food orders. Pick up and drop queues plus safe pedestrian patterns will be studied, it was agreed. Advertisement Ciesla said, The Village of Northbrook is very interested in revitalizing the mall and has tried with little success to have some things move forward. We would certainly like to see some things happen at this mall, Ciesla said. To that, Collison said, Hopefully, this is a good kick-start. Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press. The forecast is calling for cold temperatures in Sioux City Saturday. It looks to reach a cold 41 degrees. A 31-degree low is forecasted. We will see a mix of sun and clouds. Saturday's winds could be brisk, with forecast models showing 15 mph wind conditions coming up from the South. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit siouxcityjournal.com for more weather updates. Dear Prudence is Slates advice column. Submit questions here. (Its anonymous!) Dear Prudence, A few months ago, I got a new coworker, Kelsey, in the cubicle next to mine. Since we returned to work in person last year, a group of us more recent hires eat lunch together on Fridays, and we welcomed her into the lunch routine. Kelsey is fun and gets along with everyone, but the way she interacts with me individually sets me on edge. During one of these lunches, another coworker put themselves down, and I gently encouraged them. Kelsey pivoted towards me with a look of awe, and said, Youre an empath too! Since then, shes mentioned several times how she notices the way I talk to people and engage in meetings and then wants to discuss what its like being the only empaths in the office and wanting to compare the energies were getting from people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prudie, this bothers me, in part because shes somewhat right! Earlier in my career, I did struggle with over-empathizing in the workplace, went to therapy, and still do a lot of reflection to maintain a sense of self and boundaries with, well, everyone. How do I address Kelseys knowing eye contact during meetings, probing questions about my work and personal life, and insistence that Im just like her? So far, just saying I see things differently, and I need to keep working just causes another round of questions. At Cliffs Edge Dear Cliffs Edge, You have to speak her language. Kelsey, you know how were both empaths. Well, as a result my energy has been feeling extremely heavy from absorbing everyone elses emotions. I have a New Years intention to set boundaries around work, and I am manifesting a new era in which I dont discuss my or anyone elses personal issues at the office. Thank you for your love, light, and support. Advertisement New Year, Same Problems For an upcoming special edition of Dear Prudence, we want to hear about the messy situations plaguing you that youd like to shed in the new year. A mother-in-law who is slowly poisoning you? An underground diaper operation thats driving you mad? A poorly named horse? Submit your questions anonymously here. (Questions may be edited for publication.) Dear Prudence, I am 25, male, single, and live on my own. I had a live-in girlfriend for a while, our relationship was pretty bumpy, lots of breakups and make-ups, but we both felt a very strong connection that we couldnt ignore and I have no reason to believe she was unfaithful. When we started hanging out, she still had a boyfriend. And then a few days after we broke up, I found another guy in her bed one morning after she had spent a night out. The one I wasnt supposed to worry about. After an argument while still living together post-breakup, she moved in with him in a matter of days. Advertisement Advertisement I went about my life and tried to move on, but one day she called me after almost zero contact for a year and we got to chatting and reconnected. She had recently been broken up with by the guy she was living with. At first, we were verging on intimacy, but she told me there was another guy in her life and she didnt wanna betray him as they had agreed to be exclusive, despite lots of making out and her saying what he dont know wont hurt him. I decided even though it hurt me a little to be second fiddle, Id still hang out with her because of the connection. She seems happy enough with him, but often complains or gripes about how she doesnt think he has the same values about love and relationships. She has told me before that he is just temporary because he is an exchange student who will be going back home in March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I am still very much in love with her, so her intonations that I may still have a chance with her have me waiting around for her in some way. They are now officially dating, and he seems perfectly ok with me taking her out to weddings and grabbing dinner. I know she would not be ok with him doing the same with his ex. And she continues to call their relationship temporary, saying hes going home soon and she just wants to see it through to see what a healthy relationship (unlike ours I guess that means) is like. Why am I still so in love with this girl? And what makes her act this way? Am I being manipulated here? And what do I do if she wants to rekindle in a few months? Please provide some healthy talking points and courses of action. Advertisement Advertisement Hopelessly Devoted Dear Hopelessly Devoted, You and your ex are those people who post passive-aggressive quotes about relationships on Instagram to send messages to each other while everyone else in the world is like What the hell are you talking about? Are you ok?, arent you? The answer to why am I still so in love with this girl? is because youre addicted to drama! That is also the answer to what makes her act this way? I dont mean to be too dismissiveI know this is emotional and hardbut you have not made the choices of a person who wants their love life to be smooth and easy. Its okay! It might just be what you need to go through right now, to learn your mid-20s lessons about what you want and dont. Advertisement When you decide you want peace and are ready to clear the way for a healthy relationshipwhich honestly might take another year of back and forth until you get sick of being hurt and confused and that feeling of being in love fadesyour talking point is I care about you but its not healthy for us to do this anymore. I want to be with someone who knows what she wants and is emotionally available to me. Im going to block you on everything until Ive healed and moved on. Get Dear Prudence in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Dear Prudence, My husband and I have been married for one year, together for five years. Were empty nesters. I have three grown children from my previous marriage, and he has two. We love each others kids very much, but I sense some jealousy in my husband when I spend too much time talking to or seeing my kids and not focusing enough on him, an insecurity I feel is not always endearing. I love him and believe Im a good wife, but I consider myself an independent woman too. I watch my 18-month-old granddaughter two full days a week, a commitment of another year possibly, which he does support. We recently made plans for a two-week trip to Italy, just the two of us, my first trip to Europe and my absolute dream destination country to travel to. He has shared this dream with me, and we were looking forward to this adventure very much. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, my youngest, and only daughter, just announced that she and her husband are expecting their first child during the same timeframe as our trip. I want to postpone the trip so I can be there as support for my daughter, which she has expressed she wants too. My husband does not want to postpone and is angry/hurt that Im not considering his feelings. I understand and share his frustration with the ill-timing, but I also feel its one of those times as a parent when you put your childs needs ahead of your own, despite the fact she is a grown adult with a supportive husband. I also dont feel Id have a good time on vacation knowing Im not going to be present for my grandchilds birth or be there to help support my daughter. Any thoughts on how to help my husband understand that a postponement of a month or two is the best solution for our family? Unfortunately, COVID has led to the cancellation of two previous attempted trips in the last two years for us. Advertisement Till Then, Tuscany Dear Tuscany, You obviously shouldnt go. Plus, does your husband really want to be in Europe with someone who is obsessively checking her phone for labor updates, worrying about her daughters physical and emotional well-being, and then trying to FaceTime her new grandchild? Thats no way to have a vacation. And of course youd regret it, and it would be so sad for your daughter. To be honest, I think the ideal husband would accept this change of plans without anger. At the same time, I can see why hes annoyedcanceling a vacation is no fun. And, based on the way you told this story, I think his allegation that you didnt consider his feelings might be valid. The way forward here is not to help [him] understand that a postponement of a month or two is the best solution for our family. Thats way too logical of an approach, and this is about emotionsboth yours and his. What you want to do is to explain to him how painful it would be to miss this event, and how much it will mean to you to be there. And you want to acknowledge how shitty it is that hes having to cancel vacation for the third time, apologize for that, ask for his understanding, and see if theres any way to make it up to him. That will go a long way. I dont think he is actually extremely attached to a particular vacation date, and I dont think he needs you to win a debate about how rescheduling makes sense. He just wants to feel like his point of view is being seen and taken into consideration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After this major life event is overmaybe when youre both relaxed and finally on your vacationyoure going to need to address your sense that hes jealous of your relationship with your kids and grandchildren. Thats not something you want to tiptoe around for the rest of your life. And I hope hes able to take your feelings about this as seriously as you take his feelings about the postponed trip. Catch up on this weeks Prudie. More Advice From Slate Im a freshman in high school and have an unghostable friend, Ashley. Ashley is toxicconstantly blaming others for her own mistakes, gossiping about friends behind their backs, and even outing one of our mutual friends and my close friend, Kara, to me and a few other people. Kara and I decided to ghost her a few weeks agowe stopped chatting with her in the hallways, texting her, and spending time with her. Were polite and civil to Ashley at school but do not make any efforts to further communicate. The problem is Ashley is not getting the hint. Shes frequently calling, texting, snapping, and video chatting me, although I dont respond or pick up. That doesnt seem to stop her If you are a woman who has been sexually assaulted, or is fighting off internet trolls, or if you have an ex threatening to share intimate photos they took of you, there is one person you want to find: Carrie Goldberg. Goldberg is a lawyer. She specializes in sex crimes. She likes suing people. For Goldberg, going to court is a powerful tool. But for years, shes been frustrated by what she cant do. I cant count how many times weve had to turn somebody away from getting justice against their offender simply because it was outside the statute of limitations, she said. Its a cruel thing because it takes many years, especially for victims of trauma, to be ready and stable enough to want to confront their abuser. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sometimes, when she cant sue, shell send a formal letter to a person shed like to bring to court. Shell suggest a remedy, in dollars and cents, and that works a surprising amount of the time. Even if theres not the legal teeth to it, getting a lawyer letter can still be scary. But fortunately, now we can actually use the leverage of filing a lawsuit, Goldberg said. She has this new leverage because of a law that just went into effect a few weeks ago in New York state: the Adult Survivors Act. The Adult Survivors Act has attracted celebrity accuserswomen like E. Jean Carroll, who says Donald Trump raped her; five different women say they now want to bring Bill Cosby back to court under this new law. Goldberg says youre going to be hearing a lot more about fresh lawsuits over things that happened a long time ago. Advertisement Weve heard from somebody whose case was three decades old. But I would love if people in their 60s or 70s or 80s reached out to us and considered using the Adult Survivors Act, she said, because we know that sexual assault is not a new thing. Advertisement On a recent episode of What Next, I spoke with Goldberg about what happens now that New York has opened up this new way of holding sexual abusers accountable. Will it work? Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Mary Harris: New Yorks Adult Survivors Act uses something called a lookback windowa yearlong suspension of the civil statute of limitationsto allow people who may have been assaulted a long time ago the chance to go to the courts and demand compensation. Its similar to what many states have done for survivors of child sexual abuse, but New York is only the second state to extend this opportunity to people over the age of 18. Advertisement Advertisement Carrie Goldberg says it is the culmination of years of reform. Lawmakers have outlawed revenge porn, gotten rid of the criminal statute of limitation for rape entirely. It used to be, if you were sexually assaulted in New York, you had just three years to file a civil case. Now, victims have two decades to go to the courts. But the problem is this new law doesnt apply retroactively. Thats where the lookback window comes in. Advocates say women need this lookback window because, as youve said, survivors need time to deal with their abuse, sometimes need time to even acknowledge that what happened to them was abuse. Theyve also noted that police dont often support sexual abuse survivors. But creating a new way for survivors to file civil lawsuits seems to me like it doesnt fix one of the fundamental problems herethe problem that police are not bringing abusers to justice necessarily, right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carrie Goldberg: Yeah, its not aiming to fix that. The civil and the criminal justice systems really act separately. Theres parallels, but the criminal justice system is all aimed at punishing the offender, and the victim is playing the role of a star witness but has no control over whether a case is going to be investigated or brought or prosecuted or plea-dealed out. And so, the civil remedies are about compensating the victim for the harm that they sustained and the redistribution of money from the wrongdoer to the victim. We need both. But this puts the victim in the drivers seat. The victim gets to decide whether to bring a case. Theyre not at the mercy of a DA who doesnt like sexual assault cases or is afraid to bring them because they might lose. Advertisement Advertisement You make it sound empowering. Yeah, it is empowering to be able to sue. Thats what our courts are for. Theres such stigma surrounding suing. Like, anybody whos suing must be a gold digger, an opportunist. Theyre just out there for the money. Well, you know what? Yeah, they deserve money. If somebody sexually assaults yousteals your autonomy and then traumatizes you for the rest of your lifethey should have to pay. And in our society, as imperfect as it is, we pay with money. Advertisement Something else that stood out to me as I looked at the advocacy around the Survivors Act was how many of the women who were coming forward and saying that this tool would be useful to them were in a pretty privileged position. They were people like politician Andrew Yangs wife, whos accused a New York gynecologist of assaulting her. And then there was also a woman who accused music mogul Russell Simmons of raping her. And so it was people who were in extraordinary situations where someone also had a lot of money that they could go after. Are these relatively privileged people the ones who are going to seek accountability using this new lookback law? And is that right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I agree that a lot of the activists who have been promoting the Adult Survivors ActE. Jean Carroll, Evelyn Yangare privileged people. Theres a lot of privilege in having the time and the power to step forward and advocate publicly. Because a lot of people who are working, like, hourly jobs dont have the ability to take the day off work to go to a press conference. Those are the same people that could really, really benefit from this law. With the Weinstein case and stuff, we think of victims as being victims of powerful people, but there are going to be victims of sexual assaults by people of all classes and backgrounds and sexual identities. Black trans people are the most likely to be victims of sexual assault. And there are institutions that are protecting their abusers that need to be held liable too. Advertisement You said something interesting when you were interviewed by Mother Jones about this new law. You said litigation isnt for everyone because it can be so emotionally taxing and grueling, especially because it deals with someone who may have caused you intense trauma. Can you talk about what people who are considering filing lawsuits with you are considering when it comes to their own mental health and whether they actually are candidates to move forward in this way? Advertisement Litigation is really emotionally tumultuous. The big, fun, exciting day is when you file the lawsuit because thats when your story is the only one thats out there. And then very shortly after that comes the defense, where theyre going to pick your story apart. Anybody who comes to me with the goal of justice, I always say: I cannot promise justice. Advertisement So what do you promise instead? I can say we can sue for money. We can sue for that person to be held responsible. But this is not going to be a Pollyanna experience where at the end of it youre going to feel that justice was served in this simple way. Litigation is the greatest equalizer in our society when its working right, but it is a gladiator match. Both sides will experience pain during litigation. And any attorney that is taking these cases sure as heck better be explaining that to their clients. Advertisement When New York passed the Adult Survivors Act, Carrie Goldberg had some decisions to make: about how shed promote her law firm but also about how shed move forward herself. She was inspired to represent women dealing with sex crimes because of her own personal experienceswith both revenge porn and a brutal sexual assault. Now, she is one of her firms newest clients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is very, very weird. I filled out my intake form the way that clients do and then I was like, OK, when is somebody going to call me back? Whats going to happen? Can you briefly summarize what happened? Im not at a place where I can really talk about it comfortably. I matched with somebody on a dating app in 2012 and had a really horrific experience. In her book, Nobodys Victim, she tells this story. I think its important that I give you the broad outlines so you know about the kind of trauma Goldberg is wrestling with. She alleges that she went on a date with a man, and after he gave her something to drink, she began to feel out of it. He brought her to an apartment, where he didnt just have sex with her. He also poked her with needles. It was only when she got home that she realized hed sutured a swastika onto her body. Advertisement Its hard to talk about it. I can talk about my clients and what happened to them, and its a totally different emotional experience to talk about this. I get what our clients are going through because rapeits hard to put language to it. And its scary. The idea of suing is scary. Advertisement Listening to you, I get a sense of how hard it must be to file these lawsuits, and it just raises this question for me of who exactly is going to be held accountable using the Survivors Act. Not because its not a good idea, but because its so hard to get in the courtroom, retain counsel, sit for depositions, even if youre you, even if you do this day in and day out. Advertisement Advertisement You have to really want it. And the trauma itself can be the incentive. Caring trauma around with youI think of it as, like, this backpack thats always on your shoulders. You can still be a really functional person and a high achiever and be able to compartmentalize the traumatic thing that happened to you, but it also can be this little engine that has a life of its own and has been taking fuel from you. And these cases really are about taking that trauma out of the backpack, and flinging some of it back onto the perpetrator, and saying, like, I shouldnt have to be carrying this burden alone. Youre the one who did this to me. You didnt even know me. But you did this to me. You fucked up my life. And Ive been carrying that around. And now I want you to feel the hell and the fear of being held accountable and having a public lawsuit against you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It sounds like youre not saying that this new lookback window or filing a lawsuit is going to help people set down the backpack permanently in any way, though. Its just going to maybe make it a little less heavy. Hopefully. Yeah, I sue for a living, so when I talk about the pains and rigors of litigation, its important to also say that I believe in this system and I believe that offenders should have to pay and that victims should walk away with all of their moneyand with the pride of having taken it. I dont call it justice because the money is never enough. It never can take away what happened or stop the memory. Its always incomplete. But thats not to say that theres not something really important and fulfilling about coming forward and holding the other person accountable and showing to society that these are true harms, making a jury decide what value they have financially. Those are all super important things. The more cases that we have that proceed forward, the more we teach society that these are true harms that people have to pay a price if they dare commit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The person who youre considering suing, were they ever criminally charged for what happened between you? No. If they had been, would that have changed things about where you are now in some way? It would have. If he were in jail, it would actually be harder for me to sue him. And hed probably be judgment-proof. As a lawyer, do you see one punishment as more just than the other, or more effective? The criminal justice system is so discriminatory. Weve seen that so many predatorspowerful predatorsget really expensive legal representation and they can avoid criminal sentences. Historically, thats been the case, and the civil justice system punishes them in a different way. With a criminal justice system that is arbitrary and biased about what they will investigate and prosecute, theyre pretty avoidant when it comes to taking cases to trial, and so they will settle out plea agreements, especially with people who have good representation, for pretty low sentences, relatively. Advertisement Was that part of your calculus when you thought about what to do about this guy? No, I was not a victims rights lawyer at the time, and it never occurred to me at the time that he could be prosecuted. At the end of the day, victims dont get anything out of a criminal process. And its all about society punishing the criminal. And I wasnt willing to make that sacrifice for this person. And its not the right decision; its not the wrong decision. But it was mine, and I respect people that go through the criminal system. I think it is very courageous and brave. And I also respect people that dont want to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How will you know if youre ready to file a lawsuit? Advertisement I dont I mean, the one-year timeframe certainly gives me a kick in the pants to make the decision. And, also, just because we have the ability to sue doesnt mean we have to take it. A lot of clients might decide that they want to send a pre-litigation demand, give the person the opportunity to make things right prior to a lawsuit. Thats a viable path as well. Right now Im in that phase where Ive committed to having a lawyer, having that lawyer reach out to my offender, and see what happens next. Do you think theyre going to be surprised to hear from your attorney? I have no idea. I dont know if this person knows I exist. I mean he did that night. But I dont have any idea. I dont know that he knows that Ive gone on to start a victims rights law firm. When he hears from my attorney, he might find this podcast and learn a little more about the impact. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. Has anyone ever said to you, because I could hear someone saying this, its not fair to sue someone if you havent taken the criminal path? I hear what youre saying, and no one has ever said that to me. If we had a criminal justice system that treated victims with kindness, then I think I would entertain that perspective a little bit more. But we have a criminal justice system where the majority of sexual assaults that are reported are never prosecuted. And so, I know that the system is really demoralizing and adds trauma to trauma. I dont think we can ever begrudge somebody from deciding not to enter into that arena. Yeah. And just because youre the victim of a crime doesnt mean you owe society that much more of yourself. Youve already paid through what happened to you. That wasnt your choice. I reject that kind of judgmental perspective. And I really stand by the idea that wrongdoers have to pay and that in our society, moneys how they do it. With Chief Judge Janet DiFiores August resignation from the New York Court of Appeals, Gov. Kathy Hochul had an opportunity to align the states highest court with the values of a majority of New Yorkers. She could have rebalanced the court to better reflect a range of professional experience across the legal profession. Instead, Hochul nominated Justice Hector LaSalle, a judge more in line with the conservative U.S. Supreme Court than with the people of this solidly blue state who value individual liberties and legal protections for all residents. As public interest law students in New York, we hope the state Senate rejects this conservative nominee in favor of a judge with a record of defending the rights of the powerless rather than protecting the privileges of the powerful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As legal advocacy groups, unions, reproductive justice organizations, and others have pointed out, LaSalle has authored or joined a number of alarming decisions during his time serving on the Second Judicial Department of the Appellate Division, the intermediate appellate court covering ten downstate counties, including Brooklyn and Queens. His decisions include the Cablevision ruling, which opened up organizers to liability for protected union activities, and the Evergreen ruling, which hamstrung the state attorney generals investigation into anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centersorganizations that mislead pregnant people about their options and act as fronts for forced birth advocacy. As Hochul acknowledged during her recent campaign, abortion and labor rights are issues that clear majorities of New Yorkers strongly support, and LaSalle cannot be trusted to act in our interest in these cases. Advertisement Beyond serious issues with LaSalles opinions, his nomination also perpetuates a serious lack of professional diversity on New Yorks highest court. Prosecutors and corporate attorneys are severely overrepresented among judges generally, and the Court of Appeals is no exception. Half of the current members of the Court of Appeals are former prosecutors, despite prosecutors making up only about 14 percent of attorneys in the U.S. As both a former prosecutor and corporate attorney, LaSalle would further this imbalance. Excluding diverse perspectives from the court has major real-world impacts. Stacking the courts with prosecutors and corporate lawyers pushes students away from careers in public defense, legal aid, and legal services for the indigent. High salaries and a clear path to the bench for prosecutors and corporate lawyers already make these careers attractive. As students, we see the prestige afforded to corporate lawyers and prosecutors and the heightened scrutiny that public interest lawyers receive in judicial confirmations; they are often accused of bias merely for doing constitutionally required jobs. We are constantly thinking about how we will be able to pay student loans and afford rising costs of living in public interest careers. Routinely, we see our peers switch away from public interest careers and 71 percent make the switch because of student debt. Despite the urgent need for public interest lawyers, superior prospects push students into careers where they will learn to advocate for the interests of the wealthy and powerful, no matter how abhorrent those interests are. After dissuading students from public interest careers, the judicial bias for prosecutors and corporate lawyers then fast-tracks these acquired viewpoints to the bench. This lack of professional diversity deprives the court of crucial perspectives from fields that expose lawyers to how the law impacts ordinary people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Including these perspectives on the court is more than a simple box-checking exercise; their exclusion has major real-world impacts. Empirically, studies have shown that judges who are former prosecutors and corporate attorneys impose harsher criminal sentences and side with employers in discrimination suits more often than other judges. One study found that trials before former prosecutors were more likely to end in conviction and that, on average, former prosecutors sentenced convicted defendants to sixteen more months in prison than former public defenders did. In another study of grants of motions for summary judgment, which are purely matters of law, prosecutors were 56 percent less likely to find for workers over employers in employment disputes than non-prosecutors were. Advertisement Anecdotally, judges themselves have acknowledged the impact that judges of professionally diverse backgrounds have on their deliberations; U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote that Justice Thurgood Marshalls experience as a civil rights attorney gave him first-hand knowledge of the laws failure to fulfill its promised protections and that this perspective influenced Brennans own thinking. Hochuls nominations have been conservative even when compared to mainstream Democrats. In his nominations, President Joe Biden has emphasized both racial and gender diversity as well as professional diversity: Over half of his nominees thus far have been attorneys working across public interest areas such as public defense, civil rights, consumer protection, labor, and more. For example, Bidens New York federal district court nominees have included Natasha Merle from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Jessica Clarke from the New York Attorney Generals civil rights bureau, Nina Morrison from the Innocence Project, and Dale Ho from the ACLU. Rather than working towards similar progress in New York State, the governor has simply elevated another former prosecutor. Advertisement As law students pursuing careers representing individuals against the powerful, we want to see a chief judge who has a track record of protecting ordinary peoples rights and decides cases without corporate and prosecutorial professional bias. What we have seen from LaSalles record, much like the conservative court under DiFiore, is someone who is more interested in protecting the interests of the wealthy and powerful than in ensuring that true justice is served in this state. The legal profession has a long way to go before public interest lawyers are properly represented in the judiciary. The New York Senate can take one important step in the right direction by rejecting Hochuls nominee. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/a-serious-situation-dallas-zoo-closes-doors-after-clouded-leopard-escapes-enclosure-1106300211.html A Serious Situation: Dallas Zoo Temporarily Shutters After Clouded Leopard Escapes Enclosure A Serious Situation: Dallas Zoo Temporarily Shutters After Clouded Leopard Escapes Enclosure In South Africa in September, a host of wild animals escaped from their enclosures, including wild dogs, rhinoceroses, lions, and elephants, running rampant in... 13.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-13T22:34+0000 2023-01-13T22:34+0000 2023-01-14T01:47+0000 viral zoo dallas us escape wild animals leopard /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0d/1106300064_0:103:2000:1228_1920x0_80_0_0_c872a5e6542c00ab1f817b12b735f1ae.jpg The Dallas Zoo in Texas tweeted on Friday that it was closing due to a serious situation," which turned out to be about a missing clouded leopard. Luckily, the wild cat was located just before 5 p.m. local time.Local media later added that the search included the use of infrared-detecting drones, which were peering into the treetops from above.Harrison Edell, the zoos vice president of animal care and conservation, told local media the missing cats name was Nova, and that her sister, Luna, was still in their shared habitat. She is presumed to have escaped through a tear in the mesh around their enclosure.He added that, as Nova is very attached to both her territory and to her sister, she was not likely to wander very far.However, by the afternoon rolled around, officials revealed that Nova was found on the Zoo grounds at approximately 4:40 p.m., with official safely securing her 35 minutes later.Native to China and Southeast Asia, the clouded leopard is smaller than its great cat cousins, standing less than two feet tall and weighing no more than 50 pounds. They are agile climbers and skilled hunters, preying on small mammals up to the size of small deer species. Due to deforestation and poaching, their numbers have dwindled to roughly 10,000, and conservationists consider the species threatened.Local news also recalled the Dallas Zoo has suffered several previous animal escapes, all of which involved various species of monkey or ape. One incident in 2004 saw Jabari, a western lowland gorilla, rampage through the zoo for 40 minutes, injuring three people before being taken down by DPD officers. The injured visitors received $500,000 settlements with the city government in response to a lawsuit for their injuries. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Fantine Gardinier Fantine Gardinier 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 Fantine Gardinier zoo, dallas, us, escape, wild animals, leopard https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/finnish-parliament-speaker-cancels-visit-to-turkey-after-ankara-disinvites-swedish-rep-1106301098.html Finnish Parliament Speaker Cancels Visit to Turkey After Ankara Disinvites Swedish Rep Finnish Parliament Speaker Cancels Visit to Turkey After Ankara Disinvites Swedish Rep HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Finland's parliamentary speaker Matti Vanhanen on Friday called off his planned trip to Ankara after Turkey canceled the invitation to his... 13.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-13T23:24+0000 2023-01-13T23:24+0000 2023-01-13T23:19+0000 world finland sweden turkiye effigy recep tayyip erdogan stockholm protest /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/102694/02/1026940240_0:40:1024:616_1920x0_80_0_0_4fb7d063c0effa76e8c22e5ba12ca529.jpg Mustafa Sentop, the speaker of the Turkish parliament, said earlier in the day that his Swedish counterpart, Andreas Norlen, was no longer welcome after the Rojava Committee of Sweden hung an effigy made in the likeness of the Turkish president from a lamp pole during a protest outside Stockholm City Hall. Later in the day, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom expressed regret over Ankara's decision to ban the visit of the Swedish parliament speaker to Turkey due to the PKK demonstration. Earlier in the week, supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), labeled as terrorist by Ankara, held a demonstration against the Turkish government in Stockholm. The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara in protest of the rally. In addition, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case. The Turkish parliament is yet to ratify the Nordic countries' joint bid to become NATO members. Turkey has demanded that the two crack down on Kurdish activists, whom it sees as terrorists for supporting the PKK. finland sweden turkiye stockholm Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 finland, sweden, turkiye, effigy, recep tayyip erdogan, stockholm, protest https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/anti-government-protest-takes-place-in-tel-aviv-1106306126.html Anti-Government Protest Takes Place in Tel Aviv Anti-Government Protest Takes Place in Tel Aviv Earlier this month, over 10,000 people took part in a similar protest in the city's Habima Square. 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T17:03+0000 2023-01-14T17:03+0000 2023-01-15T17:27+0000 world protest reform israel /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106306598_0:147:3073:1875_1920x0_80_0_0_1472eb70e07ded7cf06b720ad3e4a35f.jpg Sputnik brings you a live broadcast from Israel's Tel Aviv, where hundreds of people have gathered for an anti-government protest on Saturday, January 14. Today's event will reportedly see lawyers protesting against judicial reforms which were announced in early January by new Justice Minister Yariv Levin. The reforms are aimed at limiting the authority of the High Court of Justice and increasing lawmakers' powers over the court. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was sworn in before parliament in late December after being reelected for a third term, the planned reforms would give "the right balance between the three branches" of government - the legislative, executive, and judiciary.*Follow Sputnik's live broadcast to find out more. israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 LIVE: Anti-Government Protest Takes Place in Tel Aviv LIVE: Anti-Government Protest Takes Place in Tel Aviv 2023-01-14T17:03+0000 true PT86M30S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International protest, reform, , israel https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/brazilian-supreme-court-greenlights-probe-into-bolsonaro-over-nations-jan-8-capital-riot-1106303259.html Brazilian Supreme Court Greenlights Probe Into Bolsonaro Over Nation's Jan 8 Capital Riot Brazilian Supreme Court Greenlights Probe Into Bolsonaro Over Nation's Jan 8 Capital Riot Brazils Supreme Court agreed on Friday to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in an investigation into the incitement of the January 8 riot that saw demonstrators temporarily break into various government buildings. 2023-01-14T04:20+0000 2023-01-14T04:20+0000 2023-01-14T04:17+0000 jair bolsonaro brazil brazil protest americas /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/09/1106178022_0:0:2915:1640_1920x0_80_0_0_94324887865d3c6baea815fae2225841.jpg Brazils Supreme Court agreed on Friday to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in an investigation into the incitement of the January 8 riot that saw demonstrators temporarily break into various government buildings in the nation's capital.The Attorney Generals Office of Brazil requested the Supreme Court investigate the former president in an investigation that looks at the instigation and intellectual authorship of anti-democratic acts that resulted in episodes of vandalism and violence in Brasilia last Sunday, according to a statement from the AGs office on Friday.The probe into Bolsonaro is one of seven by the court that is related to the attack.Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the AGs office, which cited evidence of a video that Bolsonaro posted to Facebook just two days after the riot in Brasilia. In the video, an attorney in Mato Grosso allegedly called into question the legitimacy of the presidential election that Bolsonaro lost to now-President Lula da Silva in October. The video reportedly claimed Silva was not voted into office via a democratic election, but was instead chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazils electoral offices.The former presidents Facebook video was apparently deleted the morning after it had been posted. Prosecutors have argued that while the video was posted after the riot already took place, it was sufficient evidence to investigate his role in the riots before they unfolded, adding that the video has the power to incite new acts of civil insurgency. Prosecutors further noted the video could indict Bolsonaro of a crime on incitement which is punishable by three to six months in jail, or a fine.In his decision, de Moraes also called for a hearing to investigate political communication on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.One of the officials being investigated includes Bolsonaro's former Justice Minister Anderson Torres, who was ordered to be arrested by de Moraes for his neglect and collusion, including firing subordinates and fleeing to the US before the riot. De Moraes indicated in his decision that this opened the doors for a riot. Torres has denied any wrongdoing, however, he has yet to comply with the investigation, which discovered a draft decree in his home that outlined seizing control of Brazils electoral authority and possibly overturning the election.Frederick Wassef, a lawyer representing Bolsonaro, said his client has never had any relation or participation in the January 8 riots in Brasilia.Bolsonaro did, however, fail to show a supporting attitude towards his opponent in the run-up to the October 30 election. The former president refused to concede the election to his leftist rival two days after he had lost by a thin margin, though he did authorize the governments transition. He then thanked his supporters at the speech and said he supported their protests as long as they did not become violent. He also refused to attend the ceremony in which Lula was to be sworn in as president on January 1.Brazils swearing-in ceremony is highly symbolic as the outgoing president typically hands their green-and-yellow presidential sash to their successor. Like former US President Donald Trump, whose own supporters stormed the US Capitol building on January 6,2021, Bolsonaro did not attend his successors swearing-in ceremony. In fact, rather than attending the ceremony, Bolsonaro fled to a resort in Florida, where he was greeted by his supporters. He has remained in the Orlando suburb despite some lawmakers urging US President Joe Biden to cancel his visa.Thus far, over 1,000 people have been arrested in connection to the riot at Brazils Congress. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/brazils-police-say-over-1800-participants-of-anti-government-protests-detained-1106242548.html brazil americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.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 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg jair bolsonaro, brazil, january 8, riot, brasilia https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/car-delegation-led-by-prime-minister-headed-for-russia--russian-embassy-1106317945.html CAR Delegation Led by Prime Minister Headed for Russia Russian Embassy CAR Delegation Led by Prime Minister Headed for Russia Russian Embassy A delegation of the Central African Republic (CAR) led by Prime Minister Felix Moloua has departed for Russia for a working visit to Saint Petersburg, the Russian embassy in Bangui said on Saturday. 2023-01-14T12:44+0000 2023-01-14T12:44+0000 2023-01-14T12:51+0000 africa central africa central african republic russia visit spief st. petersburg international economic forum (spief) 2017 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0a/07/1101622483_0:79:1499:922_1920x0_80_0_0_eee408d40e6c91460d25d6b8afe3842f.jpg Russia's diplomatic mission added that Russian Ambassador to CAR Alexander Bikantov had accompanied Molua at the Bangui airport ahead of the trip.According to the embassy, the visit will last approximately a week, the program is being worked out. The goal of the visit, as declared by the Russian mission, is to "synchronize watches" with Russian officials in continuation of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).SPIEF is an annual international business meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The 2022 forum took place on June 1518. africa central africa central african republic russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 russia car, felix moloua russia, spief car, russian embassy car, car prime minister https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/china-asks-us-japan-not-to-turn-asia-pacific-region-into-wrestling-ring-1106314070.html China Asks US, Japan Not to Turn Asia-Pacific Region Into Wrestling Ring China Asks US, Japan Not to Turn Asia-Pacific Region Into Wrestling Ring Tokyo announced plans to double defense spending last month. Japanese officials justified the spending by citing alleged regional threats posed by China and North Korea. 2023-01-14T11:13+0000 2023-01-14T11:13+0000 2023-04-06T12:15+0000 asia-pacific region china us tensions military buildup order unipolar world order military japan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103054/28/1030542833_0:89:2700:1608_1920x0_80_0_0_1286a5c9f93bd947d40c57a59c4e18d1.jpg Chinas Foreign Ministry raked Washington and Tokyo over the coals on Friday amid the prospects of the further militarization of East Asia, calling on both nations to avoid a making an imaginary enemy out of Beijing and turning the region into a wrestling ring.The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a regular press briefing. Countries in the region are for justice and against hegemonism. They hope to engage in cooperation, not confrontation. They aspire for true multilateralism and reject small circles that incite bloc confrontation, the spokesman added.Wang called on China and Japan to abandon their Cold War mentality and ideological bias against China, stop creating imaginary enemies and stop trying to sow the seeds of a new Cold War in the Asia-Pacific, and not become disrupters of a stable Asia-Pacific.Wang also dismissed the contents of a January 11 joint statement by the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee in Washington following meetings of the two countries foreign and defense ministers, which outlined Chinas purported attempts to reshape the international order and unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea as cause for concern.The wording on China in this joint statement smacks heavily of a zero-sum Cold War mentality and contains groundless smears and attacks on China, Wang said. The US and Japan claim to advance regional peace and security, but engage in finding pretexts for a military build-up and the willful use of force. They claim to champion a free and open Indo-Pacific, but put up various exclusionary blocs to create division and confrontation. They claim to uphold the rules-based international order, but trample on international law and the basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfere in other countries internal affairs, the spokesman said.Wangs remarks come against the backdrop of Japans plans to more than double defense spending over the next five years and become the worlds third-largest military spender after the US and China.Beijing has also repeatedly expressed concerns about US policies in the Asian nations backyard over recent months, citing Washingtons provocative and escalatory steps in Taiwan, continued freedom of navigation missions in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea, and efforts by the Pentagon to find allies willing to host a new generation of US ground-based nuclear-capable missile systems near China.In a debate at the United Nations Security Council on the international rule of law on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun slammed US rhetoric on the so-called rules-based international order, saying Beijing has yet to receive a clear answer regarding what kind of rules this so-called order and who creates these rules.Zhang expressed suspicion about the motives of countries chanting the rules-based mantra at every opportunity, suggesting that their true purpose was to create an alternative to the existing system of international law, to impose their own standards and will on others by putting their own narrow interests at the center of the universe, and to open the back door to double standards and exceptionalism.At the debate, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused China and Russia of blocking efforts to condemn North Koreas possible preparations for a new nuclear test, and vowed that Washington would continue the advance the rule of law both at home and abroad.The statement made by the US representative earlier today further convinces us that our suspicion is fully justified. If we let this dangerous trend go unchecked, our world will regress into the age when the law of the jungle and power politics ruled the day, Zhang said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/us-japan-military-buildup-in-asia-pacific-shatters-regional-stability-scholars-warn-1106260516.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221230/watch-chinese-fighter-jet-intercepts-us-surveillance-aircraft-over-south-china-sea-1105902174.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230102/us-south-korea-mull-holding-joint-nuclear-war-games-amid-tensions-with-pyongyang-1105995022.html china japan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov 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 Ilya Tsukanov us, china, japan, asia-pacific, asia-pacific region, wrestling ring, international order, rules-based order, debate, criticism FILE - A makeshift memorial to Liberty German and Abigail Williams near where they were last seen and where the bodies were discovered stands along the Monon Trail leading to the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Ind., Oct. 31, 2022. Jury members for a high-profile trial of Richard Matthew Allen,, accused of killing two teenage girls nearly six years ago will be selected from outside the county the crime took place in, a judge said Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Allen, who was present at Fridays hearing, was charged in October 2022 with two counts of murder in the slayings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) (Michael Conroy/AP) DELPHI, Ind. Jurors at the trial of an Indiana man accused of killing two teenage girls nearly six years ago will be selected from outside the county where the crime took place, a judge said Friday. Allen County Judge Fran Gull said in court that attorneys for Richard Matthew Allen, 50, of Delphi and the county prosecutor must decide within a week from which county that jury should come. Advertisement Allen, who was at the hearing, was charged in October with two counts of murder in the slayings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. However, Gull assigned to the case after the original judge recused himself said the trial will remain in Carroll County, where Delphi is located, because friends and family members of both parties are situated in the city, which is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. Advertisement Allens attorneys in November requested the trial location be changed, arguing it would be difficult to form an impartial jury in Carroll County because of intense public scrutiny and media attention surrounding the case. Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland agreed with this evaluation on Friday. A gag order in the case has also been in effect since December. On Feb. 13, 2017, the girls, known as Libby and Abby, went hiking on a trail near the Monon High Bridge, just outside of the girls hometown of Delphi. The next day, their bodies were found in a rugged area near the trail. An unspent bullet found between the girls bodies had been cycled through a pistol owned by Allen, according to redacted court documents released in November. Allens bail hearing will take place Feb. 17, where discussions for a new trial date scheduled for March will take place, Gull said. Arleigh Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/eac-single-currency-can-be-achieved-in-three-or-four-years---secretary-general-1106313207.html EAC Single Currency Can be Achieved in Three or Four Years - Secretary General EAC Single Currency Can be Achieved in Three or Four Years - Secretary General A single currency of the East African Community (EAC) can be achieved within the next three or four years, Peter Mathuki, the blocs Secretary-General, has reportedly said. 2023-01-14T11:59+0000 2023-01-14T11:59+0000 2023-01-14T12:00+0000 africa east africa somalia democratic republic of the congo tanzania kenya burundi south sudan uganda economy /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106312214_0:1082:2049:2234_1920x0_80_0_0_ad77d65d12709b8042eee89d7fafea9c.jpg A single currency for the East African Community (EAC) can be achieved within the next three or four years, Peter Mathuki, the blocs secretary general, has reportedly said.The initial deadline for the project was 2024, but a technical working group later said that it should be moved to 2031. According to the secretary general's latest statements, the plan could be implemented sooner than expected.The Common Market Protocol has been in force since 2010 with the goal of creation of the common currency, and, in eventually, a full political federation.Mathuki also stressed the positive trends in the development of intra-bloc trade, noting that the value of trade between member states reached $9.5 billion in 2022, compared to the 2019 figure of $7.1 billion.It has also been reported that the EAC is sending a delegation to Somalia in connection with the countrys intention to join the bloc. Representatives of the Horn of Africa nation applied for Somalia's membership in the community in March 2012.According to Mathuki, Somalia's entry to the organization could be of great value for the EAC.East African nations have a long history of close cooperation. One of the successive regional organizations, the EAC was created in 1967 and was active before its dissolution in 1977. The bloc was reestablished in 2000, currently consisting of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. Since 2008, the bloc has been part of a common free trade area with the Southern African Development Community and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221230/development-innovation--economy-how-far-has-africa-progressed-in-2022---1105888945.html africa east africa somalia democratic republic of the congo tanzania kenya burundi south sudan uganda Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Petr Baryshnikov Petr Baryshnikov 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 Petr Baryshnikov eac single currency, eac common currency, eac federation, eac secretary-general, eac secretary general, eac somalia https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/five-more-pages-of-classified-docs-found-at-bidens-delaware-home-1106325408.html Five More Pages of Classified Docs Found at Biden's Delaware Home Five More Pages of Classified Docs Found at Biden's Delaware Home The White House is facing mounting pressure from Congressional investigators amid the discovery of several batches of classified documents at a DC area think... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T17:23+0000 2023-01-14T17:23+0000 2023-01-14T18:34+0000 joe biden americas documents biden classified files papers top-secret /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106304401_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_0d0e947cf7e473fac7b9554cf4164c0b.jpg Joe Biden's lawyers have discovered five additional pages marked classified, presidential counsel Richard Sauber has announced."Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department. While I was transferring it to the [Department of Justice] officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classifications markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DoJ officials with me immediately took possession of them," Sauber said in a statement Saturday morning. The attorney reiterated that the president's lawyers had "followed a process" of coordinating with the Archives Administration and the DoJ in their review of documents at the Penn Biden Center and President Biden's Delaware homes, and established a special procedure in combing the properties."The president's personal attorneys conducting the searches do not have active security clearances, so if they identified a document with a classified marking, they stopped and did not review it, and suspended any further search in that box, file or other specific space where the document was found, as appropriate. Since the DoJ made contact with the president's personal attorneys, the next step in the process was to notify DoJ and to arrange for DoJ to take possession of the document. This is what occurred in Wilmington on Wednesday when the president's attorneys discovered one document with a classified marking consisting of one page in a room adjacent to the garage. At that point, the president's personal attorneys stopped searching the immediate area where the document was found," Sauber said.Sauber indicated that any further questions on the documents will be referred by his office to the Special Counsel's office, and promised that the White House would continue to cooperate with the Special Counsel moving forward.President Biden confirmed to reporters Thursday that classified documents from his days as Barack Obama's vice president had been found in filing cabinets, a private library and a locked garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home. That's in addition to papers discovered in early November, but not reported on until last Monday, at the Penn Biden Center, a Washington-based think tank affiliated with the president. The files found at the think tank reportedly include intelligence reports relating to Ukraine, Iran and the UK, and are dated between 2013 and 2016.The Justice Department named seasoned trial lawyer and former DoJ official Robert Hur as special counsel in the Biden document case, with Hur taking over the probe from John Lausch.Prior to the discovery of the five additional pages, the total cache of documents marked classified and discovered at Biden haunts numbered about 20, with some labeled "top secret."Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican Congressmen recently appointed chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has promised to get to the bottom of the president's alleged "mishandling" of the classified information, to watch over the DoJ's investigation, and figure out whether the department put its thumb on the scale for Biden by sitting on the classified documents until after the November midterms.The House Oversight Committee has launched a separate probe, with Committee chairman James Comer expressing concerns that President Biden may have "compromised (intelligence) sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents."The brewing scandal over the documents, which comes as Washington continues to reel from allegations that US intelligence ordered social media giant Twitter to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election, has given ample ammunition to the president's detractors from both the left and right, with former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden issuing a series of viral, sarcasm-laden tweets slamming Biden for his alleged indiscretion.Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump, who faced months of attacks and threats of prosecution over his own scandal involving classified documents stashed away at his Florida estate, lashed out at US intelligence after the Biden scandal broke, asking whether the FBI was going to "raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House," as it had his Mar-a-Lago estate last August.Liberal-leaning media have rushed to emphasize that the Biden and Trump classified documents scandal are not the same. Meanwhile, at least one Democratic Congressman has suggested the files found in Biden's home may have been planted by Republicans."Alleged classified documents showing up allegedly in the possession of Joseph Biden...I'm suspicious of the timing of it," Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia told media on Thursday. "I'm also aware of the fact that things can be planted on people...things can be planted in places and then discovered conveniently. That may be what has occurred here. I'm not ruling that out," Johnson said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/just-biden-his-time-1106266400.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/who-is-special-counsel-robert-hur-leading-probe-into-bidens-handling-of-classified-docs-1106271769.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov 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 Ilya Tsukanov joe biden, documents, biden classified files, papers, top-secret https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/frances-10-year-war-in-sahel-colonialism-legacy-regime-changes--control-over-uranium-1106311201.html France's 10-Year War in Sahel: Colonialism Legacy, Regime Changes & Control Over Uranium France's 10-Year War in Sahel: Colonialism Legacy, Regime Changes & Control Over Uranium On January 11, 2013 Paris' Operation Serval kicked off in Mali, opening the door to the broader military Operation Barkhane in the Sahel. 10 years later... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T09:34+0000 2023-01-14T09:34+0000 2023-01-14T09:34+0000 africa opinion france mali niger uranium areva russia french army ibrahim boubacar keita /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/0f/1104184076_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_e12adcf04b4f7aa670cc856a25f80550.jpg "The French explain their withdrawal from the Sahel by the fact that they were supposedly forced out by the Russians. This is not true, they left on their own," Galina Sidorova, doctor of political sciences (Ph.D., Dr. habil.), professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Relations, professor at the Moscow State Linguistic University, and scientific associate of the Institute for African Studies, Moscow, told Sputnik.The French government decided to withdraw its troops from Mali in June 2021 and completed the pull-out in August 2022. Prior to that, Paris relations with Bamako had substantially deteriorated following the deposing of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita by the Malian Armed Forces on August 18, 2020 and his subsequent official resignation the following day."Keita was absolutely a puppet, absolutely dependent on the Elysee Palace, and corrupt," historian Dr. Vasily Filippov, lead researcher at the Center for Tropical African Studies at the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik. "Accordingly, all this led to the complete degradation of the [Malian] political system. There was nepotism and corruption from bottom to top. As a result, senior officers of the Malian Army came up with the idea: 'Do we need such a president?' Eventually, he was ousted."According to Filippov, the removal of Keita was relatively bloodless and was followed by two coups greeted with enthusiasm by the citizens of Mali, who took to the streets waving Russian flags and carrying photographs of Russian President Vladimir Putin.It appears that the French failed to find common ground with interim President Assimi Goita, who took power on May 24, 2021. In June 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the termination of the nation's counter-terror activities in the Sahel and the 5,000-strong military contingent's pullout.In September 2021, Bamako reportedly requested assistance from Russian private military contractors, while in December 2021, Russian private military company (PMC) the Wagner Group arrived in Mali to boost security in the war-torn country.An April 2022 survey, conducted by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German political foundation, indicated that 93.5% of Malians are aware of Russian military instructors' presence in the country, with over nine out of ten respondents (92%) believing the Russians will help Mali regain its territorial integrity. At the same time, the poll demonstrated that 73% of Malians are dissatisfied with France's counter-terrorist activities, which failed to protect locals from violence and stabilize the situation.Even though France officially wrapped up its Sahel mission in November 2022, Paris is apparently trying to keep control of the situation on the ground. In August 2022, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused France of supporting terrorist groups inside the African country in a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a copy of which was obtained by Sputnik. Diop noted that since the beginning of 2022, French aircraft have illegally crossed Malian airspace more than 50 times "to collect intelligence for the benefit of terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition on them."Operations Serval & BarkhaneOperation Serval was launched in January 2013 to thwart the advance of Tuareg separatists and Islamic fundamentalists. After the liberation of cities in northern Mali, the operation stalled as Tuareg nomads dispersed across the desert and the mountains of the Sahel and became inaccessible to massive strikes.Operation Barkhane, which started in August 2014 and expanded the French presence to approximately 5,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania, was not much different from Operation Serval, according to Sidorova.It turned out that the objectives of the French and Malians did not actually coincide, the professor pointed out. The Malians were interested in stabilization within the country, especially in the Saharan zone, and the reduction of pressure from the Tuareg tribes, while the French were more interested in the 'display of the flag,'" according to her. The French military was not active in conducting counter-terrorism operations, which triggered serious disagreements between the Malians and the French."Until now, the state is split, in fact, into two parts," noted Filippov, arguing that the French failed to reach their declared objectives. "Tuareg separatists control most of the northern territories. As for the fight against the Islamists, the situation here is completely disastrous, because the terrorist activity of the Islamists in the northern territories (...) is growing and, most likely, will continue to grow."In fact, by kicking off Operation Serval and later Operation Barkhane, France sought to reach its own geopolitical and economic goals, according to the academics.The timing of the French operations is by no means coincidental, Dr. Vasily Filippov remarked. Prior to the military campaign, Mali's democratically-elected President Amadou Toumani Toure started to expand cooperation with the People's Republic of China. For its part, Beijing was interested in the Mali area of the Sahel due to the rich uranium deposits in the north of the country. The growing sympathy of Toure towards China prompted the French security forces to step in and arrange a coup d'etat in March 2012.The ouster of the Malian president coincided with an increase in attacks by Tuaregs and Islamist guerillas reinvigorated by the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya and the eventual collapse of the North African state.Interim Malian President Dioncounda Traore, who governed the country from April 2012 to September 2013, announced a general mobilization. According to Sidorova, the Elysee Palace obviously pulled Traore's strings. In January 2013, he sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Francois Hollande, asking for immediate military assistance to Mali. The very next day, the French operation kicked off, she noted.Likewise, Traore's successor and another Elysee Palace protege, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, gave the greenlight to Operation Barkhane and the continuous presence of the French in the Sahel, which allowed the latter to maintain control over Mali's mineral wealth, according to the academics.Sahel's Uranium WealthAccording to some estimates, Mali's uranium deposits could reach 100,000 tons of U3O8, with the average uranium content in the ore at 0.085%. To the east of Mali lie Niger's uranium fields, which have long been exploited by Areva (now Orano), a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power.Filippov earlier quoted the press suggesting that the northeastern region of Mali and the adjacent Nigerien territories, which are both controlled by the Tuaregs, could be areas of illegal uranium mining.The world uranium market was long under the political control of France, which did not allow others to use the uranium deposits of Africa, remarked Sidorova.Currently, Areva (Orano) extracts around 3,000 tons of uranium per year in Niger. This uranium provides a third of the annual needs of French nuclear power plants, according to Filippov. Coupled with the Malian uranium reserves, these resources could solve France's energy dilemma for decades to come. France is one of the most nuclear-powered countries in the world; it derives over 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy with its fleet of 56 nuclear reactors. "Under the conditions of the ongoing horrible energy crisis, [uranium deposits] are of great importance for the French," the professor noted.However, now the French have to leave the Sahel, being seen not as allies, but as a hostile force by the region's African nations, according to the academics. France's military withdrawal from Mali was accompanied by anti-French protests in Niger and Burkina Faso. It appears that the entire Sahel region is turning its back on the former colonizers.Who Will Help Sahel Gain Stability?Whats next? According to Filippov, it's unlikely that the French will regain control of the Sahel anytime soon in the aftermath of their military and political failures. The academic does not rule out that China and Russia will eventually replace the French in the region.At the same time, he expects that the US will try to undermine Moscow and Beijing's positions in Africa and attempt to fill France's shoes in the Sahel.For her part, Sidorova forecast that Russia has good prospects in the region and the continent in general. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220817/mali-accuses-france-of-supporting-terrorists-on-its-soil-in-letter-to-un-security-council-1099706363.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20211227/france-pisses-us-off-malians-hail-russian-advisers-arrival-as-paris-quits-anti-terror-war-1091846701.html africa france mali niger russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 operation serval, operation barkhane, who are tuaregs, nato invasion of libya, destabilization of northern africa, french intervention in mali summary, french military operations in africa, french troops in niger, russian pmc wagner group, france's areva corporation, nigerien uranium mines, mali's uranium deposits https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/french--german-fms-welcome-good-progress-under-peace-deal-in-ethiopia-1106318372.html French & German FMs Welcome 'Good Progress' Under Peace Deal in Ethiopia French & German FMs Welcome 'Good Progress' Under Peace Deal in Ethiopia French and German foreign ministers have praised the implementation of the peace agreement in Tigray, speaking at a press conference during their joint visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital. 2023-01-14T14:44+0000 2023-01-14T14:44+0000 2023-01-14T14:44+0000 africa east africa horn of africa ethiopia tplf (tigray people's liberation front) tigray forces peace deal european union (eu) france germany /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106315462_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_023897a4dfe4f51f753b9d5d2443a9f3.jpg The French and German foreign ministers have praised the implementation of the peace agreement in Tigray, speaking at a press conference during their joint visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock arrived in Addis Ababa on Thursday to show their support for the peace process in the region and enhance relations between the EU and the African Union. This is the first time since the peace deal that EU foreign ministers visit Ethiopia.During their two-day visit, the senior European diplomats met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and held meetings with other Ethiopian ministers, as well as AU officials.At the press conference, they commended the "good progress" in the implementation of the peace agreement, saying that Europe encourages it to continue, as it has already resulted in the resumption of supply of humanitarian aid to the Tigray region, and the rebels surrendering their heavy weapons. Their trip to Ethiopia took place shortly a day after the forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the town of Agulae, around 30 kilometers northeast of Tigray's regional capital Mekelle, began handing over their heavy weaponry as part of the peace deal. The ministers also called for accountability for the widespread abuses that took place during the conflict, saying it is the main condition for the EU to normalize relations with Ethiopia. They asked to establish a transitional justice mechanism to investigate the abuses and punish all those involved. During the trip, Colonna and Baerbock visited the World Food Program's distribution center in Adama, located 99 km southeast of the capital, which holds 50,000 tons of recently shipped wheat. The grain is expected to be distributed to the regions that were affected by the conflict the most, where a humanitarian crisis occurred, with people suffering from food shortages due to the disruption in aid supplies. Speaking about relations between Europe and African nations in general, the ministers highlighted that their countries fully support the suggestion to provide Africa with "two permanent seats in the security council" of the United Nations. They elaborated that it will enhance the continent's bilateral ties with other regions, and in particular with European countries, on security issues. The conflict between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF started in November 2020, when it began an uprising in the Tigray region, rejecting the federal government's policies. It resulted in numerous human losses, with people being forced to leave their homes, and caused a severe humanitarian crisis as people in the affected areas faced extreme poverty, starvation, and deadly disease.The peace agreement signed in November, which provided for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Tigray, eased the path for humanitarian aid and allowed for the gradual return of public services, including banking, communications, electricity, and fuel. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230111/heavy-weapons-handover-begins-in-ethiopias-tigray-as-part-of-au-led-peace-process-1106215294.html africa east africa horn of africa ethiopia france germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Maria Konokhova Maria Konokhova 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 Maria Konokhova european union, france, germany, ethiopia, tigray, addis ababa, ethiopias capital, african union, peace deal https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/greek-prime-minister-doubts-possibility-of-armed-conflict-with-turkey-1106320392.html Greek Prime Minister Doubts Possibility of Armed Conflict With Turkey Greek Prime Minister Doubts Possibility of Armed Conflict With Turkey Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not believe a "worst-case scenario" of armed conflict will happen in the Greece-Turkey relations, he said on Saturday following controversial statements made by the Turkish leadership. 2023-01-14T13:37+0000 2023-01-14T13:37+0000 2023-01-14T13:38+0000 world turkiye greece conflict /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/06/17/1083225956_28:0:894:487_1920x0_80_0_0_49d3ff7423b5f1e31ce243d698779789.jpg "No, I do not believe that we will have a 'hot episode.' I am concerned about Turkey's increased rhetoric. I urge Turkey to realize that turning foreign policy into a tool for intraparty use is not the right strategy," Mitsotakis told a news conference in the city of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece. The prime minister noted that Greece is ready to negotiate and resolve under international law "the only disagreement" with Turkey, which concerns the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. "I hope that we have seen a crescendo of rhetoric with all these statements, that they will 'come one night to Greece,' and now the tone will be lowered," Mitsotakis said. The prime minister added that Greece will not be told "how to exercise its sovereignty and its sovereign rights." Mitsotakis also noted that Greece needs to "strengthen its armed forces" as well as containment projects such as the 25-mile fence near the Evros River crossing at the border with Turkey, the construction of which has proven effective. In late December, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Athens against expanding its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea. The minister, referring to Ankara's casus belli, said the Turkish parliament's 1995 decision on the issue was unambiguous and remained in force. Ankara has previously stated that it would consider the expansion of Greek waters as a reason for war. At the same time, Greece has reportedly been pressuring the US not to sell upgraded F-16 combat aircraft to Turkey, citing its own security concerns. In response, Erdogan has refused to communicate with Mitsotakis, accusing him of violating the agreements reached. Turkey and Greece have been at odds for decades, with the risk of an armed conflict arising several times since 2020. The disputed issues include competing territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in the region of the Aegean Sea, the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus, and the delimitation of maritime borders. Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of deploying weapons on the Aegean islands in violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. turkiye greece Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 greece-turkey territorial dispute, what does turkey and greece want from one another, dispute in aegean sea https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/intruding-on-real-writing-jobs-internet-fumes-as-media-portal-churns-out-ai-generated-articles-1106311066.html Intruding on Real Writing Jobs? Internet Fumes as Media Portal Churns Out AI-Generated Articles Intruding on Real Writing Jobs? Internet Fumes as Media Portal Churns Out AI-Generated Articles A tech media outlet churned out at least 73 AI-generated articles. 2023-01-14T09:54+0000 2023-01-14T09:54+0000 2023-01-14T09:54+0000 viral artificial intelligence (ai) google search engine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107245/94/1072459432_0:36:1920:1116_1920x0_80_0_0_de66acf4edd306e4f7b8a0f9d39b9b5e.jpg News that a tech media site has been publishing articles generated "using automation technology" since November 2022, keeping the experiment "under the radar," has set off a storm of indignation among Internet users. Many went on social media to remark that while they were having difficulty finding employment, writing jobs appeared to have been taken over by artificial intelligence (AI).An online marketer, Gael Breton, went on Twitter on January 11 to alert users to the fact that the popular tech portal in question appeared to have published 73 AI-generated financial explainer articles, with their content apparently optimized for search traffic.Only clicking on the byline triggered a dropdown description saying:"This article was generated using automation technology," and that it was "thoroughly edited and fact-checked by an editor on our editorial staff."Gael Breton also wondered what Google thought of the matter.In 2022, John Mueller, search advocate, insisted that AI-generated content, such as using GPT-3 tools tailored to manipulate search rankings, was against the company's guidelines. Asked whether Google could differentiate between content written by humans and content written by machines, Mueller said, I cant claim that. But for us, if we see that something is automatically generated, then the webspam team can definitely take action on that."While a reporter for this specific tech news site insisted last December that journalism jobs were "safe" from being taken over by technology, as it would "diminish" the very "act of journalism itself, netizens disagreed.One user wrote that they were "quite taken aback" to see entire articles generated by AI being published, adding that it boded ill for "an already-bleak job market for journalists."Given the rate at which use of AI has been advancing in diverse aspects of human life, it is no wonder that the use of machines has triggered a host of ethical and societal issues.Thus, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously expressed a number of concerns about the dangers of the unregulated development of artificial intelligence and evolving capabilities of Al-powered robots in the future. https://sputnikglobe.com/20191013/ai-empowered-killer-robots-may-wipe-out-world-cities-in-just-seconds-ex-google-engineer-warns-1077037659.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko 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 Svetlana Ekimenko tech media outlet, 73 ai-generated articles, optimized for search traffic, google, indignation among internet users, to manipulate search rankings https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/japanese-foreign-minister-us-planning-development-of-lunar-exploration-1106302737.html Japanese Foreign Minister: US Planning Development of Lunar Exploration Japanese Foreign Minister: US Planning Development of Lunar Exploration WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a signing ceremony of a new collaboration in space agreement with the... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T02:58+0000 2023-01-14T02:58+0000 2023-04-06T12:15+0000 science & tech us japan foreign ministry lunar mission lunar program space exploration japan's aerospace exploration agency (jaxa) japan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107793/68/1077936853_1:0:1919:1079_1920x0_80_0_0_1fa057f7e650fea4d8fa55fd9ee0343b.jpg I understand that as part of the Artemis program, Japan and US are planning the development of lunar exploration, Hayashi said on Friday. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Hayashi signed the framework agreement between the government of Japan and the government of the United States for cooperation and space exploration, and use of outer space, including the moon, and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes. During the ceremony, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also announced his plans to visit Japan next month along with Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy to strengthen the cooperation between his agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Artemis program is a moon exploration program of the United States and three partnering agencies: Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency (ESA), and JAXA. On November 16, NASA launched Artemis 1, the first in its new series of unmanned lunar missions, with JAXA Omotenashi and Equuleus CubeSats satellites on board. Equuleus separated on the same day and was confirmed to be operating normally. The Omotenashi satellite, weighing about 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds), should have landed the smallest lunar semi-rigid lander to observe the radiation situation on the Moon's surface. However, on November 21, JAXA said in a tweet that communication with the satellite could not be established, and it was determined that the lunar landing maneuver operation could not be performed. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230109/nasa-confirms-massive-retired-satellite-safely-crashed-off-coast-of-alaska-1106181327.html japan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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, japan foreign ministry, lunar mission, lunar program, space exploration, japan's aerospace exploration agency (jaxa), japan https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/kentucky-dem-suggests-biden-be-impeached-for-war-crimes-in-ukraine-1106327381.html Kentucky Dem Suggests Biden Be Impeached for War Crimes in Ukraine Kentucky Dem Suggests Biden Be Impeached for War Crimes in Ukraine The US has committed over $110 billion in military and economic aid and intelligence support to Kiev for the conflict in Ukraine, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has characterized as a Western proxy war against Russia. 2023-01-14T19:10+0000 2023-01-14T19:10+0000 2023-01-14T20:00+0000 viral kentucky us ukraine governor election tweet /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/08/09/1099432094_0:249:2978:1924_1920x0_80_0_0_bf4e46ea7a3ef5a67d6d0d390c77190a.jpg Kentucky progressive Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Geoffrey Young has proposed that President Joe Biden be immediately thrown out of office for a series of war crimes committed by his administration.I think Joe Biden (D-War Criminal) should be impeached immediately for war crimes in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq etc, Young tweeted, specifying that reasons for impeachment include the illegal proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.Young, 66, calls himself as a Peace Democrat, and is an outspoken critic of imperious US foreign policy who has savagely criticized the sending of US taxpayer money to Kiev by both parties, and slammed the conflict in Ukraine as a lost cause for the US and NATO.His candidacy for governor and challenge of incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear in the governors race has been largely ignored by mainstream media, which has dubbed him the "perennial candidate" or failed to mention him at all, with individual outlets trying to smear him, including over his "controversial" stance on the Ukraine conflict. The party primaries in the Kentucky gubernatorial race will take place on May 16, while the election itself will be held November 7.Young ran as a Democratic Party candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives in the November midterms, but was defeated by incumbent Republican Andy Barr. He also ran in the Democratic primaries in gubernatorial elections in 2019 and 2015, and the Democratic primaries for a House seat in 2018 and 2014.In the 2022 race for the House, Young focused his campaign on three issues - slashing the Pentagon's budget by "at least 60 percent," abolishing the Central Intelligence Agency, which he blamed for getting America into needless wars, and reducing the impact of big money in politics by publicly financing all elections. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/us-congresswoman-greene-says-preparing-to-move-forward-with-ukraine-aid-audit-1106296293.html kentucky ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov 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 Ilya Tsukanov kentucky, joe biden, impeachment, candidate, tweet, twitter https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/los-angeles-blm-co-founder-us-moving-toward-police-state-amid-3-officer-involved-deaths-1106302582.html Los Angeles BLM Co-Founder: US Moving Toward Police State Amid 3 Officer-Involved Deaths Los Angeles BLM Co-Founder: US Moving Toward Police State Amid 3 Officer-Involved Deaths WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is moving toward a police state in which law enforcement agencies consume more public resources, Black Lives Matter... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T02:46+0000 2023-01-14T02:46+0000 2023-01-14T02:40+0000 americas us blm black lives matter police state /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105034/36/1050343647_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_1b3b4341dd4eb2d756f9e70e395f128f.jpg In the January 2-3 period, three men were killed in incidents involving Los Angeles Police Department officers: Takar Smith, Oscar Sanchez and Keenan Anderson. Police shot and killed Smith while responding to a restraining order violation complaint from his estranged wife. Officer body camera footage shows officers tasing and later shooting Smith after he grabbed a knife. Police shot and killed Sanchez while responding to reports of a man throwing objects at passing cars. Footage from officer cameras shows police following Sanchez into a residence, armed with guns and a riot shield. Although the footage does not show Sanchez at the moment of the shooting, officers are heard shouting put that down before firing at him. Anderson died from cardiac arrest at a hospital approximately four hours after being tased by police. Anderson was apprehended after he waved down an officer to assist in a car crash, in which he was allegedly involved. Anderson was tased for non-compliance after he appeared to flee from the scene. Abdullah describes herself as an abolitionist and said she believes the policing system is irredeemable. Abdullah questioned why police needed to respond to the situations involving Smith and Sanchez, characterizing them as mental health calls. Author, police expert and human rights advocate Cheryl Dorsey told Sputnik that she takes issue with the number of times officers tased Anderson, who is a cousin of BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors. There were several officers present who could have subdued Anderson, Dorsey said. However, Dorsey acknowledged that officers sometimes have to use deadly force. Training is an issue with police, but more training is not enough, she added. The Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by altercations between police officers and black Americans, had led to a number of protests and riots in cities around the United States and worldwide. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221130/robocops-is-use-of-deadly-robots-by-san-francisco-police-justified-1104909053.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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, blm, black lives matter, police state https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/nebenzia-peaceful-negotiations-possible-if-kiev-ensures-no-threats-will-emanate-from-ukraine-1106299862.html Nebenzia: Peaceful Negotiations Possible if Kiev Ensures No Threats Will Emanate From Ukraine Nebenzia: Peaceful Negotiations Possible if Kiev Ensures No Threats Will Emanate From Ukraine UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) Russia is ready for peaceful negotiations on Ukraine if it helps ensure no threat will emanate from Ukrainian territory in the... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T00:13+0000 2023-01-14T00:13+0000 2023-01-14T00:08+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine vasily nebenzya un security council (unsc) ukraine crisis narrative /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/0e/1097298594_0:132:3170:1915_1920x0_80_0_0_a0a61daa07824fbf56102d6eb6e6fcfe.jpg The goal is to ensure that no threat will emanate from Ukrainian territory for Russia, and the discrimination of the Russian speaking population, and if this can be achieved through peaceful negotiations, we're ready to engage, Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council session. The Russian envoy said that if peaceful negotiations are not possible, Moscow will achieve its goals through military means.However, the envoy went on to note that Ukraine is currently promoting its idea to organize a Peace Summit everywhere but it is ultimately only an attempt to regain sympathy from the Western public."Ukraine now is running brandishing the idea of some sort of a peace summit suggesting anyway it can that it is Russia who wants war," Nebenzia told the Security Council members. To date, the US has forked over multiple multibillion-dollar military aid packages to Ukraine, with the most recent amounting to some $3 billion. That early January aid came just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a visit to Washington, DC, to plead his case before US Congress in light of Republicans' growing calls against continued aid.Republican lawmakers have repeatedly voted against additional Ukraine aid installments, instead favoring moves to remedy domestic matters, such as the US' federal debt and recession fears. Recent reports suggest severe cuts to defense spending may unfold, as part of concessions made by newly-elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.Nebenzia also took the opportunity on Friday to blast Zelensky's ported Ten-Points peace plan, which he stressed has nothing to do with reality.The comments surfaced as Russia called for a United Nations Security Council meeting to be held next week on the persecution of opposition in Ukraine and the continued crackdown on the Orthodox Church."More recently, in addition to persecuting dissidents and leaders of the opposition we've seen an attempt to destroy the only canonical church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Nebenzia said. Nebeniza said the Russian mission requests the Japanese presidency to convene a separate meeting in the UN Security Council on this topic on January 17. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221124/western-countries-encourage-ukraine-to-make-threats-take-reckless-approach---nebenzia-1104614539.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/100-billion-not-enough-gop-lawmakers-blast-fellow-republicans-bid-to-erect-bust-to-zelensky-1106260937.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/nebenzia-west-real-source-of-ukraine-crisis-its-narrative-against-russia-hypocritical-1106263493.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 vasily nebenzya, un security council (unsc), ukraine crisis, narrative A Burns Harbor woman faces seven misdemeanor fraud charges after, according to court documents, she scammed buyers online from Roseville, California, to Lexington, North Carolina, who purchased everything from Pokemon cards to pants from a sporting goods store. Ashley Bissonette, 32, sent customers fake diamond earrings and, instead of more than $500 in Halloween decorations, a foam sprayer gun, a neck pillow, and a screen for a garage door, according to charging documents filed Jan. 9. Advertisement Burns Harbor police investigated seven cases between December 2021 and October 2022, according to 24 pages of charging documents. All of the cases involved buyers who used Facebook Marketplace or a similar online forum to purchase the goods from Bissonette and did not receive the items they were promised. While talking to police, Bissonette became defensive, and somewhat argumentative stating that she has proof that she is an honest seller. (Bissonette) then began going through her phone frantically naming off transactions. (Bissonette) then declined to speak with officers any further, documents state. Advertisement Four of the charges involve Pokemon cards that buyers found to be replicas, including one card reportedly sold to two buyers. A man in Bozeman, Montana spent $1,300 on the collectible cards only to discover, according to charging documents, that the cards that were advertised were not sent, and one of the cards was a custom made or what he called a, proxy card. He and Bissonette messaged each other in regards to the cards being fake at which time she claims the cards were listed as, Custom made. The man, according to charges, asked for a refund and said he would pay for return shipping but Bissonette refused. He was able to contact PayPal and dispute the charge and receive a refund, though he did send Bissonette $78 using the Venmo app that he did not get back. A woman in Georgia purchased diamond earrings from Bissonette for $125 as a graduation gift for her granddaughter using a prepaid credit card. After she received the earrings, she took them to a jeweler and found out the earrings were not diamonds. The woman contacted Bissonette via text message telling her she was disappointed, and asked for a refund if she returned the earrings. However, (Bissonette) never replied, documents stated. A Crown Point man hoped to buy Halloween decorations for his grandchildren, two 12-foot skeletons. The man, documents said, assumed Bissonette was trustworthy due to her having several items for sale as well as several people who gave her good reviews on Mercari and Offerup. He also stated that she had attended school at one time with his daughter-in-law, so he thought she was legit. He made payments over two days through CashApp and when he received the neck pillow and other items, contacted her via Facebook Messenger. She stated that he had the wrong package and that his package was sent to someone else and that he had their package, documents said, adding Bissonnette also said there were two tracking numbers but the UPS Store said he had the correct tracking number. Advertisement The man messaged Bissonette that he knew he got scammed and just to make it right and return his money. Bissonette, according to the charges, blamed UPS. When the man told her this was mail fraud and that he would involve law enforcement, Bissonette said she didnt care and didnt do anything wrong. She told him she was going to try and get his items for him, but since he threatened her with the police, she was blocking him, documents state. Police later spoke with Bissonettes boyfriend, who has not been charged, who said he was advised that some of the people receiving Pokemon cards were not sent the cards they purchased, or that the cards themselves were fraudulent, if they received a card at all, documents state. He told police that Bissonette had a Mercari account that was suspended a couple of years ago, though he agreed to let her set up an account in his name. She reportedly had numerous online money accounts, according to court documents. The boyfriend also told police that while having a conversation with Bissonette about sending the wrong items to buyers, she claimed she would get her money back somehow. He further advised that this happens, Every single time and told police that Bissonette has threatened him with false allegations if he were to speak up about, Stuff, documents state. Advertisement Police took Bissonette into custody late Thursday night, according to jail records. Her bond is set at $800 cash and her case has been assigned to Porter Superior Court Judge Christopher Buckley, according to online court records. alavalley@chicagotribune.com https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/pentagon-seeks-to-ink-contract-on-technical-assistance-for-patriot-systems-in-ukraine-1106328251.html Pentagon Seeks to Ink Contract on Technical Assistance for Patriot Systems in Ukraine Pentagon Seeks to Ink Contract on Technical Assistance for Patriot Systems in Ukraine In December 2022, the US administration announced a $1.85 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, including one Patriot air defense system. That commitment was followed by another one made by Germany earlier this month. 2023-01-14T20:21+0000 2023-01-14T20:21+0000 2023-01-14T20:21+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine pentagon us pentagon ukraine us arms for ukraine us-ukraine relations us defense department us defense department /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0c/1e/1105903127_0:159:3074:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_6e00e252f22703575c63a2459c451301.jpg In December 2022, the US administration announced a $1.85 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, including one Patriot air defense system. That commitment was followed by another one made by Germany earlier this month. The US Department of Defense intends to receive a commercial offer only from Raytheon Technologies, which manufactures the weapon system, but other companies are encouraged to contact the defense firm for subcontracting opportunities. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 pentagon, us department of defense, us-ukraine relations, ukraine, air defense https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/perus-president-addresses-nation-amid-demonstrations-apologizes-for-death-of-protesters-1106321314.html Peru's President Addresses Nation Amid Demonstrations, Apologizes for Death of Protesters Peru's President Addresses Nation Amid Demonstrations, Apologizes for Death of Protesters Dina Boluarte addressed the nation on the situation in Peru amid massive anti-government demonstrations following the impeachment of the country's former leader Pedro Castillo and apologized for tragic events that have led to the death of protesters. 2023-01-14T13:41+0000 2023-01-14T13:41+0000 2023-01-14T13:44+0000 americas latin america peru protests /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106321584_0:0:3027:1702_1920x0_80_0_0_004aa36716dd438ab03f20abf7bb71cc.jpg "As President, as mother, as woman from Apurimac, I understand and share your anger since the country is deeply indebted to the people. I cannot but again express my condolences over the death of Peruvians during the protests... I apologize for this situation and for letting these tragic events happen," Boluarte said in a speech on Friday evening. Peru's leader also noted that the government respects people's right to peacefully protest, but finds unacceptable vandalism, looting and assaults on ambulance vehicles on the pretext of social unrest. The president delivered the speech shortly after swearing in the countrys new interior and labor ministers, as well as the new minister of women and vulnerable populations, as part of a cabinet reshuffle amid public criticism of the new government's actions during the ongoing crisis. On December 7, Peru's parliament impeached former president Castillo. Then-Prime Minister Boluarte took an oath as the country's new president within two hours of the impeachment vote. Castillo, who had tried to dissolve the parliament before the vote, was arrested after the impeachment procedure and the Peruvian prosecutor's office launched a criminal case against him on charges of a coup attempt and crimes against the state. These events have sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators denounce the post-impeachment government and call for an immediate presidential election and the dissolution of the country's parliament. Media reported that at least 48 people have died since the start of the protests, with over 300 protesters already arrested. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230110/peru-mourns-massacre-of-17-as-calls-grow-for-us-backed-coup-regime-to-step-down-1106209437.html americas peru Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 peru protests, peru unrest, peru political crisis, dina boluarte, petro castillo https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/prince-harry-ditched-parts-from-memoir-to-spare-family-afraid-they-would-never-forgive-him-1106305460.html Prince Harry Ditched Parts From Memoir to Spare Family, Afraid They Would 'Never Forgive' Him Prince Harry Ditched Parts From Memoir to Spare Family, Afraid They Would 'Never Forgive' Him Prince Harry edited out parts from his memoir to spare his family, was afraid they would never forgive him. 2023-01-14T08:34+0000 2023-01-14T08:34+0000 2023-01-14T08:34+0000 world prince harry duke of sussex uk royal family meghan markle prince william king charles iii /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/05/1106062850_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_9486fd28f9f9ef996cef248809760e22.jpg Prince Harry apparently has a lot more "dirt" he could dish about his fractuous relationship with members of the royal family, but he is afraid they would "never forgive" him.The first draft of his memoir was much longer than the final one, said the Duke of Sussex, as he sat down for an interview with UK media after the release of Spare on January 10. He admitted that some details had been edited out, particularly those shedding light on his relationship with his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William, now Prince of Wales.He added:According to the fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, the media had a s*** tonne of dirt about my family, I know they have, and they sweep it under the carpet for juicy stories about someone else.The royal admitted that while he was perfectly aware that he would get trashed for revealing details about the inner goings on within the palace, there was no other way to tell his story.At one point in the interview Prince Harry urged the royal family to apologise to Meghan Markle, saying: He also vowed to be truthful and continue the good fight in standing up for his wife, as he believed he should "lead by example."Considering the stir already generated by Spare and the Netflix Harry & Meghan documentary that dropped in early December, Buckingham Palace would likely take a dim view of yet another autobiographical purging offered up by the 38-year-old wayward Prince.The memoir Spare bares all on Prince Harrys life in the shadow of his elder brother, Prince William, unabashedly criticizes the royal family and UK tabloids.It comes in the wake of a long succession of "truth bombs" and scandalous accusations lobbed by Prince Harry and his wife, former US actress Meghan Markle. After getting married in 2018, the duo opted to ditch official royal duties and left the UK in 2020. In March 2021, the couple gave a scandalous interview to Oprah Winfrey, in which they blamed their royal relatives of everything ranging from indifference to racism. Its hardly surprising that the couple's relationship with the royal family has remained strained ever since. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/savage-placement-uk-store-puts-prince-harrys-memoir-beside-how-to-kill-your-family-bestseller-1106278095.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko 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 Svetlana Ekimenko prince harry, edited parts from memoir spare, to spare his family, afraid they would never forgive him, meghan markle, continue the good fight, standing up for his wife, king charles iii, his brother, prince william,prince of wales, netlix documentary, harry and meghan series https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/report-french-cyber-chief-worried-us-hunt-forward-teams-may-abuse-trust-to-steal-allies-secrets-1106302992.html Report: French Cyber Chief Worried US' Hunt Forward Teams May Abuse Trust to Steal Allies Secrets Report: French Cyber Chief Worried US' Hunt Forward Teams May Abuse Trust to Steal Allies Secrets MOSCOW (Sputnik) - France's cybersecurity chief fears that experts sent by the United States to allies to bolster their defenses may be scouring their computer... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T03:22+0000 2023-01-14T03:22+0000 2023-02-10T09:03+0000 world france us espionage cybersecurity /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106414/80/1064148054_0:67:1280:787_1920x0_80_0_0_9be88b335a609cdef398a80a8c845195.jpg Comcyber commander Aymeric Bonnemaison told the parliaments defense committee in December that US Cyber Commands hunt forward operations in France were "quite aggressive," Le Monde daily reported. The general said that European allies were uneasy about exposing themselves to American "enterism" giving the US access to their critical networks. The paper cited cyber experts as saying that a country that gave another country access to its vital infrastructure opened a door to intelligence gathering and espionage. The US Cyber Command claims its hunt forward operations in allied countries are purely defensive in nature. It has deployed more than 20 such missions to partner countries since 2018, including to Ukraine, where its stated goal is to prevent malicious attacks. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221222/us-military-reportedly-losing-personnel-with-advanced-cyber-skills-training-inadequate-1105712655.html france Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 france, us, espionage, cybersecurity https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/reports-imf-chief-to-visit-zambia-rwanda-by-end-of-january-to-discuss-loans-1106315061.html Reports: IMF Chief to Visit Zambia, Rwanda By End of January to Discuss Loans Reports: IMF Chief to Visit Zambia, Rwanda By End of January to Discuss Loans The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva will travel to Rwanda in January after her visit to to Zambia, media say. 2023-01-14T12:47+0000 2023-01-14T12:47+0000 2023-01-14T12:47+0000 africa central africa rwanda zambia imf chad debt finance kristalina georgieva /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106315999_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_4250777915e9cf4b63943ba2500f3cf5.jpg The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, will travel to Rwanda in January after her visit to Zambia, media say. According to reports, Georgieva previously announced her Zambia trip, but her plans to visit Rwanda became known based on undisclosed sources.Rwanda is the first state in Africa to receive funding under the IMF's 2022 Resilience and Sustainability Trust, aimed at helping "low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to balance of payments shocks and ensure a sustainable recovery," according to the fund. In October, the Central African nation reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a $310 million financing package provided over the course of 36 months.Apart from that, according to earlier reports, the IMF also announced that official bilateral creditors of Chad had agreed make up for any deficit in commitments from the country's private lenders. China, France, Saudi Arabia, and India are planning to sign a memorandum of understanding on a debt agreement in order to cut Chad's debt servicing costs in case the African state cannot manage them.In November, Chad reached another agreement with Switzerland-based mining giant Glencore, China, and other creditors on restructuring the Central African country's external debt, reaching $2.9 billion. The agreement was the first to be achieved under the G20 framework intended to support poorer countries in their efforts to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.The agreement helped Chad receive further funding from international institutions, but did not involve a reduction of external debt.In November, World Bank President David Malpass said that about 60% of developing countries were on the verge of debt crisis. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221213/china-rejects-africa-debt-trap-allegations-calls-for-dropping-geopolitical-games-on-continent-1105412026.html africa central africa rwanda zambia chad Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Petr Baryshnikov Petr Baryshnikov 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 Petr Baryshnikov imf zambia, imf rwanda, imf chad, imf egypt, imf chief, imf managing director, kristalina georgieva, africa debt https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/romania-planning-to-cut-financial-help-to-unemployed-ukrainian-refugees-reports-1106324316.html Romania Planning to Cut Financial Help to Unemployed Ukrainian Refugees: Reports Romania Planning to Cut Financial Help to Unemployed Ukrainian Refugees: Reports The Romanian government is planing to cut financial support provided to unemployed Ukrainian refugees in the country so as to encourage them to find a job, Romanian media reported on Saturday. 2023-01-14T15:54+0000 2023-01-14T15:54+0000 2023-01-14T15:54+0000 world romania ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107636/11/1076361104_0:101:1920:1181_1920x0_80_0_0_3d797a3dc63ff8abef792644319a5437.jpg According to the report, the Romanian authorities are considering cutting financial support for Ukrainian refugees after having spent over 500 million euros ($540 million) in public and private funds for this purpose. The goal of planned changes is to incentivize migrants to find a job and start learning the Romanian language, the broadcaster added. Under current assistance programs, any Ukrainian citizen in Romania could receive an unconditional financial assistance of over 2,000 lei ($440). Media reported that the authorities planned to introduce some changes by starting to pay the same amount of money to the whole family rather than a single individual, but only if refugees are employed and their children go to a local school. Since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February, the Romanian government has provided some 565 million euros in aid to Ukrainian refugees, according to the country's authorities. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221122/why-is-west-eager-to-give-ukrainians-billions-worth-of-weapons-but-not-refugee-benefits-1104557861.html romania ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 romania, ukrainian refugees, financial help for ukrainian refugees, unemployed ukrainian refugees, assistance programs in romania for refugees https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/russia-dominates-arctic-region-with-icebreaking-capabilities-polar-guide-says-1106312576.html Russia Dominates Arctic Region With Icebreaking Capabilities, Polar Guide Says Russia Dominates Arctic Region With Icebreaking Capabilities, Polar Guide Says Russia's dominance in the Arctic is indisputable with its icebreaking, military and research capabilities that are superior to those of other countries operating in the region such as the United States, Russian traveler, athlete and polar guide Viktor Simonov told Sputnik. 2023-01-14T09:38+0000 2023-01-14T09:38+0000 2023-01-14T09:40+0000 russia arctic ice dog sledding /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104630/88/1046308842_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_b48934f3b92fc76fe44473d01fc7eda0.jpg Simonov met with a Sputnik correspondent to provide updates on preparations for a major expedition he has planned for March together with another famous Russian explorer, Fyodor Konyukhov. The travelers are set to cover 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) between Russia and Canada on dog sleds. They are expected to reach their destination within three months, as they must carefully choose their route through frozen lakes, hummocks, ice, cracks and tricky weather conditions. Russia unveiled its new military base named Arctic Trefoil in 2017. It is the Russian armed forces' northernmost permanent installation that houses some 150 personnel. Arctic Trefoil is also Russia's second major new base in the Arctic. The first, dubbed Northern Clover, is located on Kotelny Island, north of Siberia. The Russian Defense Ministry also has smaller bases on Severnaya Zemlya, as well as in the village of Rogachevo on Novaya Zemlya ,on Cape Schmidt and Wrangel Island. Simonov told Sputnik that even though the Arctic had used to have particular strategic relevance because it comprised the shortest route between the former Soviet Union and the United States, strategic proximity had lost most of its immediate relevance because of modern communication and military technologies. "I do not view the Arctic through the prism of great-power competition. It is not there and I do not see militarization of the region," Simonov said, adding that if we were to compare Russia's military capacities with the US ones, the point needed to be made that Washington was lacking the northern fleet needed to maintain the capability to protect its interests there. "It [the US] does not have normal icebreakers, Russia has commissioned six or seven nuclear ones by now," the traveler told Sputnik. The Arctic is a maritime region, and icebreaking provides a year-round access to the basin. The US currently operates two icebreakers the large Polar Star and the medium vessel Healy. The US's first brand new heavy icebreaker in four decades, the Polar Sentinel, has been plagued by delays and will not sail until May 2025 at the earliest, according to the US Coast Guard that operates the icebreaker fleet. Russia's state and private universal icebreaker fleet consists of more than 40 vessels, including nuclear, diesel-electric, and diesel-powered ones. In October, Russia raised the flag on the Ural and the Yakutia, two newly completed nuclear icebreakers belonging to the most powerful class in the world, the LK-60 class. Another four icebreakers are currently under construction in this class. When asked whether the Arctic ice was melting, which potentially may increase the use of the icebreaker fleet and of the Northern Sea Route, Simonov alleged that scientists had too little data to say something with certainty. "I am a geographer and have always been skeptical about the theory that the ice in the Arctic is melting. If you look at the annual monitoring of ice formation, you can see that it forms within the same boundaries. People have been studying the Arctic region for 100-150 years at the most. How can we judge about any changes without necessary long-term observation data?" the traveler stressed. In this regard, Simonov also recalled that "everything on Earth occurs in cycles," which means that the planet might have dealt with the same warming about 200 years ago. "It [the Arctic ice] melts and then it builds up again. I know, for example, that it was just as warm in the early 30s of the 20th century," the Russian explorer told Sputnik. Average temperatures will be lower than minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) when the travelers hit the road in March. In the following months, before they expect to cross the finish line in May, average temperatures will rise up to minus 15 degrees Celsius at the most. Each large-scale expedition to the Arctic is not just a journey, the polar guide said. The travelers are always tasked with specific missions. In addition to the fact that explorers often become pioneers and record holders for new northern routes, they carry out assignments from various scientific institutes and ministries. For example, during their forthcoming expedition, Konyukhov and Simonov will test new communication devices adapted to low temperatures and perform assignments from the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. Simonov lives and trains in Russia's Karelia region, where he has a large kennel of sled dogs: Chukchi sled dogs and Siberian Huskies. He also heads several companies and organizations related to Arctic tourism. "Dogs were used in the explorations of both poles. The snowmobile may break, dogs will pull the sled no matter what. The only thing that needs to be made is a reliable sled that will not break under any circumstances," the traveler explained. Simonov added that he preferred sled dogs team to any other means of transportation since these animals immensely trust people and do what people say without any hesitation or fear. "Our goal and responsibility is that they do not die. Konyukhov and I are very proud that during our last Arctic trip we did not lose a single dog," the explorer told Sputnik. When asked about dogs' expeditionary team, Simonov said that the travelers favored "gender equality" and that females should be part of the team as it creates a normal microclimate motivating male dogs. "In general, girls are often morally more stable. We put dogs in harness side by side in pairs. There are two leader dogs ahead, who have to be changed periodically, because they get tired not physically but from the responsibility they bear. We used to have a girl leader that managed to lead the team for thousands of kilometers," he said. In conclusion, Simonov told Sputnik that the ice-covered landscapes that have long captured the imagination of European explorers will soon mesmerize a young explorer from Africa who will accompany the Russian explorer on the next Arctic trip. "There are two candidates one from Congo, another one from Senegal. We will bring them to Karelia to train and to get to know each other. These are the plans but first, we have to complete our upcoming mission," Simonov said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221214/wwf-russia-developing-rules-to-reduce-negative-impact-of-shipping-on-arctic-nature-head-1105453340.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 arctic region, russia's arctic, russian explorers in the arctic, expeditions to the arctic, icebreaking in the arctic https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/russia-puts-uk-foreign-secretary-other-cabinet-members-on-stop-list-1106319924.html Russia Puts UK Foreign Secretary, Other Cabinet Members on 'Stop List' Russia Puts UK Foreign Secretary, Other Cabinet Members on 'Stop List' Russia has added UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to the sanctions list in connection with the anti-Russian course of the UK government, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday. 2023-01-14T13:26+0000 2023-01-14T13:26+0000 2023-01-14T13:26+0000 russia uk bilateral relations diplomats persona non grata russian sanctions /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/0e/1104133933_0:16:3072:1744_1920x0_80_0_0_7a86fc9eb70e934fbf7e0b0bda96e06a.jpg "Due to the UK government's progressive anti-Russian course, it was decided in January this year to additionally include a number of members of the UK Cabinet of Ministers, representatives of law enforcement agencies and the journalistic corps on Russia's 'stop list.' It includes UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in particular," Zakharova stated. Sanctions were also imposed against Michael Gove, UK Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Nadhim Zahawi, UK Minister without Portfolio; and Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff of the UK armed forces, among other senior officials. On Thursday, Russia's foreign ministry said that Moscow added 36 representatives of the UK cabinet, law enforcement agencies', as well as journalists, to the sanctions list. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221213/uk-open-minded-on-sending-long-range-strike-systems-to-ukraine-to-punish-russia-1105428927.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 russia-uk relations, uk anti-russian rhetoric, uk anti-russia stance, russia-uk diplomatic crisis, british diplomats in russia https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/russia-takes-soledar-and-biden-has-a-political-target-on-his-back-1106301405.html Russia Takes Soledar and Biden Has a Political Target on His Back Russia Takes Soledar and Biden Has a Political Target on His Back On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including the US set to train Ukrainian soldiers at Fort Sill, and the recent... 14.01.2023, Sputnik International 2023-01-14T04:10+0000 2023-01-14T04:10+0000 2023-02-03T08:33+0000 the backstory doj dnc donald trump election fraud china radio /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0d/1106301258_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_16fc74c5f4c86fd0d78b6709a864552d.png Russia Takes Soledar and Biden Has a Political Target on His Back On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including the US set to train Ukrainian soldiers at Fort Sill, and the recent Twitter Files drop showing Congressman Adam Schiff was seeking censorship of journalists. Tyler Nixon - Attorney, Media Relations Specialist| Political Intuition, Self Delusion, and the Problems with Donald TrumpScottie Nell Hughes - Journalist, Former RT News Anchor, and Political Commentator | Biden Has Documents Pertaining to Ukraine, and The Democrats 2024 OptionsIn the first hour, Lee spoke with Tyler Nixon about confidential documents found in Joe Biden's garage, the mainstream media attack on Joe Biden, and Michelle Obama 2024. Tyler explained his opinion on the confidential documents found at Joe Biden home and Barack Obama's lawyers. Tyler spoke about Joe Biden's past with Ukraine and the confidential documents pertaining to Ukraine. In the second hour, Lee and Tyler Nixon spoke with Scottie Nell Hughes about medically assisted euthansia in Canada, the 2020 midterms, and Donald Trump's popularity. Scottie discussed her new show "The 360 View" and Canada's healthcare introducing euthanasia for children. Scottie commented on the timing of Joe Biden's confidential documents investigation and who the Democrats have plans to run for the 2024 election.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik. china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png 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 Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png doj, dnc, donald trump, election fraud, china, , radio https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/sudan-reportedly-seeks-to-resume-its-membership-in-african-union-1106310829.html Sudan Reportedly Seeks to Resume Its Membership in African Union Sudan Reportedly Seeks to Resume Its Membership in African Union Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, visited Nairobi, Kenyas capital, to facilitate the resumption of its membership in the African Union (AU), local media has reported. 2023-01-14T09:42+0000 2023-01-14T09:42+0000 2023-01-14T09:42+0000 africa sudan african union (au) kenya william ruto military coup membership east africa north africa /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106310684_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_f45dd4a39258bc372939ac1d16131762.jpg Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, visited Nairobi, Kenyas capital, to facilitate the resumption of its membership in the African Union (AU), local media reported.According to media, the trip, which is largely seen as part of Khartoum's efforts to gain legitimacy in the East Africa region, was made at the invitation of Nairobi, which is set to be a facilitator in the process of Sudan's gradual re-acceptance into the continent-wide bloc. During his visit to Nairobi this week, the deputy chairman first met with Kenyas Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The parties discussed bilateral ties between the two nations in various spheres, as well as ways to strengthen them and enhance the countries' coordination at the regional and international levels.Apart from that, during the meeting, they raised the most pressing security issues that constitute a major threat to stability and peace in the region, in particular the peace process in South Sudan. Even though Sudan is suspended from the AU, the country is a current chair of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional body established to ensure security in the Horn of Africa and which acts as a peace mediator in the neighboring state.The parties highlighted that the two nations are going to develop mutually beneficial and strong relations, specifically in the economic field, as the countries have been close trading partners for years. Kenya's deputy president promised the government's support for all the existing agreements, saying that Nairobi is interested in boosting the partnership. Dagalo, for his part, also underlined the importance of developing economic ties between the countries, as this area of cooperation has "many opportunities that can still be activated. Later, Sudan's deputy chairman discussed the political developments in Sudan with President Ruto, saying that the current administration is determined to allow a civilian transition, including the establishment of a transitional civilian authority and planned elections. These conditions are provided by a political framework agreement signed by the country's military and opposition on December 5. Earlier this week, the second phase of political negotiations between the Sudanese military government and civilian groups started.The military has been in power in Sudan since October 2021, when the armed wing of the civilian-military coalition seized full control of the country.During his meeting with the Sudanese deputy chairman, Ruto praised the country's efforts to achieve stability in the region, focusing on its role in the peace process in South Sudan. According to local media, Kenya is seeking to facilitate the lifting of the AU suspension of Sudan, as the president is counting on a decision of the 48th Ordinary Council (Ministers of Foreign Affairs) of IGAD, which supported the reinstatement of the country's membership in the union. In November, the ministers decided to send a fact-finding mission to Sudan to evaluate the progress and conditions for full reinstatement. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/sudan-south-sudan-agree-to-create-joint-forces-to-ensure-border-security-1106276139.html africa sudan kenya east africa north africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Maria Konokhova Maria Konokhova 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 Maria Konokhova sudan, kenya, william ruto, gen. mohamed hamdan dagalo, african union Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reacts after losing the 14th vote in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP) Too much and not enough has been said about Kevin McCarthys capitulation to the extreme right. Theres no shortage of commentary about the spectacle of a man who mortgaged his kidney to become Speaker no doubt amplified by Democrats enjoying the show. But aside from the circus and popcorn, theres been scant analysis of what MAGAs extreme dysfunction bodes for Americas national security. But first, a little more popcorn Democrats cant stop relishing the 14-vote drubbing of a man who went to Mar-a- Lago to grovel before a defeated president, shortly after said president encouraged a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol. McCarthy knew the 2020 election wasnt stolen, but attributed Trumps intransigence to bad advice. That McCarthy would then bargain with champions of the same violent insurrectionists, empowering them to sabotage his own speakership, is too delicious to enjoy in moderation. Advertisement McCarthys caving to right-wing lunacy continued until Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, couldnt even imagine what else to demand in exchange for his vote. One of McCarthys concessions was his agreement to allow a single lawmaker to force a snap vote at any time to determine whether he should be ousted as speaker, a move he previously rejected as a death warrant for his speakership. MAGA extremists will now have the upper hand in bipartisan initiatives, diminishing the likelihood of moderate governance. Because the House controls the nations purse and extremists now control the House, the country should brace for obstruction for obstructions sake, including blows to American defense strategies. Advertisement Sacrificing national security for the Speakers gavel In addition to promoting 2020 election denialism, the far-right holdouts opposing McCarthys speakership were MAGA standard-bearers committed to American isolationism. To win their votes, McCarthy agreed to cap fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending at 2022 levels, which means cutting national defense spending by about $75 billion annually. As Bloomberg reports, in fiscal year 2022, Pentagon spending was set at around $782 billion, $75 billion less than what was appropriated in FY 2023. This $75 billion cut will hit just as Russia is challenging the world order, Chinas Communist Party is flexing toward Taiwan, and the unhinged states of Iran and North Korea are escalating their own nuclear ambitions. McCarthys self-preserving deal recklessly sidestepped any analysis of these weighty and dangerous global realities. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Virginia, long regarded as a military hawk and no friend of McCarthys, tweeted that McCarthys agreement to cut American defense spending was shortsighted and dangerous. That he appears to have done so in exchange for Speaker votes, she wrote, was unconscionable. The Putin Caucus The national defense strategy most imperiled by the right wings ascendency in the House is continued military aid to Ukraine, no surprise after Trump called Putin a genius for invading Ukraine. Trump has long admired Putin, and infamously accepted Putins denial of Russian interference in the 2016 election over the conclusions of Americas own intelligence to the contrary. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The political nihilism driving MAGA to withhold support for Ukraine is sinister: When Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Biden deftly orchestrated NATOs response, reanimating and re-empowering the sleeping alliance after decades of perceived impotence. If a fledgling Ukraine actually defeats Russia, a David and Goliath win possible only with US/NATO help, the victory would deliver Biden a geopolitical and historic win unmatched since WWII. Fear of a potential Biden victory in Ukraine helps explain why extreme elements of Trumps supporters, dubbed the Putin Caucus, have urged the U.S. to cut support for Ukraine, while right-wing commentators continue to disparage Ukraines President Zelenskyy. According to Marjorie Taylor Greene, who seems to be auditioning for the role of Putins press secretary, America is too generous with foreign aid while America is virtually crumbling before our eyes. Naturally, when presented legislation to shore up what is crumbling in America, namely bridges, levees, and roads, Greene not only voted No, she took to Fox News to excoriate Republicans who voted yes. The silver lining: Sane republicans and Democratic control of the Senate MAGAs embrace of isolationism is rare for republicans, normally hawkish on war and bullish on military spending. Fortunately, not all Republicans share a brain. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, urged the Biden administration to do more to thwart Russian aggression, and urged Senate Republicans to ensure timely delivery of needed weapons and greater allied assistance to Ukraine. MAGA-lite detractors, instead of withholding aid, advocate scrutinizing and auditing how Ukrainian aid is spent, even though there have been zero claims of misuse. Perhaps Zelenskyy can pull himself away from field artillery plans to answer questions about whether the number of spent shells matches the number of casings, and whether Jewish space lasers really are to blame for climate fires. Advertisement Ulysses S. Grant predicted that in the event of another civil war, the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other. Personifying the latter, re-elected-by-a-thread Lauren Boebert, who interpreted her narrow win as a mandate, brayed about the McCarthy spectacle, If yall thought that was good, just wait till we take the fight to Joe Biden and the radical left! Yes, MAGA, as Putin inflicts unimaginable suffering and death on Ukrainian seniors, children, women, and pets, while simultaneously orchestrating world starvation and a wheat shortage that will worsen hunger in America, were all just waiting for your next reckless and dangerous show. Sabrina Haake is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/top-lng-producer-qatar-predicts-return-of-russian-gas-to-european-market-within-five-years-1106317033.html Top LNG Producer Qatar Predicts Return of Russian Gas to European Market Within Five Years Top LNG Producer Qatar Predicts Return of Russian Gas to European Market Within Five Years Gas prices began creeping up in 2021 amid underinvestment in production and competition for supplies between Europe and Asia. The supply crunch was exacerbated in 2022, as European countries began rejecting gas from Russia. 2023-01-14T13:04+0000 2023-01-14T13:04+0000 2023-01-14T13:51+0000 energy crisis in europe russia qatar energy yamal-europe pipeline natural gas liquefied natural gas (lng) europe /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/0a/06/1089711317_0:100:800:550_1920x0_80_0_0_ac635fc3c5e90478b59272b50350b66c.jpg Global instability in natural gas prices and availability wont be going anywhere in the near term, and Russia will inevitably resume supplying Europe to restore a sense of equilibrium to energy markets, Qatars energy minister has indicated.Its going to be a volatile situation for some time to come. Were bringing a lot of gas to the market, but its not enough, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said, speaking at an energy forum on Saturday.Al-Kaabi explained that global energy supply troubles actually started some time before the Ukraine crisis, where the lack of investment in the oil and gas sector caused really a shortage in gas. And ahead of the Ukraine crisis, the oil and gas prices obviously were clearly going higher due to lack of supply. That lack of investment was driven by many factors, including the bigger push for the green [energy] without having a real plan in how the transition was going to happen. So there was a scarcity of investment over about 5-6 years, and then when the Ukraine situation happened, a big volume was taken out of the market and obviously that would take [prices] even further up.Al-Kaabi predicted that the next couple of years would be difficult for Europe, notwithstanding the reprieve granted amid a milder-than-usual winter for much of the region.The issue is whats going to happen when they want to replenish their storages this coming year and the next year. There isnt much gas coming into the market until 2025, 2026, 2027, al-Kaabi warned.The shortages would also mean higher prices, the Qatari official said.Prices are a factor of supply-demand. I think some people think that we are very happy for high oil prices and so on. The biggest worry that we would have as oil and gas producers is demand destruction. And you can see that there is demand destruction, whether its gas or oil, he said.Al-Kaabi also took a jab at Western countries who spent recent years condemning the use of coal for energy on environmental grounds, but turned to the highly polluting resource themselves amid the energy crunch, pointing out that all the countries that were calling for coal to be stopped are using it at record levels today.Buyers Want to Have Their Cake and Eat It TooAlso speaking at the conference was UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei, who echoed al-Kaabis concerns about lack of financing in oil and gas, and a basic lack of understanding what is the future for many countries when it comes to energy strategy what contributions or what percentages they would have of gas or even the pace of reducing their coal.Its not clearAnd that unclear long-term strategy by many countries put them in a situation where its very difficult for them to commit for long-term gas contracts, which has in return made the companies of those who are developing the gas at a very difficult position with their financiers, because they would like to see long-term contracts, and those long-term contracts are not there. Everyone wants to buy, but they want to buy over a two or three year span. And that is not enough for someone to develop gas, al-Mazrouei said.Addressing the energy shortages caused by European countries politicized decision to reject gas supplies from Russia, the UAE energy minister said the supply crunch was the natural outcome of these policies.Of course Russia is a major producer of gas and LNG, and when you shift from one location to another trying to adjust, that takes time. And thats what happened in 2022 when some of that [Russian] gas had been relocated to another market, and other gas from other markets [was] coming to Europe, especially from the US. But is that sustainable in the longer run? I think you would need more collaboration between the European nations on agreeing on the optimization of the FSRUs [floating storage regasification units, ed.] that are also limited, and also agree on some pipelines. I think that one of the things that contributes to energy security is pipeline gas, al-Mazrouei said.Al-Kaabi expressed hope that an equilibrium in global energy markets could be achieved after some kind of a mediation over Ukraine between Russia and the West, and the sooner the better.This situation will not last forever, and I understand that the Europeans today are saying theres no way were going back to Russian gas. Were all blessed to be able forget and forgive, and I think things get mended with time, the minister said.Al-Kaabi clarified that he doesnt expect countries who relied on Russia for 50, 80, or 100 percent of their gas to return to these same levels of dependence, but emphasized that Russian deliveries will inevitably resume. They will diversify and theyll learn from that situation and probably have a much bigger diversity [of supply]. But the Russian gas is going to come back in my view, to Europe. Is it next year, is it in five years, I dont know, but once this situation is sorted out, and that I think will be a big relief to the whole gas sector, and to the whole market in Europe and will stabilize prices.Hypocrisy on Africas Energy NeedsAl-Kaabi also addressed the historic underinvestment in energy resources in Africa by Western countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the grounds that they failed to meet the criteria of the global green agenda.We need growth. One billion people today are deprived of basic electricity that we all enjoy. So we need to be fair. And I think one point Id like to just add to that on the investment side: its very, very unfair of some in the West to say that African countries should not invest in oil and gas and they should remain green or whatever you want to call it while this is God-given wealth that they can create for their national growth for their national growth and for their prosperity, and it is oil and gas that is needed for the world, the minister said.Qatar is the worlds fifth-largest producer of natural gas, and the second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas after Australia, exporting over 106 billion cubic meters in 2021, behind Australias 108.1 billion. Doha has announced plans to invest some $45 billion in its maritime fields to more than double production by 2027. The Gulf state ramped up gas exports to Europe through 2022, but warned its European partners that supplies are limited, as much of the new production capacity being brought online has already been reserved by Asian clients.Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe plummeted last year, with Moscow accusing the Royal Navy of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines running through the Baltic Sea and their combined 110 billion-cubic-meter annual transit capacity. Poland shut down overland pipeline gas deliveries via the Yamal-Europe pipeline. Flows to Europe are now limited to supplies sent through the Soyuz pipeline network, which runs through Ukraine, but have been restricted to between 35 and 43 million cubic meters of gas per day. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221211/south-african-envoy-to-russia-blasts-germanys-double-standards-amid-calls-to-resume-coal-mining-1105340088.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221004/pakistans-energy-crisis-worsens-as-govt-fails-to-finds-bidder-to-supply-natural-gas-before-2028-1101487988.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221001/western-imposed-green-agenda-would-cripple-africas-energy-security-energy-expert-warns-1101420605.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221214/hasty-self-imposed-transition-austrian-ex-fm-blasts-brussels-plan-to-quickly-abandon-russian-gas-1105464914.html russia qatar Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov 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 Ilya Tsukanov natural gas, europe, energy, prices, qatar, russia, global energy crunch, deliveries, ukraine crisis https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/top-secret-docs-among-cache-of-reportedly-20-classified-files-found-at-biden-locations-1106303919.html 'Top Secret' Docs Among Cache of Reportedly 20 Classified Files Found at Biden Locations 'Top Secret' Docs Among Cache of Reportedly 20 Classified Files Found at Biden Locations Documents marked 'top secret' are among the cache of reportedly 20 classified files found at Joe Biden locations. 2023-01-14T05:56+0000 2023-01-14T05:56+0000 2023-01-14T07:24+0000 americas us joe biden biden classified files classified documents merrick garland special counsel /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106303748_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_f4be3046a56b6b7e8fbb9f60555c3475.jpg To date, the total cache of documents known to be marked classified and discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and the Wilmington, Delaware, private residence of President Joe Biden numbers roughly 20, according to a source cited by US media. Some of the recovered papers were marked "top secret." Approximately 10 documents bearing classified markings and dating back to Joe Bidens tenure as vice president were retrieved by his attorneys at the Washington think tank with the University of Pennsylvania back in November, 2022. Biden used the office at the think tank during his time as a University of Pennsylvania professor, from mid-2017 until the start of his 2020 presidential campaign. Attorneys found the sensitive files in a locked closet and hours later turned them over to the National Archives. It was in this batch of documents that some were marked as belonging to the highest of the three basic levels of classification, according to a cited federal law enforcement source. While the first two levels are confidential, and secret, a leak of "top secret" information could be fraught with "exceptionally grave damage."As for the cache uncovered at the Biden residence in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 20, 2022, fewer than 10 documents marked classified were reportedly found there. It was added that none of those files were marked "top secret." The White House confirmed on January 12 that a second batch of records bearing classified markings had been found in the home of the 46th POTUS in Wilmington.Also on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he had appointed Special Counsel Robert Hur to oversee an investigation into possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and the Wilmington, Delaware, private residence of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. AG Garland added that Hur, former US attorney for Maryland, would receive "all the resources he needs to conduct his work."'Mishandling' of Classified DocsOhio Republican Congressman and newly appointed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has announced that he will examine both President Biden's "mishandling" of classified documents and the Justice Department's probe.According to Jordan, he will be looking into alleged an cover-up of information by the DOJ, considering that the first stash of documents at the Penn Biden Center was discovered just ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, but this only became public knowledge in January."It is unclear when the Department first came to learn about the existence of these documents, and whether it actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 elections," Jordan wrote in the letter, cited by US media reports. He added that it was also unclear "what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives about his mishandling of classified material."Jim Jordan demanded that AG Garland turn over to the committee all documents relating to the investigation of the matter, and set the Justice Department a deadline of 5 PM on January 27 to comply with the request. Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) has also launched an investigation, saying the panel was concerned that President Biden has compromised sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/what-is-known-so-far-about-classified-docs-found-at-joe-bidens-home--former-office-1106267825.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/who-is-special-counsel-robert-hur-leading-probe-into-bidens-handling-of-classified-docs-1106271769.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko 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 Svetlana Ekimenko documents marked top secret, cache of reportedly 20 classified files, found at joe biden locations, mishandling of classified information, investigation into possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents, penn biden center for diplomacy and global engagement, wilmington, delaware residence, alleged cover up of information by the doj https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/uk-prime-minister-reportedly-agrees-to-send-squadron-of-tanks-to-ukraine-1106319330.html UK Prime Minister Agrees to Send Squadron of Tanks to Ukraine UK Prime Minister Agrees to Send Squadron of Tanks to Ukraine UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made the decision to send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, a British newspaper reported on Saturday, citing sources in the UK government. 2023-01-14T13:14+0000 2023-01-14T13:14+0000 2023-01-14T21:01+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine uk ukraine tanks /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104684/10/1046841086_0:11:1001:574_1920x0_80_0_0_7998086d0a240354c72baa227076e579.jpg "The Prime Minister outlined the UKs ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems," Sunak's office said.Sunak and Zelenskyy also agreed on "the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine," in particular, welcoming the commitment by Poland and other countries to start sending tanks to Kiev.Earlier this week, a UK broadcaster reported, citing sources, that London was considering the possibility of supplying Ukraine with Challenger 2 tanks for the first time since the beginning of Russia's special military operation there. Meanwhile, Sunak's spokesperson said back then the government had not yet made a final decision on the delivery. Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in London said that the decision to send modern samples of heavy armor to Kiev was designed "to persuade other, less belligerent Western countries to follow suit and provide their own tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces.""As for the Challenger 2 tanks, they will hardly help the Ukrainian military turn the tide in the field. Yet they will become legitimate large-scale targets for the Russian forces," the statement read.Ukraine has flagged fears of an alleged anticipated Russian offensive in the spring, prompting its Western allies to commit to sending heavier weapons, including tanks, which were never part of earlier arms aid packages.In December, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that Western countries had supplied more than 350 tanks, 700 artillery systems, 100 multiple launch rocket systems, 30 helicopters, at least 5,000 drones, and 1,000 armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special operation. Total foreign financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to almost $100 billion, Gerasimov added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221225/poll-almost-half-of-germans-opposing-sending-tanks-to-ukraine-1105784428.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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 uk military aid to ukraine, will britain send tanks to ukraine, uk-ukraine cooperation, how does britain help kiev, challenger 2 tanks https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/us-japan-agree-to-deepen-cooperation-on-semiconductors-nuclear-energy-1106309597.html US, Japan Agree to Deepen Cooperation on Semiconductors, Nuclear Energy US, Japan Agree to Deepen Cooperation on Semiconductors, Nuclear Energy The US and Japan have agreed to deepen their cooperation on semiconductors and nuclear energy, according to a joint statement released after a bilateral meeting between US President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida in Washington. 2023-01-14T08:01+0000 2023-01-14T08:01+0000 2023-04-06T12:15+0000 us semi-conductors economy japan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106309855_0:26:3079:1757_1920x0_80_0_0_641a569af0fd9da7d35d8797d7f43027.jpg "The United States and Japan also reaffirm our economic leadership... we will sharpen our shared edge on economic security, including protection and promotion of critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors... and energy security, where we have deepened our cooperation on nuclear energy while upholding the highest nonproliferation standards," the statement read. Earlier this month, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura met with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss cooperation in the field of semiconductors production on the Japanese territory. Following the meeting, the minister said that the Japanese government had decided to invest 70 billion yen ($547 million) into semiconductor company Rapidus and was going to continue to provide assistance to the industry. In early December, Rapidus and US multinational technology corporation IBM announced a joint development cooperation as part of Japan's initiatives to expand semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing.On Friday, Kishida ended his week-long Group of Seven tour in Washington, during which he also visited France, Italy, the UK and Canada. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230110/japan-and-us-sign-agreement-on-joint-development-of-new-generation-nuclear-reactors-reports-suggest-1106187007.html japan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 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-japan cooperation, kishida in washington, kishida us visit, kishida and biden meet, us-japan cooperation on semiconductors https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/us-treasury-secretary-to-start-tour-of-three-african-countries-next-week--media-1106319738.html US Treasury Secretary to Start Tour of Three African Countries Next Week Media US Treasury Secretary to Start Tour of Three African Countries Next Week Media US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will start her three-day Africa trip on Tuesday, media say. The officials journey will last 11 days. Yellen is planning to visit Senegal, Zambia and South Africa. 2023-01-14T15:06+0000 2023-01-14T15:06+0000 2023-01-15T13:33+0000 africa zambia senegal south africa us us-africa leaders summit 2022 brics janet yellen us treasury china /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106321025_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_03944a543cf9bc997f08cfb9d75ad76b.jpg US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will start her three-country Africa trip on Tuesday, media say. The officials journey will last 11 days.The visit comes a month after the 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, widely regarded as part of US attempts to counter Chinas growing influence in Africa.Yellen is planning to visit Senegal, Zambia and South Africa.Senegal is this years African Union chair and is projected to become Africa's fastest-growing economy in 2023. According to the US Treasury, Yellen will meet with the Senegalese President President Macky Sall and deliver "major remarks on the US-African economic relationship."After that, the Treasury secretary is also planning to meet with Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema, who was imprisoned as the opposition leader before winning the presidential election in 2021. The US had strained relations with the government of Hichilema's predecessor, Edgar Lungu, whose rule was characterized by extensive cooperation with China.According to Michelle Gavin, a senior fellow at the US Council on Foreign Relations and formerly the US ambassador to Botswana, "Zambia is the best democracy story we have right now on the continent."In 2020, Zambia defaulted on the debt and later applied for debt restructuring under G20s Common Framework. Janet Yellen is among Western officials that accused China, which holds around 30% of Zambias external debt, of intentionally stalling the Common Framework project. In response, China said that Zambia's and other African countries' debt problems are mainly caused by multilateral financial institutions, to which the continent's states owe the most in terms of external debt.The final destination of Yellen's journey is South Africa. While holding talks with local officials, she is expected to advocate for quicker transition of the coal-energy-relying country to green energy. Rich states promised $8.5 billion of help, mostly in loans, for the country, which has been struggling with power shortages since 2007.South Africa is the 2023 chair of BRICS, the bloc of the world's major developing economies, which consisted of Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2010. Last year, a number of countries all over the world (such as Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates) expressed their intention to join BRICS, which is widely viewed as a club of countries that seek to confront US dominance. It was recently reported that South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, supports BRICS expansion. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221213/china-rejects-africa-debt-trap-allegations-calls-for-dropping-geopolitical-games-on-continent-1105412026.html africa zambia senegal south africa china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Petr Baryshnikov Petr Baryshnikov 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 Petr Baryshnikov yellen africa, yellen senegal, yellen zambia, yellen south africa, us treasury secretary, us zambia, us africa, us senegal, us south africa https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/what-are-the-symptoms--dangers-of-murray-valley-encephalitis-virus-1106312356.html What are the Symptoms & Dangers of Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus? What are the Symptoms & Dangers of Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus? Mosquitoes carrying the potentially deadly Murray Valley encephalitis disease have been reported in the Darling River town of Menindee, according to Australia's New South Wales health service, with the department warning on January 11 that the virus has no vaccine. 2023-01-14T15:13+0000 2023-01-14T15:13+0000 2023-02-14T12:21+0000 science mosquitoes sputnik explains south australia mosquito bite fever symptoms encephalitis virus murray valley encephalitis virus /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106324012_0:190:2967:1858_1920x0_80_0_0_5b026ef6c3982d23f3690538d8045fda.jpg The recent detection of mosquitoes carrying the rare, but potentially fatal Murray Valley Encephalitis virus has prompted a health alert from Australia's health authorities. The virus was found for the first time in over a decade in the country's state of Victoria, with the state's Health Department confirming a case on January 13. The alarming news came a day after the virus was recorded in Menindee, a small outback settlement on the banks of the Darling River in the far west of New South Wales. According to NSW Health, the incidence could possibly be traced to above-average rainfall and subsequent flooding that first started in Menindee in December, 2022, and has persisted unabated.Richard Broome, the executive director of the Health Ministry of NSW, warned people to try and dodge mosquito bites, adding that there does not exist any vaccination or specific treatment for MVE.Here is what is known about the Murray Valley Encephalitis virus, its transmission, and symptoms.What is the Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus?Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus is a type of arbovirus that is mosquito-borne. Arboviruses are typically transmitted via insect bites. The serious viral infection is a member of the Japanese encephalitis serological complex of flaviviruses. The latter also includes Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Incidentally, MVE is often clinically impossible to distinguish from Japanese encephalitis, with medics urged to test for both viruses. Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral brain infection, is a deadly disease caused by the Flavivirus virus, which can infect both humans and animals. The brain infection is commonly found in rural Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands, and the Far East, with people asymptomatic in most cases. When there is severe infection, they may experience neck stiffness, coma, and more rarely, permanent neurological complications or death.While the mosquito is more often than not the culprit when it comes to such arboviral diseases, other arthropods can also be faulted for spreading such infections, such as ticks or fleas. But in the case of the uncommon Murray Valley Encephalitis virus, it is spread by mosquitoes from infected animals to humans.Where is Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus a Problem?The MVE virus is endemic, or predominantly restricted, to northern Australia, the island country of Papua New Guinea, located in the southwestern Pacific, and Indonesia. Some of the first epidemics of MVE were registered in 1917-1918 in southeastern Australia. The virus, typically occurring after successive heavy rainy seasons and subsequent flooding, was only isolated from human samples in 1951. At the time, an epidemic raged in Murray Valley of Australia - hence the name, Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus.According to health guidelines, in such areas and during an epidemic, people risk being infected if they spend a lot of time outdoors, go camping, hiking, or choose to set off on travels during a season when mosquitoes are more common, like summer.How Do Mosquitoes Get Encephalitis Virus?Pesky insects that they are, mosquitoes can catch the virus in question as they swoop down to suck the blood of birds such as freshwater herons or the long-legged, sharp-billed egret, which wades through water as it feeds. Such diseases, spread by insects, are known as "vector-borne" ones. There is no proof that the Murray Valley Encephalitis virus can be transmitted directly from one person to another. Furthermore, individuals cannot catch the virus by touching an infected animal or if they eat animal products. Why is Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus Dangerous?The Murray Valley Encephalitis virus can, in rare instances, cause a severe neurological illness, fraught with lifelong complications - Murray Valley Encephalitis. Symptomatic disease is estimated to manifest itself in between 1 in 150 and 1 in 1,000 MVEV infections. Potentially life-threatening and requiring urgent hospital treatment, the inflammation of the brain that is caused by encephalitis can target anyone; however, very young and very old individuals are at greatest risk. Generally, encephalitis affects people very differently. What Are the Symptoms of MVE Virus?The tricky thing about being infected with the MVE virus is that in the case of the majority of such people, no symptoms manifest themselves. Health authorities recommend laboratory testing for MVE virus infection via blood, urine, and spinal fluid (CSF) samples. According to recent clinical data, less than one percent of individuals who contract the virus actually develop any clinical disease. However, if a one finds oneself among those rare instances, then symptoms start about 7 to 12 days after being exposed to the virus, as a rule. On a broader scale, signs of MVE virus may crop up from 5 to 28 days post-exposure.When they do occur in a small proportion of affected people, the symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fever, worsening headache, muscle aches, sensitivity to bright lights, drowsiness, disorientation, convulsions, unconsciousness, or they may fall into a coma. People can develop meningitis or encephalitis in rare cases. Unfortunately, there are no means by which it can be determined if a person will suffer a mild or a severe form of MVE.As vaccinations or specific treatments for Murray Valley Encephalitis do not exist, the best way to dodge infection is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes - active between dusk and dawn - that spread the virus. Lavishly applying repellent to exposed areas of skin and using insecticide sprays is advised.What Causes Encephalitis?Generally, encephalitis an inflammation of the brains active tissues can be caused by anything ranging from a viral infection (like herpes or chickenpox), to a bacterial or fungal one. Other causes can be issues with the body's immune system (autoimmune inflammation). Incidentally, like COVID-19, the severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it may sometimes result in immunosuppression of the cells of the brain, weakening our immune system. Among severely ill patients, encephalitis was registered as a neurological complication of the disease.As to what happens when one develops encephalitis, to put it simply, there is a marked swelling of the brain's active tissues in the temporal lobe. This section of the brain is responsible for memory and speech control. At times, the disease impacts the frontal lobe - guiding our behavior and emotions.All of this is potentially dangerous as it can impair the brain to an extent that the patient will suffer long-term problems, such as loss of memory, speech and language complications, and even personality changes. As for the symptoms, they can vary hugely in individuals. While some may get away with only mild flu-like signs, marked by a fever or headache, others experience no issues whatsoever. Those who are not so fortunate may have to deal with confusion, seizures, or difficulty moving, with their hearing and vision at times impaired.How Can You Confirm Encephalitis?If an individual were to fall into the limited category of those who develop encephalitis after contracting the Murray Valley Encephalitis virus, there are blood, spinal fluid, and urine tests, along with computed tomography (CT) and electroencephalography (EEG) tests that can help confirm it. In fact, anything that measures the electrical activity in a human brain can be used to prove the condition of encephalitis. In some tests, excretions are taken from the back of the throat to test for viruses or other infectious agents. The condition prompting the brain to become inflamed or swollen can show up on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI scan that relies on powerful magnetic fields and utilizes computer-generated radio waves to turn out detailed images can be relied upon to confirm if an individual has encephalitis.How is Murray Valley Encephalitis Treated Today?As there are no vaccines or medical cures for the MVE virus, anyone suspected of having caught it is recommended to be promptly taken to hospital for medical treatment, which presupposes managing the symptoms. In other words, with no therapeutic options available, the treatment of MVE boils down to supportive or, in some cases, intensive case.As to how long the brain inflammation linked with encephalitis can last, health experts note that even after infection is gone, some symptoms affecting brain functioning may linger on for months, or even as long as years. While in numerous cases people achieve a good recovery from encephalitis, some of the gravest cases require forms of rehabilitation.These range from physiotherapy to speech therapy, etc. Severe outcomes result in people being left paralyzed or with permanent brain damage. An estimated 15 percent of individuals who suffer from the most life-threatening cases of MVE fail to survive.On the bright side, people who have caught the MVE infection go on to develop long-lasting, possibly life-long immunity to the virus. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220716/japanese-encephalitis-claims-23-lives-in-indias-assam-since-april-reports-1097372705.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230111/no-vaccine-potentially-deadly-virus-emerges-in-australia-1106231142.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20220901/russian-scientists-create-structures-to-improve-quality-of-mri-scanning-1100272915.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20190618/head-of-indian-state-of-bihar-faces-public-fury-over-encephalitis-epidemic-1075935107.html south australia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko 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 Svetlana Ekimenko murray valley encephalitis virus, murray valley encephalitis, murray valley encephalitis in australia, what is known about murray valley encephalitis virus, murray valley encephalitis virus symptoms, murray valley encephalitis vaccine, mosquitoes carrying encephalitis virus, symptoms of murray valley encephalitis https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/zambia-plans-to-import-fuel-refined-in-neighboring-angola-president-says-1106314373.html Zambia Plans to Import Fuel Refined in Neighboring Angola, President Says Zambia Plans to Import Fuel Refined in Neighboring Angola, President Says Zambia is planning to import fuel from neighboring country Angola as part of efforts to lower fuel prices and eliminate supply shocks in the future, according to the countrys President Hakainde Hichilema. 2023-01-14T12:08+0000 2023-01-14T12:08+0000 2023-01-14T12:08+0000 africa zambia angola oil prices oil oil refinery southern africa oil pipeline oil production petroleum /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106311827_0:0:3071:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_b5a1da852b984560afd9fb997c511a21.jpg Zambia is planning to import fuel from neighboring Angola as part of efforts to lower fuel prices and eliminate supply shocks in the future, according to the countrys President Hakainde Hichilema.During his three-day visit to Angola this week, the Zambian president said that it is unreasonable to buy fuel from across the world if it is refined on the continent and its neighbors can provide the same. He underlined that the government is set to explore all the possibilities of importing refined oil from Angola. He also revealed Zambia's plans to buy stakes in Angolas Lobito refinery in Benguela province along the Atlantic coast, which is now under construction. After its completion, which is scheduled for 2026, the refinery will have the capacity to process up to 200,000 barrels daily. It is expected that private investors, along with Zambia, will own a 70% stake, while the national oil company Sonangol will have a 30% share in the oil infrastructure facility. Angola's president, Joao Lourenco, for his part, expressed his support for the development of cooperation between the two countries in this particular field, highlighting that its potential is great, as the country is on its way to ramp up refinery capacity. During the visit, Hichilema was given a tour of the Lobito refinery and the Lobito corridor, which includes a port and railroad, and links the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia with the Atlantic coast.Angola and Zambia are now exploring the feasibility of a planned oil pipeline from the Lobito refinery, located in Angola's port city of Lobito, to the city of Lusaka, Zambia's capital. The countries signed memoranda of understaning on the subject in 2012 and 2021. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221209/which-african-nations-have-the-largest-proven-oil--gas-reserves-1105264340.html africa zambia angola southern africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Maria Konokhova Maria Konokhova 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 Maria Konokhova southern africa, zambian president hakainde hichilema, angola, oil refinery, oil production, imports, oil pipeline Shes Rockandfame has earned a spot in numerous headlines in her life and makes her way back to the track and spotlight in the Saturday (Jan. 14) morning qualifiers at Woodbine Mohawk Park after a month off. Shes Rockandfame is a four-year-old daughter of Hes Watching. Unraced at two, the mare posted a record of 6-5-3 in 20 starts in 2022 during her sophomore campaign with $55,102 earned. Owned by Michael Arnold of Olds, Alberta, the mare has been featured in news stories across Eastern Canada for notable victories in top classes. After a fifth-place finish in the second leg of the Niagara Series back in mid-December, Shes Rockandfame returned to the Mohawk to open the 2023 season in a qualifier. Scott Young drove the Vernon Cochrane trainee, getting away fourth from the start and maintaining that position through fractions of :29, :59.1, and 1:29.3. Coming down the stretch, Shes Rockandfame was still fourth by three-lengths before she sprinted to the wire. She won by 3/4-lengths in 1:58.2, posting a :27.4 last quarter. A replay of the live video stream from Mohawk's qualifiers is available below. To view Saturday's complete qualifying results, click the following link: Saturday Results (Qualifiers) - Woodbine Mohawk Park. Reports indicate that influential trotting stallion Conway Hall was humanely euthanized on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the age of 28. Conway Hall had retired from breeding in 2020 due to the infirmities of his age and was being cared for by Walnut Hall Limited in Lexington, Kentucky. Trained by Bob Stewart during his racing career, Conway Hall put together a record reading 13-7-5 from 29 starts while earning $818,884 in purses. Bred by Fermes Angus Farms of Bedford, Que., the son of Garland Lobell-Amour Angus was the top two-year-old in the sport in 1997, earning divisional honours in both Canada and the United States. A multiple Grand Circuit stakes winner in North America, Conway Hall also won the classic Orsi Mangelli in Italy as a sophomore, defeating Italian champion Varenne in straight heats. As a sire, Conway Hall produced 1,247 starters with more than $98.54 million in total progeny earnings. His first crop included the Dan Patch divisional award-winning two-year-olds, the sensational filly and broodmare Pizza Dolce ($668,824) and the undefeated stallion Broadway Hall ($583,762), who recently passed away. Conway Hall sired five millionaires including international star Wishing Stone ($2,361,099) and Triple Crown champion Windsongs Legacy ($1,921,088), along with Win Missy B ($1,595,769), Habitat ($1,293,870) and Dayson ($1,257,506). Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Conway Hall. The first session of the 108th Nebraska Legislature has now begun. All the new and returning senators have been sworn in. The speaker and all the committee chairs have been elected and now the process of staffing the committees is almost done. Bill introduction has started. I have introduced my priority bill, which is LB 77. This is my constitutional carry bill that would allow concealed carry of weapons by law-abiding citizens. Its wrong to force citizens to pay money to the government in order to exercise a constitutional right. Twenty-five states have already passed laws like this. Nebraska needs to be number 26. One of my priority issues this session is the plan to replace the 4-H Camp lost in the Halsey forest fire this past summer. We recently attended a meeting between the University of Nebraska, the 4-H Foundation and the US Forest Service. The course of action we ultimately pursue must include these three organizations because they share overlapping jurisdiction of the camp. Sen. Jacobson also attended the meeting because the Halsey Forest is now largely in his legislative district. He is very supportive of restoring the camp to something better than it was before. He has taken a leadership role in drafting the appropriations bill we will ultimately need to fund this project. I am happy to report that in addition to Sen. Jacobson, everyone else at the meeting was also enthusiastically supportive of replacing the destroyed 4-H camp. Everyone was in agreement that the camp should be rebuilt bigger and better than ever. The discussion included a number of innovative ideas brought up by the group like a public-private partnership to help ease the burden on the taxpayer. I am very encouraged by this progress, and actually a little surprised. Any time you can get this many federal, state and private organizations all on the same page, you have accomplished something. I think the people have a good reason to be hopeful and look forward to the future ribbon-cutting of the new 4-H camp. This year the legislature has the funds to accomplish projects like these. Im very concerned there will not be revenue for problems like this next year. We need to get this done this session. The last time state tax revenue took a down-turn in 2017, we began the session in the red and had to cut over $1 billion in spending because our constitution requires the legislature to pass a balanced budget, something the US Congress should give a try. In other news, our new governor was sworn in today (Jan. 6). I was happy to hear Gov. Jim Pillens speech on the floor of the legislature where he called for transformational tax reform. He wants to overhaul how we pay for K-12 education in Nebraska and find a way to lower property taxes. I strongly encourage him to take a serious look at LB 79, Sen. Erdmans EPIC consumption tax bill. It is the transformational tax reform we should pass. Please contact my office with any comments, questions, or concerns. Email me at tbrewer@leg.ne.gov, mail a letter to Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1423, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or call us at (402) 471-2628. The written word and tradition in China Editor's note: Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival, is the most important festival in China. It usually falls in late January or early February, heralding the beginning of spring. This year, it falls on Jan. 22. Traditionally, Chinese people begin preparing for the Spring Festival as early as the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, the final month of the Chinese lunar calendar. However, the most traditional countdown customs occur between the 23rd and 30th days of the 12th lunar month. Several Chinese characters, or keywords, reflect the essence of the countdown traditions. Day 23 of the 12th lunar month (the Little New Year) - 8 days until the Spring Festival The Chinese character ("tian"), meaning sweet, is the keyword for the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month. This year, it falls on Jan. 14. This day is known as the Little New Year (Xiaonian), or the Festival of the Kitchen God. It is usually regarded as the prologue to the Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese New Year. On this day, families will make offerings to the Kitchen God. It is said that the Kitchen God is the god of each family's household and that he returns to heaven on this day to submit his annual report to the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity of Taoism). Therefore, folk customs dictate that families must offer sticky sweets to the Kitchen God in order to sweeten his tongue or seal his lips so that he can only report good things. In addition, this day marks the beginning of busy preparations for the Spring Festival and the formal initiation of the holiday festivities. Read more about Spring Festival countdown customs Chinese keywords and Laba Festival Day 24 of the 12th lunar month - 7 days until the Spring Festival Nebraska Public Power District is preparing to study possible locations that could host small modular nuclear reactors for future power generation. The Columbus-based district received a grant Jan. 6 from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development from the states share of federal COVID-19 relief funds, NPPD said in a Friday press release. The districts announcement comes a day after state Sens. Tom Brewer of Gordon and Steve Erdman of Bayard introduced Legislative Resolution 21, which would set up a special Unicameral Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Study Committee to explore the subject. Such miniature reactors, which are in their infancy worldwide, are more scalable and have more refined safety features than current U.S. commercial nuclear reactors, NPPD said. State lawmakers in 2022 allocated $1 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to complete a siting study for small modular reactors, it added. We are very excited to be a part of this process, said Roman Estrada, NPPDs generation research senior program manager. We are always looking at new technologies and what innovations are being made in the field of energy generation. This study will not result in the immediate construction of an advanced small modular reactor, but it will give us a great look at potential areas in the state where this technology could be sited. The first phase of the siting study involves doing a statewide assessment to determine the 15 best locations for siting small modular reactors based on geographic data and preliminary licensing criteria. Some of the key criteria being considered include access to water and transmission lines among many others. This phase is estimated to be completed in the spring, NPPD said. The Brewer-Erdman resolution (Legislative Resolution 21) would charge senators on the special Unicameral committee to look at whether existing fossil fuel power plants could be retrofitted or converted to run on small modular nuclear reactors. The NPPD studys second phase will perform a more in-depth evaluation and will focus on reducing the number of possible sites from 15 to four, according to the districts press release. It will include detailed field environmental and constructability evaluations based on criteria used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission when licensing nuclear plants. The second phase is estimated to take about a year to complete. NPPD will complete the study with the help of the engineering firm of Burns & McDonnell, which has experience in the development and design of advanced small modular reactors, the press release said. When former Gov. Pete Ricketts declined to appoint himself to the U.S. Senate, he avoided a fraught political history. Of the last nine governors nationally who appointed themselves to the Senate, eight failed to keep the seat in the next election. But could there be any political peril in Ricketts being appointed to the Senate Thursday by the new governor he just helped put in office? Could that cause Ricketts any problems when he runs for the seat in 2024? Not likely, said most political observers interviewed for this article. (Ricketts) will be elected, and he will serve in the United States Senate as long as he wants, predicted Paul Landow, a longtime Democratic political operative in Omaha. Hes experienced now, hes very popular with Nebraska Republicans, he has the right profile for a Republican U.S. senator, and he has the money to run any kind of campaign he wants. Perhaps in another state, such an appointment could prove problematic, said UNO political scientist Randall Adkins. But not Nebraska. Just given the current political landscape in the state where Republicans have prevailed in every race for Senate and governor since 2006 Adkins said he does not see either Senate seat leaving Republican hands anytime soon. And Adkins said Ricketts has many political advantages over Democrats or any GOP rivals, including a well-known name, his experience in office and the unlimited ability to fund his own campaign. Who wants to step into that? Adkins said. Gov. Jim Pillens appointment of Ricketts to the Senate has been anticipated almost from the moment U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse emerged in November as the likely president of the University of Florida. Not long after, then-Gov. Ricketts announced that he would leave the appointment of the new senator to his successor as governor, Pillen. Ricketts later announced he would apply for the position. But the appointment comes with some questionable optics. Ricketts was a key supporter of Pillens gubernatorial campaign. He campaigned for him. He donated $100,000 directly to Pillens campaign. And Ricketts and his family gave more than $1.4 million to the political action committee that ran attack ads against Pillens top opponents in the hotly contested GOP primary election. Pillen repeatedly denied the selection was pre-determined and said Ricketts campaign support played no role in the appointment. If Pillen was looking for someone to keep the seat in GOP hands, Ricketts was in many ways the logical choice. Serving as governor has long been a political recipe for success for those with Senate aspirations in Nebraska. In the last half-century, all four Nebraska governors who later decided to run for Senate were victorious J.J. Exon, Bob Kerrey, Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns. Exon, Kerrey and Nelson were Democrats; Johanns was a Republican. The last man who was appointed to a Senate seat in Nebraska, Republican David Karnes, did fail to win election in 1988. But Karnes had never served in office before Gov. Kay Orr appointed him. And he did win a contested GOP primary before running into a political buzz saw in Kerrey, who was very popular at the time. (Kerrey, who left the office after two terms, didnt fare as well in a comeback Senate bid in 2012.) John Cavanaugh, a former Democratic congressman from Omaha and longtime state political observer, said he didnt see Ricketts as a Senate shoo-in in 2024. Even though he was twice elected governor, Ricketts political following is not very deep, Cavanaugh said. And Cavanaugh said a quality candidate from either party could exploit the politics of the appointment. It certainly doesnt look good to be appointed by someone who received a tremendous amount of money from the person he appoints, Cavanaugh said. Cavanaugh and Democrats werent the only ones raising that issue Thursday. Charles W. Herbster, the Donald Trump-backed GOP candidate for governor who was the target of many of the Ricketts-funded attack ads, on Twitter Thursday suggested its now clear why Ricketts was determined to see his hand-picked successor win. Others werent so sure voters would connect those dots and find the appointment problematic. Do people just kind of shrug their shoulders and go, OK? said Ryan Horn, a GOP political consultant from Omaha. If Pete Ricketts does a good job in the Senate as people perceive it, and he works hard, theres a good chance people might forget about (the appointment) in two years. Landow predicted voters will see the appointment as no issue whatsoever. I think anyone who knows anything about politics knows that favors are traded, and they would have assumed rightly so that Ricketts would be appointed, Landow said. But the biggest reason most said they expected Ricketts to prevail in 2024 is the current state of the Nebraska Democratic Party which Kerrey recently described as pathetic. Horn said it seemed Pillen barely had to campaign to win this falls governors race over Democrat Carol Blood. The reason the seat is likely to stay in Republican hands is the Democratic Party doesnt have a brand that appeals to most Nebraskans, Horn said. Adkins likewise noted that Republicans in Nebraska have recently been handily winning statewide. That can change, he said, but it would likely take time. Until we have a fundamental shift in the politics of Nebraska, I just dont see Ricketts being beaten by a Democrat, he said. Photos: Jim Pillen appoints Pete Ricketts to the Senate 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm01.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm02.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm03.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm04.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-cm05 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm06.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm07.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-cm08 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm09.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm10.jpg 011323-owh-new-senate-cm11 011323-owh-new-senate-pic-cm12.jpg The City of Statesville joins communities across North Carolina in celebrating the 2023 Year of the Trail, a statewide campaign inviting every North Carolinian to get outside onto the trails, greenways and blueways that stretch across the state. During a meeting on Monday, Mayor Costi Kutteh and the City Council declared 2023 as The Year of the Trail in Statesville and commended its observance to all people. In 2023, we plan to continue improvements to our local trails and greenways while laying the foundation for the expansion of our trail networks, said Recreation & Parks Director Richard Griggs. We also plan to host community cleanup opportunities, guided nature hikes and conduct targeted conversations with citizens to encourage assistance with trail and greenway expansion efforts. On Aug. 10, 2021, the N.C. legislature passed HB 554, designating 2023 as the North Carolina Year of the Trail. This historic designation underscores the tremendous energy behind showcasing, promoting and celebrating North Carolinas trails, both in terms of their incredible positive impact on quality of life for N.C. residents, as well as significant economic impact on individual communities who benefit from trail tourism. With 2023 declared Year of the Trail by the state legislature, now is the perfect time to hike and bike Statesville, N.C., said Cindy Sutton, executive director for the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. We look forward to partnering with Richard and his team to feature our amazing amenities through our tourism efforts. The Great Trails State Coalition (GTSC) is leading the Year of the Trail efforts in North Carolina. Made up of more than 50 organizations working to build more opportunities to hike, bike, walk, run, roll, paddle and horseback ride, the GTSC proclaims that North Carolina IS the Great Trails State. The Great Trails State Coalition has partnered with communities across the state to highlight trails and encourage residents to get outside and enjoy local trails, as well as new trail experiences across N.C. For more information on the Year of the Trail and to receive updates about statewide events and advocacy efforts, visit www.greattrailsnc.com. To hear stories from the trail, learn about new trails to try and share your trail experiences, follow @greattrailsnc on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Surveillance footage helped identify a suspect in the theft of catalytic converters from multiple vehicles, said Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell. Adam Steven High, 38, of County Line Road, Harmony, was charged with 25 counts of felony larceny of motor vehicle parts. A magistrate set bond at $75,000. Campbell said a report came in on Sept. 26 that catalytic converters had been removed from vehicles parked a business on Old Mocksville Road, just outside the Statesville city limits. Detective Roger Vargas of the Criminal Investigations Division began an investigation, and detectives interviewed witnesses in the area and conducted surveillance of the business. On Oct. 27, detectives, through the use of surveillance equipment, were able to identify a vehicle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, Campbell said. He said the truck was captured on surveillance footage leaving the business early one morning and it was traveling at a high rate of speed. Using this footage, Vargas was able to identify High as the suspect, Campbell said, and after the issuance of the warrants, High was entered as a wanted person. On Tuesday, members of the Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) team found High and took him into custody without incident. Highs history includes misdemeanor possession of marijuana and several driving-related charges. Amtrak will add a second round-trip to Vancouver, B.C., by March 7, in its pursuit of restoring service to pre-pandemic levels, Amtrak announced in a letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation. The current round-trip from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., does not line up with any service south of Seattle, however, the new round-trip will be between Portland and Vancouver, B.C., Communications Manager at Washington State Department of Transportation Janet Matkin told The Columbian. Amtrak will also increase the number of daily trips between Seattle and Portland from four to six beginning in fall 2023. Im thankful that Amtrak is finally on the path to fully restore service in the Pacific Northwest. I-5 corridor in the state of Washington is one of the most congested corridors in the nation, and the Cascades service provides a convenient alternative to travelers, said U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who serves as chair of the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science and Transportation. KALAMA A longtime high school history teacher and two students this week were recognized by the countrys largest combat veterans organization for efforts in civic engagement and patriotism. Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Washington District No. 6 named Kenneth White as Southwest Washingtons teacher of the year for his work getting students through voter registration and organizing annual trips to Washington, D.C. that puts students in the same room as their local lawmakers. Awards also went to middle school students Kate Chilcote and Loretta Harrington for their essays on the role of patriotism in their lives. Chilcote finished in third place, and Harrington earned a second-place title. White, who began his teaching career 33 years ago, said he considered the recognition a high honor especially coming from veterans. He received a plaque recognizing commitment to teaching students about their past and our countrys history, district spokesperson Nick Shanmac said in an email. Its nice to be recognized by people who should be getting recognized themselves, White said. Veterans are an amazing population, and the fact that they give back when they have already given so much its an amazing thing in and of itself. Another way White said he tries to engage students is by hosting a voter registration drive, where students can learn about some of the issues on the ballot and understand why local and even national politics connect to their lives. Of the 4.7 million adults registered in Washington state, only 432,000 or about 9% of them are in the 18-24 age range, according to the Washington Secretary of State. Young adults are the least likely demographic to vote in the U.S. elections, with about 53% of 18- to 29-year-olds who voted in the Nov. 6, 2020 election, according to an analysis from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. In Washington state, youth voters made up 17% of all ballots cast, according to the analysis. Most kids at age 18 havent decided that theyre ever going to register to vote, and they have a very low turnout, White said. I try to make sure that theyre aware its easy enough to do. The annual D.C. trips have Kalama students tour historic places like Gettysburg, Mount Vernon and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Students also see a play at Fords Theatre, visit the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and travel around the D.C. area for an East Coast experience, which is a first for many. They also have the chance to speak with their local senators Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray working in the U.S. Capitol Building. White said his favorite part is that students get to see up-close how their government works, which often makes politics feel closer to home and more real. I believe every history teacher has a love for it, thats a general piece of teaching, White said. I try to go beyond just the teaching of history. I try to bring things alive. ... Those kinds of things like doing things outside the building and communicating, reaching out and showing context, I think thats what potentially put me in front of others. District No. 6 Commander Dana Difford and VFW member Marjorie Stetson presented White, Harrington and Chilcote with their awards this week. In total, across our entire district (the Southwest Washington region), we had 11 winners, Difford said. It really is remarkable that a small school like Kalama has three of them. It really tells you a lot about this community. KALAMA A high school student was sentenced in August to one year of probation after being charged with a felony hate crime against a peer who faced anti-gay slurs and suffered a concussion caused by being kicked in the head during a fight between the two last spring. The defendant was also sentenced in Cowlitz County Juvenile Court to 100 hours of community service. The Daily News is not naming the defendant because the student is under 18. The incident from June spurred a student-led walkout at Kalama High School, during which demonstrators said they wanted the Kalama School District to change their policies and better support students facing discrimination and bigotry. During the walkout, another student was arrested after making threats of violence against the demonstrators. Since then, the Kalama School District changed the way it handles violent incidents as the community continues to heal from what students said were escalating acts of violence specifically against LGBTQ+ groups. This includes updating the wording in the districts harassment and violence policy to include hate speech while also increasing penalties for students who violate the policy. The entire situation was super tragic on all sides, Kalama Superintendent Eric Nerison said in an interview with The Daily News. It was contrary to our views as a school district and as humans. Work to improve school culture began last spring before the incident but the events reinforced the need for change, Nerison said. Other changes include more training for staff, better enforcement of anti-hate policies and regular climate and culture surveys. Natasha Wheeler, whose 17-year-old child Jessie was the student who was concussed in the altercation, said she wanted to see more accountability in the courts but appreciated efforts from Kalama school officials to address what she said was an ongoing problem. At least they owned up to it, and they fixed what needed to be fixed, Wheeler said. According to court documents, anti-gay slurs were used against Jessie and their partner before a fight broke out where Jessie was kicked in the head. While at the PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview, doctors confirmed Jessie had suffered a concussion. Jessie agreed to be named in this article. Kalama officers also obtained a video of the fight that confirmed Wheelers claims that Jessie was kicked in the head by the other student, court documents show. The student was arrested on suspicion of a felony hate crime and fourth-degree assault. Court documents show the defendant was recommended to write an apology letter to Jessie. The kids have seen that theres going to be consequences, and (the district has) been very vocal about those consequences, Wheeler said. So the climate at the school has definitely changed and improved. A new sales tax and a vehicle license fee increase have been added to the water and sewer rate increases Longview previously made for 2023. The Longview City Council voted 6-1 during the councils Thursday night meeting to create a sales and use tax to fund affordable housing projects in the city. The city established a 0.1% tax, or one cent for every $10 spent, which will be spent to preserve or increase the stock of affordable housing. During a Transportation Benefit District meeting later on Thursday, the councilmembers voted 6-1 to double vehicle license fees from $20 to $40. The fees are used to fund street maintenance and new large-scale road projects. Councilmember Spencer Boudreau was the sole vote against both of the proposals. Car tabs Vehicle license fees, also known as car tabs, are an annual charge for vehicles registered within the city limits. The fee increase was estimated to provide Longview an additional $600,000 per year beginning in 2024, with a smaller increase happening this year. Public Works Director Ken Hash said Longviews TBD has collected $20 car tabs since 2017. The money has been used on street projects like the Nichols Boulevard and California Way, as well as the addition of a three-person street crew. Hash said the increase would allow the city to continue its work on Nichols Boulevard as well as taking on new projects like Glenwood Drive and Columbia Heights Road. The funding would also let the city implement a new paving program with an asphalt zipper that grinds and resurfaces roadways. Housing The council held a workshop at the start of the meeting about the citys affordable housing needs and approaches. According to the Office of Financial Management, Cowlitz County had 1.05 units of housing per household in 2020, which is 0.01 units lower than the state average. The figure shows how many open units are available at any time, with 1 being the absolute minimum on the scale. Housing Opportunities Director Jennifer Westerman said local funding like the taxs revenue is valuable as a matching fund, able to bring in several times its original value through grant applications and donations. Westerman pointed to Sunrise Village as an example of the multiplying effect. The local contributions of $1.2 million from Longview and $750,000 from Cowlitz County helped the housing agency secure an additional $3.9 million from a state program in December, getting the 40-unit affordable housing project up to its full funding. You guys were all in on this, and that spoke volumes, Westerman said. They want to see the investment from the local jurisdiction. Public commenters during the workshop threw out a wide range of approaches the city could take on affordable housing, from projects leading to home ownership to widening the housing stock. The sales tax was notably less popular in the comments later that night during the meeting. Longview is splitting ties with the Cowlitz County homeless task force to gain more influence on how the city handles homelessness within its boundaries. The Longview City Council voted to have the city form its own homeless housing program, separated from the version currently being run by Cowlitz County, during their meeting Thursday night. The city will establish its own five-year priority list and a task force to address homelessness. Councilmembers Mike Wallin and Ruth Kendall introduced the proposal. Wallin said the city has spent the last several years participating in the countys homeless task force without seeing many results and felt increasingly frustrated with the lack of urgency from the county commissioners. We have been expecting our county leaders to collaborate and cooperate to help us with this and they havent. I cant speak for other cities, but I think many of us are feeling left behind by the county, Wallin said. The resolution passed 6-1, with Spencer Boudreau voting against it. The commissioners full rejection of funding for HOPE Village escalated the citys increasingly frayed relationship with the county on the issue. Councilmembers had voiced frustration for years about the slow pace of change from the county task force, from the inability to select a replacement campsite for Alabama Street in early 2020 to the rejection of a hosted homeless site proposal from Community House on Broadway in June. Commissioner Rick Dahl was in the audience during the Longview council meeting and was asked by Mayor MaryAlice Wallis to comment on the housing program split. Dahl said that he was open to meeting with the city to discuss the issues but didnt say how he felt about the proposal. I would always encourage you to do what you think is best for your city, Dahl said. Asked why he opposed the HOPE Village proposal, Dahl said the approach was flawed in addressing only a portion of the areas homeless population and not having more law enforcement angles. Washington state law requires counties to create a task force to manage their five-year homeless housing plan. Cities may choose to create their own program that meets the same requirements as the county versions. A handful of smaller cities in Washington have chosen to take that step, such as Wenatchee and East Wenatchee joining up to create a homeless program in 2021. Longview will need to create a task force to oversee ideas about housing and homelessness in Longview, as well as establish a five-year plan for priorities, before spending any of the funds. State law allows cities to use the existing county plan and task force, but Wallin and Kendall said they would prefer to customize the plan for Longviews biggest needs. Theres a lot of good elements in the county plan and we can certainly utilize a lot of the pieces of whats already been written by that county task force in building our plan. So we wouldnt be starting from scratch, Kendall said. Longview will keep its share of document recording fees, which are required to be spent on housing and homelessness. Based on the last few years, those fees in Longview would provide up to $300,000 per year, which makes up around 30% of the fees currently collected by the county. The fees would not fully cover the cost of HOPE Village, which includes a $1.4 million contract between Longview and the Salvation Army. The revenue can also be used to establish new efforts to address homelessness, if they are supported by the task force and the longterm plan. The city could also apply for grants or state funding directed at alleviating homelessness without needing to get county approval. "Stove-boiled tea," a newly emerging social activity among young Chinese people, has been filling up social media feeds in recent weeks. Usually consisting of several friends who gather to sit around a fire stove, they together enjoy the smell of charcoal-grilled snacks and socialize while waiting for the tea to boil. In many ways, it encapsulates the perfect activity to while away the winter, warming body and soul in the colder months. Statistics show that there are more than 1.9 billion videos related to stove-boiled tea on a popular Chinese short video platform and nearly 200,000 comments about this trendy activity on social media platform Xiaohongshu. While it has recently regained popularity, cooking tea on a stove actually has a long history in China. "Stove-boiled tea" is derived from an intangible cultural heritage from southwest China's Yunnan province: huotang roasted tea. Huotang is a type of kang, a stone stove, used for heating in Yunnan. As an important source of heat and light that aids cooking, sleeping, and even interpersonal relationships and gatherings in the households of ethnic minorities in the region, a kind of huotang culture thus formed around it. Huotang roasted tea is popular in China's suburbs, rural areas and other places with open environments. Meanwhile, city dwellers usually drink their stove-boiled tea at teahouses or while camping short distances outside the city. Of course, the latter requires its advocates to prepare their own equipment and brew the tea themselves. The reason why stove-boiled tea is gaining such popularity, apart from its embodiment of traditional Chinese tea culture, is partly because of its portrayal in the costume television drama "A Dream of Splendor," which was broadcast last summer. The activity also encapsulates young people's pursuit of a sense of ritual, with their yearning for traditional tea culture and aspirations returning to the pastoral. It also helps that, with the loosening of COVID-19 policies, tourism is gradually recovering. Stove-boiled tea therefore acts as a social way of combining ancient and modern elements, attracting many young people who love both tourism and traditional tea culture. The tea used is often quite particular, requiring aged varieties, such as semi-fermented or fully fermented teas that can be boiled slowly on low heat. These mostly include aged white tea, Pu'er, or black tea, while fresh and tender teas, such as green tea, are not suitable for boiling. Various snacks are also the focus of stove-boiled tea -- dried persimmons, oranges, various nuts, and a plate of exquisite Chinese pastries are the best choices to soothe your belly. With the arrival of the Spring Festival holiday, stove-boiled tea, as a fun way to warm up and relax, is sure to gain even more traction among young people. "Our teahouse launched stove-boiled tea right after loosening of the epidemic prevention controls," says Pang Yao, a teahouse manager in Beijing. "So young people came out to gather, and the table turnover rate has been kept at 1-2 times every afternoon. "There are six tea tables in our courtyard that are all booked today. Customers like to take pictures in the yard and post on social media." With its elegant and classic environment, exquisite teacups, and colorful snacks, what's not to like about this fashionable transformation of Chinese tea culture? Instead of old or unusual movies, here are some newer movies I recommend: Glass Onion (2022): Everyone in the world loved Knives Out more than I did, but Im happy to report that this second entry into the series is a very big step up from the original. Daniel Craig returns as the salty genius detective Benoit Blanc, with a whole new set of spoiled rich people whose secrets need unraveling. The delightful cast includes Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn and in an absolutely stellar performance, Janelle Monae. The movie manages to create a very clever and fun-to-discover mystery while at the same time skewering the morally compromised movers and shakers it portrays. Its like they remade The Last of Sheila, but made it good this time. It even features a cameo by that earlier films co-screenwriter, Stephen Sondheim. Now streaming on Netflix Malignant (2021): Dont you just hate it when your imaginary friend starts murdering people? Thats the alarming premise of this film, which stars Annabelle Wallis as a young, abused Seattle wife with a mysterious past. After some unpleasantness with her violent husband and a home invasion, things really start to get weird as she begins to have visions of murders as they are happening. George Young, looking like he stumbled out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog rather than the police academy, co-stars as the detective trying to untangle the case. There are some original ideas in this piece, directed by horror impresario James Wan (Saw, Insidious), and theres a gruesome logic to the story that pays off well. Now streaming on HBO MAX Three Minutes: A Lengthening (2022): In 2009, musician Glenn Kurtz stumbled upon a short home movie shot by his grandfather in 1938 during a European vacation. While some of it was shot in traditional locations, most of it depicted what turned out to be Nasielsk, Poland. Taken a year before the Nazis murdered over 97% of the towns Jewish population. This fascinating documentary tells the detective story of attempting to discover who the people depicted in the film were. In an unusual presentational choice, theirs are the only faces you see, though you hear many voices, including Helena Bonham Carter providing excellent narration. Its quite an interesting capsule of history. Now streaming on Hulu Wildcat (2022): This lovely new documentary is about people as much as it is about wildlife. It follows the painstaking process of attempting to return an orphan ocelot to the Amazon jungle. Harry Turner and Samantha Zwicker are two young people who both need to escape their pasts, and the remote jungle turns out to be the place they might be able to do just that. Their work with young ocelots is groundbreaking and its not at all clear whether itll be successful. Harry, a war veteran with PTSD, seems to have really good instincts and does a pretty good job of being meticulous with his work with the cats. This is quite an intimate look at people passionate about preserving nature, with beautiful images and an affecting narrative. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Trivia Question #983: Which of this weeks performers just announced theyre resigning from a huge moneymaking film franchise? Answer to Trivia Question #981: Drew Goddard was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay for The Martian (2015). Friday marked the 27th anniversary of Amber Hagermans abduction and subsequent murder in Arlington, Texas. While it remains unsolved, Hagermans case has made an extreme impact on the missing persons industry and continues to be honored every Jan. 13 in observance of National Amber Alert Awareness Day. In 1996, the U.S. Department of Justice established the Amber [which has also been turned into an acronym for Americas Missing Broadcast Emergency Response] Alert network in Hagermans honor to create an automatic communication method when someone goes missing. Now the U.S. Department of Justice, state missing children clearinghouses, Amber Alert coordinators at the state, regional, tribal and local levels and Amber Alert partners are raising awareness for both Hagermans case and to recognize the impact of it. To date, 1,127 children across the country have been successfully recovered as a result of the Amber Alert Program, a press release from the Amber Alert Network Brazos Valley [AANBV] said. This means that 1,127 children have been safely recovered as a direct result of the program. Regionally, the AANBV has only had to activate its Amber Alert seven times since its creation in 2003 with a 100% success rate, meaning all children were safely recovered, AANBV Executive Director Chuck Fleeger said. While it is a resource that we hope that we never have to use, we do continue to maintain vigilance, Fleeger said. Ultimately, the Amber Alert is a partnership between law enforcement, media and the community and organizations like ours because the goal is to distribute information about abducted children as quickly as possible. With this partnership came the need for better technology to ensure information was being circulated as quickly as possible. Its not a problem to distribute information to responders, Fleeger said. However, responders, on any given day, only make up a small percentage of the population at large and so by using the technology, particularly the emergency alert system and the cell phone alerting technology, we are able to reach the public, literally tens of thousands of people, within minutes. For example, the AANBV used advanced technology for the two most recent Amber Alerts in the Brazos Valley. When the message was sent to the publics phones, there was a link that connected the receiver to the missing child flyer, and 30,000 to 40,000 people clicked on the link within the first 10 minutes of its release. While the AANBV works hard to support the local community, the community also does what it can to support its efforts, Fleeger said. This could be supporting them financially, since it is a nonprofit organization, or sharing its social media posts regarding missing child or person flyers. By sharing it and getting that picture and getting that description and getting that information out in the public could be the key thing that helps bring that missing person home, Fleeger said. For more information about the AANBV, visit aanbv.org/. I am Robert Robbins, but what that name means, youll need to ask someone else. I dont know. As the journalist G.K. Chesterton put it, One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star. I can say what societies and activities the name has been associated with. Robert Robbins has been in the Navy, serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as a photographer and journalist. And, by a strange twist of fate, Robert Robbins is also a photographer and journalist serving Southern Illinois, too. After the Navy, Robert Robbins went to school for a long time. There he received degrees in philosophy, which he claims has enabled him to think about thinking more than usual people usually do. What proof of good this has done him perhaps is found in the reading, since reading is, after all thinking in signs and symbols we call words. While in between undergraduate and graduate school, the kidneys of Robert Robbins decided to quit, forcing him to seek blood cleaning elsewhere. Happily, medical science has come a long way, and there was no shortage of places to get ones blood cleaned. (As an aside, actually, it is probably easier to get ones blood cleaned than ones carpet. But I digress.) Robert Robbins currently gets his blood cleaned of all places at home. Home. The heart warms at the sound, and peace and tranquility fall gently on the nodding head of Robert Robbins who reclines on the couch and savors the sweet smells from the kitchen, where his wife of nigh fifteen years bakes or cooks or whatever she is doing in there. A cat lightly meows at the door, and, just as Robert Robbins begins to nod off for a winters nap, a hurricane of sea howls from six boisterous children, three boys and three girls, storm in brandishing plastic lightsabers, and Robert Robbins hope of a restful catnap is gone out the door with the cat. After graduate school, Robert Robbins plied himself with paint brushes in an amateurish attempt at painting the landscape of Southern Illinois. Along the way, he managed to learn the fundamentals of fine art painting. When he is not capturing Southern Illinois in print and photograph, he often recreates himself in capturing the land in oil paint. Robert Robbins is fascinated and passionate about music and art and the ways in which man imitates nature by skill and imagination. When done well, man makes beauty and is remade in the image and likeness of goodness, which is godliness. God. The heart quakes at the sound. Robert Robbins is a husband, father, journalist, photographer, philosopher, painter, and jack-of-all hobbies, but most of all, he is a son reborn in the grace and love of God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Dr. Janice Lu Henry 1946 - 2022 CARBONDALE Dr. Janice Lu Henry, age 76, of Carbondale, formerly of Alto Pass, passed away at 7:02 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 at Reflections Memory Care in Carterville after a long battle with dementia. Jan was born on July 31, 1946, to Dr. Wayne P. Sirles and Helen (Rendleman) Sirles. After the death of her father, when Jan was a baby, her mother moved her along with her older sister and brother to their family farm, Rendleman Orchards. Jan was a loving mother, daughter, wife, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She was caring, accomplished and had fierce determination in all she did. After graduating valedictorian from Alto Pass High School in 1964, Jan went on to earn both bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1974, Jan started teaching at Southern Illinois University. She earned her Ph.D. in 1997 and became a Full Professor in 2001. She married her husband, Jim Henry, in 1987 and in 2003 retired from SIU after 35 years of teaching. She and Jim enjoyed traveling, hosting parties and being with family until his passing in 2014. Jan will be remembered by many as an outstanding teacher, leader, and friend; however, she will be remembered most for the dedication and loving care she gave to her daughter, Suzanne K. Schoen-Harju, who died in 2020, after a lifelong battle with Glycogen Storage Disease. Jan is survived by a granddaughter, Ella Harju; son in law, Craig Harju; sister, Sharon Williamson; brother, Ren Sirles and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; loving husband, Jim; daughter, Suzanne and her sister, Judy Mittendorf. With her strong faith, she will be welcomed in Heaven with open arms! Jan's niece, Diane, would like to give special thanks to those that assisted her with Jan's care; her dedicated caregiver, Sherri Young, the amazing staff at Reflections Memory Care in Carterville and Hospice of Southern Illinois. Services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home, 31 Memorial Drive, Murphysboro, IL 62966. 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. visitation and a Celebration of Life immediately following at 3 p.m., with Pastor Don Cox officiating. A private family burial will follow in Alto Pass Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests with gratitude that memorials be made to the Association for Glycogen Storage Disease or the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. To view the obituary and/or to leave an online condolence for the family, please visit www.crainsonline.com. NAPERVILLE Dangerous wood, metal and glass shards embedded in the yards of 70 Naperville homes by an EF-3 tornado on June 20, 2021, will be removed and the soil replaced through a grant from the state. State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, was able to include $1 million for the needed environmental cleanup in the state's capital program that was adopted during the Legislature's lame duck session this past week. "This is huge," said Kristy Kennedy, co-founder of Naperville Tornado Relief. "The grant means kids can play in their yards again this summer." In the days after the tornado, a group of moms known as Ranch View Area Community Assistance created a Facebook page to cut through the red tape and connect neighbors who needed help with those who wanted to volunteer. The group morphed into Naperville Tornado Relief, which raised money to fill the financial gaps not covered by homeowners' insurance and then partnered with the Naperville-based nonprofit M.P. Foundation with a goal of collecting $1.5 million. Of top priority is replacing yards for the 31 families whose homes were declared uninhabitable or their direct neighbors whose yards became blanketed by debris. Residents say the ground surrounding their homes is filled with dangerous materials and they can't let their children or pets use them without fear of injury. "Getting this money now, we have a great opportunity to do a great job implementing our initiative," Kennedy said. "We have more time to plan, strategize, work with contractors ... everything. It's such a gift to have the time. We'll be able to do a better job for people." The estimate on the cost to clean up 70 yards is about $1.1 million, she said. "We will be able to fulfill our commitment," she said. Whatever the group collects from other sources would be used for landscaping and beautification projects, Kennedy added. Stava-Murray said when devastation from a tornado occurs, it's assumed everything is going to be covered by insurance. "The reality is that not everything is covered by insurance, and we saw this gap in the environmental cleanup in particular," she said. She spoke with Kennedy in mid-November, right before the veto session, so she had time to put in her request before the new legislature was seated, she said. "What inspired me was just seeing my neighbors in need and seeing my constituents, knowing that tornadoes like this could hit any one of us in any one of these districts across the state of Illinois," Stava-Murray said. The damage wasn't large enough to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. "But it's really the right size problem for state government to take care of," she said. "My only ask was this million dollars for Naperville because that was the most critical need for my district, so that was what I prioritized," Stava-Murray said. The grant, funneled through Naperville Tornado Relief's nonprofit partner MP Foundation, will be administered through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Photos: See tornadoes' deadly destruction over the years May 22, 2011: Joplin, Missouri April 2011: Southeastern U.S. Feb. 5, 2008: 'Super Tuesday' outbreak April 2014: Southeast and Midwest May 20, 2013: Moore, Oklahoma March 18, 1925: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana May 11, 1953: Waco, Texas Nov. 6, 2005: Evansville, Indiana May 10, 2008: Southwest Missouri May 25, 2008: Iowa Feb. 29, 2012: Illinois Feb. 11, 2009: Oklahoma April 28, 2011: Virginia June 8, 1984: Barneveld, Wisconsin May 1955: Udall, Kansas March 2, 2012: Indiana October 2013: Nebraska May 4, 2003: Missouri June 11, 2008: Iowa July 8, 2014: Upstate New York Dec. 10-11, 2021: Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio Valley, southern US China's southernmost island province of Hainan has set a GDP growth target of 9.5 percent for 2023, Feng Fei, governor of Hainan, said on Friday. Hainan will leverage a tourism revival to boost consumption, Feng said as he delivered a government work report at the annual session of Hainan's provincial people's congress. The province will this year strive to increase its number of tourists and tourist revenues by 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively, he said. China in June 2020 released a master plan to build the island province into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. It aims to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025, and a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035. Official data shows that during the three-day New Year holiday, Hainan welcomed more than 1 million tourists and achieved a total tourism revenue of 1.5 billion yuan (223 million U.S. dollars), and its duty-free sales hit 422 million yuan. According to the government work report, Hainan will continue to hold the China International Consumer Products Expo, and it will upgrade the competitiveness and attractiveness of its tourism to build the island into an international tourism and consumption center. In the past month, Hainan has seen a tourism recovery, with tourist numbers and tourism revenues growing rapidly. It is estimated that sales during the upcoming Spring Festival will increase by 45 percent year on year, up 10 percent from the 2019 figure, said Li Gang, vice general manager of the China Tourism Group. "We are inspired by the report's development plan and feel confident about the consumption target," Li said, adding that Hainan still needs to improve the quality of its tourism products to make the island more attractive to tourists. Hainan's tourism and consumption were impacted by COVID-19 last year. As China continues to optimize its COVID-19 policies, tourism and consumption in Hainan have been boosted, said Li Weiming, a professor at the Management School of Hainan University. "With more convenient logistics and transportation, we are confident that the government's economic targets will be achieved," Li said. CARTERVILLE A new kayak/canoe boat launch has been installed at the Carterville Boat Ramp, also known as the Old Route 13 Boat Ramp on Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The launch system is designed to be wheelchair accessible, but it is available for all kayak and canoe enthusiasts. During the past year improvements were made to the Greenbriar, Prairie Creek and West End boat ramps at Crab Orchard Lake. The improved facilities have space for nearly 200 boats. This one (Old 13 Boat Ramp) was in need of repair and it costs about $280,000 to put a new boat ramp, said Neil Vincent, Director of Visitor Services at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. So we were looking at a new type of user. So, instead of putting a boat ramp here we went with this EZ Dock Kayak Launch System. Its for anyone who has any kind of physical disability. Its easier for them to launch. And, its a new user, were seeing a lot of kayaking and canoeing starting to increase on Crab Orchard Lake. We didnt really have a good area for access, so we chose this location. The ramp to the launch is wheelchair accessible. A bench, that contains a transfer bench, is located in the middle of the launch system. The canoe or kayak is placed on rollers in the platform. This is pretty simple, Vincent said. You transfer your kayak to these rollers, you use your arms to push yourself into the lake and when you come back, you come up the ramp and pull yourself back up. So, youre not having to step down into the water and try to balance your kayak when youre getting in. Its already on this launching system. The neck of the lake served by the ramp is quiet, perfect for paddling sports. This neck is pretty much all a no wake area, Vincent said. It goes up all the way to Route 13. Its a great area if you want to do some wildlife observation or birding. Its a calm area. Its not a main part of the lake. Youre not really competing with other boaters in this area. This was all done with our recreational fee dollars, the stickers you buy for your boats and your vehicles. Thats what we used to pay for this. Were looking at as money comes in to put one of these at Little Grassy Lake as well. Vincent believes it is the only such launch system in Southern Illinois. In addition to the new kayak launch system, there have been other changes at the Refuge during the past year. There will no longer be grazing units at Crab Orchard. All of the fencing south of the lake on the Wolf Creek Causeway has been removed. Weve kind of redone the whole look of our farm program and reevaluated it, Vincent said. The whole farm program was set up for feeding Canada geese. Its not going to happen again. Some of the areas that had been used for grazing will likely be turned into savannah/forest units. Vincent said some oaks and hickories will be planted, and controlled burns will be used in an effort to thwart the spread of autumn olive and other invasives. Due to the need to provide food for deer, turkey and waterfowl, row crops will remain a feature at the refuge. However, the Refuge is also looking into alternative crops, such as pumpkins. The new crops would minimize the amount of chemicals that would need to be administered to the soil. Another change is the partially completed new levee system at Heron Flats. Vincent said another levee will be added during the next year which will allow the area to be flooded at various levels, making Heron Flats more attractive to waterfowl. When the levee system is completed, the current observation deck located along Route 148 will be torn down. A new deck will be built closer to the water. Claflin University is celebrating the inclusion of $17.4 million in the federal budget to support the construction of a new science and technology center at the university. The funds, announced by Congressman Jim Clyburn last month, will help Claflin establish a new, state-of-the-art research facility that will increase its capacity to conduct research in emerging bioscience areas, environmental science and cybersecurity. We cannot thank Congressman James Clyburn enough for recognizing how important a new science and technology center will be to Claflin, the state of South Carolina, and our aspirations for increasing research opportunities for our faculty, staff and students, Claflin President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack said in a release. This grant is an investment that will provide Claflin with the resources and the potential to lead research in critical areas that impact our nation and the world, he said. Warmack believes the training Claflin students receive in bioscience, environmental science and cybersecurity will provide long-term economic benefits, solid foundations for research in top-tier graduate study programs and successful careers with major technology companies. The academic programs for advanced scientific and technology programs are currently in place, Warmack said. These funds will be used to build a new science and technology facility equipped with laboratories to advance research for faculty, staff and students. Our vision is to promote highly innovative academic research that will foster industry collaboration and support. The new science and technology center will expand the universitys in-house research infrastructure to allow more students to participate in cutting-edge research, the university said. Claflin hopes to create a pipeline for globally competitive science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors to research opportunities with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a division within the Department of Commerce that is also one of the nation's oldest physical science laboratories. The new center will expand the capabilities of faculty to work with students as researchers and scholars. This grant will provide us with a facility that can accommodate our more advanced equipment and instruments that are incompatible with the operating systems in the James S. Thomas Science Center, said Dr. Verlie Tisdale, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and interim vice provost for academic programs. We will have a state-of-the-art teaching, learning and research center that will allow us to utilize newer biotechnology, computer science and robotics technologies. The new center will bolster our STEM agenda and make us more competitive for new and existing grants for research projects. It will also contribute to our mission of producing the next generation of dynamic innovators and highly skilled researchers. Claflin's accredited STEM programs include the university's Department of Chemistry, recognized by the American Chemistry Society as offering ACS-approved degree programs. Claflin's undergraduate program in computer science is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The baccalaureate degree program in nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Also, Claflin received reaffirmation of accreditation from The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in December 2022. U.S. News and World Report's 2022-23 ranking placed Claflin ninth among the best historically Black colleges/universities. The university has earned a spot in the U.S. News Top 10 Best HBCUs ranking for 12 consecutive years. Congressman Joe Wilson says the new Republican majority in the U.S. House will work to improve the economy, create new jobs and allow the United States to compete in the world. Im really looking forward, as we have a Republican majority, to be working as quickly as we can to get our economy back on track, Wilson said. The 2nd District congressman, a Republican, spoke about his plans for the upcoming year during an interview at The T&D. He noted the first bill the Republican-led Congress passed would rescind additional funding planned for the Internal Revenue Service. The Senate would also have to approve such a change. The first bill we passed was to eliminate the 87,000 IRS agents that were sadly being added. The only consequence of 87,000 IRS agents would be to harass small businesses, Wilson said. Wilson called small businesses, the backbone of our economy. He also said, When I look at conservative solutions, its to reduce regulations we have so many regulations that are simply not necessary and then small businesses, people can create jobs and create opportunities. The Republicans also seek to promote energy independence, he said. It was said to me, the Biden administration declared war on fossil fuels. Well by doing that, that only decreased the production of oil and gas. By doing that, then the price went up, Wilson said. That was catastrophic for families and businesses, delivery of product and the ripple effect of increased costs for everyone. We need to get back to energy independence, he said. Wilson praised Orangeburg County. I was here for the dedication of the speculative building. It was exciting to me and you have a wonderful Chamber of Commerce here in Orangeburg. You have wonderful personnel within county government who promote economic development, Wilson said. Hes excited that Interstate 26 will be widened to six lanes, calling it a bi-partisan project that he and 6th District Congressman James Clyburn supported. Clyburn is assistant Democratic leader in the House. When thats done, I just see that as a real benefit to the people of Orangeburg County for the ability to travel, particularly to the Port of Charleston, Wilson said. Wilson also spoke of the election of Congressman Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker of the House. McCarthy did not win the speakership until the fifteenth ballot. Ive worked with now-Speaker Kevin McCarthy for years and he likes to get people involved. We do have divisions in the Republican Party, but I like to point out that we multiply through division, Wilson said. Thats occurred in South Carolina. We have the largest number of Republican-elected officials in South Carolina in 150 years. Part of it is that we have different factions, Wilson said. The bottom line is hope. I am very supportive of the factions having primaries, getting through the primary, theyve been getting back together and working together and then working with Democrats to have the best possible solutions for issues that arise, Wilson said Wilson also discussed abortion. In the U.S. House this week, we voted that if a baby is born, that the baby should be allowed to live and not be killed. Its inconceivable to me that people are not more pro-life. I truly believe that if theres a heartbeat of a baby, that means that the baby should be allowed to live, Wilson said. I want to work as much as we can to promote adoption. I adopted my oldest son, so I know that adoptions can make a difference. I dont want people to feel like they have a child they cant maintain or raise. Through adoptions, Im seeing just such happiness occur and thats what it should be, it should be adoptions over abortion, Wilson said. A Bowman woman is accused of intimidating a child witness in the trafficking case against her. Alana Ann Westbury, 32, of 3920 Homestead Road, was previously charged with first-offense trafficking a person under the age of 18 and three counts of unlawful conduct towards a child. She was freed on a personal recognizance bond on those charges. She is now also facing a charge of intimidating a witness. Law enforcement took her into custody on the new charge Thursday night. According to a S.C. Law Enforcement Division warrant, Westbury had a visit with an alleged victim in the case on Tuesday. That visit was supervised by the S.C. Department of Social Services. During the first contact between the defendant and minor victim after initial charges were made, agents learned the defendant spoke with the minor victim and asked if the minor victim wanted to send the defendant, or co-defendant, to jail in an attempt to obstruct or impede the administration of justice in her pending matter, the warrant alleges. At Westburys bond hearing on Friday morning before Orangeburg County Magistrate Stephanie McKune-Grant, attorney Derrick Felder told the court that he didnt think a surety bond was necessary and asked the court to let prior bond conditions to remain in place. Well get to the bottom of whether this actually occurred or if her intent was to intimidate a witness, Felder said. He noted the law firm plans to represent Westbury for the duration of the case. First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe argued against releasing Westbury on a personal recognizance bond. It absolutely shocks the conscience, in my opinion, for anyone to have contact with the 7-year-old victim, shes alleged shes presumed innocent, and thats fine shes alleged to pimping this little girl out. She should not have contact with that victim and she should have a substantial surety bond, Pascoe said during the hearing. So she was looking at 60 years in prison this weekend, Pascoe said. In his discretion, Judge James Rickenbacker, over the objection of SLED, gave the defendant a PR bond and he also refused to do a no-contact (order) with victim as requested, he said. SLED alleges that this week, Ms. Westbury visited the victim in this case and tried to play to her sympathies about not letting Ms. Westbury, or her co-defendant, to go to prison or jail, Pascoe said. I believe Judge Rickenbackers bond was inappropriate given the circumstances, he added. McKune-Grant said, I disagree that the conditions of bond that were previously set should remain intact and apply to this charge against Ms. Westbury. McKune-Grant set Westburys bond at $75,000 cash or surety. She also ordered Westbury to be outfitted with a GPS monitor before leaving the jail. Westbury bonded out of jail a couple of hours after the hearing ended. McKune-Grant also stipulated that Westbury not have any contact, including by phone or third-parties, with the alleged victim in the case until a trial judge sets a ruling in the case. Westbury is now living with her parents on Brentwood Drive in Orangeburg. They also attended her bond hearing. Westburys co-defendant, John Richard Ricky Williams, 61, of 6317 Kips Lane, Orangeburg, is facing one count each of trafficking a person under the age of 18 and first-offense, first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a minor under age 11. Williams remains housed at the Orangeburg County Detention Center. A circuit judge may consider setting his bond at a later date. During Williams arraignment last Saturday, SLED Special Agent Melissa Allen alleged, The defendant did solicit the minor victim from the co-defendant in this case and did attempt, ask, that he be allowed to engage in criminal sexual conduct with her. I believe the price was between $200 and $500. Warrants claim the alleged trafficking took place between May 1, 2022 and December 2022. Allen said Westbury is facing three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child because she allegedly allowed Williams to engage in first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under age 11 and because two minors were possibly present when she and Williams engaged in sexual activity. She admitted to us that she engaged in sexual activity in exchange for money with the co-defendant in the home where the children couldve possibly seen what was going on, Allen said of Westbury. SLED is investigating the case at the request of the Bowman Police Department. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call SLED at 1-803-896-5591. World-renowned Islamic religious figures and scholars have highly praised on the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's great achievements in development, saying they will share with the rest of the world what they saw with their own eyes in the region. More than 30 Islamic scholars from 14 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, headed by Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the World Muslim Communities Council, visited Xinjiang from Sunday to Wednesday. During the four-day tour, they went to Urumqi, Altay, Kashgar and other cities in Xinjiang and visited a number of historical, cultural and religious sites where they had an opportunity to learn firsthand about the region. China's anti-terrorism policies have been very successful with all ethnic groups achieving peaceful coexistence, said Osama Sayyid Al-Azhari, the Egyptian president's adviser on religious affairs, when attending an exhibition on Xinjiang anti-terrorism and deradicalization efforts. The experience in this regard is of vital importance for countries to effectively combat terrorism, he said. There has been no terrorist attack for six consecutive years in Xinjiang, Xu Guixiang, spokesman for the regional government, said at a news briefing on Friday. The delegation also showed great interest in and was impressed by Xinjiang's poverty elimination work, calling the achievements "miracles" which proved the huge advantages of China's systems. When visiting a technical vocational college in Kashgar, Al Nuaimi spoke highly of China's providing employment training services to its citizens, saying it is a pivotal part of Xinjiang's overall poverty alleviation work. Abdallah Muhammad Al-Mulla, a journalist from Kuwait, said Xinjiang's experience in poverty alleviation can be viewed as a shining example for other countries to follow after he had face-to-face talks with local officials and residents at a symposium on rural revitalization in Kashgar. When appreciating the Twelve Muqam, a traditional art form known as the "Mother of Uygur Music" in the Xinjiang Museum, Abdallah Uld Mohamadi Bahm, a Mauritanian writer, got a chance to witness Xinjiang's thriving culture. The Twelve Muqam was listed among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. The Chinese government has made tremendous efforts to protect the intangible cultural heritage of Xinjiang and has promoted it globally, which is of great significance to the diversity of civilization, he said. During a tour of the ancient city of Kashgar, Yousef Al Obaidli, director-general of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center in Abu Dhabi, said Western allegations about the fate of the Uygur culture totally veer from the facts. It is admirable that the authorities reconstruct the city in line with Uygur culture and tradition and deliver a better life to locals, he added. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing on Friday that the field trips and true feelings of the delegation once again prove that lies can't cover up facts. China sincerely welcomes friends from around the world to visit Xinjiang to feel a region that enjoys a tranquil society, prosperous economy, harmonious ethnic relations and freedom of belief, Wang said. CHEYENNE Two defendants arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old Cheyenne girl made their first appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on Wednesday and are being held on $150,000 bonds. Tirso Munguia, 19, has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter for having shot the victim, Angelina Harrison, with a 9mm handgun owned by Cody J. Nicholson, 18. Having fled the scene with the firearm and for failing to contact law enforcement, Nicholson has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to involuntary manslaughter, which also is a felony. If convicted, Munguia could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison and/or $10,000 in fines. Nicholson faces a maximum of three years in prison and/or $3,000 in fines. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Munguia and Nicholson were traveling down Dell Range Boulevard around 6 p.m. Monday in the back seat of a vehicle driven by 26-year-old Sarah Heath. The victim, a student at Triumph High School, was riding in the front passenger seat. Nicholson was seated behind her, and Munguia was sitting behind the driver, Heath. At one point, Nicholson removed his firearm and placed it on the seat between him and Munguia. Munguia stated that he picked up the handgun and began to manipulate it in his hands, according to an interview conducted by a Cheyenne Police Department officer. Nicholson stated that he had advised Mungui to be careful. Theres one in the head, meaning that the firearm was loaded. Munguia stated that the gun just went off, striking Harrison in the head. Nicholson said he was looking at his cellphone when he heard a gunshot and looked up to see Harrison unresponsive in the front seat with blood coming from her mouth. Munguia tossed the pistol in Nicholsons lap, according to court documents. Heath pulled into the parking lot of Frontier Mall, located at 1400 Dell Range Blvd., and placed a 911 call. Nicholson then fled on foot to an area in the 1800 block of Dell Range, where he contacted a family member to come pick him up. Munguia remained at the scene and attempted to provide medical aid for Harrison. Once in the car with his family member, Nicholson unloaded the bullets from the guns magazine on the way to his residence in the 700 block of Avenue C. Nicholson went to his grandmothers home next door and placed the gun in a closet under a blanket. He also changed clothes and placed them in a dirty clothes pile. Tips from community members helped locate Nicholson. He was taken into custody around 8:45 p.m. Nicholson confirmed that he has never stored the firearm in the closet prior to the incident. He also told police in his interview that he and Munguia had been shooting together prior to this incident, and that Munguia knew about weapons safety. The pair are scheduled to return to court next Thursday, Jan. 19. On Facebook earlier this week, the victims mother, Amanda Harrison, said she and her husband, David, as well as their son, Donivon, are tired of this being about the 2 boys who took Angelinas life ... We want people to know that it was our daughter and sister that was taken from us and not just some nameless person, Amanda Harrison wrote. 16 years will never be enough time to have had you here. Two days of extensive and contrasting testimony pitted maternal health against the role of government and led to a razor-thin vote in the House health committee Friday in favor of extending Medicaid postpartum coverage for Wyoming mothers. By a 5-4 vote, lawmakers on the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee forwarded a bill to the House floor that would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a year, allowing mothers to further access services such as postpartum checkups, screenings, breastfeeding support and a range of behavioral health services that medical providers say are critical to the health of both mothers and babies. The best way to support the baby is to support the mom, Dr. Rene Hinkle, an OB-GYN and co-founding partner with the Cheyenne Womens Clinic, told the members of the committee. Most moms who are on Medicaid, when that lapses, they dont have the medical care, they dont have the ability to be able to go in and see the doctor and pay for that and pay for the medications they might need if something happens, she said. Therefore, theyre not able to take care of their child appropriately. Medical backing Groups across the health care spectrum, including the Wyoming Hospital Association, the Wyoming Nurses Association and medical providers, spoke in favor of the bill, which in the slimmed-down version passed by the committee would put $1.9 million in state general funds and $1.9 million in federal matching funds toward lengthening the postpartum health insurance coverage for mothers who already qualify and are covered by Medicaid. Wyoming Medicaid covers roughly a third of statewide births, and according to Wyoming Department of Health estimates, approximately 1,250 women would benefit from the extension. At least one-third of maternal deaths happen during the postpartum period, which can last up to six months, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and postpartum depression among mothers can occur up to a year after birth. An amendment approved by the committee to decrease funding for the program was supported by the Legislative Service Office and the Wyoming Department of Health after they found that the initial earmarked funding was more than what would be needed. Those who pushed for the bill found willing backers in some of the lawmakers on the committee. What the providers have told us, and their willingness to take on this financial burden, I find that compelling, said Rep. Forrest Chadwick, R-Evansville. The very medical community and virtually every aspect of it hospitals, doctors, psychiatric theyre all in line. They all believe that this is necessary, he said. Government skepticism But amid support from the governors office and the Catholic Church, a number of lawmakers on the committee and during testimony expressed ideological opposition, and in some cases hostility, toward the bill and the bolstering of government-led health care. Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, the chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, testified before the committee on Wednesday and urged the members to strike down the legislation. I havent heard a real impetus for this extension. What I have heard is that money is available and we want to extend [coverage] and make use of that, Bear said. In announcing the formation of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus earlier this month, Bear and the other members of the caucus said preventing the growth of government disguised as free health care from D.C. was among the groups top priorities. In an exchange with Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, the only Democrat on the committee, Bear said that the majority of postpartum complications for mothers occur within the first two months following birth, a period during which they are still covered under Medicaid as it stands. Literature from the Journal of Prenatal Medicine supports that mothers are less likely to develop disease and illness after the first six weeks of the postpartum period. Rep. Sarah Penn, R-Lander, voiced similar views to those shared by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and other lawmakers during testimony. Penn objected to Wyoming further developing ties with the federal government and instead argued that it should be the marketplace that responds to health care needs. The more that we look to the federal government for a solution to a problem, the less opportunity we have to allow the free market to step up and address that problem. This extension is just one more way that weve removed an opportunity for [the] free market, she said. In voting against the bill, Penn focused on the issue of autonomy. Liberty once lost potentially is lost forever, she said. Alongside Penn, Reps. Ben Hornock, R-Cheyenne, Tamara Trujillo, R-Cheyenne, and Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, voted against the bill. It was Ward who shared the strongest views on the committee and who was most vocal in her opposition toward the bill. Wards strong views led to one particularly awkward moment on the first day of testimony when she accused Gov. Mark Gordon of not being pro-life. Jen Davis, the health and human services policy advisor for Gordon, testified that as a pro-life governor Gordon was in favor of the bill. I would just like to point out that he appointed Melissa Owens as district judge out in Jackson on Dec. 11, 2021, who issued a stay on our trigger law, Ward said. So is the governor pro-life? When announcing her no vote, Ward again took aim at others who cited their pro-life stance in supporting the bill. Arguing that if youre pro-life you have to be for the expansion of entitlement programs does not follow, Ward said. Cain commented to God, Am I my brothers keeper? The obvious answer is no. No, I am not my brothers keeper. But just dont kill him. PHOTOS: Opening day of the 67th Wyoming Legislative Session 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins Rep. Jeanette Ward 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins CHEYENNE A bill to restrict the circulation and use of abortion medications is up for consideration again this session as Wyomings abortion ban continues to be litigated in court. Under the legislation, no person would legally be allowed to manufacture, distribute, prescribe, dispense, sell, transfer or use any medication in Wyoming meant to be used for an abortion. It defines said medication, which the bill calls chemical abortion drugs, as mifepristone, misoprostol, mifeprex, mifegyne or any substantially similar generic or nongeneric drug or chemical dispensed for purposes of causing an abortion. Anyone who violates the rule would be subject to a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months of imprisonment or up to a $9,000 fine, or both. Those restrictions dont apply to the treatment of a natural miscarriage, or treatment in the case that the persons pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or if their health or life is in danger. That exception doesnt apply to psychological or emotional conditions. They also dont apply to the sale, use, prescription or administration of contraceptives that a person might use before conception, or before a pregnancy can be confirmed through conventional medical testing. The person who is subject to an attempted or completed abortion using medications also wouldnt be subject to the punishments outlined in the proposed statute. Though an abortion ban took effect briefly in Wyoming following the U.S. Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade over the summer, the ban is blocked for now, and some abortions in the state continue to be legal as the states ban is being challenged for its constitutionality in court. Its very likely that the case will eventually be referred to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Salazar sponsored the same bill last year, during the session in which the Legislature passed the states abortion trigger ban. His bill this year has a whopping 38 cosponsors, many of whom are freshmen lawmakers. Its not clear how the bill, if it became law, would be affected by the outcome of the ongoing lawsuit challenging Wyomings abortion trigger ban. Salazar did not immediately respond to the Star-Tribunes attempts to reach him for comment. CHEYENNE Newly elected Speaker of the House Albert Sommers and Senate President Ogden Driskill have a lot to manage this session with 30 freshman lawmakers and a Legislature thats become even more split politically. Though the 67th Legislature is even redder than the previous body, political splits within the Republican Party have only become sharper. Amid these divides, Sommers and Driskill both emphasized acting with civility and finding common ground during their speeches on the House and Senate floors Tuesday. Sommers and Driskill met with reporters Friday morning to discuss what lies ahead this session. What does a successful session look like? Getting the budget sorted is always a big task every time the Legislature convenes at the statehouse. Thats one of the biggest jobs we have, Sommers said. As legislators, were the fiduciary agent for the state of Wyoming. Wyoming is in a surplus year, thanks to unexpected booms in oil and natural gas prices as well as soaring demand for coal. Thats left the state with roughly $913 million in surplus funds, half of which Gov. Mark Gordon has suggested the state spend, the other half of which hes proposed to save. But surplus years always draw more people and agencies asking for a bigger slice of the pie, so lawmakers will have to consider a lot of amendments to the budget bill. Its gonna take quite a bit of time to get through those ideas, Driskill said. This year, theres also the work of mentoring freshmen lawmakers, and of [keeping] the body a body, as Sommers put it. The changes that came about in the midterm elections make the 67th Legislature probably the most split Legislature for maybe 30 years, on both sides, Driskill said. And while that diversity can be a positive because it brings in different perspectives and sharper debate, it can also be difficult to manage. Thats a particularly big lift on the House side where with 29 new members, 27 of which are true freshmen nearly half of the seats in the House turned over this year. We need to just continue to educate those folks, and hopefully, at the end, were a more cohesive body, Sommers said. A lot of what Sommers and Driskill said they considered to be an indication of success centered around civility and lawmakers ability to work well with one another, even when they dont agree on issues. On the last day, if I see smiles around the room, and I see people kind of shaking each others hands that maybe you wouldnt think would be shaking hands, as somebody thats trying to manage the people, thats successful, Sommers said. Civility and building relationships Sommers and Driskill struck similar tones in their speeches at the opening of the session on Tuesday, imploring lawmakers to act with civility and work together this session. Their messages come amid legislative decorum that some say has deteriorated, and an election cycle that many have called the ugliest in Wyomings recent history. We must stand firm in our beliefs, but be willing to bend towards each other to solve the challenges facing Wyoming, Sommers said, addressing the new body on the House floor. We are here to solve problems, and that can only be done by starting conversations, building trust and forming relationships. Building relationships is impossible if we lack civility and foment discord. We will disagree on many issues, but we must maintain decorum and civility to each other and to the public that we represent. Driskill delivered much the same message to his colleagues on the Senate floor the same day, contextualizing what has happened in Wyoming within the current national political climate. Nationally, and even here at home in Wyoming, the political discourse has become dug-in and personal, Driskill said. I believe theres more common ground that unites us than differences divide us. A lot of finding that common ground comes from building relationships, Sommers and Driskill have said. Driskill said he does that sometimes by walking around bills, trying to convince other lawmakers to sign onto them and, along the way, getting to know his new colleagues. (Its something that lawmakers arent obligated to do anymore, because now bills can be sent out to other lawmakers electronically.) Otherwise hes also been meeting with new lawmakers individually and in groups to try and help them be more effective legislators. Ultimately, Driskill said, their goal is to get where everybody feels comfortable to honestly state their opinion and know that someone isnt going to come out after him. Keeping the Legislature on track With hundreds of bills to sort through, a budget surplus that has drawn people asking for more funds, a limited amount of time and freshmen lawmakers to get up and running, Sommers and Driskill have a lot to manage on top of learning their new roles as speaker and president. How do they plan to keep the session on track? Sommers said he typically prioritizes committee-sponsored legislation first. These bills tend to be heartier than ones that are sponsored by a single lawmaker, because theyve already been debated and revised before the session. Second in line are generally bills that come from chairmen. After that, if a bill is numbered earlier, then its probably going to have a better chance of being heard. Right now, the Legislature is moving pretty quickly through bills, and prioritizing which ones are heard first isnt as critical of a concern. But once the budget bill comes onstage in a couple weeks, the number of bills going through the Legislature will slow from a torrent to a trickle, as Driskill put it. Thats when the real prioritization comes, he said. Thats the tough one, because thats the other bodies bills. (Toward the end of the session, the Senate will be reviewing House bills, and vice versa.) The Legislature finished its first week of work Friday. <&rule> PHOTOS: Gordon delivers State of the State address State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the State State of the Judiciary State of the Judiciary State of the Judiciary State of the Judiciary Last week, my local hospital in Laramie made masks optional, rather than required, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Although COVID is still a threat to the community, there is room for celebration. This mask optional sign at the hospital had me thinking back to the hardest times of the pandemic, when we all turned to the arts to add beauty to the world around us. We read books, watched movies, binged TV series, all of which we have to thank the creative minds of authors, screenwriters and actors. The irony of the world turning to the arts during the pandemic is that the arts and cultural sector was substantially impacted by COVID, as the sector was one of the first to close and last to reopen. According to new data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Wyoming lost over 1,000 jobs in the arts and cultural sector during the pandemic. This number could have been significantly higher without the federal and state relief funding that the Wyoming Arts Council was able to provide through the National Endowment for the Arts and leadership of Gov. Mark Gordon. We heard from many artists that this relief funding helped feed families and keep residents from moving out of state. As we move into a new year, here are a few of the reasons that we should continue to invest in the arts. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will today turn the sod for the construction of the 112 mega watt (MWac) solar project. The sod-turning comes almost three years after the consortium of bpTT and Shell were selected as the preferred bidder on the project which has caused an escalation in cost to taxpayers. A special commission on controlling COVID-19 in rural regions is racing to equip rural hospitals with oximeters and oxygenators as part of a broader drive to intensify the supply of anti-epidemic materials in the countryside. Every village health room will be given finger oximeters and each township hospital will receive an oxygenator, said the commission under the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, the country's COVID-19 control task force, on Friday. Some 50 percent of the pledged equipment is already in place, the commission added. Authorities involved in the campaign include the National Health Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Since Jan 5, the departments have worked with partners Alibaba Foundation and Youcheng Social Entrepreneur Foundation to purchase such medical devices before shipping them to rural hospitals. The recipients include 11,532 township hospitals scattered across 832 counties that have shrugged off poverty in recent years, and some 25,000 township hospitals in wealthier regions. In a similar campaign, the commission worked with the China Rural Magazine Press and Alibaba Group, and printed 100,000 pamphlets to hand out free to migrant workers who are heading home in rural regions for the Spring Festival this month. The contents of such pamphlets range from techniques to prevent COVID infection, major symptoms, and a guide to recovery. They are available at major transportation hubs frequented by home-bound workers. Youcheng Social Entrepreneur Foundation also donated 60,000 sets of digital devices offering guides to rural doctors as they diagnose surging numbers of feverish farmers. This week, the commission issued a guideline demanding that antigen test kits or nucleic acid tests must be made readily available for feverish patients in rural regions. Village health clinics must ensure they have at least a two-week supply of medication, to which vulnerable groups or those with financial difficulties have priority access. Local authorities are also tasked with conducting regular inspections, delivering medication, transporting patients to bigger hospitals and raising awareness about epidemic control, it said. Efforts must also be made to guide villagers to get vaccinated, wear masks and avoid gatherings or spending time with elderly relatives with underlying illnesses. The barrio surrounding it was bulldozed more than 50 years ago to make way for the Tucson Convention Center. Now the historic Sosa-Carrillo House is on the cusp of being purchased by the current driving force behind urban renewal downtown. Rio Nuevo is offering to buy the 19th-century adobe house from the Arizona Historical Society, which has owned the property since 1971 but has struggled for years to fund necessary repairs to the structure. Rio Nuevo board chairman Fletcher McCusker said the tax-supported urban improvement district has reached a verbal agreement to take over the property for a little over $1 million. McCusker said he and his fellow board members have already signed off on the deal, but the sale wont happen until and unless the historical societys state board of directors approves it. Their next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27. McCusker said Rio Nuevo intends to rehabilitate and preserve the building, not tear it down or turn it into a business. Our intent is to renovate it. It is not our intent to commercialize it, he said. Arizona Historical Society executive director David Breeckner confirmed Rio Nuevos purchase offer, but he declined to discuss specifics until the state board reviews the deal. He did say that the talks have been ongoing since late 2021 and have served to highlight maintenance and outreach needs for the property, and are inspiring a fresh look to ensure that the Sosa-Carrillo House remains a publicly accessible site for history and culture into the next century ahead. According to the societys own estimates, almost $1.3 million in renovations are needed to restore the home back to its 1800s glory, Breeckner said. AHS doesnt have that kind of money available, but Rio Nuevo does, McCusker said. We think its a win-win for everyone. Much of the cost involves the buildings original adobe, which has been damaged over the years by moisture trapped behind cement-based plaster that was applied to the bricks during the last major renovation in the early 1970s. Cracks and water stains can be seen on the walls of the house, both inside and out. Its not going to fall over, McCusker said, but I believe the adobe is at great risk. Similar issues have prompted extensive restoration at San Xavier Mission. The cement-based coating will need to be carefully stripped away and replaced with traditional lime-washed plaster mixed with cactus juice, which allows the walls to breathe and release moisture. The work is expected to take up to two years to complete. Fixer-upper McCusker said Rio Nuevo is committed to maintaining the property as a cultural and educational site, and there would be deed restrictions to that effect, just in case. He said the buildings two current tenants, the Borderlands Theater and the Mexican American Heritage and History Museum, would be offered five-year leases to continue as stewards of the building and its mission. Michael Lopez is vice president of Los Descendientes del Presidio de Tucson, the nonprofit heritage organization that operates the museum at Sosa-Carrillo. He said Rio Nuevo has also offered to slash their rent to $1 per month, down from the $400 they currently pay to the historical society. The house was closed to the public and being used by AHS for storage before Borderlands and Los Descendientes moved in and the museum opened there in 2019, Lopez said. If you go The Mexican American Heritage and History Museum at the Sosa-Carrillo House open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the first Friday and third Thursday of each month. It's also available by appointment at MexAmHistoryMuseum@gmail.com. The historic house is located at 151 S. Granada Ave., between Tucson Convention Center and the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. In addition to the adobe repairs, he said the building is overdue for a new roof and air-conditioning system, upgraded electrical wiring, and renovations to its 50-year-old bathrooms and kitchen, which would allow it to better accommodate special events. The historic house at 151 S. Granada Ave. already plays host to a range of gatherings, including weddings, funerals and quinceaneras. Last month, Pueblo High Schools mariachi band held a fundraising concert in the walled courtyard, near the homes famous fig tree that dates back to the eighteenth century and still produces fruit. Once we get (the house) restored, it will be a much better venue for the kinds of events we want to hold and the exhibits we want to have, Lopez said. McCusker thinks the proposed acquisition could also lead to a stronger connection between the Sosa-Carrillo House and the Tucson Convention Center campus that surrounds it. Since well own everything, we think it can be better integrated, he said. The house was built in 1880 by prominent local businessman Leopoldo Carrillo on land previously owned by the pioneering family of Jose Maria Sosa, an ensign who served in the Spanish presidios of Tucson and Tubac 100 years earlier. The traditional Sonoran row house included a stone foundation, high ceilings and a central hallway known as a zaguan. Its front door opened onto Main Street, then a dirt road through what was still a dusty, frontier outpost. Over the decades, the house was added onto and divided into apartments as it was passed down through generations of Carrillo relatives. The last family member to own the property and live there, Leticia Carrillo Jacobs de Fuentes, was evicted in 1968, after the city took the house by eminent domain. For a short time, the dilapidated structure stood by itself, as some 250 other homes and businesses in Tucsons oldest Mexican-American barrio were razed all around it to make way for the convention center. The project displaced more than 700 residents, many of them people of color from low-income households. Unlikely savior The decision to spare the Sosa-Carrillo House from the bulldozers was steeped in its own brand of ethnic erasure. At the time the building was saved, it was commonly known as the Fremont House for its tenuous connection to John C. Fremont, the explorer, military commander and politician who served as Arizonas fifth territorial governor from 1878 to 1881. His daughter briefly occupied the house in June of 1881, but theres no evidence that he ever set foot there or had any other connection to the place. Even so, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1971, as the John Charles Fremont, Casa del Gobernador, House. At the historical societys request, that register listing was changed in 1993 to the Sosa-Carrillo-Fremont House. These days, the Fremont name is being phased out altogether, though it can still be found on several signs and documents, including the National Register. McCusker first announced Rio Nuevos possible purchase last month, during a dedication ceremony for the newly renamed Alva Bustamante Torres Plaza at the TCC, just behind the Sosa-Carrillo House. Torres, now 90, is a Tucson native, preservationist and newspaper columnist, who fought against the destruction of downtown homes and businesses in the name of urban renewal during the 1960s and 1970s. The irony of the situation isnt lost on McCusker. He said he knows how it looks to have one of the last remaining pieces of the lost barrio bought up by what many people now consider Tucsons chief gentrifier. But the Arizona Historical Society has zero dollars to invest in the property, McCusker said. Without Rios Nuevos help, the Sosa-Carrillo House will continue to languish. Ultimately, Lopez said, he and his fellow Los Descendientes just want to see the old house and its complicated story preserved, regardless of who is footing the bill. Some of our members were skeptical at first, he said. I think weve moved past that. Photos: The Sosa-Carrillo House and urban redevelopment in Tucson People latched onto Lydia Reis as they whizzed past her on North Oracle Road. They fixed on her colorful, vintage dresses. They smiled at the bright umbrellas she held over her head. They sometimes glimpsed her bouncy curls. They imagined stories and qualities, projecting them onto a woman long ago dubbed the Umbrella Lady. They also wondered if she was safe, and many people over the years paused to help her. What finally caught up to this Tucson character was a simple fact that helped make her so noticeable: She walked day after day along busy northwest-side roads where nobody else tended to walk. After decades of rambling those roads, the odds caught up to Reis on Jan. 5, when she was struck by a driver in a maroon SUV, who then drove away. At that moment, about 6:30 a.m, it was dark out, and she was striding along a stretch of West Ina Road with no sidewalk. Three days later, Reis, 63, became another in an outrageously long string of pedestrians killed in the Tucson area. Within city limits last year, 49 pedestrians were struck and killed, up from 29 the year before. In the jurisdiction of the Pima County Sheriffs Department, places like West Ina Road where Reis was struck, 11 pedestrians were killed last year, up from three a year earlier. In that sense, Reis sudden death highlighted one of the Tucson areas most glaring flaws, the car culture that makes any other way of getting around a fatal risk. But in life, she represented its quirkiness and brought out its community spirit. Makes the traffic swerve Musician Loren Dircks had not yet met Reis in 2009 when he and two sons started writing a whimsical tune about the person they called the walking lady. Specifically, it was about the stories that people invented to explain her as they drove past. The Walking Lady by Loren Dircks Your browser does not support the audio element. At the time, Dircks family lived in Catalina, and so did Reis, though they didnt know it yet. We would see her up in Catalina, and then in the same day we would see her at Tucson Mall, said Dircks, who drove around town working for a food-service company back then. I would be down at the U of A selling food to sororities, and I would see her on Fourth Avenue, on foot. We were just amazed, like, How did she get there?! We were fans, but we didnt know much about her, he said. They knew enough to roll their eyes at some of the stories people would tell. Then they made up their own ideas for a song, with lyrics like these: Shes a walking lady with a colored umbrella and the hair that goes sproingy boingy boing. She walks everywhere from here to Marana, and we dont have a clue where shes going. Is it a breezy whim or a covert operation? Any way you stretch it shes in heavy circulation. You ought to see the way she makes the traffic swerve. Maybe shes just ahead of the curve. Gods will be done The roads where Reis was most noticeable, arteries like Oracle and Ina roads, are straight, wide and fast. Like most of Tucsons main roads, they werent designed for pedestrians or cyclists. They were designed to maximize throughput of vehicles. Reis would walk down the shoulder of North Oracle Road until she got to a sidewalk. On the stretch of Ina Road where she was struck, there is no sidewalk, just a shoulder, maybe 8 feet wide, part dirt and part pavement. Its separated from the charging traffic by a painted line. Tucsonan Kelle Maslyn told me she was driving down Oracle south of Ina, when she saw Reis just three days before she was struck. She was really close to the edge of the sidewalk near the edge of the road. I moved over to the other lane to give her space, because I was really concerned how close she was. What crossed Maslyns mind, she said: I would hate to be the person who hit the Umbrella Lady, because she was so iconic. In retrospect, its surprising Reis wasnt struck before, during all those years walking along a state highway like Oracle Road. Angelita Munoz told me that she talked with Reis about the danger. Munoz similar to Dircks experience as a songwriter wrote an essay about the Umbrella Lady in 2012 before later getting to know her personally. I asked her specifically if she was worried about getting run over. She told me, quite literally, Gods will be done. I need to live my life and not worry about everything. Flashy but guarded Lydia Reis walked the Northwest side for decades. Unless you believe that there was a different Lydia who dressed similarly and walked the same streets 20-plus years ago. Some people swear thats the case. She walked those streets because she had lost her family there in a car crash and went to visit the family members in Holy Hope Cemetery. So people said. Except no one really knows. Actually, she was mentally ill. Or she had a traumatic brain injury from the earlier crash. Or she was just a spiritually elevated person who existed on a higher plane. People say all three. Dircks met her in 2012 at a friends house in Catalina. When he got to know her, Dircks came to view Reis as paradoxical. She dressed in a way that drew peoples eyes to her the colorful umbrellas and the bright dresses and walked where thousands of people drove past, but she didnt like the attention she received and guarded her privacy closely. She did not understand, or very much like or appreciate, the fact that she was an icon, he said. A couple of weeks after meeting her, Dircks said, he gave her a ride to North Fourth Avenue. On that trip, he said, he told her about his persistent headaches. She recited the same prayer for him three times consecutively, punctuated by yelling the word Go! The third time, Dircks said, his headache finally went away for a while. She also told him things about his life that later came true, he said future jobs and travel. He came to consider her a messenger, who had complete, childlike and exemplary, faith in God. Dircks wife, Rachel, also got to know Reis, who in those years would carry a spiral-bound notebook in a bag, Rachel Dircks said. Once, she asked Reis what the notebook was for. It turns out that after she met people, Dircks said, She would write down their situation so she could pray for them. And thats what she would sometimes do as she walked. The systems are at fault Look through the Tucson Police Departments news releases on pedestrian deaths, and youll find some common denominators. Fatal collisions tend to happen on main arteries, they tend to happen when its dark out, and they often involve people crossing the street outside of crosswalks. Sometimes the victims are drugged out and wandering; sometimes the drivers flee. Two of those factors applied to the collision that killed Reis it was dark on a busy street. The fault for the crash has been attributed by investigators to the accused driver, Guadalupe Solis. A witness said, according to a criminal complaint filed against Solis, that she was swerving over the right line before striking Reis. Solis, arrested not long after the collision, told police she thought she had struck a pole. Of course, the crash would probably not have happened if there were a sidewalk. As it turns out, sidewalks are going up now on the street Reis most often walked, North Oracle Road, between River and Magee roads. Its part of a bigger Arizona Department of Transportation project. She was walking on a shoulder no protections, no lighting, said Emily Yetman, executive director of the Living Streets Alliance. It just goes to show that what were building, the systems were creating, are at fault. Not the people. When you create these conditions, whoever is in Lydias position is always going to lose, Yetman said. Im glad shes getting attention because she was beloved and someone this community recognized. In fact, two local women, Michelle Kilbey and Rosa Paredes Wright, are using a Facebook page, Umbrella Walk for Lydia Reis, to organize a memorial procession. Their idea, still being firmed up, is to memorialize Reis and bring attention to all the pedestrians killed in local vehicle collisions. God takes care of me In the years when the Dircks were getting to know Reis, she lived in a trailer in Catalina. It was full of the clothes she loved, Rachel Dircks said. Later, she was forced to leave that park, and eventually, in recent years, she moved briefly to New Mexico. In the last couple of years, Dircks said, its unclear where she was staying. Sometimes, including in recent months, people or churches rented out hotel rooms for her. She especially liked getting a room at La Posada Lodge, 5900 N. Oracle Road. But Dircks suspects she had nowhere specific to stay anymore. Thats one of the reasons she had taken to pulling around a wagon. She would never tell me where she was at, but I know she slept outside sometimes, Rachel Dircks said. If you asked her if she was homeless, she would say, Im not homeless. God takes care of me. It was this mysterious quality, along with her colorful clothing and accessories, that intrigued passersby, making her an object of wonder and speculation as they saw her through car windows. But of course, she never would have become the icon she hated to be, if she hadnt done the thing that ultimately killed her: fearlessly walk the Tucson areas busiest streets, vulnerable to drivers and unsafe road designs, but with total faith in God. Tim Steller is an opinion columnist. A 25-year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his conclusions. Contact him at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter Apple CEO Tim Cook will take a more than 40% pay cut this year from a year earlier as the company adjusts how it calculates his compensation partly based on a recommendation from Cook himself. Apple Inc. said in a regulatory filing late Thursday that Cooks target total compensation is $49 million for 2023, with a $3 million salary, $6 million cash incentive and $40 million in equity awards. Last March the Cupertino, California, company conducted an advisory shareholder vote on executive pay with 6.21 billion shares voting in favor of the executive pay package and 3.44 billion against. There were also abstentions and broker nonvotes. Apple said its compensation committee took into account shareholder feedback, the companys performance and a recommendation from Cook, who was promoted to CEO in 2011, to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received. Apple said last year it sought feedback from shareholders about compensation and received overwhelming support for Mr. Cooks exceptional leadership and the unprecedented value he has delivered for shareholders. Those shareholders we spoke with that did not support our 2022 Say on Pay proposal consistently cited the size and structure of the 2021 and 2022 equity awards granted to Mr. Cook as the primary reason for their voting decision. Cook received a $3 million base salary for the past three years, but his total compensation which includes the restricted awards jumped from $14.8 million in 2020 to $98.7 million in 2021 and $99.4 million in 2022. Apple said Cook supported the changes to his compensation. The company plans to position Cooks annual target compensation between the 80th and 90th percentiles relative to its primary peer group for future years, according to the filing. The company will hold its annual meeting March 10. The civil rights struggles in the United States and the end of colonialism in Africa came at the same time and naturally the movements dovetailed. In 1957, the Kings went to Ghana in West Africa to attend its independence ceremony from Britain, according to the King Encyclopedia at Stanford University. In the capital of Accra, he met then-Vice President Richard Nixon, among others. His first overseas trip, Ghana a profound effect on King. Upon his return to the United States, he said, "Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first, that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it." Before the pandemic, Ghana was emerging as a prime tourist destination not just in West Africa but the entire continent. It is open to US visitors. While many people come for the beaches, wildlife and food, it also holds important historical sites. That includes Cape Coast Castle, which was a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. A visit there is a somber reminder of centuries of oppression and its ramifications during MLK's time up to today. Victoria Road, Cape Coast, Ghana, +233 024 587 3117 DETROIT With its sales slowing and stock price tumbling, Tesla Inc. slashed prices dramatically Friday on several versions of its electric vehicles, making some of its models eligible for a new federal tax credit that could help spur buyer interest. The company dropped prices nearly 20% in the United States on some versions of the Model Y SUV, its top seller. That cut will make more versions of the Model Y eligible for a $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credit, which will be available through March. Tesla also reduced the base price of the Model 3, its least expensive model, by about 6%. Far from pleasing investors, the sharp price cuts sent Tesla shares down nearly 2% in late-afternoon trading Friday. Since the start of last year, the stock has plummeted more than 65%. Many investors fear Tesla's sales slowdown will persist and are concerned about the erratic behavior of CEO Elon Musk and the distractions caused by his $44 billion purchase of Twitter. "I think the real driver for all of this is falling demand for Teslas," said Guidehouse Research e-Mobility analyst Sam Abuelsamid. With Tesla's price cuts Friday, its Model Y Performance model, formerly priced at nearly $70,000, now starts at just under $57,000. The starting price of the Model 3, Tesla's lowest-priced vehicle, was cut to just under $44,000 from $47,000. The company's decision to drop the base price of the Model 3, which already was eligible for the federal tax credit, was a clear sign that demand weakened, Abuelsamid noted. Tesla has added two huge factories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin that are running at only a fraction of their output capacities, "which is undoubtedly costing them dearly," Abuelsamid said. Based on the current short delivery times for Tesla vehicles that once were monthslong, Tesla's once-sizable order backlog may have been depleted, said Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent, who analyzes the new and used EV markets. Customers either were awaiting this year's federal tax credits, Case said, or switched to competitors. "We think it's now more of a competition thing," he said. Unlike many of its rivals, though, Tesla can still make money on EVs for one crucial reason, Case said: The company enjoys high profit margins, thanks to manufacturing and battery efficiencies. Competitors generally lack Tesla's economies of scale and other efficiencies and may struggle to match the price cuts. If so, Tesla could manage to keep vehicle sales at sufficient levels. "They can afford to make this cut and not be lighting money on fire," Case said. Messages were left Friday seeking a comment from Tesla. Tesla still faces the threat of intensifying competition from other automakers in the United States and globally for years to come. Last year in the United States, total EV sales soared nearly 65% from 2021. Automakers sold 47 electric vehicle models; only four were Teslas. S&P Global Mobility expects the number of EV models to surge to 159 by 2025. And as overall EV sales are rising, Tesla's U.S. market share is falling. From 2018 through 2020, Tesla represented about 80% of the EV market. By 2021 that figure had sunk to 71%, and it has continued to decline, according to registration data gathered by S&P. Still, Tesla's U.S. sales rose 40% last year, and S&P expects them to continue to rise as overall electric vehicle sales steadily increase. Even with U.S. tax credits, EVs remain pricey compared with gas-powered vehicles, largely because of the high cost of batteries. In addition, higher loan rates and more expensive raw materials are keeping costs high for buyers and could limit EV sales. Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said those factors are reducing demand for all vehicles, not just Teslas. Musk's provocative behavior on Twitter also may be a factor in lower demand. Since taking over the social media platform in October, he has loosened restrictions on hate speech and other questionable conduct. He engaged with figures on the right and far-right and frequently attacked what he describes as the "woke mind virus" a pejorative umbrella term for liberal views that he asserts are threatening civilization. Musk's views are sharply at odds with those of many environmentally conscious Tesla customers who lean Democratic. Survey data from Morning Consult Brand Intelligence shows that in the past year, the number of Americans who view Tesla favorably dropped. In January 2022, nearly 43% had a favorable opinion of Tesla, with nearly 15% negative. By this month, those with favorable opinions had dropped to 37%, while the negative views rose to 24%. Charges and an arrest warrant were issued Friday for a Tulsa man who is alleged to have threatened to kill a federal judge. A criminal complaint in Tulsa federal court charges Cole Walker Morris with threatening to kidnap, assault, or murder a United States judge on allegations that he threatened to kill Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Morris became disgruntled over the status of his civil lawsuit against the U.S. government, in which he is acting as his legal counsel, and made the threats then. Authorities were searching for Morris on Friday afternoon. An affidavit details the allegations that led to Morris being sought by authorities. According to the affidavit, Morris became very agitated Tuesday afternoon while at the federal Court Clerks Office at the Page Belcher Federal Courthouse, 333 W. Fourth St. Morris apparently had gone there to check on the status of one or more cases he had filed, only to learn that they had been dismissed on technical grounds. He filed seven civil lawsuits in Tulsa federal court on his own behalf during 2022. Most name the United States of America as a defendant. At least one case, which sought $25 billion in monetary damages, referenced being wrongly held in the Rogers County jail at some point. In another case, Morris made the following claim: My wrist was cut up in down from direct psycho manipulations and weapons placement, They didnt know that Iv weaponized my body and mind in advanced combat training so I caught the cut just in time. After being told by a clerk that the case had been dismissed, Morris asserted that his lawsuit was legally sound and that the judge on the case would be held accountable. Morris then referred to Chief Judge John F. Heil by name and made statements that he was going to hold Judge Heil down and that Judge Heil was going to give his life, according to the affidavit. Morris also is alleged to have threatened to return to the courthouse with an armed militia and asked whether the glass divider between him and Court Clerks Office employees was bulletproof. Morris also made statements about raping women and no one being able to stop him, according to the affidavit. A press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office says the women Morris allegedly threatened to rape are employees of the Court Clerks Office. Morris stated he was not making threats but stating his rights as an American, the affidavit says. Morris reportedly then left the courthouse but said he would return. January 2021 video: Threats against Congress keep National Guard in D.C. The bone was a human femur. That much was certain. But who had it belonged to? For Robert Allen and his colleagues, that was the burning question. Fortunately, in their line of work, finding a femur is about as good as it gets. Bones that are weight-bearing are constantly being remodeled, which means they have cells embedded in the bone matrix. And those cells, of course, have DNA, said Allen, director of the forensics lab at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa. After obtaining a DNA profile from the femur, it didnt take the scientists long to establish an identity. It belonged to a young hiker who had last been seen a couple of years earlier in Californias Mount Whitney area. Allen who retired this week after 21 years with OSU-CHS, where he was also a professor of forensic science said the lab has had cases that were more high-profile than that one, but its remained special to him for a couple of reasons. For one, it was one of the earliest examples of something the lab has come to specialize in: identifying remains. But more than that, its a good reminder that what the employees do matters. The young man had surviving family who had not known what happened to him. Now, thanks to the lab, they had at least a kind of closure. Ahead of his departure recently, Allen reflected on the lab and its progress. He said he couldnt be more proud of all thats been accomplished. The School of Forensic Sciences Human Identity Testing Laboratory, as its officially known, might be small compared to many other labs. But its record of success is undeniable and has earned it the attention of coroners and medical examiners across the U.S. and even other countries. The lab has handled some 130 cases in the past five years, some of them decades old, and has achieved a 94% success rate in identifying the deceased. Allen said he could hardly believe it when he looked back at the data and did the math. I dont have anyone else to compare it to, because nobodys ever really, to my knowledge, published any sort of a detailed study that admits a success or failure rate. But Ive been in this business for 40 years, and it surprised me that we were that successful. Considering the age and condition of the remains with which the researchers are often dealing, he said: I would never have dreamed wed have a 94% success rate. Were just a small laboratory. Honing their craft Allen and the lab have never backed down from a challenge. But one of their latest efforts a role in the ongoing search for possible mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is not like anything theyve previously faced. The possibility of identifying 100-year-old remains is slim, and officials have been up front about that. But it wouldnt be the first time Ive been surprised, Allen said. All you can do is go forth and give it a shot. The lab has come a long way over the past two decades and has gotten better at obtaining DNA, even when the remains are quite degraded. In a recent story that made national headlines, the lab identified the 20-year-old skeletal remains of a man who drowned in Nevadas Lake Mead. Thomas Erndt, 42, disappeared in 2002 while swimming and boating on the lake with his family. To date, at least six sets of remains have been recovered from Lake Mead as drought has caused the water to recede. Allen said the lab recently received another set of remains from the lake, with staff hopeful for a similar outcome. There have been other cases of long-submerged remains. One of them, which hits closer to home, involved two cars discovered in a lake near Elk City. Six bodies were ultimately recovered from them and linked to individuals who disappeared in 1969 and 1970. Its speculated that they accidentally drove into the lake in the dark. For their friends and families, it was like they had suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth. We were able to identify all of those guys, Allen said. When it comes to remains, the lab has pretty much seen it all, he added. Weve handled plane crashes. Scattered remains found out in the woods. Clandestine graves. The state of Nevada provided another case that stands out a body encased in a concrete block and dumped in the desert. It was a woman who was murdered. I had to use a jackhammer to get her out and get us a sample, Allen said. But we identified her. Another Oklahoma victim the lab identified was not even in one piece. Shed been murdered by her husband. Then he cut her up and tried to flush her down the toilet. Gratifying work The lab traces its start to the early 1990s. It was located originally at the H.A. Chapman Institute of Medical Genetics and moved to OSU-CHS in 2004. Allen has served as its director from the beginning. A Tulsa native whose career started in St. Louis, hes happy that he got to come back home. Its been a wonderful ride, quite frankly, he said. The university has always been supportive of our activities. They look at it as fulfilling part of the land grant mission. Allen will miss being part of the labs mission. He said one of the things that drew him to the field and has kept him engaged is the instant gratification that comes from knowing that you did something that helped, whether its the legal system or a family or identifying somebody whos been missing for years. You get that gratification immediately. Youre adding your little piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Although hes passing the torch, hes confident that the lab is prepared to carry on. The mission is not changing; plenty of families are still out there who just want the chance to bury their loved ones. Families not unlike that of the missing hiker from California. Allen said the mans mother was so appreciative of the lab that she decided to contribute that vital part of her sons remains: his femur. I asked her if she would consider donating it to our program as a teaching tool, he said. She was just proud that she could help. Since then, in addition to helping students learn, the bone has been a visual reminder that the lab provides a service thats really needed, Allen said. And you dont have to be a big, expensive operation to give back to your community. Featured video: Uplifting, memorable Tulsa World stories of 2022 Tulsa Planning Office employees were informed Friday morning that they will have to reapply for their jobs because the city is moving its planning services back to City Hall. The move comes four years after the city abolished its Planning Department at City Hall and contracted with the Indian Nations Council of Governments to create the Tulsa Planning Office. The reorganization will affect 23 people, including one who made the move from City Hall to INCOG four years ago. As was the case in 2018, the employees who are losing their jobs can reapply for them or similar positions this time at City Hall. The Planning Office staff will remain on the job at INCOG through June 30. City officials say they plan to complete the interviews and hiring before then so the new department at City Hall can be up and running on July 1. Under the planned reorganization, the citys Working In Neighborhoods Department will be renamed City Planning, Design and Neighborhoods. The department will include the Tulsa Planning Office, two divisions currently under WIN Animal Welfare and Code Enforcement and two new divisions, Community Development and Design. Mayor G.T. Bynum said the goal of the reorganization is to create a neighborhood-level planning process that ensures that long-range and short-term planners and designers are working side-by-side from conception of a plan to its completion and beyond. Historically, the citys planning functions were split between its Planning Department at City Hall and INCOG. The Planning Department handled long-term planning projects, such as the development of small-area plans, and INCOG handled short-term planning work, such as zoning applications made to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment. All of that changed in 2019 when both short- and long-term planning services were moved to INCOG under the newly established Tulsa Planning Office. In 2018, city officials said the shift to INCOG would lead to better, more efficient planning services and improved customer service. The problem four years ago was that you had planning staffs spread out over two organizations. If somebody wanted to do a project, they didnt know who to call, and a lot of times, even internally, we didnt know who was responsible for what, Bynum said. And so we consolidated all of it into the Tulsa Planning Office at INCOG. But as we have gone along, I have come to appreciate, and I think my colleagues at the (City) Council have, (that) we have to do a better job of building planning and design into the front of what we do. Bynum said numerous capital projects throughout the city could have gone much better if the citys planning and implementation processes were better coordinated. He pointed to the nearly $30 million widening of Yale Avenue between 81st and 91st streets as an example. (Councilor) Phil Lakin was out having to hold neighborhood meetings a matter of weeks before we were due to finalize the design on that, Bynum said. That is not good process or good implementation. Rich Brierre, executive director of INCOG, said the citys stated goal of enhancing public engagement and urban design throughout the planning process should be encouraged with or without any organizational or staff changes. We will do everything we can to assist the city of Tulsa in transitioning these programs and staff impacted by this transition, Brierre said. Bynum acknowledged the human element of the transition but said he thinks the reorganization will create opportunities for people who love urban design and planning to guide projects all the way through and be more involved in land-use planning and implementation. The reality is that the culture that I have tried to build at the city of Tulsa is one of continuous improvement. We are never satisfied with the way things are today. We are always trying to find a way to do them better tomorrow, Bynum said. So we made a change four years ago because things werent as good as they could be, and today I think we have another change that will make things better than they have been. Bynum said the idea of reorganizing the citys planning structure was pitched by WIN Director James Wagner when he applied to lead that department last year. Wagner will continue to lead the department under its new name. I think the vision that he has for that department and what citizens are going to get from an enhanced quality of life at a neighborhood level by the changes that we want to make are going to be substantial, so it makes it worth going through this kind of challenging transition that we are working through right now, Bynum said. INCOG has provided staffing services to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and the city and county Boards of Adjustment for more than four decades. Under the new arrangement, the Tulsa Planning Office would continue to prepare staff reports for city applications before the TMAPC and before the citys Board of Adjustment. Bynum said the city is working with the county to ensure that staffing is provided for their TMAPC and BOA cases. Bynum informed INCOG of the citys decision to terminate its memorandum of understanding with the organization in an email sent to INCOG Executive Director Rich Brierre on Dec. 29. Termination will be effective the last day of the current fiscal year, which is June 30, Bynum wrote. Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, either party can terminate the agreement for any reason by providing the other party 180 days notice. Featured video: Tulsa Fire Department CARES Program helps reduce 911 call volumes 60 years ago today, Billings wheat farmer Henry Bellmon was inaugurated as the states first Republican governor. Bellmon promised an administration that would try to strengthen the states moral fiber to build a self-reliant citizenry. An estimated 4,000 Democrats and Republicans looked on in 32-degree but sunny weather at the Capitol in Oklahoma City as the 41-year-old was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Ross Rizley. Bellmon ended his inaugural speech with a prayer seeking Gods help in the task ahead of him. He went on to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate and a second term as governor almost a quarter-century after the first. He left active politics in 1991, at the end of his second term as governor, but remained involved in public policy. Bellmon died in 2009 after a long battle with Parkinsons Disease at age 88.